I think I'm hitting one of my service plateaus. During PST, we were given this chart that forecasted our general feelings of mental health and well-being throughout our whole service. I've never really hit an ultimate low, well not yet, but I think I'm heading towards a thumb twiddling stage. It could be the fact that my SS1 math students aren't in yet and I'm just doing alot of random subbing to take up my time between the computer classes I teach.......I dunno.
I've been onsite for a consecutive 3 weeks now. I'm not even going to include the morning bank run last weekend to Port Loko b/c I literally just went there and came back. Don't get me wrong, I love it here in Lunsar and there's so much to still discover but, I think I'm just having a case of cabin fever.
I am planning on doing a weekender to Freetown to do some unwinding at Peace Corps HQ. I think some American chop, American movies, electricity and wi-fi internet along with a change of scenery will give me the fix I need.
No biggie, I just realized that I hit this plateau when me and Michael were drinking poyo (palm wine) on his porch by candlelight. I mean, we had a great time, we were mixing low grade coconut spirits stuff with our poyo, doing crazy talk about everything and nothing while gazing up at the stars and chamming on moringa leaf. Sounds great right? Well ya, it was! We were celebrating his return to site after his several battles with miscellaneous medical stuffs. The PCMO (Peace Corps Medical Office) is a revolving door to the 100+ volunteers in all of Salone dealing with every kind of infection known to man. You can even reference my "PC Infection Medley" blog entry back in July. And it keeps going on like this for the rest of our service. Luckily for me, knock on wood, I haven't had anything major that required medical attention. Aside from my legs looking mangled from the constant biting from mosquitos and black flies, oh and the bed bugs (chinch dem) that attacked my legs in Panlap when I slept on the ground, I'm actually doing great, lol.
There's no real reason for me to go to Freetown PC HQ aside from just an unwinding break away from Africa. Sometimes you just need it and I think that this is one of those times.
Friday, October 19, 2012
10/09/12-Today Was An Off Day
I ended my day early and stayed in for the rest of the afternoon after school. It was just a series of small events that just rubbed me the wrong way and I didn't feel like being interactive.
1) On my way to school one of the Guadalupe primary school boys thought it would be funny to say "CHING CHONG" as he passed me. I either ignore this or just tell them to "lef mi and fuck off". Telling children to "fuck off" is common here and doesn't have the same meaning as it does in America even though it's saying the same thing......fuck off. The thing that pissed me off is that the kid was being disrespectful while wearing the Guadalupe uniform and on top of that, he did it to a teacher. Bad move kid, he was lucky I was running late, he just received a public shaming from me in the middle of the road. I've decided that the next time a kid in a Guadalupe uniform calls me Ching-Chong, I will write "CHING CHONG" on their forehead with a sharpie......good luck explaining that to your teachers and parents why you have that on your head for several days.
2) My computer classes with my SS3 girls did not go so well today. They are 2yrs away from university and they can't follow directions. I understand that I have to take things a bit slower here when it comes to computers but I wrote out directions and the procedure was as clear as day. A good chunk of them could not differentiate the difference between backspace, spacebar, caps lock, and shift. We are now on week 3! I wanted to rip my eyeballs out for the fact that I had to talk about shift and caps lock for 45min each for 3 periods. Someone shoot me in the fucking head! Anyone ever seen "Election" with Matthew Broderick??? I kinda felt like him when he was teaching the same government class over and over again. HAPPY GROUNDHOGS DAY! For 45 min, I literally circled around the classroom and pointed out the shift and caps lock and then I circled back around and individually asked them to point them out to me, and they still got it wrong. These are the days where I hate kids. Den get trangga yes! (They have selective hearing).
3) The Math Dept. is in charge of assembly this week and I practically set up the whole thing for us and I gave clear and simple instructions. Talk about a technical occupation that uses math in order to increase interest in Math. As well as provide a numerical fun fact about Salone to increase knowledge about their own country. Why did my co-worker give the definition of mathematics. SNOOZE-FEST!!!!! There is no "I" in team, I put together the ideas, concepts, and schedule, just fill in the blank.......let's work together here people, I can't spoon feed you every single fucking detail!!!
4) Part of this week's Math Dept Assembly, I suggested that we help beautify the school by having a door decorating contest because all the classrooms are bare and it's hard for me to tell which classroom is which b/c they are not properly labeled. And it's competitive, creative, and fun. I go to help out with JSS3A, I come with art supplies. Kids love art hour, right??? The kids all said that they don't know how to draw and proceeded to take out their pencils to draw boxes with rulers. Children rejecting markers, crayons and colored pencils?!?! It's sad! These children were never taught to use their imagination and develop their creativity. If you ask them to draw they will draw the same 4 items in the same exact way: 1) a plant from their agriculture class 2) the house looks exactly the same 3) the same damn bird 4) the same stupid procedure for this ugly car that someone decided should be mandatory for all children to draw cars this way in primary school. I had to force them. I made them come up in groups of 4, I said no pencils no rulers and they have 2min to draw something, anything and can use as much colors as they want. It was better even though most of them just re-drew what the person before them had already drawn. This really made me sad.
So after a full day of disappointment and scowling at misbehaving students I had a huge pounding headache and couldn't bear to be social and just hid my house and bumped my tunes because sometimes you just need that escape every now and then to keep your sanity.
I understand the "WHYs" but sometimes understanding "why" doesn't help with my feelings. So today was a not so great day, I will try again tomorrow.
1) On my way to school one of the Guadalupe primary school boys thought it would be funny to say "CHING CHONG" as he passed me. I either ignore this or just tell them to "lef mi and fuck off". Telling children to "fuck off" is common here and doesn't have the same meaning as it does in America even though it's saying the same thing......fuck off. The thing that pissed me off is that the kid was being disrespectful while wearing the Guadalupe uniform and on top of that, he did it to a teacher. Bad move kid, he was lucky I was running late, he just received a public shaming from me in the middle of the road. I've decided that the next time a kid in a Guadalupe uniform calls me Ching-Chong, I will write "CHING CHONG" on their forehead with a sharpie......good luck explaining that to your teachers and parents why you have that on your head for several days.
