Work and Other Free Time Activities

This was written over a month ago but I was unable to upload due to computer problems in Labe.

I am writing this blog to try and convince you that I do work other than making up crazy stories about my host country nationals for my blog. My latest attempts at work in my village include starting a high school business club, starting a girls soccer team, planting and talking non-stop about a miracle tree called Moringa, a lot of talk about tourism development with minimal action, attempts to help soap makers get oil at bulk prices and the longest attempted with least progress is the a program called village banking. Please do not misunderstand this blog. I am not disappointed by my lack of progress but have come to understand, accept and enjoy the pace of life here.

To date my most rewarding project has been the soccer team that started last week. It has by far given me the most material for my blogs. The 1st practice 20 girls showed up the traditional skirt down to their ankles, tight fitting matching shirts and sandals with a small heel. You must know that my village is very conservative and women cannot wear pants during the day and showing your knees in a pair of shorts is practically grounds for getting kicked out of the village. The coach was not about to let the attire stop our practice from happening. We lined up by twos and did full out sprints. Most girls lost their sandals either before or during the sprint and had already hiked their skirts up to their knees. We then picked teams for a scrimmage old school style and the girls a decade younger than me kicked my butt.

I was hoping the second practice would bring more appropriate clothing and was impressed when most girls showed up in jeans that they rolled up to knees. Some more inventive girls even figured out how to make a sports bra by attaching a scarf around their chest on the outside of their shirt. It also brought drills, one of which I am very fond because I am the only person that can do it. Unfortunately, it is a basketball drill to dribble around all the members of the team. The 3rd practice in the 1st week (these people are motivated about soccer) brought one girl with soccer shoes (clear plastic jellies that were popular in the US in the 80’s) and the rest still playing in their bare feet which is dangerous for many obvious reasons but also because the cows and goats are responsible for maintaining the grass during the day. These teams will make their debut on December 7th playing a game in our stadium as part of the events for the day to fight AIDS. I have small concerns about uniforms and shoes but I am sure it will bring more good material for my blog.

In order to try and keep up with the girls I have built a home gym, Guinea style. Right now it lacks a lot but to start I have a pull-up bar which is actually an old car part (long rusty bar) to which the welder attached two meal hooks so I could nail it above my door. This little project is one reason that super nene was not so happy about the prospect of more nails going into my wall again (see locked in my house blog for more details). The second and last piece of home gym is a free weight. Yes, only 1 at this moment. I used the same style bar as the pull-up bar and filled two empty metal oatmeal containers with cement to make what might be about a 5lb free weight. With any luck I will have some time to go rummage through the garbage piles again and find more car parts to make a bench press and complete my 5lb set this month.

Relating to my integration status, in Guinea everyone wants to look at the palms of your hands to see if you do real work. I got so sick of showing them my perfectly smooth soft glowing white hands that I found a group of women willing to give me a piece of land in their garden. Immediately, they recommended someone to clear the land for me as there are no roto tillers here. When I adamantly declined they knew they had their hands full with me. This was not appropriate behavior for the white women to clear her own land. Therefore, the next market day I went and bought a machete but the vendor just could not grasp why a white women needed this tool. A few days later, I got up the courage to chop down the small trees and uproot everything standing in the way of my garden. Within 10 minutes of work this guy came over to tell me that I was not working on the right patch of land and that he had already cleared my land. He was adamant but I was more so and continued clearing my land. Another 5 minutes working with the machete and hoe I had achieved my goal. My hands were the color of a blazing red fire with white oozing blisters. Hours later I left the field having only cleared ½ my land but with 7 pussing blisters. Needless to say, it took me almost 2 more weeks to go back and clear the other half (due to a week of training in another village of course). My land now sits pretty and ready to receive seeds this week. While my hope of this blog was to convince you that I work in my village I am not so sure I was too success in this goal.