LOOK, I wrote something.

So, this is a blog post. I said I would do these before I left for Salone, but have I been doing them? No. Di internet no de. Or in English, the severe lack of internet in this country greatly limits my ability to tell you about the thrilling life of a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sierra Leone. But, as it turns out, when it comes to writing about the glamorous life of a Peace Corps volunteer I just find it hard to put it all into words.

So here are my daily activities:

1.       Running in the morning with everyone in town yelling at me in Temne and asking me if I am running. Apparently the white sweaty man puts on a good show.

2.       School: The place where I teach teenagers how to read, write, and speak English. I spend a lot of time sitting around with the other teachers and talking about America, religion, and the frustrations of life in Salone.

3.       After school: The period of the day where I spend time reading on my verandah, sitting and staring on my verandah, sitting and staring on my neighbors verandah, and then the occasional walk to my site mate’s school which has a library with solar power and satellite television. Pawn Stars and Storage Wars still manage to captivate me here in Sierra Leone. I also sometimes go on walks around town which includes people yelling at me in Themne, people offering me their baby as a wife, children grabbing my hands to walk with me, and then more people yelling at me in Themne.

4.       Night: Once the sun goes down I go and after listening to the BBC to feel like I know what’s going in the world, I go into my tiny house and call it a day.

All in all, life is good here. My neighbors make sure I am well fed and healthy. There are days where they keep on giving me food that I cannot possibly eat so I end up feeding all the children in the area. They also help me wash my clothes and get water. In other words, they are some of my best friends here.

 Occasionally students from my school come to visit me and ask me questions about English, but most of the time I hang out with my friend Obay, a female chief that lives across the highway from me. She lives in a house with a number of other women and they all spend their day making Kill Drayvas (a sort of African sugar cookie) to sell to people that pass by their house. If I ever want to get away from all the craziness that can happen during a day, I go to hang out with Obay because I know the same will always be happening there. She tells me a lot of stories about her life as a chief and life during the war, but most of the time we entertain her five-month-old grandson Kasim while she teaches me Themne.

I don’t know what else to write about but I’ll end it by telling you a short story about Pizza making and then possibly angering my whole town.

One Friday afternoon my site mate and I decided to make a Pizza in his amazing clay oven. While we were gathering the ingredients for this Pizza around town, one of the bobos (small boy) that frequents my house for food spotted us and followed us back to my site mate’s house. The bobo then joined us and helped us to prepare the pizza. By the time our pizza was cooking, it was about 8 o’clock and the sun was down so the bobo (Ibrihim) thought it was best to lie down and fall asleep by the oven. My site mate didn’t want the Ibrihim to die from smoke inhalation, so he moved him onto a yoga mat in another room. When the pizza was finally finished, Ibrihim was out cold. We attempted to wake him up but he just refused to wake up. So we ate without him and then I finally decided that I need to take Ibrihim home. We once again attempted to wake him up, but he kept his eyes closed. My site mate decided that carrying the bobo on his shoulders would be the best idea… but it turned out to be the worst. While my site mate and I were walking back to my house everyone so my site mate with this small child around his shoulders almost looking like a corpse. By the time we were halfway there people were freaking out and wanted to know what the two Opotos (What they call a white person in the northern part of the country; for a small history lesson the word refers to the Portuguese who were the first Europeans in Sierra Leone) did to the small child. We were then confronted by a group of young men who started accusing us of drugging the child or getting the child drunk. By this point I was furious and was not happy that I was receiving these accusations. It then lead to an argument in krio and then finally the waking of the child who managed to state that the two Opotos indeed did nothing to the him, he was just tired and did not want to wake up.  The whole crowd then left us and Ibrihim made it home okay. So the lesson we learned was that you must never carry a sleeping bobo unless you want to anger your town and have them think you do terrible things to children.

Alright, well na in dat. I hope you find this blog post satisfying to the recent drought my blog has been experiencing.

