It's The Little Things...

As I was preparing to move to Liberia, I wondered what kinds of things - the little things of daily life - would be different here.  Now that I am here, some things seem surprisingly normal, while others are out of the ordinary for me.  So I thought I would put together a random list for you of the little things of life that are different for me here than they were at home.  Random, yes, but hopefully also interesting and enjoyable.

Sleeping habits.  I used to go to bed no earlier than midnight, wake up when I had to, and sleep until at least 10 when left undisturbed in the morning.  Now, I'm usually in bed by 9 or 10, awake by 5 or 6:30, and can't seem to sleep past 8 or 9 on the weekends.

Bathing habits.  Too  much information, I know.  But I used to shower every 24 hours without fail (I called it my hair's 24 hour shelf-life).  Now it's every other day.  And by shower I mean "pour water from a bucket".  Which actually is not hard and makes the old shower method seem really wasteful!

Eating.  I have always been a creature of habit, eating the same things many days in a row, so that part hasn't changed too much.  It's what I eat each day that is different.  Breakfast = pop tarts (not toasted, of course).  Lunch = peanut butter and jelly wrap (I'll take a picture sometime soon, but it's awesome) and some pringles.  Dinner = rice and beans or noodles with tomato sauce or a can of soup or a can of ravioli.  Snacks = fruit snacks, granola bars, peanuts.  We have the occasional Liberian meal too, but those are the staples!

Clothes.  Most days I wear a long dress with a fitted t-shirt underneath and my Chacos (sandals).  Some days I wear a long skirt with a polo or one of two pairs of capris I brought with a polo or one of about 5 semi-nice shirts I brought.  There's one dress I save for special occasions, and I did bring one pair of jeans.  But it's definitely not my typical attire!

No makeup.  Which is really not a dramatic change, as that was the norm for me about 2 years ago.  But I suppose I had grown used to wearing makeup over the last couple years.  The fact that my face is oily and sweaty about 23.5 hours a day has brought some acne back like it's 1999 again, but it's all good.  Perhaps it will help me to relate more to my junior high students :)

Exercise habits.  Although I've started to get in some workouts with the basketball team, it is strange to go from being a certified fitness instructor to being a mostly inactive person.  I feel my myself getting less strong and out of shape, but I am hoping that basketball will help me to get back in a routine of some kind.  Something about always being hot and sweaty just reduces my motivation to do things that will make me more hot and sweaty.  But like I said, we'll see if this changes :)

Alright, I think that's a good smattering of things for today!  I'll try to take some more pictures soon and give you an idea of "a day in the life of...".  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend - thanks for all your encouragement and for taking the time to share in everything I am experiencing here - it means so much to me! 

Baller for Life

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but Ann Elizabeth and I are coaching the girls' basketball team at Ricks this year!  Those who know me well will undoubtedly furrow an eyebrow or let out a little chuckle upon hearing such a statement.  The only "ballin" I've done was a year or two in the ferociously competitive church league and a smattering of intramurals throughout college and grad school.  All combined, I've probably made about 5 baskets, and no doubt took the moment to jump up and down and raise a fist in triumph when I did so! 

And yet, in addition to becoming Ms. Wegman, I appear to have also become "Coach Wegman."  We started conditioning on Monday morning; Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we will be working out at 5... wait for it... AM.  I'm not really sure when I entered the twilight zone and became a person who goes to bed before 9 PM to get up at 4:45 AM, but it seems that is my life now!  The conditioning is definitely the part of coaching where I can take the lead.  After being a fitness instructor for the last year, I feel prepared teaching good form in running, push-ups, and sit-ups, and I feel right at home yelling "almost there" and "keep pushing" during our workouts.  Despite the absurdly early hour, I really am enjoying the conditioning.  And I can do most of the workout with the girls, so I'm finally getting my exercise fix!

Today was our first official afternoon practice.  We were supposed to start Monday, but have been rained out each day.  The court is outside, and apparently becomes treacherously slippery when wet.  But we finally started some real basketball today!  Ann Elizabeth heads up the actual basketball parts of practice, as she is a much more legit "baller" than I am or will ever be.  We did some passing drills and some shooting - just sticking to the basics!

