Short update: i don't have long, but i'll do what i can. Not a whole lot to tell other than funny stories. i'm pretty well adjusted now and everyday is class and sitting asking questions about the culture and language. My older sister is so helpful.
1. My sista Kenyeh told me how when i first got here everyone was so scared of me and even my mom said, "Kenyeh, her eyes are sooo white!" I thought that was pretty funny.
2. I've got to play a lot the last week with the little kids. I learned a game called Ge-Ge with stones that involved throwing them up and catching them in order and it's impossible to beat Nepor. She knows this and said, "Don't try an African girl at this game." Being competitive though, i just talk smack back and keep practicing til i beat her one of these days. I also learned stoneball, which is dodgeball with a plastic back packed with dirt) and i am undefeated. Agnus is hard to hit though because she is so tiny. Also, the kids are fascinated by hacky sack.
3. I came home the other night from me and my sista walking a fellow PCV home and all the women in my family were naked on the back porch bathing so i was like, what the hey, let's do this. and i went and got my bucket. TIA ya'll.
4. The PCT sitting next to me in the computer lab is Katie. She said her neighbor here in Africa just had a baby. Well, she happens to like babies so she wanted to see this newborn. Upon meeting the child, she was asked to attend a ceremony in which they asked her to name the African newborn. Evidently, it's traditional to name a baby after your father, so her neighbor's newborn baby's name is James. Also, they offered to give her the baby on multiple occasions....every day to be exact.
5. My younger sister Nepor thinks it's funny now to impersonate me, speak sophisticated english, and tell everyone she is from New Jersey. It's pretty entertaining. She has a great sense of humor. When she gets dressed to go somewhere and someone asks her where she is going, she says, to New Jersey. She also says she used to be white but she has stayed in the sun too long. silly girl.
6. We had a dance party on the porch the other night. 8 yrs. old and younger only. We clapped and sang while each child got up individually to dance. These girls can shake it. Little Agnus was the most surprising, she might be quiet, but i was mistaken about the shy part. and her English is perfect. They finally talked me into dancing so they could all laugh hysterically.
7. My younger nephew Foday never ever speaks unless it is to greet me. I'm currently working on this issue. However, he did speak up to rub it in my face the other day about Ghana beating the US in the world cup.
8. When we go to watch the world cup here, guess where we do it. in 1 of 2 places.....1. a huge sweaty room in Africa with a projector and fans, or 2. a big sweaty room in Africa with a projector that sells beer and is called Obama Hall. We watched the Ghana/USA game there. I went with my host dad and the rest of the PCVs. It definitely got rubbed in our face when we lost.
9. My family tells me every day that they are trying to make me fatter than I already am. I'll just let that one marinate.
10. Look up the songs Yori Yori by Museke. Main Song we hear everywhere. Definitely the most popular at the moment.
So, I tried to upload pictures, but the internet is way too slow, so I'll probably just mail home a memory card as soon as I can and let someone in the states upload. According to the stamps on people that have gotten mail, it only takes about 9 days for a letter to physically show up in country. Longer to get to us, but not too much longer. Just depends on who is traveling here from freetown. That's all i got for now. I'll get pics to ya when I can. I finally took pictures of my family. They are beautiful.
Peace out.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Update from Regan via Erin
Regan wanted me to pass on a couple of things she forgot:
1. In Bo, her current town, all of the communities have different names. The community she is living in is called New York.
2. Regan saw her first monkey today (not in a zoo). It was tied to the back of an eighteen-wheeler with a leash and was drinking a pint of liquor.
1. In Bo, her current town, all of the communities have different names. The community she is living in is called New York.
2. Regan saw her first monkey today (not in a zoo). It was tied to the back of an eighteen-wheeler with a leash and was drinking a pint of liquor.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
This is Africa. (TIA)
ok. so... where to begin. i will pre-apologize for no capitalization. the shift keys on this keyboard are shady. The title comes from the fact that everyone here says it. The first time my sister showed me the outhouse, all she did was open the door and say, "This is Africa." hahaha. So it has recently been abbreved to TIA. I learned to handwash my clothes this morning and when they were showing me, all they said was TIA. It has become a common acronym amongst our group.
well we finally made it to Bo finally as many of you read in my email. But i'll start with freetown. we stayed in freetown for 4 days confined to the national stadium hostel which included recreational fields for our use and full access to the football(soccer) stadium (the country's national stadium!) whenever we wanted to play frisbee and soccer. We had our orientation trainings every single day, visited the U.S. Ambassador's house in Freetown, and attended a special ceremony at the state house (white house) where we got to meet the president. woo hoo! pretty big deal.
