I use to read Peace Corps blogs and think how hard can it be to spend 10 min out of your day and give me an update bi weekly or even weekly on what’s going on... well let me tell you- it is very difficult!! To say Peace Corps keeps you busy is an understatement. So being I haven’t posted since we have been into the swing of things I will try and give you a quick brief of my last 10 days.
When we first arrived, we went to Doe Palace, which is a beautiful Peace Corps training facility in Kakata. The compound is air conditioned with running water and toilets that self-flush. We stayed in dormitories with 10 other people, and served 3 meals a day by Yamah and her staff (they are terrific), we also have constant access to coffee and tea, have 24/hr. security and electricity. It is basically a glorified summer camp.
The first two days (6th -7th) we do round robins. These are 12-14 hr. days where we learn about safety/ language/ core values/ medical/ school issues/ gender issues and so much more. The second day was also our first chance to leave the compound and go to the market in Kakata. This was our first exposure to the real world that lived outside our walls. My group was the last to go and we left at 1:30pm (prime sun hours). Immediately as we get into town I am overly aware of my knees (yes, I said knees), in Liberia your thighs and knees are highly sexualized as a woman and although my knees are covered I am overly aware of them. My group had about 8 people in it, which is about 4 people too many and we of course got lots of attention. Walking in a group that large is not a fun process and I would not recommend it to someone, but in general I tried to look past that and realize that everyone we encountered was very helpful and nice to us.
The next three days (8th -10th) were unexciting. We did sessions all day except these days we got done round 5/5:30pm and were told we could leave the compound. We had a 7pm curfew to be back if we went into town and a 10pm curfew if we went to Kem’s guest house (guest house/bar in front of the palace). The first night I decided to go out into the town and go to Kems for a night cap after. So, with 3 other people (Chris, Melissa, and Zack) we went off to find kids to play with, and boy did we find some! Within 3 min we had about 20-30 kids surrounding us playing frisbee, throwing it back and forth with us. We walked around and played frisbee with the local kids until curfew and headed to Kems for a 2-dollar beer. The second night we went to Kems for a beer and the third night we had to pack our bags because we were getting ready to go on site exposure!
Site exposure lasted from the 11th -14th and this was a chance to go to a current volunteer’s house and see what they do and how they teach/live. I along with 3 other volunteers (Emily, Ly, Jon) went to Georges house in Gbarnga. George is in LR6 (LR6=, Liberia 6 or Liberia 6th group and first full group back after Ebola) and has been in country for 1 year now. This was the first time that we did not have electricity, running water or flushing toilets. Also, the first time since being in Liberia I thought to myself... I may never stop sweating. Now you might think I’m being dramatic but I’m not! The sweat is real and constant. I keep thinking and asking current volunteers when that might stop and I get use to the heat/humidity and lucky for me they tell me it doesn’t ever stop!
George teaches math in the middle school and runs the library. We were hoping to see him teach but they were in the middle of grade testing which means no one goes to class so we spent most of the time at the library. He had so many books that he was giving away books to the teachers, local schools, and top students. George kept us very busy and because Peace Corps is not allowed to ride on motor bikes he kept us very active walking (and sweating) across town. One night we even got to meet up with 2 response volunteers (short assignment typically 1 yr.). Vincent works at the local university called Cuttington University (Harvard of Liberia) and Mary is a teacher for the Nurse anesthetists at Phoebe Hospital (one of the hospitals that stayed open during the war and treated lots of Ebola patients). While at the university we got to go to the African American museum, where the professor running the museum was a Western Michigan Alumni- small world or what! Then we all met Mary and took a tour of the hospital, which was shocking- she was saying it one of the most expensive hospitals to go to and even after paying you are required to bring all our own supplies and a caregiver because there are not enough nurses to tend to you. She also went on to say at times in the children’s ward they will put 2/3 children to a bed yet are considered a fancy hospital because all the beds have malaria nets. She also said that the O2 refill tank is broken and they are currently on the last O2 tank and how when they get it from Monrovia it always has to be tested because chances are it’s a mixed canister and not 100% O2. I’m not exactly sure what I expected when I went to the hospital, I suppose I expected it to look like a hospital in the states but on a much much much smaller scale, but what I saw was very eye opening. The resources are limited, the help is almost nonexistent, and the prices are so high that even if you needed a medication or surgery you are likely not able to afford it. What’s crazy is when I say prices are too high I’m talking 2500 Liberian dollars which equals to about 25 USD (going off a 1/100 rate). In all going to Georges house was a wonderful experience- it allowed me to realize for the first time what I was signing up for. It’s easy to say yeah, I can do this, as I’m sitting in an air-conditioned classroom but to know what it could be like and realize that everything you are taught to fear (the dark) or rely on (electricity and running water) were not necessary in a functioning day.
