For 3rd Graders Only

My daughter asked me to write a note for her that she could read to her 3rd grade class, so here goes...

Dear Jasmin and Ms. Griffin's 3rd grade class-
Hello from a country in West Africa called Sierra Leone!  I had to take 3 airplanes and make 5 stops to get here.

We are 8 hours ahead of you.  So if it is 12 noon in San Anselmo then it is 8 pm here.   I get to see the sun rise and set before you do!  We see the same moon and same stars too, but the stars are a little different.  There are over 6 million people in the entire country here.  That is like taking the population of San Francisco and multiplying it by 7.  So it is not a very big country.

Everybody in Sierra Leone speaks a language called Krio, which sometimes sounds like English but most of the time does not.  When I meet someone I will say "Aw yu du?" which means "How are you?"  But there are a lot of other languages people speak here.  It depends on where they were born and raised.  We are living in a town called Lunsar and the people here talk Temne.  When I meet someone who speaks Temne I say "Topeh moi?" which means "How are you?".  Or I say "Endiray" which means "good morning."  The languages sound a bit funny at first until you hear them a bunch.  Then they start to sound like music and are beautiful.  Jasmin, you already know one word in Temne- "Momo," which is the name of your friend in Portland, Oregon.  It means "thank you" in Temne.  Isn't that cool? I bet Momo doesn't even know that!!!

The people here are so nice.  They teach me a bunch of things every day about their way of life.  I have made a lot of friends.  Sometimes you don't even need to speak the same language to talk!!  The children here have not been able to go to school for almost 9 months now.  That would be like all of you missing an entire year of school!  Sounds fun at first, but the kids really want to go back to school.  They listen to a teacher on the radio when they can so they don't forget how to spell or do math.  All of the schools were shut down because of a really bad virus that can make people sick.  You can get the virus, called Ebola, even by just touching someone who is sick.  Can you imagine not being able to touch anyone for almost a year????

Me and a nurse called Mbalu

Two boys in front of their house

Me and another doctor with a nurse and her family

Every market here is a farmer's market

People here eat a lot of rice and fish.  They also make chicken, yams, corn, plantains, egg sandwiches, and lots of other stuff like stews and greens (kind of like spinach).  They drink juice and soda but mostly water.  Most of the food is cooked outside on a fire.  Like how we do when we go camping.  People make their own houses in the village out of mud bricks and cut down trees.  They are really good at it.  It is always hot here so they don't need a heater.  They like to sing and dance and have parties just like we do.  People everywhere want love and happiness.  We may have different stuff or talk different languages but we are all pretty much the same.  You would like the kids here.  They are creative and make up a lot of games and run a lot.  They make a lot of their own toys out of sticks and recycled stuff like cans.

There are a lot of animals here.  I see dogs and cats just about every day. There are goats, sheep, and chickens but not a lot of cows.  I haven't seen any horses.  They have chimpanzees and gorillas too but this virus has been getting them sick.  We hope that this virus is finished soon because it has been a terrible thing for the country of Sierra Leone and other countries in Africa.  Your daddy takes care of people sick with the virus.  I have to wear a special suit that looks like a space suit so the virus can't get me.  I am really safe here.  But it is important to come to places like this to help people.  It is like helping friends or brothers or sisters who are sick or sad.  We live in one world and everyone is our sister or our brother.  The more we help one another, the better the world will be.

Taking off the suit we wear

My laundry drying where I stay

Shakira

I think you are old enough now to come with me next time to Africa Jasmin.  Anyone else in your class ready to travel to Africa????  Awa-woo! (Good Bye in Temne)

The Beach

Palm Tree Sunset