Camped out in the Sierra Leone airport thus far without drama. Picture Ide screaming and waving his hands around like a madman this morning when he found something crawling in his pants. It turned out to be...his pants. The hotel taxi and bag wrapping were a complete ripoff but we'd ran out of energy to bargain. The plentiful warm friendly smiles of Sierra Leoneans extend as far as the villages in Goderich, but get thinner the closer you get to downtown, and thinner still at the airport. Immigration treated us with great suspicion and confusion ("Why would you want to spend a whole month here?")
Besides the volunteers, people at the beach, and those at one of the Lebanese cafes in Aberdeen we saw very, very few white people - say 2-3. So, still a novelty, but not so much that they haven't been enterprising enough to figure out how to make an extra $ out of us. This wasn't generally a concern because we were pretty good at bargaining (Ide especially so) and any overage we paid over the locals was usually less than a dollar.
The airport epitomizes much of Sierra Leone. Metal chairs with so much paint rubbed off that there is more rust than grey - or perhaps it was blue once upon a time. Water bottles, bottle tops, and a plastic bag litter the floor. A sticky orange spill from a Fanta can seeps slowly into the cracks in the concrete. Still no trash cans in sight, although I did learn yesterday that while littering when walking is completely permissible, throwing trash out of a car carries a 200,000L fine ($75).
Overall, our visit was fantastic and anyone that gets the chance to visit Sierra Leone should definitely do so. Sierra Leone has yet to become a tourist destination, so the cost of living is very low and the beautiful surroundings are virtually undiscovered. We did not see a single McDonalds, KFC, Burger King, or fast food joint. We never saw a credit card machine, and only two ATMs (for local transactions only). It has great potential and vast mineral wealth - so go now before it gets sullied with throngs of visitors.
To quote Tom, every day was a soap opera. It wouldn't have been the same without the wacky characters we met, both good and bad (mostly good). The villagers that greeted us when we walked to and from school, and the hundreds of waving, wide-eyed children made us feel as though we truly lived there, rather just being tourists. A turning point was when people began to hail us by name, rather than "Hello, white man!". Most common were "Hello Mr Ide," and "Good morning Miss Justine," but occasionally to my mild annoyance, "Mrs Ide! Mrs Ide!"
I don't know whether I'd recommend volunteering for the Extra Mile program if you have delusions of changing the world. For a start is it very, very expensive - surprisingly so given the low cost of living. Maybe I made some difference by demonstrating how a more interactive relationship between pupils and teachers might work - and Mrs Tuawally did say in her goodbye speech that the other teachers had been looking through the windows to observe my style. Overall though, it was very inefficient because when I was teaching, Ms. Jones wouldn't and vice verse.
To make the most of the Extra Mile program, the framework for group work and student-teacher one-on-one activities needs to be established. From there the teacher and aid could work together to make it a success. Unfortunately, the director of the Extra Mile program is a one man show, so there simply aren't enough resources to get this done. It would make more sense to work with 3 or 4 schools in-depth, rather than trying to get volunteers into as many schools as possible.
The information that we were teachers aids, and not to be teaching directly, should have been communicated. Either that, or we should have been told that we would be teaching the class, so we could have prepared accordingly. Research also should have been done on the proficiency level of the class so that worksheets and handouts could have been prepared appropriately. Mine were years too difficult for the level of the class. The language difference was also a big, big barrier. I think my experience may be a little biased because I was teaching in a government school - Sue's school was a private school and they seem to be closer to the level the curriculum says they should be at.
I can't say enough good things about Miss Jones and her patience. She kept the kids settled and translated everything I had to say. She has a huge, generous heart, which showed in the way she treated both me and her pupils. I'd like to say that things worked out with Mr Koroma but he eventually began ignoring me even when I said hello. To annoy him I took a photo of him when I was leaving. I wanted to get a shot of his sourpuss face to share with you all, but someone must have mentioned Jesus as I was snapping, as he has a creepy half smile on. I promise I'll upload all the photos when I get a chance.
So, no action today - sorry if this is a little boring!
