the march trip to freetown (3 of 5)

>> a word on my students, who have grown more and more insolent as time has gone by. i remain baffled as to the mindset of these students, who are not only rude but blatantly insubordinate to myself and the other teachers. examples: (a) i am in the computer room inputting grades and a student walks up and reminds me (with a certain amount of malice) that i have their class. i inform the student that they are incorrect, that i am capable of reading a time table. they insist (with more malice) that i am wrong. i walk to the timetable and prove them wrong. now, understandable, but WHY SO MUCH ATTITUDE. (b) a student mocked my voice, which i do not stand for, and then proceeded to run away from me, and by run i mean RUN, he was chased all the way out of the school and past the football field to the swamp. Why not just take the punishment (that you deserve) and then move on with life? By running, you make it so much worse. (c) my school has decided to have a sport competition after all and when asked if i am participating, i informed them i was not. (because sport is a terrible idea, but that's in a different blog post) i was then informed that i dont like the students, that i am not a good teacher, that i should be at the sport, that i am not supporting them and that im generally wrong. this was laughed off by me, since the irony is just incredible, but the question remains: Why am I getting so much attitude from my students? ESPECIALLY the students who have to take the WASSCE exam in a few short weeks? I am baffled. Absolutely baffled. I love and miss you all :)

the march trip to freetown (2 of 5)

>> yes, it's a post about animals. this is when you roll your eyes and go back to facebook. ill continue. (a) each time i visit my staff quarters as it is constructed, there are goats. the first day, there was one goat. the second time, two goats. sleeping in my unfinished bedrooms and pooping everywhere. im worried to look when i get back to the village. there will likely be a small goat colony there, deciding on its leadership and flag design, asking for recognition from the UN (b) in relation to this, my dogs have become bullies. when we walk to school, they chase any goat they see and it runs away screaming (as a goat screams) until it comes to another goat and then they have strength in numbers and my dogs come back to me, grinning happily. eventually, this will get me into trouble. but, until the goats LEAVE MY HOUSE ALONE im okay with it (c) in relation to my dogs, there are a lot of them now! i don't know why, but we've added Beretta to the fold at my neighbor's house, but he's been there and i hadn't really interacted with him. also, TwoFace, a small white puppy, and BelieveGod at the school campus that at first hated me but now rolls over on his back like a pushover. i am completely okay with being the volunteer that liked dogs. (d) finally, because it's africa, i have to let you know that TwoFace ate a chicken next door. the owner pleaded for him and he wasn't killed. he then ate a chicken at a different neighbor's house and was slaughtered like he didn't matter. i love and miss you all :(

the march trip to freetown (1 of 5)

>> this post is about the completion of my project! for some reason, blogspot isn't letting me choose my own font or format this. whatever. so, for those paying attention, i started the chairs and desks project in january 2011 after our IST (in-service training) and it took a long time. there were problems with arranging the metalworker to come to gbendembu, there were problems with the pricing and paying for workmanship, there were problems with receipts and then getting those receipts back to freetown from the village. but, with the first half completed, the embassy staff was pleased, and the work continued. i took that trip home in july 2011 and work sort of stopped altogether. upon my return, i stoked the fires, and work continued until the welding machine broke and then my metalworker came down with malaria, which meant the metal chairs weren't done. on the side of the wooden desks, they were done relatively quickly. finally, the machine was fixed and the metalworker was healthy and work continued, only to be stuck again when we had no paint to label the chairs and desks. an exercise in patience, yes. finally, finally, finally, everything was finished and the embassy came to gbendembu. i should write that again, clarifying and emphasizing. the AMBASSADOR to SIERRA LEONE, MICHAEL OWEN, came to GBENDEMBU! It was an incredible day that went without any problems and the embassy staff was truly impressed with people's generosity and honesty and, perhaps most important, that the chairs and desks were finished and beautiful. the Ambassador gave a short optimistic speech (that was truly uplifting to hear) as well as my principal and the Paramount Chief, then a short tour of the campus, finally coming to the staff quarters i'm constructing. it was an amazing day, a memorable one, and perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime event for the village. the project is finished. i love and miss you all :)

so much for that..

>> the trip to freetown's purpose was to take the foreign service exam.. i was signed up for the 2 PM test, and some were signed up for the 10 AM test.. off they went.. and then the phone call. not enough internet. (laughs). there apparently wasn't enough bandwith (even after the embassy arranged for extra bandwith ((like just ordering an extra pizza to make sure there's enough for everyone))) and they had to cancel it. soooo my trip to freetown has switched into what it usually is, just a miniature vacation! we were told that we may be able to take it in about three months but that there's no guarantee that the internet will be working then either. (i'm sitting next to chris randall. his shirt is off.) i love and miss you all :)

one hundred posts..

>> hard to believe that this is my hundredth post. i'm back in freetown, preparing for the FSOT (Foreign Service Officer Test) on saturday at the u.s. embassy. as part of the process, we are given three administrative leave days, so i took one today (thursday) and one tomorrow (friday) to give myself a nice plump weekend. a lot has happened since i was last here for that mental health week,..

1. 
   
   Throughout that mental health week, I was getting updates from Gbendembu on the progress (or lack thereof) involving the theft case. While the police were conducting their investigation, traditional means were also agreed upon.


2. 
   
