The rainy season: It gives us hard time!

The rainy season here in Liberia runs from April to October, or so, just depending on the weather that year.  Everyone here says that global warming has played a big part in it, but who is to know for sure?  No matter what, we have been living in the rainy season for almost all of our time here in Maryland so far, and it is an adventure every day.

At our site, there are no “coal tar” roads.  In other words, all of the roads, paths, and public spaces are dirt covered and perpetually muddy.  Walking to the market, it is common for us to catch ourselves from falling at least once, and coming home from the market is another story entirely.  Thank goodness for good sandals; without her Chacos and without my Tevas, Sarah and I would be an even bigger muddy mess when we got home!

With this excess rain comes excess mud puddles and ample opportunities for us to point out to our community that we are not adept in navigating the rain-filled streets of Pleebo.  One of my favorite memories from our time here so far comes from the day that Sarah and I went on a short walkabout with Evelyn and May, two girls who are our neighbors.  Walking onto this path, we had to step over a pretty large puddle.  Evelyn looked at it, cautioned us to “take time,” and made it across safely with three-year old May in tow.  Sarah was next, and all looked like it was going to be fine.

The next thing I know, however, Sarah is lying in the puddle, covered in mud from the waist down.  She slipped in the puddle, and all we could do was laugh about it.  May looked at us like we were crazy, and Evelyn was kind enough to help her up.  Thankfully, there was a well right next to the entrance of this path, where, luck would have it, a group of women were drawing water.  They were gracious enough to draw a bucket for us, and we all took time to wash as much mud off of Sarah as possible.  With the little dignity she had left, we made it home slowly and for a while, our continuous joke to each other was to “take time.”

A few weeks later, walking home from the market, I tried to step over a big puddle on the path near our house and completely missed the mark, getting mud all down the front of my dress.  Karma caught up with me, too, for laughing when Sarah fell, as there was a large group of guys sitting on the porch of the house near this path.  They all were quick to laugh and say the obligatory “sorry, yeah?” before watching me stand up and struggle home.  Sarah and I laughed for a while about that one, too :)

The final time that deserves mentioning was one day while I was walking home with my few-days old umbrella (Umbrella #2, if you must know).  I slipped down a small hill, and instead of catching myself with my hands, I attempted to catch myself with my umbrella.  I’m not sure what I was thinking exactly, considering I am much bigger than my umbrella, but I did it nonetheless.  That umbrella was rather short-lived after that incident…

The view off of our back porch - look at the rain!

A view of Regina's house - look at the rain!

Thankfully, as we are entering November, we are beginning what is supposed to be the dry season here in Liberia.  We have not seen evidence of that yet here in Maryland County, as it has rained almost every day since the start of the month.  Elsewhere, however, it seems to be starting, and we are anxious for its arrival.  Though that means we are entering the start of an even hotter season, it also means that we can plant our garden, which is something we are really looking forward to getting started.  It also means we won’t have to tote our umbrellas with us everywhere we go, which will be a nice change!  All in all, we will miss the rainy season, though.  I’m sure by the time April rolls around, we will be praying for the sky to open up and rain just one more time.  

An umbrella by any other name is still an umbrella

Moving in with our home stay families, Peace Corps provided us with quite a few items to make the transition easier.  Included in that was buckets, a water filter, towels, soap, a lantern, and an umbrella.  Arriving in Liberia in June, we were in the midst of rainy season and any thinking person would not be caught without an umbrella.  These pretty blue skies have the ability to turn dark and stormy in less than five minutes; trust me, that’s not a fun situation to find yourself in without an umbrella.

My umbrella bestowed to me by Peace Corps served me well in Kakata.  Until the plastic portion that held in the clip which insured the umbrella stayed closed broke.  And then the Velcro on the strap wore out and I had to be careful how I closed my umbrella…  If I wasn’t careful, it would pop open at the most inconvenient of times.  And then finally, the handle broke completely, resulting in a rather sad looking umbrella.  While it was still functional, I thought it would be best to leave it at Doe Palace upon moving to Maryland County, hoping it would find a home with someone there.  I mean, you can never have too many umbrellas, right?