So finally, we hop on the buses for the 4 hr. ride to Bo. The countryside was beautiful and every town we went through had kids waving and yelling greetings and welcoming us. it was pretty neat. We arrived in Bo for our adoption ceremony and were greeted by a performance of drums, traditional dancing, and magic tricks. They even got a few from our group to dance in the middle of the circle. We went to the adoption ceremony where our families names were called, then our names, and then we went to sit with our families and have a meal with them. From my family, my mama, 2 sistas, and niece were there to greet me. They immediately gave me the Mende name Nepor which means "to encourage". So we ate with our families and traveled by bus back to the town and to the house. a million kids came to our house to sit and just look at me. a couple would not come near me.....until i busted out the glow stick bracelets, which the adults liked as well. They were definitely cool in a place with no electricity.
Every day has been pretty lined out with training and then we are to go home and spend time with our families. our training is intense and includes health, safety, security, cross cultural differences, language(krio), and teaching techniques in the SL school. here, families are extended and many family members come to live with the family member closest to the best opportunities (school, work, etc.), so here's the breakdown of my family. Everyone except Papa and grandmama speak 3 languages. English, Krio, and Mende.
Papa - 56 yr. old, works out of town during the week and speaks 4 diff languages...english, krio, mende, and french.
Mama - 50 yr. old, works at the house and the market.
Miata (grandmama) - age unknown, 65 is guesstimation. only speaks Mende.
Kenyeh - 29 yr. old sister.
Josephine - 9 mo. old neice. kenyeh's daughter
Foday- 19 yr. old brother
Nepor - 13 yr. old sister
Betty - 10 yr. old cousin
Kenyeh - 10 yr. old cousin
Musa - 9 yr. old cousin (currently has Malaria)
so, that's my family and just to tell a little about them, they are amazing. They have given up a room that they did not have for me to stay in and even allowed Peace Corps to come in and change the locks so that they don't have a copy of the key. in their own house! They really spoil me. They are also teaching me a lot about the culture. The kids here do all of the chores. ALL OF THEM. nonstop. everyday. except for when they go to school, which isn't too long in the morning. Nepor walks about an hour to school everyday and is incredibly smart. i tutored her in math on monday night. All of the kids love school and when it gets dark out, they all huddle around a candle or light in the living room to study. They love school and studying more than anyone I have ever seen. They are a devout catholic family and wake up every morning to pray at 6 AM. Also, church services here last about 3 hrs. on Sunday. whew! Also, my family is trying to kill me with food. here, it is a good thing to be fat. and all they do is tell me that i need to be fatter and insist that i'm not eating enough when i've had all that i can handle. The food is very good, but i could pass on the fish with the bones in it. it's a little fishy, but other than that, i have liked everything.
Surprisingly, we as trainees are allowed quite a bit of independence. We often walk to town together or since the world cup is in progress, we meet at a place that is showing a game to drink a beer and watch some football, which is huge here. For the USA vs. England game, we all went to Obama Hall to watch. Last night, we went to a club called "after work" to dance to some live african music. Everyone here thinks it's very funny when we do anything.....dance, sing, attempt to speak the language, etc. When i get laughed at, i usually just shrug my shoulders and say, "I try". Which is Krio for i'm trying. krio is very similar to english, just more of a broken english.
It is definitely hot here, but i am almost used to sweating all the time and have learned to carry a hankie with me as a sweat rag. my favorite part of everyday is bucket bath time, in the morning and at night, when i can use cold water(i finally convinced my family not to boil it so that i could have a hot bath). BUT, these people don't sweat! I played volleyball one day in Freetown with a group of locals and i felt like i was in the movie avatar. They could all run faster and jump higher without sweating and i was just a mere human. it's crazy.
The kids are my favorite part so far. They are amazed at the sight of a white person and will be quick to greet or run to us for a high-five yelling "Pu-muey!" which means "white" in Mende. Some are scared to death of us though. The older people too.
The funniest thing that has happened so far is a friend grandmama came to visit. i hate i couldn't communicate with her because she certainly seemed hilarious. Well, after sitting and watching me for a couple of days, she finally came over to shake my hand and my sister Kenyeh said that she had said, "I'm gonna go over there and touch that Pumuey!," Which I found to be hilarious. So, I hugged her and then we had a dance party. haha.
