Fairy Tales

The sky is black. An opaque curtain of water vapor covers the stars, or maybe it is a film of orange dust risen from the sun scorched land and caught in the air. Either way, crowded on my veranda in the glow of my headlamp, the dark hardly matters.

“You don change di battery?” an ever-observant child asks, noticing that my head lamp is considerably brighter today than it was before.The primary school children who live next door to me have taken to coming to my porch every night to study. One 5^th grade girl named Fati asked me to write something for her to read. I began to write the story of Cinderella, but then thought better of it. Fairy tales tend to be the antithesis of gender empowerment and the last thing a little girl in Sierra Leone needs is another story about a weak female character who is saved by a man and a fairy because she had the good fortune of being born beautiful. These critiques occurred to me just as I was writing “After Ella’s father died, her step-mother began to treat her very badly.”

I paused, my pen hanging hesitantly in the air. Fati was living in a society where the fairy tale premise of Cinderella was not completely foreign. It is a world where a woman’s success is often based on luck and a rich husband, but it is also a world where girls have the chance to go to school. I decided I would alter the Cinderella story to make it a tale of hard work and determination not magic and good fortune.

Over the course of a week, I added to the story a few lines at a time so Fati could read them and learn the new words. In my Cinderella story, Ella and the prince are friends, but the king forbids his son to marry Ella because she is too poor. However, after Ella wins a competition to prove she is the most intelligent woman in the kingdom the King agrees to the marriage. Granted, my story is every bit as much of a fantasy as the Grimm brothers’ version, but I think it portrays a slightly better role model for an eleven year girl.

Fati may not be the most intelligent child I’ve met, but she has character and spunk which probably counts for more in life than simple intelligence. She’s the sort of child whose determination will push her to spend an hour struggling through a few pages of a story, who loves to talk, and who will stomp on a scorpion if it happens to cross her path.

One night, the children stayed on my porch later than usual. As it was approaching 10pm, one boy named Amara noticed how dark it was and was afraid to go home. He claimed he was worried about “kid-nappy-ers” as he calls them, but really he was worried about getting in trouble with his father for staying out too late. And what better way to avoid a beating than to get your teacher to walk you home? Surely your parents can’t complain that you were out too late studying.

Thus, Fati, our neighbor Alusine, and I all walked Amara home. After we left him safely at his porch, we made our way back across the path to our own homes with the beam of my flashlight guiding our steps. As we walked, I noticed a small creature scuttle across the path.

“Wait, point back”, Fati said, meaning point the flashlight back there.

As the beam of the flashlight fell across the creature, it began to run, but Fati stopped it with her flip-flop clad foot. She stomped on the creature until it lay in a still broken heap in the dust. A scorpion, Alusine informed me. “Santem Fati no bin see em ii get fo kill mortal man. Quick wi dat tail ii de kill posin, like snake no mo.” (If Fati hadn’t seen that scorpion, it might have killed someone. It can easily kill someone with its tail, just like a snake.)

I have to respect a girl who doesn’t even flinch when it comes to slaying a scorpion. Maybe I should write a version of a fairy tale where the princess locked in the tower slays the dragon herself…

Kids Will Be Kids

At first glance my school is nothing like a school in America. In the morning, students use grass brooms to sweep leaves from the school compound. A 8:00 a.m., when the bell rings for assembly, the students line up to recite a prayer in Arabic and sing Salone's national anthem. No one is to walk while the national anthem is being sung. (I made the mistake of not freezing in my tracks as soon as I heard the first words of the anthem once and everyone was shocked by my audaciousness. Of course, I was forgiven due to my ignorant status as a foreigner.) After the last lines fade, late comers hoping to avoid six lashes with the dried reed canes try to sneak into assembly among the other students. Meanwhile, the primary school children drag their desks and benches outside under the trees because the school building that collapsed has yet to be rebuilt. From the outside, no one is going to forget that we're in  a rural African village school. Inside the classroom, some of the differences begin to melt. It is true that the education system and the style of teaching are vastly different here. It is true that limited resources pose unique challenges. However, the kids are the same as kids in America in many ways. You have the know-it-alls, the under-achievers, the kids who really want to learn, and those who spend an unnecessary amount of effort causing problems. You have the frightened JSS I students who are just leaving primary school and the JSS II students who will be graduating this year and think they own the school.

