Sneaking the internet...

As I'm sure all my faithful fans have noticed, we haven't had access to the internet for a while now. And in typical TIA (This is Africa) fashion the satellite provider is not rushing over to fix it for us. So tonight I'm sitting in the front lobby of the Union office, borrowing their wireless signal on my friend's laptop. (Don't worry we got permission and didn't sneak in under the cover of darkness)
Things are going well. We had a snag in our program schedule as the second session of participants received the wrong start date for the program so we were not able to start on Friday as planned and had to shift the entire program back one day, which eliminated our "free" day in the middle of the program so now we are working 8 days straight with no break. Sometimes we comment about how it's ironic that we are working with a union:) We don't really mind because this time we are teaching all the same things as the first session so we don't need to prepare very much, regardless they are long days starting at 8:30am and ending at 9:oopm. We did receive an extra day break before the second session started so we headed back to River No. 2 beach for the day. The day wasn't exactly sunny but it didn't rain so we were happy. I have one funny story from the day. Karen and I decided to go for a walk and explore the beach area. When we neared the end of the beach I suggested that we take a look at a lagoon that was behind us. I remembered someone telling me that the lagoon was nice to swim in because it is calmer than the ocean. As we neared the lagoon, Karen told me that one of the Sierra Leone co-tutours told her that there was quicksand in the area. We were just getting close to the water when the sand all around us started to cave in. Of course our first thought was "quicksand"! I panicked, I started clawing at the sand trying to get out of the hole that was quickly forming all around us. I really thought it was the end and that my body would never be recovered! Shortly after the sand stopped sliding and we were both able to climb out. We dusted ourselves off and looked around. No one even seemed to notice what had happened. We were so relieved to be alive! We told some of the Sierra Leoneons about it but they didn't seem the least bit concerned and just stated that they'd had a lot of rain lately and that it wasn't anything to worry about. Regardless, our team leader said we had to stay in her sight for the rest of the day:)
The second session is going well. I am tiring of teaching the same thing over and over again, I could never be a rotary teacher. The practice teaching will begin again shortly and then we will sit and critique their lessons.
Time is flying by. We calculated that in 6 days we will be leaving. The time has flown by. Our team has done really well together. We keep saying that for four women we have had relatively no drama, pretty good hey?
I am starting to daydream about some new food options. We are convinced that the restaurant at the hotel only had 5 items that they prepare in many different ways! We are happy to be eating well and are careful not to complain around others but we sometimes make lists of the foods we will eat first when we are home.
I am looking forward to spending a few days in Holland and re-connecting with my Dutch family. I better get going as others are waiting to use the computer.

I feel like Paula Abdul...

Sunday we headed out to the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary to see the chimps. It was amazing, they can really make a lot of noise when they want to. A few years ago 31 chimps escaped, all but 4 were captured or returned on their own. Unfortunately, one man was killed by a chimp while the chimps were at large. The sanctuary is well kept and we met some interesting people from the US and Britain who are also volunteering in Sierra Leone right now.
After the sanctuary we went to No. 2 River Beach. The beach was gorgeous. It rained the whole time but we had a good time nonetheless. I even swam for a bit.
Today the participants began their practice teaching. It feels a lot like the beginning episodes of American Idol, we have a Simon and so the rest of us take on the role of Paula Abdul. (sorry for those of you who don't watch this show and can't decipher the code)
Tonight, Angie and I went to visit a small village to check out the building of a school that is being funded by Canadians in Thunder Bay. It was a great visit. Of course we had to tour the entire village, meet the chief and have several impromptu speeches delivered to us. We loved it. After the busyness of the days here and the noise and pollution of Freetown, it was lovely to get out and walk around and breathe in the fresh air.
I'll update pictures when possible but it takes so long to upload and it's getting late.

