Correction

So I may be in Africa now- but I did not forget my home address- or so I thought but I did have to check with my mom first to make sure it hadn't changed. With all our house moving, building additions, apts added- I was not sure what might have happened around there with the mail box.

Our address is still the same and if you want to mail a letter you'll need to mail it to

9092 Hannula Rd
Angora, MN 55703

Not 9093- though with our little Angora post office I am sure it will all still get there.
THANKS

Letters to Christie - Posted by Karen

Joe Freeman, from Sierra Leone, is in Iowa and Minnesota for about three weeks. Mark and I will have a chance to visit with him on Monday, July 27th. We will be bringing notes to send back to Christie. If you would like to send a note to Ceek, please get it to me by Friday, July 24th (to make sure I get it). You can send it to:
Karen Shermer
9093 Hannula Road
Angora, MN 55703

Or, if you are a little slow and miss July 24th but WISH you had sent it to me, you can send it to Karen Boland in Iowa and she can give it to Joe before he returns to BO. You would need to get it to her by August 3rd or so (I don't know exactly when Joe goes back!). Karen's address is:
Karen Boland
2347 Oak Park Road
Marshalltown, IA 50158

Thanks for your help in sending mail from home to Christie. I'm sure she will greatly appreciate any and all messages!

The good old Cinema

I know when I say Cinema you think of the big 10 screen movie theater with the fine seats that recline back and have cup holders that will hold the largest of Diet Cokes you could possible drink during the 2 hours you spend there. Well when I say cinema here- it is something a little different. (Oh how I could go for one of our cinemas, a good drama, some popcorn and M&Ms and a few good friends) Here when we say we are going to the cinema that means we are usually on our way to watch a football game- and again I will clarify that for you Americans- that's Soccer, but since I am living here I will call it football. (All this translating is going to make for a much longer post than I originally intended :))

Okay back to the cinema. There is one large cinema in Bo (and another in Kenema and to be honest probably a few others but for the sake of my story today- just the two) that are like an old time movie theater. The seats are a bit worn and tattered, the screen a bit dark, but it is amphitheater seating and with a large screen, however this is not where I usually go. I like to go to one of the more common cinemas and the one in Kandeh Town to be specific. It is like the local place- people know me there and I know them. We meet to spend the game together- maybe yelling at each other through it, but walking out as the buddies we have since become. Now this cinema is a one room building with a tin roof (zinc actually for anyone who is really interested- and makes it quite difficult to hear through the rain- then again if there is any real rain the signal will go out so it doesn't matter). In the front of the room are two maybe 21 inch TVs with speakers set up across the front and outside the cinema as well (These are turned loud enough for the neighboring city to hear- so even if you can't see- you won't hear nothing but the game). The other electrical item I really enjoy is the one fan that is set up rotating for those lucky enough to be near it (usually me). From about 3 feet back from the TVs all the way to the back of the room are chairs and wooden benches. When the game is on- there will be close to 150 people in this one room- all straining to see one of those little TVs. It gets even more exciting and complicated when there are two games on at the same time that many people are interested in. Then they will decide to play one game on each TV- but the sound can only be played from one of the games. You sit on your side and if you are watching the game without sound- you just listen for the cheers or groans and you'll get an idea of what is happening.

This is before the game even started- I couldn't even see the TVs from the back of the room after everyone is packed in.

Oh let me tell you - on those really hot days, when we are sitting practically on top of each other in this building with no windows- I really question what I am doing, especially when I come out looking like I was just in the shower. But as we are all talking on our walk home- I realize that I did enjoy it and love the camaraderie of it all.

During the really big games- usually the Championship games of the different leagues- or if there is just a big game that many people are interested in- they will set up the VIP section. That's right my little old cinema has a VIP section. The normal cost is Le 1,000- 33 cents, but to go to the VIP section it is a whopping 66 cents. Good thing they don't have it every game- I just might break the bank. Anyway- there are these three barri's (small open huts) outside the cinema. They put a TV and more comfortable chairs out there and that is the VIP section- it is a whole lot cooler and I love it there.
Since I came near the end of the football season this year I have not attended too many games- the first was the Champions League Final- so I had a seat in the VIP section. Then when the One-by-One team was here USA was playing in South Africa- so to show them my cinema experience I took them to the game- only that we were treated to the TRULY VIP section which was inside the owners house- in little America. Soft couches, a flat screen TV and a fan. Next game USA is playing Brazil in the Finals- not expected at all. All weekend I am asking Ahlaji (the cinema man) to save me a seat. We show up to the game a little late- and again he escorts us into the house- where he saved me that fine seat once again. It was really nice- only that USA lost both games I watched (I had to miss the other fine games they did win), but I do admit that there is something about cramming into that little building with a bunch of unruly fans watching this sport I am just coming to enjoy. (I cannot say love yet- some games are REALLY LONG with not even a score to show for the time I spent sitting there). Anyway I hope this gives you a little better picture of what I am talking about when I say that I am going to the cinema.