Teaching makes me wonder what my own high school teachers really thought of us. At times, I honestly cannot comprehend why students are acting so obnoxious or are so horrified by the amount of work I give them. (Which, by the way, is nothing compared to the amount of work my own high school teachers gave) In other instances, I find the antics of trouble-makers more amusing than irritating. In order not to loose face as an authority figure, I stay relatively stern in class. However, at times, it is difficult to keep a straight face in class when students cause problems. One afternoon, I turned around from the chalkboard to see Fatmata's face covered in chalk dust. "What happened?" I asked. "It is this boy," she says, throwing the duster at Umani.
"Don't mind them," Isata tells me. "He is her boyfriend." Oh fine, as long as it's just flirtatious banter, go ahead and wack each other over the head with the eraser, I think, wishing sarcasm could translate language barriers.
"Give me the duster and write your notes," I say. I turn back to the chalkboard partly to continue writing the definition of metaphor, and partly to hide my amused smile.

No matter where you are in the world, it is true what they say - kids will be kids.

I only laugh so as to keep from weeping

Yes, I am entitling this blog entry after a line from a Knight's Tale. (What? It's a great movie)

To be honest, I am rarely on the verge of tears when I resort to laughing at inappropriate moments. It is only in retrospect that I realize I am laughing at things that really aren't very funny. Or funny at all, for that matter. That being said, laughter is great preventative medicine. It keeps you in a bright mood when you would otherwise run the risk of becoming bitter and frustrated. So I want to share an example of the times "I only laugh so as to keep from weeping."

One Friday morning, I left my house with my empty rubber bucket in hand and headed towards the pump. Friday is the Muslim holy day so we don't have school. This means for me Friday is "brooking" day - or the day I use my two rubber tubs and a little plastic bag of powdered "Africana" soap to wash all  my clothes. I was never a fan of doing laundry in the US even though it is ridiculously easy to throw all your things into a washing machine, but for some reason I enjoy the methodical process of scrubbing my clothes by hand and beating them against a rock to work out any stains. Thus, with my bucket in tow I proceeded to the well to get my brooking water. Nine year old Ibrahim stopped me to ask in Mende where I was going. I replied that I was going to get water, to which Ibrahim answered something that sounded to me like "there is no water."

"What?" I asked, thinking that perhaps I had misunderstood him.
"Wata no de." He repeated in Krio, thus I clearly got the message that there was no water at the pump.
"Okay, I'll go across the street."
"No, that pump is broken too."
"So where do you go to get water?"
"We can't get water."
"You can't get water?"
"No, we no de get again!" (We won't get water again!)

For some reason I found this completely hysterical. A little boy was telling me that they would never get water again in the village. It was only after suppressing my laughter that I realized it wasn't actually a funny situation. The idea that the entire village could be without a clean water source was actually rather horrifying. Of course, this was not the case. There are other water wells on the outskirts of the village so I went there to fetch my water. I did decide to put off brooking my clothes not knowing when the pump would be fixed. I figured it was important to conserve water, since wells run the risk of going dry, especially now that it hasn't rained for a few months. I was mildly surprised that the pump nearest to my house was fixed within 48 hours. Apparently the threat of "we no de get again" was not a laughing matter, so people got straight to the business of fixing the well.

You know you're a Peace Corps Volunteer in Salone when...

You know you’re a PCV in Salone when…

I’m beginning a list of all the ways I could finish that sentence. For example, you know you’re PCV in Salone when you don’t look twice at the man balancing half a bed frame on his motorcycle. You know you’re a PCV in Salone when you’re not surprised that the car you’re about to climb into already has eight people inside (two in the driver’s seat, two in the passenger’s seat, five in the back, but if eight can fit so can nine.) You know you’re a PCV in Salone when walking down the dirt path to the market and not stopping to greet everyone you pass along the way seems unthinkably rude. You know you’re a PCV in Salone when you are accustomed to children chanting your Mende name like a never-ending song. You know you’re a PCV in Salone when you reject at least one marriage proposal a week.  You know you’re a PCV in Salone when the chiefs arrive with masked devils and parade you through the village for a special welcoming ceremony in your honor.