More Vital Information

So I do not have much time to update this but I have some information for all of you that read my blog

1. On Wednesday August 28, 2013 I become an official volunteer in Sierra Leone. The Swearing In Ceremony will be that day and I'll be decked out in my best Africana clothes.

2. Thursday August 29 I go to site. Basically, all my internet usage will decrease substantially so the best way to contact me is via phone. If you want my phone number email me or facebook me.

3. I'm terrible at blogging.

4. I'm so happy training is almost over.

5. Send me a package!

Who's too cool for summer school?

Not me.

Yes, summer school has started and what a wonderful experience it is. Well, I mean it's a change of pace from the usual day of training in the compound, but it really is great. I have two periods in which I teach English to Senior Secondary 1 students and then Language Arts to the Junior Secondary 3 students. I have started teaching the joys of nouns and sentence structure and the students are just loving it (well, in an ideal world they are). All in all, it really is awesome because I finally get to do what we are being trained for. This week was also nice because we had Thursday off because it was Pray Day or the end of Ramadan. As-salaam alaykum!

Pray Day was awesome. I basically spent the day hanging out on the veranda with my host family and greeted a million people who stopped by after praying at the mosque. Also, all the Muslims families around us were bringing food because it is tradition to give gifts on Pray Day. In some ways it is kind of like Christmas because apparently for Christmas all the Christian families makes food for the Muslim families. In the afternoon I went to a play put on by an Islamic youth group. I attended with two other volunteers (Taylor and Annie) and had a great time. The play was supposed to start at 4, but instead we watched a dance party for children 8 and under. And let me tell you, children in Sierra Leone have all American children beat when it comes to dancing. They were putting on all their best dance moves for us. Even though all the dancing was very entertaining, we were wondering when the play would actually start and we only seemed to be the only people attending. By 5 the dancing started to wind down and finally some people were coming in to sit down. But did the play start? Of course not. Instead we watched a skit, listened to some Islamic songs put on by the teenagers, and then finally at 6 the play started. But by that time we could not stay much longer, so only got to see a small portion of the drama, performed in the Krio language, titled "Rich men rarely worship god in the truth form."

Speaking of Krio, I'm really starting to pick it up now and I am also starting to pick up the local language in Bo, Mende. I am also now taking Themne classes, which is the language I will be speaking in Masingbi.

Well, that's it for today. I'm still getting fat according to my host family, so in other words I am very good!

We only have two more weeks left of Summer School/Training and then on August 28th we are officially sworn in as Salone 4 volunteers.

Love and miss you all!

Just kidding

My last blog posts haven't been the most informative, so I will try in this one to inform you all a little better.
My daily life during training can basically be summed up as this. I wake up at about six in the morning and start the day off with prayer with the family. I then take my bucket shower (with hot water!) and then eat breakfast which is usually a small loaf of bread with two hard boiled eggs and a ton of Mayo (apparently Sierra Leone beats the U.S. in mayonnaise consumption). I then go on my 30 minute walk (greetings included) to the training site. Then we sit in training until 5:30 and then I go on a jog with other volunteers, go to a bar for a drink, or go home. I then spend the rest of the evening eating, hanging out with the family, taking another bucket bath, or reading. Sounds exciting, right?  I guess I'll let you be the judge.

My host family is awesome. I really cannot emphasize that enough. The keep me well fed, well taken care of, and tell me that I am fat all the time  (which is a major compliment). I am already planning on coming down to spend Christmas with them when the time comes.

One quick note about Salone culture: You have to greet everyone on the street. No matter who you pass and even if you do not know them you better greet them or you offend them. So that is why it takes me forever to get to school. I also am grabbed by about a million children on the way to school as well. If you ever wanted to know what it is like to be famous, come to Sierra Leone.

I've also learned how to eat fish and chicken bones, I do not complain when my pineapple is covered with ants, and I crave rice like none other. I also no longer know what cheese tastes like and I dearly treasure my peanut butter.

Sierra Leone loves Rihanna, Chris Brown, and Celene Dion. No joke, everyday on the radio there is one hour dedicated to Celene Dion.

