Siguiri Girl

So, i find myself sitting in front of a computer once again with so much to say and so little time. Let me start off by saying THANK YOU to everyone who has sent letters. I have received quite a few – at least one every mail run! In addition, I have received a package from my mom – the best packagge ever containing tuna and granola bars and deodorant. What more can a girl in guinea ask for? Well, we will get to that later – I am starting a list of crap I would LOVE to receive here – refer to the bottom of this page.

Anyway, things are moving quite quickly here on the other side of the atlantic. A week ago, we had our site announcement ceremony, when all of us trainees found out where we are going to live the next couple years. I had specifically asked for Haute Guinea – a region in the NE – and I wanted to work with womens advancement and/or microfinance. I also dreamed of being FAR up north in the desert near Mali. When my APCD called out my name and said SIGUIRI, I let out a little scream – it was EXACTLY the town I had hoped for!!


Let me tell you a bit about Siguiri. Its in the FAR NE corner of the nation, 3 hours from Kankan, the regional capital, and 5 hours from Bamako, the capital of Mali. Siguiri is the 3rd largest city in Guinea, apparently, with a population of over 100,000. Located on the main NE road in the country that connects Conakry to Bamako, I am far away but easily accessible, given time. Gold is mined outside of town during the dry season and exported all over the world. I have heard that Siguiri has PIZZA, ELECTRICITY from 6pm-11pm, and INTERNET!! Oh, and theres a pool I can use for free at this ex-pat place outside of town! I didn’t reallywant a big city like this, but listening to all the ammenities I will have and comparing them to the other sites, I am pretty psyched! Plus, I will be living about 5-10 km from the Niger River – how cool is that! I will have to cross the river to get to my nearest american neighbor, Rob R. I am replacing a volunteer who quit Peace Corps a few months back bc she was offered a real job at the NGO she was working with; so, shes still there in Siguiri. I will hopefully meet her this coming week and get all the inside info on my new city.

Right now, though, we are in Mamou for counterpart workshop. Its cooler here – I actually slept with a blanket last ngiht and had goosebumps this morning after my shower. I already miss my host family – especially junior’s smile and the beans Mama Kouyate (my host mom) cooks for me every other night! I also miss bucket bathing. Running water is quite overrated!

This morning, I met my 2 counterparts (cp) – yes, I got two, even though most people only have one. This morning after an icebreaker, we got to wander around to find our cps and I just kept asking everyone “siguiri, siguiri”. I found one of them, and not knowing I had 2, I sat down with the first one and began to try my luck at a flowing french conversation. All of a sudden, we were interrupted by my other counterpart and the two kept claiming I was theirs. They fought over me for a minute until we realized I was the american for the both of them. They would have to share. One of my cps, named Fode Konate, works for a microcredit and training org that works directly with a federation of groupements. My other cp, Oumar Camara, works with a group that trains young women to use technologie and understand basic business strategy. So, I got exactly what I wanted – I get to workwithg young women AND microfinance AND groupements!!! My APCD truly made the perfect match for me, or at least I think so now!!

After a couple of days more in Mamou, we head out for site visits, so I will see if I really am in love with Siguiri, like I think I am. We leave with our counterparts and apparently I am not staying at my future house, I am staying with one of my cps and his family. Or at least that’s what I think he said! My french skills are getting pretty good, but sometimes I am not sure I understand everything they are trying to say. After 3 nights in Siguiri, we are all meeting up in the regional capital, kankan, to get to know the town. We then travel back to Forecariah together via bush taxi. I am not looking forward to that LOOOONG overcrowded bush taxi ride from one corner of the country to the other.

Its going to be strange to head back to my training site after visiting sigiuri. I wonder if I will be more focused in class or if I will be more distracted and impatient for training to be over. Either way, I think I will be ready for training to be over in March, although the thought of leaving my American friends makes me sad already. The coolest people are heading to my region, so I will have great neighbors, but my two closest friends are going to the Fouta, not Haute, and I am scared I am never going to see them again!!

Ok, time to wrap this long entry up. Let me start a list for things I want in care packages. Don’t feel pressured to send me care packages – letters and emails are wonderful! But if you are looking for soomething to send, here are some reccommendations:

Oreos
Tuna
Tampons (ob)
Lined notebooks (only graph paper here)
Pens that actually work
Highlighters
Old magazines (Economist)