the march trip to freetown (5 of 5)

>> a happier post, i promise, in that we're beginning to see the end of the race here. the discussions amongst us volunteers is beginning to be our plans afterward, beginning to be questions about whats next, about the stresses awaiting us, and our plans for our COS (close of service) trip. the plan for myself, for those that care, is to leave gbendembu on july 23rd, go through the final clearances and paperwork in freetown, officially COS on july 27th, and then depart on july 29th from freetown to paris for two weeks in france before returning home to america on august 12th. there's a sizeable party planned for august 17th, but ill give you more details about that later. the important thing i want to convey is that while weve had student deaths, fights, problems, heartaches, sorrow, depression, and even diarrhea, that now, with only about 137 days left, we're beginning to feel a lightness, that we can do this, that we're *so* close that now it's a piece of cake. we'll see if the feeling lasts, but for the past few weeks myself and at least three other volunteers have all expressed similar feelings, that our time is drawing to a close. i love and miss you all :)

the march trip to freetown (4 of 5)

>> so last year my school had a sport competition. for those playing the home game, this means that the school is broken up into four houses and they compete against each other basically in an overblown track & field event competition. last year, this meant a complete shutdown of my school for almost two months and, at the climax, one of my students (a girl) being punched in the face by another student (a boy) because she dropped the baton during one of the relays. at that, i yelled / scolded / screamed at the man directly in charge of my 'house' and went home and swore it off, "I'm never participating in a sport again." this year, we said that since last year's sport got out of hand, that we would not have one this year. we changed our minds. i was put on green house. i demanded to be taken off, and was removed from it and put on the committee which i summarily ignored. i was then harassed by my students for my non-attendance and non-support. i used excuses like 'im really busy' or 'i have to input all these grades' but the truth is that i refuse to be part of something that in itself is a PERFECT example of all that is wrong with education here. putting a sporting competition before student education is just plain WRONG. in my opinion. (i have not taught in two weeks, the students were dismissed). I love and miss you all :)

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. :)