The rain comes hard and sporadically. Feeling cold is anything below 75 degrees. And I've finally gained the ability to sleep with a sheet.

Mosquitos attack my feet and talking about poop with other volunteers happens more often than one would want.


To sum it all up, life is good and a tel god tenki.

Love and miss you all!

Josh

3 weeks

It's almost been three weeks since I left home... Wow. It seems so much longer than that. Currently I'm sitting at a internet cafe in Bo with my host brother Emmanuel.

Let me tell you all, It has been a great three weeks. I live with a wonderful family that takes very good care of me. I have a mother, grandmother, and many aunties and uncles at my house. There are also many children. At home I spend most of my time hanging out with the family on the veranda or teaching Spanish which my brother Emmanuel is picking up very quickly. It's nice to utilize my Spanish here because I'm concerned about losing it, so I'm more than thrilled to teach it. We also play cards and occasionally watch video and throw the Frisbee.

Training has been fine. The day can be very long sometimes, but I really enjoy getting to know all the other trainees and the other volunteers that come here to support us during training. Learning the language has also been fun. I do not speak it perfectly, but I'm slowly picking it up.

The staff has been incredible. All the Sierra Leoneans have been so welcoming that it is hard (basically impossible) to feel uncomfortable.

The weather also hasn't been too bad either. I mean, I sweat a lot, but it is not as hot as I thought it would be! (Even though I haven't even experienced the "hot" season yet).

This will be a brief post (sorry), but I just wanted to let you all know that I'm doing just fine! My stomach hurts once in a while, but that's small to the other problems I could have.

I promise I will include some more insightful posts later, but during training my time is filled and it's hard to sit down and type everything out.

Miss you all! Also, send me a package or letter! My host brother would like to see a book about Wisconsin so send me one if you have it.

Here a some highlights of the past three weeks:

-Meeting the Ambassador of Sierra Leone to the U.S.
-Meeting the Ambassador of the U.S. to Sierra Leone
-Meeting the President of Sierra Leone
-The short five minute conversation with my parents on the cell phone.
-Eating a lot of good Sierra Leonean food (Groundnut Soup and Kasada Leaf and too many others to list are great).
-Slowly building up my tolerance for spicy food
-Celebrating independence day with an epic football (soccer) game.
-Jogging up mountains
-Meeting so many incredible people.

Wi Go Si Bak!! (See you all later)

PS. I will find out my site within the next couple of weeks. I'll keep you posted!

My Peace Corps Timeline

A number of other  Peace Corps volunteers post in their blogs about their application and placement process. I figured I might as well post mine so others hoping to apply for the Peace Corps can understand the process.

October 18, 2012: I turned in the application after scrutinizing every tiny detail only to discover later that I left out some information that became a huge factor for my placement.

Early/Mid-November: I corresponded with the Peace Corps Recruiter in Chicago via phone and email. In these emails and phone calls they asked some simple personal questions as a way to prepare for the  potential interview.

November 30, 2012: I drove to Chicago from Dubuque to have my interview. Had a lovely day strolling the streets of downtown Chicago to calm by nerves before the interview I spent most of my young adult life waiting for. 

The interview went great and found I should have included information about my past tutoring experiences, so the Recruiter sent me an attachment via email to fill out which I promptly sent in the next day. 

December 18, 2012: Received my nomination for a position in Youth Development departing in July.

Late December 2012: Drove from Madison to Dubuque during winter break from classes because I was silly and did not realize that I was having the Peace Corps send packets to the wrong address. The packet I was picking up was the legal kit.

January 3, 2013: Mailed in my fingerprints.

February 13, 2013: Legally cleared!!!

February 15 and 17, 2013: Received and sent in a Youth Development questionnaire via email. I changed the earliest date I could leave from July 2013 to June 15, 2013.

February 27, 2013: After being told I would not hear anything for a good 4-6 weeks, I just happened to look in my email and then passed out. Just kidding. But to my surprise, on that day I received my invitation to serve as an Secondary English Teacher in Sierra Leone, Africa with a departure date of June 18, 2013. 