After living at site for two weeks, I realized that I needed to buy another umbrella.  The rainy season was catching up with me, and I hate being caught without an umbrella in the pouring rain.  (Who doesn’t?)  I went to a shop and bought a basic black umbrella for a few dollars; a good investment for the next two years, or so I thought.  It wasn’t two days after I bought the umbrella that it was raining while I was walking home from the market, and I slipped in the mud.  Instead of catching myself with my hands, which were full of my purchases, I managed to (ever so gracefully) catch myself with my umbrella.  That, in turn, bent a few of the metal pieces, making my umbrella look a little funny while we were walking to school every day.  Sarah was always laughing at me, but I was just grateful to have an umbrella that worked again.

One day, walking home, I noticed how bent my umbrella was looking.  With no idea how that happened, I thought nothing more of it and put it away for the night.  The next day, walking to school it started to rain, and upon opening my umbrella, I found that the main post had completely snapped.  To this day, I have no idea how that happened, but needless to say, it made it impossible to use my umbrella to keep dry. 

Thankfully, we were passing by a shop of a woman who we talk to every day, and she sells umbrellas.  I asked her how much for an umbrella and purchased one on the spot.  She was even kind enough to chunk my old umbrella for me!  When it came time for me to grab one, she asked what color I wanted.  I laughed; I mean, why does the color of the umbrella matter?  She thought about it for a second and then grabbed the most beautiful (note the sarcasm) pink umbrella. 

“You’re a lady, so you get a lady umbrella,” she said.  So there you have it…  Four months later, and I have a lady umbrella.  It only took me three tries to get it right.

For Sale: red paint, and lots of it.

When we found out we would be moving to a brand new site and into a brand new house, Sarah and I went crazy thinking of awesome ideas for decorating our new space.  An obnoxious amount of time was spent searching for murals for our walls while we were still in Kakata, and looking back now, I question our motives.

Since our arrival in Pleebo, we have accomplished two murals in our new space.  Or…let me rephrase.  Sarah has accomplished two lovely murals in our new space.  In her room, she has painted beautiful flowers on her walls that serve as a nice accent and make her room look just a little homier.  On the wall in our hallway, she also did a cool mural in Sharpie marker, which has added a little inspiration to our lives :)

Armed with grand schemes of beautiful murals, we arrived in Pleebo and then realized our situation.  The only way to buy paint in town is by the gallon, so we now have 4/5 of a gallon of red paint if anyone should need some.  Pair that with the giant paint brushes that are available here, and you have a recipe for anything but a detailed mural.  Instead, you get beautiful flowers on Sarah’s wall and a nice collage of pictures I brought from home on my wall. 

I wouldn’t have it any other way, though.  We know what we wanted for our space, and upon realizing our limits, we adapted quite well, I think.  Besides, we needed a door stop for our front door, and that full paint can works perfectly.

I’m reaching the market-o!

Driving into Pleebo from Harper the first day at site, we drove past a rather lively market just before reaching our house.  I immediately grew excited, thinking how lucky we were to have what looked to be an awesome market in our community and so close to our house.  During our walkabout with Bessie, the PTA chairlady, I learned that there is another market that sits about 20 minutes from our house, aptly called the small market.  There are not as many items there, but it has all of the necessities.  So look at that – the big market and the small market, making lives for Peace Corps Volunteers easier since the 1960s. 

We have not taken much time to check out the small market, however.  One day, I’m sure we will, but we are rather spoiled with the big market so near our house.  The first few weeks traversing the aisles of the market were rather overwhelming and, frankly, miserable.  We did not have a good grasp of fair prices of goods, no one could understand us very well, and we were still the shiny new toys of Pleebo. 

