I can't compare Mali and Guinea, because I haven't been to Malian PC sites, and I'm willing to bet the experience is much the same: no running water or electricity, poor education system, many cultural challenges. But I can compare Conakry to Bamako, because they are both capitals. Equivalent, right?
Nope.
I tried to get money from my credit union out of four different VISA ATMs here, all on the main street by our hostel. There is one ATM in all of Conakry, apparently, and I have never seen it.
An apple here costs 50 cents. An apple in Conakry costs 50 cents too. However, there are RED apples here!
Bamako has sooo many more tourists. Conakry's foreigners are almost always working in Guinea.
We've eaten wood-fired pizza, cheeseburgers, indian food, texmex, and salads, and haven't gotten sick (true for all but one of our group). Oh and about 40 dollars worth of cheese between all of us. Conakry has pizza, cheeseburgers, and always the risk of getting sick.
I can drink tap water here!!!!! Conakry---no.
Bamako has traffic regulation. During rush hour, one bridge into the city is uni-directional. The traffic in Conakry is terrible. Always.
Bamako has Bambara. Conakry has Susu. Thus, I can speak more easily to regular people in Conakry.
Bamako has been quite the vacation, but it is EXPENSIVE to eat all these goodies. Guinean food is nearly always less expensive.
That's all for today!
Friday, December 30, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
"If you disdain black people, why are you here?"
This is the question we got asked in the hostel last night. I came into the conversation about five minutes before this outburst, so it's entirely possible that I missed something truly racist that my fellow volunteers said, but I would be shocked if that were true. None of us is racist. However, I can see that at times, our complaints about Guinean culture, or the drawbacks of our students, or the challenges we live with, could seem to say that we think we're superior to the people that we're here to help. And if you look at our educational backgrounds, our ability to function in a global world, our understanding of politics, economics, and religious diversity, we have experiences that have led to these characteristics that set us apart from our communities. Being white also sets me apart, but not in any meaningful way. It's just annoying to be so noticeable and often so pampered (they will give us good seats, or help us get through the bank line early, and honestly, I accept it because I need all the help I can get trying to stay safe in cars or deal with this foreign system). But are we better than Guineans? No. Americans aren't nearly as hospitable as Guineans, they don't value their family connections in the same way, and they find things to laugh or smile about in the midst of situations that are incredibly tough for me. I am not Guinean, no matter how often I wear a pagne, how perfect my Susu is, or if I master the art of cooking rice and sauce. I will always be different, but at least I'm trying to get to know the culture, I'm trying to change the parts of their culture holding them back (educational system!), and I'm adopting them as family. Anyone who thinks that our group of volunteers is racist just doesn't understand what we live with, and how venting with other volunteers/westerners is a form of coping with the new and foreign environment we deal with.
Anyway, I'm off to enjoy the museums, parks, and restaurants of this awesome-seeming city. We'll see!
Anyway, I'm off to enjoy the museums, parks, and restaurants of this awesome-seeming city. We'll see!
Monday, December 26, 2011
Not in Guinea
It's Christmas break for the Guinean kids, and that means....vacation! Christmas in Kankan and New Years in Bamako. Updates to come!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
A Day in the Life of Mme. Mariama Fofana
Who is Mariama Fofana? Well, she's married and of an unknown age, probably 25-28, but otherwise, she's me. I have told my community that I'm married because it just makes social interactions easier and makes me more "normal" in their eyes.
On days when I teach at 8:00 am, I wake up at 6:20, and try to convince myself to go for a run. At that point there's enough sun and enough people about that it's safe. Usually, I go back to sleep for twenty minutes before I get up, bucket shower, cook oatmeal and coffee, take my malaria prophylaxis, strap on my chacos, and head to class.
My school days have varied between one class of English or Physics to three classes of english to 2 physics one english to...who knows. Anyway, we raise the Guinean flag and sing the anthem, which I know about half of, and then head to class for two hours. At 10, there's a 15 minute break that lasts 30 minutes during which everyone eats breakfast-akeke or bean sandwiches and bissap and bananas, etc. Then we go from 10:30 to 12, then 12 to 2.
Once I get home, I fix lunch and chill out. I finally motivate myself to do lesson plans for the next day, sweep or wash my floor, get water from the well, and wait for 5 oclock, when I give English lessons in my courtyard. It's fun, a small class of older guys who REALLY want to learn English. When it's too dark to see the board, they head home and I start cooking dinner to the light of my headlamp. Once I wash the dishes in my bucket, I crawl under my mosquito net, turn on the BBC or my ipod, and chill out. I usually call Liz or another volunteer just to see how things are going. By 8 or 9, I'm usually asleep.
Tada, the day of a volunteer.
On days when I teach at 8:00 am, I wake up at 6:20, and try to convince myself to go for a run. At that point there's enough sun and enough people about that it's safe. Usually, I go back to sleep for twenty minutes before I get up, bucket shower, cook oatmeal and coffee, take my malaria prophylaxis, strap on my chacos, and head to class.
My school days have varied between one class of English or Physics to three classes of english to 2 physics one english to...who knows. Anyway, we raise the Guinean flag and sing the anthem, which I know about half of, and then head to class for two hours. At 10, there's a 15 minute break that lasts 30 minutes during which everyone eats breakfast-akeke or bean sandwiches and bissap and bananas, etc. Then we go from 10:30 to 12, then 12 to 2.
Once I get home, I fix lunch and chill out. I finally motivate myself to do lesson plans for the next day, sweep or wash my floor, get water from the well, and wait for 5 oclock, when I give English lessons in my courtyard. It's fun, a small class of older guys who REALLY want to learn English. When it's too dark to see the board, they head home and I start cooking dinner to the light of my headlamp. Once I wash the dishes in my bucket, I crawl under my mosquito net, turn on the BBC or my ipod, and chill out. I usually call Liz or another volunteer just to see how things are going. By 8 or 9, I'm usually asleep.
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| Courtyard English! |
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Stories: The Week from Hell (and then redemption)
On the 3rd of November, my students came to school threatening to go on strike. Why? Too hard of tests? Poor performance by teachers? Low quality cafeteria food? Not a good enough football team? Ha. No. They wanted to go on strike because their teachers hadn't shown up since the beginning of school, one month before. During the month of October, approximately 5 teachers showed up consistently, including me. Out of 19. (It seems to have gotten better in the last week or so, but teacher's are incredibly inconsistent.) I'd want to stop coming to school if I had to get here at 7:45 every day and then wait 2 hours to see if my first teacher would come at all, too.
On the 4th, I had stomach cramps and a headache. Actually, I think I may have had those every day in this week I'm talking about.
On the 5th, nothing terrible happened. Woo. Well, I bought a phone. And as we'll see, that was a mistake.
On the 6th, I broke my Kindle. In the middle of Battlefield Earth, I left it on a chair arm with the case open, stood up, and it hit the ground, cracking the screen inside. It's irredeemable. Luckily my parents are incredible and sent me a new one, so I won't go crazy without books. Nonetheless, the loss of my Kindle was rough. Reading is my one escape here, my one feeling of familiarity, and it's been my favorite activity since age...4?5?
