August 15, 1967
Dear Folks,
Jamaica is a beautiful place to live, and I think I could live here for years! This part of the training program entails all sorts of agricultural projects. Last week we prepared a field for planting by using hand tools. Yesterday we were planting cabbage, tomatoes, cassava, sweet potatoes, yams, and lettuce. Today we built chicken coops and rabbit pens. Last weekend I went to the north coast of the island to Port Antonio. Getting there, about 50 miles away, took hours and hours by bus and train. The roads are really in bad shape, and the train has only a single track. The beach and the water were beautiful, and there are almost no tourists now. Everyone is friendly.
Next week we go into the mountains to practice farming in hilly areas and live with families. The condition of the housing even in the cities is unbelievably poor. No running water, no electricity, often no walls. At the school here we have only cold water, but we get lots of food. Much of it is new, like curried goat, boiled bananas, and liver for breakfast. Rice seems to be the food for all meals. Milk is fresh and hot.
Dear Folks,
Jamaica is a beautiful place to live, and I think I could live here for years! This part of the training program entails all sorts of agricultural projects. Last week we prepared a field for planting by using hand tools. Yesterday we were planting cabbage, tomatoes, cassava, sweet potatoes, yams, and lettuce. Today we built chicken coops and rabbit pens. Last weekend I went to the north coast of the island to Port Antonio. Getting there, about 50 miles away, took hours and hours by bus and train. The roads are really in bad shape, and the train has only a single track. The beach and the water were beautiful, and there are almost no tourists now. Everyone is friendly.
Next week we go into the mountains to practice farming in hilly areas and live with families. The condition of the housing even in the cities is unbelievably poor. No running water, no electricity, often no walls. At the school here we have only cold water, but we get lots of food. Much of it is new, like curried goat, boiled bananas, and liver for breakfast. Rice seems to be the food for all meals. Milk is fresh and hot.
September 13, 1967
Hi,
I’ve just moved into what may be my school for the next two years. This school is like a vocational high school and I’ll be teaching English to everybody since I’m the only English teacher here. Kenema is the third largest city in Sierra Leone, and capital of the eastern province. It’s the center for diamond mining and has lots of small shops, several schools, and foreign staff, mainly British. A few Canadians and Americans, too.
The rainy season is still going strong (about 3 inches today) but I’m told it will be stopping soon. I’m living alone at the moment, but there’s another Peace Corps teacher nearby, a girl from Arkansas named Lucy. She has cooked for me tonight. I guess she feels that otherwise I would not be eating. She’s probably right.
Hi,
I’ve just moved into what may be my school for the next two years. This school is like a vocational high school and I’ll be teaching English to everybody since I’m the only English teacher here. Kenema is the third largest city in Sierra Leone, and capital of the eastern province. It’s the center for diamond mining and has lots of small shops, several schools, and foreign staff, mainly British. A few Canadians and Americans, too.
The rainy season is still going strong (about 3 inches today) but I’m told it will be stopping soon. I’m living alone at the moment, but there’s another Peace Corps teacher nearby, a girl from Arkansas named Lucy. She has cooked for me tonight. I guess she feels that otherwise I would not be eating. She’s probably right.
December 24, 1967
Dear Folks,
This is certainly a peculiar Christmas time. The local furniture factory sells Christmas trees, mainly to expatriates, so we have that much, and Lucy, the teacher nearby, has baked lots of cookies that are really good. But it all seems rather superficial. Just by coincidence, it is the cold season now, or as they call it, the Harmattan. Compared to the warmer weather before, it is cold, but in comparison to a North American winter, it doesn’t come close. The temperature goes as low as 55, and it seems chilly because we are used to having the windows open and no blankets. The change is welcome, however, and I’m sure that before the dry season ends, I’ll be ready for more cool weather.
The trip to Freetown was another travel experience worth mentioning. If you can find a map of Sierra Leone, you can see that Kenema is about 220 miles from Freetown by road (about 180 by air). For the first 140 miles closest to Freetown, the road is paved and travelling is fast. But for the rest, it is like riding in a stagecoach in the wild west. The roads are very hard, now that it is dry season, the ruts seem to be a permanent fixture. Worse than the rough ride is that you get completely covered with red dust that does not come off by ordinary washing. Even if the windows in the vehicle (this was a sort-of bus) were closed, the red stuff comes through the cracks and doors .
Dear Folks,
This is certainly a peculiar Christmas time. The local furniture factory sells Christmas trees, mainly to expatriates, so we have that much, and Lucy, the teacher nearby, has baked lots of cookies that are really good. But it all seems rather superficial. Just by coincidence, it is the cold season now, or as they call it, the Harmattan. Compared to the warmer weather before, it is cold, but in comparison to a North American winter, it doesn’t come close. The temperature goes as low as 55, and it seems chilly because we are used to having the windows open and no blankets. The change is welcome, however, and I’m sure that before the dry season ends, I’ll be ready for more cool weather.
The trip to Freetown was another travel experience worth mentioning. If you can find a map of Sierra Leone, you can see that Kenema is about 220 miles from Freetown by road (about 180 by air). For the first 140 miles closest to Freetown, the road is paved and travelling is fast. But for the rest, it is like riding in a stagecoach in the wild west. The roads are very hard, now that it is dry season, the ruts seem to be a permanent fixture. Worse than the rough ride is that you get completely covered with red dust that does not come off by ordinary washing. Even if the windows in the vehicle (this was a sort-of bus) were closed, the red stuff comes through the cracks and doors .
