We arrived here last Thursday, since we have been here I have met many new people, Moses, Leo, Diamond, and some of my closest friends so far. Moses and Diamond are 17 years old and Leo is 15. They have taught me how to “beat” a coconut or chop it open with a machete/cutlass.
Our new home here is not finished so we have been staying in our own dorm, all of the Jones kids are sharing one room which isn’t as bad as I thought it would be.
Moses took me to the river near our house a couple days ago and showed me a canoe. It is carved from a tree, it is about 15 feet long and about a foot and a half wide so its vary tippy you have to be a good swimmer to go out into the river just in case it tips.
Here we have to take bucket baths. You have to go pump your own water from the well which is on our property, and then you go into the stall, you have your cup, soap, and shampoo. That’s it. The first pour of the well water over your head is always a shock. Even though it’s so hot and humid the water still feels a little chilly but it’s still refreshing.
I haven’t struggled with much here. The food is different but i still eat all the meals, my favorite meal so far has been rice with cassave leaf and fish on top. It’s actually really good! The thing that I have a hard time with the their language. They call it colloqua. It’s very fast and I don’t get any of it so they have to break it down into “proper english” so that we can understand it, but there is still the accent that is difficult to get.
We start school Monday, it is from 8-1. Me and Princess (one of the girls here) who is 17 have to take a motorcycle taxi every morning to get to school. It is about an hour away and it’s a bumpy ride because the roads are so bad.
Over all i’m having an okay experience here. I miss you all very much. Until next time.
Simon Jones.
4 Comments
Awesome blog entry, Simon! Thank you for sharing your experiences with me!
I am not sure how this works…but I will learn..
LOVE YOU….MISS YOU….
What an experience! I’m surprised to hear that you like the cassava leaf stew, tastes better than it looks I guess. We love you guys.
I was REALLY surprised you like the cassava leaf stew. Do they put all the spices on for you? I found the spices WAY to hot for me.
I am glad that you are enjoying Diamond and Moses. I don’t know Leo. Ask Moses if he is keeping a journal for me, will you. I sure enjoy his and Diamonds personalities. They have quick minds.
When I first got there, I was told that river had crocodiles in it. Later I found out they just say that to new people to try and keep them out of their river. I had thought that I would like to swim in it, but it looks pretty dirty so decided not to. It would be refreshing on a hot day though.
School should be quite the experience. Miserable riding on the back of a motorcycle for and hour though. Especially in the rainy season, which you are experiencing now. I assume you will get use to it.
The language will come Simon. Just be patient with yourself. They sure do talk fast though, don’t they!
I am glad to hear of your experiences. Keep up your blog. We are all interested in your life experiences there. Kind of living the african life vicariously through your eyes.
I love you. Keep smiling! Gramma Jones
Glad to hear you are safe and happy. Thinking about you guys.