On the 7th, my phone and its "new" Nokia battery turned out to be a total ripoff, so I had to take host brothers to sort it out. Independence=not possible. While at the phone place, I got stung on the elbow and palm by bees. Ouch. When I came back, I got a killer headache, so I popped out to get some bread and bananas while my ibuprofen/large amounts of water kicked in. Coming back, I tried to step over the cement water runoff ditch and couldn't get a wide enough stride with the wrap skirt I had on. I went down hard, crushing my bananas, dirtying my bread, and bruising myself. More than pain, I felt anger. Why did I have to wear this restrictive skirt? Why was my head hurting so badly? Why couldn't I just buy a phone and trust that it would work and the people selling it didn't cheat me out of a real battery? Why did this country hate me so much? I straight up bawled. Loudly. Usually I cry quietly, but the damn (sic) walls broke and I just let it all out. Which led to my host mother and sister asking me to stop, telling me nothing was wrong, and threatening to cry too if I didn't stop. I'm aware falling in a ditch is funny, I know the incidents were all small, but I was past the point of no return on crying, and I just wanted someone to pat my back and say "Let it all out, it's hard here, we know you're not used to this." But it was nice that they tried to help anyway. It was just a bad day.
On the 9th, my luck changed. Stacey brought me Battlefield Earth from Conakry, and we got permission to go to Conakry for Thanksgiving. It was what I needed to cheer myself up and turn around my attitude.
On the 10th, I was homesick for regular things. Restaurants with everything on the menu in the kitchen. Neighborhoods with addresses. Parks. Public transportation. Water fountains, or running water at all. Nbd, just a small backstep.
On the 11th, I had an 11/11/11 in Fria, had a nice day, and then lost my new, expensive cell phone. Due to the date, it didn't get me down as much as the Kindle, but geez, what a week.
On the 4th, I had stomach cramps and a headache. Actually, I think I may have had those every day in this week I'm talking about.
On the 5th, nothing terrible happened. Woo. Well, I bought a phone. And as we'll see, that was a mistake.
On the 6th, I broke my Kindle. In the middle of Battlefield Earth, I left it on a chair arm with the case open, stood up, and it hit the ground, cracking the screen inside. It's irredeemable. Luckily my parents are incredible and sent me a new one, so I won't go crazy without books. Nonetheless, the loss of my Kindle was rough. Reading is my one escape here, my one feeling of familiarity, and it's been my favorite activity since age...4?5?
On the 7th, my phone and its "new" Nokia battery turned out to be a total ripoff, so I had to take host brothers to sort it out. Independence=not possible. While at the phone place, I got stung on the elbow and palm by bees. Ouch. When I came back, I got a killer headache, so I popped out to get some bread and bananas while my ibuprofen/large amounts of water kicked in. Coming back, I tried to step over the cement water runoff ditch and couldn't get a wide enough stride with the wrap skirt I had on. I went down hard, crushing my bananas, dirtying my bread, and bruising myself. More than pain, I felt anger. Why did I have to wear this restrictive skirt? Why was my head hurting so badly? Why couldn't I just buy a phone and trust that it would work and the people selling it didn't cheat me out of a real battery? Why did this country hate me so much? I straight up bawled. Loudly. Usually I cry quietly, but the damn (sic) walls broke and I just let it all out. Which led to my host mother and sister asking me to stop, telling me nothing was wrong, and threatening to cry too if I didn't stop. I'm aware falling in a ditch is funny, I know the incidents were all small, but I was past the point of no return on crying, and I just wanted someone to pat my back and say "Let it all out, it's hard here, we know you're not used to this." But it was nice that they tried to help anyway. It was just a bad day.
On the 9th, my luck changed. Stacey brought me Battlefield Earth from Conakry, and we got permission to go to Conakry for Thanksgiving. It was what I needed to cheer myself up and turn around my attitude.
On the 10th, I was homesick for regular things. Restaurants with everything on the menu in the kitchen. Neighborhoods with addresses. Parks. Public transportation. Water fountains, or running water at all. Nbd, just a small backstep.
On the 11th, I had an 11/11/11 in Fria, had a nice day, and then lost my new, expensive cell phone. Due to the date, it didn't get me down as much as the Kindle, but geez, what a week.
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| the broken kindle. my broken heart |
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| a beautiful sky on 11/11/11 |
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Characters: The Neighbor Teacher Lady
Madame, as she's generally called, is incredible. I have no idea what her age is, but she's feisty and intelligent and a superwoman. She teaches at a Franco-Arabe private school, where her husband also works. They have an 18 month old girl who's my favorite kid on the compound. Of course, the little girl used to be so afraid of me she'd cry every time she saw me. Now she knows that I'm a Tanti and thus not totally terrifying. Madame also has a nine year old from a previous marriage. Her parents were a doctor and a nurse, and she really wanted to go to college, but she just didn't pass the concours, so she went to a teaching school instead, where she met her current husband. Her ex-husband, she tells me, was a jealous, controlling man, who most importantly, didn't love her. This is a pretty incredible idea considering that love in marriage is definitely not the main consideration for most people here. She left him because he didn't treat her right, and now she's married to a man that she didn't love at first, but who clearly respects and loves her, and who she now loves back. It's really refreshing to watch them sitting on their porch in the evenings, passing the baby back and forth and talking about their days.
When I first arrived at the compound, she handed me a nice local broom and said "On est ensemble ici" which translates to "We're in this together". She's made me meals, she's given me advice, she's braided my hair, she's sat and laughed at my stories, and when I cried so hard that my family couldn't help but hear, she came in my house, hugged me, and told me to stop crying or she'd cry too. She's essentially my sister here, and I respect her so much. She's not a part of the family in the compound, so she's a stranger too, and sometimes they aren't so welcoming. Because I moved in, her family had to move into a larger apartment, and due to the cost, they have to board with other women as well, who are noisy and crass, she tells me. So she made sacrifices for me before she even knew me. She told me it was because she heard I was a teacher and she knew that I would be a good neighbor. She's one of the most beautiful Guineans I've ever met in the way that she treats people, in the way she laughs, and in the way she has welcomed me to my new home.
When I first arrived at the compound, she handed me a nice local broom and said "On est ensemble ici" which translates to "We're in this together". She's made me meals, she's given me advice, she's braided my hair, she's sat and laughed at my stories, and when I cried so hard that my family couldn't help but hear, she came in my house, hugged me, and told me to stop crying or she'd cry too. She's essentially my sister here, and I respect her so much. She's not a part of the family in the compound, so she's a stranger too, and sometimes they aren't so welcoming. Because I moved in, her family had to move into a larger apartment, and due to the cost, they have to board with other women as well, who are noisy and crass, she tells me. So she made sacrifices for me before she even knew me. She told me it was because she heard I was a teacher and she knew that I would be a good neighbor. She's one of the most beautiful Guineans I've ever met in the way that she treats people, in the way she laughs, and in the way she has welcomed me to my new home.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Thanksgiving in Guinea!
Well, I'm in Conakry for Thanksgiving, which is really nice, because our regional capital is just not equipped to cook any sort of real meal. No cooking supplies at the house, no oven, and definitely a much smaller selection of food. We are managing to have almost all the traditional dishes, except sweet potatoes (they're different here) and cranberry sauce. Cranberries are unheard of here. We even managed to get a turkey, thanks to a lovely lady with embassy connections who happened to buy extra. I'm in charge of stuffing, but we're going to have apple and pumpkin pie, green bean casserole, deviled eggs, mashed potatoes, carrot cake, brownies, mac and cheese...I think that's most of it!
I've been doing much better at site recently, after a sort of really terrible week that seemed to mark a turning point. School is going slow and is still stressful, even with much reduced hours, because I am behind on the program and I have to give evaluations and the kids still aren't getting what I'm telling them. I think my French is too fast, which is a problem, but I've been trying to slow down and simplify and make things interesting. My community life has gotten better, with many less fotes and many more Mari Fofanas. Taxi drivers and gendarmes can still be a pain in the butt, but its so much better. My susu is also improving, though I haven't had any official lessons!