Participants

A dear friend of mine e-mailed me and asked me to share a bit more about the participants of the workshop. Unfortunately, when we're not teaching we are preparing for our next workshop so we haven't had a lot of opportunity to spend time with them outside of the classroom. However, we have made an effort as a team to split up over lunch and sit with different groups and try to get to know them. Unfortunately, people from Sierra Leone don't as a habit talk while they are eating, so it is a bit difficult. Last night when we were working on the computers and the electricity went out, I had about 20 minutes of waiting so I talked to a few teachers. They are truly amazing people. They have all lived through the war and therefore have lost valuable years of education and yet they have persevered to achieve their goals. All the teachers we work with are from the rural areas and have had no education past secondary school, in fact many of them have not completed secondary school. It is for this reason that they are invited to the workshops. One man I spoke to last night must be in his 60's. He worked for 10 years in a mine as an electrician, during the war he was not able to work but after the war he was asked to be the teacher of the local school. Most often, the teacher is the smartest or the most educated person in the village and is asked to take on the role of the teacher. Many of them are not paid for months at a time, sometimes even years, and yet they get up every morning and teach their students because they feel it is their calling. Despite the fact that they do not have access to regular newspapers or the internet, they are surprisingly quite informed about world events. They truly inspire me and I have a lot of respect for them. I am learning so much from them.
Tomorrow is Saturday, we will continue the workshop but Sunday will be a day of rest. We hope to visit the Chimpanzee Sanctuary and visit a popular beach. Monday and Tuesday next week we will continue with the same group of participants. Wednesday is another day off (lazy aren't we?), and Thurs. night our new participants will arrive for the second session. Action packed, not so?

Pictures are worth a thousand words, not so?

Canada Night!

Some pictures of the participants hard at work. They are divided into groups for the morning, these are pictures of group two, they're my favourite group!

Not so?

The language here continues to intrigue me. A common expression here is "not so?". It is basically asking someone if they agree with you, but it appears at the end of almost every sentence. For example: Canada is a wonderful country. Not so?
Tonight we taught the teachers how to use the computers. Most of them have never touched one in their lives. We decided to start them on google and let them search for a topic of their choice. Most of them started typing sentences in the search bar so we switched them over to Microsoft Word and let them type away to their hearts content. They loved it. At one point the electricity went out. When it came back on one person was shocked to see the wallpaper picture of fish on their screen. They yelled, "come quick and get these fish off the screen, I want to type!" It was priceless.
Last night's Canada night went well. We played hockey with mini sticks, played Canadian Trivia and watched a slide show of pictures of Canada. We drank some Star beer and soft drinks and danced the night away. (okay so we ended at 9pm but that's late around here, since morning prayer starts at 5am and is broadcast over a loud speaker)

Teaching

We've been very busy teaching the last few days, (my excuse for not writing more often). Our lunch meals are quickly eaten and then we rush back to our room to prepare more "Vanguards" (aka posters) for the afternoon. For the most part I am working quite well with my co-tutor. I've been behaving myself and have quietly followed his direction. The participants are lovely and I try not to make it obvious that I have favourites:) It appears that they understand us despite our accents and funny word choices. I find language so fascinating, although we speak the same language, there is much potential for misunderstandings. For example, sending a text message is called a "flash", of course this word has a different meaning to us. It is quite strange to ask someone to "flash you". There are more but that is all I can think of right now.
Yesterday was a wonderful day, we were given a new toilet seat (after I suggested that I could fix it myself) and our air conditioner was fixed!
We are gelling well as a team and despite a few dinner conversations about topics that should never be discussed over a meal (read between the lines), we are in good spirits!
Tonight is Canada night and we have a fun night planned. I'll try to upload some pictures but it took me almost an hour to post the previous pics. and our time in the computer lab is quite limited.

An African Mass and Formal Opening Ceremony

This morning we had the privilege of attending a Catholic Mass. I have been to very few Catholic Masses before but one of the team members regularly attends and she informed us that is was quite similar to mass in NA but much longer:) We were not given much attention (thankfully) but all new visitors were asked to stand and introduce themselves, which we willingly did.
I am finding so many things here that remind me of Haiti, in fact sometimes I have to remind myself that I am in Sierra Leone and not Haiti. Although strangely enough, things appear to be better off here than in Haiti, but I know that appearances can often be deceiving and I will not be here long enough to really determine if this is true.
This afternoon the participants began to arrive and received an orientation to the hotel. They were shown a room in the hotel and all the "gadgets" were explained to them and how they work. They listened so intently, some of them will use electricity for the first time! I hope they enjoy the A/C and that it works in their rooms:)
This evening was the formal opening ceremony and formal it was. Long speeches, many thanks and of course we sang "Solidarity Forever" quite a few times! Afterwards we had a huge dinner of rice and chicken, I better get used to it, many more meals like that to come.
It's late and we start teaching tomorrow so I will say goodnight.