2) My computer classes with my SS3 girls did not go so well today. They are 2yrs away from university and they can't follow directions. I understand that I have to take things a bit slower here when it comes to computers but I wrote out directions and the procedure was as clear as day. A good chunk of them could not differentiate the difference between backspace, spacebar, caps lock, and shift. We are now on week 3! I wanted to rip my eyeballs out for the fact that I had to talk about shift and caps lock for 45min each for 3 periods. Someone shoot me in the fucking head! Anyone ever seen "Election" with Matthew Broderick??? I kinda felt like him when he was teaching the same government class over and over again. HAPPY GROUNDHOGS DAY! For 45 min, I literally circled around the classroom and pointed out the shift and caps lock and then I circled back around and individually asked them to point them out to me, and they still got it wrong. These are the days where I hate kids. Den get trangga yes! (They have selective hearing).
3) The Math Dept. is in charge of assembly this week and I practically set up the whole thing for us and I gave clear and simple instructions. Talk about a technical occupation that uses math in order to increase interest in Math. As well as provide a numerical fun fact about Salone to increase knowledge about their own country. Why did my co-worker give the definition of mathematics. SNOOZE-FEST!!!!! There is no "I" in team, I put together the ideas, concepts, and schedule, just fill in the blank.......let's work together here people, I can't spoon feed you every single fucking detail!!!
4) Part of this week's Math Dept Assembly, I suggested that we help beautify the school by having a door decorating contest because all the classrooms are bare and it's hard for me to tell which classroom is which b/c they are not properly labeled. And it's competitive, creative, and fun. I go to help out with JSS3A, I come with art supplies. Kids love art hour, right??? The kids all said that they don't know how to draw and proceeded to take out their pencils to draw boxes with rulers. Children rejecting markers, crayons and colored pencils?!?! It's sad! These children were never taught to use their imagination and develop their creativity. If you ask them to draw they will draw the same 4 items in the same exact way: 1) a plant from their agriculture class 2) the house looks exactly the same 3) the same damn bird 4) the same stupid procedure for this ugly car that someone decided should be mandatory for all children to draw cars this way in primary school. I had to force them. I made them come up in groups of 4, I said no pencils no rulers and they have 2min to draw something, anything and can use as much colors as they want. It was better even though most of them just re-drew what the person before them had already drawn. This really made me sad.
So after a full day of disappointment and scowling at misbehaving students I had a huge pounding headache and couldn't bear to be social and just hid my house and bumped my tunes because sometimes you just need that escape every now and then to keep your sanity.
I understand the "WHYs" but sometimes understanding "why" doesn't help with my feelings. So today was a not so great day, I will try again tomorrow.
10/08/12-All About Politics
So part of the rules in Peace Corps is that you're not allowed to participate or meddle with anything that has to do with politics.......Sierra Leonean politics. No rallies, not even opinions....... nothing, nada.
Like America, Sierra Leone has many political parties where 2 are the powerhouse parties. The biggest difference is that these parties are deeply rooted by tribe. You have the SLPP (Green Party) primarily in the South with the Mende tribe and then you have the APC (Red Party) primarily in the North & East with the Temne tribe. There's a big election coming up this November, all I can hope for is a safe and peaceful election. Political unrest is a ticket out of here but I'm in for the long haul, so please, please, please, Salone, I beg.......peaceful elections!
We're currently going through Parliament Seat elections. I've been pretty much out of pocket to stay uninvolved but certain big local events are hard to avoid. There was an election here in Lunsar between 2 candidates within the APC party, the winner.........Isata Kabia. I guess there was some disagreement within the party itself and some people were not happy with the results.
As I was walking home from school, I got up to my gate and it was locked. Hmmmm, weird......we don't lock until late in the evening..... Then all of a sudden, Hawa started yelling at the kids to grab the gate keys. I was confused and scared, WTF was going on?!?! There was this mad scramble to open the gate, pull me in, then lock the doors. What the hell was going on?!?! Not everyone was happy with Isata Kabia's victory and to show their disapproval, live bullets were shot and tear gas thrown towards crowds in the center of town which isn't too far from where I live. I saw large groups of people running towards my street coughing from the tear gas. Is this really happening to me?!?! Scary shit!!!! It went on for a few hours, didn't really want to find out how or why it all settled down, but it did.
It kinda freaked me out that this little episode was b/c of an election with 2 candidates within the same party. Crossing my fingers for the November presidential elections between the APC & SLPP (aka Temne vs. Mende). Everyone is saying that it should be a peaceful election but we'll see. Whatever happens, Peace Corps has trained us on the various procedures of "what do do when this happens".
This past Sunday, the town of Lunsar welcomed the arrival of Isata Kabia to celebrate her victory. Kabia and her opponents came to plead for peace within the APC party. I worked that day to control the OLGSS girls that came to represent the school. It was pretty cool seeing all the children of Lunsar in their uniforms all lined up on the main road, Port Loko Rd. There was music, food, and dancing under that African sun beating down on us. I don't really know who decided that our girls' uniforms should include a thick wool beret.....this is Africa! No one should ever wear wool in Africa, it's too freakin hot!!!!!
I don't know if it was the smartest idea for me to be in the middle of this APC event but nonetheless it was a fun, lively, and peaceful. Everyone was decked out in red, marching down the streets heading for the town field. There were people on foot, fleets of okadas, and motokars. Isata Kabia was on this huge white truck doing her best beauty pageant wave to the crowd.
I tried my best to follow the masses to the town field but I had been under the hot African sun for several hours and called it a good day's work of keeping my girls in line. I left the rest to the other teachers that showed up later. I ended my day by buying an ice cold ginger beer from the street and headed home.
Please Salone, I want to stay here. No political unrest.
Like America, Sierra Leone has many political parties where 2 are the powerhouse parties. The biggest difference is that these parties are deeply rooted by tribe. You have the SLPP (Green Party) primarily in the South with the Mende tribe and then you have the APC (Red Party) primarily in the North & East with the Temne tribe. There's a big election coming up this November, all I can hope for is a safe and peaceful election. Political unrest is a ticket out of here but I'm in for the long haul, so please, please, please, Salone, I beg.......peaceful elections!
We're currently going through Parliament Seat elections. I've been pretty much out of pocket to stay uninvolved but certain big local events are hard to avoid. There was an election here in Lunsar between 2 candidates within the APC party, the winner.........Isata Kabia. I guess there was some disagreement within the party itself and some people were not happy with the results.
As I was walking home from school, I got up to my gate and it was locked. Hmmmm, weird......we don't lock until late in the evening..... Then all of a sudden, Hawa started yelling at the kids to grab the gate keys. I was confused and scared, WTF was going on?!?! There was this mad scramble to open the gate, pull me in, then lock the doors. What the hell was going on?!?! Not everyone was happy with Isata Kabia's victory and to show their disapproval, live bullets were shot and tear gas thrown towards crowds in the center of town which isn't too far from where I live. I saw large groups of people running towards my street coughing from the tear gas. Is this really happening to me?!?! Scary shit!!!! It went on for a few hours, didn't really want to find out how or why it all settled down, but it did.
