I spent the past 3 days in Lunsar, Port Loko District for my site visit. I guess I needed to see it with my own eyes when a place in Sierra Leone is called a "big town".
Honestly, I kinda liked the setting better in New York, Bo. Bo Town itself is a bustling city but the neighborhoods we were staying at in New York, New London, and Kibbe Town, were alot quieter. I really enjoy my walks to school and the neighbors I've gotten to know along the way.
Lunsar is different. It's alot busier, it's more spread out, and it's still very rural to American standards. I kinda miss Bo b/c it seems more pleasant. The Mendes are big on greeting and that's how I've gotten to know the people around Bo. The Temnes don't greet too much or at least in Lunsar they don't so I told my family, "Di pipul dem na Lunsar no sabi fo grit". I think the reason being is that it's a big mining town for iron-ore so they are wary of the "opotos" (white man). London Mining Co has a huge presence here so being white they assume that you are a miner making big bucks from the Sierra Leoneans. Yes, they also call me "opoto" or they might think I'm Chinese which still has a negative connotation b/c they assume I am a Chinese businessman taking their money.
It's been a whirlwind tour of Lunsar, too much to absorb in such a short time. I'm glad to have spent more time with my Salone 1 counterpart and get as much info I could get out of her. I met the Paramount Chief and he welcomed us to Lunsar. The Paramount Cheif's 1st wife even gave me my local Temne name: Yenkin Kabbia (I know I totally fucked up the spelling). "Yenkin" meaning "3rd Wife of the Pramount Chief". Then there's the surname of "Kabbia" which is the the surname of the ruling house family chiefdom. No complaints here, I need my local Temne name to help with the integration. Everyone I've met so far has been a fan of the "Yenkin". Whenever I meet them, they always say "Na fayn nem, Yenkin!". They also get a kick out of me greeting them in Temne and how I can conversate in Krio. Again, I think it is b/c of the large amount of foreign miners who come in and only speak English.
I have my reservations about the place since it seems too busy to my liking. I was really looking forward to knowing my whole community but in a place like Lunsar is highly unlikely. It's really up to me on how I want to make this experience meaningful. Stay positive, I tell myself.
So to focus on the good and/or interesting during my Lunsar site visit:
THE GOOD
-Hawa, my vice principal and next door neighbor is an awesome and funny "big mama" type woman and I like her cooking.
-I am inheriting, Pot-Pot (short for Petete Lif), a 2yr old dog who is cute, chubsters, and doesn't have that disgusting halo of flies that other Salone dogs have.
-I get an indoor bathroom.
-I am 1-2hrs away from Freetown, and 20miles away from Port Loko Town & Makeni, 2hrs away from beaches
-No flogging/caning occurs in my school. We're not even allowed to dust their heads with the eraser (PCV choice punishment). Kneeling on the ground during class seems to be the standard punishment at my school.
THE INTERESTING:
-Saw a girl happily skipping down the street with a plastic bag over her head (ums hello, safety hazard, lol)
-A neighborhood kid was "bluffing" (showing off) with his pet snake and it was crazy how he would just take his pet snake in and out of his cargo pants pocket as if it were spare change or something, lol,
-Saw chopped up monkey in a pot, interesting but gross. People eat monkey here, unless you are Muslim (it's haram), and it's supposedly really delicious. My Salone1 counterpart's boyfriend had to try monkey before he left Africa. The fact that I've cradled a monkey in my arms, I am incapable of even considering this.
-Joey, my Salone1 person, bought a pig for her going away party and it was brought to the house via okada.
-Last but definitely not least, I saw this pig get slaughtered and butchered right before my eyes. Definitely not pretty and hard to watch but I think it's good to see your food source. As difficult as it was for me, I STILL LOVE MY BACON.
And to finish my stay, I had a successful journey back to Bo by way of Poda-Poda. My principal was nice enough to let me and Michael, my site mate, hitch a ride with her to Masiaka. From there, we immediately caught a poda-poda headed to Bo, no waiting involved which is rare. We hopped into the front of this poda-poda filled to the brim with people, baggage, and what also sounded like chickens. It was a nice scenic drive back to Bo as Micheal shared his granat (peanuts) with everyone and the poda driver's daughter sat on my lap and fell asleep in my arms. We even experienced the quintessential poda-poda breakdown at the police checkpoint where we all got out in the middle of the highway and spent the next 45min pushing the car backwards and forwards as the driver tried to start the engine. Anyone ever seen "Little Miss Sunshine".......just sayin, lol.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
07/13/12-Surprisingly Un-Sweaty
I am feeling even more positive today.
Today, was the supervisors workshop where I met my Vice Principal, Hawa. I was greeted by a tall Mende woman decked out in a bright pink Africana dress, well because, it was Africana Friday. Though not mandatory, everyone wears Africana on Fridays as a country initiative to promote cultural pride. I think we clicked really well with her big personality and infectious laugh. Her energy just made me excited about the school and the site. I hope this is the start of a good collaboration.
The session ended 30min early, the sun was shining, I was in a great mood, and surprisingly I wasn't profusely sweating as I walked home. There seemed to be even more children along my path home. It could've been b/c I got out earlier, or the sun was shining, or school was out for the summer. It could've been all 3 things, who knows. It was crazy weird how the kids saw me coming and created road blockades with their tiny bodies in tattered clothing as they chanted my name in unison:
Kenyah!
Kenyah!
Kenyah!
Kenyah!
When I reached them they all stuck their hands up for their high-fives and skipped alongside me. This happened with I swear like 4 different mobs of children on the way home, was this planned? I felt like I was in a movie, lol.
Also, along my path home, word has gotten around that I'm headed North to Temne-land in Lunsar so the Mendes were humoring me by doing small Temne talk which was fine with me b/c that's all I'm capable of at this point in time. So we greet each other in Temne:
Opadi, Enpiari
Enpiari seke
Tu endira
I tanto kuru, munonga
Mine so I tanto kuru
Momo yo
I yo, se kanetaneso
(it's your standard getting of hello, how are you, I'm fine, thanks, see you later)
They get a kick out of hearing us Americans speak any of the languages. So the court jester aims to please. Except for this one old Kono woman who is not pleased that there is no woman going to Kono-land. She tried dragging me out of Temne class to the Kono language class down the road, lol. She said that I am to become a Kono woman and I politely told her in Krio that I have no choice b/c I'm being sent to Lunsar and have to speak Temne. You can't please them all, haha.
Today, was the supervisors workshop where I met my Vice Principal, Hawa. I was greeted by a tall Mende woman decked out in a bright pink Africana dress, well because, it was Africana Friday. Though not mandatory, everyone wears Africana on Fridays as a country initiative to promote cultural pride. I think we clicked really well with her big personality and infectious laugh. Her energy just made me excited about the school and the site. I hope this is the start of a good collaboration.
The session ended 30min early, the sun was shining, I was in a great mood, and surprisingly I wasn't profusely sweating as I walked home. There seemed to be even more children along my path home. It could've been b/c I got out earlier, or the sun was shining, or school was out for the summer. It could've been all 3 things, who knows. It was crazy weird how the kids saw me coming and created road blockades with their tiny bodies in tattered clothing as they chanted my name in unison:
Kenyah!
Kenyah!
Kenyah!
Kenyah!
When I reached them they all stuck their hands up for their high-fives and skipped alongside me. This happened with I swear like 4 different mobs of children on the way home, was this planned? I felt like I was in a movie, lol.
Also, along my path home, word has gotten around that I'm headed North to Temne-land in Lunsar so the Mendes were humoring me by doing small Temne talk which was fine with me b/c that's all I'm capable of at this point in time. So we greet each other in Temne:
Opadi, Enpiari
Enpiari seke
Tu endira
I tanto kuru, munonga
Mine so I tanto kuru
Momo yo
I yo, se kanetaneso
(it's your standard getting of hello, how are you, I'm fine, thanks, see you later)
They get a kick out of hearing us Americans speak any of the languages. So the court jester aims to please. Except for this one old Kono woman who is not pleased that there is no woman going to Kono-land. She tried dragging me out of Temne class to the Kono language class down the road, lol. She said that I am to become a Kono woman and I politely told her in Krio that I have no choice b/c I'm being sent to Lunsar and have to speak Temne. You can't please them all, haha.
07/12/12-The Universe Balances Itself
So I totally believe that the energy you project is the energy you will receive in order for the universe to balance itself. After my whole rant about my unhappiness for my placement in Lunsar, I decided to go for a middle of the night pee........
I usually go once before bedtime into my chamber pot. Chamber pot is a fancy way of saying plastic bucket the size of a margarine tub with a cover. So I'm half asleep as I stumble through the darkness towards my margarine tub in the corner of the room. Mind you, it's pitch black, I'm weaving trough my makeshift clothesline and looking for my lantern. I fucking knock over my chamber pot!!! Fuck me! It's like the universe saying: "Ay, you want a real Peace Corps experience? I'll fucking give you one you ungrateful spoiled American!" I'm upset and cleaning up by using my entire roll of toilet paper. Now, I have to trek an hour into town for toilet paper at the Lebanese market b/c they don't use toilet paper or paper towels here. Really, seriously, fuck my life!