After getting back from Georges house on the 14th we had to run around and finish getting packed because we were getting adopted! We were officially out of the Doe and into our host families house. We had a nice ceremony where all the host families sat in front of us and one by one they were called up and we were announced as there “children”. My adopted mothers name is Maya and I call her Auntie Maya and her husband Uncle D. They have 8 children (I think)- Princess, Joyce, Coffee, Mary, Naomi and more—yes, I have not quite learned them all yet nor am I quite sure of the like 15 kids who is staying at the house. The family dynamic in Liberia is different than the states- one family might have 15 kids there and only 5 are the biological kids yet they are all the children, or some could be the father’s kids and some the mothers and some the sisters and they are all under the same roof for now because they’re going to school and then during summer 5 of them could be sent to the farm or back to the sisters. Ill explain more on the crazy dynamics Liberian families have on a different blog.
Some funny things I’ve noticed: my sister Princess likes to say my name- so before every sentence she says Sis Rachel and then blab bla. I also get asked what I love, so for example I was asked what do you love coffee or tea and I said I like both so she asked again what do you LOVE though and I was like whatever you have, so she asked again no what do you love coffee or tea- so I said coffee and she was basically like oh... well why don’t you love tea haha as if I answered what I liked wrong. They want me to bathe way way more than I ever had in life- around 9:30pm I was told its time for my bath and so I took one and then in the morning around 7am they were like go take a bath and come eat breakfast and I paused for a second because I just took one less than 10 hours ago and she was like go take your bath as if I had gotten dirty during my sleeping hours. They also like to watch me do things and list the things they want to teach me this includes and is not limited to eating dinner, cooking, pumping well water and washing my clothes. They rave about the last PC member(Justin) who stayed with them and they recall every fact they can think about him such as his birthday, what soups he like and what he doesn’t, any struggle he had during training, where he is from, how many siblings, and they also told me about 100 times that he will visit on Saturday to meet me. There had been several award situations but I am very thankful that they are so generously opening their homes and taking the time to get to know me and help me out through this process! I can already tell that I will build a great relationship with them and if today (15) has taught me anything it’s that giving salt water taffy and showing a picture book has really won me favor with them and at the very least with every child in town ha-ha
When we first arrived, we went to Doe Palace, which is a beautiful Peace Corps training facility in Kakata. The compound is air conditioned with running water and toilets that self-flush. We stayed in dormitories with 10 other people, and served 3 meals a day by Yamah and her staff (they are terrific), we also have constant access to coffee and tea, have 24/hr. security and electricity. It is basically a glorified summer camp.
The first two days (6th -7th) we do round robins. These are 12-14 hr. days where we learn about safety/ language/ core values/ medical/ school issues/ gender issues and so much more. The second day was also our first chance to leave the compound and go to the market in Kakata. This was our first exposure to the real world that lived outside our walls. My group was the last to go and we left at 1:30pm (prime sun hours). Immediately as we get into town I am overly aware of my knees (yes, I said knees), in Liberia your thighs and knees are highly sexualized as a woman and although my knees are covered I am overly aware of them. My group had about 8 people in it, which is about 4 people too many and we of course got lots of attention. Walking in a group that large is not a fun process and I would not recommend it to someone, but in general I tried to look past that and realize that everyone we encountered was very helpful and nice to us.
The next three days (8th -10th) were unexciting. We did sessions all day except these days we got done round 5/5:30pm and were told we could leave the compound. We had a 7pm curfew to be back if we went into town and a 10pm curfew if we went to Kem’s guest house (guest house/bar in front of the palace). The first night I decided to go out into the town and go to Kems for a night cap after. So, with 3 other people (Chris, Melissa, and Zack) we went off to find kids to play with, and boy did we find some! Within 3 min we had about 20-30 kids surrounding us playing frisbee, throwing it back and forth with us. We walked around and played frisbee with the local kids until curfew and headed to Kems for a 2-dollar beer. The second night we went to Kems for a beer and the third night we had to pack our bags because we were getting ready to go on site exposure!