Thankfully, everyone is used to us these days and almost every market experience is a pleasant one.  We have learned who to buy from and who to avoid, and our regular vendors know us and what types of things we typically want to buy.  One Ole Ma, in particular, is our favorite.  She sells the typical assortment of “small-small things,” and she is always so friendly when we visit her.  There, we are able to buy onions, garlic, tomato paste, spaghetti, salt, baking soda, and powdered pepper that we use almost every day to cook with.

Further back in the market lays the meat market portion, and this is a veritable cornucopia of animal parts for sale.  My personal favorites include chicken feet, turkey necks, pig feet, plenty of bony (smoked fish), and if we’re lucky, a chicken thigh or two.  On Saturdays, there is also a lively fresh fish portion of the market, and Sarah and I are working towards tackling that one day soon. 

Along the walk to the back of the market, we are always passing women selling plenty of other things, including sugar, oil, rice, beans, lentils (!), pot scrubbers, iron soap (lye soap we use for washing dishes), and most importantly, rubber to catch the fire.  Additionally, there are guys selling all sorts of goods out of their wheelbarrows; for us that means we are always able to find our washing soap for laundry days!  (Look for another post on wheelbarrows to come.)

Walking into another part of the market, you are quick to come across women selling many different types of things.  Here, you can find sandals, jewelry, underwear, towels, lappa (African printed fabric that everyone wears here), bed sheets, buckets, bowls, silverware, stationary, and the most common item – plenty of used clothes (most often, it’s children’s clothing).  While this all sounds like a lot, the most exciting part of the market is yet to come.

Walking down the road small, you will come across the produce area of the market.  Here, you can find almost any type of fruit or vegetable that grows in Liberia.  We are so fortunate to have a great produce section, and we are slowly working on tackling all of the options available to us.  Included in that bounty is bananas, plantains, oranges, mangoes (locally called plums), apples, coconuts, pineapples (when they’re in season), cabbage, greens, green beans, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes (locally called Irish potatoes), eggplant, okra, squash (locally called pumpkin), and avocado (locally called butter pear).  I’m sure the list is longer, but that is all I can remember now. 

Something that Pleebo has plenty of, and that some sites don’t see at all, is bread.  There are always people selling bread in the market, and we even have a bakery in town that makes great bread.  The bread from the bakery is a little more expensive, but every now and then, it’s a nice change of pace :)  Eggs are also an almost-constant in our lives, and for that we’re always grateful.  The trucks come from Monrovia pretty often, bringing boxes and boxes of eggs, all of which are shipped here from the Ukraine.  Interesting, I think.  Sometimes there will be a gap of a few days during which all the eggs have sold out and the entire town is waiting on the truck to make it from Monrovia.  That has happened twice while we’re here, and though it can be inconvenient, it’s definitely not the end of the world.

The final boost to our market is the row of amazing shops that sits across the street from it.  Here in Pleebo, you can find almost everything in the shops.  We are continually surprising ourselves by looking in the shops we walk by every day.  Don’t get me wrong, we have our favorites, but it’s always fun to explore new territory :)

The shop we frequent multiple times a week is our favorite for a few reasons.  We were introduced to the owners on our walkabout with Bessie, and from that day, we just kept going back.  Three brothers from Lebanon run this shop – Saad, Amadou, and Bailo – and they are always happy to see Sarah and I.  Here, we buy canned kidney beans (a staple for us), canned vegetables, oats for breakfast, flour, butter (for baking), biscuits (cookies) if we’re treating ourselves, and most importantly our 50kg bag of rice.  We buy other small things from here now and then – matches, paper, bleach, tea, etc. – but it is more of a staple place for us. 

The shops across from the big market

A "gas station" typical of Pleebo

Bananas by the bunch!

Our first pineapple! 

Yep - cucumbers are huge here.
Great in tuna salad sandwiches...  One of our favorite meals.