Musu and Isata

We have 5 new children at JCC. Two of those being Sallay and Sattu, one being Alice who I will introduce you to soon, and the other two being sisters- Musu and Isata. They came to JCC the day before I arrived. These girls have lost both their mother and father and had been staying with their grandmother. It was difficult for her to care for them so one of their aunts brought them to Social Welfare who placed them with us. The aunt has children of her own and therefore it is difficult for her to care for Musu and Sata as well. When they came neither girl spoke English or Creole- they only spoke Mende. Now after only a short time at the home- Musu is speaking Creole quite well and Sata can speak enough to get by. They are also helping me with my Mende. We have spent a bit of time together as they did not attend school for the last month of the school year (now everyone is finished with school and home all day). Whenever I would do my laundry or want to cook something- they would be right there helping me. We spent time reading books in my hut as well as going for a few walks and playing some games outside. I have come to enjoy these girls very much. Musu is a little mother- she not only cares for her sister Sata, but she also likes to Po-Po around Jephta (Aunty Fatty- one of the cook's little boy). He she is getting ready to tie him on her back. He loves her as well and is often seen smiling and laughing with her. When Sattu came, Musu also took her under her wing and was the one to show her the ropes or play with her while the other kids were still in class. She also thinks she is quite the disciplinarian. Though most times she may be right- we have had to work on this a bit- especially since she might be a bit of a fan of flogging. Not too much anymore.

Isata is the younger of the two girls and does like to see what she can get away with- but she is also quick with her smile and hugs. She does seem to know that Musu is the boss and will look to her for permission often. Sata has learned to communicate with the other kids quite well too. She does still prefer her Mende- which is just fine as a number of the kids do speak Mende, but she is learning her English so that she will be able to attend school more easily when it reopens. It has been fun over the past couple weeks to see Sata making friends of her own. She is no longer Musu's shadow.

I am excited for these two to start school next year. They seem like smart girls who are ready to learn- especially Musu. She is smart beyond her years. When she helps me with laundry and cooking- it is more like I am helping her- even at her young age. Most of all it is just fun to see them playing with the other kids- being kids themselves. I'll continue to update you on these sweet girls now that you know them.

Other than that- everything is going pretty well. I was able to travel with a couple guests who are staying with us to a village called Shegbwemo. (try and pronounce that gbw combo). Jim had stayed in Shegbwemo for 2 years in the early 80's with the Peace Corps. It was a really interesting trip for me to join them on. (He and his son Zach). I have seen the affects of the war n many areas of the country as well as heard peoples' stories and what not- but to be with Jim who was here before the war and see him talk about places that no longer existed, see the building he lived in in ruins, visit a LARGE place he often hung out at now just walls with trees and plants growing inside and a pool of water filling the floor- It was only 10-15 years ago that these places were just as he left them and now... It looks as though they were left for hundreds of years to waste away. The rebels came in and removed everything they could sell for money- all the windows, doors, piping, furniture- anything and then burnt much of the rest. Jim explained that not only did the one place have electricity, but it also had plumbing. To realize that this country was so much further along 15 years ago than it is now... it takes a very long time to come back from war. I was honored to share this part of their trip with them- thank you.

Since you have to go through Kenema to get to Shegbwemo I decided to stay here last night to visit JK, Tenneh, and others. We were able to go out with some friends last night and even went dancing. Though I do enjoy dancing I have NO WHERE near the rhythm that all of these guys do, but it was still fun. We are soon going to be leaving to head back to Bo. It was a nice night away to just do my own thing with people near my age, but I do love going home and having the kids come running to greet me- so soon I will be in the midst of a big group hug. Hope all is well with all of you- I can't believe Summer is half over. I guess we don't go by the same seasonal calender anymore- but it will take me some time before I stop thinking in terms of Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring. Anyway....

Sallay's home!

My little Sallay has made it home and she is doing amazingly well. I have to say she is almost chubby. She was able to stay in the program a little longer than usual because she is struggling with Asthma as well. By the time she came home she was much larger than I expected she would be. Hard to believe she was as small as she was only a month ago. (check a few posts back)It was so much fun to see Sattu and Sallay reunite. I brought Sallay over to Sattu and Sattu reached for her wanting to hold her and hug her- the smile on her face was huge, but Sallay is much bigger now and hard for Sattu to hold. Sallay was also smiling and leaned in to kiss Sattu. What a sweet moment.

