Classes and Cats

Today was the real first day of class. Kind of exciting! I wore my pear dress and Krista wore one of her lapa suits. We looked fine-o trekking in under the blazing sun.

I didn’t teach until second period and Krista didn’t teach at all today so we waited small in the library then she came and observed my 11B class. I did almost the exact same thing with all my classes and they were all great, really smart and well behaved. These are the cream of the crop, though. The bad kids will show up in a few weeks.

After school Krista brought me PB and J and she and our friend Romeo were waiting for me outside. “Guess what, RB!” She yelled. “Romeo brought us tangerines and found us a cat!” What?! Freaking amazing. If you want a cat in Liberia you have to trade a chicken… and we don’t have any chickens. I’ve tried to buy cats from people since we got here without success. Romeo literally just bumped into us on the road one day, but he’s been an awesome friend. Too bad he goes back to Gbarnga in a few days for school…

We walked way across town to his cousin’s house, caught it, and put it in a rice sack. “Good thing she is so weak and hungry,” Romeo said with a smile, “or she’d bust right out of here!” We named her Quipolo, the Mono word for “white people,” and she’s awesome. Extremely tiny. Extremely thin, but the most friendly cat we’ve seen in Liberia. She’s been following us around the house meowing and purring all night. I fed her spaghetti and tomato for dinner (all we had) and to my surprise she ate it all right up. It was so Lady and the Tramp watching her slurp it by candle light.

I feel at home here. In Liberia less than six months, I already can’t imagine going back to America. That’s the part that scares me. That’s also the part that sends an anasa kata back to the brave girl who got on a plane in June and said, “Well, we’ll see.” I would risk it all again one-hundred fold to have this experience again. I feel like the luckiest girl in all Peace Corps.

Really.

“Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.” Ralph Waldo Emerson