March, April, May: I sent in a great deal of forms to the Peace Corps. It is highly recommended that you turn them in as soon as possible, especially the passport and visa forms. 

May 3, 2013: Medically cleared after a number of doctor's appointments and running back and forth between Dubuque and Madison. Then all I had to do was prepare for June.

June 17, 2013: Staging in Philly.

June 18, 2013: Hasta luego, United States. Kushe, Sierra Leone!!

My application and placement were really quick. The amount of time from the date I turned the application in to the date I actually depart is only 8 months, which isn't always the case for other volunteers, because for some it can take over a year. You need to be as flexible as possible with the Peace Corps. If you make the process all about where you want to go, it's not going to be a smooth process. I basically said yes to whatever the Peace Corps asked of me and that made everything much easier. You need to be willing to move out of your comfort zone and not expect this process to be all about you. You are helping other people out, they didn't choose to be where they are. All in all: you need to learn to be flexible!!! 

I know Sierra Leone will be a little hot and humid. I know I will not have all the luxuries I have here in the U.S. I know what I am getting myself into and I cannot wait. This is not just about myself, this is about all the amazing people I will meet very soon.

I have some vital information!

Hey all,

A number of people have asked me what my address will be in Sierra Leone and here it finally is:

Joshua Utter
Peace Corps Volunteer
P.O. Box 905
Freetown, Sierra Leone
West Africa

So letters, care packages (filled with Oreos), or whatever else can be sent there.

It is getting very close to departure. I leave in about 12 days. AHHH. My last few days here will be spent visiting with friends and family and packing. And I really mean packing. I will post on that later.

Also, if anyone is interested. My mother is having a little get together at my place on the 15th at 6pm for anyone who would like to pop in and say goodbye. Otherwise my friend Becky and I are having a joint going away party later that night as well. Just contact me if you have any questions. Come say goodbye to me!!! I'll be away for 27 months.

Peace,

Josh

Sin impunidad

When I first watched Pamela Yates' documentary, When the Mountains Tremble, I knew next to nothing about Guatemala. Never touched upon in great detail in past history or Spanish courses, the stories of civil war,  and constant violence failed to reach my ears. With this ignorance of mine, the viewing experience of the film became a painful awakening. One scene in which a number of Mayan women wail for the dead in their village will never leave my memory. Women young and old stand there unarmed and weeping, while soldiers stand around them with loaded guns and blank stares. One cannot help but feel discomfort as they view this. I surely felt it. Those women felt it more.

A trip to Guatemala in January 2013 continued to wake me up and gave me a good shake to ensure that I would not just hit the snooze button. While I toured Antigua after days spent in Izabal, I heard the story of two little girls murdered in Guatemala City. Kidnapped, murdered, and bodies in pajamas discarded on the street, I felt that same sobering feeling I had felt before. Child murders happen in the United States, but never does the victim's body get left on the street for the whole world to observe with silent horror. This act of leaving the body on the street not only attempts to diminish the humanity of the victim, but also turns the body into a threat for others. It became an expression of impunity. The murderer leaves the body on the street as a way of saying "Look what I did and look what I will get away with it." A mindset that has come to dominate the Guatemalan culture. 

This mindset has not only permitted senseless violence to dominate, but it has also justified violence against women. Every year, hundreds of women die in Guatemala just for being a woman. Their bodies are treated with no respect as they are raped and disfigured. Their murderers live without consequences and their government fails to promote their well-being. 

Recently, I met a woman from Guatemala living here in the United States. As we talked and met a couple of times, she willingly shared her story of violence. She spoke of how her husband beat her and how she feared for life. After years of maltreatment, she gathered what she could and fled. No longer feeling secure in her homeland, she made her way to the United States to begin a new life. Hearing the hurt in her voice as she shared her story, the issue became even more personal. 