I'm going to try to set up a bunch of blog posts to post at week intervals so that you'll have something to read while I'm not in internet access.
I've been doing much better at site recently, after a sort of really terrible week that seemed to mark a turning point. School is going slow and is still stressful, even with much reduced hours, because I am behind on the program and I have to give evaluations and the kids still aren't getting what I'm telling them. I think my French is too fast, which is a problem, but I've been trying to slow down and simplify and make things interesting. My community life has gotten better, with many less fotes and many more Mari Fofanas. Taxi drivers and gendarmes can still be a pain in the butt, but its so much better. My susu is also improving, though I haven't had any official lessons!
I'm going to try to set up a bunch of blog posts to post at week intervals so that you'll have something to read while I'm not in internet access.
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| The view from my front porch |
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
3 mins left internet
Things are going well at site. Teaching physics and english and my load might have just gotten cut down. Had a pretty good 11/11 but i wish i coulda hung out with my hs friends and had a party in the states. looking forwards to conakry for turkey day next week, gotta go.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Installed
Hello all! Long time, no see. Figuratively, of course. I'm in a city called Kamsar for the day, making use of the internet cafe here. I don't have a whole lot of time to write about everything I wish I could, but I'll try to make a start.
My site is good, with a great market (by guinean standards), iced drinks available, lots of people, and easy transportation. It's too big to get to know everyone, so I get called Fote a lot. And stared at a lot. In fact, I often feel like an animal in a zoo, or an alien. When small children yell and run from me, it definitely feels like I'm an alien. It doesn't help that I've read about eight science fiction books since getting here. It's easy to relate to.
I will be teaching 6 hours of physics and 10 of english, instead of the 11 hours of physics that I expected. That's what happens when you have small classes in 11th grade, as few people passed the qualifying test for high school. In addition, none of the English teachers has shown up yet, so I'm the only english teacher at the moment, though I'm only scheduled to teach the oldest kids, I'll be occasionally giving lessons to the younger kids. It's kinda stressful, actually, and I really need to get a routine down, although that's been impossible as the schedule isn't figured out.
I'm still pretty homesick at times, though I've gotten used to not having water or power. Not having internet, as the rest of the volunteers do in the other regions, was really weighing on me. I'm glad we found a way to get internet. it's been really great seeing other volunteers and comparing experiences. A couple of us met up in another big town a few weeks ago and found an awesome restaurant, so we'll probably make that a tradition when we need to get supplies/go to the bank.
My one crazy story is that I had a mouse get inside my mosquito net, and then I inadvertently trapped it there, so I woke up twice in the middle of the night and it kept coming closer to my head each time i woke up. At first I thought I dreamt it, but finally I was so freaked out that I just left the bed to it and sat in my living room til morning prayer, and then I put my hammock up outside and slept there. Now I can put my hammock up inside too! Which is somewhat cooler than sleeping in the bed.
I get irritated really easily. As my mom says, I have to learn patience. It's a hard lesson.
I miss everybody! I can be contacted (dubiously) by letter, phone call, text message, or email. Phone calls and emails can be done pretty cheaply through Skype, and you can get my phone number through my parents, if you want! Post any questions you want answered next month in the comments and I'll try to read them!
My site is good, with a great market (by guinean standards), iced drinks available, lots of people, and easy transportation. It's too big to get to know everyone, so I get called Fote a lot. And stared at a lot. In fact, I often feel like an animal in a zoo, or an alien. When small children yell and run from me, it definitely feels like I'm an alien. It doesn't help that I've read about eight science fiction books since getting here. It's easy to relate to.
I will be teaching 6 hours of physics and 10 of english, instead of the 11 hours of physics that I expected. That's what happens when you have small classes in 11th grade, as few people passed the qualifying test for high school. In addition, none of the English teachers has shown up yet, so I'm the only english teacher at the moment, though I'm only scheduled to teach the oldest kids, I'll be occasionally giving lessons to the younger kids. It's kinda stressful, actually, and I really need to get a routine down, although that's been impossible as the schedule isn't figured out.
I'm still pretty homesick at times, though I've gotten used to not having water or power. Not having internet, as the rest of the volunteers do in the other regions, was really weighing on me. I'm glad we found a way to get internet. it's been really great seeing other volunteers and comparing experiences. A couple of us met up in another big town a few weeks ago and found an awesome restaurant, so we'll probably make that a tradition when we need to get supplies/go to the bank.
My one crazy story is that I had a mouse get inside my mosquito net, and then I inadvertently trapped it there, so I woke up twice in the middle of the night and it kept coming closer to my head each time i woke up. At first I thought I dreamt it, but finally I was so freaked out that I just left the bed to it and sat in my living room til morning prayer, and then I put my hammock up outside and slept there. Now I can put my hammock up inside too! Which is somewhat cooler than sleeping in the bed.
I get irritated really easily. As my mom says, I have to learn patience. It's a hard lesson.
I miss everybody! I can be contacted (dubiously) by letter, phone call, text message, or email. Phone calls and emails can be done pretty cheaply through Skype, and you can get my phone number through my parents, if you want! Post any questions you want answered next month in the comments and I'll try to read them!
Monday, September 26, 2011
Finally a Volunteer!
As of Friday, I am a Peace Corps Volunteer. But how? you ask, believing that I left three months ago to be a Peace Corps Volunteer. Ah, well, see, I was just a Peace Corps Trainee until Friday, when I read in Susu on national TV (you can try to find it on RTG online apparently!), the ambassador spoke to us about our role together in Guinea (of course, Peace Corps and the Embassy have sliiiightly different missions, but it was nice to hear her support), and we all dressed like a flock of birds. Everyone had the same yellow, blue, and white bird fabric made into various outfits.
Then we withdrew what seemed to be an exorbitant amount of money from the bank, and we've been buying supplies for our sites and little luxuries that only Conakry can afford. Today I bought BRIE! ohmygod.
I still don't feel fully prepared for site and I'm worried that I'm going to get there and realize I forgot to buy something essential...but I am not that far from Conakry, and Tanene has a great market anyway.
I miss you all, and I just want to warn that this will likely be the last post for a while. I'm going to try to fix my Picasa picture link, but we'll see how that goes. Most of the pics are on my facebook anyway.
Love you!
Then we withdrew what seemed to be an exorbitant amount of money from the bank, and we've been buying supplies for our sites and little luxuries that only Conakry can afford. Today I bought BRIE! ohmygod.
I still don't feel fully prepared for site and I'm worried that I'm going to get there and realize I forgot to buy something essential...but I am not that far from Conakry, and Tanene has a great market anyway.
I miss you all, and I just want to warn that this will likely be the last post for a while. I'm going to try to fix my Picasa picture link, but we'll see how that goes. Most of the pics are on my facebook anyway.
Love you!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Photos for your viewing pleasure
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Oh what a day...
Today is my last day at the training site. We had sessions this morning about policy and malaria, and we finally got all (or almost all) the answers we've been looking for.
Including the fact that my regional capital site does not have, and will not have in the foreseeable future, internet access. That was a pretty hard blow, since I was looking forward to my monthly visit mostly for internet, but also to see the other volunteers in my region, pick up some books, and pick up my money. The regional capital doesn't have a good market or any exciting foods, so now I'm just looking forward to hanging out with other volunteers and access to the library.
The redeeming idea is that nearby is a much more developed city which has cybercafes, but it sucks being in the 1 capital out of 3 that doesn't have internet yet. I have to go back to my original expectations that I had when I landed: No internet, no phone, no electricity, no running water. From that perspective, I'm living the good life at site: I have phone access, and some people have generators.
