Bridging Culture. Working Together.

Along with the rainy season, comes sickness.  The rain has brought an increase in the mosquito population, which has also brought a significant increase in the amount of Malaria cases.  My students are constantly complaining of sickness.  We have had a significant increase of absences this third term from school because of students being sick.  Not only has malaria plagued Kabala and all sides of Sierra Leone, but the disease called Ebola has also brought significant worry to the community.  It started in Guinea and Liberia and has now entered into Sierra Leone and is presently in Kailuhan District.  It has infected many people in Kailuhan and it has also killed a significant number.  The schools have closed down and people are not allowed in and out of the district.  I was listening to the radio on my way to Freetown two weekends back and people were complaining because they were even canceling all public gatherings like w...

Growing up, Apples to Apples was one of our family's favorite games. But the best part about Apples to Apples was not actually putting cards that truly matched the green apple cards, but playing cards that contradicted the green apple cards.  The goal was always to make the judge laugh.  The judge would always pick whatever apple card was funniest.  If I can remember correctly, some of our favorite red apple cards were "Barney," "Puff Daddy," "Boyfriends," and many more. I decided to introduce the Apples to Apples Junior to my students in class III.  Before we played, I sorted through the cards to pull out the red apple cards that they would not understand.  They are currently sitting in groups so each group of four students got twenty red apple cards.  I picked a "runner" in each group to come and bring me their red apple card each time I chose a green apple card. The game went relatively smoothly.  At first, I would give the word on the...

Something that has driven me crazy since the first day coming to Sierra Leone is this idea of begging.  When people here want something bad, they will often beg the person.  They always say "I beg."  If someone begs me for something, I have no desire to give them anything. If I want to give a person something, I want to give them something because I love that person or because I want to help a person.  I think my students have learned this quickly.  They know that if they beg me for anything, I will not give them anything. For example, if I am eating bread during lunchtime, instead of begging me, they will just stand around me and if they are lucky, maybe I will give them the end of my bread.  But as soon as one of my students begs me for my bread, all desire to give to that person leaves my head. The other day, a student in class 6 was begging me for a lolipop.  I asked my class 3 students who were with me if I will give him if he begs me. ...

Today, I was doing my oral exam with my students during the afternoon part of the day.  I asked her what she was going to do over the summer break.  I was expecting a normal answer, like go to Freetown, or study, or play, or a typical answer.  But instead she told me "I am going to eat corn." I said, "you are only going to eat corn for the whole break?"  After asking her more questions to give me a more detailed answer, she could only tell me "I am going to eat corn and pick corn." I guess my student really likes corn and that is all she will fill her time with this summer.  I thought it was so funny I tried hard not to laugh at her.  It has now reached corn season again in Sierra Leone.  I have my corn lady who I always buy corn from!  I can't even tell you her name but she loves me.  Any time I go to her, she will give me a big hug.  Then I will always buy 1,000 Le corn and she will always give me 3,000 Le corn.  I love that wom...