Another week goes by...

So believe it or not, it's raining again here in Liberia. Yes, ladies and gentleman, the rain just never seems to end. Never thought I'd hope for October quite so strongly before now. It's getting warmer here (and more humid) every day. Hard to imagine it turning to fall back home, though I do miss the prospect of turning leaves and cool autumn days. I don't think I've explained the road situation here. The roads are very...interesting. Some of them are paved in asphalt. A few of these have lines (usually only a middle one, though) and even fewer of these were done properly so the rainy season hasn't destroyed them. The Chinese (yes, that's how people explain the road process here) came and were paid to fix some of the roads. Unfortunately, no one quite informed them of the rainy season, so when it came they had to put all projects on hold. Some roads were right in the middle of being repaired. Also, they didn't make the roads well enough to make it through the rainy season. So the rains came, the roads fell apart. They are basically just potholed messes. Now, if the paved roads are destroyed by rain, I'll let you imagine how the unpaved roads are holding up. To get to school, we follow the main road called Tubman, out to Old Road in Congo Town. Tubman is paved and actually in fairly good condition compared to the paved roads in downtown Monrovia. Old Road is not. There a numerous ways to get to the school, but one of them involves going through part of Congo Town where it doesn't even seem like there should be a road. I don't think anyone can quite imagine what this road is like. It's dirt similar to Virginia clay. The holes are so big there is absolutely no way around them. You can only drive about 10 mph down the road due to the people and the holes. When it rains, the holes fill with water. At this point, they become small ponds. You think I'm kidding. This is why everyone (except the taxis) drives big SUVs here. The water reaches up to the top of the wheels at times. Yesterday, it rained so much that one of the roads flooded outwards through the neighborhood. Today, I saw a car in the neighborhood whose wheels had sunk into the sandy-red clay due to the mini-flood. I took a few pictures, but posting still isn't happening here. The ride is always interesting, sometimes painful.

A few weeks ago the core teaching staff took a tour of the Mercy Ship here in Monrovia. Mercy Ships is something worth looking at if you don't know what it is. It's a Christian organization where volunteers come to their ship and work in impoverished areas for a certain amount of time. There is a mini hospital on board and they tend to target some of the main problems in the areas at which they are stationed. The docking in Monrovia is the longest one they've done yet. They will be here for ten months total, to mid-December at this point. It's a huge ship (used to be used to transport railroad cars) which has been completely re-done with new floors added and everything. Mercy Ship Africa's hospital is focused on three different issues affecting Liberians right now. Other than the hospital, volunteers go into communities and do work there. They also need to people to go into communities and inform people of Mercy Ship and do screenings. It is completely volunteer run, so the people that work on the ship are actually paying to be there. They often fundraise through their local churches, families, donations, etc. Since some people live on Mercy Ship for years, they also have a school on board, Mercy Ship Academy. Today, they brought their students to the campus of AISM for a sports/field day. They have about 35 students through grade 12. Our numbers are up to about 65 through grade 9. This seems like a big difference, but both schools are quite small. It was a big success thanks to much time and planning by one of our teachers. It was a fun, relaxing day and a great way for our students to interact with those from a different community. Also, as all of their kids live on the ship, they don't get to go outside and run around too often. The ship has a play area and the deck is open for bikes and such, but no real grassy area to just run and play, so that was great.

Well with those two tidbits I'm off. I'm going to watch the presidential debates later tonight. Oh the exciting life I lead....

oh meanderings...

I'd like to start by saying thanks to everyone who writes comments on here, sends me emails, or skypes with me every now and then. It really means a lot to me to hear from friends and family! I've received some emails lately from people who are worried about me here in Liberia. My last post mentioned that I've been having trouble meeting people here and forming friendships. I should say, though, that I'm not sad to be here. If there's one thing I've learned it's this--there is a difference between being sad and being lonely. I'm living by myself, working with a very small staff, and live on a compound that's not the most social around, and I'm one of the youngest people here--it's an adjustment for sure. That being said, I'm not upset about the choice I made to come here. I'm happy to be here and I'm enjoying myself.
In other news, I have been making a few new friends lately. This means getting to get off the compound every now and then which is wonderful. Just going out makes life a little less stressful. The people I've been meeting have also said that in Liberia it takes everyone time to start meeting people, which is reassuring. I was told that for being here for just four weeks, I'm doing a pretty good. Who knew? A group of ex-pats started up trivia here a few months ago. It happens on Thursday nights at an Indian restaurant just down the road. You all will be excited to know that my team won last night. This means that my team hosts trivia next week. So this week I will be making up trivia questions. If anyone has any good ones, send them my way, I may need the help. There are five rounds: a Liberia round (of course), a picture round, and three other rounds which each have their own theme. My team won a few weeks ago, too. It was very exciting.
A head's up on the weather here. We are currently in the rainy season. I look forward to the non-rainy season arriving (hopefully at the end of this month). When it rains, it pours here. My students also go crazy cause they can't go outside and play. The 'roads' here get horribly pot-holed during this time, and half the place floods. It's quite interesting actually. When it rains, though, it disrupts any connection which requires a satellite, etc. I think I mentioned this last time, but the internet is the first thing to go, whether at the compound or at school. If you email or comment on anything it may take me a bit to get back to you. While I'm usually lucky enough to be able to access my blog and email on a regular basis, the work of sending information over the internet from my side is a bit much for connection. I've tried uploading pictures on here a few times, but to no avail. I'm trying again now. If they work, you will be seeing pictures of my apartment (in all its glory) and the school.