When I learned that I was to be introduced to the community  with this special ceremony, my eyes grew wide in terror. On one hand, I knew the ceremony was a tremendous honor and I genuinely appreciated the gesture. On the other hand, I knew the ceremony was going to be a culmination of all the things I don’t like about being a volunteer: the praise for work I haven’t yet accomplished, the celebrity-style attention, the five hour long speeches…. “Don’t be afraid of the devils, okay?” my neighbor tells me. Of course, I didn’t know how to explain that the devils were the least of my concern.

Two days before the ceremony, my principal announced that some of the students needed to give a presentation at the ceremony. “What sort of presentation?” I asked, realizing the unspoken assumption that planning the presentation was my responsibility.

“Anything is fine. You can discuss it with them.”

Okay.

My JSS III students said that they wanted to perform the Merchant of Venice since we have been studying the play in class. I agreed to this plan, and quickly wrote out a script of the keys events in standard English and assigned parts to several students. We spent the next day practicing the play. After my students had mastered their lines, they told me they would help me write a speech in Mende to thank the townspeople during the ceremony. I’ll be honest, my students did a better job learning their lines in English than I did of learning my lines in Mende!

As things turned out, the ceremony was not nearly as terrible as I had anticipated. Yes, I had to be paraded through the village like a puppet, sat on a stage in the Court Barrie for everyone to watch, and draped in traditional African clothes that had been specially made for the occasion, but I learned to get beyond my discomfort and appreciate the kindness and enthusiasm of my community. As for The Merchant of Venice, I couldn’t have been happier with how the play turned out. My students performed their lines perfectly. Shylock’s enthusiasm to kill Antonio with my borrowed kitchen knife was an especially big hit that brought on the laughs of the crowd…  Afterwards, people kept talking about how well Kankaylay students spoke English, which I take as a major success!

It might also be fair to say that you know you're a PCV in Salone, when the best part of your day is someone complementing your students. Or maybe that's just me . . .

Just another trip to the village well

The sun burns hot against my skin as I head home from school. I’m amazed by how much nicer it feels to sit in the shade of a mango tree than to walk along the sun scorched paved road. At home, I drop my bag on the floor and grab the handle of my blue rubber bucket to head to the water pump.

 Along the way, I pass some children dressed in the blue and white uniforms that students at Community Secondary School wear. Not that I have anything against students at Community, but I’m naturally biased towards my own students and Kankaylay. 

 “You’re going to get water?” One Community boy asks me in Mende. 

 “Yes,” I say, and they all laugh. I’m not sure if they think that my going to the pump to get water like every other person in the village is funny or if they’re laughing at my attempts to speak Mende. (My twelve year old Mende teacher would have been angry that I didn’t utilize the phrase he taught me for such occasions – ‘Why are you laughing at me?’) Either way, I’m not overly concerned by the fact that people find me amusing. 

 After I fill my bucket, a woman at the pump goes to help me lift it up onto my head. Before she can do so, a boy from my JSS II class comes running over. “No Miss Kenley, let me,” he says taking the bucket onto his own head. 

 “Okay,” I agree, knowing that no one is ever going to believe that I want to learn to carry water on my head. 

 “I passed those Community boys and they said they saw you with a bucket, so I came here right away to help,” my student explains in Krio. “Anytime you want water call me, okay?”

 I can’t help but think for the most part I’m right to prefer my own students at Kankaylay to any others. After all, I didn’t see any Community students racing to tote water for me!

The Debate

“What topic do you want to debate?” I asked my JSS III students. Blank stares.

“Do you want me to pick for you?”

“Yes Ma!” fifteen voices chorus. I found that “Yes Ma” more discouraging than the dark overcrowded classrooms, the racked chalkboards, or the noise from multiple classes being held in a single room. I had just finished lecturing my JSS III students (who range in age from 15 to 20) on the importance of thinking for themselves, but as soon as I ask for their opinion, they look at me like I’m crazy. If trying to force independent thought makes you insane, then their assumptions about me are correct.

“Okay, I’ll pick the topic, but remember, the point of debating is to convince people that your own opinion is correct. I can’t give you the answers when we debate. You can’t assume I’m right just because I’m your teacher. I want to know what you think.” 

