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.
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