I showed up late to Temne class, decided to go to the snack stand and treat myself to some bread, and 2 laughing cow cheeses, ya that's right, I said 2, I was feeling sorry for myself b/c I was mopping up my own piss in the middle of the night with my last roll of toilet paper.
I spent the day questioning this whole experience and was just looking for a voice of reason. I talked to my Salone language instructors and they made me feel better and gave good advice. And thanks Melissa, for calling me, you really made me feel better. Talking to you just helped me put things into perspective. And today at lunch, I spoke to Daryn, my PM, and he was telling me the details of how I was selected for that site. I feel better now that I've talked to people and had time to think it over. I really just have to gear my mindset to the challenges ahead of me with no expectations of what cards will be dealt.
Today was a better day. I kicked ass in my Krio exercise where we went into town with our instructors and showed them that we can go to the tailor, restaurant, and taxi stand and clearly communicate. Even Temne class was better.....not by alot, but better.
I know my Krio is at a point where I can carry conversations and even make jokes, lol. I spent the rest of the afternoon after school over at my Auntie Marianne's house next door. Her, Auntie Isatu, and Florence were doing some cross-stitch work for a school scrapbook. Florence, my cousin, is pregnant (I get belli). She told me that if it's a girl, she wants to name the baby after me....wow!
I totally remember my first day in Bo feeling like I was an alien being stared, poked, and prodded at. But here I am, hanging out with neighbors, joking and laughing in Krio. They were all giving me a hard time b/c I'm headed north into Temne-land. To appease the Mendes I should probably just pick up a couple more phrases aside from the: "Bua, Bisye, Kyenema, Kyengoma". I don't even know if that was spelled right, I'll leave that to my Mende PCVs. "Mi na Temne uman na."
I feel better now....I feel better :)
I usually go once before bedtime into my chamber pot. Chamber pot is a fancy way of saying plastic bucket the size of a margarine tub with a cover. So I'm half asleep as I stumble through the darkness towards my margarine tub in the corner of the room. Mind you, it's pitch black, I'm weaving trough my makeshift clothesline and looking for my lantern. I fucking knock over my chamber pot!!! Fuck me! It's like the universe saying: "Ay, you want a real Peace Corps experience? I'll fucking give you one you ungrateful spoiled American!" I'm upset and cleaning up by using my entire roll of toilet paper. Now, I have to trek an hour into town for toilet paper at the Lebanese market b/c they don't use toilet paper or paper towels here. Really, seriously, fuck my life!
I showed up late to Temne class, decided to go to the snack stand and treat myself to some bread, and 2 laughing cow cheeses, ya that's right, I said 2, I was feeling sorry for myself b/c I was mopping up my own piss in the middle of the night with my last roll of toilet paper.
I spent the day questioning this whole experience and was just looking for a voice of reason. I talked to my Salone language instructors and they made me feel better and gave good advice. And thanks Melissa, for calling me, you really made me feel better. Talking to you just helped me put things into perspective. And today at lunch, I spoke to Daryn, my PM, and he was telling me the details of how I was selected for that site. I feel better now that I've talked to people and had time to think it over. I really just have to gear my mindset to the challenges ahead of me with no expectations of what cards will be dealt.
Today was a better day. I kicked ass in my Krio exercise where we went into town with our instructors and showed them that we can go to the tailor, restaurant, and taxi stand and clearly communicate. Even Temne class was better.....not by alot, but better.
I know my Krio is at a point where I can carry conversations and even make jokes, lol. I spent the rest of the afternoon after school over at my Auntie Marianne's house next door. Her, Auntie Isatu, and Florence were doing some cross-stitch work for a school scrapbook. Florence, my cousin, is pregnant (I get belli). She told me that if it's a girl, she wants to name the baby after me....wow!
I totally remember my first day in Bo feeling like I was an alien being stared, poked, and prodded at. But here I am, hanging out with neighbors, joking and laughing in Krio. They were all giving me a hard time b/c I'm headed north into Temne-land. To appease the Mendes I should probably just pick up a couple more phrases aside from the: "Bua, Bisye, Kyenema, Kyengoma". I don't even know if that was spelled right, I'll leave that to my Mende PCVs. "Mi na Temne uman na."
I feel better now....I feel better :)
07/10/12-Mixed Feelings.......
This morning's Temne class was interesting. Just as I was getting the hang of Krio, I'm starting from scratch with the Temne. I found it a little weird that my notes were translating the Temne into Krio rather than English. It kinda made sense that way.
The Temne isn't bothering me, it's just another challenge I have to take on. Especially since I don't have the luxury of practicing with the Bo community unlike the other folks learning Mende.
I'm happy to finally find out my placement but the more I learn about my community I find myself feeling a bit melancholy. Everything just seems too easy, I suppose.....
I mean, I got everything I asked for and actually got more than that. Basically, I was told that I won the Peace Corps Salone Lottery. During my interview, I told Andrew, my PM, that I don't mind being in a somewhat rural setting as long as the market and another volunteer was within at least a 1hr travel time. I also said that I didn't want to be in a big city b/c I wanted to know my community and vice versa. The only luxury item I asked for was an indoor bathroom, but wasn't a mandatory deal breaker for me. It was more of a security issue so I can use the bathroom in the evening. Over here in Bo, if I don't get home and shower by 6:45pm I'm screwed. By then, it's dark and my family wants to lock up and won't let me use the bathroom. I mean, it's not so bad here b/c I live with other people. At my site, I have my own house and I wouldn't feel safe washing up in an outdoor latrine at dawn or dusk by myself, unguarded. So this is in no way of me being all prissy about it.
I met up with my Salone1 counterpart today. She was visiting her host family in Bo as she prepares for her Close Of Service (COS). I found out that Lunsar is a "big town" with a banks and clubs. The market is literally right outside my doorstep. Her house, or I guess my house now, also has electricity from 5-10pm. Our Lady Of Guadalupe JSS & SSS is one of the best schools in the country for girls. The classroom sizes are small, averaging about 25 students. The school has electricity and even a computer lab. I mean, mind you, all of this is in no way comparable to American standards for both my home and assigned school but I guess I had something else different in mind.
I had been preparing myself for the 100+ student classrooms and all the challenges that came with the lack of resources. I came for the extreme challenge, right? It's not like I was wishing for a classroom full of illiterate hopeless children that run into the bush to avoid getting flogged by the principal......I dunno.......
I really have mixed feelings. My counterpart made a point saying that the girls in the school have real potential to go to the university level. I just don't want to feel like I came all the way to Africa for a "teaching gig". As frustrating as the stories sound from our Salone 1&2 Resources and hearing about all their challenges and roadblocks, I was getting ready to throw down and show my "badasserie".
I read in my volunteer handbook that alot of volunteers expect a certain level of suffering to validate their Peace Corps experience and that is not what the Peace Corps is about. I am trying to come to terms with the assignment, but a part of me feels like I'll be missing out on "the real PC Experience". I feel like I'm losing my street cred a bit, lol, I don't fuckin' know.......
I know the reason why I got sent to Lunsar. My assigned supervisor wrote a letter to PC specifically asking for someone with computer experience. One of my strengths listed on the PC forms was training in computer applications, something I did from time to time at my previous employer. Also, I had pitched a computer literacy class for the community as a possible secondary project if the resources were available.
I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little bummed but I guess I have to withhold judgement for now since I haven't even been there myself. Joey, my Salone1 counterpart, said that the successful functionality of the school just means that more secondary projects can be taken on instead of the usual constant battle of fighting the injustices of a poorly managed school.
I really hope to find what I'm looking for, whatever it may be.......
I don't know why it had to be Peace Corps, or why it had to be in Africa, or why I feel this need to "suffer" to gain some type of credibility. Does "life slumming" for a duration of time add substance to whatever makes me "ME"???
I'm jumping ahead of myself. I just need to take on this challenge, whatever it may be. I trust that Daryn, Andrew, and Isatu saw something in my skillset where I can make a significant difference at Our Lady Of Guadalupe JSS/SSS.
Today's Emoticon :*/
The Temne isn't bothering me, it's just another challenge I have to take on. Especially since I don't have the luxury of practicing with the Bo community unlike the other folks learning Mende.
I'm happy to finally find out my placement but the more I learn about my community I find myself feeling a bit melancholy. Everything just seems too easy, I suppose.....