Pics

Marian and myself The famous Cotton Tree The First School We visited

Hotel 5:10

Hurry up and Wait

The team at Lumley Beach

The last two days have been very interesting. We've had meetings both days with the leaders of the union and our co-tutors. It has been a very formal affair with everyone going by their titles (e.g. secretary general, project coordinator) and everything has to follow protocol. We've managed to approve the workshop schedule and plan out the first four days of the workshop. My co-tutor is a university professor from Milton Morgai Education and Technical College, he works in the education department teaching History. We will team teach the morning workshops together on the topic of Social Studies. In the afternoon and evenings, the rest of the CTF team and myself will teach various topics such as multi-grade instruction, special education, peace education and gender equality. It has been great to work alongside the co-tutors as some of the ideas we came with may not work in the classrooms here in Sierra Leone.
This afternoon we ended a bit early and were able to make it down to Lumley Beach for a few hours. We walked along the water, but didn't swim because the red caution flag was out. (this didn't stop me last time I was here but this group is a bit more cautious)
Tomorrow we hope to attend a Catholic mass near the hotel and then spend some time relaxing before our busy week. We found out that all our Sundays will be free as well as two days in the middle of the two sessions. We hope to do some short travels around the Freetown area.
Our team is getting along fabulously with lots of laughter and jokes. We keep each other in line (especially Karen).

I have mentioned in the past that we are staying at a hotel. Before you think you think that we're living it up, I would just like to inform you that the air conditioning rarely works and the electricity is off more than it is on, and our tiolet seat is broken in about three places. On the bright side, it's preparing me for life in Haiti!

Hotel 5:10, Freetown, Sierra Leone

So much has happened since landing on African soil. The flight over was quite uneventful, I met an interesting woman from Sierra Leone but most people on the plane were from Senegal because we stopped in Dakar before going on to Freetown. We were met at the airport by a Representative from SLTU (Sierra Leone Teachers Union) which helped considerably with getting through customs and having our luggage safely loaded in the van that was to take us to the new Pelican Water Taxi. What an experience that was, last time I took a helicopter one way to Freetown and a hovercraft back, the water taxi was a new experience, and an experience it was. The water was quite rough and the taxi was quite small, I thought we were CRAZY to get into it and although it was quite bumpy, no one became sea sick and we arrived safely on the other side. Our accommodations are lovely. We have yet to have the air conditioner work but the fan works great and the room is cleaned every day. No towel swans on the bed but clean towels are good enough for us!
We have been busy touring around. We've visited three schools to see the conditions of some local schools. We've been to the "Big Market" and "Victoria Park" to buy a few souvenirs. We managed to get to a nice grocery store to buy some snacks. We met with the Minister of Labour which was an honour. The STLU staff have been wonderful, showing us around and answering all our questions.
Tomorrow we will meet with our co-tutors and start planning for our workshops. Opening ceremonies are Sunday and the workshops start on Monday. It sounds pretty packed but hopefully we'll get a night or an afternoon off sometime during the workshops.
Last night I tried to put my workout plan into action (a skipping rope). I figured the best place was the balcony in front of my room. Unfortunately I quickly had an audience, who counted how many times I could skip without messing up! Very encouraging.
We've been eating really well. Until the workshops start we can choose our meals at the hotel, after that we will eat the same as the participants (rice, rice and more rice).
Today at one of the schools the principal told us that they found out today that school may be extended for another week. Can you imagine? The last week of school and then the students find out that they have an entire week more of school! Talk about a riot!
That's all for now.

Brussels

Well travelling is never free of mishaps altogether. We arrived at the Ottawa airport only to realize that a team mate´s passport was missing. We searched everywhere and were just about to leave without her when she found it. In Belgium we had a difficult time finding a taxi able to take all our luggage and ended up taking two. Everything is considerably more expensive here. We are currently in Brussels, seriously sleep deprived but going out for some Belgium waffles in a minute. Tonight we hope to have a solid nights sleep and ready for Sierra Leone. Internet is hard to find and someone is waiting for me now so no pictures unfortunately. We are in good spirits and eagerly awaiting our new adventures.