From other shops, we buy things like oil, toilet paper, Rexoguard (something we add to our bath water to insure any creatures in the water are dead), powdered milk, paint, rat poison, ketchup, a hot water thermos, and one of our most fancy finds – olive oil!  There are plenty of shops in Pleebo, and who knows what else we might be able to find during the next two years or so.  Needless to say, we’re definitely not wanting for anything here.  And for that I’m grateful.  

Bonjour, Madame!

The first morning Sarah and I lived in Pleebo, we decided to go on a short walkabout around town to see what we could explore on our own.  We left the house at 8:00, thinking that the market would be lively by this time and that we could find something good to eat for our breakfast.  Little did we know the treasure we would stumble across that fateful day…

Making our way past the market near our house (locally, it’s called the big market), we soon realized that not much is open on a Thursday morning at 8:00.  Instead, the market women are just arriving to their stalls; things don’t really get going until 8:45 or 9:00.  We thought we might have more luck finding a tea shop or a little cook shop along the main road, so we made the journey to that part of town.  Walking all around, we did not find much, though, and we were getting rather hungry.

I remembered that we had passed a tea shop on our walk that was a little off the road, and so we made our way back there.  The Real Madrid Tea Shop would be our spot for breakfast that morning.  We walked inside, sat down, and tried to speak with the man working there.  It did not take us long to realize that he only speaks French (and small small English…), and so with grand gesturing and laughing, we soon ordered an egg sandwich and café (ovaltine with sweetened condensed milk). 

Let me be the first to tell you – this egg sandwich changed my life.  So simple and easy to make, yet this man made it perfectly.  We knew at that moment that we would be fans of Real Madrid…the tea shop, that is.  After eating, we asked the man how much we owed and found the prices to be surprisingly reasonable.  For an egg sandwich and tea, Sarah and I each pay $120 LD (or about $1.60 US).  This is a perfect meal and a nice break from cooking, as well.

Since that serendipitous day in August, Sarah and I have eaten too many egg sandwiches to count.  With our meals has come a friendship with the owner of the tea shop that I wouldn’t change for the world.  David is originally from Mali, and he has lived in Liberia for two years.  He built his tea shop in January, and just in October, he started an addition on the side that will serve as his living quarters.  (Sarah and I would like to think that our numerous egg sandwiches have helped finance his latest endeavor…)  Currently, he is sleeping on the floor of his shop at night, and therefore, his shop is open from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm – it’s crazy how much he works!

Because of his limited English and our limited French, we have become very good at communicating with each other!  We can now speak “petit French,” and he can speak “small small English,” which is enough for us to share laughs over dinner :)  I am grateful, as well, that there is a man who sells phone cards and other small things outside his shop who is fluent in French and English and who serves as a translator in our times of need.

Currently, our schedule is set for us to eat dinner at David’s Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights after school.  Mondays, Sarah teaches until 5:45, and by the time we would get home, it would be getting dark and rather inconvenient to cook.  Our meals at David’s are the only meals that we eat outside of our home, though, so I’d say we’re doing alright for ourselves!  Every once in a while, we’ll stop by his place on a weekend to say hello and grab a bite to eat, but that’s not dictated by a schedule, haha. 

Though I said we order our fair share of egg sandwiches, David also makes a mean spaghetti that is a nice change of pace now and then.  Again, it’s such a simple meal, but I think we have both come to appreciate having someone else cooking for us on the coal pot a few times a week :)  Granted, one time I ordered spaghetti with an egg (thinking I would get spaghetti with a fried egg on top – don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!), and instead, he cracked the egg into the sauce and scrambled it up.  Upon Sarah’s questioning my meal, my only response was “It’s interesting… I’m not sure I’ll order it again, but it’s interesting.”  Bless his heart, David tries, and that’s good enough for us :)

Every trip to the Real Madrid is eventful for us.  One day, we took him some papaya we were gifted by a teacher at school (paw-paw, as it’s locally called, is not too sweet to us), and he was so grateful.  He opened it up right away and offered some to us; after us convincing him it was all for him, he ate it with a huge smile on his face.  A few days later, we saw a woman selling oranges outside her house (or so we thought), and we asked him to make sure she was before we walked over there.  Instead of answering us, he went over, bought two oranges, and gifted them to us with our dinner.  It’s the little things to be grateful for, I’ve learned.