This is the third year of the team's existence.  The first year most had never played before.  Last year they came in second place in their league.  This year we're hoping to go all the way!!  We have our first tournament coming up sometime in the second week of October... the Super Cup.  It's a big deal for the girls, so we're attempting to practice every day (Monday - Friday) between now and the big game.  Basically, it's a small tournament with a few other schools, but it means a lot to the team, and is sort of like a pre-season warm-up.
Obviously, we're not just in it for the "W" in the game.  We're hoping to really develop some meaningful relationships with these girls.  A few are in the 9th grade, but most are senior high (10th - 12th), so they're at an age when we can really develop some solid relationships.  We're having a party for them on Friday, just watching the movie "Love and Basketball" together and getting some snacks.  But the girls were SO, SO excited when we told them about it today - they literally ran around the court whooping and hollering.  It was pretty awesome.  We are excited to get to know them (even though it means MORE names to learn!  haha), and to share many fun experiences over the next year.

Oh, and one of the girls always comes to play in a black shirt she wrote on with white puffy paint; it reads, "Baller for Life."  Clearly, it inspired me :) 

Hang On, Let Me Get My Mean Face Out...

Today I had to do what I imagine no teacher ever really wants to do... send 5 students to the principal's office.  While grading my Bible assignment yesterday, I noticed that I had 3 "sets" of answers.  Now, Bible homework is not hard.  I ask the students to write one paragraph (at least 4 complete sentences) about a given topic.  The present item asked them to write about how they respond to the knowledge that they are fearfully and wonderfully made.  How does it change you life to know that God made you special, and loves you just the way you are?  Suspicisouly, there were three sets of copies (i.e., 6 students, but only 3 different answers among them).  The dead give-away was when two "different peoples'" assignments were done in the exact same handwriting and handed in together.  Not good.

Ricks has a very strict honor code, and cheating is grounds for immediate expulsion.  I knew my students did not deserve to be expelled, but I knew they must face consequences.  I also knew that Olu know when to grant grace to the students.  Had this been an exam, they would have been expelled; but for homework... well, expulsion would have been a bit severe.  So my students marched straight from class this morning (yes, first period on Monday... ouch!) to the principal's office.  Their parents will be called, they will all receive a zero on the assignment, and there will be some other to be determined punishment. 

As I'm sure most teachers feel at this point, I am more disappointed than anything.  It's an easy assignment, and probably takes just as long to copy someone else's as to do your own.  I'm certainly glad the students won't be expelled, and I'm fairly certain no one else in the class will try to copy (especially after a word from Olu with all the "caught" students standing beside him).  I had one student raise his hand after they were sent to the principal and ask me, "Can't you just forgive them?"  After my heart broke just a little, I told him of course I could, and that as people I did forgive them; however, as my students, there must be consequences for their wrong-doings.  I just hope to continue to build relationships with my students, especially the 5 who were punished, despite and maybe even because of these events. 

A Liberian Funeral

This morning Ann Elizabeth and I had the opportunity to attend the funeral of Joan, the tenth grade student from Ricks who passed away on Monday.  First, a little bit about Joan (pronounced Jo-Ann).  I previously mentioned that Joan was a student here last year.  Although that is true, I did not realize that she did come to school this year as well.  She apparently came last week and was asked to leave last Wednesday to seek medical treatment.  Monday she passed away.  Joan was 21 years old, and in the tenth grade.  Joan started school in 2000 (she would have been almost 12 years old).  The war prevented her from attending school prior to that, but she was determined to get an education.  Her life had not been easy - her mother passed away, and her father and brother both lived in the States... Ricks was a refuge of sorts, a real family to embrace Joan, who lived on campus last year and for her few days at school this year. 

About 65 students and teachers/administrators met this morning to attend Joan's funeral.  In one of the books I read, "The House at Sugar Beach," a traditional Liberian funeral is described in a somewhat humorous tone, pointing out how long and filled with wailing these events can often be.  So, I was prepared for a long morning, and lots of crying. 

As we gathered this morning, I was surprised by what good spirits everyone seemed to be in.  People were laughing and joking, and aside from the students' formal dress, there was nothing that indicated we were about to attend the funeral of their fellow student.  We arrived at the site of the service - begun at the family home than later at the church next door.  As we walked up, I knew we were in the right place.  I could hear the crying and screams of agony before I could see the people.  We soon found out that this was the site of the viewing - Joan's casket was set up in the house, and we were all invited in to see Joan.  I walked in for a minute, looked from a distance, and quietly walked out.  I already felt a little guilty for going to the funeral of someone I didn't know for the "cultural experience," but I also did want to see the student I won't ever have the chance to know.  The Ricks choir sang a song in front of the house, continuing on through the screams of agony and sadness from Joan's family members.  At the point some of the students were getting weepy, but most still seemed somber yet OK.

