The Village Surrounded by Mountains.....

Lelouma…when I rolled into the village in a bush taxi filled with 16 people (a car that would seat 8 in the states) it was breath taking. I guess that would be if I wasn’t already holding my breath so I could fit in the car! The village is surrounded by mountains in all directions. I found my heaven in which I will call home for the next 2 years. I had my concerns after meeting my counterpart also fondly known as the fairy godmother because of her shiny pink outfit complete with head wrap BUT all that faded away as we rolled over the mountains on our way in.

So my 1st day there was quite eventful. Actually, I didn’t get there on Sunday as planned because there were not enough people to fill the taxi when I arrived in Labe at 1PM. I guess all 14 were holding out for the next day. Anyway, my counterpart and the people I kept meeting didn’t seen to know where my house was. A slight problem but just a matter of time before I met the right person. Little did I know time was of utmost importance for this situation BUT I will get to that. We got out of the taxi and my counterpart insisted we start meeting the officials. Well one of the officials correctly pointed out that I was dirty and needed to go home and change before I met anyone else. So my counterpart trudged me to her house where I took a bath and (bucket that is) and put on some clean clothes. I knew we were going to some community event at 4PM. We left the house at 4:15 and stopped to greet a ton of people and arrived @ 4:55. This was no tone bit of a problem since all of the chairs in the fromt6 were empty and only the children and women were there. Still not sure what the event was for or if I had to speak I stood around and waited. At about 5:30 150 people packed the lawn and the front porch “stage” was almost full.

Apparently not enough as they invited me to sit on stage with the officials as their key white person not to mention only 1 in the community. The head official arrives and the event begins. One person speaks in French which is then translated to Pular. I understood very little and after 1 hour I was still unsure what the occasion was but by this time sure it was not me. Suddenly I was jerked out of my daydream when I heard “Madam Andrea avec le Corps de la Paix”. After several seconds which felt like 20 minutes of freaking out, I stood up and gave the token Guinean 2 handed wave and sat right back down. Now that I know the reason for the event I am pretty sure that was the correct action but at the time I was not so sure. A few more speeches drag on and event is over. Afterwards still clueless I ask my counterpart and she tells me it was for the installation of the mayor. The may is probably the most important people in the community (also important information for later in this story).

The whole community parades to the Mayors house for greetings. At this point, I finally find someone who knows where my house is (btw this is not a big town, it should not have been that hard since the PCV I am replacing lived there). Before I can see my house we eat the staple food of my region with the Mayor and his family. Next we visit my house which is awesome. There is another family that lives within the same walled area as I. They determine I cannot stay there because it has not been cleaned. I ask my counterpart and push the issue to at least stay at the maison de passage BUT she will have none of that. Normally that would not have been a huge issue but her toilet is 5 houses down. This later becomes an issue. I will spare the details but just say I have not been that sick in country yet as I was that night. She is freaking out and decided we have to get medicals help. In her panic she also decided that the food at the mayor’s house made me sick and then the next day tells all the officials. I am pretty sick still the next day and need to get to my house where there is a toilet nearby. In my desperation I ended up walking 20 with all my baggage. The other alternative was for her to find my family so they could send a car which would have taken hours.

I had not yet met some top officials and was not up to the walking so she decided it was a good idea to bring them to me. I was laying in my bed feeling really rough when slowly they started arriving. They are all very concerned about what I will eat and my health. I spit out a few phrases about how beautiful Lelouma is and crash back in bed.

The next day I am healthy and able to really appreciate Lelouma. I sat with my family (all women) in the AM for a bit. Sat being the correct phrase as only 1 of 6 speaks French. After that I went for a walk and t6ook some pictures of the village. I will probably post these in March. No mater which way I walked I ran into trees, steep rocky cliffs and soaring birds. Life is perfect! I took a quick walk through the market and met a guy that had to come to my house the day before. He took it upon himself to entertain me for the day and evening. I met everyone and anyone in the community. I ate lunch with thee director of women’s promotions visit 3 different women’s groups just to name a few highlights. I came home and ate right and sauce with my family….yeah they don’t eat a ton of fish in the Fouta. I also spent a lot of time that day explaining it was not the food that made me sick…it was the water.

Right now I am hanging out in Labe and enjoying the luxury or a real shower, flush toilet sometimes, internet, pizza, beer and the ability to receive phone calls. It is back to the training site tomorrow. I finish training on March 30th and will be sworn in an official PCV!!! After that back to Lelouma for me!!!!