Goo afternoon! How de dey?

Liberia.  How many of you knew where this country was before you had to consult Google or ask Siri?  I had a general idea, but by no means could I point this country out on a map.  Since landing here on Wednesday, June 19, however, I have already learned so much about this country, its history, and the rich culture found within. 

So a little back story about how I got here!  I left bright and early on Monday morning to catch a 7:00 am flight to Philadelphia (via Chicago).  Once there, I loaded up my luggage and headed downtown to the hotel where we were having our staging event.  I checked into the hotel, dropped off my bags in my room, and headed downstairs to register and get ready for seven hours of training!  I had no clue what to expect, and what I found was an awesome surprise.  39 of us, all ready to head out and be Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs), and all super excited about our upcoming time in service!

Let me take a moment to explain a little about my fellow volunteers.  We are all under the age of 30 (many of us just graduated college), we come from all over the United States – though most of us are from California and the east coast, most of us have traveled abroad before, and (Dad – this one is for you!), most of us have tattoos J.  Everyone seems to be in this for the right reasons, and all of us are passionate about being the best PCVs we can be.

At staging, we received our passports and visas, along with a debit card with our spending allowance for our time in Philadelphia.  We received a few luggage tags, finished up our training there, and headed out for a last night in the States.  A large group of us went to a restaurant for dinner and to watch the hockey game, and I enjoyed a philly cheese-steak in Philadelphia – I had to, right!?

We headed out Tuesday afternoon for New York City – driving! – and made it to the airport super early.  Six hours later, we boarded our plane, headed to Accra, Ghana.  After sitting on the plane for an additional two hours, we left NYC.  A two hour stop in Accra (we stayed on the plane the whole time), and then we were headed to Liberia!  Roberts International Airport is small airport – I was shocked!  I imagine only two-three planes take off from there daily, so I guess it doesn’t need to be too big. 

We got our baggage, and were greeted outside by currently serving PCVs, the PC Liberia staff, and the country director!  The airport sits about an hour outside of Monrovia and about an hour outside of a town called Kakata.  We headed to Kakata and Doe Palace, where Peace Corps holds training.  We are here for the next ten weeks doing pre-service training, and it is nice!  We live in dorm-style rooms, with air-conditioning and hot water, and all of our meals are cooked by a woman named Cecilia who owns a restaurant in Kakata.  We’re pretty spoiled here, and I am trying to enjoy every second of this – before I know it, I will be sweating like crazy in a house upcountry.  J

Our training here has been extensive and thorough, but I am so grateful for all of the information we have been provided.  Covering the importance of safety and security of volunteers, Liberian English, the Peace Corps’ approach to development, and the history of Liberia (among other things) have filled up our time here quite nicely. 

For those of you who do not know anything about Liberia or its history, I highly recommend you do some reading.  The atrocities that occurred during the “civil crisis,” which lasted 14 long years and killed an approximated 250,000 human beings, are awful and I cannot believe I had not heard of them before.  History often repeats itself, and this country has lots of pretty scary history.

That being said, the bounce back occurring today in Liberia is phenomenal.  Children are once again being educated, adults have gone back to school to finish what was interrupted during the war, and President Sirleaf is doing amazing things with this country.  Based on the training we will receive here at Doe Palace, I am confident we will accomplish good things during our time in country.

Speaking of Peace Corps and Liberia, the dynamic between the two groups is really neat.  Peace Corps has a long history of serving in Liberia, and almost every Liberian we meet today had a Peace Corps teacher at some point in their lives.  Walking down the streets of Kataka yesterday, we experienced many shouts of “Peace Corps!” – telling the people we had just arrived from America was a neat experience.  I can tell how excited they are, and that in turn, makes me excited and anxious for a site (and classroom) of my own!

We will know our site placements in five weeks or so.  I will be teaching science, for sure, and I will be placed with a math PCV.  We could be placed on the ocean, in the rainforest, or near Kataka here in the central portion of the country.  Once we are placed, Peace Corps will be serving in 90% of the public high schools in Liberia – how awesome is that!? 

Today, we set up a local bank account.  We will be paid via transfer to that account, and with the ATM card we receive, we will be able to withdraw money to live on.  Everything here can be bought with American money and Liberian money (Liberty).  It is much easier in the markets to carry Liberty, however, due to the low prices (76 LD to $1 currently), and money-changing stands can be found most places. 

I also got a cell phone last night!  That was pretty exciting.  Phones here run on Cellcom or Lonestar network, depending on where you’re stationed.  Peace Corps has a free calling plan with Cellcom – the SIM card I got from them will allow me to call any member on the Peace Corps network for free, which is great, especially if I run out of credit on my phone for some reason.  I can also text home, too, but it will charge a Verizon customer $.15 for an incoming and $.20 for an outgoing message (I think).  It’s possible, so let me know if you want to text! J  Also, I am five hours ahead of home right now - fyi. 

On Sunday, we will leave for a short site visit with two other trainees and a volunteer.  This will be a great opportunity to really discuss and experience life in Liberia as a volunteer, instead of just as a trainee living in a walled compound.  Then, on next Friday, we will be adopted by our host family, who we will live with for 5-6 weeks - I cannot wait!  I have heard so many good things about time spent with host families, and I know this will be an enriching part of my time here. 

As I write this, my soundtrack is locally produced bluegrass music.  By “locally produced,” I mean PCVs are currently strumming away.  Within our group, we have four guitars, two banjos, a mandolin, and a fiddle – it’s pretty awesome J  Granted, watching us all get off the plane was probably pretty hilarious, with backpacks, suitcases, and instrument after instrument. 

I just finished a late night dance party with the other PCVs and the staff here, and I must say, my Azonto skills need a little practice.  It’s been two years, though, so I think that’s fair.  After a quick shower – which felt awesome! – I think it is off to bed.  The morning comes early here, that’s for sure.  Trying to absorb so much information is tiring, too.

I love the dynamic of this group, and I am so excited to see how the next 27 months go!  Keep in touch, friends!

By-by-o!

Caitlin