Reasons to Celebrate! (April 20-28, 2011)

Wednesday morning was pretty uneventful and relaxed. We prepared lesson plans and read through some documents. However, our afternoon was the complete opposite of uneventful. A friend asked us if we wanted to climb the highest peak in Kabala, Mount Wada-Wada. Having not been really active all winter, we were craving to get our bodies moving. We were picked up at our house and walked to the base of the mountain where our friend lived-that in itself was a hike for us! Then we continued on with two friends up the mountain. We had something else come with us too. It was big, loud and engulfed us quickly and within seconds we were soaked...it was a thunderstorm! When it rains in Africa it is all or nothing, it POURED! We walked 10 meters and were soaked to the bone. With the rain came bolts of lightning and crashes of thunder. We asked our friends about the safeness of climbing a mountain in a thunderstorm and they said in Africa you do not have to worry about it, only in the months from September to November. So, we decided to trust them and go for it. While we were climbing up, it seemed like half of the mountain was running down. There were streams of mud and water that flowed past us which made it very difficult to maintain our balance and stamina. On the way up we passed mango, papaya, banana and avocado trees. Our friend picked us some fresh mangos for a small snack, but that was it because the rest of the fruit belonged to the two families that lived on the mountain.
After an hour of climbing we made it to the top- definitely something worth celebrating! Every step was well worth it! Mt. Wada-Wada’s peak is made up of sheer rock. When we reached the highest point the view was absolutely breath-taking. We saw all of Kabala, schools we are teaching in, the forests beyond and the peak of the highest mountain in West Africa, Mt. Bintumani.  We took lots of snaps (pictures), but unfortunately we could not stay for long because a second storm was coming our way. We hope to climb the other Mt. In Kabala this weekend and we are praying for better weather!

Thursday was a business day. In the morning Janis was on the computer sending emails and typing up notes, while Megan worked on flashcards and more math manipulatives. In the afternoon we switched roles until about 3. We headed to the market to pick up a few things, ate dinner, talked and then headed to bed.

The weekend brought on another reason to celebrate- Easter!
Romans 5:8- “But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Good Friday was overcast and cooler so we decided to wear our full African outfits. What we did not think about was our mode of transportation to church- a motorbike. Considering our skirts were floor length and heavier material getting onto the bike posed quite a problem. We had to hike up our skirts and throw ourselves onto the bike, sturdy enough to last us to church. This brought on a few chuckles as from our neighbours as they stood there watching us struggle. We headed to the church where we had a short service and then we were told that we were going to the town centre to have a joint service with all of the other churches in the area. It was a really neat experience and we loved being able to worship outside with so many people. The one downfall was that the sun still shone through the clouds and we both burned quite badly...if only we knew we were going to be outside for three hours we could have prevented the burns! Although, the burn will fade but this experience will stick with us forever. After church, we walked around town with one of our friends and then headed home for a relaxed afternoon. In the evening we had three friends over and we played Spoons for a very long time- definitely a hit!

Saturday, we went to church again. This was our Good Friday service because of the joint service yesterday. After church we were invited to go to the pastor’s home for a visit and lunch. We played with their three kids and the kids from the other pastor who lives on the same property and then enjoyed a delicious lunch made by his wife- plain potatoes, potatoes in a meat sauce and cooked cabbage and sweet peppers- yum! It was certainly a meal that we would eat again! In the afternoon we had some visitors and played more games with them. The evening was spent with just the two of us. We made diner, talked for a while and then went to bed to rest of for a busy day tomorrow.

Easter Sunday! We enjoyed our breakfast out on our veranda, got ready and took an okada to church.  The previous Sunday we were asked by a friend to make a contribution (we wrote more about this in a previous posting).  Well, this past week we were approached again to sing yet another song.  We were asked if we sang in a choir together...honestly, they are too kind!  We told them no, but had to think of another song.  Since it was Easter, we tried brainstorming song reflecting the holiday.  We decided to sing “In Christ Alone.”  There were also fifteen people who were baptized as well.  We were told the day before that the service was to start an hour earlier than usual since there was communion and the baptisms.  So we arrived at 9:00 AM only to discover we were the first people to arrive and church actually didn’t start until 10:00.  We filled the time by talking with people and interacting with the children.  It wasn’t until 5 hours later than the service came to a close.  By then we were very hot, sweaty and eager to get to the beach where the baptisms were to happen.  The beach however, is about forty minutes away.  Several motorcycles went and in addition about three large vehicles.  These vehicles were cramped with people, even having younger children and lighter weight individuals sitting on laps, creating more room for people to fit in.  This way, more people were able to come to the beach and support their friends and family.  We didn’t get home until dinner hour and by that time we were exhausted.  After dinner we were both not feeling well.  Meg had a cold developing and Jan had an upset stomach to the point where her dinner came up and no other food was staying down.  We were a little concerned as we really had no idea how much attention we should give to the way we were feeling.  After reading through the medial papers we brought along from the travel clinics, all the possible conditions we could get had similar symptoms.  This wasn’t overly helpful so we decided that it wasn’t anything serious as Janis didn’t have a fever at all. 