I mean, I got everything I asked for and actually got more than that. Basically, I was told that I won the Peace Corps Salone Lottery. During my interview, I told Andrew, my PM, that I don't mind being in a somewhat rural setting as long as the market and another volunteer was within at least a 1hr travel time. I also said that I didn't want to be in a big city b/c I wanted to know my community and vice versa. The only luxury item I asked for was an indoor bathroom, but wasn't a mandatory deal breaker for me. It was more of a security issue so I can use the bathroom in the evening. Over here in Bo, if I don't get home and shower by 6:45pm I'm screwed. By then, it's dark and my family wants to lock up and won't let me use the bathroom. I mean, it's not so bad here b/c I live with other people. At my site, I have my own house and I wouldn't feel safe washing up in an outdoor latrine at dawn or dusk by myself, unguarded. So this is in no way of me being all prissy about it.
I met up with my Salone1 counterpart today. She was visiting her host family in Bo as she prepares for her Close Of Service (COS). I found out that Lunsar is a "big town" with a banks and clubs. The market is literally right outside my doorstep. Her house, or I guess my house now, also has electricity from 5-10pm. Our Lady Of Guadalupe JSS & SSS is one of the best schools in the country for girls. The classroom sizes are small, averaging about 25 students. The school has electricity and even a computer lab. I mean, mind you, all of this is in no way comparable to American standards for both my home and assigned school but I guess I had something else different in mind.
I had been preparing myself for the 100+ student classrooms and all the challenges that came with the lack of resources. I came for the extreme challenge, right? It's not like I was wishing for a classroom full of illiterate hopeless children that run into the bush to avoid getting flogged by the principal......I dunno.......
I really have mixed feelings. My counterpart made a point saying that the girls in the school have real potential to go to the university level. I just don't want to feel like I came all the way to Africa for a "teaching gig". As frustrating as the stories sound from our Salone 1&2 Resources and hearing about all their challenges and roadblocks, I was getting ready to throw down and show my "badasserie".
I read in my volunteer handbook that alot of volunteers expect a certain level of suffering to validate their Peace Corps experience and that is not what the Peace Corps is about. I am trying to come to terms with the assignment, but a part of me feels like I'll be missing out on "the real PC Experience". I feel like I'm losing my street cred a bit, lol, I don't fuckin' know.......
I know the reason why I got sent to Lunsar. My assigned supervisor wrote a letter to PC specifically asking for someone with computer experience. One of my strengths listed on the PC forms was training in computer applications, something I did from time to time at my previous employer. Also, I had pitched a computer literacy class for the community as a possible secondary project if the resources were available.
I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little bummed but I guess I have to withhold judgement for now since I haven't even been there myself. Joey, my Salone1 counterpart, said that the successful functionality of the school just means that more secondary projects can be taken on instead of the usual constant battle of fighting the injustices of a poorly managed school.
I really hope to find what I'm looking for, whatever it may be.......
I don't know why it had to be Peace Corps, or why it had to be in Africa, or why I feel this need to "suffer" to gain some type of credibility. Does "life slumming" for a duration of time add substance to whatever makes me "ME"???
I'm jumping ahead of myself. I just need to take on this challenge, whatever it may be. I trust that Daryn, Andrew, and Isatu saw something in my skillset where I can make a significant difference at Our Lady Of Guadalupe JSS/SSS.
Today's Emoticon :*/
07/09/12-Drumroll Please.......
Today was just too fuckin' awesome!
I'm currently in Week 6 of Pre-Service Training (PST) and the days are long. I think everyone, including myself, is getting a little worn out by the lectures and just anxious about finding out our placement assignments.
So today was D-Day. I've been joking around all week with Frederick telling him to blink once if it was in the North or twice if in the south and east/west etc, lol. Or move my finger around the map of Sierra Leone and ask if I was getting hot or cold, lol. We wanna know!!!
All of our host families here in Bo have been pushing the Mende on us. Rightfully so......we're in the south....Mende-land, haha.
It was really special how they announced our placements. After a full day of lectures, all of our LCFs (Language Instructors) were waiting for us by the door and started singing one of the songs we learned when we first arrived in Freetown.
Yanda yanda yanda
Wi de go de
Wi na Pisko Ticha
Wi de go de
(Over there yonder, we will go there, we are Peace Corps Teachers, we will go there)
And as they sang, we joined in and danced through the compound where they led us to a map of Sierra Leone outlined by charcoal ash with pieces of paper of all the villages we're being sent to.
My stomach was in knots, I felt like I was on the Price Is Right waiting for my name to be called out by Andrew & Isatu, the program managers. Why am I never the first one called??? I'm always like the last dwindling few. I'm dying here tell me where I'm going!!!
They finally called my name! Drumroll please...........
I'm heading north to Lunsar in the Port Loko District and will be speaking Temne!
Finally! I know! I'm so excited! It actually didn't really matter where, I just wanted to know for knowings sake. So as they announced my name, I screamed like I won the lotto and ran to my place on the map where Michael picked me up (he's really tall) and spun me around, lol. We're site buddies! So awesome!
I'm also located by a bunch of other cool people. Our yoga guy is only 18miles away in the Port Loko District Headquarters......yes! Yoga! One of the guitar players is in our district so I can hear tunes if I get sad and need some live music and a handful of double punches (baggies of cheap booze). And there's a girl not too far in the Kambia District (1hr away) and she's having a friend send her the latest season on True Blood. Awesome!!! Everyone is good peeps here so it didn't matter who was located close to me.
Ibrahim was was all excited with our Northside posse. He's a Soso man and is already inviting us to go to his village and meet his family. We have one PC guy going to his village.
There's a group of strictly males being sent over to the East, close to the Liberian border. No females were sent b/c that area is the most dangerous part of the country and most affected by the war. That's where my cousin Joe is being sent to.
A handful of folks were placed within a 15mile radius from Bo so they won't be going that much further. The 44 of us are pretty scattered all over the country into community clusters where we get a support system of nearby PCVs.
Overall, I'm just happy to finally find out. I broke the news to my family, they all started laughing when I said I was heading north to Temne-land. The Mendes and Temnes are the 2 largest tribes in the country so they are competitive with one another. My family was happy for me but they said that they would miss me and already made me promise to come and visit whenever I can. My papa drives a poda-poda between Bo & Freetown everyday so he said I just have to make my way down to Macheke where he can pick me up on the way back home to Bo.
Auntie Marianne, Joe's mom, almost brokedown into tears when she found out that he will be headed far east. Luckily for her, he will be speaking Mende but, She was a bit upset b/c her Salone1 volunteer is only 1hr away.
You really become part of their families here in Salone. The pul-na-do, our adoption ceremony, was the real deal for them, we are their children. My papa attended the host family meeting today and got up and was all saying "How do I know where you are sending my daughter is a safe place?!?!" And then all of the parents started applauding, lol. It's endearing to see how serious they take this adoption.
I'm happy and excited. I can't wait to do the site visits which will be this Sunday and we stay with our Salone1 counterpart for 3 days.
First thing tomorrow morning, I start my Temne language lessons :D
I'm currently in Week 6 of Pre-Service Training (PST) and the days are long. I think everyone, including myself, is getting a little worn out by the lectures and just anxious about finding out our placement assignments.
So today was D-Day. I've been joking around all week with Frederick telling him to blink once if it was in the North or twice if in the south and east/west etc, lol. Or move my finger around the map of Sierra Leone and ask if I was getting hot or cold, lol. We wanna know!!!
All of our host families here in Bo have been pushing the Mende on us. Rightfully so......we're in the south....Mende-land, haha.
It was really special how they announced our placements. After a full day of lectures, all of our LCFs (Language Instructors) were waiting for us by the door and started singing one of the songs we learned when we first arrived in Freetown.
Yanda yanda yanda
Wi de go de
Wi na Pisko Ticha
Wi de go de
(Over there yonder, we will go there, we are Peace Corps Teachers, we will go there)
And as they sang, we joined in and danced through the compound where they led us to a map of Sierra Leone outlined by charcoal ash with pieces of paper of all the villages we're being sent to.
My stomach was in knots, I felt like I was on the Price Is Right waiting for my name to be called out by Andrew & Isatu, the program managers. Why am I never the first one called??? I'm always like the last dwindling few. I'm dying here tell me where I'm going!!!
They finally called my name! Drumroll please...........
I'm heading north to Lunsar in the Port Loko District and will be speaking Temne!
Finally! I know! I'm so excited! It actually didn't really matter where, I just wanted to know for knowings sake. So as they announced my name, I screamed like I won the lotto and ran to my place on the map where Michael picked me up (he's really tall) and spun me around, lol. We're site buddies! So awesome!
I'm also located by a bunch of other cool people. Our yoga guy is only 18miles away in the Port Loko District Headquarters......yes! Yoga! One of the guitar players is in our district so I can hear tunes if I get sad and need some live music and a handful of double punches (baggies of cheap booze). And there's a girl not too far in the Kambia District (1hr away) and she's having a friend send her the latest season on True Blood. Awesome!!! Everyone is good peeps here so it didn't matter who was located close to me.
Ibrahim was was all excited with our Northside posse. He's a Soso man and is already inviting us to go to his village and meet his family. We have one PC guy going to his village.
There's a group of strictly males being sent over to the East, close to the Liberian border. No females were sent b/c that area is the most dangerous part of the country and most affected by the war. That's where my cousin Joe is being sent to.
