Salone Shinanigans.

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.