Magburaka!!!

I got my site placement!!!  In 6 weeks I will be moving to Magburaka! Ok, back up, here’s what’s been going on.

A few weeks ago we had interviews for site placement, it was to help the important people here decide where they should put us.  They try to match us with sites that coincide with what projects we might be good at, preferences we might have for our site and some other factors.  I asked for Mountains, small village, no site mates and most importantly a site with a need/opportunity for girls’ education projects.  On Tuesday of this week we got our sites!  They made a big map of Sierra Leone on the floor and gave us clues in the local tribal language we will be learning.  I Found my site, and here’s  what I’ve found out about it since; I have 3 site mates in the town and 2 other volunteers extremely close, it is a large town, it is not in the mountains.  Now for the awesome part, I am going to be working in an all-girls JSS school most likely teaching JSS 1 & 2.  JSS is Junior Secondary School, kinda like middle schools back home.  Teaching such a low level will probably mean it will all be very basic learning to read and write and the ages vary a lot here so I’ll have to tell you more when school starts.   OK, best parts, I have a female principle (super rare here), and it is a very small school, only 15-25 kids in classes  (most schools here are more like 50-100 kids in a class).  I will be living in a really safe house on the compound of my principle. 

 

The town sounds like it is good sized, it has internet cafes so I’ll be in better contact than I expected to be.  I am not in the mountains, and yes to all you Utah people, there are mountains here, small, small jungle mountains.  Even though I don’t have the mountains, I do have a massive forest preserve on one side of town and an ANIMAL SANCTUARY on the other side of town.  I think I’ll be just fine J.  In the last few weeks I have come to care a lot about the other volunteers, I didn’t think it mattered if I was close  to anyone before, but I am so excited now to have some of my favorite people live close enough to see.  Also Magburaka is a district capitol in the center of the country, this means I have great roads (by Salone standards) going in and out of my town.  This makes it much easier, and cheaper, to travel and for people to come see me. 

I spoke with the Salone 2 volunteer that I am replacing, she’s leaving Monday after finishing her 2 years. She sounds awesome, and she told me all about my new home.  Sounds amazing.  She said the principle is great, the school is great, I’ll be able to get fruits and veggies.  She said the town and where I’m living still feels like a village so that made me feel a lot better.  FRIUTS AND VEGGIES!!! I can’t even tell you how excited I am for that part of not living with a host family anymore.  The food here is full of oil, and I haven’t had almost any fruits or veggies since I’ve been here.  It is a strange concept to live in a place where things grow so well but they aren’t available because of seasons.  I know it sounds obvious, but the produce section of a grocery store is starting to sounds like a seriously magical place with an endless supply of deliciousness.  

So next week I am going on my site visit.  All of the principals, who are our supervisors, will be coming for a conference Monday and Tuesday.  Then Wednesday morning I will be traveling to Magburaka to stay for 4 nights by myself!  They have a site visit so that we can get a feel for the place we will be living in.  I still think it’s crazy that the first time I really live in a house by myself will be in post-conflict West Africa.  Ha ha after this getting an apartment by myself back home should be a piece of cake.  During the site visit I should be staying in the house where I’ll be living in 6 weeks.  I will get to see the school, meet the people in my community, see the market, and just really get a feel for the place.  I am so excited.

Other than all of that, things have been great here.  We just finished a ridiculously long week of training.  I still love where I live and my host family.  The other PCTs (Peace Corps trainees) are awesome, I love them all.  I am having some Africana made at the tailor shop down the street right now.  Tailors are a big things here.  You can either go to the market to look for the second hand clothes that make their way here from America and other Western countries OR get things made at the tailor.  We’ll see how it goes, it’s cool that it is made specifically for you.  I’ll try to remember to let you know if it works out.  I got up early today to go for a quick hike up a nearby hill, it was gorgeous, a little misty from the rain, but you could see so far.  The landscapes here is SO unique.  I’m going to go explore the big market today with a friend, we call looking for the second hand clothes and jewelry, junking.  You can get things for about 1000 Leones or 20 cents for us.  Should be an adventure.  Then the trainees are playing soccer against the local trainers later today.  Finally, tonight we’re celebrating someone’s birthday.  My days here are always so busy, maybe that’s why it feels like time’s flying, but also like I’ve been here for much longer than I really have been.  

Keep your fingers crossed for my site visit!!!  Hope things are great for everyone at home!

xoxo