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.