It kinda freaked me out that this little episode was b/c of an election with 2 candidates within the same party. Crossing my fingers for the November presidential elections between the APC & SLPP (aka Temne vs. Mende). Everyone is saying that it should be a peaceful election but we'll see. Whatever happens, Peace Corps has trained us on the various procedures of "what do do when this happens".
This past Sunday, the town of Lunsar welcomed the arrival of Isata Kabia to celebrate her victory. Kabia and her opponents came to plead for peace within the APC party. I worked that day to control the OLGSS girls that came to represent the school. It was pretty cool seeing all the children of Lunsar in their uniforms all lined up on the main road, Port Loko Rd. There was music, food, and dancing under that African sun beating down on us. I don't really know who decided that our girls' uniforms should include a thick wool beret.....this is Africa! No one should ever wear wool in Africa, it's too freakin hot!!!!!
I don't know if it was the smartest idea for me to be in the middle of this APC event but nonetheless it was a fun, lively, and peaceful. Everyone was decked out in red, marching down the streets heading for the town field. There were people on foot, fleets of okadas, and motokars. Isata Kabia was on this huge white truck doing her best beauty pageant wave to the crowd.
I tried my best to follow the masses to the town field but I had been under the hot African sun for several hours and called it a good day's work of keeping my girls in line. I left the rest to the other teachers that showed up later. I ended my day by buying an ice cold ginger beer from the street and headed home.
Please Salone, I want to stay here. No political unrest.
10/01/12-I Live In Sierra Leone, Africa
So I think I've come to a certain point in my service where I don't feel like I'm here as a Peace Corps Volunteer serving a community. Without losing sight of my objectives as a PCV, I just kinda feel like I live here.
I mean, ultimately in the end, I think that the government's not-so-hidden hidden agenda is this large international PR campaign of sticking Americans in these villages as some sort of Ambassador so that children grow up thinking that America is awesome, lol. I mean it makes sense. Africa has a shitload of NGOs coming in and out doing all kinds of building, rehabilitating, educating, etc, etc. Whereas for Peace Corps, we LIVE in the damn place for well over 2years. The job is simply the bi-product, to show that America's tax dollars is going towards something measurable like: "Built 5 water wells" some crap like that. The main job is clearly forming a relationship with the community. What's my backup for this theory? Well, when you teach at a village school, you may have 1 kid that might be smart enough to probably amount to something. But now, you have a village of 100 asking if I know a Bob Smith from Indiana that did Peace Corps in the 70s. On top of everything else, they love America. Job well done, the villagers have been brainwashed, lol. It sounds kinda, bad, yet strategic, but that's on the high government level. As the PCV, yourself, the personal intentions are there, no hidden agendas, and you form relationships b/c you integrate into the community.
Integration for me has been going well in many aspects. I'd like to mention my largest feat in integrating into Sierra Leone.........the food, lol. I know I had this angry rant of how I hate the chop a few entries back, but things have changed. Do I love Sierra Leonean chop? No. Can I eat it without complaining? Yes. A few reasons:
1) My mom's cooking wasn't that great.
2) Hawa's cooking is WAY better.
3) I only eat rice & plasas once a day.
4) Portion Control: I eat just a small amount of rice & plasas as a means of survival, just to feel full enough. Depending on how hungry I am, on some days, I even look forward to my rice & plasas, lol.
5) I was too quick to judge, even though the primary diet is rice & plasas, there is other kind chop.
So I'm no longer sneaking in the ketchup and I haven't bought Laughing Cow cheese in weeks. The cheese is partly b/c I'm too cheap to pay the Le5000 (~$1.25) for it, lol. I think alot of this is largely due to the fact that I now have control of my diet and it is my choice to eat the rice & plasas once a day. And the rest of the day is a mixture of the street lady cham that's sold at the school and fruits. Also, mixed with the occasional American snack that I crack open from my care packages. BOOM! I'm a happy motherfucking camper! I can go on and on about the food but I won't.
So back to why I feel like I live here........
I have my own place, I have a job, and I have friends. That's what happens when you're out living on your own, right? It's really as simple as that. Having my own place has greatly contributed to my happiness.......privacy. I mean, I'm rarely inside my house unless it's evening or siesta hour after school but I like having my space my way and being in it when I want to. My job is not much different from any other job I've had. Summer school in Bo helped a great deal with my fears of teaching children. So now, I'm just working and attack issues just like how I did back with my previous employer. The job is way less stressful but my contributions are huge for them. They lack resources so they lack the knowledge of certain technologies like the computer. And by just having that "thinking outside the box" mentality, you can accomplish so much here. My mind is just overloaded with secondary projects, it's crazy. I mean, secondary projects don't have to be big. For example, I was asked to join Guidance & Counseling, the office is a plain empty room. I pulled all these ideas out of my ass of how we should decorate and set up the place and teaming up with an NGO for a workshop to properly train us. Do I have the background to call shots like this, absolutely not! But Sierra Leoneans haven't experienced a school counselor's office and issues like self-esteem, and whatnot. So here I am, being a supposed expert on random things based on stuff I was exposed to in my life in America. I've already started my after-school adult computer literacy program with the teachers. The demand was clearly there when I presented my syllabus for the students during staff meeting and all their questions about the syllabus were: "Well, what about us?!?!"
So onto the friends. I had it all wrong here. In the beginning, I had been so wrapped up in "I'm a PCV and I'm here to serve a community" that I never really truly considered what integration meant. During PST in Bo, I had my American friends and my Sierra Leonean friends. I treated the two differently and I felt that I was closest with my PCV buddies. It made sense b/c I spent most of my time with my fellow Americans. But my perception of Sierra Leoneans were that these were people that I'm out here to help and serve, lol. Which in the end seems like a load of bullshit, lol, b/c actually they help me more than I help them and they're just my fuckin' friends is all, lol. And my family, I don't call them "host fambul", den jus na mi fambul dem, na in dat (they're just my family and that's that).
In the end, PCVs are in their community by themselves so you're not surrounded by your American buddies. I mean, we call and visit each other but the day to day is with Sierra Leoneans. I've been really happy at the school, I really like the staff. Everyone has been really welcoming. Just like any job, you work and then shoot the shit in the break room. Everyone has been super nice to me. I was talking to Anthony, a teacher and good friend, he was telling me how everyone really likes me and that made me feel really good. It's not like I'm super close with all of them but I like them all. Hawa is my rock, she is such a good friend. She is so straight-up and tells it how it is. I sometimes question her if she is Sierra Leonean b/c of her straight forwardness, lol. Friends are friends, no matter what part of the world you come from.