I told them that they would debate whether money or education is more important. We reviewed what - according to Salone’s national teaching syllabus - is the proper procedure for a debate, then we began to outline the points of the argument. At first the students were hesitant to give their opinions, but finally one boy, Mohamed, told me money was better than education.

“Okay. Why?”

“It is the key of the world.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you need money to eat, to educate, to buy cars,” Isata explained.

“Good. Raise your hand if you agree that money is better.”

All hands shot into the air. “Very good. I disagree, so you all have to debate against me.” I have never been so thrilled to have students argue with me. By the end of class, we had not finished the debate, so the students told me they wanted to come after Friday prayers (Friday is the Muslim holy day, so we don’t have school) to continue practicing. The students are supposed to present their debate to the school next Thursday.

Yesterday afternoon, I showed up at the school as promised, but only one student was there. “Are the others coming?”

“Yes, they will come,” Umara said. I knew right away that it was a “yes” just because he was afraid to tell me "no." I swallowed my frustration and disappointment and promised myself not to give up too easily. A girl from my JSS I class happened to be passing by the school, so the three of us decided to walk around and survey the wreckage of the primary school.

All day on Thursday, the students and teachers at the primary school had been constructing the school. Even the headmistress was working, mixing mud with her bare hands to build the school walls. During the night, the school collapsed. I looked at the wreckage of building sadly.

“Let all the parents come and they can work to rebuild it. If everyone comes together we can fix it in two or three weeks,” Umara said optimistically.

“When did they start building it?”

“February 2010,” he replied with a grim smile.

“Almost two years for nothing!” my other student, Lucinda, says.  

But at least the school collapsed in the night and not during classes. At least no one was hurt. Optimism is a valuable commodity.  

Introducing Manungima Batiloo

"Oh Manungima! Now you are beautiful!" Adima tells me as she hands me a small mirror so I can survey my freshly braided hair.

I look like a Dr. Suess character. the braids begin at the back of my neck and work their way up to my forehead, where they meet in a fountain of long tightly plaited strands. Look at myself and knowing that I'll leave the braid in for several days to be polite makes me realize that Manungima Batiloo is not always the same person as Kenley Jones. Manungima Batiloo (which means "have mercy on her, the people's child") has a beautiful singing voice and should join the church choir. In real life, I'm basically tone deaf. Manungima has just learned to cook because in America the only foods they have are ketchup and mayonnaise. Manungima is happy to eat bush meat, because obviously squirrel and porcupine are delicious. And of course, she love to have her hair braided in tight scalp-yanking plaits.

On the topic of eating bush meat though, it is not nearly as bad as I might have imagined. Once, when I was sharing a plate of rice with my friend Fatmata, she gave me a small unidentifiable substance to eat. I found I was more concerned wit how to consume the substance, which seemed like solid bone at first glance, than with what I was eating. Am I supposed to eat the bone? I wondered as I tried to break it apart with my spoon. I watched as Fatmata took a piece of the meat in her hand and bit through the bone to get at the meat and marrow. "Ah, so that's how you eat 'beef' in Africa," I thought, and tried to mimic Fatmata. It was only after I had bitten through what I'm assuming was a squirrel skull, that I allowed myself to think about the fact that the creature's brain was in my mouth. Disgusting in theory, but not honestly somewhat tasty in real life.

Besides, eating bush meat is not terrible when you are doing so in a dirt compound in a village, surrounded by children, dipping your spoon into the same bowl as one of your new friends. When I first arrived to my village, everyone insisted on giving me, the stranger, my own dish as a sign of honor and respect. I was thrilled that when Fatmata invited me to eat with her family, she let me share a dish with her. In a strange way, eating there seemed to mark a sort of turning point for me, not because I learned to bite through bone, but because as I did so, I realized I was beginning to make friends in my village. Everyone is quick to claim me as a friend here, but integrating on more than a superficial level is a slow process.

Nevertheless, I have plenty of time to devote to making friends, since a teaching strike as postponed the opening of school indefinitely. It might open on Monday, or the next Monday, or the next next Monday .... so people tell me ambiguously. In the meantime, I'm trying to hold study sessions for a few highly motivated students and looking for other small projects to work on. Hopefully the teaching strike ends soon. Oh, and for that matter, hopefully the postal workers strike ends too because the post offices have all closed. Other than strikes, all is well!