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!
sarah and i met these PCV's while we were traveling who were stationed in some small cities in turkey. they were telling us about how different it was from the US/Europe and all I could think was "psh, you don't know from exotic." after they left, sarah and i decided that you are far more legit and a million times braver. kudos and good luck!!
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