Our first 3 days in Liberia

yah helloo!

This is how you say hello to a group of people in Liberian English. Liberian English is a pidgin language where different phrases are used with different pronunciations and tones. For example, most “er” sounds in American English turn into an “ah” sound.

After about 20 hours of travel from Washington D.C., we arrived in Monrovia’s (capital city of Liberia) main airport to a group of VERY excited Peace Corps staff and volunteers. Instead of the normal baggage claim that we think of in America, our bags came out onto 1 single, small conveyor belt in waves, with no real organization. People were shouting and running around looking for bags that had been shoved aside, rained on, and sometimes torn-open, while we patiently hoped our bags would appear.

As soon as we got in the Peace Corps (PC) vehicles, we set off on a 1.5 hour drive to our training center in Kakata. The ride was our first glimpse of the country as we drove through forests of rubber trees (literally operated by Firestone) on one of the bumpiest dirt roads we’ve ever driven on. Basically, it was a really fun rollercoaster ride if you kept your eyes closed. This was the start of our journey to relearn basically everything about daily life.

Among the things we’ve been relearning include: how to bucket shower, how to bucket flush toilets—remember NO running water—, how to take our anti-malaria medicine, how to clean our water, how to interact with a brand new culture, and so many other things.

Currently, we are staying at Doe Palace, the PC training center that was gifted from a past Liberian president. We are living it up for the time being with electricity and running water. And Therese’s favorite amenity: our head cook Arthur who makes some fabulous Liberian dishes. Liberians put pepper, pronounced “peppay,” (we know, that doesn’t make sense with our above rule) on all their food to make it really spicy.

So far we have been attending trainings and seminars to teach us how to be safe and healthy, while also having received five (six for Bobby) new vaccines. We visited the local bar, Kem’s, where Bobby tried a Liberian beer and Therese tasted a South African cider. Our time has been spent mostly with the PC staff, our five person cohort, and the existing volunteers in country.

Finally, we just took a “walkabout” through Kakata. We passed a lively football match, neighbors who knew one of the existing volunteers serving Kakata, and lots of stands selling everything from shoes to sour milk—a buttery, yogurt treat (Bobby liked it, Therese wasn’t impressed).

If you got this far in the post, thank you. Our goal is to post whenever we have new stories to share, so hopefully you’ll be hearing from us soon. Things to come include: an adoption ceremony where we will receive traditional Liberian names and meet our host family, lessons on washing clothes with a washboard, and learning how to most effectively do our PC jobs. Bobby and I are sharing one host family for the next nine or so weeks during our training, until we move to our permanent work site. From here on out we will be living without running water or electricity…wish us luck.

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thank you yah, see you later-o,

Bobby and Therese :)

The content of this website and blog is Therese Joffre’s and Bobby Housel’s alone and does not reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or the Liberian Government.