I realize I'm not doing a very good job of posting on a regular basis. I apologize. I've realized that the problem is each time I think about posting I become overwhelmed with the amount of stuff about which I could write. I can't decide which is most important to share and I don't want to spend hours writing a five page post (which no one would read as it would be too long). I've decided to settle on simplicity. I'll share what I can, when I can. Liberia's not changing so fast that the things I share today won't be relevant tomorrow. I figure I can share a little about life in Liberia at a time and then about life in general as well.
So for starters, it's Monday. Monday is always a bit difficult. That being said, it's still better than Friday as far as my students are concerned. By the end of the week, they are exhausted and have trouble focusing in class. Really, this actually begins on Wednesday, but they do try their best. I'm still struggling to meet the various needs of my students. Some are completely prepared for the first grade, but others should still be in kindergarten. I have students who cannot write the alphabet or count to twenty. I have some that just don't listen. I will tell them the answer to a question and then ask the question again and they won't know the answer. This is a very common occurrence in our classroom. It's also very frustrating to me because I feel like I'm running up against a wall and I'm not quite sure how to get around it. As I said before, though, my kids are sweet and generally kind to one another. Many of them have led lives of luxury so right now it's just getting them out of the mindset that everything should be given to them and everything should be the way they want it. We have had many discussions about respect and they seem to listen and try hard to use their manners and be respectful to me and to the other students in the class.
As for life in general here in Liberia--it's been interesting. The most difficult part has been meeting new people and making friends. A lot of ex-pat groups are kind of clicky here, so sometimes it's difficult to mix and mingle. Not only that, but just going out is hard. We only have one car for all of us that work at the school and Gary (our school director) often needs it for school things. We are not supposed to take taxis according to the US Embassy and we cant walk anywhere once it starts getting dark. So basically, you can get out between 4:30 (when we arrive home from school) and 6:30ish when it starts to get dark here. Otherwise, you have to arrange for transportation from friends or private taxis which can start getting expensive.
The compound is mostly older people from the UN, so they don't tend to be the most social group around either. Basically, I get a bit lonely at times. I'm not used to living by myself and being stuck in one area. I go for walks around the neighborhood often, but you rarely see anyone else out and I feel a bit of skepticism from the locals. I'll write more on this some other time. For now, I'm going to continue lesson planning in hopes of getting my students back on track. I really will post again sometime soon.

The first week.

The first week of school is officially over. It was hectic/crazy, but also fun. Monday was rough. You never feel prepared enough, and I was incredibly overwhelmed. Tuesday was a little better, and by Wednesday I felt like a teacher. I only had ten kids this week. Many students are still returning from their summers. My kids are from all over. Many are Lebanese, the others vary--Cameroonian/Icelandic, Haitian/Canadian, from Benin, and Switzerland, a true smorgasbord of nationalities and races. I love it. The only probably is the language. Two of my girls do not speak any English, all of my Lebanese students' first language is Arabic--basically I find myself explaining things three times using different words each time and corresponding hand motions and props. I'm sure it would be hilarious to be an outsider looking in and watching what goes on in my classroom. My children are beautiful and sweet.
Another problem-they are all below grade level in reading. Some of my students can't make their letters and numbers yet. It's a bit discouraging as I was hoping they would enter first grade with some phonetic awareness and we'd be able to start reading from there. Unfortunately, we're starting from the beginning, reviewing letters, sounds, letter-sound correlations, etc. It's challenging as I was not expecting to have to start so basic. It's also frustrating as none of my students can write words either. This means anytime I'm checking for understanding, I must ask them to draw pictures or we have class discussions. I never realized how much I took reading and writing for granted with my past students. Also, bringing my vocabulary to their level has been difficult. Bringing it down to a first grade level is difficult, then bringing it down to first grade ESL level is even more difficult. Overall, it's been an experience and it's only been a week!
Well, I'm off to a faculty meeting, but I will post again soon. The internet has been coming and going this week, so it's been difficult to keep up with the blog. There are plenty of things to write about right now!

The first week.