The two girls are very much alike- that means they are also both very stubborn. Many of you know I am quite fond of those kids though. For example Sattu has been struggling a bit with hitting the other children- especially when they are near me- she's not fond of sharing. This problem was only exacerbated when Sallay arrived. I think it was not easy to share me with Sallay (and surprisingly Sallay was also quite attached to me- I thought each time I visited her at the hospital she was a bit scared of me- that is no longer the case at all) but also hard for her to share Sallay with the other kids. Anyway I did want to help her in this- but she was hitting the kids right and left. I explained (in what little Mende I could- which was only No Hitting but....) and removed her from the group into a time out. She was silent looking at me and then started crying quietly. I got her after a minute and she came right back out looked at Almamy and raised her hand. I said Sattu stop- she looked at me- raised her hand a bit higher and kept watching me- I watched her (during all of this the kids around wanted to step in and take over- telling Sattu to stop and what not- I asked them to just be quiet and let us have our stare down.) and finally she swung and hit Almamy- back into the room we go. This time it is full out screaming and crying. I explain when she is finished crying she can come out (well with my Mende it was Finish- come) She finishes comes out and within less than 5 minutes has hit the next child- AAHHHGGG this continued for 2hr and 15 minutes. It was quite a battle and only one of many that she and I and I am sure Sallay and I will have. However at the same time that they are so stubborn they are also the first to have a full belly laugh and come running with a hug- well Sallay is a little slow, but does love to cuddle. It is fun to watch them adjust to life her and see them really blossom. At the moment they only speak Mende but i know they will pick up the Creole quickly as well as some English- especially if they keep following me around.

Thanks for all your prayers- they meant a lot and truly made a difference.

Americans, Waterfalls, Climbing and the Beach

Last week I was able to go to Freetown with the last big team to visit this summer. (I did pick up two more Pumois to bring back with me, but it is not like the past groups). This team consisting of Cale, Amanda, Sarah, Kayla, Kelsey, Elle, and Maggie has been with us for the past 5 weeks. So really they arrived not too long after I did and we have been together ever since. It was now time to say goodbye but first we had to have one last adventure together and that it was.

We left Bo early in the morning only to have a vehicle that just didn't want to cooperate with us (hhhmmm that's nothing new around here) so about half-way to Freetown we decided to switch vehicles. This worked great. We arrived at the guest house, unloaded our things and headed out to Suzanne's Bay. This is the slum I mentioned in a previous post. The team is supporting a woman and her family to move out of the slum, start her own business, put the kids in school, and hopefully be able to provide a better future for her family. We were able to meet with some members of the community and the children. We also got caught there in the rain for sometime.

Now in true American form we left this area and went straight to the fast food restaurant. It was not really thought about or planned this way- but seems a little ironic as I write it. It was some fine food in an air conditioned place- not bad. From here Joe and I left to meet the arriving guests at the airport. This journey is not really one of my favorites but one I am more than willing to make. You have to go wait for the ferry- then travel across, get transport to the airport and wait for the guests. Then it is rush back to the ferry and wait again, then transport to the guest house. We are always playing this HURRY UP and WAIT game. You don't want to miss it and in turn are hours early. Good lessons in patience for me.

Now comes my favorite day of the trip. We slept in before getting ready to head to Charlotte Falls. I had taken a few friends here with me shortly before leaving Salone last year and was anxious to go back and this time with other people who enjoyed water like I do. We needed to hike in a bit through this Creole village. It is a fun walk and beautiful too. Last time we had come you could feel the mist from the falls long before ever reaching- not this time. This is the beginning of the Rainy Season so the falls are not as full. This provides it's own fun though as now we could climb up the falls. They were not small, but not too bad to climb. I will say that going up is a lot easier than going down. We spent a few hours here before we packed up to head to the beach. More water- that suits me just fine.

The beach had some pretty big waves. Cale and I tried our best to ride them but they were moving just too fast for us to really catch them. It was a bit scary for some so not all swam and we really didn't stay all that long. I was able to soak some of the caked on dirt off though.

Being here for some time I have come to have some favorite places so this evening I decided we should take the group to one of my favorites in Freetown. It is this little snack place that has the best chicken around and for cheap. They have hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, other sandwiches great french fries- all good food and it is not at all expensive. We all enjoyed and to top it off they now have soft serve ice cream as well. What more could a girl ask for.

The next morning I headed back to Bo with our new guests and the team got ready to head home to the states later that evening. I have really enjoyed getting to know this group as I only knew Kayla before they came.

Thanks for the time and all the fun. Maybe we'll meet again- if not in Salone then back in the corn-filled state of Iowa.

Detained at Immigration

Yes I was- Karen Boland and I. It was not one of my best experiences in Sierra Leone- but definitely one that I will remember. On the One-by-One teams last day in Bo, Karen and I had gone to town for I can't even remember why now, but what I do remember is that we decided to walk home. We had originally planned to take a Honda but since we accomplished what we needed to early we decided we would walk for a bit. I will tell you now that we should have taken the Honda.