Blue Cactus

Last night my team went to the "Blue Cactus" for dinner. I almost ordered a rice meal but my teammates reminded me that we'll be eating rice for an entire month so I ordered fajitas instead.
We had a nice time of getting to know each other. We had to share what we do when we're stressed and how we want others to respond when we are stressed. The team that went to Sierra Leone last year underwent a lot of stress with lost luggage, a team member leaving at the last minute, deaths in the family, no planning time in country and a possible root canal. Hopefully this year is less stressful but if not we'll deal with as it comes. The days have been packed and today is no different. Starting at 7:15 and not ending until 8:00 tonight, I'm feeling like I could go for a LONG nap right now but I guess that's what plane rides are for:)

CTF

Today we spent the entire day at the CTF (Canadian Teacher's Federation) building. It was a great day of meeting the other teachers and we went through a tonne of material. Right now my brain feels a bit fried but it was good to cover so much important information and get to know my team a bit better. It was hard to be on the "other side of the desk" for an entire day and I have a renewed sympathy for my students who have to sit all day in one desk and ask permission to use the washroom:) Tonight we have "team bonding" time, which will involve going out for dinner and hopefully a walk if the rain stops falling for long enough.
Tomorrow, more information sessions on cultural awareness.

Ottawa

While waiting for my plane to Ottawa I met a whole bunch of "Project Overseaers" (other people who are participating in Project Overseas). We had a very short and pleasant flight to Ottawa. After checking into the hotel, I had some time to kill so I walked around downtown and took in the sights. I had a few flashbacks of my Grade 8 class trip to Ottawa!

Tonight we had a brief information session and tomorrow we meet at 7:15am for breakfast, so much for a vacation! I better get to sleep so I'm ready for our action packed day tomorrow.

Goodbyes

Unfortunately I have no pictures of the past few weeks because I left my camera at my friend's house and have not had a chance to retrieve it.
Regardless, it's been an action packed few weeks. I said a tearful goodbye to my students, the girls were much harder to say goodbye to then the boys. Although I love them all equally of course. Some of the students have been in my class for two years, that's a lot of bonding time and we've grown quite attached to each other. One student (a boy) said, "Ms. Gringhuis, two years is a long time. I'm going to miss you. I hope our teacher next year is not a boy". Another student said, "if our new teacher is rude I'm going to be rude right back". I told him to keep up his positive attitude:) I will miss their funny comments and stories.
Several of the teachers are still in denial that I'm leaving and wouldn't say goodbye, that's okay because I know I will see them in August before I leave for 'good'.
I have to admit that when I drove away from Lawrence Heights MS, I shed quite a few tears. LHMS is where I began my teaching career and I haven't taught anywhere else but there. I have poured a lot of myself into the students there and enjoyed much laughter and joy from them in return. The staff has truly been a family to me over the past six years. They have supported me through a lot and I will miss them.
As I type this, I am sitting at my parent's house. The move out of my place went amazingly smoothly. I had many friends help in Toronto and my family helped unload in Dundas. All my worldly possessions are now sitting in the basement awaiting my possible return.
I went to the lawyer's today and dropped off the keys! It's a done deal! No turning back now.
I am getting pretty excited about my trip to Sierra Leone. I leave on Thursday to spend three days in Ottawa, meeting my team and participating in cross-cultural training.
Please keep myself and my team in your prayers. I'll update as often as possible and I promise to include pictures.

