We have arrived!

Padi monin-o,

We awaken to another beautiful day here in Sierra Leone.  Our trip here was rather uneventful and I managed to stay awake for almost the entire 20 hours of our trip so when we actually set our heads on our pillows last Sunday night, I fell into a deep sleep and got eight solid hours of rest.  That’s not to say I’m not still feeling the time change or the effects of the trip but everything is evening out.

Not unlike this morning, this last Monday found us traipsing into our Program Director’s apartment with tired grins on our faces as we were treated to Danish, homemade muffins, coffee and tea.  The welcome committee from the Senior Staff was so welcoming and this first visit cemented our decision in coming here.  Later, we began our formal orientation with the friendliest people I’ve ever met.  I had heard that Peace Corps hosts would be happy to see us but I was overwhelmed at their kindness and generosity.  As the day progressed, we were constantly regaled from everyone with greetings, “Aw di body?” and “Aw you slip?”  (“How are you feeling?” and “How did you sleep?”)  To which we learned to answer, “A tel go tenki” or “Alhamdulilay”.  (“I tell God thank you” and “Thanks to God”).

There are four other Peace Corps Response Volunteers (PCRP) with me, all from California, and we have become fast friends already.  In fact, we are the very first group of PCRPs to come to Sierra Leone.  Though the 27-month PC volunteers are a long treasured tradition here, we are truly blazing trails in this new program that will hopefully set the standard for many groups to come.  What is most clear is how committed we are about our charge to serve the five universities we’ve been assigned to in bringing English instruction within the reach of the children of this country.

Since, we’ve been in meetings and language instruction, getting informed and updated on policy, and myriad medical procedures.  Today, the doctor pricked my finger demonstrating how we do a Rapid Response test for malaria and our Krio language teacher kindly led us through conversation and instruction that was replete with plenty of laughs and more than a little bit of frustration.  Krio is one of the closest languages to English and yet I still have a hard time hearing it and certainly speaking it.  I have a year to learn…but still.  We’ve had a few “field” trips out into Freetown for groceries and to get our bank accounts in order and the roads and streets are buzzing with brightly dressed women carrying huge packages and filled pots on their heads.  Many have fruit they are carry to their stands while others are toting bundles of sticks.  Buzzing also are the motorcycles as everyone rushes hither and yon.  It’s a cacophony of sights, sounds, and smells that you only see in National Geographic.  I’ll shoot pictures next week if I can in an attempt to replicate what it’s like.

Tomorrow, we meet our campus supervisors for the first time and together we will begin to plan out our schedules and course loads for the year.  I have been assigned, as I think I mentioned, at Njala University and will be living in the small town of the same name.  I’m told it is a lovely, if not small, town with a very large university not too unlike West Chester.  We are situated on a small, potholed dirt road that is about six miles from the main highway but since we are given Trek bikes to use I’ll be able to get out to the highway and onto a bus to go to either neighboring Bo to the east or Freetown to the west.

We were able to see our future houses two days ago when the Police Director flipped out his smart phone and gave us a miniature slide show from his Blackberry (by the way, we have the old Nokia phones that are only as smart as we are and it is second in line to my most frustrating experience here; language being the first…and I’m NOT too smart!).  I will have a pretty fully furnished house with a bed, living room chairs, a bathroom with running water and a very lovely yard.  I’ll shoot pictures so you can see it but I’m so looking forward to getting there now more than ever.  I also learned that despite the fact that there is only a sink in the kitchen, I can purchase a small oven and propane tank with my “settling in” money which I can cook and bake with.  We also were told that we will have nearly 10 hours of electricity every day starting at 7:00 p.m. that is provided by generators on campus.  If only there were an internet connection…I’ll know more tomorrow.

“Tenki ya” for reading along…there is much more to come!