Kids Toys and Games

After spending the past 3 months with my host family, I've learned a lot when it comes to what life is like here. There have been many sources of culture shock when it comes to being in Liberia and one that has stood out to me is how the kids play and what they play with.

My host brother's awesome house!

Usually, I keep some trash in my room in a small bag where I maybe have scraps of paper, dirty Kleenex tissues, candy wrappers or soda cans. You might be thinking, “Wait John, why did you just start talking about garbage?” Well, that's because the afternoon after I threw my garbage on to the dirt pile, I saw my host brothers playing with a bunch of the things that I had thrown away. It mostly included metal or plastic objects that they could make use of in some fashion (ie. an Altoids container, broken watch, broken pen and soda can).

My other brother's house!

I immediately felt concerned because my brothers were digging around in a pile of trash, looking through my things that I considered garbage. Not only was I concerned about the fact that it's dirty, but it also felt like a piece of my own privacy was (unintentionally of course) violated. It was a strange actually experiencing someone using your trash as a treasure for the things I didn't even think twice about throwing out.

Even though seeing this gave me a bit of a sick stomach, eventually I was smiling as my host brothers were exploring and enjoying how they could make the objects they found into a fun toy or game. I promptly found my screwdriver for my brother to explore and attempt to fix the inside of my watch, while my other brother was putting holes in the Altoids container that I threw out to put a piece of fabric in it to pull it like a toy car.

Running around excited to show me a newly created toy
(also a sad note... Peace, our dog, was accidentally left outside at night and may have run away/got stolen)

Then, another thought crossed my mind that made me more sick to my stomach and made my smile go away. I thought about the gifts that I received as a child, how much I expected certain things in my life, and the consumerism that surrounds so much of the culture we have in the states. It's happened so many times here where the privilege I have as not only a white male, but also an American has slapped me in the face and said, “Wake up John!”

Recognizing privilege has done this many times to me whether that was in college classes discussing race, class, gender or when I look at the intersectionality of my own identities. When it comes to recognizing our own privilege though, it’s easy to feel guilty. It’s easy to think, “Why was I born into the place that I am, and not here.” But, I don’t think the feelings of guilt are always productive. It's more important to think and say, “Okay, here’s the reality of things. I can’t change where I was born, I can’t change my race, I can’t change the characteristics that make me, well… me. But, I can recognize my own privilege, and act in a way that can provide greater opportunities to others to strive for equity in our world.” On top of that, after the terrible tragedies that happened this past week in Charlottesville, VA this is especially important to be aware of.

Pretending the baloon is a paw paw (papaya)

Anyways, that's all my reflections for now. I had a chance to play the board game "Trouble" with my family. They have a really similar game called Lulu that's a bunch of fun too! We also have played some checkers, chess, hopscotch, and various card games.

Also, one last update. Swearing in ceremony is tomorrow and President Sirleaf (people here call her Ma Ellen sometimes) will be there. After swearing in, I'll be an official Peace Corps Volunteer and am moving to my new home in Grand Kru county this weekend. I'm looking forward to sharing about the transition into a new community with you all in a couple weeks!