A handful of folks were placed within a 15mile radius from Bo so they won't be going that much further. The 44 of us are pretty scattered all over the country into community clusters where we get a support system of nearby PCVs.
Overall, I'm just happy to finally find out. I broke the news to my family, they all started laughing when I said I was heading north to Temne-land. The Mendes and Temnes are the 2 largest tribes in the country so they are competitive with one another. My family was happy for me but they said that they would miss me and already made me promise to come and visit whenever I can. My papa drives a poda-poda between Bo & Freetown everyday so he said I just have to make my way down to Macheke where he can pick me up on the way back home to Bo.
Auntie Marianne, Joe's mom, almost brokedown into tears when she found out that he will be headed far east. Luckily for her, he will be speaking Mende but, She was a bit upset b/c her Salone1 volunteer is only 1hr away.
You really become part of their families here in Salone. The pul-na-do, our adoption ceremony, was the real deal for them, we are their children. My papa attended the host family meeting today and got up and was all saying "How do I know where you are sending my daughter is a safe place?!?!" And then all of the parents started applauding, lol. It's endearing to see how serious they take this adoption.
I'm happy and excited. I can't wait to do the site visits which will be this Sunday and we stay with our Salone1 counterpart for 3 days.
First thing tomorrow morning, I start my Temne language lessons :D
07/08/12-The Peace Corps Infection Medley
So I'm 1 month and 2 days in, I've reached my one month milestone, 26 more months to go, lol. Time really does fly.....
Luckily for me, I've been fairly healthy (*knocks on wood*). I've recently started "The Constipated Crew" with other PC Trainees. There's a small group of us in comparison to the standard "Me Belli De Run" gang, lol. Food, literal "crap", and sickness & infection makes up about 80% of our conversations.
I've been religiously washing my hands and feet while I've been here. I started that regimen when I caught a fungus flare up on my hand in its early stages. I've been applying anti-fungal cream on my hands like its some luxurious hand cream. This is the reality, I touch so many dirty hands everyday with children picking every orifice on their bodies in a country where handwashing isn't enforced. It's not like you can just go up to a sink and turn on a faucet. Geez, I regret not packing the tiny bottles of hand sanitizer my mom was giving me.
I've been extra careful about washing my feet and the mosquito bites all over my ankles. Making sure they are clean and dry. There's already been a good number of skin infections from other PC Trainees from not keeping their wounds clean and scratching with dirty nails. Also, some have foot infections and allergic hive breakouts as well.
You really don't think about tiny nicks you get in America. But TIA ( This Is Africa), you have to take care of everything or it can get infected. I won't even touch my face and no way to the eye-rubbing. Last thing I need is a case of "Apollo" (pink eye)
I've also seen allergic reactions as well, lol. We are physically falling apart here. Our bodies are showing signs of homesickness b/c we're not used to the environment. We are bubble-children being released to the real world and our systems are left defenseless.
I've been to afraid to shave fearing a case of the boils. Boils seems to be popular amongst PCVs. I will probably give shaving a try when I'm at site and in my own place where I can control my water treatment and its containers. Right now, my family gives me questionable water in containers of questionable cleanliness, so I'm a little hesitant to do a little shavie-shave. It doesn't matter anyways, I haven't even seen myself in a mirror since I've been in Africa.
In America, I'm a puddle avoider. It's the rainy season right now and I had to do a 1hr trek in the pouring rain to make it back to my village before sundown. And when it's giant puddles everywhere you're just like "fuck it" there's no other choice. It's either you wade through a murky puddle or get hit by a fast-flying okada (motorbike). I don't even want to know what's in that murky water. All I can do is soap my feet and calves down and get them dry when I get home to prevent whatever could've started growing on my skin.
My family probably thinks I'm a little excessive on the washing of the hands and feet. They always give me a weird look whenever I head over to the buckets outside, sometimes even in the pouring rain, just to cleanup. Followed by, the Neosporin on my open bites and Tinactin on my hands. They don't really understand so what I tell them is that "my skin is sick and I have to put on medicine".
Since I'm on the subject of sickness & infection, one of the Salone teachers said something super hilarious. So I'll end this by a quote from Janjua:
"The germ get no authority over the black man belly!"
LMAO!
Luckily for me, I've been fairly healthy (*knocks on wood*). I've recently started "The Constipated Crew" with other PC Trainees. There's a small group of us in comparison to the standard "Me Belli De Run" gang, lol. Food, literal "crap", and sickness & infection makes up about 80% of our conversations.
I've been religiously washing my hands and feet while I've been here. I started that regimen when I caught a fungus flare up on my hand in its early stages. I've been applying anti-fungal cream on my hands like its some luxurious hand cream. This is the reality, I touch so many dirty hands everyday with children picking every orifice on their bodies in a country where handwashing isn't enforced. It's not like you can just go up to a sink and turn on a faucet. Geez, I regret not packing the tiny bottles of hand sanitizer my mom was giving me.
I've been extra careful about washing my feet and the mosquito bites all over my ankles. Making sure they are clean and dry. There's already been a good number of skin infections from other PC Trainees from not keeping their wounds clean and scratching with dirty nails. Also, some have foot infections and allergic hive breakouts as well.
You really don't think about tiny nicks you get in America. But TIA ( This Is Africa), you have to take care of everything or it can get infected. I won't even touch my face and no way to the eye-rubbing. Last thing I need is a case of "Apollo" (pink eye)
I've also seen allergic reactions as well, lol. We are physically falling apart here. Our bodies are showing signs of homesickness b/c we're not used to the environment. We are bubble-children being released to the real world and our systems are left defenseless.
I've been to afraid to shave fearing a case of the boils. Boils seems to be popular amongst PCVs. I will probably give shaving a try when I'm at site and in my own place where I can control my water treatment and its containers. Right now, my family gives me questionable water in containers of questionable cleanliness, so I'm a little hesitant to do a little shavie-shave. It doesn't matter anyways, I haven't even seen myself in a mirror since I've been in Africa.
In America, I'm a puddle avoider. It's the rainy season right now and I had to do a 1hr trek in the pouring rain to make it back to my village before sundown. And when it's giant puddles everywhere you're just like "fuck it" there's no other choice. It's either you wade through a murky puddle or get hit by a fast-flying okada (motorbike). I don't even want to know what's in that murky water. All I can do is soap my feet and calves down and get them dry when I get home to prevent whatever could've started growing on my skin.
My family probably thinks I'm a little excessive on the washing of the hands and feet. They always give me a weird look whenever I head over to the buckets outside, sometimes even in the pouring rain, just to cleanup. Followed by, the Neosporin on my open bites and Tinactin on my hands. They don't really understand so what I tell them is that "my skin is sick and I have to put on medicine".
Since I'm on the subject of sickness & infection, one of the Salone teachers said something super hilarious. So I'll end this by a quote from Janjua:
"The germ get no authority over the black man belly!"
LMAO!
Sunday, July 8, 2012
07/06/12-A Daily Dose Of Laughing Cow
The one thing I never thought would be a problem for me is my biggest problem here in Sierra Leone........the food.
Growing up Filipino, the cuisine is a "head-to-tail" food culture where we don't waste and eat everything under the sun. I love trying new food, I'm willing to try anything at least once.
In Sierra Leone, rice is the main staple and fish is the primary source of protein......easy peasy for me. Bring on the fish with their head, tail, skin, and bones......been there done that. I thought that I would be one step ahead in comparison to my other PC Trainee peers who have mostly eaten fish in fillet or stick form.
So tell me why I am secretly eating a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese in my tent right now. Or why I have a secret stash of ketchup that I sneak into my plate of rice and plasas when my mom isn't looking.
Like a good Filipino child I am incapable of telling my mother that I don't like her cooking. Peace Corps said that we can tell our families to make us something different because they are provided with a stipend for hosting us but I just can't get myself to do it. So here I am, a closet cheese eater with ketchup rations.
I love the foundation of their cooking here......pepe & yabas (hot peppers & onion). I don't even mind using pamayn (palmoil), I would just use a significantly reduced amount.
I actually liked the food when I first got here and was excited to try all the dishes that Sierra Leone had to offer. But after only being in this country for 2-3 weeks, it was evident that I had tasted every dish that this country had to offer. There is a reason why there is no "Sierra Leonean" restaurant to be found in America. Your choices are casada lif, petete lif (there are 3 kinds, don't ask me to discern between the 3), cren-cren, granat soup, and granat stew. The difference between the granat soup and stew???? Beats the hell out of me, they both look and taste like stew!!!
I also realized that my problem wasn't with the food here, it was actually the lack of varietal choices. Yes, I admit it, I am spoiled. The Bay Area is awesome where I can eat Ethiopian one day, Vietnamese the next, and a tasty gourmet burger with truffle fries the day after. I am spoiled by my diverse never-ending options.
