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!