I used to be so aware of me being an outsider like: they are black and I am not. I mean, ya, I still get stared at which I've already gotten used to. As well as, children running after me, yelling OPOTO and waving their hand is a daily occurrence. Excluding those slight nuances of being somewhat like a local celebrity or maybe even community curiosity, I actually live a very normal village life. I'm not so conscious of the difference of skin color which was more of like difference in culture translated by skin color. It doesn't cross my mind anymore, just like back in America where I don't really think about difference in ethnicity. That's just how it is in the Bay Area, it's diverse, you don't notice. I'm sure that it has alot to do with feeling like I belong to a community rather than being a PCV in a host community.
I've really adjusted to life here in Salone. When it's sunny, you bruk b/c your clothes will dry fast. When it rains, you put out your buckets to collect rain water. When "light don kam" (light turns on via generator), you make a mad dash to the closest outlet to charge your phone, lol. When you eat, you say "kam it" or "ta de di" (in Temne) b/c you never eat alone. When you leave you say "a de kam" or "i ti der" (Temne) b/c you never say goodbye.
I'm sure I'll have my every now and then shitty moments but right now I'm just basking in the awesomeness. I'm loving it here!
I mean, ultimately in the end, I think that the government's not-so-hidden hidden agenda is this large international PR campaign of sticking Americans in these villages as some sort of Ambassador so that children grow up thinking that America is awesome, lol. I mean it makes sense. Africa has a shitload of NGOs coming in and out doing all kinds of building, rehabilitating, educating, etc, etc. Whereas for Peace Corps, we LIVE in the damn place for well over 2years. The job is simply the bi-product, to show that America's tax dollars is going towards something measurable like: "Built 5 water wells" some crap like that. The main job is clearly forming a relationship with the community. What's my backup for this theory? Well, when you teach at a village school, you may have 1 kid that might be smart enough to probably amount to something. But now, you have a village of 100 asking if I know a Bob Smith from Indiana that did Peace Corps in the 70s. On top of everything else, they love America. Job well done, the villagers have been brainwashed, lol. It sounds kinda, bad, yet strategic, but that's on the high government level. As the PCV, yourself, the personal intentions are there, no hidden agendas, and you form relationships b/c you integrate into the community.
Integration for me has been going well in many aspects. I'd like to mention my largest feat in integrating into Sierra Leone.........the food, lol. I know I had this angry rant of how I hate the chop a few entries back, but things have changed. Do I love Sierra Leonean chop? No. Can I eat it without complaining? Yes. A few reasons:
1) My mom's cooking wasn't that great.
2) Hawa's cooking is WAY better.
3) I only eat rice & plasas once a day.
4) Portion Control: I eat just a small amount of rice & plasas as a means of survival, just to feel full enough. Depending on how hungry I am, on some days, I even look forward to my rice & plasas, lol.
5) I was too quick to judge, even though the primary diet is rice & plasas, there is other kind chop.
So I'm no longer sneaking in the ketchup and I haven't bought Laughing Cow cheese in weeks. The cheese is partly b/c I'm too cheap to pay the Le5000 (~$1.25) for it, lol. I think alot of this is largely due to the fact that I now have control of my diet and it is my choice to eat the rice & plasas once a day. And the rest of the day is a mixture of the street lady cham that's sold at the school and fruits. Also, mixed with the occasional American snack that I crack open from my care packages. BOOM! I'm a happy motherfucking camper! I can go on and on about the food but I won't.
So back to why I feel like I live here........
I have my own place, I have a job, and I have friends. That's what happens when you're out living on your own, right? It's really as simple as that. Having my own place has greatly contributed to my happiness.......privacy. I mean, I'm rarely inside my house unless it's evening or siesta hour after school but I like having my space my way and being in it when I want to. My job is not much different from any other job I've had. Summer school in Bo helped a great deal with my fears of teaching children. So now, I'm just working and attack issues just like how I did back with my previous employer. The job is way less stressful but my contributions are huge for them. They lack resources so they lack the knowledge of certain technologies like the computer. And by just having that "thinking outside the box" mentality, you can accomplish so much here. My mind is just overloaded with secondary projects, it's crazy. I mean, secondary projects don't have to be big. For example, I was asked to join Guidance & Counseling, the office is a plain empty room. I pulled all these ideas out of my ass of how we should decorate and set up the place and teaming up with an NGO for a workshop to properly train us. Do I have the background to call shots like this, absolutely not! But Sierra Leoneans haven't experienced a school counselor's office and issues like self-esteem, and whatnot. So here I am, being a supposed expert on random things based on stuff I was exposed to in my life in America. I've already started my after-school adult computer literacy program with the teachers. The demand was clearly there when I presented my syllabus for the students during staff meeting and all their questions about the syllabus were: "Well, what about us?!?!"
So onto the friends. I had it all wrong here. In the beginning, I had been so wrapped up in "I'm a PCV and I'm here to serve a community" that I never really truly considered what integration meant. During PST in Bo, I had my American friends and my Sierra Leonean friends. I treated the two differently and I felt that I was closest with my PCV buddies. It made sense b/c I spent most of my time with my fellow Americans. But my perception of Sierra Leoneans were that these were people that I'm out here to help and serve, lol. Which in the end seems like a load of bullshit, lol, b/c actually they help me more than I help them and they're just my fuckin' friends is all, lol. And my family, I don't call them "host fambul", den jus na mi fambul dem, na in dat (they're just my family and that's that).
In the end, PCVs are in their community by themselves so you're not surrounded by your American buddies. I mean, we call and visit each other but the day to day is with Sierra Leoneans. I've been really happy at the school, I really like the staff. Everyone has been really welcoming. Just like any job, you work and then shoot the shit in the break room. Everyone has been super nice to me. I was talking to Anthony, a teacher and good friend, he was telling me how everyone really likes me and that made me feel really good. It's not like I'm super close with all of them but I like them all. Hawa is my rock, she is such a good friend. She is so straight-up and tells it how it is. I sometimes question her if she is Sierra Leonean b/c of her straight forwardness, lol. Friends are friends, no matter what part of the world you come from.