Monday morning Janis was feeling better, but Megan’s cold persisted.  We didn’t have anything planned all day so we lay low and did some reading, lesson plan preparation, napped and played a few games.  Tuesday was much the same with the exception of going into town to the market to get more food. 

Wednesday was Sierra Leone’s 50^th Anniversary of Independence – their Golden Year.  They have been a country for 50 years now and their slogan for the day was “Moving Forward.”  Presidents from around the world came to Freetown to help celebrate this milestone.  Late last week before Easter, we made hats resembling the national flag (green, white and blue horizontal strips).  We learned that the green represents agriculture, white for purity and blue for beauty.  We also had beaded necklaces made from the same colours which were given to us as gifts from a friend.  In addition we also had scarves consisting of green, white and blue that we wore which we purchased from a young girl last week.  We were invited by the headmaster at CRC Primary School (our host school) to join him and some of the students in the parade march.  Everyone who was in the parade met at 8:00 AM at the RC Primary School (the school Janis is teaching at).  The parade was led by a number of soldiers followed by students from different schools in Kabala.  Students from CRC were the first group who followed behind the soldiers.  We walked with the students.  There were also trucks with many speakers strapped to it blasting African music – it was party central!   We first approached the city centre and then continued on our way throughout the streets slowly making our way to the large sport field.  Once at the field, the ceremonies continued.  There were many speeches, presentations, reciting of the national pledge and accompanying the raising of the flag, we sang the national anthem.  Then we went to “Choices” (a popular restaurant) for a nice cold drink of fanta.  After we rested for a bit, we wanted to head again to the market.  Our friend was going home in that same direction so we caught a ride to the city centre on the back of his motorcycle.  We walked home after we got what we needed from the market and relaxed.  In the afternoon another friend came to visit us.  She helped Megan take out her plants (braids) since the braids were falling out and getting messy.  By early evening another rainstorm was settling in.  After dinner someone else stopped by to pay a visit.  We played some games and once our friend went home we went to bed. 

This morning we hoped to get more work done as school resumes on Monday and we head back into the classroom.  However, we had many visitors, making for a great morning but it was not too productive.  One of our friends that came to visit us told us she was listening to the radio this morning and during the reports on yesterday’s celebrations, heard that they said (and we quote) “Two white ladies from Canada were walking the streets in the parade with the students and helped celebrate Independence Day and they did good.  They had a good time! “ We were told by many yesterday “thanks” for the support and it was well received.  We didn’t mind joining in with the festivities, but the thankfulness we received was overwhelming – who knew something we perceive as being “small” could make such an impact!  We plan to make dinner pretty soon and then probably play more games – who knows who will stop by tonight!

Wishing you all well back in Canada,

Janis and Megan

PS. We would like to extend
 our congratulations to the Education Students on officially being DONE!!!

Us soaked on top of Mount Wada-Wada

Celebrating Independence Day with Students from CRC Primary School

Things We Didn’t Know...

                Despite our efforts on being on time this past week, we have been unsuccessful mainly because of miscommunication between us and our ride to school. However, Friday was different. We woke up earlier than usual so we were ready and waiting with plenty of time to spare. After three attempts of calling and getting the wrong person, we finally got through on the fourth time. Our friend told us that he was on his way so we waited patiently for his arrival. We waited for 45 minutes and still no ride. Megan was a little worried because she was supposed to teach at 9:00am and it was already 8:45am. We gave our friend another call and he told us that he had been stopped by the police because no vehicles were supposed to be running until 10:00am. This was because it was...General Cleaning Day! We had no idea. On these days the town must stop and clean the streets or their compounds or else they would be arrested. They had this cleaning day because on April 27, 2011, Sierra Leone will be celebrating their 50^th anniversary! All across the country they decorate with flags and painted rocks and walls with the colours of their national flag- green, white and blue! The centre of the town looks beautiful!

                Since there was this cleaning day, our schools were closed in the morning as well. We decided to go back to our house and work on some teaching aids until 10am and then wait by the office for our ride again. We watched the time go by- 10:15am...10:45am...11:00am. By then we assumed that our ride was not coming and that our schools most likely stayed closed (based on what happened on Wednesday and Thursday).  We ended up going back to the house and had a very productive day of making more teacher aids and other assignments.  It was a very nice afternoon, especially with the visits from a couple of friends and some local children!

