What do you get when....

What do you get when you mix a fote/white foreigner/ with a 17 person Guinean family that has 1 dad, 2 moms and 15 “children”. MY LIFE.

Although my family is huge, I have my own 14x22 foot room. My room opens up to the outside and cannot be accessed from the main house that has 3 rooms for 17 people. I also have my own toillett room aka a room with a hole in the groud and my own shower room...oh I mean bucket bath room which is around the back of the house. I even have some friends that live in my toilett room such as a rat, spider and toad. I know how to make friends quickly what can I say.

My family is amazing. The 2nd wife is responsible for me. Her name is Nana Toure. My father has 2 wifes and a ton of kids, nieces and nephews living in Forchariah with him. He is a professeur of biology and geology so he also has like 10 other family members living in Conakry at his house there. My Africian name is Ma Youla after my favorite sister who is 22 and teaches elementary school. I have trouble communicating with my family because my French is so bad!!! My brothers/counsins, they don’t really differentiate here, help me a ton with my French. Unfortunately, my sisters are always doing work. I have found my best means of communication to be wild gesticulation. I even found myself climbing a tree the other night to get the point across. BUT when I am not in school which is from 8-5 or at tutoring or eating with my family, I am studying. You get the point, there is not much free time for me right now.

Speaking of food, rice is the staple...no joke, breakfast, lunch and dinner. My family feeds me different food than what they eat so I have a bit more diversity such as spaghetti and french fries. However, when I do eat with them I eat out of the same bowl and with my right hand. It is quite an experience. As you can imagine, the family has to eat in groups since you cannot fit 18 people around one bowl.

My mom is very protective. It is the first time they have housed a volunteer and the first time they have seen an American. Last weekend I was at the bar when my mom showed up to make sure I knew the way home because it was getting dark. In Forichariah there are 2 paved roads and the rest are dirt roads. Of course there are no road signs or street lights...well there really is only electricity for a few hours in the evening every other night. Running water is also something that does not exist. Anyway, so my family is very protective because they don’t want anything to happen to me and it would shame the family name.

I should have email access again in 3 weeks when I go to Mamou again to meet my counterpart that I will be working with for the next 2 years. This is very exciting because I will also get to visit my site or home for the next 2 years. The announcement will be made in 2 weeks but I am pretty sure they are putting most of the SED...that’s me...volunteers in Haute Guinea, the desert area, or Fouta, the mountainous area. I am very excited to know!!!

The weather right now is really hot. They say it only gets warmer for the next few months. Wow a dramatic change from South Bend, IN to Guinea. Also, mango season and avacado season are coming soon. We have trees with each growing in our front and back yard. YEAH!!!

Last weekend I was supposed to help my mom cook lunch. First we went to the market which was super crowded and she is a bargain shopper so it took a really long time. Of course, this is an outside market filled with tons of vendors. Next, I got to meet her mom which was nice but since I really don’t know Susu, the local language, the communication was non-existant. Then, I got to wash my clothes in 2 buckets and with my hands. My family does not use a washboard. The whole family laughed since I did not use/know their washing technique. My 13 year old brother insisted upon rewashing everything that I thought was clean.

Now time to cook. Well apparently one must be wearing the appropriate garb to cook a meal. My mom, who is not a small lady, dresssed me up in her traditional complex, skirt, top and headwrap. We took pictures and I thought it as over. Later when I tried to return the outfit she told me it was a gift. The cooking part did not go well at all. As a matter of fact, I have to try it again tomorrow. On the menu, rice and sauce....no surprise. Oh yeah, a detail is that the kitchen is outside and we cook over a fire.

I cannot believe I have only been here for 2 weeks. It feel like a lifetime has passed. Right now I am in Conakry on a fieldtrip to use the computer. We just went into an airconditioned grocery store full of so many choices. It seemed so bizarre.

Everyone is super friendly here. I have to account for time to greet everyone in the local language or in French on my way to school. This is really a big deal. One man got upset last night when I did not see him and did not greet him. Can you imagine if this was the case in the states?

