Internet is Hard (January 27th)

>> I'm back. Someone hacked my gmail account and got it disabled and I was very (probably more than was necessary) upset about losing my gmail account and, thereby, this blog. But, somehow, magic was worked and the crisis was averted. To whoever hacked my account? Did you enjoy reading e-mails from America and me moping about how much I miss everyone? I hope you're happy. // The holidays were a mixed bag here. Foday and I went to attend a dance on Christmas Eve but before we left for it (8 PM) a child came up and said one of the teachers had been hit on the head and was being taken to the hospital. We went to the dance a little later (the dance was in the center of my village) and found the town in uproar about the departed teacher. We didn't know what was the *right* thing to do, so decided to go to the dance and figure out details in the morning. In the morning, we got our details. Charles M. Fornah, father of two, Agricultural Sciences teacher, had died. His brother had hit him on the head with a large stick/log and he died in Makeni. The next day involved me running some errands and then walking home past his house to hear his sisters and mother WAILING in SORROW. It was TERRIBLE. I stood with my teachers who had gathered outside and waited as long as I could stand before going to my house to finish my errand and then walking back to find a funeral procession had formed. The casket was at the front, followed by about 400 people from my village and one kid from Chicago. I cried at the burial. We were advised never to cry in front of your village, that it shows a weakness you can't really take back, but this hurt. It was probably the closest I've come to deciding to come home. I thought about my family and my friends, and how I would feel if they died. This was NOT a good Christmas. I love and miss you all..

This Time of Year

>> So this is difficult. In case I gave you the impression that the Peace Corps was easy, it was really hard for my parents to call on Thanksgiving and not be present. For some families, I know that Thanksgiving is an excuse to drink, but in my family it's been the same since I can remember. Waking up early, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, helping cook, watching the football game, engorging in some amazing meal, then either watching football or "A Christmas Carol" preferably with Scrooge being played by Alistair Sim. (Alastair Sims?)(Alistar Sim?) If I had google, I could check that. My point is that it was difficult to hear from home. BUT. We made our own Thanksgiving. At Andre's residence, we killed a duck, cooked breadfruit (?) and a variety of other items and made a feast. We said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang the Sierra Leone National Anthem before we ate, which I thought was pretty amusing, given the amount of children staring at the copious amounts of food we made. And then devoured. Such is Africa. // The end of my first term teaching has brought a lot of reflection. A new plicy meant that students were broken up and spread out and enabled me to see a lot more of the cheating, stop them from cheating. The grades on my test were way down. Depressing. But, some kids continue to genuinely shine- one student aced my exam and many others did well. It is exceptionally encouraging to see students that not only understand the material but are passionate about it. I can only hope that they have the opportunity to *do* something with this desire to learn although in many cases, it's simply not the case. Again, such is Africa. // I'm at IST now, (In-Service Training) in Makeni which is great because we get to see all the volunteers again! and sucks because we get to see all the volunteers again! and is annoying for the same reason. We shall see. It is hard for me to believe that as of December 14th I will have spent four months living in Gbendembu and will have been in Africa for six-and-a-half months. I hear that winter has hit my home of Chicago and that Chicago sports organizations have decided to become awesome in my absence. Thanks, guys. Really. I was the one cheering on the Bears regardless of the record (usually 4-12) and now that you're 9-3 (10-3?) I'm not there. Harumpf. // I will not be able to post again before the New Year or Christmas so I will wish you all a very happy holiday season and a prosperous new year. I implore you to focus on what is IMPORTANT this time of year, not gifts, not bargains, not alcohol (although I'll approve celebratory champagne) but spending time with your loved ones. I am not looking forward to Christmas (I'll be in my village! :) but I know I'll be thinking about all my loved ones at home. I will be coming home in mid-July 2011 and I continue to look forward to (but not too much) to seeing you all again. Again, a shout-out to Jimmy, Jessie, and Andre's parents- We had a great Thanksgiving although I was feeling under the weather and we continue to be close. Finally, in closing, I have not had diahhrea in three weeks! Three WHOLE weeks! If that's not a Christmas present from Africa, I don't know what is :) I love and miss you all :)