The most touching thing that happened to me was a little girl next door. She walked with us to church and is very shy around me. about half way there, i feel something touch my hand and she held my hand silently the rest of the way to church. She clutched my bible through the entire service, carried it the whole way home while holding my hand with her other, and then when we got to her house, she silently looked up and handed it to me. I didn't learn her name until a couple of days later. I was walking home from class(about a 30 min. walk) when she showed up again and held my hand again, silently, the whole way home. When we got home my sister asked her name and age to show off her English skills and she said, "My name is Agnus. I am 6 yrs. old." She is such a doll!
i guess that is all that i have time for right now. But below are a couple of quick cultural notes.
1. It is amazing how the women(and some men) here carry everything on their heads without dropping it. i've even seen women disciplining children without dropping anytyhing from the bucket on their head. amazing!
2. First come first serve is literal here. if you were born first, then you eat first, drink first, sit first, etc. children wait on elders hand and foot as a sign of respect.
3. most people eat with their hands.
4. everyone except the really old people know a minimum of 3 languages. even kids who can't yet talk are spoken to in all different languages. it's fascinating.
That's all I got for now. Be back and post pictures when i can(then internet is kinda slow and it'll take awhile and cost a bit). love you and miss you all. peace out.
well we finally made it to Bo finally as many of you read in my email. But i'll start with freetown. we stayed in freetown for 4 days confined to the national stadium hostel which included recreational fields for our use and full access to the football(soccer) stadium (the country's national stadium!) whenever we wanted to play frisbee and soccer. We had our orientation trainings every single day, visited the U.S. Ambassador's house in Freetown, and attended a special ceremony at the state house (white house) where we got to meet the president. woo hoo! pretty big deal.
So finally, we hop on the buses for the 4 hr. ride to Bo. The countryside was beautiful and every town we went through had kids waving and yelling greetings and welcoming us. it was pretty neat. We arrived in Bo for our adoption ceremony and were greeted by a performance of drums, traditional dancing, and magic tricks. They even got a few from our group to dance in the middle of the circle. We went to the adoption ceremony where our families names were called, then our names, and then we went to sit with our families and have a meal with them. From my family, my mama, 2 sistas, and niece were there to greet me. They immediately gave me the Mende name Nepor which means "to encourage". So we ate with our families and traveled by bus back to the town and to the house. a million kids came to our house to sit and just look at me. a couple would not come near me.....until i busted out the glow stick bracelets, which the adults liked as well. They were definitely cool in a place with no electricity.
Every day has been pretty lined out with training and then we are to go home and spend time with our families. our training is intense and includes health, safety, security, cross cultural differences, language(krio), and teaching techniques in the SL school. here, families are extended and many family members come to live with the family member closest to the best opportunities (school, work, etc.), so here's the breakdown of my family. Everyone except Papa and grandmama speak 3 languages. English, Krio, and Mende.
Papa - 56 yr. old, works out of town during the week and speaks 4 diff languages...english, krio, mende, and french.
Mama - 50 yr. old, works at the house and the market.
Miata (grandmama) - age unknown, 65 is guesstimation. only speaks Mende.
Kenyeh - 29 yr. old sister.
Josephine - 9 mo. old neice. kenyeh's daughter
Foday- 19 yr. old brother
Nepor - 13 yr. old sister
Betty - 10 yr. old cousin
Kenyeh - 10 yr. old cousin
Musa - 9 yr. old cousin (currently has Malaria)
so, that's my family and just to tell a little about them, they are amazing. They have given up a room that they did not have for me to stay in and even allowed Peace Corps to come in and change the locks so that they don't have a copy of the key. in their own house! They really spoil me. They are also teaching me a lot about the culture. The kids here do all of the chores. ALL OF THEM. nonstop. everyday. except for when they go to school, which isn't too long in the morning. Nepor walks about an hour to school everyday and is incredibly smart. i tutored her in math on monday night. All of the kids love school and when it gets dark out, they all huddle around a candle or light in the living room to study. They love school and studying more than anyone I have ever seen. They are a devout catholic family and wake up every morning to pray at 6 AM. Also, church services here last about 3 hrs. on Sunday. whew! Also, my family is trying to kill me with food. here, it is a good thing to be fat. and all they do is tell me that i need to be fatter and insist that i'm not eating enough when i've had all that i can handle. The food is very good, but i could pass on the fish with the bones in it. it's a little fishy, but other than that, i have liked everything.
