Back in a Month!

My research is going extremely well. I realized that I have completed about half of my interviews and am fairly content with the amount of observation that I have done. Of course, I will continue to get into the schools until I leave because I seem to learn something new every visit. Last week, I learned how to make glue with dried cassava and water. A teacher heated it up over a fire and then used the paste to hang up learning materials in her classroom. Tape is not often a possibility in the villages and even when there is tape, the humidity causes posters and charts to fall down. She also showed me how to make traditional skirts out of old rice bags and string out of palm leaves. What a wealth of information just from one visit!

My taxi rides out to the various villages continue to be some of the richest experiences I have had in the country thanks to all of the wonderful passengers and drivers. I have made connections with several NGOs, met friends of friends and also met a Human Rights Journalist/Poet. I am going to ask for his permission to post some of his work. Very moving.

The tales from the taxi certainly continue. Last week, I was surprised to see a live chicken occupying the passenger seat but the ride got even more interesting. Instead of the driver putting passengers on a cada (motorbike) to avoid getting blackmailed any further from the police, he actually passed his keys over to a passenger and hid in the trunk. Bit scary due to the heat but he did avoid the extra bribes and got away with the one standard payment. The corruption has become such a norm for taxi drivers but boy does it get a heated discussion going – the passengers and drivers are not happy to say the least. People will discuss police corruption for the duration of the ride, even if the ride takes hours. It is the reason why taxis overload their vehicles, such a vicious cycle.

I was sad to say goodbye to my friend Maribeth from Thunderbay who was in Sierra Leone for three weeks. We had a great time. We were invited into a traditional local court called a barrie where local problems are brought to a chairperson, had great welcomes into schools, spent a day at a beautiful beach and sat on the porch learning about life in Salone.

Well, going to get back to my research – one month to go!