Then it was time to move to the church.  We sat in the big concrete sanctuary on small wooden benches that would have looked more in place on the sidelines of a football field than at a funeral.  After we were seated, the men of Ricks, serving as pall-bearers, brought in Joan's casket.  It was covered in a pretty pink and white spread speckled with orange flowers.  As soon as Joan arrived, the wailing began.  Various family members screamed out Joan's name, followed by a series of messages to Joan I can't pretend to have understood.  I have never heard so many people weeping so loudly in one place.  The students lost it at various points... some during a song, some during the time when friends and family were invited to speak, some when Joan's casket was once again opened for viewing at the end of the service.  As we all walked out past Joan, two girls fainted - one Joan's sister who had been loudly mourning since our arrival, and one girl I had not heard from much previously in the service.  It's a scene that really can't be described, only experienced... but the summary is that it was loudly and dramatically mournful.

From the church, the men of Ricks moved Joan's casket to the Rick's bus, serving as a temporary hearse.  After driving down a few wrong roads, we ended up at Joan's burial site "out in the bush."  There was much less noise at the burial site.  Family and friends got out of their cars, sang a traditional song, Olu and Rev. Teeba (also from Ricks) said prayers and benedictions, and Joan was laid to rest.  Flowers were thrown on her casket as the dirt was laid on top, and everyone left to go their separate ways.  In the car on the way back we joked, shared some candy, and bought some coconuts for a drink.   

That's the description... now for the reflection.  As a person who is not known for being overly emotional and is pretty good at holding back tears so as to not be seen crying in public, today's show of emotion was a different experience for me.  I confess, I almost laughed the first time I heard a scream of agony - to me it sounded like someone was presently being killed!  It's hard for me to imagine expressing sadness in that way.  But as I took in everything happening around me, I tried to see it from the "Liberian perspective."  It seems as if all the sadness, all the grief over losing this person - a sister, friend, and student - was saved up for this morning's service.  The high spirits of the students before and after the service - and even at the burial - stood in contrast to their audible cries during the service.  It seems to me that each person saves up their mourning, saves up their feeling of loss and the knowledge that Joan will be deeply missed, until the moment they are before HER.  Until the moment when her body is before them, then they wail so Joan can hear.  They wail so Joan will know she is, indeed, missed.  To me, the funeral service lacked something most other services - especially those for young people - usually have; a long discussion of the things Joan has done, and the things she would have done if only life was not taken from her.  Instead there was only a brief summary of the facts of her life (when she was born, who her parents were, and where she went to school).  I think it was assumed that people knew Joan - why would they have to talk about who she was when everyone already knew?  The service was filled with people saying their goodbyes to Joan, praying for Joan, and wailing in sadness that she is no longer with us.   

In retrospect, perhaps this isn't all that different from my own way of expressing emotion.  I too on occasion will bottle up a feeling, and only release it when I feel that the timing is right.  Perhaps that is what the funeral was for... save up your sadness and put all your energy into letting it go when the time is right - to say goodbye to Joan one last time while she is still there. 

PS - New pictures uploaded!  http://picasaweb.google.com/holly.wegman

A Different Pace of Life

My life is different here in Liberia.  Yes, I suddenly find myself teaching junior high schoolers, I think toilets that flush are mildly humorous, and I consider a rolled up peanut butter and jelly wrap a perfectly normal (and totally delicious) lunch.  But overall, these things are not the main difference.  For me, one of the biggest differences - one of the biggest adjustments I've had to make - is the pace of life. 

I am chronically over-committed.  There are too many fun or worthwhile or just plain interesting things to do in life, and I find it exceedingly difficult to pass up any opportunity (although I have been improving in this area over the past 2 years, I still need some work!).  Although at times I love this about myself, this quality has also left me constantly busy.  Each day is scheduled, and the unscheduled days are good times for me to find something to do.  Of course I'll have the occasional day spent losing brain cells in front of a TV, usually on a school break of some kind.  But for the most part, my life has been constantly going, running from place to place, and filling every open hour I could with something to do. 

That does not describe my life here in Liberia.  Sure, I am staying busy, and there is some scheduling in my life.  I am at school each day from 7:30 AM to somewhere between 11 AM and 3 PM.  I have lesson plans to make each night, usually some grading and other record-keeping to do.  But when I'm done with that, I'm done with the things on my "to-do list."  There's this strange phenomenon I'm discovering where there's a time for work, and then a time when work is done.  This never happened to me in college or graduate school, and it's taking some getting used to.