So why the Laughing Cow? Well, for one, I love cheese. Eating bread and cheese is a nice break from the never ending cycle of rice and (insert stew here). And why the secret ketchup? Well, I think that has to do with my personal preference of liking contrasting flavors. The pepe & yabas is good but I just wanna add that "vinegar" contrast. That and also a PCV resource told me that she used ketchup during her host-family stay to keep the food down. It was a great survival tip for me. I've also became a soda drinker, I have a soda after lunch to just wash that flavor down. They just drench the food here with pamayn, I smell it sweating out of all our pores during the long lecture days. It's all seeped into our systems. One of the Salone 2 PC Resources who actually loves pamayn and doesn't mind using tons of it has actually started turning orange due to its high content of beta-carotene. The palms of his hands are literally orange after one year of being here.
I already have a few ideas in mind of how I will modify the recipes and other dishes I can make with the same ingredients. This will have to wait until I get to my site which isn't too far from now. The Salone 1&2 Resources have also given us other recipe ideas and options to staying healthy in Salone. I'm really gonna push for organizing a PC Salone cookbook for Salone 4.
I've kinda converted into a part-time vegetarian in the past few weeks. Beans have been my primary source of protein. The red meat here is really tough and the fish here is really fishy (seeing the market fish made complete sense of why the fish is so fishy) and chicken is expensive. So I only eat chicken when they offer it for lunch at school.
I try, I really do. Everytime I see the plasas I go, "Ok, maybe I'll like it better today." Well, all I can say about that is I tried.
It's all part of the cultural exchange process. This past Tuesday's lunch had fries instead of rice.....you should've seen the faces of the Sierra Leoneans, lol. We, trainees, were freaking ecstatic over the fries. I joked around with the Salone staff as they referenced that lunch as "cham-cham" (snacks), lol.
So for now, I try to eat some rice with a tiny bit of plasas. And I just asked my mom if I can just have kokumba (cucumber) or paynapul for dinner sometimes "bikos boku res mek me belli tayt" (too much rice makes me constipated). Cucumber and pinapple is pretty affordable b/c its in season. That and I just need some fresh produce and a natural form of fiber b/c my body isn't used to eating so much white starches.
Note to self: request for care-package tuna
Growing up Filipino, the cuisine is a "head-to-tail" food culture where we don't waste and eat everything under the sun. I love trying new food, I'm willing to try anything at least once.
In Sierra Leone, rice is the main staple and fish is the primary source of protein......easy peasy for me. Bring on the fish with their head, tail, skin, and bones......been there done that. I thought that I would be one step ahead in comparison to my other PC Trainee peers who have mostly eaten fish in fillet or stick form.
So tell me why I am secretly eating a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese in my tent right now. Or why I have a secret stash of ketchup that I sneak into my plate of rice and plasas when my mom isn't looking.
Like a good Filipino child I am incapable of telling my mother that I don't like her cooking. Peace Corps said that we can tell our families to make us something different because they are provided with a stipend for hosting us but I just can't get myself to do it. So here I am, a closet cheese eater with ketchup rations.
I love the foundation of their cooking here......pepe & yabas (hot peppers & onion). I don't even mind using pamayn (palmoil), I would just use a significantly reduced amount.
I actually liked the food when I first got here and was excited to try all the dishes that Sierra Leone had to offer. But after only being in this country for 2-3 weeks, it was evident that I had tasted every dish that this country had to offer. There is a reason why there is no "Sierra Leonean" restaurant to be found in America. Your choices are casada lif, petete lif (there are 3 kinds, don't ask me to discern between the 3), cren-cren, granat soup, and granat stew. The difference between the granat soup and stew???? Beats the hell out of me, they both look and taste like stew!!!
I also realized that my problem wasn't with the food here, it was actually the lack of varietal choices. Yes, I admit it, I am spoiled. The Bay Area is awesome where I can eat Ethiopian one day, Vietnamese the next, and a tasty gourmet burger with truffle fries the day after. I am spoiled by my diverse never-ending options.
So why the Laughing Cow? Well, for one, I love cheese. Eating bread and cheese is a nice break from the never ending cycle of rice and (insert stew here). And why the secret ketchup? Well, I think that has to do with my personal preference of liking contrasting flavors. The pepe & yabas is good but I just wanna add that "vinegar" contrast. That and also a PCV resource told me that she used ketchup during her host-family stay to keep the food down. It was a great survival tip for me. I've also became a soda drinker, I have a soda after lunch to just wash that flavor down. They just drench the food here with pamayn, I smell it sweating out of all our pores during the long lecture days. It's all seeped into our systems. One of the Salone 2 PC Resources who actually loves pamayn and doesn't mind using tons of it has actually started turning orange due to its high content of beta-carotene. The palms of his hands are literally orange after one year of being here.
I already have a few ideas in mind of how I will modify the recipes and other dishes I can make with the same ingredients. This will have to wait until I get to my site which isn't too far from now. The Salone 1&2 Resources have also given us other recipe ideas and options to staying healthy in Salone. I'm really gonna push for organizing a PC Salone cookbook for Salone 4.
I've kinda converted into a part-time vegetarian in the past few weeks. Beans have been my primary source of protein. The red meat here is really tough and the fish here is really fishy (seeing the market fish made complete sense of why the fish is so fishy) and chicken is expensive. So I only eat chicken when they offer it for lunch at school.
I try, I really do. Everytime I see the plasas I go, "Ok, maybe I'll like it better today." Well, all I can say about that is I tried.
It's all part of the cultural exchange process. This past Tuesday's lunch had fries instead of rice.....you should've seen the faces of the Sierra Leoneans, lol. We, trainees, were freaking ecstatic over the fries. I joked around with the Salone staff as they referenced that lunch as "cham-cham" (snacks), lol.
So for now, I try to eat some rice with a tiny bit of plasas. And I just asked my mom if I can just have kokumba (cucumber) or paynapul for dinner sometimes "bikos boku res mek me belli tayt" (too much rice makes me constipated). Cucumber and pinapple is pretty affordable b/c its in season. That and I just need some fresh produce and a natural form of fiber b/c my body isn't used to eating so much white starches.
Note to self: request for care-package tuna
07/04/12-Happy 4th Of July!
Oh man, I would love to get my hands on some BBQ, ribs, hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, en ol kayn tin dem!!!!
We will actually have the official 4th of July celebration this Saturday on the 7th, lol. No fireworks of course but it should be a fun day of games and other cross cultural activities between America and Sierra Leone.
But today, we were given a special treat of ending early and got popcorn, soda, and watched Captain America on the overhead projector. Can't get anymore American than that......sexy patriotic hottie kicking the nazis' ass! Sorry, I live in a bubble, lol.
I finally got a chance to attend one of the yoga sessions that a PC Trainee had been giving out since we first started. Man, I am really out of shape. I suggested we organize a boot camp. Yes, believe it or not, I am getting fat in Africa.
Please, remove those thoughts of frowning glassy eyed emaciated children of Africa with flies on their mouths. Sierra Leoneans love to eat and the food here is plentiful. I am greeted with smiling and laughing children all the time. It's weird though b/c the moment I pull out my camera, they freeze, stand still and frown with their eyes wide open. Add the sad music and viola you have a sad Africa commercial. I'm on to you Sally Struthers!
Ok jokes aside, that depiction is true in some places in Africa and even in Sierra Leone, I'm sure. But Africa is a huge continent and Sierra Leone is just one of its many 50+ countries. Yes, it is important to acknowledge the poverty here, but there is more to the Sierra Leoneans and their culture.
But I digress......I just wanted to do a quick 4th of July greeting. And please eat boku BBQ and just eat everything on my behalf because I really do miss food in America.
We will actually have the official 4th of July celebration this Saturday on the 7th, lol. No fireworks of course but it should be a fun day of games and other cross cultural activities between America and Sierra Leone.
But today, we were given a special treat of ending early and got popcorn, soda, and watched Captain America on the overhead projector. Can't get anymore American than that......sexy patriotic hottie kicking the nazis' ass! Sorry, I live in a bubble, lol.
I finally got a chance to attend one of the yoga sessions that a PC Trainee had been giving out since we first started. Man, I am really out of shape. I suggested we organize a boot camp. Yes, believe it or not, I am getting fat in Africa.
Please, remove those thoughts of frowning glassy eyed emaciated children of Africa with flies on their mouths. Sierra Leoneans love to eat and the food here is plentiful. I am greeted with smiling and laughing children all the time. It's weird though b/c the moment I pull out my camera, they freeze, stand still and frown with their eyes wide open. Add the sad music and viola you have a sad Africa commercial. I'm on to you Sally Struthers!
Ok jokes aside, that depiction is true in some places in Africa and even in Sierra Leone, I'm sure. But Africa is a huge continent and Sierra Leone is just one of its many 50+ countries. Yes, it is important to acknowledge the poverty here, but there is more to the Sierra Leoneans and their culture.
But I digress......I just wanted to do a quick 4th of July greeting. And please eat boku BBQ and just eat everything on my behalf because I really do miss food in America.