The view from the road

Sarah and David

We have already decided that we will be visiting his shop every day during our last month at site.  Those egg sandwiches are too good not to splurge a bit that last month, and it’s always nice to sit in his company.  Though our conversations are small, it’s obvious that he appreciates our presence and company.  It’s funny how, even halfway around the world, I’ve found my own little space to claim as mine a few times a week.  Those old men sitting at The Tower every morning, drinking their coffee, really taught me something.  

I have a BS in Religious Studies…and I’m teaching Physics.

In July during our Pre-Service Training, Sarah and I met our Principal for the first time during a supervisor’s workshop.  This was a great opportunity to meet Charles, learn a little bit about the school, and really get an understanding of what was expected of us as volunteers in Maryland County.  One of the only things I remember from this exchange with Charles was him saying that they needed a Physics teacher and a Math teacher.  Those words dropped like a bomb in my world…

For those of you who know me well, you will know that Physics is probably my least favorite science subject.  (I minored in Biology in college, after all.  Not Physics…)  I took it in high school, sure, and then when I had to take it in college, I dreaded it.  Squeaking by with a B-, I was alright, but that 8:00 class three times a week for a year was rather awful.  That day in July, though, Charles was so adamant about me teaching Physics that I resolved to make the best of my situation.

Upon our arrival in Pleebo, we spoke to Sam about what subjects we would be teaching and what classes we would have the opportunity to impart knowledge onto.  Sarah was told she would be teaching 10A & 10B math (Geometry) and 11A, 11B, & 11C math (Trigonometry).  I was informed that I would be teaching 10A & 10B Chemistry, 10C & 10D Physics, and 11A Physics.  We were handed some textbooks to use as resources and sent on our way to start planning out our year! 

I was excited to see my schedule – Chemistry would serve as a refuge for me, should my Physics classes stress me out too much.  Armed with the curriculum, I sat down once I got home and started to plan my first marking period right away.  What originally seemed almost impossible to me quickly became a less daunting idea. 

As I’m writing this post, I am almost finished with the second marking period.  I’m almost ashamed to say it, but my Physics classes have quickly become my most favorite to teach.  While I enjoy teaching Chemistry, as well, I find the Physics lectures to be more rewarding.  My students respond really well to formulas and equations, and they are always excited when they understand a new idea.  Though often times, I have to re-teach myself a new idea or theory, once I have reviewed it sufficiently, teaching it to my tenth and eleventh graders becomes second nature.  To those of you who thought you knew me during that dark phase which was Physics107/108 in college, you really have no idea! 

The most challenging aspect of teaching here in Liberia is the short class period and the large class sizes.  I teach science to each section three times a week, which means I only have 12 hours in a marking period to teach them a multitude of concepts.  It’s not much, but we make the most of our time together.  My 10A class has 52 students, 10B has 51 students, 10C has 54, 10D has 52, and 11A has 62.  That means that I have the pleasure of teaching 271 students each week (if they all choose to come to school, that is).  If I can brag a little, I would also like to say that I know almost all of their names, which has been a challenge in itself! 

When I first started teaching at Pleebo High, I was so overwhelmed by the size of my classes.  Today, however, I feel funny if I have less than 40 students in a classroom.  By combining a quick and to the point lecture with as many examples as I can fit and homework almost every night, my students are quickly understanding that the only way they will really grasp these concepts is if they are practicing.  Sarah and I have an open-door policy to our porch, and often times, students will stop by in the mornings or on the weekends to get extra help or explanation.  We are also at school an hour early every day, and many students will come see us then. 

