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.

Getting prepared for school

Things have been a little rough lately. There are a few things going on at school that make getting ready for students less than easy. For those of you who don't know, the school was shut down for about twenty years due to civil war in the country. During that time, the school was stripped of anything and everything that could be of value. The school was pretty much destroyed. The building once housed about 600 students. We now have about 45. We're hoping to have about 60-65 when school is officially in session. Only a portion of the school is reopened. This means that the rest of the school is still in shambles. The walls are crumbling, have graffiti on them from the war, and some of them don't even have ceilings or roofs. The rooms that have been redone are bright and colorful. They are also fairly large. Unfortunately, I don't currently have a room. Well, I have a room, but it's being occupied by the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps is currently using our school as their base as they begin to start their program in Liberia. However, they are supposed to be in separate offices at the school. These rooms were supposed to be completed before school started. This, of course, did not happen. The construction workers did not work while no director was here, though they have been working very hard since they began again. Then PC decided they wanted changes made to their rooms, which meant all these changes had to be approved by the board of directors for the school. Because of this and a few other things, everything got behind schedule. They will not move out of my room until they have their own. This means I have no classroom in which to teach first grade. The director and school staff have been doing everything they can to expedite things, but to no avail. It's quite unfortunate. I want to feel settled and like I have space I can call my own before school starts, but that's not going to happen. They are expecting the offices to be done in a week or two, so I will be holding class elsewhere until then. It looks like music and art are going to share a classroom and I will use the music room. The music room is not quite finished, though. Basically it's a big complicated mess.
So, I don't want to talk about school anymore. Life in Liberia is different. Groceries are incredibly expensive here. Everything has to be imported, so the price of goods is incredibly high. You can spend a lot of money very quickly when trying to buy food. Most produce is bought at outdoor stands run by Liberian women or children. It's all locally grown and consists of what is in season. You can buy imported produce, but it's (surprise, surprise) very expensive.
It's been raining a lot here recently. Luckily, mostly at night or early in the morning. When it rains, it pours. Just downpours out of no where. I'm on the second floor of the apartment complex, which is the top floor, and the roof is made out of a plastic type of material, so when it rains, it sounds like the biggest storm ever is coming through the complex. It also sounds super windy and like the waves are going crazy and wild.
Okay, I'm going to make some dinner now. Hopefully, I'll be able to update you all soon with some good news.

a little more info...

I've officially been here for two full days now. It's been quite the experience already. Monrovia is different than I thought it would be and the same all at once. I guess one thing to help describe the city is that there are no 'good' parts of town. When you drive around, you expect to get to a place where there are less vacant and destroyed buildings, less people living by the side of the streets, less trash everywhere, and maybe, just maybe, a little less poverty. This place does not exist here. When I arrived on Wednesday, the director and his wife picked me up from the airport. We went to dinner at the Royal Hotel because they have a guarded parking lot so we could park the car and be fairly certain that my bags would not be stolen. After dinner we drove to the compound where we live. As Gary, the director, put on his blinker I was trying to figure out where he was going to turn as I saw no driveway and no building (it was dark, so it was more difficult to see anything). He turned up a dirt 'driveway' beside a pile of rubble also known as a shop that makes furniture. I wasn't quite sure what we were doing. We pull up to a big gate and the guards opened it and we pulled into the complex. Most of the parking lot of our compound is filled with UN trucks. Big white four wheel drive vehicles with big black UN letters stenciled on the side. It's quite a site. Most of the people who live here either work for the UN (duh) or are Americans doing various things. There's a few country representatives to I think. I haven't met too many people on the compound, but so far I like it.

My apartment is small and utilitarian, but it's not bad at all. We have electricity 24 hours per day, which is a perk that not all compounds have. All electricity is pretty much supplied by generators at this point. Our electricity goes out about twice a day, but only for a few minutes each time. We think this is when they are switching over the generators. They only thing they do turn off at the compound is the A/C. I didn't even know if we would have a/c, so I can't complain. They turn it off twice a day from 9-11am and from 2-4pm. Not a bad deal at all, especially as once school starts I won't be here during those times anyway. I also have a tv with about ten channels ranging from the action channel which shows action movies all the time to aljazeera news channel. There's also a channel which shows american shows like 'Friends' that are subtitled in arabic. We do have the discovery channel, bbc news, cnn news, and espn. There's also another channel that shows mostly horror movies. I haven't watched that one yet.
The compound backs up to the ocean. I can hear the waves as I sit in my apartment and type this post. Unfortunately, we don't swim in the water right here as it is very polluted. There's a pipe a few meters up from where we are that dumps raw sewage into the ocean. There are oceans not too far away to go to, though, for swimming, surfing, hanging out, etc.

We aren't allowed to drink the water here, but we use it for everything else. We wash our dishes with it, shower with it, and brush our teeth with it. Some people have boiled it and then used it for coffee and tea and they're fine, so it doesn't seem to be such a big deal. The shower is hot and just lovely.

It's a city, so there's not a lot of wildlife around these parts. I did, however, have my first encounter with a roach this morning in the bathroom. He was quite large by Virginia standards, perhaps three inches long. I let him have his bathroom time and tiptoed around to brush my teeth. Liberians on the street will catch animals and try to sell them to people. I was offered a boa constrictor the other day when leaving lunch at another hotel. My co-worker said someone had a sea turtle outside the gate the other day when she came home (yes, 100% illegal. Trust me, it's not the only illegal thing going on around here.) She was also given a crocodile by some men once. Unfortunately, Henry was eaten by the guards at her friends compound where he was living in someone's bathtub (the ducks didn't make it either). There are miniature deer as well (Duikers), but I haven't seen one yet.

The ex-pat community here is huge! I went to trivia last night with my co-worker (a little different than what we have at Mellow) and met people working for NGOs, UNMIL, the US Embassy, a start-up microfinance company, and a guy whose biking around the world. They were from the states, England, Norway, Denmark, Germany by way of Uganda, Mexico, just about everywhere. It's really quite an interesting mix of people here. The Lebanese population here is also large. A lot of Lebanese have been here for years, so they're more settled and own businesses, etc.

I have internet at the apartment so I'm able to regularly check emails, etc. It's quite slow, though, as it is at the school. Honestly, I'm happy just to have it. I'm not feeling very well today, so I'm sitting at home on a Friday night posting to my blog. I think the anti-malarials I'm on are making me a little out of it. Nonetheless, I'm happy to have the time to sit down and write this out. I feel like it's been a whirlwind of anything and everything lately! On that note, I will say goodbye here. If you've made it this far--kudos to you. I will post again soon. Next week we're starting to get ready for school, so I'm sure fun and interesting things will be happening then.