As we were walking passed the Immigration Office here in Bo one of the men called out a greeting to us- so I in turn greeted him back. He asked us to come and once we were inside the gate everything changed. He asked to see my papers- My documentation. Well since we had just been at the market- where thieves seem to be in numbers. I did not have my passport with me. To be honest I only have it when I travel. Anyway we were trying to explain this to the man and he just seemed to want to talk a bit and call his boss. Now let's back up a moment. When I first arrived in Sierra Leone one of the first places I went was to the Immigration Office in Freetown. I wanted to know what the procedure was for my time here. I knew that I had a 1 year visa, but also that they only stamp my passport for one month at the airport. Anyway to make a long story just a tiny bit shorter- I had met with the head Immigration guy and arranged to get my Residence card the next time I came to Freetown (which happened to be the day after I was detained). He explained the process and even gave me his card with his personal number. So now back to the story- I mention this to the man and he says in a snippy voice something to the effect of it is not his place to call him, but I could call him and then we could go. So I get out my phone and call up MR. Moriba. He remembered who I was and said everything was still the same- just come in when I get there the next day. I explained my situation and he asked to talk to the man. I hand over the phone and hear a few interesting comments but after the man hangs up he says he still wants to wait for his boss who is on his way. AAHHGGG. He has suggested earlier that I leave Karen there while I go for my passport- I was not about to leave anyone there. Finally his boss shows up and we are escorted into his office. We again explain the situation and that all is in the works for my card and that I can go get my passport if he wants. He just wanted to show his power. He talked and talked and anytime we said anything he would switch what he was saying so that it fit against what we said- even if it was the exact opposite of what he had said moments before. What a mess. We could not leave and we could not explain ourselves and I could not call Mr. Moriba again. FINALLY he listened and believed my story, but then he turned on Karen. Oh great. So here we go again- explaining everything. After sometime they finally decided to let us go get the passports (well Karen's he was fine with me now for some reason) and had to return within the hour. But not before I was warned that this was my fault and that I had messed up. This time he would let me off, but the next time the police would be called the the "full extent of the law would come down on me." Now mind you- when I was at both the Immigration Office as well as at the Embassy in Freetown they had strongly suggested to me that I not carry my passport around. I had gone through all the appropriate channels to get my residence card- and really I am not sure what the law was going to come down on me for but.... I guess I have been warned.

As we are getting Honda's to head home I tell Karen that when I was given a ticket for parking the last time I was in Salone and had been escorted to the Road Authority Office, had the jeep break down as we were trying to get away, and then having to have the Road Authority people push start my vehicle- that was kinda funny- but there is nothing funny about this. She agrees and we head home. The Honda's wait for us and bring us right back. We head into the office again and Karen hands over her passport. He opens it up, looks for a few moments, and then in a deep, firm, strong voice carrying all the authority he thought he had he said, "SIT DOWN". umm okay. We sit and he says to Karen- "It says here you entered the country in 2007." AAAHHHHGGG did he not listen when we said Karen had been here 6 times and was he completely lying when he told us he checks peoples documentation often. We try to explain that there are a number of visas but you remember he just wanted to exert his power. We try to be patient and only help when we really think he will let us. Finally he allows Karen to find the right page. Then all of a sudden he wants to be our best friend. He tells me to mention him to Mr. Moriba when I see him. He also asks me to stop back in sometimes- oh yeah I can tell you that will be one of my favorite hang-out spots- and then just as we are leaving he asks us where we are from- what Nationality are we? are you kidding me? Were you not just reading Karen's passport that you have read so many others like it before? Well we just answer American. "Soviet Obama!" He says with a big smile. I say- it is not the Soviet of Obama- we are not like that and Karen just says, "I voted for McCain." on her way out. We were free- though the whole process may have only been 3 hours including our trip back to the home and back to the office again- it felt a whole lot longer. My love for Sierra Leone was severely shaken at that moment. I know the guy just wanted money from us but we were not going to give it to him. He had no reason to asks us for any. Anyway.....

I may have said it wasn't the least bit funny- but given a day or two distance from it all- it is quite funny. Some of the things he said... We have all had quite a few laughs over it. The best part- that we have come to use often now whenever someone has done something we are not pleased with is the "SIT DOWN" spoken with all his authority and power that he really didn't have. Mr. Moriba asked me the following day if they had let us go after he hung up. I explained this story and he laughed. He had told the man to release us and then told me they just wanted money and power. Well we had long ago figured that out.

Now I am the PROUD and COMFORTED owner of my own residence card. So I am officially a resident of Sierra Leone and no longer have to carry around my passport or be held at Immigration if I do not present my passport. So Mr. Benya- you just try to call the police and have me arrested and throw the full extent of the law on my head- I am ready. :)