I used to be so aware of me being an outsider like: they are black and I am not. I mean, ya, I still get stared at which I've already gotten used to. As well as, children running after me, yelling OPOTO and waving their hand is a daily occurrence. Excluding those slight nuances of being somewhat like a local celebrity or maybe even community curiosity, I actually live a very normal village life. I'm not so conscious of the difference of skin color which was more of like difference in culture translated by skin color. It doesn't cross my mind anymore, just like back in America where I don't really think about difference in ethnicity. That's just how it is in the Bay Area, it's diverse, you don't notice. I'm sure that it has alot to do with feeling like I belong to a community rather than being a PCV in a host community.
I've really adjusted to life here in Salone. When it's sunny, you bruk b/c your clothes will dry fast. When it rains, you put out your buckets to collect rain water. When "light don kam" (light turns on via generator), you make a mad dash to the closest outlet to charge your phone, lol. When you eat, you say "kam it" or "ta de di" (in Temne) b/c you never eat alone. When you leave you say "a de kam" or "i ti der" (Temne) b/c you never say goodbye.
I'm sure I'll have my every now and then shitty moments but right now I'm just basking in the awesomeness. I'm loving it here!
09/23/12-Tiny Slices Of Luxury
So this weekend marked my one month anniversary on site which is also the first official TAC (Time Away from Community) weekend. I spent the weekend in Makeni, technically the village of Panlap, for Bryan Gs birthday.
It was mostly folks from the north that came through but we had a few Bo District stragglers that came along. It was a great reunion and good to hear how everyone had been doing at their site. Lauren's next-door neighbor who owns this Nigerian Film-like mansion of a home insisted that we stay there since the home is not occupied. The house looked like a normal American home with real leather couches in a living room. Oh good lord, the feeling of curling up in the corner of a comfy leather couch was soooooo comforting! The owner was even nice enough to turn on the generator for us so we had light and an actual refrigerator. I mean, the beers never got cold but everyone seemed to find comfort in opening the fridge and grabbing a beer, lol.
The next day we headed out to Makeni to watch a futbol match at Apex. Apex is an expat/foreigner hangout spot. Also a great place on Sundays to watch prostitutes mingling with sleazy miners, lol. Aside from the sleaze factor, it felt so luxurious to drink a beer poolside. Yup that's right, poolside! Like a legit clean chlorinated pool in a nice Best Western, lol. It costs Le35,000 (~$7.50) to swim in it and I wasn't willing to shell out all that dough for a dip in the pool. Best alternative, just drink my beer alongside it, lol. Yes, I know, I'm a poor cheap bastard. Hey man, my life is in terms of Leones now, not dollars. I just convert on this blog for people to understand the exchange rate but typically Le35,000 to go swimming is "Eh diya" aka expensive as fuck, haha!
The bathroom was beautiful! It looked like a nice clean bathroom equivalent to like maybe slightly below a Cheesecake Factory bathroom, haha. Oh damn my standards have gone down the drain, lol. I had to conjure up a poo just so I could use this bathroom with an actual working flush. I took so damn long that my friend checked in to make sure I wasn't being raped by a sleazy miner, lol. I'll take my pieces of luxury when I can take it. This was definitely a luxury poo. And! And......when I washed my hands with an actual working sink I started to shake my hands dry then my eyes met with the hand dryer. WTF, I'm in heaven!!!! Clean bathroom, toilet paper, a flush, a running sink, a mother fucking hand dryer!!!!! Fucking ridiculous, really!!!!
So Cindarella turns back into a pumpkin........
I went back to the Lori Park and hopped in a motorcar with some chickens behind me and a sheep in the trunk which kept bleating every 2minutes during the whole hour ride home. No complaints here, I had a great time seeing all the folks in Makeni, the weather was great, and our car didn't breakdown.
As fun as every other trip I've had around Salone, I'm always happy and relieved whenever I arrive back in Lunsar. Kinda like: "Ah yes, I'm so glad to be back home." :)
It was mostly folks from the north that came through but we had a few Bo District stragglers that came along. It was a great reunion and good to hear how everyone had been doing at their site. Lauren's next-door neighbor who owns this Nigerian Film-like mansion of a home insisted that we stay there since the home is not occupied. The house looked like a normal American home with real leather couches in a living room. Oh good lord, the feeling of curling up in the corner of a comfy leather couch was soooooo comforting! The owner was even nice enough to turn on the generator for us so we had light and an actual refrigerator. I mean, the beers never got cold but everyone seemed to find comfort in opening the fridge and grabbing a beer, lol.
The next day we headed out to Makeni to watch a futbol match at Apex. Apex is an expat/foreigner hangout spot. Also a great place on Sundays to watch prostitutes mingling with sleazy miners, lol. Aside from the sleaze factor, it felt so luxurious to drink a beer poolside. Yup that's right, poolside! Like a legit clean chlorinated pool in a nice Best Western, lol. It costs Le35,000 (~$7.50) to swim in it and I wasn't willing to shell out all that dough for a dip in the pool. Best alternative, just drink my beer alongside it, lol. Yes, I know, I'm a poor cheap bastard. Hey man, my life is in terms of Leones now, not dollars. I just convert on this blog for people to understand the exchange rate but typically Le35,000 to go swimming is "Eh diya" aka expensive as fuck, haha!
The bathroom was beautiful! It looked like a nice clean bathroom equivalent to like maybe slightly below a Cheesecake Factory bathroom, haha. Oh damn my standards have gone down the drain, lol. I had to conjure up a poo just so I could use this bathroom with an actual working flush. I took so damn long that my friend checked in to make sure I wasn't being raped by a sleazy miner, lol. I'll take my pieces of luxury when I can take it. This was definitely a luxury poo. And! And......when I washed my hands with an actual working sink I started to shake my hands dry then my eyes met with the hand dryer. WTF, I'm in heaven!!!! Clean bathroom, toilet paper, a flush, a running sink, a mother fucking hand dryer!!!!! Fucking ridiculous, really!!!!
So Cindarella turns back into a pumpkin........
I went back to the Lori Park and hopped in a motorcar with some chickens behind me and a sheep in the trunk which kept bleating every 2minutes during the whole hour ride home. No complaints here, I had a great time seeing all the folks in Makeni, the weather was great, and our car didn't breakdown.
As fun as every other trip I've had around Salone, I'm always happy and relieved whenever I arrive back in Lunsar. Kinda like: "Ah yes, I'm so glad to be back home." :)
09/21/12-Things Happen For A Reason
I was supposed to leave today for Makeni for a PCV buddy's birthday but due to time and weather constraints I decided to stay behind and head out the next day.