Her story does not differ from the stories of a number of other women, stories that go unheard as impunity dominates their home and country. Their husbands live life without fearing major consequences for beating their wives. Some of the perpetrators do face punishment for their actions, but often women feel too intimated to report it to the police (if one has enough faith that police will actually do something about it).  As the aggressor continues to live in "peace," justice will never reach the victim. 

For years the victims of genocide have sought justice for the crimes done against them. They have called for the arrest and conviction of Ríos Montt, a Guatemalan ex-president and general responsible for the slaughter of 1,700 Ixil Mayans. Despite these efforts, their calls often fell into silence. The government justified the action of Ríos Montt as necessary to establish stability, so no punishment would be required. In other words,  impunity silenced all in the name of preserving the peace. 

2013 has become a year of change and the silence has started to break. Ríos Montt was finally placed on trial for the crime of genocide. With the whole world watching, the painful testimonies of the victims emerged from the shadows of fear. No longer could Montt sit there as a man who did his "job," but a man that ended the lives of innocent people. The court agreed and found him guilty. 

His conviction not only signifies justice for all those hurt and broken, but also shows that impunity has started to weaken. If this once powerful man now has to face the much delayed consequences of his actions, then the rest should as well. Violence in Guatemala, especially that against women, persists just because one get away with it and this needs to stop. The trial of Ríos Montt not only became a critical trial for the victims genocide, but a symbolic trial for the victims of femicide as well. The women of Guatemala need their justice. Impunity has ruled for far too long. 

13 more weeks...

What seems like a long time really isn't... The things I have to do before I reach June 17 are far too many. This not only includes Peace Corps preparation, but also wrapping up my last semester of school and finding the motivation to complete all my projects. You would think that I would feel greatly motivated at this point, but if anything I have been kind of distracted by life in general.

This week I started and finished reading Ishmael Beah's book "A Long Way Gone". That's one thing I had on my list of things to do that I get to check off! And what an emotional book it was... the horrors Ishmael faced were terrible and were experiences that no one should ever experience. He was a child soldier during the civil war in Sierra Leone during the 1990s and was willing to share with us those painful memories and their frightening details. Through his book he not only gives light to those child soldiers but also to the people of Sierra Leone who faced so much suffering. Today Sierra Leone is much different from Ishmael described and I am very humbled that I get to be a part of its continued development after this bloody war. But, the thing I took most from that book is that Ishmael Beah's words truly shows us the resilience of the human spirit. Hope seemed very far away and nonexistent, but he never gave up. 

On the brighter side, today I finished all the necessary medical appointments before I leave, which means I can cross a couple more things off of my to-do list! I am happy that is all done. Nothing makes me more nervous than a doctor's office.


Peace,

Josh

P.S. If anyone knows of any good resources for an English teacher, please let me know!

A New Beginning

Well, I am back to blogging everyone. My travel blogging in Spain came to an abrupt stop last March, but I plan to use this blog to continue onto my next journey.

This past Tuesday (Feb 26) I received my invitation from the Peace Corps to serve as a Secondary Education English Teacher in Sierra Leone. I find it hard to believe that this moment is finally here. I've been wanting to do this since high school, so the fact that I'll be leaving this June for Sierra Leone blows me away.

I feel so blessed with this opportunity. Sure, living life will be a lot different in my new location, but I'm excited for this change. I am excited for the challenge. But the thing I am most excited for is to meet the people I will be living and working with. I've already started searching the web and reading books to get myself acquainted with this country I will soon call home. 

At this moment I can only feel excitement. I could be nervous about leaving home for two years and moving into unknown territory, but rather than feeling apprehension, I find myself energized and ready for a new adventure.  

I should note that my destination may have limited internet connection, so my extent of blogging about my experience may be limited to the months before departure. As the months pass by, please lookout for other blog posts detailing my preparation (if interested). 

Also, to anyone in the teaching profession or working towards a teaching degree: I need your help. If anyone would like to give me a crash course on lesson planning or other teaching tips that would be much appreciated. Or if anyone could give me some pointers on where I could find a good English grammar book or text book, that would also be greatly appreciated. 

Peace out,

Josh