This definitely isn't the "Posh Corps" that exists in some other countries. Every time I get expectations, they get crushed. I was reminded today of a good thought : "If all else fails, lower your expectations."
The other difficult thing going on right now is that people have received their French levels, and it appears that a few PCTs won't be officially sworn in yet. They've worked hard, and they're going to stay in country, but it's gotta be incredibly tough for them right now.
In addition, we're all leaving our families. My family has been great here. They really make me feel like I'm at home, they've helped me in French and Susu, they've taught me laundry and some cooking, and they give my my space when I need it. I couldn't ask for a better host family.
The happy things going on right now are that we're about to go to Conakry (which means pizza and supermarkets and supply shopping and swimming in the pool and chillin at the beach bar) and that we're about to go to site (which means our service is about to start!)
What a mixture of emotions to start off the next 2 years. It will likely be a long time before I get to post again, so have patience!
Including the fact that my regional capital site does not have, and will not have in the foreseeable future, internet access. That was a pretty hard blow, since I was looking forward to my monthly visit mostly for internet, but also to see the other volunteers in my region, pick up some books, and pick up my money. The regional capital doesn't have a good market or any exciting foods, so now I'm just looking forward to hanging out with other volunteers and access to the library.
The redeeming idea is that nearby is a much more developed city which has cybercafes, but it sucks being in the 1 capital out of 3 that doesn't have internet yet. I have to go back to my original expectations that I had when I landed: No internet, no phone, no electricity, no running water. From that perspective, I'm living the good life at site: I have phone access, and some people have generators.
This definitely isn't the "Posh Corps" that exists in some other countries. Every time I get expectations, they get crushed. I was reminded today of a good thought : "If all else fails, lower your expectations."
The other difficult thing going on right now is that people have received their French levels, and it appears that a few PCTs won't be officially sworn in yet. They've worked hard, and they're going to stay in country, but it's gotta be incredibly tough for them right now.
In addition, we're all leaving our families. My family has been great here. They really make me feel like I'm at home, they've helped me in French and Susu, they've taught me laundry and some cooking, and they give my my space when I need it. I couldn't ask for a better host family.
The happy things going on right now are that we're about to go to Conakry (which means pizza and supermarkets and supply shopping and swimming in the pool and chillin at the beach bar) and that we're about to go to site (which means our service is about to start!)
What a mixture of emotions to start off the next 2 years. It will likely be a long time before I get to post again, so have patience!
Friday, September 16, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
September 11, 2011
Ten years ago, I learned that a group of Muslim terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center towers, the pentagon, and tried to fly into the capitol.
Today, I live with a Muslim family, I’ve participated in the celebration of Ramadan, and I live in a country that’s 85% Muslim, but that calls me Foté. Fote ostensibly means white, but it also means “bringer of good”. I think I know more about Muslims now than I did ten years ago.
Ten years ago, I mourned the loss of the people in the buildings, and the firefighters and police officers who worked at the sites.
Today, I mourn the loss of life caused by the terrorism attack, by the resulting wars, and by the lack of healthcare given to those who toiled to save lives, identify victims, and restore order.
In Dubreka today, we held a small remembrance ceremony. At 12:46 pm, (8:46 am EST), we held a minute of silence. Then we discussed where we were that day, how the world has changed, and what the continuing tragedies resulting from that day have been. Then at the corresponding times, we held a minute of silence for the second plane and the plane that hit the Pentagon. We had candles and there was rain. It was nice to talk to other Americans about what it felt like and learn what it was like to find out all across the nation.
Before our little ceremony, we went to our regular cafe to get fried egg sandwiches (no mayo + onion + tomato = nommm) and two guys on a moto tapped my shoulder and said (as far as I could tell) "On te support." It means, we support you. Then when we arrived at the cafe, the owner, M. Barry, asked us if today was an anniversary. We said yes, it's the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, and he nodded and said "Nous sommes tous humains". Other patrons sent their condolences and other signs of support and sympathy. This is the same cafe that's closed on Fridays by 1:30 pm because the owner and all his customers are at the mosque.
I felt more American than ever today, even with the cries of "Allah hu akbar" echoing through my room as I washed my hands for dinner.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Friend or Sauce?
In susu, the word for friend is booré. The word for sauce is bore, with an open o and a weird e. Apparently, the first is pronouced approximately bow-ray. And the second is buh-rehh. It all sounds the same to me, but nonetheless, we spend 15 minutes in susu class today learning which one is which.
I also talked to one of the trainers about an interesting cultural phenomenon. Yesterday one of the girls at the high school started screaming and thrashing. We could all see her being carried by her hands and feet by several people, and then she was inside a house and we couldn't see her anymore. I assumed she had been told of a death or some tragedy that made her really upset, but my trainer said that she was visited by a man that only she can see, and that after these visits, girls become hysteric and sort of go out of focus, and when the episode is over they have no idea it even happened. She said this used to happen to her, and when the "man" came to visit the student, even though it wasn't her "visitor", she still felt the effects and had to leave the school in order to go have a private episode, similar to what the student did. She says that the men, who are usually white but clearly inhuman, are usually considered to be devils or djinns. I have never heard of anything like this, and I'd really like to know the Western view of it, but my reaction right now is to accept it as a cultural structure and a reality for the community here. Thanks, Help Center, for making me able to be unjudgemental. Still, incredible, isn't it?
I also talked to one of the trainers about an interesting cultural phenomenon. Yesterday one of the girls at the high school started screaming and thrashing. We could all see her being carried by her hands and feet by several people, and then she was inside a house and we couldn't see her anymore. I assumed she had been told of a death or some tragedy that made her really upset, but my trainer said that she was visited by a man that only she can see, and that after these visits, girls become hysteric and sort of go out of focus, and when the episode is over they have no idea it even happened. She said this used to happen to her, and when the "man" came to visit the student, even though it wasn't her "visitor", she still felt the effects and had to leave the school in order to go have a private episode, similar to what the student did. She says that the men, who are usually white but clearly inhuman, are usually considered to be devils or djinns. I have never heard of anything like this, and I'd really like to know the Western view of it, but my reaction right now is to accept it as a cultural structure and a reality for the community here. Thanks, Help Center, for making me able to be unjudgemental. Still, incredible, isn't it?
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
A Few of my Favorite things
Foods:
Cookies: The freshbaked ones that taste like shortbread/pie crust
Manioc Leaf Sauce: It's the shit. It's ground up leaves with peanut butter and coconuts and spices and some fish in there too. mixed with the rice, it tastes a lot like indian food.
Bissap juice: Hibiscus? Possibly bad for the health but I do what I want
Sopsop: The best fruit in the world. Nom nom nom. Hard to find
Activities:
Yoga before school (only occasionally)
Sousou/english lessons with my family
movie nights with the americans
Drinking cafe au lair and eating egg sandwiches in a cafe
Material goods:
My headlamp
my pillows
my kindle
My blue-gray dress that matches my eyes
my chacos
Cookies: The freshbaked ones that taste like shortbread/pie crust
Manioc Leaf Sauce: It's the shit. It's ground up leaves with peanut butter and coconuts and spices and some fish in there too. mixed with the rice, it tastes a lot like indian food.
