Africa!

Well I'm here. I landed late Sunday night and while our hostel has internet access, I've just had too much in my mind to write.

So far things have been great. My fellow volunteers are all amazing people with such great stories and so many interesting things to say. I'm a little bummed that most of them leave to sites in Ghana and Zambia on Monday, but excited to start work here.

Sierra Leone is, in general, very different- there are just so many new things to see and try to understand. In the same way- parts of it are very familiar. At meals they have glass bottles of Coke, Fanta, and Sprite. The night here sounds so much like home with the insects and frogs. However instead of Highway Five, there are howling dogs- who are very loud. It's weird- there are dogs everywhere just walking around here. Today we were in a taxi on our way to the United Methodist House and (since driving is incredibly different here, it's CRAZY and no one ever really stops and they just honk) there were some dogs and a tiny puppy in the middle of the street. Our driver just about ran over the puppy. Nicol and I both cringed and looked away, terrified that he would hit the dog. I'm not sure if it moved or if it went between the wheels, but luckily it wasn't hurt. I actually feel quite safe here- but the driving is scary. It's not hippos I have to worry about- it's the cars.

Today we have cassava (a plant) with rice for lunch. I was told that mine had been fixed without meat or fish... but that definitely wasn't the case- so I accidentally ate a little bit of fish, but when I realized what it was after a few bites (because I didn't recognize the taste) I couldn't eat more. It hasn't been too hard being a vegetarian here, but I'm definitely no where near as strict as I am at home. I'm surviving.

Today was the first day I really got out of the hostel. I went downtown with Anton (a fellow volunteer) and Dennis (the brother of our program coordinator who lives in Freetown). It was... overwhelming. Not in a bad way- but just overwhelming. I don't understand the money yet (its all in too big of numbers for me) and I got called "white girl" a lot- but I'm looking forward to exploring more... and hopefully not getting too lost.

The only other exciting (or new, because it's more difficult than exciting) has been all of the French. The most useful thing I brought was my French dictionary. Lots of French- there really isn't too much more to say about that.

I hope all is well with your guys at home- I definitely appreciate all of the prayers and will try to keep in touch as much as possible. If you want to email me use my U of M account (krape003@umn.edu) because my gmail doesn't work well. Take care- look for a Chaska Herald article soon- and God Bless.