Weather and time is so sensitive here in Salone when it comes to travel. It technically takes 1hr to get to Makeni from Lunsar but you take into consideration of the poda or motorkar's condition. Or when it rains there will be accidents, flooding, or gigantic puddles of mud traps. So ya, the fact that it was the afternoon and it had been raining like crazy all day, I decided to be smart about it and just wait.
My PlanB, hang out around home and help out Hawa with her catering gig for one of the mining companies. Luckily for her, the rain stopped by late afternoon and many of the community women came over to help out. Why should the rain affect the cooking? Well, it's because the kitchen is outside, duh, lol.
So Hawa was running a tight ship as we all did things from skinning chickens to cutting yabas (onion) to stirring giant cauldrons of food. I had a great time, it was like a big community party. Women prepping, cooking, and laughing, as all their children were playing around the compound.
After I was done with my contribution, I took out my radio and put in my USB stick of music (thanks Juan and Gina & Co.) and chilled out on my steps with all the kids. The kids loved the music. It really felt surreal chillin' on my porch, rockin' out to some Jurassic5, children dancing, and African aunties in their lapas cooking on coal pots while tapping their feet to the music.
That was a really happy moment for me. When I initially thought about how my service would be like in Peace Corps, I always thought of these grandeur events when in reality the it's been all these tiny spurts if simple moments that seem so special.
I truly believe that things happen for a reason. Staying behind one night was so worth it. I'm really happy here in Salone. I'm not just a tourist or some fly-by volunteer. I live here, in Africa, in Salone, in Lunsar. This is my community...........
Weather and time is so sensitive here in Salone when it comes to travel. It technically takes 1hr to get to Makeni from Lunsar but you take into consideration of the poda or motorkar's condition. Or when it rains there will be accidents, flooding, or gigantic puddles of mud traps. So ya, the fact that it was the afternoon and it had been raining like crazy all day, I decided to be smart about it and just wait.
My PlanB, hang out around home and help out Hawa with her catering gig for one of the mining companies. Luckily for her, the rain stopped by late afternoon and many of the community women came over to help out. Why should the rain affect the cooking? Well, it's because the kitchen is outside, duh, lol.
So Hawa was running a tight ship as we all did things from skinning chickens to cutting yabas (onion) to stirring giant cauldrons of food. I had a great time, it was like a big community party. Women prepping, cooking, and laughing, as all their children were playing around the compound.
After I was done with my contribution, I took out my radio and put in my USB stick of music (thanks Juan and Gina & Co.) and chilled out on my steps with all the kids. The kids loved the music. It really felt surreal chillin' on my porch, rockin' out to some Jurassic5, children dancing, and African aunties in their lapas cooking on coal pots while tapping their feet to the music.
That was a really happy moment for me. When I initially thought about how my service would be like in Peace Corps, I always thought of these grandeur events when in reality the it's been all these tiny spurts if simple moments that seem so special.
I truly believe that things happen for a reason. Staying behind one night was so worth it. I'm really happy here in Salone. I'm not just a tourist or some fly-by volunteer. I live here, in Africa, in Salone, in Lunsar. This is my community...........
09/17/12-The "Official" Nonofficial 1st Day Of School
Today was the government approved official 1st day of school. Alright, let's get the ball rollin'........ums not, lol.
Silly me, to think that I would be running around and actually be doing some teaching today. That's what teachers do, right? Teach? Lol! There was alot of shoulder shrugging and thumb twiddling in the staff room for me. I think 2 traits are crucial for survival in Salone: patience and a sense of humor.
The thing is, the first day of school is only a "soft" date. People kinda trickle in over the next few weeks which includes people that are still registering and people who want to transfer and take entrance exams. That's a great way to show a school you want to go there. Show up a week late and go, "So ums, I'm kinda late, so can I go here still?"
I'm slated to teach SS1 Math, which is like 9th grade math along with some computer courses. Don't bother asking me my schedule b/c it's not done yet, lol. I'm estimating for the timetable details to be smoothed out maybe sometime by Friday??? Who fucking knows, it beats the hell out of me??? [**commence shoulder shrugging & thumb twiddling**]
Did I tell you that I was at one of the country's most functional schools? Lol! Oh Salone...........
Coming from a world where the first day of school is spent going to all your classes, meeting your assigned teachers, going over the syllabus, classroom rules & expectations......this was a complete 180.
I at least introduced myself during assembly. "Hi, my name is Ms. Pascual, I'll be teaching Math." Oh wait, I also bought a delicious meat pie off some lady. Ya that pretty much sums up my big accomplishments for the 1st day of school.
I know I shouldn't be expecting regimented structure in an unstructured world. Sue me for being a creature of habit. But like I always say with a smile here in Salone, "A de try fo go manage, smol smol." It's my way of saying "Serenity Now!" (Seinfeld reference).
So for now, I am still in the middle of prepping the computer lab which is a dusty dark room filled with 2006 Macs. Something is better than nothing and this is more than what any other school has. Except for Muraldo, the rival all-boys school in Lunsar where my site mate teaches at. >:P
Actually, I'll only be teaching 3 computer classes a week for most of Term1 since my SS1 students will most likely not show up until Term2. Why, you ask? Well, after JS3, they take the BECE (Basic Education Competency Exam) and they cannot move onto SS1 until those results come out which should be October-ish? The "?" is to emphasize that it should be October but is most unlikely especially with upcoming elections in November where the government may close the schools down for around 2 weeks (note the "around"). It doesn't make sense to me why a student should only attend 2/3 of a school year. Making note of holes in the educational system :/
Oh Salone, once again I have to set my standards to another low. I didn't realize that there was a literal sense of just "showing up to work".
So, tomorrow's gameplan..........School, Day #2, I will literally just show up to work and continue the shoulder shrugging and thumb twiddling. I will definitely buy another meat pie. Oh, but I will change one thing; I will bring a good book.
My slogan for the day is: "Making A Difference In West Africa, One Meat Pie At A Time!"
Silly me, to think that I would be running around and actually be doing some teaching today. That's what teachers do, right? Teach? Lol! There was alot of shoulder shrugging and thumb twiddling in the staff room for me. I think 2 traits are crucial for survival in Salone: patience and a sense of humor.
The thing is, the first day of school is only a "soft" date. People kinda trickle in over the next few weeks which includes people that are still registering and people who want to transfer and take entrance exams. That's a great way to show a school you want to go there. Show up a week late and go, "So ums, I'm kinda late, so can I go here still?"