Bissap juice: Hibiscus? Possibly bad for the health but I do what I want
Sopsop: The best fruit in the world. Nom nom nom. Hard to find
Activities:
Yoga before school (only occasionally)
Sousou/english lessons with my family
movie nights with the americans
Drinking cafe au lair and eating egg sandwiches in a cafe
Material goods:
My headlamp
my pillows
my kindle
My blue-gray dress that matches my eyes
my chacos
Friday, September 2, 2011
First Week of Practice School
Well, it’s over. That’s a good thing. Well, technically it’s not over, because I still have to grade all the exams I gave, but the classes were over. Two hours a day, except today, which was 4 hours. I also had an allergic reaction to out-of-season mangoes, so I’ve been popping benadryl all day. In short, an exhausting day.
Practice school is incredibly frustrating. I don’t know the students well enough to call them by name, and we were interrupted by the fete for Ramadan, so it’s been hard to get an understanding of where their understanding of physics is. I can’t assume that they’ve learned all of the necessary math and physics behind what I’m teaching, and I’m not starting at the beginning of the year, so there’s a lot of background work to do, which basically took up all the time this week. Maybe next week I can prioritize better.
The Guinean school system really fails its students by not passing on critical thinking skills. Students have knowledge, can recite definitions, and can use a formula to find an answer if given all the right info to begin with. There's no curiosity, no questioning why, no examination of the scientific method, no emphasis on creating your own answers using previous knowledge and logic. It's incredibly frustrating to try to get them to see links between things.
Today, I gave two tests, both of which I consider to be at the level of 9th graders, but I hadn't had a chance to get to the new material, and it is summer school, after all, so review is fine. But in one of my classes, a student cheated. Clearly. So I took his paper and forced him out of the classroom. Corruption is rampant in Guinea, and it starts by allowing cheating to happen. If people benefit instead of losing by cheating, they're more likely to take the easy way out. If I can teach my students one lesson, it's that honesty and hard work are more valuable to them and their country than cheating and making money dishonestly.
The weekend should have fun parts (going to a waterfall and out dancing with the family) but I have to plan for 2 Terminale (that's 13th grade) classes, as well as correct and grade all of my 12th grade work. It's a LOT of work and I have no idea when it'll be done.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Fête du Ramadan
So, what's it like to celebrate the end of fasting with a Guinean Family? Here's a timeline:
9:00 am I wake up, much later than everyone else in the family
10:00 am Nothing's really going on, so I sneak away to the center and watch Harry Potter 6 (Alas, no 7 or 8 to be had!)
1:00 pm Lunch? I can't tell when my family's eating and I'm not that hungry, though I end up eating a bit at my friend Keila's house.
3:00 pm Everyone starts dressing up. 3, 5, and 7 year old boys in 3 piece suits are SO CUTE.
5:00 pm I start watching Blood Diamond with my family. (not a family appropriate movie, but it is reality/history in this region, so why hide it from kids? There is a scene in a Guinean school in the movie, in case you've seen it. It's accurate.
6:00 pm I eat dinner. YUM squash and beef and manioc and rice. Twas delish
7:00pm Soda time! I bought my entire family individual sodas for the feast. That means 24 sodas, which was basically my entire weekly salary, but I don't spend it all anyway, so I had enough to do that. They were gone ASAP
8:00 pm Discussion with my oldest host brother about his mechanical engineering projects and the stars here vs the stars in the US. Pretty interesting stuff.
9:00 pm time to walk around/dance/see everyone else all dressed up!
10:00pm back to the house for a photoshoot. Everyone wanted their individual full length and bust photos. It was hilarious!
12:00am Sleep after taking out my incredibly itchy braids between 1030 and 12. SO TIRED!
Tada, ramadan!
9:00 am I wake up, much later than everyone else in the family
10:00 am Nothing's really going on, so I sneak away to the center and watch Harry Potter 6 (Alas, no 7 or 8 to be had!)
1:00 pm Lunch? I can't tell when my family's eating and I'm not that hungry, though I end up eating a bit at my friend Keila's house.
3:00 pm Everyone starts dressing up. 3, 5, and 7 year old boys in 3 piece suits are SO CUTE.
5:00 pm I start watching Blood Diamond with my family. (not a family appropriate movie, but it is reality/history in this region, so why hide it from kids? There is a scene in a Guinean school in the movie, in case you've seen it. It's accurate.
6:00 pm I eat dinner. YUM squash and beef and manioc and rice. Twas delish
7:00pm Soda time! I bought my entire family individual sodas for the feast. That means 24 sodas, which was basically my entire weekly salary, but I don't spend it all anyway, so I had enough to do that. They were gone ASAP
8:00 pm Discussion with my oldest host brother about his mechanical engineering projects and the stars here vs the stars in the US. Pretty interesting stuff.
9:00 pm time to walk around/dance/see everyone else all dressed up!
10:00pm back to the house for a photoshoot. Everyone wanted their individual full length and bust photos. It was hilarious!
12:00am Sleep after taking out my incredibly itchy braids between 1030 and 12. SO TIRED!
Tada, ramadan!
Friday, August 26, 2011
A Good Day
Today was a good day. I'm sure there will be lots of not so great days, so I'll give you the breakdown of a good day. But first, a quick note on susu.
Tears = yaye = eye water
Boogers = noegbe = nose shit
Eggs = toxale =chicken testicles
I love this language. It's fun to learn! Alright, on to the anatomy of a Good day.
Woke up at 7 and I was cold enough that I broke out my sleeping bag to warm up. It was cozy. I studied my lesson plan before getting up, pulling water from the well, and showering. The water directly from the well is warmer than most water, so I had a nice shower and then got dressed in a fun skirt that has pockets! and then I headed to class after eating my bread and cheese for breakfast. I had language, where we learned about useful questions and answers. Finally, it was time for Microteach 2, which meant that I was teaching Kinematics to 12th graders--my second time in front of Guinean students. This time, I learned from my mistakes on Tuesday and I was much more organized and went at a slower pace in my review, so I never made it to the new material, but it was a much better lesson than the first one. We had a fun opening exercise and we made it through a solid review. Then we had more language lessons on the days of the week, and a really laid back time for asking questions and talking about the Muslim religion with our instructor, a 20-something female. Now I'm using the internet, I'll have dinner with my family, and then we're going to do a Harry Potter marathon tonight. (send the last one! hint hint!)
Tears = yaye = eye water
Boogers = noegbe = nose shit
Eggs = toxale =chicken testicles
I love this language. It's fun to learn! Alright, on to the anatomy of a Good day.
Woke up at 7 and I was cold enough that I broke out my sleeping bag to warm up. It was cozy. I studied my lesson plan before getting up, pulling water from the well, and showering. The water directly from the well is warmer than most water, so I had a nice shower and then got dressed in a fun skirt that has pockets! and then I headed to class after eating my bread and cheese for breakfast. I had language, where we learned about useful questions and answers. Finally, it was time for Microteach 2, which meant that I was teaching Kinematics to 12th graders--my second time in front of Guinean students. This time, I learned from my mistakes on Tuesday and I was much more organized and went at a slower pace in my review, so I never made it to the new material, but it was a much better lesson than the first one. We had a fun opening exercise and we made it through a solid review. Then we had more language lessons on the days of the week, and a really laid back time for asking questions and talking about the Muslim religion with our instructor, a 20-something female. Now I'm using the internet, I'll have dinner with my family, and then we're going to do a Harry Potter marathon tonight. (send the last one! hint hint!)
Monday, August 22, 2011
Some photos; not the most recent ones though
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| View upon arrival to Conakry! |
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| My bed, pre-sheets and mosquito net |
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| The view from the training center. That 2 story house belongs to my host family, but isn't lived in. |
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| Boats at the port |
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| My baller new clothes |
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| Waterfall fun the second week! |
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| The remains of hummus and spaghetti from the waterfall. Aka SO TASTY |
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| A monkey kept by a different hotel (not my pic) |
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| Some other volunteers at our unsuccessful waterfall outing |
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Back from site visit!