Liberians also have a different sense of time than Americans.  The school day always starts on time.  Aside from that, many things are said to start on a particular day at a particular time (as I dutifully write down in my plan book), but end up happening later, or perhaps even another day.  There have been a few times where I have prepped for a meeting or gone to the school for something to happen, only to find that the precise time stated is not, in fact, set in stone.  For example, yesterday I was told to meet with my advisory group (about 15 students I serve as adviser for).  After pressing for a time and place, I was told 1:00 in the chapel.  I showed up, waited, no one ever came.  The students seemed to be just hanging out around the school, not going to meetings.  I asked another teacher what was happening, and she advised me to find one student I knew from my life (I don't know them all), and have that person help me find the others.  Needless to say, I only ended up talking to about 5 of my advisees, and I just told them where and when to meet me next week.  My plan to take their pictures and play some name games had to be abandoned.  Yes, there are moments when this is frustrating.  But I'm trying to embrace this different pace of life.  I'm trying, instead, to view it as freeing.  I'm trying to see it as an opportunity to practice patience, to practice spontaneity, and to learn from being still. 

One thing I am learning... despite some obsessive-compulsive tendencies I have, here's the bottom line: you can't be OCD in Africa!

I Heard it at Ricks...

The view from my front porch this morning... you can't see it as well as I hoped, but that's blue sky and sunshine out there!! The first morning I've woke to such a sight, and it was beautiful.

I've had a few conversations lately that made me smile, so I thought I would share some with you so you can get to know a few of the people I cross paths with daily here at Ricks.

Mr. Carpenter. Mr. Carpenter has a degree in biology and teaches junior and senior high science. On our way to town the other day, he caught a ride with us to go visit his brother in Monrovia. AE was with Ottolee in the front seat, and Mr. Carpenter and I were in the back. We talked about how school was going, the students, etc. We talked about his family, and his love of teaching. But we also talked about sports - how sports are different here or there (US). He was amazed that not many people in America care about soccer (aka football according to everyone else in the world!), and said that the US team is really good! We talked about Michael Jackson, and how the Liberian people love him (did you know he wrote a song called "Liberian Girl"?) and watched the events of his passing unfold. We talked about 9-11 and how, amidst their own civil war, the Liberian people watched the events unfold that day and wondered what would become of America, a country they love despite feeling that America let them down by not intervening sooner in their civic strife. Mr. Carpenter asked me if I ever think about what happens when we die. Of course... don't we all? It was a very real, interesting conversation, and I was glad to have the long ride to town to get to know one of my colleagues just a little better.

Mr. Sompon. Mr. Sompon is the agricultural studies teacher here. He has a small science lab in the lower level of the school, but he has to walk through my 8th grade class to get there... so I see him almost daily. Yesterday he stopped as he was walking through and asked to see me after class if I had a minute. Even though I'm a teacher, I still felt like I must somehow be in trouble. In fact, Mr. Sompon wanted to show me his lab. It's a few tall metal science tables, some books, and some posters. They are so eager to improve the lab facilities, but getting equipment is tough, and getting chemicals for experiments is close to impossible. Mr. Sompon asked me many questions: how's it going, how are the students, how are relationships with the staff? We commiserated over the difficulty of learning hundreds of names (he has 7th - 12th!!), discussed how friendships take time to build, and he told me a little more about the farm on campus. In the end, he asked if I could help him learn how to use the computer (Ricks recently had several computers donated, and the teachers are eager to learn how to use them. After several similar requests, AE and I decided we need to have a class for the teachers.) I was happy Mr. Sompon took the time to have a conversation, and it made my day.

Theo Weah. Theo works at the cell tower on campus, and is technically a Cellcom employee. Background: Cellcom is a major cell phone company in Liberia, and put a tower on Ricks' property and in exchange the tower runs a generator which provides "current", aka, electricity, to the campus. The tower is constantly monitored/guarded by Theo and others. We walk past the tower every day on our way to campus, so Theo's is a familiar face. I stopped to talk to him for a while today and learned his daughter is in the fourth grade. He's grateful to be at Ricks and be forming relationships with the people here. His daughter does well, but he is not sure how he will pay for her schooling once she reaches junior high. Although Ricks is able to offer free primary education, they have to charge for 7th-12th grade or they can't afford to function. Many scholarships are available, but the cost is still too much for some. He hopes that she will get a scholarship or that some of the guests who come to Ricks will be able to help sponsor his daughter. This was said with sincerity - not in a "OK, so give me money" way. He wants his daughter to succeed and does what he can to encourage her good grades and keep her out of "trouble" (not get pregnant young). It's moments like this I wish I was rich and could say, "don't you worry - she'll go to school!".

A more somber conversation. This morning Olu announced that a former student passed away yesterday. I believe her name was Joan. She was 21. Last year she was in the 9th grade when she caught the chicken pox. She dealt with a series of health problems and eventually had to leave school. She was in and out of medical care since, and was starting to feel better. Olu said she even cooked a meal on Sunday. Monday she was readmitted to the hospital and passed away from uknown causes. It was a somber moment in our morning chapel, and Olu took the chance to remind students to make the most of life. Essentially, carpe diem! Seize the day!

