I
have survived my first weekend with my host family! It was interesting, to say the least, but I
am grateful for all the lessons they have taught me in the past seven
days. My sisters are wonderful, and the
neighborhood kids are great – every day with them all is an adventure!
Friday
was our very official naming ceremony; all of us had one family representative
come to Doe Palace and name us in front of the group. I have been named Mama Qulleh (pronounced
Quell-ay) – literally, this means “white mother.” I told my family that I am not a mother and
they informed me that this name simply means that I have a white mother. Interesting to say the least, but I will run
with it for now. Once we get to site, it
is likely I will be given another name that I will go by. (I’m still debating
if I will go by Miss Moore in the classroom or if I’ll go by Miss (insert new
African name here)).
Saturday
brought with it a full day of work. I
woke up, ate breakfast, and did my laundry.
What a production. My sister insisted
that I wash my clothes twice – once with a washboard, and again with powder
soap and hand-scrubbed. Then they were
rinsed and hung up on the line to dry. I
think these clothes are the cleanest they have ever been – I’m grateful for my
sister, that’s for sure. Then we ate
some lunch, and headed to the market to pick up groceries for dinner. An hour later, we were back at home – and I
was burnt to a crisp. My sisters and the
neighborhood children were laughing at me…I still don’t think they understand
the concept of a sunburn.
Sunday
brought a pretty lazy day; there was a church service on the porch of a
building next door, so I was able to sit on my porch, read for class, and
listen to church all at the same time.
It was interesting, to say the least, and after three hours, I was
exhausted. The music was beautiful,
though – nothing like some acapella hymns to get things going on a Sunday
morning. Sunday afternoon, the kids in
my neighborhood had fun posing for pictures and putting on dramas for me. I have taped a few with my camera, and we
have been watching them at night…they really seem to enjoy that, and it’s fun
to laugh with them :)
This
week has been busy with training and preparing for model school next week. For the next three weeks, we will be teaching
every day and then having additional sessions in the afternoon back at our
training center. I have been assigned to
teach 10th grade biology; luckily, the 10th grade class
is split into two sections, and I am able to co-plan with another Peace Corps
Trainee for the three weeks of class. We
are covering the parts of a cell, its function, and the types of cells. Because of our lack of resources/board
space/etc, we are able to cover just one chapter in three weeks. It’s pretty crazy to think about, but I know
I’ll get used to it in time. Class
periods are 45 minutes long and I’m expecting my class to have anywhere from
30-50 students. Wish me luck!
Tonight
is our weekly night at Doe Palace. On
the schedule is an early dinner and then a movie night – we are busy choosing
between Pitch Perfect, Office Space, and Snatch. My vote is Pitch Perfect, but we will see
what wins. Also, this weekend is our
trip to Monrovia – wish me luck!
I
hope you are all well back home – stay cool out there. :) And
Happy (late) Birthday, Mom!
Much
love,
Caitlin
No comments:
Post a Comment