Peace Corps held a swearing in ceremony which established us as full fledge volunteers instead of trainees. The ceremony was held in Monrovia and the president herself, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, showed up to speak some kind words and to show her support of the Peace Corps program. After the speeches finished we were officially sworn in as Peace Corps Volunteers, a process that took 3 months! Lunch was provided by Yamaha and her catering crew, after we had a couple hours in Sinkor to buy things for our sites. We were unable to shop the downtown area of Monrovia because there was a political rally happening, which was really upsetting because the big market in Monrovia (Waterside) is where we planned on finding everything we needed. After we finished we all got back on the bus, made the journey back to Kataka, where we would stay at Doe Palace another night and take off for our sites the following morning.
Waking up the next day was hectic, everyone was getting things together and finishing last minute packing. The taxis were lined up outside, people who were traveling the farthest were being packed up first. Saying goodbye to everyone was bittersweet. We all know we will see each other during Christmas (at reconnect), yet are sad that the people we have spent every day with for the last 3 months will no longer be just down the road from your house. I held my shit together pretty well… until I said goodbye to Melissa. We had grown pretty close in this short time so saying goodbye was really difficult, as you can probably assume... I cried.
It was my time to take off. My car was packed, I was traveling with another girl named Rachel (she is the closest person to my site). The drive is about 1.5 hours on the paved road. There is one "checkpoint" we pass which is really just a bunch of people telling you to get out of the car for "inspection" or to pay money (for the taxi driver), for me, most of the time it means getting out, showing my peace corps ID to the chief inside and chatting small.
We finally make it to my site, Gbartla, and pull up to the house. The houses came mostly unfurnished- I received a table (for me it was a desk, a chair, a barrel for water, and a bedframe. We (Rachel, the driver and I) unpacked my things inside the house and left straight away to Gbanga to buy a bed. Going to Gbanga the first day was stressful! The entire time I felt as if I needed to be back at site unpacking, or saying hello to all the neighbors, making my presence known. Gbanga is a big city like Kataka (Gbanga is where I did my site exposure) we walked around and tried to get the essentials. I bought a broom and a bed (apparently those were my essentials ha). The bed situation was tricky- I’m not entirely sure what the obsession with foam is here in Liberia, all the beds are foam or some sort of foam, and if you find a spring bed it is crazy expensive. We finally found a guy who had decent priced spring beds and we bought two (spoiler-- it’s a foam bed and its massively uncomfortable). Getting the beds back to our sites was an exciting (not) journey. We "chartered" the car, he put the beds on top and drove us to our houses. We stopped in Sukako (halfway point from me and Gbanga and Rachels site) the driver asked us a simple question of where we lived, since we had only been to our sites for about 10 min each we struggled through giving directions, finally dropped Rachel with all her stuff off at her house, and then it was just me and the driver. Every turn we made I thought was my site, I didn’t have Rachel there to help me out anymore. Luckily, we found my house and he helped me unload my bed, bring it inside and he left.
For the first time in 3 months I was completely alone, I didn’t know anyone, and I was massively uncomfortable. It’s basically everything peace corps promises you will happen. I decided that meeting the neighbors would be more important than unpacking- at least initially. I walked around my community and said hello to everyone. Now that might seem super normal to do, but it is PAINFULLY awkward. People are doing things and you’re just the goof walking around being like oh hey, I just moved here, and I’m coming to speak to you. It became even more painful when I realized 99.9% of everyone speaks Kpelle first and Liberian English second. If there was one thing I hated in high school was language and in Peace Corps training it was the local language instruction, which for me is Kpelle. Now I was alone and thrown into a town where everyone speaks Kpelle. I spent the first several days sitting small (a little) with the neighbors, I would walk up to their circle or their house, stand awkward for 10 seconds, they would offer me a seat to sit down, I would sit and they would continue speaking Kpelle, occasionally asking me a question in Liberian English. If it was around any time they were making food they would offer me “my own” to which I would accept or deny by saying oh my gut full thank you.
Sitting on my porch I started to get "porch kids", porch kids are kids that swarm you the second they see you outside, and will stay with you all day if you stay on the porch. My first porch kid was a 12-year-old boy named Surprise. He would come over, say he was there to lecture (talk) and would always ask if he was disturbing me, because I would be outside reading Madam President (a book I HIGHLY recommend). He would ask me about America and at times we would just sit in silence (which is super normal here). I met my counterpart, a man named John who works at the school with me, I can’t imagine having a counterpart who didn’t actually help you out with things or communicate with you, so for that I am lucky- especially because he helps me fill my 12 gallon + bin of water every week! My Principle, Samuel, did a walk-through town with me showing me the health clinic, the police station, the commissioner’s office, the chief and all those important places we should see.
The first 2 weeks before school started were spent almost completely outside, I thought if I integrated a bunch now when school came around and I was busy I wouldn’t have to try as hard because I already knew everyone. This mentality is incorrect but I will explain more on that at a later time. Making sure everyone saw me and I was friendly to everyone was very important to me. It allowed me to feel comfortable right away, I was hoping it would aid in any safety issue that might arise, the idea of we don’t want to steal from her because she is so nice... not that everyone steals... nor that if someone is going to steal do they care if your nice, but everyone here hates on the "rouges", and the goal was to have an added layer of protection from your neighbors, the if you see something say something.
