The Holidays

It has been quite a while since I’ve posted something new on here, so I thought I’d take some time and update everyone interested as to what I’ve been up to these past few months. Sadly, I misplaced my camera for most of the holidays which means this post will be a bit light on relevant pictures, my apologies in advance.

My running companion walking home after a long run

Site has been – and continues to be – great. Each day I feel more and more at home here. There are still things that I need to adjust to, but things continue to get easier as time marches on. Teaching in particular is quickly becoming more and more second nature. While I still can’t say that teaching is the most enjoyable profession, nor do I think I’ll pursue it after Peace Corps, I do enjoy seeing students “get it” and get excited about learning. My older classes in particular seem to really be getting a hang of the way I teach and are slowly showing the ability to apply what they learn to new and unique situations. There are still a ton of hurdles to overcome, however. After doing some popcorn reading in my 7^th grade class, I quickly learned that many of my students either have a tenuous grasp on reading or don’t yet know how to read. This is particularly disconcerting considering they had to pass a written examination to get into secondary school…

A primary school girl  from the health fair

Where the first term was mostly getting grounded and comfortable at the school, this term I hope to tackle some of these issues by starting a few secondary projects. I’m currently lesson planning a remedial English class for after school to shore up the language skills that were somehow glossed over in primary school. I’m also hoping to start a computer class at some point soon, starting with the teachers and working down the grade levels. In addition to school projects, I’m also working with a community member to start a gender violence camp aimed at educating teenage boys on the role they can play in preventing violence against women, as well as thinking up project ideas around malaria now that I’m a member of the Peace Corps STOMP out malaria team. Despite the amount of work, things here at site are good. The pace of life is relaxing and slow which leaves plenty of time to get things accomplished. Most days are spent at school teaching, working on projects, or attempting to fix the myriad of technological problems that Sierra Leoneans seem to have. Evenings are typically spent with my neighbors discussing cultural differences, world news, cooking, or whatever other topic presents itself over a few cups of poyo (palm wine). So far all my neighbors have been extremely welcoming and accommodating. It is difficult to find any real complaints.

View from a bridge in Freetown

As for the holidays, they were extremely hectic. They started a bit early as I went to Freetown around the 11^th for a medical checkup. I had some stomach problems and a number of wounds on my feet that didn’t seem to be healing, but thankfully I was given a clean bill of health. I spent my few days there enjoying some American proxies that I’ve definitely missed here, namely decent internet speeds (60kb/s woo!), hamburgers, electricity, and running water. The only issue was that the tests took a bit longer than expected to complete leaving me with little time to get back to Makeni for our in-service training (IST). 

Sunset from Signal Hill in Freetown

Our IST lasted just over a week and was incredibly fun. It was great seeing everyone again after three or so months at site.  We were housed in a pastoral center in dorm style housing which brought back some collegiate nostalgia. Hard to believe that college ended almost two years ago. Anyway, the week consisted of sessions on grant writing, security, best teaching practices, and much more. The last few days we were each joined by a counterpart from our sites. Their role is to be someone in a position of authority in the community who is interested in pursuing projects. I chose one of my fellow teachers who I’ve spent a lot of time with the first term. During the conference we worked on developing a project for introducing child-centered teaching techniques to the school. All in all it was a great training. The only real negative was that during one of the nights out after training my smartphone was stolen out of my hands. I tried chasing the thief down and ended up cutting up my feet and injuring my toe all for naught as he got away anyway. Thankfully, one of my friends here let me use her smartphone that she had brought but wasn’t using so I could get back online.

Bureh Beach

Training ended on the 21^st and I didn’t have any real plans until Christmas so I ended up following some friends out to Bureh beach, which is far and away one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. It feels like a place completely removed from Sierra Leone. I spent the two days there at the Bureh Beach Surf Club, which apparently got its start, in part, due to Peace Corps Volunteers. The Surf Club has a volleyball net, surfboard rentals, and fresh caught barracuda to eat every night. Needless to say, I was glad I spent the time between IST and Christmas there. 

Sunset at Bureh beach

On the 24^th I headed out to Bo to spend Christmas with my host family that I had during our pre-service training. It felt nothing like Christmas in the States with it being 90 or so degrees during the day but it was nice to see the family again. The volunteer who had the same host family a year before myself also came out and it was nice to spend some time hanging out with him as well. After Christmas, I went back to my site for a few days to get some things done before I headed up north to Kabala for New Years. 

Another view from Bureh beach

Kabala is one of the bigger towns in the north of Sierra Leone. It is currently experiencing a bit of a boom as the government is investing heavily in order to make Kabala a more attractive tourist destination. Since it is up in the Wara Wara hills, it is always around 15 or so degrees cooler than the rest of the country. It is also home to a sizable group of Fulas – the ethnic minority known for cattle rearing in Sierra Leone – so things like beef and other vegetables rarely found thought out the country are plentiful in Kabala. My short visit there left me with a heavy dose of envy for the two volunteers who call Kabala their site. Each year the town hosts a huge New Year’s Day celebration on one of the bigger hills overlooking the town. My first few days there were spent attending some pre-New Year’s Day festivities. Sierra Leone’s president attended as well and he invited us to sit in the honored guest stands. In addition, he apparently requested some one-on-one time with the volunteers who were there but it unfortunately never came to fruition. Regardless, we hiked up the hill overlooking town on New Year’s Day and spent most of the afternoon relaxing and enjoying the celebration. After the festivities I had planned to head back to site to get everything set before school started back up on the 6^th but instead I decided at the last minute to spend my remaining days of break back at Bureh beach.

Another sunset at Bureh

 Overall, the holidays were incredible, but the slower pace of life at my site was welcome change of pace. School here has officially gotten back into swing and I’m now teaching an additional class of English to the equivalent of 9^th grade students. The volunteer before myself taught them last year so they seem to have a decent grasp on both the way I speak English and the language in general. Site has been rather uneventful compared to the hustle and bustle of the holidays but I’m glad to be back. You don’t really realize how comfortable you are in a place until you leave that place for an extended period of time.

Another inquisitive student from the health fair

As always thanks for reading. Hope everyone is doing well back home, I miss you all dearly. I would love to hear what you were all up to over the holidays (or anytime for that matter, not just the holidays) if you get the chance.