07/03/12-A Blog Edit & The Glass Half-Full
I decided to delete a blog entry from yesterday. I was feeling sick and I was being super bitchy and went on an "everything-that-was-irritating-me" tirade.
When I'm sick, I get all grumpy, I need time to myself to heal and decompress and it's hard to do that in this situation. So it just put me in a shittier mood. Yesterday, I fought off my symptoms with an overdose of Emergen-C packets, tons of fluids, a break from rice & plasas, I even took a 10min nap in the A/C medical unit, and slept the rest of the day after school.
Today, I feel better. I felt a little guilty of everything I was bitching about. This is just part of the emotional cycle that Gayle, our co-director, went over with us. I have a really good support system here in Salone. The PC Resources from Salone 1&2 have been awesome about telling us the real deal and we have become close with our Salone staff members. The PC Trainees have been great as well, it's comforting to know that we are all dealing with similar issues of physical & mental health. I think that this is the reason why we've all become very close in such a short amount of time.......we understand.
I felt bad for snapping at Jr and saying "Yu lef me!". I mean, he's just a kid. I know kids are just curious and I got all snappy when he kept touching the solar charger I specifically told him not to touch. Duh, he's a kid, he's gonna touch it. Everyday, he always sings songs for me saying how "sista Kenyah na fayn" or "sista Kenyah na bomba uman" or "a luv mi sista Kenyah" or how he grabs my face and jumps up for a kiss and tells me he loves me. So yes, I was being a total grinch. He really is a sweet kid. Whenever I eat and Mama Kenyah leaves the room, he always sneaks up and whispers in my ear "sista Kenyah, yu gi mi smol" and he gives me what we now call "bobo ay dem" where he bats his eyelashes to coerce me into giving him my food, lol.
The people of Sierra Leone are some of the nicest people I've ever met. I hadn't seen Alaka, the Security Lead, since Freetown and he just cheered me up with his smile and this ridiculously loud shirt he was wearing and I told him "Yu get fayn klos fo bluff tide". Or like when Frederick makes his rounds to all the language classes and I always compliment him whenever he wears his Kangol paperboy hat. He always laughs whenever I say "Usay de yu at? A lek am!". Or Abubakar, he's just a very animated guy whenever he talks, so our new daily joke is talking about the Limba Man.
For some reason, every culture has that one ethnic group that always gets made fun of. For the Sierra Leoneans it's the Limba Tribe. I guess the Limbas are generalized as large brutes that lack grace or something to that degree. So we "trangga lek da Limba man dans". Sierra Leoneans don't give firm handshakes and I explained to the Salone staff how in America it's good to give a hearty handshake. When I first met Lansana, our resident Limba man, I was surprised to receive a firm handshake so it kinda made sense that Lansana is Limba. Whenever I see Lansana now, he gives me these pathetic weak handed handshakes, lol.
Contrary to the stereotype, Lansana can dance, so he doesn't stomp around like some heavy-footed brute. Actually, I haven't met a Sierra Leonean that doesn't know how to dance, in fact, all of them dance well and they love to dance whenever an opportunity presents itself. This was proven to be true when we had that dinner party thrown for us by the Ministry of Education back when we first arrived. All of our LCFs (Language Instructors) were all gettin down. Dance, rhythm, and music is in their blood.
Last Saturday, we had a field trip to Tiwai Island, this wildlife reserve. I had a great time trekking through the jungle, shin deep in mud, spotting red & black monkeys, and making my way through the jungle overgrowth. But for me, the most memorable part of the trip was the poda-poda ride. Poda-Podas are the common mode of transportation in this country aside from the okada (motorbike). The poda-poda is a large van where the seats are ripped out and replaced with these ghetto metal benches. Kinda like if an old school bus made a bastard child with a 60s VW van. They managed to fit 18 of us in our poda-poda which was actually roomy for Salone standards b/c 2 of the 5 rows only had 3 people instead of 4. We got the VIP treatment, there wasn't even any livestock in the potas. My group had the best poda-poda, we had 4 LCFs with us. They were freestyling poda-poda roadtrip songs during the 3hr ride which were freaking hilarious. It made me forget that I was shifting my ass cheeks from left to right to minimize the numbness from the metal square bench extension they pulled out and called a "seat" as I interlocked legs with the 6'5" guy next to me and was spooning with the other guy in front of me.........."Let's all ride the Poda-Poda Connection" lol!
There's definitely ups & downs in this experience and I'm sure there will be more to come. I'm only human so it's ok to feel shitty sometimes. But today, I feel better aside from the fact that my right armpit stunk to high hell b/c I forgot to wear deodorant and it had been 2 days since I took a bucket shower. I have excuses: 1) I smelled bad b/c on Sunday I hiked it to town in the hot blistering sun and got back home too late to take a shower & 2)I slept too long after school yesterday and by the time I woke up it was too late to shower. So today, I was physically and mentally better and I ended my day with a refreshing shower and cleaned myself as clean as anyone can get in a dark dingy latrine and to cheer my mama up I even ate a tiny bit of rice with plasas so she won't stress out about me not eating.
I have to focus on the small wins and take things one day at a time.
When I'm sick, I get all grumpy, I need time to myself to heal and decompress and it's hard to do that in this situation. So it just put me in a shittier mood. Yesterday, I fought off my symptoms with an overdose of Emergen-C packets, tons of fluids, a break from rice & plasas, I even took a 10min nap in the A/C medical unit, and slept the rest of the day after school.
Today, I feel better. I felt a little guilty of everything I was bitching about. This is just part of the emotional cycle that Gayle, our co-director, went over with us. I have a really good support system here in Salone. The PC Resources from Salone 1&2 have been awesome about telling us the real deal and we have become close with our Salone staff members. The PC Trainees have been great as well, it's comforting to know that we are all dealing with similar issues of physical & mental health. I think that this is the reason why we've all become very close in such a short amount of time.......we understand.
I felt bad for snapping at Jr and saying "Yu lef me!". I mean, he's just a kid. I know kids are just curious and I got all snappy when he kept touching the solar charger I specifically told him not to touch. Duh, he's a kid, he's gonna touch it. Everyday, he always sings songs for me saying how "sista Kenyah na fayn" or "sista Kenyah na bomba uman" or "a luv mi sista Kenyah" or how he grabs my face and jumps up for a kiss and tells me he loves me. So yes, I was being a total grinch. He really is a sweet kid. Whenever I eat and Mama Kenyah leaves the room, he always sneaks up and whispers in my ear "sista Kenyah, yu gi mi smol" and he gives me what we now call "bobo ay dem" where he bats his eyelashes to coerce me into giving him my food, lol.
The people of Sierra Leone are some of the nicest people I've ever met. I hadn't seen Alaka, the Security Lead, since Freetown and he just cheered me up with his smile and this ridiculously loud shirt he was wearing and I told him "Yu get fayn klos fo bluff tide". Or like when Frederick makes his rounds to all the language classes and I always compliment him whenever he wears his Kangol paperboy hat. He always laughs whenever I say "Usay de yu at? A lek am!". Or Abubakar, he's just a very animated guy whenever he talks, so our new daily joke is talking about the Limba Man.
For some reason, every culture has that one ethnic group that always gets made fun of. For the Sierra Leoneans it's the Limba Tribe. I guess the Limbas are generalized as large brutes that lack grace or something to that degree. So we "trangga lek da Limba man dans". Sierra Leoneans don't give firm handshakes and I explained to the Salone staff how in America it's good to give a hearty handshake. When I first met Lansana, our resident Limba man, I was surprised to receive a firm handshake so it kinda made sense that Lansana is Limba. Whenever I see Lansana now, he gives me these pathetic weak handed handshakes, lol.
Contrary to the stereotype, Lansana can dance, so he doesn't stomp around like some heavy-footed brute. Actually, I haven't met a Sierra Leonean that doesn't know how to dance, in fact, all of them dance well and they love to dance whenever an opportunity presents itself. This was proven to be true when we had that dinner party thrown for us by the Ministry of Education back when we first arrived. All of our LCFs (Language Instructors) were all gettin down. Dance, rhythm, and music is in their blood.
Last Saturday, we had a field trip to Tiwai Island, this wildlife reserve. I had a great time trekking through the jungle, shin deep in mud, spotting red & black monkeys, and making my way through the jungle overgrowth. But for me, the most memorable part of the trip was the poda-poda ride. Poda-Podas are the common mode of transportation in this country aside from the okada (motorbike). The poda-poda is a large van where the seats are ripped out and replaced with these ghetto metal benches. Kinda like if an old school bus made a bastard child with a 60s VW van. They managed to fit 18 of us in our poda-poda which was actually roomy for Salone standards b/c 2 of the 5 rows only had 3 people instead of 4. We got the VIP treatment, there wasn't even any livestock in the potas. My group had the best poda-poda, we had 4 LCFs with us. They were freestyling poda-poda roadtrip songs during the 3hr ride which were freaking hilarious. It made me forget that I was shifting my ass cheeks from left to right to minimize the numbness from the metal square bench extension they pulled out and called a "seat" as I interlocked legs with the 6'5" guy next to me and was spooning with the other guy in front of me.........."Let's all ride the Poda-Poda Connection" lol!