My Liberian family (AKA my best friend and sister Princess) calls me about every week which always puts me in a good mood. I miss them more then I thought I could. Especially since school hasn’t started yet and I haven’t built comfortable relationships in my town, being able to talk to them is always a highlight. My first event (and leading to my first freak out) was a graduation ceremony for the 12th graders at my school, the ceremony lasted for about 5 hours, after I was famished and sweaty. I get home, still have not set up my gas stove (I had eaten so much peanut butter for like 2 days) I go to attach the hose from the tank to the stove and the piece breaks off. My first thought is, it will take at least a month to get a new one, now I need to find a coal pot to cook, on I’ve eaten all my peanut butter. I take a deep breath and go sit in a cement corner in my house and look to the corner, to see a spider the size of the palm of my hand, and I just loose it. I start crying, walk away to calm myself, and now have to fight my massive fear of spiers to kill it. I take this bug spray I bought in Monrovia and spray him, which just gets it to run across the side of the wall, I take a bucket and smash him, to which he fell to the floor, and I left him there for like 2 days (why I leave him... I have no idea why) before I swept him up and chunked (threw) him outside. Now my temporary freak-out was because I was hangry, and I realize that (nor have I had a freak out since) but in the moment, I felt completely defeated. Luckily George (Peace Corps employee) stopped by my place and was VERY worried about my stove situation, took it to the welder in town and 8 US dollars (which was a complete rip off) later it was fixed and I was cooking once again.
A little about my house- almost all houses in Liberia are made of cement and the roofs are zinc. That is pretty customary here, of course houses range in niceness but the general structure is the same. I have a metal door and wire on all my windows (safety), when you walk into the front door you walk into my kitchen, then you turn left and in front of you, once you step into the hallway, is the first bedroom (which is unfinished). Going back to the hallway, you walk down it and it’s the dining room area, there is another door for the back porch, if you go down one step you’re in the office/living room. Going back to the dining room area, if you go right and down the hall on the left is my bedroom, straight ahead is the bathroom. My floors are all tile (minus my unfinished rom)- tile is a BIG deal here, its extremely expensive and most people just have floor mat or cement floors. At first the inside was all white washed (a chalky finish they put on the walls before they paint) because of the expense of painting it normally stays like that, but if you lean against it, it leaves a chalky residue on you. I have since painted the inside lime green and bright blue (here in Liberia we love the primary and bright colors). I have two main neighbors, one on each side of me, to the front and back of my house are "bush", I live in almost a U-shaped community, in the middle is bush, so the area is pretty quiet, and on the outskirts of town which is nice because it allows me to be as social as I want or don’t want to be.
Waking up the next day was hectic, everyone was getting things together and finishing last minute packing. The taxis were lined up outside, people who were traveling the farthest were being packed up first. Saying goodbye to everyone was bittersweet. We all know we will see each other during Christmas (at reconnect), yet are sad that the people we have spent every day with for the last 3 months will no longer be just down the road from your house. I held my shit together pretty well… until I said goodbye to Melissa. We had grown pretty close in this short time so saying goodbye was really difficult, as you can probably assume... I cried.
It was my time to take off. My car was packed, I was traveling with another girl named Rachel (she is the closest person to my site). The drive is about 1.5 hours on the paved road. There is one "checkpoint" we pass which is really just a bunch of people telling you to get out of the car for "inspection" or to pay money (for the taxi driver), for me, most of the time it means getting out, showing my peace corps ID to the chief inside and chatting small.
We finally make it to my site, Gbartla, and pull up to the house. The houses came mostly unfurnished- I received a table (for me it was a desk, a chair, a barrel for water, and a bedframe. We (Rachel, the driver and I) unpacked my things inside the house and left straight away to Gbanga to buy a bed. Going to Gbanga the first day was stressful! The entire time I felt as if I needed to be back at site unpacking, or saying hello to all the neighbors, making my presence known. Gbanga is a big city like Kataka (Gbanga is where I did my site exposure) we walked around and tried to get the essentials. I bought a broom and a bed (apparently those were my essentials ha). The bed situation was tricky- I’m not entirely sure what the obsession with foam is here in Liberia, all the beds are foam or some sort of foam, and if you find a spring bed it is crazy expensive. We finally found a guy who had decent priced spring beds and we bought two (spoiler-- it’s a foam bed and its massively uncomfortable). Getting the beds back to our sites was an exciting (not) journey. We "chartered" the car, he put the beds on top and drove us to our houses. We stopped in Sukako (halfway point from me and Gbanga and Rachels site) the driver asked us a simple question of where we lived, since we had only been to our sites for about 10 min each we struggled through giving directions, finally dropped Rachel with all her stuff off at her house, and then it was just me and the driver. Every turn we made I thought was my site, I didn’t have Rachel there to help me out anymore. Luckily, we found my house and he helped me unload my bed, bring it inside and he left.