Haitian Accomodations

When I lived in Haiti last time I lived in two different locations. I started at the school where I was working. My bedroom doubled as my office and I had NO privacy, there were always kids at the school, those who also lived there and those who did not, and they would often look into my room through the windows. When I finally got tired of that I purchased curtains and put them up, then they would stand outside my windows and ask my why I had closed the curtains:) I didn't have a car and therefore I spent A LOT of time at this location (school/home). Finally it became too much so I arranged to move out and live with a friend. Jenny was house sitting for a family who were on furlough in the USA. I stayed with her for approx. five months.
When I decided to return to Haiti, I didn't consider living with Jenny again because she already had a roommate and I thought it would be too crowded with the three of us. However, when I asked Jenny about possible places to rent in Haiti she mentioned that her roommate was getting married in the fall and I could possibly live with her again. When I visited Haiti the last time I visited Jenny in her new place and thought it was quite lovely. So I have taken her up on her offer, her roommate gets married in October so all three of us will be there for a short time but after October it will be only Jenny and I. I wish I had pictures for you at this point, but you'll just have to wait until I am there. I am thankful that the Lord had provided so graciously once again.

Thank you!

Last night I presented a brief overview of the work I will be doing in Haiti. I would like to thank everyone who came out to show their support. I feel very blessed to have so many family and friends who love me and who will uphold me in prayer in the years I am away.
I am very excited to begin my work in Haiti, working with the teachers and putting my faith into action in a place desperate for God's love and grace.

Late Night Reflections

Time is swiftly passing by. There are four weeks until the end of school, which also means four weeks until I have to vacate my classroom, my condo and life as I currently know it! I leave for Sierra Leone only days after the last day of school and in between I have to move out of my place. These days life is so jam packed that I have little time to reflect on all the major changes that will happen in my life in the near future. During the day my mind is so busy with work, socializing or doing "stuff" that I give little thought to what lays before me.
Each night as I lay my head down on my pillow and I'm just about to fall asleep I think to myself, "what have I done? Can I really handle all this?" I know that with God's help I can do it but right before I fall asleep, just after I turn off the light (that always has electricity) and I set my alarm clock (that I know will work in the morning) and I snuggle into my sheets (that aren't covered in sweat) and I listen to the silence of my home (no mosquito's buzzing in my ear), I wonder, "why did I want to leave this place?" Of course I'm being melodramatic, I am very eager to go to Haiti to live and work once again. During the day I day dream constantly about what I will do when I'm there. I am so excited to see my old friends and talk to them, really talk to them about all that has happened since I was last there. I look forward to working with the teachers and together improving the quality of education. I love the challenge of starting a special needs program in a country where little is available to assist those with special needs. I am enthusiastic to love people and to show the love of God on a daily basis. It's only at night, when I have a second to reflect, that the doubts come flying in. However, after spending time in prayer and when I wake up in the morning refreshed from a nights sleep, I count down the days until my exciting adventure begins and I can't wait to get started!!

SOLD

I am happy to report that my place has SOLD! Praise the Lord! I am relieved to have this loose end tied up. I received the amount I was hoping for, another item of praise.
Things are slowly coming together. I am now able to slowly start to pack up my things and decide what to keep and what to give away. What a blessing to have enough stuff that I need to sort and pack it.

Ode to Sammy

I found out this week that someone very special to me passed away. Sammy, was someone who lived at Coram Deo (in Haiti) when I was there in 2005-2006. Sometime after I left, he was sent back to the countryside to live with his family. I heard this week that he passed away there.
Sammy was developmentally delayed and an absolute joy to be around. He exuded a kind of joy that you don't find very often. It was a rare day when Sammy was sad or unhappy. He rejoiced in the simple pleasures of life, food, laughter, and people. Many afternoons or evenings, I would find him on the jungle gym in the yard. There was a fake steering wheel there and he would pretend to be a tap-tap (taxi) driver. He would ask me for my money as I sat beside him and I would pretend to hand him a coin. One time, I decided to really play along and I yelled that he has almost hit a pedestrian. He reacted quite strongly to my pretend yelling and he told me that he quit and that I had better drive instead:)
Whenever I had a bad day, I would find Sammy and he would cheer me right up. On my last day in Haiti, I was very sad to go and cried as I said my farewells. When it was Sammy's turn I gave him a hug and told him that I was going far away and I didn't know if I'd see him again. He turned his big eyes to me and asked, "have you seen the cat?". He knew how to make a tough situation much lighter.
It is for Sammy and other's like him that I desire to go back to Haiti. I look forward to starting an education program for students with severe learning disabilities, providing them with food, life skills, and the love of God.
Sammy, you will be missed.