Two Weeks

9-15-13

 After a little more than two weeks in Liberia, here is where I stand.

First the bad things- Can’t really say there have been any really bad things, except having to endure five days of Peace Corps Rules and Regulations. There have been the expected discomforts, like heat, constant sweating, being wet, red mud, and electricity being shut off from 8 -12 hours a day, as well as , finding substitutes for all the items and foods to which you have become accustomed.

If there has been anything difficult, it trying to understand “Liberian English”. It is a form of mumbled Pidgin or Creole English which is indistinguishable to me from the native Pele language the unschooled speak. Fortunately for me, almost everyone understands when I speak in Standard English. My main problem arises when I try to speak the way they do.

Cuttington University where I now teach is considered to be the best University in Liberia. It is a private school backed by the Episcopal Church in America and founded in the 1860’s. Like many private schools the students come from wealthy families who can afford the hefty tuition and dormitory fees. There are some scholarships available which high school Peace Corps teachers try hard to get for their brightest rural students.

Resources at Cuttington are few or non-existent. For my classes of Genetics, Immunology, and Histology, I have been given a box of chalk, a blackboard eraser, a classroom schedule and room number. That’s it! These classes usually have expensive labs, associated with them. Somehow I just have to find a way to do without. Indeed, what on the surface may appear to be first rate, in reality is bogus at best. I must say that I give the university credit for trying to live up to its ideals.

Classes start this Monday. I can then get a better assessment of the students and them of me. In the meantime, I am creating my own curriculum from old text books I have been able to scavenge from the library, other faculty, and my own imagination.

The good news is being with other Peace Corps. Most are trying to put aside their ideals and cope with the illiteracy and poverty of rural high schools. Few have electricity or running water. They cook on charcoal and carry water from community pumps. They inspire me as being part of what Americans can be.