For those of you interesting in sending care packages, basically anyone that read this far might be a good candidate, make sure you wrap the box or padded envelope with clear tape so that the mice don’t get it. Things that I would love are mostly junk food items, twizzlers, chocolate, gummy anything, good working pens that you find for free at banks, stores, etc., babywipes and hand sanitizer. Word is that some volunteers get all packages and letters that were sent, some get only boxes and the envelopes get lost or others the opposite. No rhyme or reason. If all of that seems too complicated....letters are awesome.

So I learned yet another lesson in Guinea today. I need to compose my blog in Word. I lost everything so know the original version was much funnier than this one but I am sure you all will understand.

Much love to you all!

top ten reasons

people tend to be more comfortable with things they can relate to or have expereienced in the past. i have heard many comparisons in the last 5 days but here is my unique take.

top ten reasons why the guinea is like the appalachian trail

10. running water and electricity is rarely available
9. it is common to see the ground/bushes covered with clean laundry
8. people carry large loads....but in guinea they carry them on their head
7. chacoas are the trendy footwear among volunteers
6. food is cooked over a fire outside
5. transportation is friendly as the taxis are the size of a honda and have 6
paid for seats plus the drive
4. every is friendly and greetings are alway done
3. water has to be bleached and filtered
2. cards are the number one food of choice
1. bathroom technique is the same except the hole is already dug for you

just finished 5 days of training in mamou and headed to forecariah to live with my african family. today, i finally got really excited about the peace corps as we were sitting in sessions directly related to our jobs. that is not to say that i was not excited before but we have been in language training and culture training for the last 4 days. 11 weeks of training and then off to my site. i will get my site assignment within the next 3 weeks. yeah

Bonjour Guinea!!

As I sleepily got out of my tent this morning, I heard the bell signaling the people to the mosque. It was then that I realized I am not on the Appalachian Trail but rather in this strange land very far from home! As I rubbed my eyes, I realized the red blob that was clouding my vision was in fact the sun jumping into the sky. Yes I have broke the habit of sleeping in my tent but since all the beds were taken I was able to put my tent up on the roof of the building and enjoy some authentic Guinea music. The music was pumping as the Guineas next door were celebrating.

Having been in Conakry (the capital of Guinea) for less than 24 hours, I have very few smart observations but one very obvious things is that it is DAMN HOT! We are headed to the mountains today for 5 days of survival training. Once we have survival skills, I will be gaining a whole new family. Our adoption ceremony is on Thursday at which time I will be gaining "a brother from another mother" (Poet that's for you).


Just a few thoughts from the last week. The anxiety building up over the last 4 months since I accepted my PC assignment finally came to a breaking moment at around 2:32PM on Wednesday, January 11th. As I quickly assessed my outfit, absent-mindedly ran my hand over my hair and stepped out of the elevator to join the long line of excited faces all waiting to become Peace Corps trainees. My fellow volunteers all looked like fairly normal (about as much as I am)friendly people which is really fortunate for me since these people will be my support network for the next 27 months.

Questions are still running through my head as I sit on the plane only 48 hours after meeting my fellow volunteers. Am I competent enough to really make my projects successful and sustainable? More importantly, will I gain enough language skills to even communicate with the host country nationals? Does this anti-malaria medicine really work? Why did I have to get 3 shots only 4 hours before I left for the airport? Do I really have to tell someone from the village when I am just going for a walk? Isn't 28 too young to be considered the grandma of the group? I am sure these questions will all be answered over the next 27 months if they are worth answering.

So about those 37 people I will be spending the next 3 months with. There are about 8 males and the rest are females. Most of them are kids right out of school. All of us are either Agriculture/Forestry, Health or Small Enterprise Development volunteers. Probably more to come later on that front.

I have definitely exceeded my time and must get off. More to come later.

Mummer's Parade Does Exist....So Does Friday the 13th

Just a quick message to educate the masses on a very underrated parade called Mummer's Day. Serenity spent hours, days and months touting the Mummer's Day parade that is held in Philly on January 1st of every year. This picture confirms that this event did actually occur and is really one of the best parades in the country!!!

After that very short rant, back to the future. I start training for the Peace Corps tomorrow and begin my travel to Guinea on Friday the 13th. Good thing I finally got over being superstitious. Although, it did cross my mind that maybe I should decline my invitation to Guinea once I received my plane ticket. Anyway, a big thanks to all of you who have helped me prepare for my adventures abroad.