Well, I got to meet the principal of my high school, Mr. Keita. My site is a major intersection in Dubreka prefecture in the Basse Cote. Being a major intersection, it has a huge market, and a well-stocked gas station! There were olives! and wine! And even ice! Grocery shopping should be great, at least on Saturdays.
My living situation is....fine, but disappointing. All the Peace Corps staff told me before I left that I had a really awesome house and to not let other people see it because they'd be jealous, but when I got there, my principal seems to have made a decision to protect me as much as humanly possible instead of giving me a secure but independent situation. I'm in a courtyard, where he lives with his wife and son, and I'm inside the house of his sister in law or step-sister. I have to walk through their living room to get to my room, and when I arrived, the entire family lived in that room (there's a king size bed) and they were in the process of moving out while I sat there. Talk about uncomfortable.
Then we met a whole bunch of important people in the town and saw the well-cared-for high school and walked around the paved roads and checked out a bakery. I also took a lot of naps, read a 900 page book, and wrote 11 pages in my journal. I had a lot of highs and lows and please-God-let-the-time-pass-soon. My host family is excellent cooks, and we played some fun card games, but I was feeling some new shock, so I wasn't the best guest, most likely. I also felt pretty sick for part of my stay, so that didn't help.
Then we went to Boké, which was a bit of a let-down, but really relaxing. There's a pretty nice libary in the house there, and hopefully when we return, there will be wifi and running water. Woo!
I wrote at least 11 pages worth of things to say, but they're about to shut off the internet. Oh well. C'est la vie.
I'll try to post pics soon.
My living situation is....fine, but disappointing. All the Peace Corps staff told me before I left that I had a really awesome house and to not let other people see it because they'd be jealous, but when I got there, my principal seems to have made a decision to protect me as much as humanly possible instead of giving me a secure but independent situation. I'm in a courtyard, where he lives with his wife and son, and I'm inside the house of his sister in law or step-sister. I have to walk through their living room to get to my room, and when I arrived, the entire family lived in that room (there's a king size bed) and they were in the process of moving out while I sat there. Talk about uncomfortable.
Then we met a whole bunch of important people in the town and saw the well-cared-for high school and walked around the paved roads and checked out a bakery. I also took a lot of naps, read a 900 page book, and wrote 11 pages in my journal. I had a lot of highs and lows and please-God-let-the-time-pass-soon. My host family is excellent cooks, and we played some fun card games, but I was feeling some new shock, so I wasn't the best guest, most likely. I also felt pretty sick for part of my stay, so that didn't help.
Then we went to Boké, which was a bit of a let-down, but really relaxing. There's a pretty nice libary in the house there, and hopefully when we return, there will be wifi and running water. Woo!
I wrote at least 11 pages worth of things to say, but they're about to shut off the internet. Oh well. C'est la vie.
I'll try to post pics soon.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Making a new normal
The title of this post has been basically my mantra for the past month. We've officially been here for a month now! Yay!
Anyway, here are a couple ways that I can now tell that Guinean life is becoming my new normal:
Sorry no pics today, I got online too late.
Anyway, here are a couple ways that I can now tell that Guinean life is becoming my new normal:
- I no longer think it's strange to eat cookies wrapped in old school work touched by people's hands and flies in the open market. The cookies are good. Like sweet pie crust.
- When men hold hands, I know they're not gay.
- I can hold an entire 5 minute conversation just greeting someone. More importantly, I expect to do that with every household I walk past.
- I respond to Foté more than to Mary.
- I have a z-tan on my feet (yay chacos!)
- I have become more used to seeing topless women everywhere. It's not sexy, mostly they're saggy.
- I have a tailor. I can haggle with her. (Not very well)
- The lady who sells me bean sandwiches knows my name. Though she can never remember not to put oil on it! (then i add avocado and laughing cow cheese and buy some cookies =best lunch ever. Cost? 4500 guinean franks. i.e. a little more than 50 cents)
- I've mostly stopped calculating American money equivalencies. I get 8000 a day for lunch, which makes me pretty wealthy. Sometimes I just buy whatever I want.
- I forget what it feels like to take a hot, running shower. (but we're gonna get running water later this week when we travel!)
- Riding in a taxi with 6 other people seems normal.
- Africa smells familiar now.
Sorry no pics today, I got online too late.
Friday, August 5, 2011
A Day in the Life of Mary
5:00 am : My family wakes up and eats pre-dawn breakfast (only during ramadan)
6:00 : my first alarm goes off to make me go work out. I usually ignore it.
7:00 : my second alarm goes off. Or I wake up because I have to pee really bad. I'm just bein real here folks. Just be glad my bowels are back to normal. Anyway, I usually eat breakfast around 7:40. It's always bread. With peanut butter, cheese, egg, or salad. And super sweet hot milk tea that they call coffee. I prefer cheese and bread. Otherwise I'm too full
8:00 : Classes start. 8-10, 10:30-12:30 Usually Language training and some technical training. We're finally doing local languages since we found out our sites so I've been learning Susu. We learn by "competencies" which are like subjects of conversation, not really starting with structure. It's sorta frustrating, but it's exciting to be out of French class.
12:30-2:00pm : Lunch. Either at"kilometre cinq" (the bigger market a bit outside of the training town) and then the regular market. I am usually lazy and go to the regular market. I get a bean sandwich, then add most of a small avocado and 2 packets of laughing cow cheese. It's the shit. No fish, no oil. If I could get some tomatoes and bleach them I would have an epic sandwich. I need more veggies in my life, less carbs.
2:00-3:30, 3:45-5:00 More class. Cultural training, med stuff, safety stuff. The classes we have vary by day but the schedule is the same.
5:00-6:00 Internet time! YAY. Connectin to the woooorld. I need to start listening to the news more too, I won't have this luxury in the future.
6-9 : Family time, or cafe time, or working on homework time. For example, I might go to the cafe and get a cafe au lait, then come back and eat with my family, then hang out for a bit til I start getting bit by mosquitos or the conversation dies or I'm tired or I just need me time, and then I go back to my room, brush my teeth, and crawl under my mosquito net. For dinner my family alternates the usually rice/sauce/fish product and something else, like salad or spaghetti. My dinner is almost always cold. But it's covered, so I think it's safe. I'm eating a billion germs anyway. I just try not to think about it.
9-? Reading/writing time. I ususally write in my journal and then read until I'm sleepy enough to overcome how sweaty I am. This is the main reason I am already almost out of batteries. I gotta invest in some candles, but then I can't read in bed. Hmm.
That's training. It's exhausting, challenging, frustrating, and tiresome. I think it will pay off. I'm learning a lot, and I enjoy the trainees, the trainers, and my family, but sometimes I just want to sleep all day. I've also had a sinus infection (I think?) and I had pretty bad digestive issues the first few days here, so my body likes sleeping too. Luckily, the weather's been really nice. Aka it's been raining almost every day, which guarantees that it stays cooler. When the sun's out, it's pretty brutal, so I'm not looking forwards to the dry season, aka summer.
Today was kind of a rough day for no reason, especially since I got a package, but it IS Friday, so I'm gonna listen to some music, hang out with my PCTs, and try to cheer up.
6:00 : my first alarm goes off to make me go work out. I usually ignore it.
