Travel Stuff:
- Home > Chicago (May 30th/31st) get immunizations, orientation/ new friends! > Brussels > Sierra Leone (all together)
- We will arrive in Freetown, Sierra Leone around 6:00pm, be greeted, take a bus to a ferry (on the ferry we will be handed our first dosage of Malaria meds)
- Spend 4-5 days in Freetown doing orientation stuff
- Go to Miliki or Mikenly or something? There we are placed with our host families
- In that 'M' town, we will be within walking distance from the training site
Security/Safety:
- Sierra Leone has a lower security risk than other regions of Africa right now
- Two main concerns:
- Transportation
- Crime (low level violence crimes, but more so petty theft, pickpocketing, break-ins)
- We have lots of training on this
- PC gives us a "foot-locker" to keep valuables (2ft x 18" x 1ft)
- Do not give natives the temptation of stealing from you
- Locks and a lockable suitcase
- Money belts and fanny packs (haha)
Dress Code:
- Teachers are expected to dress in a professional manner
- To the natives, it is a sign of respect for their culture to dress appropriate
School:
- The location of the school we go to after PST (Pre-Service Training) will be in one of the 12 districts Sierra Leone has
- Last time PC covered 8 districts
- We will begin teaching at the start of the new school term (September term)
Stars = Breaks in school
- Our first Dec. break, we will be attending more training
Money and Credit Cards:
- Credit cards not widely used
- Fraud risks and places don't have the equipment
- Take a credit card if you plan on traveling outside of Sierra Leone during service
- Peace Corps sets up a bank account for each PCV
- Electronic deposits
- Should live close to the means of the other local teachers
Electronic/Internet Info:
- Cell phone coverage is likely to be somewhere close to you
- Most of Africa has abandoned the 'land-line' and just gone with cells
- PC gives PCV's a cell phone to use, in which they can call other volunteers and PC Staff for free (family plan)
- Easier to get a phone plan with US family, if that's what you choose to do, in the US (before leaving), as it is less expensive than it is in Sierra Leone
- Charging/ generator kiosks for phones and laptops are not hard to find, 25 cents or so to charge
- 1-2 current PVC's in Sierra Leone have electricity, few have running water, about 1/3 have a in house toilet
- Most have internet cafe's, access during weekends
- Don't use the cafe's flash drives if you don't have to, virus galore
- Super speedy connection, kidding- real slow
Life and Host Info:
- Everyone wants to watch you, get used to it :)
- At the end of training, you should feel comfortable to go out and live
- Health, security, cultural and language knowledge
- The host house will vary for each PVC
- Gifts (if you bring them) for the host family should be non-flashy, small and modest
- Do not want people to think you are wealthy, even though they think you are a billionaire/billionairess
- Family pictures from home, calendars of your state, kids toys ect.
- Give after you form a relationship with them
- Family may teach you how to cook! yay!
After PST:
- You get 'placed' in your village on decisions made by the PC staff
- They get to know you and what your individual challenges are, where you will best fit
- The PC Staff prepares your village for your arrival, helping them understand PC standards of living and the expenses that go with housing us
- We take 6 weeks of Krio, which is understood "everywhere," then can narrow down which language will be most helpful for our situation
- During PST, everyone will be taken to their living site, be introduced, evaluate and get the feel of it
- Some PVC's will be in the same town, but teaching at different schools and some will be in their own town completely
- In most cases, PVC's can make the effort to see another PVC in a neighboring village
- You will be provided with a mosquito net
- Kitchen is dependent on the 'house' you are living in, some outside, some have a room for it
- Some PVC's get a 'helper' to cook, clean and do laundry for them (I missed what is expected for a payment, whoops)
- Likely that you will eat a meal(s) with your neighbor
Randoms:
- Over 100 Sierra Leone schools applied to have PCV's (Peace Corps Volunteer)
- April 28th will get Staging Packet
- 2 bags totaling 80lbs, one no more than 50lbs
- Peace Corps in Sierra Leone cannot store and keep your belongings safe, sorry.
- Locals think it's weird/funny when men cook and do laundry
- Vegetarians are strange, because meat is expensive and seen as a "treat"
- Snail mail takes about 2 weeks. Only 1 or 2 towns have a Post Office
- PC provides basic vitamins, if you have something special you like taking, bring it
- American medical Dr. on site
- Given bug spray, sunscreen and condoms
- For the first week or so, you will not be able to e-mail; however, parents will receive an e-mail with an update and info on the arrival
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