                Saturday was our market day! We walked around town with two of our friends having our hearts set on buying some beautiful African cloth. What we did not know was the difference between cheap cloth and quality cloth. To us, they feel and look the same, but one type will last a week while the other will last years. We also did not know about the quick tailoring system here! It was very exciting to hear that we could pick up our outfits on Monday already! So excited! A third thing we did not know was how difficult it would be to teach two adults to ride a bicycle, without the use of training wheels.  We attempted to teach two of our friends, but it is a lot more difficult than we thought!  

                 Sunday was a beautiful day where we had the privilege to join the CRC church again in worship. We attended a pre-service and the regular service. Every Sunday, there is a time to give a contribution through song and every time the youth and children and sometimes the women and men of the church prepare something for the congregation. What we did not know was that WE would have to prepare a contribution! One of our friends talked to us on Thursday and said that we should sing something and she would inform the pastor of our contribution. We thought she was joking, but we decided that we should practice just in case. It is a good thing we did because Sunday came and we were asked to sing our songs! We sang “ Humble Thyself/ Our God is an Awesome God” and “ Lord I Lift Your Name on High” in front of 200+ people! It was a little out of our comfort zone, but it was well received and we have been asked to sing again this Sunday for Easter...we will see! Also, the youth have asked us to join them which we are very excited about, especially since the sing a lot better than we do!

                Monday morning was spent working on teacher aids and other planning again. The afternoon we spent in the market, picking up some food and our African outfits. They are so beautiful! In the evening we had a meeting with the headmaster of CRC and then relaxed and played some games for the rest of the night.

                Today, Tuesday, has been a pretty relaxed morning and should be like that the rest of the day. We plan on doing some more preparations for our classroom and that is about it!

We hope that all things are going well at home! Take care and Lata!

Jan and Meg

Yes, we have arrived and are ALIVE!

‘Kushe’ or ‘Hello’ from Kabala, Sierra Leone!

                We would have loved to have communicated with you all sooner, but when we arrived to our house, a conference for the Sierra Leone CRC churches was happening on the same grounds where we are staying and the meetings continued all week. Therefore, we were unable to access the internet. However, we are also noticing that even without a conference it is VERY difficult to get internet access. We apologize for not getting to you sooner!

We arrived safe and sound in Kabala late Tuesday afternoon. Our flight went well but it was really long and we stayed in Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital, for the night. Tuesday morning we went to the very busy market in Freetown and then headed out on our six hour drive to Kabala. It was a worthwhile drive though. This town is filled with such friendly people, the culture is remarkable, the place where we are staying has a great view of beautiful Kabala and we get to hear African music every night!

On Wednesday we met with the headmaster of Kabala CRC Primary School and one of the ministers to discuss our schedules for the first couple of days.  In the afternoon, we went on a tour of Kabala and roamed the local markets (all packed with people, but the butcher market in particular had a strong stench of fish), as well as places to buy African cloth, CDs, utensils, flip flops...etc. As part of our tour we visited five different schools including our host school (Kabala CRC Primary School).

Thursday morning we met with the Minister of Education for a quick meeting before heading off to the CRC Primary School for a staff meeting.  This staff meeting was the second official meeting of the year and lasted for about three hours without any breaks.  We found it to be very comparable to the staff meetings had in Canada including the topics discussed.  That afternoon we just came home, relaxed on our veranda in the shade and played some UNO with the children living down the hill from us. 

Friday was spent at the CRC Primary School.  When we arrived the children all neatly dressed in their pink and navy blue uniforms came running towards the vehicle to greet us.  As we were meeting the children and waiting for the school day to begin, we played a few rounds of “stella stella ola”.  We were introduced to the students by the headmaster, and observed their morning routine which included lots of singing and dancing! The school is beginning their spring break so we also observed them getting their report cards marking the end of the third term.  Part of the report card process includes teachers meeting with parents all together in a large room which we also had the privilege to be a part of. In the afternoon/evening we came home and relaxed.

Saturday morning we slept in a little and then after breakfast headed out again, but this time by foot to the market with two new friends.  One of our friends had connections to a local salon where we both got “plants” meaning our hair braided.  We are starting to feel and look more African and the locals love it.  We are also picking up on Krio and Kuranko phrases (two main tribal languages) which have been taught to us by a friend and it’s been neat to be able to communicate a little with those we meet.  

Sunday morning we took an ‘okada’ (motorbike taxi!) to church, it was awesome. We then experienced African worship- incredible!  The people here certainly know how to dance and sing! After church we went into town, waiting patiently while a couple of our friends got their hair planted. While waiting, we witnessed a funeral and wedding procession- what a contrast! For the funeral, those that were grieving walked the street, while all bystanders stood in respect. The wedding parade was similar to back at home, in terms of honking vehicles and the bride dressed in white, but was different in the way that every woman, minus bridesmaids, who attended that wedding wore outfits made out of the SAME cloth- not something we require of our guests!  After a few hours, we left the market area to relax at home.