There's definitely ups & downs in this experience and I'm sure there will be more to come. I'm only human so it's ok to feel shitty sometimes. But today, I feel better aside from the fact that my right armpit stunk to high hell b/c I forgot to wear deodorant and it had been 2 days since I took a bucket shower. I have excuses: 1) I smelled bad b/c on Sunday I hiked it to town in the hot blistering sun and got back home too late to take a shower & 2)I slept too long after school yesterday and by the time I woke up it was too late to shower. So today, I was physically and mentally better and I ended my day with a refreshing shower and cleaned myself as clean as anyone can get in a dark dingy latrine and to cheer my mama up I even ate a tiny bit of rice with plasas so she won't stress out about me not eating.
I have to focus on the small wins and take things one day at a time.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
06/29/12-Obviously Everyone Loves Math
The micro-teach at Amadea JSS today was an interesting experience. We started late because in Salone, people don't wake up early when it rains so students show up late or not at all sometimes. Definitely close to the real deal except I didn't have 100 students. As I stepped into this poorly lit dirt floor classroom lined with old dusty benches, I am welcomed by 20+ curious 12yr old students.
Classroom resources are taken for granted in America. I talk as loud as I can to overtake the sounds of: rain pounding on the sheet metal roof, the roosters crowing & goats bleating next to the barred windows, and the other teacher's lecture in the next room over. My teaching supplies consist of 5 squares of 1-ply toilet paper as my eraser, a piece of chalk and when I say chalk, I really mean the 1cm long nubbin I wrote with between my fingernails in the hopes it would last the whole session. The chalkboard would flop back and forth as I wrote on it. It must've been made out of cardstock that was painted over with chalkboard paint, lol.
So let's get down and dirty with math. I was instructed to teach the perimeter of a rectangle. How can I teach this concept if the students were unable to multiply by 2 and unable to distinguish the difference between a rectangle an a triangle?!?! It became very clear to me that I had to adapt and adjust my lesson plan as these kids blankly stared at me......the whites of their eyes piercing right through me screaming "WTF!" Their poker faces were insane! Do you get it? Do you not? They have been trained to repeat and memorize so as they read the content aloud in the classroom it does not necessarily mean that they are absorbing. I spent most of the class drawing shapes on the board and having them determine if it qualified as a rectangle based on the information I gave them. The system is broken, we are picking up where primary school education has left big gaping holes......the foundation of their basic learning. It's unfortunate but this is the job that I was sent here to do. These are one of the many challenges I will face over the next 2 years.
It was a rough morning but a great learning experience. I was able to take back some great input and plan to make more improvements.
I got back my verbal Krio proficiency practice test this afternoon. I was rated novice-mid which isn't so bad for only being here about a month. I was really hoping for novice-intermediate, it was my past/present/future tenses that was fucking me all up. It's funny how all us PC Trainees each have our own accent, I guess b/c Krio is so foreign to us that we create an accent that we are familiar with. I've heard everything from a Russian accent, an Irish accent, and "ol kayn tin dem fo tok" (all sorts of things) lol. My Krio accent sounds like a mix between Spanish and Mr. Miyagi, lol!
After my long day of teaching in the morning and "boku lectures dem" in the afternoon, I headed home. About 10 little girls all ran up to me yelling "Kenyah!!!!". It's the kids that really make your day. I had my little entourage and the tiniest ones were holding my hands as they all walked me home. They even tried teaching me how to play that game where they roll a bicycle tire with a stick.....I suck ass but I gave it an honest try and made them all laugh.
Classroom resources are taken for granted in America. I talk as loud as I can to overtake the sounds of: rain pounding on the sheet metal roof, the roosters crowing & goats bleating next to the barred windows, and the other teacher's lecture in the next room over. My teaching supplies consist of 5 squares of 1-ply toilet paper as my eraser, a piece of chalk and when I say chalk, I really mean the 1cm long nubbin I wrote with between my fingernails in the hopes it would last the whole session. The chalkboard would flop back and forth as I wrote on it. It must've been made out of cardstock that was painted over with chalkboard paint, lol.
So let's get down and dirty with math. I was instructed to teach the perimeter of a rectangle. How can I teach this concept if the students were unable to multiply by 2 and unable to distinguish the difference between a rectangle an a triangle?!?! It became very clear to me that I had to adapt and adjust my lesson plan as these kids blankly stared at me......the whites of their eyes piercing right through me screaming "WTF!" Their poker faces were insane! Do you get it? Do you not? They have been trained to repeat and memorize so as they read the content aloud in the classroom it does not necessarily mean that they are absorbing. I spent most of the class drawing shapes on the board and having them determine if it qualified as a rectangle based on the information I gave them. The system is broken, we are picking up where primary school education has left big gaping holes......the foundation of their basic learning. It's unfortunate but this is the job that I was sent here to do. These are one of the many challenges I will face over the next 2 years.
It was a rough morning but a great learning experience. I was able to take back some great input and plan to make more improvements.
I got back my verbal Krio proficiency practice test this afternoon. I was rated novice-mid which isn't so bad for only being here about a month. I was really hoping for novice-intermediate, it was my past/present/future tenses that was fucking me all up. It's funny how all us PC Trainees each have our own accent, I guess b/c Krio is so foreign to us that we create an accent that we are familiar with. I've heard everything from a Russian accent, an Irish accent, and "ol kayn tin dem fo tok" (all sorts of things) lol. My Krio accent sounds like a mix between Spanish and Mr. Miyagi, lol!
After my long day of teaching in the morning and "boku lectures dem" in the afternoon, I headed home. About 10 little girls all ran up to me yelling "Kenyah!!!!". It's the kids that really make your day. I had my little entourage and the tiniest ones were holding my hands as they all walked me home. They even tried teaching me how to play that game where they roll a bicycle tire with a stick.....I suck ass but I gave it an honest try and made them all laugh.
06/27/12-Exams Week
Summer is here, many of the children were studying and taking their year-end exams. Me and some other PC folks were helping some of our siblings and other neighborhood kids prepare. We are already aware of the reality that most of them will not pass. The best we can do here as teachers is be able to teach them basic applicable life skills like simple math and reading comprehension.
I too, have an exams week of sorts. Tomorrow, there is a verbal Krio Proficiency Test, it's not the official one, which isn't until August, but I still get nervous with tests. The big one will be this Friday where we have the Micro Teach at Amadea Junior Secondary School. I will be teaching two 30min periods of Math. My lecture will be on the Perimeter of a Rectangle. I'm nervous as hell, we did a peer teach the other day where I got great feedback but, to be in an actual classroom with real African students has my stomach in knots.
I mean, in reality, this is just another simulation of sorts. All of the kids are finished with their exams, the school just asked students to show up if they wanted to take a class from a Peace Corps teacher. So the ones that show up will be just because they are curious about us outsiders. And this will probably be a significantly smaller class in comparison to the real deal of the standard 100 student classroom.
So I attempted to study Krio after school but was invited to go out to the field and watch a friendly football match between New York (that's where I live) and New London. I don't know too much about soccer but I guess I now have 2yrs to figure it all out. I don't really know who won because somewhere in between there was fight between 2 boys and I was distracted by the hoards of children that found it more interesting to gather around and watch me watch the football game. You get used to the staring children after a while. It's only because they are curious so the best thing to do us say hello and teach them how to do high-fives.
High fives seem to be a very foreign concept here to children but once you teach them, they love it as if it were somekind of secret handshake. So everyday when I see my usual kids they come running up to me and laugh with their huge smiles as I give them their daily high-fives.
I ended my day with a refreshing bucket shower in the latrine as I had my headlamp pointing straight at the giant spider the size of the palm of my hand. Please don't lunge at me, please don't lunge at me......
I too, have an exams week of sorts. Tomorrow, there is a verbal Krio Proficiency Test, it's not the official one, which isn't until August, but I still get nervous with tests. The big one will be this Friday where we have the Micro Teach at Amadea Junior Secondary School. I will be teaching two 30min periods of Math. My lecture will be on the Perimeter of a Rectangle. I'm nervous as hell, we did a peer teach the other day where I got great feedback but, to be in an actual classroom with real African students has my stomach in knots.
I mean, in reality, this is just another simulation of sorts. All of the kids are finished with their exams, the school just asked students to show up if they wanted to take a class from a Peace Corps teacher. So the ones that show up will be just because they are curious about us outsiders. And this will probably be a significantly smaller class in comparison to the real deal of the standard 100 student classroom.
So I attempted to study Krio after school but was invited to go out to the field and watch a friendly football match between New York (that's where I live) and New London. I don't know too much about soccer but I guess I now have 2yrs to figure it all out. I don't really know who won because somewhere in between there was fight between 2 boys and I was distracted by the hoards of children that found it more interesting to gather around and watch me watch the football game. You get used to the staring children after a while. It's only because they are curious so the best thing to do us say hello and teach them how to do high-fives.
