Do you have what it takes?

The ice has been broken and my first visitor from the US has come and gone (in one piece)! Serenity arrived at the end of July and dared to spend almost five weeks in Guinea. As Murphy's law would have it a few things that have not happened to me in Guinea yet went down during Serenity's first week here. Below are a few highlights:

Transportation
Feeling very lucky that we just scored a Peace Corps ride in an SUV from Conakry to Labe (10 hours) I smugly settled in for one of the easiest rides up country, or so I thought. The reason we were able to get the ride was because the AGFO Director was going to Labe for work/vacation and taking his kids. Some volunteers, Serenity and I and 5 kids settle in the back for the ride. We make it less than 40k out of Conakry and we have our first kid throwing up. Some of you know that I have a complex about seeing, hearing or knowing that someone is throwing up. To make a long story short, 4 out of the 5 kids threw up at least once with one throwing up three times and the oldest throwing up in a not very strong plastic bag in the back of the SUV. About 1/2 way through our journey I lost it and started pushing the Dramine on all the kids. This strategy worked!!!

After getting to Labe we spent a few days there and decided to go up country. We left Labe on a Saturday morning in a bush taxi. Serenity seemed unphased by the fact that three very strong men has to push the car out of the taxi station in order to get it started (this is not unusual). However, less than 15 minutes later we all hopped out of the car and the driver replaced our bad tire with a new tire. We maybe made it another kilometer down the road and we had to fix the tire again. This time another taxi cab driver stopped and we changed tires with him. All 10 of us pile in the car again and we are off. Now we make it 1,000 feet and we are stopped again. I have lost confidence in the driver as he wants us to get back in and drive to the next town on the bad tire. Serenity and I grab our bags and start the 7k hike back to Labe. Within 20 minutes a car complete with a full set of salon furniture on top stops and tells us he is going to Lelouma so we jump in. He however forgot to mention that he was taking the furniture to a small village off the main road where the path was more like a hiking path than a driving path. After a few close calls driving through the mud and dodging trees we watch as 3 very strong men hoist a couch and a few recliner type chairs off the top of the roof. Needless to say, we did eventually make it to Lelouma before nightfall but after a full day’s adventure. Before this trip, my record longest time was 3.5 hours to get to Lelouma.

Lelouma
We spent about 2 weeks in my village and in less than 2 days Serenity was more popular, well liked and more fluent in Pular (the local language) than I could ever hope to be. All the men wanted to know if she was married, she became a princess for a day as one lady who sells vegetables at the market took her all around the Lelouma market looking for new leather sandals for her and then put henna on her nails and hands for the evening cap, she was invited to a Christian baptism, asked to see all the newborn babies in the village and was courted by the 11 year old boy next door who came to visit 5 times a day. When I could tear her away from her social life in Lelouma, we did mundane things like going to the swimming hole, hiking to waterfalls and washing clothes/swimming in the river.

Adventures in Guinea
After a few weeks in my village it was time to see some of the other wonders of Guinea. We biked around the Fouta to visit other volunteer’s sites and take in some of the natural beauty, fresh air and stunning green landscape that the rainy season has brought. After our 3 day biking tour we headed to Doucki, the most developed eco-tourism location in Guinea. We were treated to great hospitality, English speaking guides, good vegetarian Guinean food and amazing hikes. All of our hikes were amazing but the one that made my heart leap and body shake with adrenaline was when we crossed a rushing river holding hands only to hike down the side of a waterfall. If that was not enough, we were able to swim near the top of the rushing waterfall being very careful not to let the current push us over the edge to the 100 foot drop-off. As not to be biased towards Fouta, we stopped in the Basse Cote for a few days and tried to discover mining town and lakes near another volunteers site. However, rainy season was in full swing and Serenity has treated to wet and mold clothes to cap off her adventure and days of endless rain in Conakry.

New Site Mate
Sadly, my closest neighbor at 56k away is no longer serving as a Peace Corps volunteer. However, as of the end of September, there will be 2 white people in my village. A new volunteer, Brian, a Chemistry teacher is moving to Lelouma.