Monday was our first day at our schools! We went to both schools and met both the headmasters and then Megan was left at her school, Missionary School of Africa- primary division, and Jan was dropped off at her school, Roman Catholic Primary School. We spent a couple hours in our classroom observing our teachers and students. One big difference we both noticed (and do not like) was the use of corporal punishment. We also both experienced a mob of kids once our teachers left us. We attempted to take some pictures, but it resulted in a mad crowd of students pushing and punching each other- yikes!

On Tuesday we spent about three hours in our classrooms. Megan sat in on math, language arts and physical health education lessons and noticed that everything was done by rote memorization. The teacher stated the same phrase ten times and then had the class repeat him. Then, for variation, got a student to go to the board to point at the words and have the class repeat him another ten times...not exactly the way we were taught, eh, education students! Janis saw a math lesson and then was asked to be part of the sports committee, which took up the majority of her day. Her class was lacking in extra materials, so the lesson was taught with tomato cans and sticks, and many of her students were without pencils and paper.  Often the lack of materials is used as an excuse for weak teaching and learning, but there are many other things that teachers could do to make students learn much better!

                In the morning at the MCA where Megan is teaching, her class started out with about 30 students and the number drastically dropped over the course of the morning (there are supposed to be 54 students in the class). By lunch hour, there were just over a dozen students in attendance but the teacher continued on with his lessons for the day. By talking to others, we concluded that since the two week holiday is coming up, students as well as some teachers are getting into an early holiday mood.  Megan was however asked to prepare her first literacy lesson for the next day (Thursday)! At the RC school where Janis is placed, she attended a sports committee meeting immediately when she arrived at school.  The meeting was about raising funds to cover the cost of the upcoming sports day. Once the meeting with the headmasters were over, Janis was asked to help delegate and sort students into different “houses” (teams) for the sports day. Four students were asked at a time to approach Janis and then select one bottle cap to determine which house they would belong to (i.e. P = Pink House, R = Red House, B= Blue House and W = White House).  Janis with help from other teachers directed pupils to the correct table where their names were recorded on a master list.  The process was very slow and time consuming – each class (grade) went at a time.  Once the students signed up they were sent back to class.  However, of the major observations we had during this whole process was that all other classes were not in session, so children were busy running in and out of classes and playing with each other while other teachers were socializing with one another in the shade.  At noon, went back home, at some lunch and then a friend took us to a nearby football field to teach us how to drive a motorcycle! We were both really excited and ended up driving it by ourselves, making laps around the field.  In the evening relaxed, and experienced an African thunderstorm – needless to say it poured, but did stop after a short while. 

                Today we both were at the schools early enough to experience the morning routines of announcements, singing and dancing.  Megan also experienced teaching her very first lesson.  It went well, being the first time teaching over twenty-five students.  After the morning break her teacher mentioned that he had a “short” meeting and left the class – Megan never saw him again and the student attendance slowly dropped as it did yesterday.  After the morning routine Janis went to her classroom, but the teacher never showed up. The class list has 95 students registered, but only 60 students came to school today.  After debating on what to do as there has not yet been a formal conversation on what is being taught currently, Janis decided to test the children on their alphabet skills (letter recognition).  She taught them up to the letter “Gg” until the classroom teacher came in and told her to continue.  A few minutes later Janis was left alone again and the classroom teacher never came in again.  Janis was successful in teaching the children to recognize their letters up to “Nn” until she was asked follow the sport committee coordinator out of the classroom in mid lesson – leaving the children behind in the classroom again with no one to teach them.  Janis was lead into another classroom where some members of the sports committee was organizing a football game between class 5 and class 6 (grade 5 and grade 6).  Janis sorted and handed out jerseys, shorts and football socks to students.  The whole school was invited to watch the match and everyone sat in the shade under the mango trees to enjoy the football match.  The girls played first, followed by the boys.  Whenever a goal was scored the children erupted in cheer, clapping for the student athletes.  After school, we wanted to test out our bikes and ride them through the streets of Kabala, but the back tire on the one is busted so we’ll just need to wait a little while longer until they are fixed. We went to a friend’s house for a visit and then stopped at the market to pick up a few items for dinner (we tried carrying heavy items on our heads like the Africans do!).  Tonight we hope to lesson plan a little more and relax.    

In addition, we have eaten a variety of African foods (some better tasting than others  J ), met so many new people, and feel very welcomed to this new place. We both find the people here to be outstanding: very friendly and eager to talk to you.  We trust you are doing well and we hope we can update you again sooner than later – we go si back (goodbye/see you later)!