What conversations have touched your heart?

A Silver Anniversary

This weekend was a fun, relaxing, and happy one. You have already heard about my Friday night... Saturday was wholly uneventful - we simply slept, ate, and read a LOT (currently reading "Until I Find You" by John Irving, courtesy of the Ricks Library). And that was really all we did!

Sunday however was more eventful! We went back to New Georgia Baptist church with the Menjays for the service commemorating the 25th anniversary of the church. What an event it was! After the bumpy 45 min drive, we arrived around 11am (although the service started at 10:30). We sang hymns, heard the choir perform, heard individual musicians, gave an offering, gave money toward replacing the church roof (it has asbestos, as many buildings do, and must by law be replaced... President Sirleaf herself sent a $1000 check to help!), read scripture, did responsive readings, heard a sermon, heard the history of the church, heard recognition of special guests... in the end, the service ended around 3:00!! That's 4 hours for us, 4.5 hours for the more prompt church-goers. Despite my butt being completely numb after 4 hours on a wooden pew, it really didn't feel like the service lasted for 4 hours. The energy of each person in the service, the earnestness with which they worshipped, and the feeling of community that surrounded us all made the service meaningful and inspiring. Oh, and I had a precious 2 year old (little Mia Mejnay) on my lap the whole time, mostly sleeping... something about the peace of a sleeping child in your arms makes the time pass quickly.

After the service, we were invited back to the home of Mrs. Francis Johnson, a deacon and long-time member of the church. Mrs. Johnson is also the chair of the anti-corruption commission (ACC - not a football reference!) here in Liberia - a pretty significant government position. Government corruption has been pretty rampant in the Liberian government for the past 30 years or more, so the commission has a sizeable task in their hands. She was also the chair of elections in the previous presidential election (when Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected), and has held several other important positions. It was an honor to be invited to her home (via our "Menjay connection," of course), and I couldn't help but notice the Liberian seal on the wall, and a picture displayed of her with Jimmy Carter. Her home was lovely, a rather modest two story home by American standards, a very nice home by Liberian standards. We had a buffet style meal of various rice dishes, chicken, fish, potato-salad looking something or other, and some pineapple upside down cake. Yummm. It made my sweet tooth so happy. Also - her toilet flushed. It seemed somehow absurd to see a toilet flush for the first time in over 3 weeks. I laughed quietly in the bathroom as I watched it happen.

Sunday night was filled with a scramble to finish lesson plans and get ready for the week ahead! I hadn't planned for church to be such an all-day event, but it was well worth the time, and was a day I will remember fondly.

Friday of Fun

Two blog postings in one day... I know, it's crazy. But today has been a really fun and unique day, so I just had to share :) This morning was school as usual - but as soon as recess began, so did the fun-tivities for the day!

First was the sports tournament: old boarding students vs. new boarding students. The schedule for the day was set to include girls kickball, boys and girls football (soccer), and boys and girls basketball. However, it is still rainy season, and it certainly was rainy today! There was a break long enough for one complete game - girls kickball. Now this is not your typical American schoolyard variety kickball. This is competitive kickball. The rules are totally different. All the players are on the infield of the diamond created by the base paths, but the bases are all very far apart, so it's a pretty big field. The pitchers still pitches from the mound, balls and strikes are called, and the ball is actually a soccer ball. There are many rules, and I don't pretend to have figured them all out! But let me tell you - it was intense! And none of the girls wore tennis shoes... I don't know if this is a rule or a practical constraint. But the girls are out there kicking a soccer ball barefoot! They were all much better than I anticipated (after sitting through a "how to play kickball" session just before the game), and the new girls were the winners!

Just as the boys soccer game was getting started, the sky opened up... although not before I got to do the ceremonious kick-off to start the game :) I admit to feeling like a wimp when I wondered if it would hurt in my Chocos...

After a tasty lunch in the cafeteria (rice with some kind of red bean and meat of some kind in a red spicy sauce) and a relaxing few hours at home, it was time to head to the "Back to School Jam." I didn't know what to expect really, but I'd heard this even was some combination of a dance and talent show. Basically, all the boarding students come to the auditorium, and then the show begins. Acts - both teachers and students - are called up on stage to perform. The performances range from singing to dancing to rapping to lip-syncing while dancing, to just walking around strutting (a girl would just walk around like she was too cool for school, posing and walking... awesome).