7:00 : my second alarm goes off. Or I wake up because I have to pee really bad. I'm just bein real here folks. Just be glad my bowels are back to normal. Anyway, I usually eat breakfast around 7:40. It's always bread. With peanut butter, cheese, egg, or salad. And super sweet hot milk tea that they call coffee. I prefer cheese and bread. Otherwise I'm too full
8:00 : Classes start. 8-10, 10:30-12:30 Usually Language training and some technical training. We're finally doing local languages since we found out our sites so I've been learning Susu. We learn by "competencies" which are like subjects of conversation, not really starting with structure. It's sorta frustrating, but it's exciting to be out of French class.
12:30-2:00pm : Lunch. Either at"kilometre cinq" (the bigger market a bit outside of the training town) and then the regular market. I am usually lazy and go to the regular market. I get a bean sandwich, then add most of a small avocado and 2 packets of laughing cow cheese. It's the shit. No fish, no oil. If I could get some tomatoes and bleach them I would have an epic sandwich. I need more veggies in my life, less carbs.
2:00-3:30, 3:45-5:00 More class. Cultural training, med stuff, safety stuff. The classes we have vary by day but the schedule is the same.
5:00-6:00 Internet time! YAY. Connectin to the woooorld. I need to start listening to the news more too, I won't have this luxury in the future.
6-9 : Family time, or cafe time, or working on homework time. For example, I might go to the cafe and get a cafe au lait, then come back and eat with my family, then hang out for a bit til I start getting bit by mosquitos or the conversation dies or I'm tired or I just need me time, and then I go back to my room, brush my teeth, and crawl under my mosquito net. For dinner my family alternates the usually rice/sauce/fish product and something else, like salad or spaghetti. My dinner is almost always cold. But it's covered, so I think it's safe. I'm eating a billion germs anyway. I just try not to think about it.
9-? Reading/writing time. I ususally write in my journal and then read until I'm sleepy enough to overcome how sweaty I am. This is the main reason I am already almost out of batteries. I gotta invest in some candles, but then I can't read in bed. Hmm.
That's training. It's exhausting, challenging, frustrating, and tiresome. I think it will pay off. I'm learning a lot, and I enjoy the trainees, the trainers, and my family, but sometimes I just want to sleep all day. I've also had a sinus infection (I think?) and I had pretty bad digestive issues the first few days here, so my body likes sleeping too. Luckily, the weather's been really nice. Aka it's been raining almost every day, which guarantees that it stays cooler. When the sun's out, it's pretty brutal, so I'm not looking forwards to the dry season, aka summer.
Today was kind of a rough day for no reason, especially since I got a package, but it IS Friday, so I'm gonna listen to some music, hang out with my PCTs, and try to cheer up.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Settling In
I know, I still haven't put up any photos. It's true laziness. I promise photos this week.
Tomorrow is the beginning of Ramadan! Which means that nearly everyone around us will be starving during the day and feasting during the night. My host sister says she gets fatter during Ramadan. Who knew? I can't wear some of my skirts during ramadan, and for some shirts I'll need to wear a scarf, because it's rude to the people who are abstaining from gettin it on with their wives. This seems strange to me as most of the time it's totally acceptable to go topless around here, though shorts = slutty. I guess different things are sexualized in different areas and boobs are not sexy at all here. Still not used to it.
I'm loving my host family, the Fofanas. They're helping me learn Susu and we laugh a LOT. They particularly liked when I said that mosquitos love me. Mary rafan saasi ma. Speaking of Susu, the phrases I hear most are:
Everyone finds out their sites on Wednesday, so I'll save my news til then.
Tomorrow is the beginning of Ramadan! Which means that nearly everyone around us will be starving during the day and feasting during the night. My host sister says she gets fatter during Ramadan. Who knew? I can't wear some of my skirts during ramadan, and for some shirts I'll need to wear a scarf, because it's rude to the people who are abstaining from gettin it on with their wives. This seems strange to me as most of the time it's totally acceptable to go topless around here, though shorts = slutty. I guess different things are sexualized in different areas and boobs are not sexy at all here. Still not used to it.
I'm loving my host family, the Fofanas. They're helping me learn Susu and we laugh a LOT. They particularly liked when I said that mosquitos love me. Mary rafan saasi ma. Speaking of Susu, the phrases I hear most are:
- Foté = white. It's normal for kids to address us this way as we walk down the road.
- Tana mu xi? (Response: Tana yo mu xi) = Did you sleep with no problems?
- Tana mu fenye? (Response: Tana yo mu fenye) = Is your day without problems?
- N bara luga = I can't eat any more
- Al barqua = thank you after eating
- Gbenben gbo = There is too much spice in this dish.
Everyone finds out their sites on Wednesday, so I'll save my news til then.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Mail Problems
Just found out today that I can't send mail out of Guinea through the Guinean postal service, but rather through the "People going to America" postal service. Not sure how often that will be, but I'll keep trying to respond if you send me letters, which I CAN get. (And packages!) And I should be able to get internet just about monthly, but on va voir (we'll see).
I'm speaking lots of slightly wrong french and learning Susu with my family! N wama banini donfé = I would like to eat bananas.
I'm speaking lots of slightly wrong french and learning Susu with my family! N wama banini donfé = I would like to eat bananas.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Guinean News
Last night, a group of gunmen attacked the president of Guinea's residence. He's unhurt, but the gunfight lasted like 4 hours. They say everything is back to normal, but it's disarming to have unrest this soon into our service. I reallly don't want to get our service suspended!
Monday, July 18, 2011
Week 1 Down
Well, it's starting to sink in that we're here for 2 full years, and only we've only been here for 1 week. I've had some interesting experiences in this first week:
- Bucket showers -- I need to get better at these. But cold bucket showers feel so nice :)
- Pit Latrine
- Scorpion in my room
- Sweating my butt off all the time
- LOTS of class
- relearning multiplication and division work on the board
- frozen yogurt!!
- Learning how to filter water
- Getting braids!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
In Country
Hello from Guinea!
We arrived in Conakry on the 9th of July after two LONG flights. First we flew from New York (JFK) to Brussels. I thought it was pretty appropriate that Peace Corps volunteers were flying out of JFK airport, since he founded PC. Nearly everyone had a lot of baggage, and I was glad that my suitcases are so manageable and that I can carry all of them. Or at least carry 2 and roll 1. We all chowed down on American food, bought a few last minute things (I bought another camping pillow because everyone else has full sized pillows), and boarded the plane. Lots of flights got cancelled, so we were glad that we got off the ground safely, even though there was a lot of turbulence.
~8 hours later, we arrived in Brussels and trekked across to the African terminal, where our 23-person group of pretty dang white people started realizing how much we would stick out in Africa. So it goes. Then we had nearly 9 more hours on the plane, including a stop-over in Banjul, The Gambia. We finally arrived in Conakry, and to my relief as the person in charge of keeping track of us, all 23 of us were successfully in Guinea! A couple Peace Corps staff met us and directed us through customs, and then we emerged on the other side to find two current PCVs, Brian and David, waiting for us with a huge welcome sign! People clapped and everyone seemed really happy that we're here. This trend of people telling us they're happy we're here has continued, so it's nice to know we're in a country that's excited to have us! We came back to the PC compound through some pretty interesting streets and traffic patterns, had sandwiches for dinner, and passed out after a shower. The PCV house is AWESOME. It has AC in the bedrooms, running water (though it's not potable), a library, and a movie room. Our compound is within view of the ocean, and it's seriously a block away from the beach and the Beach bar, where one can get the most expensive beer for....$1.25. Everything is really cheap. All of us bought phones, which cost 130,000 GNF. That's approximately $20, and it's free to call other people on Orange, and I bought 100 texts for 12 cents.
