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Thursday, February 5, 1976, 10:00 pm - Day 9
We had some free time today. It was a welcome relief from the full schedule of the past few days. Again I don't think that I have improved at learning Krio. It might be that I am picking up a little more each day, but I just cannot notice the change like I could the first few days. Also, my basicly shy personality is beginning to show itself. Tomorrow we get to spend the day in Freetown and I will try to make a point to try bargain buying. I have never really done it before and I think that I now know enough Krio to do it now.
Friday, February 6, 1976, 11:30 pm - Day 10
Today we went into Freetown. We met with all of the bigwigs from the Ministry of Works and then with the CARE office. I didn't feel out of place in Freetown today as I did when I first got here. This was because I knew more what to expect and how to handle myself in different situations and I knew enough Krio to get by.
This afternoon at Regent we had 6 volunteers drop in from Upcountry to see us. I don't think they were my type of people. We went to the bar (part of one of the houses in the village) for a drink and they were using loud language with a lot of swear words mixed in liberally. The Sierra Leoneons don't seem to have any awear words, and if they do, I haven't heard any yet. They were all very shabbily dressed and were happily shooting bottle caps around the room. All in all they were presenting a very bad image of the American - one that I would be ashamed to be associated with. Luckily these volunteers were associated with agriculture and education and the volunteers in the Feeder roads program are a lot more acceptable. All 4 of us new trainees and most of those already in the feeder roads program are of the clean-cut, well-mannered, hard-working American type, which is the way I would like all Peace Corps people to be.
Sunday, February 8, 1976, 4:00 pm - Day 12
Yesterday we were supposed to take our Level I Krio qualifying test but Lanny, our training director, failed to show up. When he finally did show up, the tape recorder that he brought, which we needed for the test, didn't work. He finally found one and we took the test this morning. I don't think I did very good at it. It was an oral test and and it had to be recorded so that the gradr could listen. Musa, our language instructor, told me that we were running short of tape, and that he would have to talk faster to help make up the difference. Most of the questions I knew, but when he asked them to me I would sit dumbfounded for a moment as I repeated the question in my mind to see if I could make sense out of it and then I would try to figure out an answer to it. Also, I did not speak up enough so that I am hard to hear and understand on the tape. I think I would have done as bad if the test was on English, just because of the tape.
This afternoon we went to the beach. It was probably the best beach that I have ever seen. It is located about 30 miles south of Freetown. The sand was very white and very fine. As I walked on it with my bare feet, I would squeek at every step. It's the first time I ever squeeked on sand before. There were little shelters set up on the sand and made out of palm branches and poles. They were about 10 feet square and 6 feet tall. The water was about 75F to 80F and very clean and clear. The bottom was level and sandy and you could go out quite a ways and have it still be only chest high. There wasn't any seaweed and I didn't see any fish. No one had ever heard of anyone seeing a shark near the coast of Sierra Leone, either. the water was calm with 3 foot swells coming by every so often. It felt more like a big swimming pool than the ocean. Also, there were alot more whites than blacks on the beach, which seemed very strange to me, being in Africa.
Monday, February 9, 1976, 10:30 pm - Day 13
This morning was our last in Regent. We went into Freetown to get 3 more shots (rabies, typhoid, and gamma gobulin). At 12:00 we left for Bo. It was a 150 mile trip over a narrow bumpy road and it took up 4.5 hours and I hear the record is about 2.75 hours.
Each of us is staying with a different family in Bo, and I am with one that has about 15 to 20 people spread amoung about 3 or 4 houses. As near as I can figure there is only one outhouse for the bunch. Also, the water supply seems to be from 2 large barrels with only a hunk of plywood to cover them. There is a water faucet here but it is dry beneath it and no one seems to use it so it might not work but I haven't tried it yet the people themselves seem to be very friendly but I think my habits differ from theirs. One little boy couldn't figure me out when I wanted to brush my teeth, and taking a bath will probably be quite an experience.
Tuesday, February 10, 1976, 6:00 pm - Day 14
My doubts about my new living arrangement cleared up alot today. First, this morning I saw many of the people here brushing their teeth just like I do. I must have been mis-reading the little boy's expression last night. He was probably surprised at my asking him if he knew what my toothbrush was for. Next, there are 2 outhouses, not one. Also, each one is equipped with a small room on the side which is for taking bucket baths. I made use of that this afternoon and it wasn't too bad. The last doubt I had was about the drinking water. It seems that the water system in Bo was designed for a smaller population than they now have. It turns out that this place gets water in the late morning only, and so they have the 2 barrels to store enough water to hold them through the rest of the day.
Most of today was used up in walking. We walked all over town, finding out where the Post Office, bank, movie theaters, restarants, markets, schools, and stores were. I feel alot better about my stay here in Bo now that I know my way around.
One other thing that I am just starting to get used to is the fact that there are pigeons in the attic just over my room. The ceiling in that room is corrogated metal sheeting so that the pigeons walking around up therereally make alot of noise. They aren't too bad when I go to bed but they like to get up around 4:00 am and continue to move around until the morning.
Wednesday, February 11, 1976, 10:00 pm - Day 15
Many things happened today. I guess the biggest was that today was our first day of practice on the Honda 175's. There is an open space behind the CARE workshop here in Bo and we spent a couple of hours figuring out the machines. The main points to master are: 1) giving it gas when I let out the clutch, 2) to keep a steady hand on the throttle, and 3) remembering where the brakes are and how to use them. The motorcycles are brand new and are being supplied by CARE. Also today we went out and got helmets, goggles, and saddlebags, which CARE also paid for. The 4 motorcycles cost Le1000 each and the helmets etc. cost over Le300, or about $4500 altogether.
Also we found out today that we are getting a pickup truck (Puegot 404) to be shared among the 4 of us. We will all be living together in one house in the village of Daru in another 3 weeks. There are 4 other volunteers ther already that are in the Feeder Roads program. These 4 already have a house picked out for us and also someone to cook and clean for us. CARE will be supplying the furniture, some of which they are having made especially for us. Even with all that CARE is providing, Peace Corps will be giving us about Le165 settling-in allowance each, which we probably won't even need. Peace Corps has also supplied us with a campbed and has ordered backpacks, both of which will be ours to keep. It seems that we won't be too bad off because we are getting the best from both Peace Corps and CARE.
Also today I bought an alarm clock for myself. Things I was looking for were that it would glow in the dark and be quiet, besides keeping good time. I was tired of trying to find a spot light enough so that I could look at my watch in the mornings (it doesn't glow in the dark.) Also, now I would be sure not to oversleep, even though that had not been a problem so far (stupid pigeons anyway!).
Thursday, February 12, 1976, 8:00 pm - Day 16
Today we had our second day of Honda practice. I still need to practice my starting. It still often takes quite a few tries before I can get going. I was able to keep a steadier hand on the throttle today and was able to speed up and slow down in all of the right places. I shifted the motorcycle up into third gear today but I need to start practicing my downshifting before I stop because once I am stopped I can only shift one gear either way. I found this out after I would stall the engine in third gear and then try to shift into first. I could only drop it to second and then try to start it, which would move the motorcycle a few feet. Then I would be able to downshift one more to finally get it into first gear. Two of the other volunteers fell down on their motorcycles today, but they weren't going fast. each one managed to bend the gear shift lever when the Honda fell over. I'll probably be ready to practice on the streets tomorrow.
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