While this is happening on stage, the audience is not just sitting there! Often they were dancing by their seats or running to the middle of the auditorium for a quick dance break. Many would run up on stage with their friends and dance with them. But there's also a tradition for the students to throw money at the performers... to literally ball up a Liberian $5 bill ($70 Liberian = $1 US) and chuck it at the person on stage... or even to tuck it in their pack pocket of their pants! The money often just falls to the ground, so several of the teachers would walk behind the performers picking up the bills (we think they go to student activities funds). Yes, it was bizarre at first. But the students love it, and even give money to the older French teacher who we learned tonight is clearly young at heart!

In all this, Ann Elizabeth and I both ended up on stage about 3 times each. No really. The first time we taught everyone the cupid shuffle, a dance we both do often at camp. The second time I was asked to be a "strutting girl" with another girl on staff while one of the teachers "sang" (aka, lip-synced and danced) a song. Finally, there was an all-teacher dance song where we busted a move on stage. No really. I danced in front of the whole school, on a stage, 3 times. The staff member I "strutted" with even told me I had good African rhythm. I'm pretty sure she was humoring me :)

Anyway, it was quite the eventful Friday, in a very good way. Check out some new pics, including some from tonight, on Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/holly.wegman

Also, in case you're interested, Ann Elizabeth has a blog too! You can see it at amcinvale.blogspot.com She'll tell you how to get to her pictures from there too!

Bible Class

I apologize for the boring blog title... but that's what this entry is about - my Bible classes! I mentioned this in an earlier post, and know that I've had at least one person in suspense, so mission accomplished.

When we applied for the position to teach at Ricks, we had no idea what we would be asked to teach. So when we received our assignments, I was given junior high math (which sort of made sense as I'd been teaching statistics at Wake), and Bible. I imagine I was assigned to teach Bible because I told them I majored in religion in college? But for the longest time, I knew nothing beyond, "you're teaching 9th grade Bible." I often wondered what it would mean to teach Bible. Maybe Bible stories, learning characters, etc.? Maybe history of the Bible? Applications from the Bible for daily living? I was somewhat nervous about this Bible assignment because, 1) I had no idea what I would be doing, 2) I did major in religion, but I'm no Bible scholar, and 3) there are some things that people might want me to teach in "Bible class" that I wouldn't be comfortable teaching.

Finally, after being in Liberia a few days, I met with Rev. Teeba, the head of the religion department. Our meeting only lasted about 5 minutes, and I walked away with two books that were to serve as my curriculum guide for the year: "Choose Life" and "Valuing Sexuality." Despite the implications in the US of the first book's title, it is not actually a book about abortion.

Choose life is about HIV/AIDS. That is what I am teaching first semester! Although I was initially skeptical about spending my year in Bible class talking about sex with 9th graders (just think on that for a moment... haha), I became more excited as I looked further into the content of the books. I won't bore you with a rundown of my lesson plans for the year, but here's the basic gist: Start out talking about "being yourself" and being confident in who you are; building relationships of all kinds and having people in your life you can talk to and communicate with; learning about HIV/AIDS, how it's spread, and ways the students can reduce their risk of contracting HIV.

This is certainly NOT what I expected to be doing in Bible class... but I am very excited nonetheless. Although AIDS is not as common in Liberia as it is in some other Sub-Saharan African nations, it is unarguably a growing issue. From what I gather, it seems that some people don't really think AIDS is real, or think it's something that "other people" get, not people like them. On my first day of class, I had all my students fill out index cards with some information about themselves on it. In Bible class, I asked them to tell me whether they personally knew someone who had HIV/AIDS. I'm not sure why, but many students laughed when I told them this question. I think it's evidence of the stigma surrounding AIDS here. However, about half my students said they did know someone with AIDS.

I am also, strangely enough, looking forward to talking more specifically about valuing sexuality next term. The culture surrounding sex here can not be described adequately in a few lines of a blog; suffice it to say that the students - particularly the girls - need to know that they don't have to have sex to get ahead. They need to know that they should not have to have sex to get a job, or just because someone wants to have sex with them. The boys need to know that sex isn't something they have a right to get whenever they want it. I'd love to say that my sweet ninth graders will hear this as a preventative message, but that would be naive. Many girls become sexually active at a very early age here - often just after puberty, and not always by their own choice.

