Adventures in Guinea as a Peace Corps Volunteer

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Posh Corps

After living in the office for 17 days, the payoff came in the form of a huge gorgeous house. Days and days of disappointing house searches resulted in an attitude change. Originally, I wanted a small simple but clean house that I did not have to share with bats or rats. While this sounds easy to find the search proved to be much harder than one might imagine. By the 3rd week, I determined that I would move into the next “reasonable” house I saw. Well, it might be a little unreasonable for me to live in a house with 3 bedrooms, a kitchen, an empty living room and bathroom with running water and electricity when the city decides my neighbourhood can have it BUT the options were exhausted. Since it’s already clear that I am not living like a normal PC volunteer working in an office with computers, generators, etc why not? I imagine that I will be the last volunteer MCA will allow to choose their own house.

After those demanding days in the office, I open my bright blue gate and stroll past my rose bushes and daisies to the entrance of my new house. I have included a picture of the house for those of you who want to see my “palace” as the other PC volunteers in the area have coined it.