High fives seem to be a very foreign concept here to children but once you teach them, they love it as if it were somekind of secret handshake. So everyday when I see my usual kids they come running up to me and laugh with their huge smiles as I give them their daily high-fives.
I ended my day with a refreshing bucket shower in the latrine as I had my headlamp pointing straight at the giant spider the size of the palm of my hand. Please don't lunge at me, please don't lunge at me......
06/25/12-Salone Sister Wives
I don't know if it's evident in my entries that I have 2 moms and belong to a polygamist family. During training, we were informed that this is a common reality for Muslim families in Salone, especially in the villages. Muslims can take on up to 4 wives.
I have no problem with that b/c that is the life they choose to live and they are happy with it........supposedly.
Well, my family is actually some type of Evangelical Christian and Papa Viktor was raised Catholic but doesn't really practice anything. So that goes against the "Muslim Only" concept of polygamy for Salone families. Overtime, I found out that this family dynamic is due to a girlfriend getting pregnant and taking her in and then......viola! Sister Wives!
Unfaithful men is common here in Salone and it is no news that many Salone husbands take on multiple side girlfriends. Wives, I'm guessing, turn a blind eye because a good home is provided for them.
Upon my first arrival, Mama Mami (2nd wife) didn't seem too fond of me especially since I was taken under the care of Mama Kenyah (1st wife). Mami seems to have warmed up to me over the weeks as I make sure to greet her every morning and every afternoon. She has even invited me to her church, so our means of communication has been opening up.
As I try to understand the dynamic of this polygamist family, I assume that in these situations, the wives are complacent and accepting of sharing their husband and the care of their children.
As I spend more time with the Simbo family, I observe that the 1st wife seems to handle the overall care of the family with food, chores, all the children, and lives in the main house. Whereas, the 2nd wife lives in an added apartment just across the courtyard and tends to only her child, her own laundry, and doesn't cook.
There seems to be a domestic issue at this point in time between the wives and the husband. I'm not too sure on every detail, as these arguments are shouting bouts of fast Krio, but I am afraid that they are arguing on how I'm being handled but the underlying issue is: attention from their husband, who gets to call the shots, and the attention given to their children.........not so Sister-Wifey afterall......
I can't really understand why a man would want more than one wife. It's not like they engage in orgies, or at least they say they don't. But in most cases, they take turns on who gets to sleep with the husband. This family even has a set schedule. So they sleep with one woman at a time but, when there is a dispute it is with all of them....at the same time. Not all wives are "nagging wives" but the term DOES come from somewhere and we, women, in my opinion, can't help it sometimes. So if you think about the common husband getting irritated of nagging from one wife, I can only imagine what it would feel like if your ear was being talked off by nagging from two separate directions.....simutaneously. In other polygamist families, maybe even 3 or more! Somebody put him out of his misery already, lol! But this is the life that Papa Viktor has chosen for himself.
So as I hideout in my room, the entire village can hear a husband and his 2 wives have a threesome yelling match. I'm gonna wait it out for the rest of the week, if the the household continues on like this, I may have to bring it up to the homestay coordinator. This is my 2nd night in a row listening to this. It had been brewing for some time time now, I had seen it coming in the days prior. So it is only fair for me to give it a few more days to die down as well.
TIP OF THE DAY: Invest in a good prostitute ;P
I have no problem with that b/c that is the life they choose to live and they are happy with it........supposedly.
Well, my family is actually some type of Evangelical Christian and Papa Viktor was raised Catholic but doesn't really practice anything. So that goes against the "Muslim Only" concept of polygamy for Salone families. Overtime, I found out that this family dynamic is due to a girlfriend getting pregnant and taking her in and then......viola! Sister Wives!
Unfaithful men is common here in Salone and it is no news that many Salone husbands take on multiple side girlfriends. Wives, I'm guessing, turn a blind eye because a good home is provided for them.
Upon my first arrival, Mama Mami (2nd wife) didn't seem too fond of me especially since I was taken under the care of Mama Kenyah (1st wife). Mami seems to have warmed up to me over the weeks as I make sure to greet her every morning and every afternoon. She has even invited me to her church, so our means of communication has been opening up.
As I try to understand the dynamic of this polygamist family, I assume that in these situations, the wives are complacent and accepting of sharing their husband and the care of their children.
As I spend more time with the Simbo family, I observe that the 1st wife seems to handle the overall care of the family with food, chores, all the children, and lives in the main house. Whereas, the 2nd wife lives in an added apartment just across the courtyard and tends to only her child, her own laundry, and doesn't cook.
There seems to be a domestic issue at this point in time between the wives and the husband. I'm not too sure on every detail, as these arguments are shouting bouts of fast Krio, but I am afraid that they are arguing on how I'm being handled but the underlying issue is: attention from their husband, who gets to call the shots, and the attention given to their children.........not so Sister-Wifey afterall......
I can't really understand why a man would want more than one wife. It's not like they engage in orgies, or at least they say they don't. But in most cases, they take turns on who gets to sleep with the husband. This family even has a set schedule. So they sleep with one woman at a time but, when there is a dispute it is with all of them....at the same time. Not all wives are "nagging wives" but the term DOES come from somewhere and we, women, in my opinion, can't help it sometimes. So if you think about the common husband getting irritated of nagging from one wife, I can only imagine what it would feel like if your ear was being talked off by nagging from two separate directions.....simutaneously. In other polygamist families, maybe even 3 or more! Somebody put him out of his misery already, lol! But this is the life that Papa Viktor has chosen for himself.
So as I hideout in my room, the entire village can hear a husband and his 2 wives have a threesome yelling match. I'm gonna wait it out for the rest of the week, if the the household continues on like this, I may have to bring it up to the homestay coordinator. This is my 2nd night in a row listening to this. It had been brewing for some time time now, I had seen it coming in the days prior. So it is only fair for me to give it a few more days to die down as well.
TIP OF THE DAY: Invest in a good prostitute ;P
06/23/12-In This Week's Episode on "The Real World: Salone"
Saturday mornings are meant for "bruking" (washing clothes). Today I asked my mom if I can get the water today. I put on a great show for everyone, the locals are amused whenever we do their daily tasks. The water well is so close to the house so it's not like a long hike or anything. As I opened up the well and started lowering the pail, an audience started accumulating. They get a kick out of it, I make them laugh, it's all good. They're like "Eeeebo! Kenyah Simbo lan fo get wata!". Who needs sitcoms when you can watch Americans make fools of themselves, lol. Thank god for some of the circuit drills MJ had us do at Muay Thai, it helped me in pulling up several buckets of well water.
My brother, Simbol, helped me carry the buckets home as I struggled to carry one in my arm. I have yet to master the art of carrying objects on top of my head. I see 3yr olds running up hills with larger pails of water on their heads......barefoot.....half-naked.....with their newborn baby brother tied to their back. So I suppose it justifies the comedy for the locals within this context.
I hung out next door as my "Cousin Joe Fortune", another PC person, was tutoring his brothers for their Senior Secondary school math exams. As he was teaching them with a dilapidated chalkboard on the porch, I sat nearby with my 9yr old sister, Genevieve, and was taking out her cornrows. The every now and then chicken and chicks would pass by, and other neighborhood kids gathered around as well. When the session was over, I was doing the alphabet with the smaller kids. It was fun just hanging out with them and they were so eager to please as they answered questions. Then all the little girls started to "plant" "Joe's" hair and put Genevieve's old weave on him, his hair is too short to braid, lol. We ended the day with the Fortune Brothers doing a little pop & lock battle for us. I made them do it and said they owed us because we tutored them today, haha.
Laughing, learning, and having fun with the kids on the porch today...... <3 memorable <3
My brother, Simbol, helped me carry the buckets home as I struggled to carry one in my arm. I have yet to master the art of carrying objects on top of my head. I see 3yr olds running up hills with larger pails of water on their heads......barefoot.....half-naked.....with their newborn baby brother tied to their back. So I suppose it justifies the comedy for the locals within this context.
I hung out next door as my "Cousin Joe Fortune", another PC person, was tutoring his brothers for their Senior Secondary school math exams. As he was teaching them with a dilapidated chalkboard on the porch, I sat nearby with my 9yr old sister, Genevieve, and was taking out her cornrows. The every now and then chicken and chicks would pass by, and other neighborhood kids gathered around as well. When the session was over, I was doing the alphabet with the smaller kids. It was fun just hanging out with them and they were so eager to please as they answered questions. Then all the little girls started to "plant" "Joe's" hair and put Genevieve's old weave on him, his hair is too short to braid, lol. We ended the day with the Fortune Brothers doing a little pop & lock battle for us. I made them do it and said they owed us because we tutored them today, haha.
Laughing, learning, and having fun with the kids on the porch today...... <3 memorable <3
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