I'm slated to teach SS1 Math, which is like 9th grade math along with some computer courses. Don't bother asking me my schedule b/c it's not done yet, lol. I'm estimating for the timetable details to be smoothed out maybe sometime by Friday??? Who fucking knows, it beats the hell out of me??? [**commence shoulder shrugging & thumb twiddling**]
Did I tell you that I was at one of the country's most functional schools? Lol! Oh Salone...........
Coming from a world where the first day of school is spent going to all your classes, meeting your assigned teachers, going over the syllabus, classroom rules & expectations......this was a complete 180.
I at least introduced myself during assembly. "Hi, my name is Ms. Pascual, I'll be teaching Math." Oh wait, I also bought a delicious meat pie off some lady. Ya that pretty much sums up my big accomplishments for the 1st day of school.
I know I shouldn't be expecting regimented structure in an unstructured world. Sue me for being a creature of habit. But like I always say with a smile here in Salone, "A de try fo go manage, smol smol." It's my way of saying "Serenity Now!" (Seinfeld reference).
So for now, I am still in the middle of prepping the computer lab which is a dusty dark room filled with 2006 Macs. Something is better than nothing and this is more than what any other school has. Except for Muraldo, the rival all-boys school in Lunsar where my site mate teaches at. >:P
Actually, I'll only be teaching 3 computer classes a week for most of Term1 since my SS1 students will most likely not show up until Term2. Why, you ask? Well, after JS3, they take the BECE (Basic Education Competency Exam) and they cannot move onto SS1 until those results come out which should be October-ish? The "?" is to emphasize that it should be October but is most unlikely especially with upcoming elections in November where the government may close the schools down for around 2 weeks (note the "around"). It doesn't make sense to me why a student should only attend 2/3 of a school year. Making note of holes in the educational system :/
Oh Salone, once again I have to set my standards to another low. I didn't realize that there was a literal sense of just "showing up to work".
So, tomorrow's gameplan..........School, Day #2, I will literally just show up to work and continue the shoulder shrugging and thumb twiddling. I will definitely buy another meat pie. Oh, but I will change one thing; I will bring a good book.
My slogan for the day is: "Making A Difference In West Africa, One Meat Pie At A Time!"
09/09/12-Yamandu Station Stay-cation
It's official, the government announced that school will start on the 17th......so what does that mean for me.....road trip!
I went down to Bo District to visit my friend, Anne, in Yamandu Station. The other Kristyn (with a Y), or "Di Kristin Dem" as the entity that we like to refer to ourselves, from Jenbe which is only about 6miles away from Yamandu, joined us as well. I know it's only been about a month but it was an awesome reunion. Also, people are curious about other sites to see how it differs from their own.
It's just cool seeing the different setups for each village and meeting the people within them. It was a little weird being back in the south and hearing Mende being spoken all over the place. I had been so used to hearing Temne all around me this past month. The fact that I can differentiate between Mende, Temne, and probably even Limba are things I never thought would be in my skillset, lol. Something I can bluff about in America I suppose, lol. Major bluffing would be if I can greet in all 16 tribal languages.......I have 3 down so far: Krio, Mende, Temne........13 more to go, haha.
Yamandu Station is such a cool site, I am super jealous! I haven't seen very many sites but, so far, I love Anne's site the most. It's only 20min away from Bo, it's right off the highway, it's still considered "in the bush", the market is small and less stressful yet, has everything you need more or less, and it's clean b/c it's in the bush. Anne's spot is on the outskirts of Yamandu Station so it's quiet and she doesn't get much foot traffic. Walking into the center of town was really cool, I don't know if it was just how the town was set up but you kinda walk into the bush a bit and through a collection of houses and then there's this town setup with narrow dirt roads, it was really chill.
SIDENOTE: For once "Pssst, eh, eh, Chinese! Chinese!" wasn't echoing all around me. If you're so fucking curious then just greet me and ask me your damn self. Don't be an obnoxious dumbfuck and think that yelling "Chinese!" is a way to win my friendship. I understand that some people are curious but there is etiquette for greeting people and it is definitely not just exclusive to Sierra Leoneans. It is as simple as asking my name and asking where I come from. That is how I've befriended many people in Lunsar, just don't be rude and have some fucking manners for God's sake. Small children can get away with it and actually they just do the "opoto" call but when I say "Yainkain" they call me by my name from then on. I had to shame a teenage boy in the middle of the market b/c he was tapping me on my shoulder saying "Eh, eh, Chinese, Chinese!". I exploded on him and made "palava" (argument) at the market and said:
O'Temne bobo, mi noto so Chinese, mi na Ameican uman, fuk off, lef mi, yu no get mana! If yu wan fo sabi mi yu tink a go wan yu fo padi if yu don yel CHINESE CHINESE pan mi yes. Yu no sabi fo grit sef en ask fo mi nem sef lek oda Salone posin?!?! Lef mi, fuk off!!!
So I basically called him a child and called him O'Temne which is just like saying "Hey Black Man!" then set him straight and told him to fuck off. Everyone at the market laughed at him b/c he got told off in Krio by an opoto and he apologized and I still told him to fuck off, he pissed me off.
ANGRY RANT OVER........
But ya, back to Yamandu Station, I'm totally jocking this village. We totally chilled out at her spot and hung around with her neighborhood kids. I got my first proper "hole in the ground" latrine squatting experience which was actually pretty cool and decent. We even had a great discussion on optimal squatting position with precision angling, lol. She also had a straw outdoor shower setup which was nice so you don't have to bathe over the hole where you piss & shit. Her latrine was dry, spacious, and clean. I'm rating the bathroom facilities an 8 out of 10. It was way better than my wet pour-flush toilet in small moldy latrine/shower closet in Bo. And if you so choose, if late enough in the middle of the night, you can just open the backdoor and bathe right outside b/c it's all uninhabited bush. The thought of a naked woman bathing in the bush like some wild animal may sound sexy. The reality was me listening to Anne washing herself down at 2am quietly yelping [*water splash*] "dear god it's cold, help me....." [*water splash*]. LMAO!
The next day, her friend Paul came by and took us for a stroll through the bush. I complained that we needed a cutlass b/c the overgrowth was too thick and I was afraid of running into blade grass or worse a snake. Death by "snekbet" is serious shit here. If you yell out "SNEK!!!" random people will emerge out of the bush with big sticks, ready to do beat downs on a "snek", lol, swear, it's true! Besides, I didn't have the village herbal medicine patched into my body to protect me from snakebites. So I was telling Paul, that obviously he wasn't scared to be in the bush b/c he had the herbs. The walk was actually really beautiful, I was just being difficult for the sake of being difficult, to annoy the hell out of Anne, lol. That's what happens when you go off the grid, you are your own source of entertainment, lol. But I digress, it was a gorgeous walk through farmland up to this rock where we got an amazing view of guess what......more bush, lol. I'm in fucking Africa right now looking at this fucking awesome view......I live in Sierra Leone......fuck ya!!!!
