On the second week of January, three students from the University of Illinois started their journey for a semester at Njala University in Sierra Leone. Cortney, Nicki and Annie joined the on going winter break course in country.

Tuesday January 14, 2014

Tuesday we walked to a nearby village to see how they tap “poyo” or “palm wine” from palm trees. A steak is tapped into the tree, and as the tree drips, they are collected. It’s a sweet/bitter/sour tasting drink. This is a picture of the poyo man giving Lisa and the rest of us a taste.

Wed- Thurs January 15-16, 2014

The group then drove to the beach to spend a couple days there before the sent the winter study group left for the airport on Friday. The beach was gorgeous, they enjoyed fresh seafood and a boat ride to a waterfall.

Wed January 16, 2014

On the way to Freetown, they stopped at the Cultural Village to see the National Dance Troupe. They put on a wonderful show full of tribal dance, devils, and acrobatics. At the end they pulled everyone up to dance with them! Everyone really enoyed the whole performance.