Surprisingly, we as trainees are allowed quite a bit of independence. We often walk to town together or since the world cup is in progress, we meet at a place that is showing a game to drink a beer and watch some football, which is huge here. For the USA vs. England game, we all went to Obama Hall to watch. Last night, we went to a club called "after work" to dance to some live african music. Everyone here thinks it's very funny when we do anything.....dance, sing, attempt to speak the language, etc. When i get laughed at, i usually just shrug my shoulders and say, "I try". Which is Krio for i'm trying. krio is very similar to english, just more of a broken english.
It is definitely hot here, but i am almost used to sweating all the time and have learned to carry a hankie with me as a sweat rag. my favorite part of everyday is bucket bath time, in the morning and at night, when i can use cold water(i finally convinced my family not to boil it so that i could have a hot bath). BUT, these people don't sweat! I played volleyball one day in Freetown with a group of locals and i felt like i was in the movie avatar. They could all run faster and jump higher without sweating and i was just a mere human. it's crazy.
The kids are my favorite part so far. They are amazed at the sight of a white person and will be quick to greet or run to us for a high-five yelling "Pu-muey!" which means "white" in Mende. Some are scared to death of us though. The older people too.
The funniest thing that has happened so far is a friend grandmama came to visit. i hate i couldn't communicate with her because she certainly seemed hilarious. Well, after sitting and watching me for a couple of days, she finally came over to shake my hand and my sister Kenyeh said that she had said, "I'm gonna go over there and touch that Pumuey!," Which I found to be hilarious. So, I hugged her and then we had a dance party. haha.
The most touching thing that happened to me was a little girl next door. She walked with us to church and is very shy around me. about half way there, i feel something touch my hand and she held my hand silently the rest of the way to church. She clutched my bible through the entire service, carried it the whole way home while holding my hand with her other, and then when we got to her house, she silently looked up and handed it to me. I didn't learn her name until a couple of days later. I was walking home from class(about a 30 min. walk) when she showed up again and held my hand again, silently, the whole way home. When we got home my sister asked her name and age to show off her English skills and she said, "My name is Agnus. I am 6 yrs. old." She is such a doll!
i guess that is all that i have time for right now. But below are a couple of quick cultural notes.
1. It is amazing how the women(and some men) here carry everything on their heads without dropping it. i've even seen women disciplining children without dropping anytyhing from the bucket on their head. amazing!
2. First come first serve is literal here. if you were born first, then you eat first, drink first, sit first, etc. children wait on elders hand and foot as a sign of respect.
3. most people eat with their hands.
4. everyone except the really old people know a minimum of 3 languages. even kids who can't yet talk are spoken to in all different languages. it's fascinating.
That's all I got for now. Be back and post pictures when i can(then internet is kinda slow and it'll take awhile and cost a bit). love you and miss you all. peace out.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Don't worry I'll be fine.
First, check out our picture under news on the PC website. peacecorps.gov . Got the shots today at the beginning of what is about to be the longest day of our lives. Waiting, then shots (yellow fever), then waiting. Then flying 8 hrs, then waiting 4 more, then flying 8 hrs. again.
The group that is going together is so unbelievably amazing. We immediately hit it off and because awesome friends and do a great job of looking out for each other. It didn't take us long through training and talking about upcoming experiences that this will be our support network, much like a family, for the next 2 yrs. And we can't wait!
Most interesting fact of the day: We get to have a PC softball tournament in country in which we compete against PC teams from surrounding countries, which I thought was wicked awesome.
Board the plane shortly and take off at 5:45.
Peace out.
The group that is going together is so unbelievably amazing. We immediately hit it off and because awesome friends and do a great job of looking out for each other. It didn't take us long through training and talking about upcoming experiences that this will be our support network, much like a family, for the next 2 yrs. And we can't wait!
Most interesting fact of the day: We get to have a PC softball tournament in country in which we compete against PC teams from surrounding countries, which I thought was wicked awesome.
Board the plane shortly and take off at 5:45.
Peace out.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Training and Celebration
Today, we spent all day in training. We learned a lot about Sierra Leone and what to expect when we get there and how our stay will affect us. We talked a lot about safety and culture and how important it is to be flexible and adaptable.