The stars looked awesome tonight. I rarely see stars twinkling back at home so I was just loving the nightsky. We ended the evening on the veranda just staring up at the stars with the cool night air, it was beautiful. Then I ruined it by saying that it would be awesome if Mustafa's face (Lion King reference) would emerge from the sky and you'd hear James Earl Jones' voice......"Simba.......".
Cue the irritation........laughing and self satisfaction of annoyance achieved, lol.
I'm having a great time in Salone and I've met some really awesome people, both PCV and local.
Things are not perfect here in Salone but "den go try smol smol, i go go tek tem" (they are trying, it will take time). No country is perfect but I am happy here. There is this rugged beauty about it that I just can't explain. I'm not just talking about the landscape, I'm talking about Sierra Leone as a whole package..........imperfections and all.......I'm down with it.
I went down to Bo District to visit my friend, Anne, in Yamandu Station. The other Kristyn (with a Y), or "Di Kristin Dem" as the entity that we like to refer to ourselves, from Jenbe which is only about 6miles away from Yamandu, joined us as well. I know it's only been about a month but it was an awesome reunion. Also, people are curious about other sites to see how it differs from their own.
It's just cool seeing the different setups for each village and meeting the people within them. It was a little weird being back in the south and hearing Mende being spoken all over the place. I had been so used to hearing Temne all around me this past month. The fact that I can differentiate between Mende, Temne, and probably even Limba are things I never thought would be in my skillset, lol. Something I can bluff about in America I suppose, lol. Major bluffing would be if I can greet in all 16 tribal languages.......I have 3 down so far: Krio, Mende, Temne........13 more to go, haha.
Yamandu Station is such a cool site, I am super jealous! I haven't seen very many sites but, so far, I love Anne's site the most. It's only 20min away from Bo, it's right off the highway, it's still considered "in the bush", the market is small and less stressful yet, has everything you need more or less, and it's clean b/c it's in the bush. Anne's spot is on the outskirts of Yamandu Station so it's quiet and she doesn't get much foot traffic. Walking into the center of town was really cool, I don't know if it was just how the town was set up but you kinda walk into the bush a bit and through a collection of houses and then there's this town setup with narrow dirt roads, it was really chill.
SIDENOTE: For once "Pssst, eh, eh, Chinese! Chinese!" wasn't echoing all around me. If you're so fucking curious then just greet me and ask me your damn self. Don't be an obnoxious dumbfuck and think that yelling "Chinese!" is a way to win my friendship. I understand that some people are curious but there is etiquette for greeting people and it is definitely not just exclusive to Sierra Leoneans. It is as simple as asking my name and asking where I come from. That is how I've befriended many people in Lunsar, just don't be rude and have some fucking manners for God's sake. Small children can get away with it and actually they just do the "opoto" call but when I say "Yainkain" they call me by my name from then on. I had to shame a teenage boy in the middle of the market b/c he was tapping me on my shoulder saying "Eh, eh, Chinese, Chinese!". I exploded on him and made "palava" (argument) at the market and said:
O'Temne bobo, mi noto so Chinese, mi na Ameican uman, fuk off, lef mi, yu no get mana! If yu wan fo sabi mi yu tink a go wan yu fo padi if yu don yel CHINESE CHINESE pan mi yes. Yu no sabi fo grit sef en ask fo mi nem sef lek oda Salone posin?!?! Lef mi, fuk off!!!
So I basically called him a child and called him O'Temne which is just like saying "Hey Black Man!" then set him straight and told him to fuck off. Everyone at the market laughed at him b/c he got told off in Krio by an opoto and he apologized and I still told him to fuck off, he pissed me off.
ANGRY RANT OVER........
But ya, back to Yamandu Station, I'm totally jocking this village. We totally chilled out at her spot and hung around with her neighborhood kids. I got my first proper "hole in the ground" latrine squatting experience which was actually pretty cool and decent. We even had a great discussion on optimal squatting position with precision angling, lol. She also had a straw outdoor shower setup which was nice so you don't have to bathe over the hole where you piss & shit. Her latrine was dry, spacious, and clean. I'm rating the bathroom facilities an 8 out of 10. It was way better than my wet pour-flush toilet in small moldy latrine/shower closet in Bo. And if you so choose, if late enough in the middle of the night, you can just open the backdoor and bathe right outside b/c it's all uninhabited bush. The thought of a naked woman bathing in the bush like some wild animal may sound sexy. The reality was me listening to Anne washing herself down at 2am quietly yelping [*water splash*] "dear god it's cold, help me....." [*water splash*]. LMAO!
The next day, her friend Paul came by and took us for a stroll through the bush. I complained that we needed a cutlass b/c the overgrowth was too thick and I was afraid of running into blade grass or worse a snake. Death by "snekbet" is serious shit here. If you yell out "SNEK!!!" random people will emerge out of the bush with big sticks, ready to do beat downs on a "snek", lol, swear, it's true! Besides, I didn't have the village herbal medicine patched into my body to protect me from snakebites. So I was telling Paul, that obviously he wasn't scared to be in the bush b/c he had the herbs. The walk was actually really beautiful, I was just being difficult for the sake of being difficult, to annoy the hell out of Anne, lol. That's what happens when you go off the grid, you are your own source of entertainment, lol. But I digress, it was a gorgeous walk through farmland up to this rock where we got an amazing view of guess what......more bush, lol. I'm in fucking Africa right now looking at this fucking awesome view......I live in Sierra Leone......fuck ya!!!!
The stars looked awesome tonight. I rarely see stars twinkling back at home so I was just loving the nightsky. We ended the evening on the veranda just staring up at the stars with the cool night air, it was beautiful. Then I ruined it by saying that it would be awesome if Mustafa's face (Lion King reference) would emerge from the sky and you'd hear James Earl Jones' voice......"Simba.......".
Cue the irritation........laughing and self satisfaction of annoyance achieved, lol.
I'm having a great time in Salone and I've met some really awesome people, both PCV and local.
Things are not perfect here in Salone but "den go try smol smol, i go go tek tem" (they are trying, it will take time). No country is perfect but I am happy here. There is this rugged beauty about it that I just can't explain. I'm not just talking about the landscape, I'm talking about Sierra Leone as a whole package..........imperfections and all.......I'm down with it.
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