We've been doing lots of training prep and exercises, and we even started learning Susu yesterday! It's a very straightforward language, which I like. One funny bit is that if someone were to ask me if I'm married, which will definitely happen, the phrasing translates to "Have you been sat in a man's house?" but if it's a guy, the question is "Have you sat a woman in your house?" The word for woman is gine (ghee-nay), and I'm pretty sure it's the same word for their country, so that's kind of neat. They live in a land called woman?
In about half an hour, we leave to go to our city for training, where we'll stay with host families and learn how to be teachers, French speakers, and members of Guinean society. I'm nervous but excited! The real work starts now! In Conakry, we've been totally spoiled. Our acting Country Director had us all over to her compound (which is basically next door), and we got to swim in her pool, drink Guinean beer (It all tastes like budweiser), and listen to live music under the moon. It was pretty unreal, and I have a feeling I'll look back on that as a dream I once had once I'm taking bucket showers, getting stomach sicknesses, using latrines, and living on my own.
I can't believe how well our group has bonded, and how well we all get along. We're really starting off on a good foot. They already know I'm weird, so whew, don't have to try to be normal with them :)
Until next time!
We arrived in Conakry on the 9th of July after two LONG flights. First we flew from New York (JFK) to Brussels. I thought it was pretty appropriate that Peace Corps volunteers were flying out of JFK airport, since he founded PC. Nearly everyone had a lot of baggage, and I was glad that my suitcases are so manageable and that I can carry all of them. Or at least carry 2 and roll 1. We all chowed down on American food, bought a few last minute things (I bought another camping pillow because everyone else has full sized pillows), and boarded the plane. Lots of flights got cancelled, so we were glad that we got off the ground safely, even though there was a lot of turbulence.
~8 hours later, we arrived in Brussels and trekked across to the African terminal, where our 23-person group of pretty dang white people started realizing how much we would stick out in Africa. So it goes. Then we had nearly 9 more hours on the plane, including a stop-over in Banjul, The Gambia. We finally arrived in Conakry, and to my relief as the person in charge of keeping track of us, all 23 of us were successfully in Guinea! A couple Peace Corps staff met us and directed us through customs, and then we emerged on the other side to find two current PCVs, Brian and David, waiting for us with a huge welcome sign! People clapped and everyone seemed really happy that we're here. This trend of people telling us they're happy we're here has continued, so it's nice to know we're in a country that's excited to have us! We came back to the PC compound through some pretty interesting streets and traffic patterns, had sandwiches for dinner, and passed out after a shower. The PCV house is AWESOME. It has AC in the bedrooms, running water (though it's not potable), a library, and a movie room. Our compound is within view of the ocean, and it's seriously a block away from the beach and the Beach bar, where one can get the most expensive beer for....$1.25. Everything is really cheap. All of us bought phones, which cost 130,000 GNF. That's approximately $20, and it's free to call other people on Orange, and I bought 100 texts for 12 cents.
We've been doing lots of training prep and exercises, and we even started learning Susu yesterday! It's a very straightforward language, which I like. One funny bit is that if someone were to ask me if I'm married, which will definitely happen, the phrasing translates to "Have you been sat in a man's house?" but if it's a guy, the question is "Have you sat a woman in your house?" The word for woman is gine (ghee-nay), and I'm pretty sure it's the same word for their country, so that's kind of neat. They live in a land called woman?
In about half an hour, we leave to go to our city for training, where we'll stay with host families and learn how to be teachers, French speakers, and members of Guinean society. I'm nervous but excited! The real work starts now! In Conakry, we've been totally spoiled. Our acting Country Director had us all over to her compound (which is basically next door), and we got to swim in her pool, drink Guinean beer (It all tastes like budweiser), and listen to live music under the moon. It was pretty unreal, and I have a feeling I'll look back on that as a dream I once had once I'm taking bucket showers, getting stomach sicknesses, using latrines, and living on my own.
I can't believe how well our group has bonded, and how well we all get along. We're really starting off on a good foot. They already know I'm weird, so whew, don't have to try to be normal with them :)
Until next time!
Monday, July 4, 2011
T minus 3 days
Well, departure is swiftly approaching. I think I've bought all the things I need to buy, I've even mostly packed my things, now I just need to make some last checklists, Skype with people to say goodbye, and gather my gumption.
I'm really excited! I can't believe this is going to happen!
Happy 4th of July, everyone. Serve your fellow Americans in some capacity this year!
I'm really excited! I can't believe this is going to happen!
Happy 4th of July, everyone. Serve your fellow Americans in some capacity this year!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Preparation Jitters
I've basically been reading Dorian in Africa's blog for the past three days trying to figure out what being in Guinea might really, truly be like. I think I need to stop. Going in with any sort of expectations will just lead me to feel overconfident or disappointed, and at best I'll feel informed. I think it's just healthier for me to embrace the unknown without reading everyone elses' experiences. As my dad says "Stay curious". Curiosity is not something I've ever been lacking, so that shouldn't be hard. I'm going to take all the things I've read, file them in to "Things I Might Encounter" and leave them there. I don't want to have preconceived notions about what village life will be like, or how my cell service will be, or how much blogging I'll be able to do.
I finished Eat, Pray, Love today (Thanks, Steph!) after chipping away at it all semester, and I really like the attitude toward life that Liz gains in her travels. Finding balance, finding pleasure, finding connection in silence and solitude. I will seek to do those in this experience.
Right now, I don't feel very peaceful. My stomach feels unsettled often when I think about all the things I need to pack, when I debate the things I want to bring, when I think about the preparations that need to be done and the things I will miss while I'm gone.
I finished Eat, Pray, Love today (Thanks, Steph!) after chipping away at it all semester, and I really like the attitude toward life that Liz gains in her travels. Finding balance, finding pleasure, finding connection in silence and solitude. I will seek to do those in this experience.
Right now, I don't feel very peaceful. My stomach feels unsettled often when I think about all the things I need to pack, when I debate the things I want to bring, when I think about the preparations that need to be done and the things I will miss while I'm gone.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Le début
I will be going to Guinea with Peace Corps shortly after the 4th of July, so I thought I'd start a blog so that I can get some information out before I leave.
I know you're all just dying to send me mail and packages, so my address is:
Mary [my last name], PCV (or PCT for mail to arrive before Septemberish)
s/c Corps de la Paix
B. P. 1927
Conakry, Guinée
This will be my address the entire 27 months because mail doesn't work very well there. All our mail goes to the capital and then Peace Corps will bring my mail to my site about once a month. Still, please send me mail as often as possible! I promise to write back!
More detailed mailing instructions can be found at an old PCV's blog (http://dorianinafrica.blogspot.com/2008/11/epic-mailing-guidelines-post.html) it's a good idea to read it before sending it. She did a great job putting this together.
I'm excited but terrified and I can't wait for this whole adventure to start!
I know you're all just dying to send me mail and packages, so my address is:
Mary [my last name], PCV (or PCT for mail to arrive before Septemberish)
s/c Corps de la Paix
B. P. 1927
Conakry, Guinée
This will be my address the entire 27 months because mail doesn't work very well there. All our mail goes to the capital and then Peace Corps will bring my mail to my site about once a month. Still, please send me mail as often as possible! I promise to write back!
More detailed mailing instructions can be found at an old PCV's blog (http://dorianinafrica.blogspot.com/2008/11/epic-mailing-guidelines-post.html) it's a good idea to read it before sending it. She did a great job putting this together.
I'm excited but terrified and I can't wait for this whole adventure to start!
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