After a long morning, we took a lunch break before heading to the PC Headquarters for a celebration of the return of the PC to SL. At this celebration, there were several speakers including the PC Chief of Staff, the africa region acting director, 2 members of the Friends of Sierra Leone, and the Ambassador from the Embassy of Sierra Leone. It was a very energizing event because we got to meet Returned volunteers (RPCVs) that served in Salone. One man was in the first group that went in 1962 when the PC started. There were also people there that were born in Sierra Leone and everyone had amazing stories and wonderful things to say about the excitement of Sierra Leoneans that the Peace Corps is returning.
After the speaker, we had traditional Sierra Leonean food which included Kasava leaves and rice, fish curry, fish balls (not literally), meatballs, fried plantains, and fresh fruit. It was certainly interesting, but very good.
So, that's it for today. Headed to bond with the other volunteers right now and in the morning, we have to go get the yellow fever shot and then head to the airport to leave for Africa!
After a long morning, we took a lunch break before heading to the PC Headquarters for a celebration of the return of the PC to SL. At this celebration, there were several speakers including the PC Chief of Staff, the africa region acting director, 2 members of the Friends of Sierra Leone, and the Ambassador from the Embassy of Sierra Leone. It was a very energizing event because we got to meet Returned volunteers (RPCVs) that served in Salone. One man was in the first group that went in 1962 when the PC started. There were also people there that were born in Sierra Leone and everyone had amazing stories and wonderful things to say about the excitement of Sierra Leoneans that the Peace Corps is returning.
After the speaker, we had traditional Sierra Leonean food which included Kasava leaves and rice, fish curry, fish balls (not literally), meatballs, fried plantains, and fresh fruit. It was certainly interesting, but very good.
So, that's it for today. Headed to bond with the other volunteers right now and in the morning, we have to go get the yellow fever shot and then head to the airport to leave for Africa!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Made it to DC
Well, after a perfect flight from Birmingham to Charlotte, NC, I boarded the next plane to DC only to sit on the plane on the runway for 3 hrs because of the weather in DC! Luckily, I was sitting between two awesome girls and we kept pretty busy chatting and working puzzles and stuff. After learning that there was a Department of Transportation "3 hr rule" and they were getting ready to take us back to the gate and cancel our flight, they decided to take off.
So I finally made it to DC. I got to the hotel and couldn't find the rest of the group because I was late. However, my roommate, which i would not meet until bedtime had already set up shop and I was a little worried I wouldn't get to meet her and that my rooster alarm clock would wake her up without us even knowing each other. ha ha ha.
I finally ran into a couple of people and we decided to eat together and we just so happened to find the rest of the group. We all ate at a pizzeria and chatted about our backgrounds. Turns out, this is an amazingly interesting group of people that is equally excited about our task at hand. However, I'm the only person from way down south. So while everyone talks about where they're from and who they know in each city, nobody seems to know anything about Alabama. That kind of makes it fun though and because of my accent, everyone tries to guess where I'm from. They love the country stories I have as much as I love hearing about their snowboarding, moose encounters, and such.
We all sat around and had a few drinks and talked about what we look forward to the most and while I still haven't met everyone, I'm around people now that are taking the same huge step that I am, and I'm more excited than ever to embark on this adventure!
FYI....we should be getting a cell phone soon after we get to Salone and I'll post the number on the blog, but we won't have internet access until the second weekend that we are in country. I'll update as soon as possible.
Peace out.
So I finally made it to DC. I got to the hotel and couldn't find the rest of the group because I was late. However, my roommate, which i would not meet until bedtime had already set up shop and I was a little worried I wouldn't get to meet her and that my rooster alarm clock would wake her up without us even knowing each other. ha ha ha.
I finally ran into a couple of people and we decided to eat together and we just so happened to find the rest of the group. We all ate at a pizzeria and chatted about our backgrounds. Turns out, this is an amazingly interesting group of people that is equally excited about our task at hand. However, I'm the only person from way down south. So while everyone talks about where they're from and who they know in each city, nobody seems to know anything about Alabama. That kind of makes it fun though and because of my accent, everyone tries to guess where I'm from. They love the country stories I have as much as I love hearing about their snowboarding, moose encounters, and such.
We all sat around and had a few drinks and talked about what we look forward to the most and while I still haven't met everyone, I'm around people now that are taking the same huge step that I am, and I'm more excited than ever to embark on this adventure!
FYI....we should be getting a cell phone soon after we get to Salone and I'll post the number on the blog, but we won't have internet access until the second weekend that we are in country. I'll update as soon as possible.
Peace out.
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