Bryan and the Case of the Undisciplined Students

>> So. Let's get caught up. School has gone very well. I've given a few more tests, and my students have honestly begun to respect me, that is, my SS2 students. (JSS1 to JSS3 is from age 13 to about 16, give or take a decade, and SS1 to SS3 is 16-20, give or take a decade. I have a 30-year-old student in SS3). My SS3 kids were very disrespectful for a few days in a row, giving me flack, talking in Loko behind my back because they knew I would not understand it, etc. I came out of the class fuming and the principal noticed (My friends have sometimes noted either a feeling of cold or a feeling of heat waves when I'm angry) and asked what was the matter. I informed him about their flagrant disrespect, ESPECIALLY given my status as, you know, a young volunteer thousands of miles from his family and friends, you know, no biggie. My principal was VERY upset. He wanted NAMES. The next day, the worst five, (which became nine), got yelled at, eventually turning into a hunt to see who had taken down my notes. Out of the 51 students, only 18 had. The others? Of COURSE causing problems. Caught. Their punishments can't really be revealed here, but the school farm looks superb, and my compound is very clean. Their uniforms were also changed to match the younger students. They pleaded to me, "Mr. Meeker, the younger students do not respect us in this uniform!" to which I replied, "Oh? You're upset because you're not getting the respect you feel you deserve? That must be AWFUL." They prompty left. Treated. // My laptop refuses to charge. A technician in my village, Jerry, has taken her down to the motherboard and found multiple problems that coincide with someone dropping it. I have NEVER dropped it and am usually careful (as careful as you can be here) with it which means that someone else dropped it. I would be angry, but there's no real point. My life goes on. I hope that Jerry can fix it, because I miss movies and writing and mixing music, but if he can't, I'll survive. It's just frustrating to have an amazing poweful laptop essentially reduced to a shiny Sony paperweight now. Sigh. // There was a Muslim holiday here a few weeks back which involved me going to a nearby village for an awesome dance. We were treated like royalty (Jimmy and I) and we had a lot of fun although real-world problems came back at the conclusion when our ride was inebriated and our options to get the seven miles back to Gbendembu were limited. Needless to say, we walked a large chunk of that (as the sun set) and then I managed to find transportation. The day and dance were fun, but to have real-world problems like alcoholism hit you in the face was depressing. // I had giardia a week ago, you can look that beauty up, and it was awful. I know that I always seem to be writing about when I'm sick, but that's just because it's what I remember. I'm healthy and happy 85% of the time :) but the giardia was bad. I had terrible diarrhea and felt like vomiting, dry heaving, like my insides were on fire. I called our medical officer and took 4 pills of 500mg antibiotics (which honestly would kill anything) and felt better slowly over the next couple of days. I don't know if I've mentioned it here before, but being sick here is a HUGE depressing situation. Whereas in America you can drive to CVS or Walgreens or wherever and get some soup and some medicine, that's really not an option here. Your choices are, call the doctor, take the medicine she prescribes, and wait it out. Such is life. // Foday showed me an awesome dish that I will be sharing with my parents when come to visit me in late March. Papaya, red peppers, lime, salt. It sounds maybe a smidgen like guacamole or a smidgen like fruit salad, but it was REALLY good. The Mende pastor, which whom I've been spending Monday or Tuesday evenings with, continues to spoil me with amazingly good food. Her last dish I christened "Spicy Mende Chicken," which she loved :) She is also an example of the village beginning to like me- she came to my house when I had giardia and prayed over me. Wonderful experience :) I have to give a shout out to the BB parents of Jessie, Andre, and Jimmy, my family here in Sierra Leone. Your kids love you, and we're having a get-together tomorrow for Thanksgiving. It was hard to miss Thanksgiving, especially since my parents called, but I know that we'll make up for it with our own unique version tonight/tomorrow. I love and miss you all :)

"Mr. Meeker is a Good Teacher!"

>> That's right. The students say I'm a good teacher. The first four weeks have gone really well, I've given three quizzes and again gotten bell curves on them, with their "big" test coming up on Tuesday. It's really not much bigger than the quizzes (a limitation on these not being printed tests but being me writing questions on the board so you can' really ask more than seven questions) ((I'm asking seven questions)). The last few weeks have of course had their share of memorable moments, a small spell of sickness (less than a day) in which I felt so dizzy I thought the bed was flipping over sideways. Fun. I drank beverage with complete strangers in my friend's village, watched some tremendous thunderstorms, made friends with some of my fellow teachers, and on Thursday the 21st, my birthday, watched as about sixty Africans converged on my property and danced into the night. Staff members arrived first and we requested some music on Capitol Radio (my favorite) and then the children arrived. They are continuously amazed at my dancing skills (skills? hmmm.). I got to DJ for about ten minutes and loved it although the kids didn't know the music (of course) and it's not what they're used to (of course) but my friends were going crazy and it felt amazing (and like home :) I would write more, but my battery is dying. Such is life. In conclusion, I did not think I would be celebrating a birthday (ever) in Africa, but I found myself having the time of my life here and as I've said before, for every moment that I struggle, waiting just a little amount of time usually lends itself to something amazing and beautiful. I love and miss you all.