   The sorcerer came to my village. He had three long sticks tied together with colored fabric and he was dressed quite impressively. He would touch the end of the stick against a person, smell the stick, and then move in a different direction and smell other people. His job was to identify the item I had hidden (a metal bottle opener) and if he succeeded, we would know he would be qualified to find the thief. He failed. He said that whenever he looked at people's faces, he saw TWO faces. And when he looked at me? I became a black man. He reasoned that someone in Gbendembu was blocking him with black magic. We paid for his transport home and he left.


3. 
   
   We decided to do a Thunder Swear. This is about as serious as the traditional means gets. Involved in the thunder swear was a young chicken (not a chick but just young), a frog, nails, a hammer, oil, an umbrella, herbs and plants, a lighter, and village elders and a medicine woman. the young chicken was soaked in oil. i wasn't sure why. oil on the wings. oil on the underside, the legs, all over. the chicken was not pleased with any of this. then he was lit on fire. he flapped away into the jungle and died. the frog was nailed onto a piece of wood. both of these ingredients, along with the special herbs & spices were combined in a pot. there were a lot of languages being spoken (yelled), some Loko, some Arabic, some Themne, and i took a video too.. the residue was put on the bottom of the feet and the swear was done. within two or three weeks, the thief will find they are unable to defecate or urinate and will beg for forgiveness from the medicine woman. we are now on week three. (apparently the thunder swear works better in rainy season. it's the harmattan so no rain. or thunder.)


4. 
   
   School restarted, and i am happy to relate that it has been a much more productive second term than last years. however, my SS3 students, those who should be the most serious about their education right now, are being incredibly rude. to everyone. many teachers (including myself) have walked out. the principal(s) have yelled at them. the parents have been yelled at. when peace corps visited me, they yelled at them. nothing seems to get through. yesterday, arriving late to school, students ran away from me into the jungle. i chased them. i don't think a white man has ever been where i was (..almost lost). but seriously. the biggest test of their lives is in three months and you're running away from a teacher into the jungle? very frustrating.


5. 
   
   my new routine is as follows (a) wake up, go to school (b) write down the times teachers arrive because if i do not, the teachers will lie about what time they arrive. the teachers sign, we laugh, the day begins (c) teach my classes as best as possible (d) get lunch with jones. we alternate days to pay for each other, usually rice with beans or cakes and potatoes with some ginger beer. (not actually beer). (e) stay at the school until about 3 PM on the laptop doing work or goofing off (f) go to the house construction site (where the house is now past window height! :) (g) go home, change out of pants, relax, nap (h) go back to school in evening to do more work or goof off, lesson plan, read (i) go to Pa Kandie's house for palm wine (j) go home, listen to music on laptop, read, fall asleep (k) cuddle with backpack (l) wake up.

I love and miss you all. :)

what did we learn

>> for some, i might be humorous. i now walk around my house at about 6:30 with a flashlight, locking every window, acting like some sort of pudgy peace corps night watchman, humming to myself doodley doo dum dum while i lock the windows, double check the back door and front door. after drinking palm wine with foday or whatever the evening's activities are, i lock the front door, put my laptop into my backpack (i no longer leave it at the school overnight. paranoid), along with my camera (because in the parlor its too far away), and zip it up, strip down, get into bed, and basically spoon with my backpack. i have to admit that the backpack never complains about my morning breath, never gets upset when i want to pillow talk, and is always there in the morning waiting for me, with drool marks on the zipper. i think i've found the love of my life. thank you, african thief, for making me stupidly paranoid :) i love and miss you all :)

theft

>> so, maybe christmas here just isn't meant to be. i made the decision each year to stay in my village for christmas because i thought it was important but each time, it has sucked. this year, we had a tremendous christmas eve and christmas day, going to a dance christmas night from about 9 PM to 2 AM. the next day, boxing day, we had similar ideas, but foday (being inebriated) changed the plans so we came home around 10:30. we came home, and foday immediately made for the couch and curled in a ball. i said, "NO! GO SLEEP IN YOUR ROOM!" Foday laughed, and I went to my room. To find my safe gone. The nails bent sideways, a knife on the floor bent in half, my mattress askew, the drawers to my bed ripped open, the screen torn, and one of the iron bars that is supposed to keep burglars out bent completely out. i had been robbed. inside the safe was about Le3,000,000 for staff quarters construction, Le233,000 in teacher truancy fines, Le280,000 of my own money, two pairs of my glasses, and on top, my Zune mp3 player. all gone. happy christmas. the police are investigation as are more traditional methods (sorcerer / wizard) but in reality, the money is likely gone. the happy ending to the story is that two ministers of the sierra leone government have donated to me the stolen money (and extra money for my own living expenses) so in the end, there will be no time lost to the theft and limited stress (now) on me money-wise, HOWEVER, the take-away message here is that i am in freetown for a mental health week for how terribly violating this entire event was. my entire village was incredibly supportive, bringing food, palm wine, offering condolencences and support, and generally trying their best to calm me down (the morning after the robbery i started packing my bags to go home to america). thefts happen, but the worst thefts i believe are those that leave the victim just that. victimized. afraid to sleep in your own bedroom. i'm in freetown for a week to get my head back on straight, to recognize the generosity of sierra leoneans (as well as the greed), and to try to enjoy myself. i refuse to give up, africa. you're trying your damndest, but i refuse. i love and miss you all :)