07/17/12-This Doesn't Change My Feelings About Bacon

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.