I'm a terrible blogger

The truth is, all the time when I'm in Guinea I think of things to tell you guys about. A post on the role of women, or funny things kids say, or language learning, Guinean music, or cooking or... or... or....

But then I came back to the US, and I have all my pictures at my disposal and all my time to use to blog--and I couldn't think of anything good enough to talk about. I hope you guys enjoyed my house tour, which I filmed in February and have been trying to post. At least something good came from my being in America!

Tomorrow I head back, breaking what seems to be a bit of a curse. We've had 3 volunteers recently medically separated/decide not to return for medical reasons, and ALL of their names start with Ma--. I'm pretty excited to be heading back, especially now that I have a flight that gets in at a reasonable time. Peace Corps tried to book me a flight that got into Conakry at 2am. I mean, I love Guinea and I feel safe in my town, but we're talking about a city where a) I've been attacked by a crazy man b) the political situation is explosive and c) there are police checkpoints after midnight. Luckily, Peace Corps Guinea immediately rectified Peace Corps Washington's small oversight. Win.

My apologies on my failures to post. At least this time when I go back to Guinea, I'll have a working battery in my computer and can type up posts when I think of them!

Five big questions I need answered:
1) Have the mice taken over my house?
2) Has the dust taken over my belongings?
3) Will I have enough time to prepare for school starting in October?
4) What will my community say when I come back?
5) When can I get some rice and sauce?

You'll have to tune in later to find out! (predicting an update mid-September!) But for now I'll leave you with this:

A video for your viewing pleasure

After the Fou

My "being tackled by a crazy man" experience has sparked some interesting reactions:

For me:

• Anxiety around Guinean indigent men
• Anxiety in cars
• Started practicing yoga daily (until I came back to the US and felt lazy/ill)

For the US government (not an official statement, of course) :

• The Embassy did a security evaluation of our compounds. Conclusion: They are not very secure. The surrounding houses would enable similar crazy people and need to be fixed. (Hopefully will be done soon)
• The CD and her husband: we were all shell-shocked together, but they were great. They took me to get a pedicure to relax, they brought me with them to a dinner after I had my panic attack, and they still check up on me to see how my mental state is.

For other volunteers, mostly from a text alerting them to the situation which said "Mary got taken down by a fou":

• "Mary,  what the heck?" and other, more expletive filled versions of texts to me
• A lot of curiosity by G21, which meant I got to dramatically retell my story at their IST. And then they had no questions. Whatevs, I like retelling the story. It takes a step towards being funny every time it's just a story and not the most terrifying memory I have. 
• A beer-pong team named in my honor "Mary got taken down" (Beer pong, practiced in moderation by consenting adults, is not an evil activity.)

For the incoming trainees, possibly reading my blog while still in the US:

• What the hell did we get ourselves into??? (pure speculation)

But check it out! I can touch my toes now, thanks to the yoga!

An Extended Vacation

So I know that I promised I would update my blog alll the time since I'm in the US of A, and then I failed you! I am so, so sorry. I know it ruined your day.

So why? Why, Mary, did you leave us to face the world without blog posts? Well, dedicated reader, I have been ill. Alas. Again.

My trip in the US has been awesome, and for the scheduled time I was just too stubborn to let my stomach troubles bother me, although I did go to the doctor. After four days, the doctor said I had shigellosis. Aka bacterial dysentery. Fun, but didn't fit my symptoms. However, the culture grew, so I guess that was just the cherry on top.

So I'm in Atlanta and last week I saw an Infectious Disease doctor. Some of you may know this is my second infectious disease doc. I think they are my favorite species of doctor. This is only partly attributed to the fact that my first infectious disease doc, Dr. Alter, saved my life. With some help from my mom on the ice-packing extravaganza. But that's another story.

The real reason I like my ID doc is that he's friendly, knowledgeable, and immediately recognized what I had: giardia. Blech. So now I'm being treated for that too. I also had an ultrasound of my insides and blood tests, which will hopefully say that all is almost well so I can go back and do the rest of my service. However, this weekend has been up there in the sickest times of my life, and I have to wonder why my insides feel like someone took a food processor to them and occasionally jabs them with a steak knife.

I managed to have fun with these guys and my parents!