Whew so a lot has been going on the past few weeks. From weddings, to
safaris, to the fambul (family) in Sierra Leone, times have been
exciting!
So first of all, about 2 weeks ago two Peace Corps Volunteers from my
group got married! The wedding was in Freetown and all the PC
volunteers and staff were invited so it was basically a big party for
everyone and a good chance for everyone to hangout before Salone 1
leaves. The wedding was held in one of the nicest hotels in Freetown
and was absolutely beautiful. Everyone wore Africana (dresses made
from African fabrics) so we were a very colorful and a very shiny
group! ha It actually almost reminded me of prom because everyone got
ready together before the wedding in one of the hotel rooms so we all
did each others hair and makeup. It made me miss going out and getting
ready with friends back in America haha. Then there was the ceremony
which was very nice followed by a fabulous dinner and then it just
turned into a party! The next day I headed to the airport with
Mohamed and 4 other volunteers.
To get to the airport in Sierra Leone you have to cross from Freetown
to Lungi in a Ferry. The trip over is about 1 hour long and was
pretty uneventful. The airport was a bit hectic but I made my flight
on time and was on my way to South Africa!! After reaching
Johannesburg safely I waited in the airport for 8 hours because I
missed the car to the hotel but don’t worry I bided my time by
exploring the airport, using flush toilets, and eating all kings of
delicious food like grilled cheese and an oreo shake.. yummm
Eventually my family made it to South Africa and we all headed over to
the hotel together. We spent one night in Johannesburg before heading
to the Game Reserve.
The safari is set up so that you go out on game drives with the same
guide and group of 10 people twice a day for 6 days. It was cool
because you become friends with the other people in your group and at
the lodge so you can joke around and have a good time even when you
don’t see many animals. Lucky for us though our game drives started
out with a bang! On our first day we saw giraffes, rhinos, zebras,
buffalo and elephants to name a few. The elephants literally walked
right next to our car. The people in the back of the car could have
reached out and pet them if we weren’t all a bit afraid of the
elephants charging the car. The next day we went on a game drive at
the neighboring game reserve to try and see lions and leopards. The
lions were a success but the leopards not so much. While we were out
driving around looking for the lions they made a kill. The lions
killed an antelope so we got to drive up and see them all eating. The
cubs (when they said cubs I assumed cute little cats but they were
massive!) weren’t too hungry so they were pretty playful and fun to
watch. When we tried pulling our land cruiser away though one of the
cubs was stalking our car as though we were the next prey. Fortunately
though we made it away safely. Earlier we had also seen a black rhino
up close and personal. Again I was a bit nervous he was going to
charge That evening we saw the cheetah at our game reserve eating and
saw some giraffes fighting. So apparently giraffes fight in slow
motion by hitting each other with their heads. It looks ridiculous.
ha but highly entertaining. Then we saw the male cheetah eating.
After the second day we didn’t see much of anything new at the game
reserve. We also went on a boat tour to see crocodiles and hippos one
day and then went over to the beach off of the Indian Ocean.
Okay well that is a long enough update from the Safari. The pictures
are much more interesting and explain what I saw pretty well anyways
so hopefully I will be able to get them up soon!
So next my family came back with me to Sierra Leone. After a super
long flight we finally made it safely to Lungi Airport with all of our
luggage. Mohamed met us at the airport with our rental car so we
packed up and headed back across on the ferry. The first night we
just went back to the house we were staying at, ate some dinner and
went to sleep. The next morning we headed to Fadugu. We stopped in
Makeni on the way to see my host family and just get out and stretch
our legs a bit. My host family was very happy to meet my family.
Then we continued on to Fadugu where we were swarmed by my excited
neighbors as soon as we got out of the car. So that night I just gave
my family a tour of Fadugu. Everyone was very excited to meet them
and told them tons of nice things about me. ha The next day my school
put on a cultural program for my family. Some of the girls did
cultural dances for them and then we went to see my school building.
That afternoon Mohamed had arranged a football (soccer) match to be
played for our entertainment. Also throughout our stay in Fadugu we
distributed the clothes and toys my parents sent which people were all
very happy to receive. The kids went a bit crazy though and we
eventually had to have Mohamed lure them away with candy.
Friday we left with the hope of going on a beach tour. Unfortunately
our car broke down just outside of Waterloo so we ended up having to
take public transport into Freetown and just went back to the house.
It was definitely a bummer but a good cultural experience for my
family I guess. The next morning we went to the Chimpanzee sanctuary
which was also very cool. On our way out of the sanctuary our car got
stuck again haha and we had to wait for someone to tow us out.
Eventually we made it to the beach and went for a walk and had a
delicious fish and chip dinner.
Sunday my family left. Mohamed and I took them to the airport to
drop them off and left quickly in order to make it back on the next
ferry. So hopefully they all made it home safely! Overall, the trip
went well. A couple of roadblocks were encountered while in Sierra
Leone but I think it just helped them to really see what the country
is like and some of the hardships encountered here. I am glad they
visited and would welcome any one to come and see the life I live!! ha
Love and miss you all!