Site exposure lasted from the 11th -14th and this was a chance to go to a current volunteer’s house and see what they do and how they teach/live. I along with 3 other volunteers (Emily, Ly, Jon) went to Georges house in Gbarnga. George is in LR6 (LR6=, Liberia 6 or Liberia 6th group and first full group back after Ebola) and has been in country for 1 year now. This was the first time that we did not have electricity, running water or flushing toilets. Also, the first time since being in Liberia I thought to myself... I may never stop sweating. Now you might think I’m being dramatic but I’m not! The sweat is real and constant. I keep thinking and asking current volunteers when that might stop and I get use to the heat/humidity and lucky for me they tell me it doesn’t ever stop!
George teaches math in the middle school and runs the library. We were hoping to see him teach but they were in the middle of grade testing which means no one goes to class so we spent most of the time at the library. He had so many books that he was giving away books to the teachers, local schools, and top students. George kept us very busy and because Peace Corps is not allowed to ride on motor bikes he kept us very active walking (and sweating) across town. One night we even got to meet up with 2 response volunteers (short assignment typically 1 yr.). Vincent works at the local university called Cuttington University (Harvard of Liberia) and Mary is a teacher for the Nurse anesthetists at Phoebe Hospital (one of the hospitals that stayed open during the war and treated lots of Ebola patients). While at the university we got to go to the African American museum, where the professor running the museum was a Western Michigan Alumni- small world or what! Then we all met Mary and took a tour of the hospital, which was shocking- she was saying it one of the most expensive hospitals to go to and even after paying you are required to bring all our own supplies and a caregiver because there are not enough nurses to tend to you. She also went on to say at times in the children’s ward they will put 2/3 children to a bed yet are considered a fancy hospital because all the beds have malaria nets. She also said that the O2 refill tank is broken and they are currently on the last O2 tank and how when they get it from Monrovia it always has to be tested because chances are it’s a mixed canister and not 100% O2. I’m not exactly sure what I expected when I went to the hospital, I suppose I expected it to look like a hospital in the states but on a much much much smaller scale, but what I saw was very eye opening. The resources are limited, the help is almost nonexistent, and the prices are so high that even if you needed a medication or surgery you are likely not able to afford it. What’s crazy is when I say prices are too high I’m talking 2500 Liberian dollars which equals to about 25 USD (going off a 1/100 rate). In all going to Georges house was a wonderful experience- it allowed me to realize for the first time what I was signing up for. It’s easy to say yeah, I can do this, as I’m sitting in an air-conditioned classroom but to know what it could be like and realize that everything you are taught to fear (the dark) or rely on (electricity and running water) were not necessary in a functioning day.
After getting back from Georges house on the 14th we had to run around and finish getting packed because we were getting adopted! We were officially out of the Doe and into our host families house. We had a nice ceremony where all the host families sat in front of us and one by one they were called up and we were announced as there “children”. My adopted mothers name is Maya and I call her Auntie Maya and her husband Uncle D. They have 8 children (I think)- Princess, Joyce, Coffee, Mary, Naomi and more—yes, I have not quite learned them all yet nor am I quite sure of the like 15 kids who is staying at the house. The family dynamic in Liberia is different than the states- one family might have 15 kids there and only 5 are the biological kids yet they are all the children, or some could be the father’s kids and some the mothers and some the sisters and they are all under the same roof for now because they’re going to school and then during summer 5 of them could be sent to the farm or back to the sisters. Ill explain more on the crazy dynamics Liberian families have on a different blog.
Some funny things I’ve noticed: my sister Princess likes to say my name- so before every sentence she says Sis Rachel and then blab bla. I also get asked what I love, so for example I was asked what do you love coffee or tea and I said I like both so she asked again what do you LOVE though and I was like whatever you have, so she asked again no what do you love coffee or tea- so I said coffee and she was basically like oh... well why don’t you love tea haha as if I answered what I liked wrong. They want me to bathe way way more than I ever had in life- around 9:30pm I was told its time for my bath and so I took one and then in the morning around 7am they were like go take a bath and come eat breakfast and I paused for a second because I just took one less than 10 hours ago and she was like go take your bath as if I had gotten dirty during my sleeping hours. They also like to watch me do things and list the things they want to teach me this includes and is not limited to eating dinner, cooking, pumping well water and washing my clothes. They rave about the last PC member(Justin) who stayed with them and they recall every fact they can think about him such as his birthday, what soups he like and what he doesn’t, any struggle he had during training, where he is from, how many siblings, and they also told me about 100 times that he will visit on Saturday to meet me. There had been several award situations but I am very thankful that they are so generously opening their homes and taking the time to get to know me and help me out through this process! I can already tell that I will build a great relationship with them and if today (15) has taught me anything it’s that giving salt water taffy and showing a picture book has really won me favor with them and at the very least with every child in town ha-ha