One of the most trivial things I do as a teacher, but one of the most fun, is giving my students stickers on their quizzes and exams if they performed well.  For me, that means an 80% or higher on a quiz or exam, and my students are always competing with each other to see who can earn a sticker.  Our administration has set the grading scale, and it is as follows:

Quiz 1 – 15%

Quiz 2 – 15%

Homework/Classwork – 10%

Attendance – 10%

Final Exam – 50%

Because the quizzes are so much of their final grade, I think it is only fair they earn a sticker if they have prepared well for it.  Plus, I have so many stickers to give out that I have to give them out whenever I have an opportunity to!  (Thanks Morgan! :)) 

Though I have only been teaching for a short time, I already feel like I have formed great relationships with my classes and with my students.  My only regret is that I will not be here to see my tenth graders graduate, and they are quick to tell me a solution to that problem:  “Miss Moore, you just have to stay for another year.  You can do that, can’t you?” 

Yeah, I could do that, but I’m not sure I want to do that.  Time will tell, but until then, I will just enjoy being called Miss Moore in the market instead of White Woman or Fine Girl.  After all, it’s the little things in life that count.  

Toto, we’re not at Fillmore Central anymore…

When I found out I would be placed out here in Maryland County, everyone told me that Pleebo was a big site and that our school was one of many in our community.  Sure enough, Pleebo High School is one of seven high schools in and around Pleebo.  Though there are many schools in this community, our high school is one of the largest and liveliest.  It is also only a five-minute walk from our house, which makes our “commute” one of the easiest around!

On any given day, I estimate around 500 students are attending Pleebo High.  The school runs in the afternoon, which means Sarah and I get to campus around 12:00 and leave around 5:00-6:00 pm each night.  There are four sections of tenth grade, three sections of eleventh grade, and three sections of twelfth grade, and the campus is always buzzing with students. 

In almost all of Liberia’s schools, students are required to wear a uniform to school.  At our high school, that uniform is maroon trousers or skirts and a white collared shirt with a Pleebo High School patch.  Black shoes complete the outfit, and if you’re in twelfth grade, you wear a black neck tie. 

Six class periods are in a normal day, with each period being 40 minutes.  There is also a 30-minute recess period after third period, which is often filled with us tutoring our students or answering questions about the homework we are be collecting that day.  Classes at our school are a little shorter than in other schools around Liberia, and I credit this to the fact that our campus is used for three different schools.  Pleebo Elementary School & Jr. High runs in the morning, our high school is in the afternoon, and the Extension school is in the evening. 

With so many students using our campus, we are often times limited in resources.  For example, many of the chairs our students sit in are “spoiled,” whether that means they are missing the desk portion or are on the verge of falling apart.  Some of the classrooms that hold tenth graders are full of strictly bench seats, which makes quizzing and examinations difficult.  Additionally, the some of the blackboards are in disrepair which can make writing notes a tedious process.

For all of the things that give us a hard time, however, there are plenty of good things as well :) We are fortunate to have the only library in Pleebo on our campus, and it has so many great resources for our students.  We are rallying to get some more science books, but we are blessed with a multitude of math, literature, and geography books that many of our students are utilizing!  (Sarah and I are looking into a possible renovation of our library, as well, so watch for updates on that at some point.) 

Another wonderful asset of our school is our administration.  Our principal, Charles, and the Vice Principal for Instruction, Sam, have been great resources for us as we get settled into our community and into the school year.  They are willing to listen to suggestions from us and Sam is always willing to answer the many questions I seem to have about why things are being done a specific way.  Overall, our administration is very active in the happenings of the school, and I think that their leadership contributes to the overall morale of the school.

Hallway leading to eleventh and tenth grade classrooms

Hallway heading to tenth grade wing & library

Library

Library

A view of the school from the road

Though there are things that we would love to change about our school, and though there are resources we are still missing, I feel very blessed to be a teacher in this community.  My students make my job an easy one (most days), and I can’t imagine myself being anything other than a Pleebo Eagle.