For the first time in 3 months I was completely alone, I didn’t know anyone, and I was massively uncomfortable. It’s basically everything peace corps promises you will happen. I decided that meeting the neighbors would be more important than unpacking- at least initially. I walked around my community and said hello to everyone. Now that might seem super normal to do, but it is PAINFULLY awkward. People are doing things and you’re just the goof walking around being like oh hey, I just moved here, and I’m coming to speak to you. It became even more painful when I realized 99.9% of everyone speaks Kpelle first and Liberian English second. If there was one thing I hated in high school was language and in Peace Corps training it was the local language instruction, which for me is Kpelle. Now I was alone and thrown into a town where everyone speaks Kpelle. I spent the first several days sitting small (a little) with the neighbors, I would walk up to their circle or their house, stand awkward for 10 seconds, they would offer me a seat to sit down, I would sit and they would continue speaking Kpelle, occasionally asking me a question in Liberian English. If it was around any time they were making food they would offer me “my own” to which I would accept or deny by saying oh my gut full thank you.
Sitting on my porch I started to get "porch kids", porch kids are kids that swarm you the second they see you outside, and will stay with you all day if you stay on the porch. My first porch kid was a 12-year-old boy named Surprise. He would come over, say he was there to lecture (talk) and would always ask if he was disturbing me, because I would be outside reading Madam President (a book I HIGHLY recommend). He would ask me about America and at times we would just sit in silence (which is super normal here). I met my counterpart, a man named John who works at the school with me, I can’t imagine having a counterpart who didn’t actually help you out with things or communicate with you, so for that I am lucky- especially because he helps me fill my 12 gallon + bin of water every week! My Principle, Samuel, did a walk-through town with me showing me the health clinic, the police station, the commissioner’s office, the chief and all those important places we should see.
The first 2 weeks before school started were spent almost completely outside, I thought if I integrated a bunch now when school came around and I was busy I wouldn’t have to try as hard because I already knew everyone. This mentality is incorrect but I will explain more on that at a later time. Making sure everyone saw me and I was friendly to everyone was very important to me. It allowed me to feel comfortable right away, I was hoping it would aid in any safety issue that might arise, the idea of we don’t want to steal from her because she is so nice... not that everyone steals... nor that if someone is going to steal do they care if your nice, but everyone here hates on the "rouges", and the goal was to have an added layer of protection from your neighbors, the if you see something say something.
My Liberian family (AKA my best friend and sister Princess) calls me about every week which always puts me in a good mood. I miss them more then I thought I could. Especially since school hasn’t started yet and I haven’t built comfortable relationships in my town, being able to talk to them is always a highlight. My first event (and leading to my first freak out) was a graduation ceremony for the 12th graders at my school, the ceremony lasted for about 5 hours, after I was famished and sweaty. I get home, still have not set up my gas stove (I had eaten so much peanut butter for like 2 days) I go to attach the hose from the tank to the stove and the piece breaks off. My first thought is, it will take at least a month to get a new one, now I need to find a coal pot to cook, on I’ve eaten all my peanut butter. I take a deep breath and go sit in a cement corner in my house and look to the corner, to see a spider the size of the palm of my hand, and I just loose it. I start crying, walk away to calm myself, and now have to fight my massive fear of spiers to kill it. I take this bug spray I bought in Monrovia and spray him, which just gets it to run across the side of the wall, I take a bucket and smash him, to which he fell to the floor, and I left him there for like 2 days (why I leave him... I have no idea why) before I swept him up and chunked (threw) him outside. Now my temporary freak-out was because I was hangry, and I realize that (nor have I had a freak out since) but in the moment, I felt completely defeated. Luckily George (Peace Corps employee) stopped by my place and was VERY worried about my stove situation, took it to the welder in town and 8 US dollars (which was a complete rip off) later it was fixed and I was cooking once again.
A little about my house- almost all houses in Liberia are made of cement and the roofs are zinc. That is pretty customary here, of course houses range in niceness but the general structure is the same. I have a metal door and wire on all my windows (safety), when you walk into the front door you walk into my kitchen, then you turn left and in front of you, once you step into the hallway, is the first bedroom (which is unfinished). Going back to the hallway, you walk down it and it’s the dining room area, there is another door for the back porch, if you go down one step you’re in the office/living room. Going back to the dining room area, if you go right and down the hall on the left is my bedroom, straight ahead is the bathroom. My floors are all tile (minus my unfinished rom)- tile is a BIG deal here, its extremely expensive and most people just have floor mat or cement floors. At first the inside was all white washed (a chalky finish they put on the walls before they paint) because of the expense of painting it normally stays like that, but if you lean against it, it leaves a chalky residue on you. I have since painted the inside lime green and bright blue (here in Liberia we love the primary and bright colors). I have two main neighbors, one on each side of me, to the front and back of my house are "bush", I live in almost a U-shaped community, in the middle is bush, so the area is pretty quiet, and on the outskirts of town which is nice because it allows me to be as social as I want or don’t want to be.