Ikenna is Generous

>> Ikenna is letting me use his laptop at our favorite Makeni hang-out, where internet is down, but somehow up at the same time. In this case, his laptop is invaluable. Thank you, Ikenna. Now, to me. The more important volunteer. Teaching has gone well, but let me tell you more. The first week involved me awkwardly sweating, dealing with diarrhea, and teaching students things they already knew. The second week involved me hitting my stride. Students that initially were apathetic found a focused, non-diarrheal, still sweating volunteer in front of them, ready to teach. I gave a quiz on Thursday (as I did not have them on Friday) and grades were remarkably just what I wanted (aka a bell curve with some doing great, most doing okay, and some not so much). The third week, this past week, has also been great. I delayed my next quiz until Monday (because the students lied to me about an assembly. thanks.), but they seem to be interested in the material and some have even asked intuitive questions. It remains to be seen how much detail I can go into biology at a Baptist school where on my first day I was questioned about my religious tendencies. As in America, I plan to teach science, and only science. I was worried about teaching because of horror stories I had heard from other volunteers, of taking many months to realize how to teach effectively and while I do NOT believe I am at the apex of my teaching prowess, I feel like I have settled into a nice..groove.. already. On the home front, I am having some chairs built for my parlor and received a bookshelf, toilet seat, and some wooden boards I wanted. I have now posted the postcards and letters I have received from home and anytime walking down my center hallway makes me smile. I will not be online again until November, which will be after my birthday and a party at my mansion on the 30th. Thank you again for your responses and comments and I love and miss you all :)

Long Time No Post

>> Sorry about the delay. In Africa, things are difficult. Ill be brief because I can be back online next Saturday. Teaching is going wonderfully so far, and Ive really settled into my village. Foday was transferred to the village of Makago so we do not see each other as much as we did. I went through a bad bout of ..something.. but with the help of Cipro (a great antibiotic) I got over it. I have never felt so helpless as I did in my latrine at 2 in the morning unable to defecate normally. Sigh. Besides that, everything is wonderful. I am looking forward to my party on October 30th at my house and contemplating that I have now spent four months in Sierra Leone. Amazing. A better blog post next time, I promise...

Ah Hah...

>> Why is Blogspot talking to me in Spanish today? Such is life. Thank you all for your kind comments and words of encouragement. Along with the e-mails and Facebook comments, they help to keep me grounded that you all still *do* exist, just across the ocean :) I have "settled" in a little bit more since my last post. I feel that my villagers may have come to understand that expecting me to learn all of their native languages in two weeks may have been slightly presumptuous and they are now happy with my basic greetings and a smile. My Loko is far improved (modesty) and I can now remember who speaks Limba (and who doesn't) and I've even made a friend where I greet here in Loko, Temne (Themne? It sounds like Temm-nay), and Limba and we both get a laugh out of it. Foday continues to be a welcome resource and we spend most nights relaxing on my veranda with beverage and Bob Marley / Capitol Radio playing into the night. Most volunteers have a very 'public' setting, but my mansion is set back from the road (behind Foday's house) and faces *away* from Foday's house and into the relative jungle. This means that sitting on the porch is a relaxing affair and not so much an invitation for endless conversation (which of course is nice, but I'd rather have people come to me when they want to talk to me as opposed to, oh! i'm walking by! there's that nice plump American! let's chat!) Not that I'm not social, but the privacy is wonderful. I'm excited for the school year to start. It should start September 13th although I've been informed multiple times that students take the first week as 'vacation' so I shouldn't expect any serious classes until Stepmber .. sigh. *September 20th. As great as integrating into my community is, meeting people, touring the village, etc., it's not **really** the reason I'm here. I'm here to teach, to hopefully help out a broken education system, and learn something in the process. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm ready for my new routine- the one I'm going to have for most of the school year and most of my service. I know what you're thinking.. 'the petete leaf is always greener on the other side..' but that's just the way I am. I love and miss you all :)