In sum, 9th grade Bible class with Ms. Wegman is very different from the students' previous Bible classes (this is the first year they're doing the HIV/AIDS curriculum). I also have a different teaching style than the students are used to. Although they expect me to write on the board the things I want them to be able to repeat back to me, I rarely pick up a peice of chalk. I want them to discuss. I want them to express their opinions in class. And above all I want them to continue to think about these issues on their own outside of the classroom. I don't plan on telling them any answers, or specific guidelines about what's right or wrong. And no, I won't answer the question, "how far is too far?". Because it doesn't matter what I say. And it doesn't really matter if I tell them what I personally think the Bible says. It matters what they really believe. It matters how they process this, how they relate to it, and how they think it effects their own lives. So I hope this semester of Bible will be challenging for them, as they think about the intersection in their lives of their faith and some very real and very tough issues they must face each day.

A Little of This, A Little of That

Hello faithful blog readers :) Usually, I sit down to write with many things in mind I want to tell you about. Today, I don't have a particular story I'm bursting to share, so this entry will be filled with some (hopefully) fun randomness, things people have asked me or might want to know, etc. So, enjoy!

Students: I'm finally starting to learn some names. Some. My student count is up to, I think, 181. The students are in 7th - 9th grades and range in age from 11 to 21, although I'd say about 75% of each class is close to the average age in the US for that grade. The fact that, up to 2004, the students really didn't know Liberia without civil war meant that for many school was a luxury. Several of the warring factions were known for recruiting young boys to be soldiers, so for many school was not even a thought. Because so many children did not have the opportunity to attend school for many years, the educational system in Liberia has a lot of catching up to do. The Ricks Institute is doing everything it can to help close this gap and bring hope and the chance for success and opportunity to each student's life.

The Supermarket: Where we go when we need food. Which seems obvious, but this is not where most Liberians shop. Most Liberians buy almost everything they need at outdoor markets. The market has many small booths and people walking around carrying their goods, either balanced on their heads or in a wheelbarrow. There are a few reasons we haven't shopped the market too much yet. First, we need to learn what items are really supposed to cost, otherwise we're likely to be overcharged. Second, we don't really know how to cook much Liberian food yet, so we wouldn't know what to buy or what to do with it (see below). So we shop in the supermarket, which makes me feel super touristy and American (not how I want to feel). But the supermarket is expensive like whoa. For example, we paid $5.50 for a pack of 10 fruit snacks, or about $8 for a medium sized jar of peanut butter. Crazy, but we're paying for the shipping!

Learning Liberian Food: We're slowly trying to learn to eat and make Liberian food. So far we've eaten potato greens w/ rice, "beans" (small red beans, beef, red spicy sauce) w/ rice, grilled fish (the WHOLE fish, head, skin and all), plantains (YUM), cassava with cassava gravy (cassava is actually a potato-like, starchy root), and some (semi) boiled peanuts. We've had several people offer to help us learn to cook. We think we have a date for next weekend with Ruth, the school nurse, to take us to market, show us what to get, and show us how to cook! So exciting!

The President: Apparently she stopped in at Ricks yesterday. We heard she might, but didn't know for sure, or when it might happen. She came by around 4:00 and visited the boys' dorm and had a conversation with Olu for about 5 minutes. We had no idea she was on campus... Ah, well. We're hoping one of these days to meet her, but we will see!

That should suffice for random tidbits of the day. Let me know if there are other random things you want to know. I really do love blogging, and would be happy to talk about whatever! More pictures soon to come (including one of the fish we ate!).

The Perspective I've Been Waiting For

I write today from a perspective I've been wondering about for so long: the weekend after my first week of classes. Preparing for my time in Liberia, there were so many details to think about: what clothes do I pack; how many over the counter meds might we need; what shots do I need to get. Perhaps most pressing was this question: what does it take to teach junior high in Liberia, what will I be teaching, and can I really do this? Really? This question seemed to be the one I couldn't just answer and check off a list, figure out and pack in my suitcase. So I've been wondering for months how I would be feeling after my first week of classes.

It's still difficult to summarize an answer to this question, but right now, I'd say I'm feeling pretty good. It was a trying week, for sure. There have been a number of challenges, some expected and some a total surprise: lots of students in class (between 26 and 32 in each), short classes (40 min), teachers changing classes instead of students (with no time between classes), having to review things I assumed the students would know (odd vs. even numbers, adding subtracting, multiplying, dividing large numbers), the language barrier (we all speak English, but with very different accents), learning about 170 names (some of which I clearly pronounce wrong despite repeatedly asking, "is that how I say your name?"), and struggling to keep students' attention (stop talking!). I imagine many of these are struggles that any first-time teacher would experience. Although the list is long, it is not an impossible list - not at all.

