Lunsar town is loaded with NGOs and other kinds of foreigners. I was invited by Italians, Brits, and Spaniards to meet up at a bar to watch a futbol match. It doesn't hurt to make new friends so why the hell not.
I thought it would be really comforting being around other volunteer-like folks from other western countries who speak English well. I think I'm in this weird space where I didn't really fit in with this group. They were perfectly fine people, don't get me wrong, and we are all here to help Sierra Leone. Some of them even arrived a couple months before me. Everyone was a mixed bag of anywhere from 3 weeks to 6 month assignments. There was alot of jaw-dropping when I said that my stay was for 27 months, lol. The response was similar though to all my friends & family back at home. "WTF, 27 months?!?!" lol. Whatever, it is what it is.......haha.
There was a big difference between me and them.........INTEGRATION. I was really surprised at how some of them had been in Sierra Leone longer than I have yet they speak absolutely no Krio. I know I complain alot about the food here but at least I know what the local people are eating.
Kudos to the Peace Corps training program, really. They tortured us with 10 weeks of training and made us live with Salone families......the lack of privacy and the neverending lectures & group activities was really grueling. But in the end, I think it was for the better, to prepare us for our assignments as the lone PCV in our village.
Learning to live WITH the HCNs (Host Country Nationals) is a huge part of what makes Peace Corps different. These other folks live together at guesthouses with better facilities like electricity and running water. They only hang out with each other......other "opotos", I mean. It makes so much sense to me why I never see any other "opotos" walking around Lunsar except for me and Michael. They go out to do their good deeds then come back to their comfy accommodations and swig their fancy Carlsbergs & Heinekens with each other. I was the only one on that table swigging a Star beer.......Salone's finest local beer, lol!
How can you make friends with HCNs if you don't try to at least speak the language??? I can now see why Sierra Leoneans are excited when I talk to them in Krio and even better, a tiny bit of Temne.......we are trying. Whenever I talk to Sierra Leoneans and they ask me what I'm doing here, I always say that I'm here to teach students math but most of all, I am here to learn to live among them and know all about Sierra Leone. So the locals can laugh and stare all they want when they see me bruk my clothes or fire up a coal pot or fetch well water......it's only because it's an oddity, they don't usually see opotos trying.
I tried my best to socialize but I felt that many of them misunderstood Salone. It's convenient for them b/c they are like drive-by NGOs who do their good deed for the year and they can come home and roll around their 1000 thread count sheets and drink their fine wine. I'm sure they've helped a ton here but they've learned nothing about the people.
I was offended when this guy called the children here stupid. I get it, education is a problem here which is rooted from so many different facets like the war, parenting, the system.....everything! I then asked him if a 5yr old in our western countries were able to do chores like toting water on your head, starting fires, cooking, carrying a baby sibling, selling africana soap in the streets first thing at 7am, and etc. The children here have a different kind of knowledge. Ya, I then got up and excused myself. Good thing he is only here for a 3 month stretch then it's "See ya later, buddy!"
I started talking to a local at the bar who I met the other day......it felt more comforting. When the game finished, everyone started taking off and the bartenders rejected the Italians offering of their homemade pizza mostly b/c they had no idea what it was and also the language barrier. In Krio, I told them the ingredients and that it was delicious Italian food made by these Italian people. They took the pizza even though it looked kinda "sketch" to them and said that if they get diarrhea they were going to come after me, lol. With that, we were all laughing and asked for each others names, etc, etc.........trying......all you gotta do is try "smol smol".
I guess the only foreigners I find true comfort with are my other PCV buddies, b/c we are all going through a similar experience. It's awesome when you visit other PCV sites and see how they've integrated into their community. So far, I've only been to Kamasundo and Port Loko Town. This Friday, we'll be checking out Makeni.
Lunsar is a big town so it takes a little more time to know people. I've been yelling out "Mine yi Yekia" when they do the opoto call so lately I've been hearing people greet me by name. All the market ladies seem to know my name nowadays too, lol. I think I'll be getting to know people by veranda small talk as I walk around town.
This morning, I walked my friend, Ani, to the lori park so she can hitch a ride back to Binti. As I walked back home, I decided to try some ataya and met Mohammed, a Fula man, who runs the stand. We talked a bit and I shared boiled peanuts with his daughters Fatmata & Mariama as they tried to teach me Arabic. Then, I spent a few minutes in Mr. Conteh's veranda just to chat a bit and entertain him with my story of how I biked all they way to Kamasundu and back all in one day.
So ya, dinner with the United Nations wasn't as interesting as I thought but, it gave me some perspective on how I viewed my own service with the Peace Corps.
Totally biased opinion but, I think Peace Corps is pretty BadAsser-ie....... just sayin.........
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