Here we are, one week later, and I am already three days into model school. In two days, we find out where in Liberia we will be stationed (and who our roommate will be), and in less than a month, we will all be sworn in as Peace Corps volunteers! Woah...where has time gone? When I first got to Liberia, the days moved so slowly, and I worried about how long this phase of my life would feel like it was lasting. Today, I worry that it will go by altogether too quickly. Don't worry, friends -- I have not decided yet if I am extending for a third year. That's still a long way away :)
Since I updated you last, we have been busy PCTs here in Kakata and Monrovia! Here is a summary for all of you.
Saturday morning, we all arrived at Doe Palace and piled into bush taxis for our trip to Monrovia. My group consisted of Gayla, Stacy, Tony, Devin, and I, and our leader was an upcoming PCVL (Peace Corps Volunteer Leader) Dan. He will be stationed in the southeastern part of the country, in a town called Zwedru; if I am placed in that part of the country, I will see him pretty often, as he will make site visits/observe our classes/etc. We arrived at St. Theresa's Convent in Mamba Point, a community in Monrovia. From there, my group headed to the Bamboo Bar, a restaurant on top of a building in downtown Monrovia. There, I had a delicious Hawaiian pizza, full of cheese and Italian goodness.
After that, we did a quick tour of Waterside Market - a huge market that sells probably anything you could ever need. From there, we headed to the famed Ducor Palace, a super fancy hotel in Monrovia. This hotel was the only five-star resort location in West Africa in its prime, and just looking at the shell was enough to understand why. During the war, the property was abandoned and looters took everything of value. My group walked to the top of the hotel (nine stories) to see the view of the city - but only after giving the security guard some "cold water"...also known as a bribe of $200 LD (a little less than $3 US).
From there, we split up with another group leader, Rebecca, and she took all of us girls shopping for real this time in Waterside Market. (Dan took the guys to the Peace Cafe for smoothies or coffee -- how segregated we were.) From Waterside, we stopped at Monroe Chicken for milkshakes and then to a grocery store. My goodness - this grocery store was crazy. Anything I could ever want was there -- at a price 10x its normal cost. A bag of shredded cheese? $25.00 US. A bag of Nestle chocolate chips? $40 US. Fresh bell peppers? $4.95 US a pound. Crazy! I did get a few things, though, to take to site, and I was glad that I did. Knowing that there are groceries from home available in Monrovia makes things a little more bearable; I don't think I will be going very often, however, simply due to how expensive the city is.
From the grocery store, we headed for dinner at the Mamba Point Hotel. Talk about a fancy place! The Indian menu was extensive, and my paneer was delicious. Yummm. I had been craving some Indian food (of all things), and this was just what I needed a month into my service. We hung out there as a big group, and then headed back to the convent for the night.
The convent had nice lodging facilities -- air-conditioned rooms, current (electricity) at night, running water - though it was low pressure - and real toilets. I was alright with the living conditions -- and apparently rooms there are only $30 or $35 a night. It's safe, too, so that's a plus :)
Sunday morning, we got up, had breakfast, and headed to the Royal Hotel for coffee. I had some hot tea and pancakes - second breakfasts are always nice! The Royal Hotel is a fancy place, and apparently the cheapest room there is $250 US. Yikes. We headed to the Peace Corps office, then, and caught taxis back to Kakata. It was a lightning-fast trip, but it was a ton of fun. Monrovia is not my favorite by any means, but it is nice to know what is available there.
Since that trip, I have been busy teaching 10A Biology, first period of the day. My class goes from 8-8:45 am Monday-Friday, and the number of students in my class is slowly increasing. I started with 10, and today, I had 16! We have 33 students on the roster, but I doubt that I will ever see everyone. My content is the cell - we are currently discussing the structures and functions of the cell and its parts. Today, we modeled selective permeability in the cell membrane; this is fun stuff, friends!
I am feeling more and more confident every day that I teach, which I think is making me a better teacher. We are observed every day and my observer says that I'm not doing a terrible job, which is good to know :) Now to just keep it up for the next two years -- that is the big challenge! I'm excited to get to site, though, and finally have some continuity in my classes. Knowing that I will only see these students for three weeks makes teaching them a little more difficult, I think.
That's my life in a nutshell! I hope that this answers any questions you may have had and serves as proof that I am still alive and well :) I miss you all!
Much love,
Caitlin
PS - Tonight is the annual PST talent show. My act? A dramatic reading of Taylor Swift lyrics. This should be fun :)
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