There are moments I feel discouraged, moments where I wonder how I'm going to teach as much this year as I hope to. But I keep reminding myself that, 1) I've only been with my students 1 week - I have 31 more with them! and 2) if I teach them something, even if we don't accomplish everything I think we can, that is still something. I guess that comes back to the theme of this blog. I can't re-teach everything the students haven't learned in math and teach them every single thing they are supposed to learn in 7th/8th grade, but I can teach them something. And that's why I'm here - to do the something that I can. To show them that they are brilliant and can succeed in school if they use the resources presented to them and commit themselves to learning. Ricks is a place of opportunity, and I just want my students to see that and grab hold of all the possibilities around them.

Bible class is a different story. My 9th graders... love them. Bible is much more discussion based, and not at all what you'd expect. I'll leave some suspense to exactly what I get to do in Bible... I feel it deserves its own separate posting :)

After our week of school ended, we have been mostly relaxing, preparing lesson plans, and I've been working on my personal statement and other related application stuff for PhD programs for 2010 (more about that later as well!).

A few other highlights from the week: we learned how to do laundry with a bucket/line, we were brought some delicious corn-bread-esque bread from the cafeteria (they're starting to bring us some food each day so we can try lots of Liberian dishes!), and we went up to the school Saturday night for movie night (Night at the Museum)! Again, so many things I'd love to elaborate on, but all in time my friends :) I'm sure I'll start losing y'all if I keep rambling like this. I hope you are all well - drop me a note and update me on your lives sometime!

PS - A few more pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/holly.wegman/LifeInLiberiaPart102

It's Back to School Time!

Today was our first day of teaching, and it has been quite the eventful day! I'll try to hit the highlights!

First day. School starts at 7:30AM with the raising of the Liberian flag, recitation of the pledge of allegiance (almost identical to US's pledge), and singing of the Liberian national anthem and the school song. From there, the students move in to the auditorium for some hymns and morning devotion, along with any other announcements. Today's assembly was extra long... usually 1st period starts at 8:15, but we didn't get out of assembly until about 9:20.

Pause. At one part of the assembly, all the teachers and staff members were called up to the front of the hall to introduce ourselves. About 3/4 of the way through, I was certain I was going to pass out. My vision gradually faded to white and my ears slowly plugged so I could only hear muffled noise. Somehow, with intense concentration and the backing of your prayers, I found my way back to my seat. This scene was followed by a series of me thinking I could just feel better, finally asking the nurse for help, being taken out to have blood pressure taken, and finally given some oral rehydration salts. I'll spare you the rest of the yucky details. I'm still not really sure what happened... maybe just dehydrated? In any case, I'm feeling mostly better (back to 80% I'd say!), and trying to eat and drink more. Suffice it to say, it's not how I planned to start the day, and was frustrated with my body. I'm having to learn that I am not, in fact, Liberian. Just because my fellow teachers don't constantly drink water (or can drink unfiltered water) and can eat without wondering if the food will make them sick doesn't mean I can... I know, this is obvious. But I'm stubborn and don't like it, but today was a good lesson - I can't do what I'm here to do if I'm not at my strongest. Wrist = slapped, lesson = learned (at least for the moment).

Luckily, the assembly was long enough this morning for me to feel well enough to go back to class and not have to miss anything!! Classes were smaller than anticipated - only about 24 in each (instead of the expected 35!) - although we're told more will show up tomorrow. However, the periods felt SO much shorter than I ever imagined! Each period is 40 minutes, then the bell rings and the teacher changes classes, with no break between... so you're either late to one class or ending one early. Between introductions, getting some basic info from the students, assigning books, and sometimes beginning to review my syllabus, there wasn't time for much else! I think once I go through the schedule a couple times, know for sure where all my rooms are, and learn the students' names, I'll feel much better! Not a bad day at all though - the students are great (junior high students are the coolest), and really, nothing went terribly wong!!

After school and a quick moment to recuperate, Ann Elizabeth and I headed into Monrovia with Ottolee Menjay to run some errands (we needed groceries!). While out, we stopped at this cute little stand attached to the back of a hotel on the coast. Ottolee bought us each a coke (I drank soda! haha), and then we ordered a griled fish. Which, in true Liberia style, is literally a whole fish, head and all, served with pita-like bread (pretty common here), plantains, and cucumbers. Also in true Liberian style, it was spicy yet delicious. This whole stop felt like a bigger event in my mind than it sounds here... but I think I really just enjoyed sitting outside at a table under a Coca-Cola umbrella, hanging out and eating fish.

OK, nothing else too noteworthy today. But I'm glad to be through day 1, and looking forward to day 2 of classes! Please continue to pray for connections with the students, both in the classroom and outside, for learning names, and that I would stay strong and healthy. Happy September everyone!

PS - Hilariously, we were front page Liberian news this morning... check it out at http://liberianobserver.com/node/1206