Stripes but no stars

Prisioner in my own home and victim in my bathroom. Now that I have your attention please settle in for a less dramatic story than you might be expecting. Got back from chutes de sala after visiting the gigantic waterfall (much bigger now during the rainy season that in April) only to find my mango tree was greatly diminished and the already too big brick wall around the compound was being elevated into the heavens. I am not one to fight change but living in a developing nation you get used to things staying the same. I was completely exhaused when I arrived home after a 4 hour bike ride that started after my waterfall adventure and finished with me splashing thorugh puddles (somehow I managed to miss the storm) and pushing my bike up mountains for the last 15k. My only option to get home that day was to ride my bike home the route that even taxis won’t take because it is too mountaineous and the road is washed out due to many rainy seasons with no repair. So you can only imagine my reaction when I arrived home mudstreaked and tired on the busy marketday of Lelouma to this scene.

Now for the attack in the bathroom. Let me just start by saying that they should never allow Guineans to put real western toilettes in a house. Many of you might be saying what is this spoiled girl arguing about. When I arrived to my site in Februrary, the first thing the lady next door told me was not too poop in the toilette. Of course, they did not teach us the word for poop in language training so I had no clue what she was talking about. She went on to explain poop in as many simple words in Frech as she could. Finally, I understood and heeded her advice. Well, after the attacks in the family’s bathroom (outdoor latrine) I had to use my toilette. So about these attacks, the air is so thick with mosquitos the minute I open the door I cringe at the idea of dropping the drawers (sorry if this is too detailed) but usually I wait until the last minute and it is an emergency so either get bitten by the mosquitos or poop my pants. I USUALLY choose the bite. This week I decided to do something about the mosquitos in the toilette. I tried to tell my family that the mosquitos breed in the water at the bottom of the hole in the toilette and that we should cover the hole as recommended by PC. Furthermore, some mosquitos give you malaria when they bite you. Well, I was surprised to learn that corn brings the mosquitos and that you get malaria from eating mangos and avacados (since they are both in season now). To make a long painful story short, my newly purchased toilette cover is sitting in my house and I have to pull up about 4 buckets of water a day to flush things down my toilet which usually results in the water leeking out the side.

On the bright side. I have finished 3 months at site and have training next week with all 37 people from my stage. I have not seen those from outside my regions since April..yeah for reunions. After that, Serenity is coming to visit me for a month!!! Yeah for the end of July and August.