Wednesday, September 27
Tuesday, September 26
Update
So, now that I am in Conakry with free internet for the first time in 4 months, I figure you guys should get a real update on my life. I have been away from site for awhile, visiting Pita, Labe, and Mamou for meetings and Reid-Amy time. It has been quite a trip. On my way to Pita from Siguiri, I took a taxi from Siguiri to Kankan, and then a taxi to Mamou, a junction town in the middle of the country. After a day waiting at the bustling Kankan taxi gare, I arrived in Mamou at 3 a.m, with no real place to stay. I should let you know that Mamou is known for its "bandits" that rob everyone during the night. It's a scary place. Luckily, Peace Corps has a good relationship with the agroforestry school there, ENATEF, so I went up there to find a place to stay. Well, at 3a.m, nobody was there, and no rooms were open. After some panicked searching, I found one building open - a building of classrooms. So, since I only had about 3.5 hours until sunrise, I squatted there, sleeping on a table, to avoid the bandits of Mamou. At sunrise, I left for the gare to get my taxi to Pita to finally see my honey. I arrived in Pita tired, dirty, and exhausted, but at least I had made it.
After recuperating from the 15 hours in a taxi and the night on a table, I had a wonderful few days in Pita, hanging out with the new ducks (see video below) and relaxing. Then, Reid and I headed up to Labe for my VAC meeting. In Labe, we visited Alfa's Garden (an amazing nursery to buy any type of Guinean plant) and killed a giant $4 chicken for dinner. It was a great couple days.
Then, I was supposed to head down to Mamou for a Youth Business Club meeting, but my taxi left late and then broke down en route, making me a few hours late. After the hour long hike uphill up to ENATEF, I arrived sweaty and gross, and found out I had missed the meeting by an hour or so. So, after a quick break, I turned around and went back to the gare to return to Pita, another 2 hour trip squished in a taxi. It was a wasted day and a wasted 40,000 Guinean Francs, but at least I was back in Pita by sunset.
A couple days later, Reid and I left for Conakry for our quarterly visit. Of course, we had to leave on the first day of Ramadan, when the whole country was fasting, but we made it here alive, after dealing with the issue - to eat or not to eat in front of Guineans. It was a good thing we made it here Sunday evening because Reid's eye had been bothering him for a few days, and there was a small black speck on his iris. It wasn't too bad, although it made him tired and irritated. But first thing Monday morning, we went to see the Medical Officer, and she immediately sent him to a Guinean doctor in town. The doctor scrathed the thing out of his eye (after applying anesthetic eye drops) and performed a quick analysis of the fleck or matter. Guess what it turned out to be. Metal. Reid had a small jagged piece of metal in his eye for 5 days. It's amazing what happens to us here in Guinea, and what we actually put up with here without immediately running to the PCMO. But, it's all taken care of, and Reid just has to continue putting in his eyedrops for a couple more days, and all will be fine.
Other than that, Conakry has been typical Conakry. Crazy dorm-stlye living, where there is always a mess in the kitchen and the water turns off a few times a day. I have been internetting a lot (hence, this blog entry) and relaxing with Reid, Rasa, and the other random mix of PCVs here. I plan to venture into downtown tomorrow to buy a plane ticket for a Novermber trip to Dakar and to eat gelato and Chinese food (maybe). Other than that, I will be working and relaxing a bit. Oh, and manuevering my way through my first Ramadan, attempting not to starve.
Please feel free to send me an email this week, as I will respond with lightening speed (yay for free internet!). Talk to you all soon!
After recuperating from the 15 hours in a taxi and the night on a table, I had a wonderful few days in Pita, hanging out with the new ducks (see video below) and relaxing. Then, Reid and I headed up to Labe for my VAC meeting. In Labe, we visited Alfa's Garden (an amazing nursery to buy any type of Guinean plant) and killed a giant $4 chicken for dinner. It was a great couple days.
Then, I was supposed to head down to Mamou for a Youth Business Club meeting, but my taxi left late and then broke down en route, making me a few hours late. After the hour long hike uphill up to ENATEF, I arrived sweaty and gross, and found out I had missed the meeting by an hour or so. So, after a quick break, I turned around and went back to the gare to return to Pita, another 2 hour trip squished in a taxi. It was a wasted day and a wasted 40,000 Guinean Francs, but at least I was back in Pita by sunset.
A couple days later, Reid and I left for Conakry for our quarterly visit. Of course, we had to leave on the first day of Ramadan, when the whole country was fasting, but we made it here alive, after dealing with the issue - to eat or not to eat in front of Guineans. It was a good thing we made it here Sunday evening because Reid's eye had been bothering him for a few days, and there was a small black speck on his iris. It wasn't too bad, although it made him tired and irritated. But first thing Monday morning, we went to see the Medical Officer, and she immediately sent him to a Guinean doctor in town. The doctor scrathed the thing out of his eye (after applying anesthetic eye drops) and performed a quick analysis of the fleck or matter. Guess what it turned out to be. Metal. Reid had a small jagged piece of metal in his eye for 5 days. It's amazing what happens to us here in Guinea, and what we actually put up with here without immediately running to the PCMO. But, it's all taken care of, and Reid just has to continue putting in his eyedrops for a couple more days, and all will be fine.
Other than that, Conakry has been typical Conakry. Crazy dorm-stlye living, where there is always a mess in the kitchen and the water turns off a few times a day. I have been internetting a lot (hence, this blog entry) and relaxing with Reid, Rasa, and the other random mix of PCVs here. I plan to venture into downtown tomorrow to buy a plane ticket for a Novermber trip to Dakar and to eat gelato and Chinese food (maybe). Other than that, I will be working and relaxing a bit. Oh, and manuevering my way through my first Ramadan, attempting not to starve.
Please feel free to send me an email this week, as I will respond with lightening speed (yay for free internet!). Talk to you all soon!
The Ducks
| I would like to introduce you to Reid's Ducks - Bidon (Fatty), Kikeedee, and Middle Child | |
Reid recently bought three pet ducks, and they have been a constant source of amusement since I arrived in Pita. They have their own house to sleep and lay eggs in, and they have a beautiful pond for bathing. I spent the last week waking up early, putting coffee on to brew, and letting the ducks out of their house to be fed. Reid would wake up to the smell of fresh coffee and the sound of my voice yelling, "Don't hog all the food, Fatty! Let the others have some!"
Coffee Roasting in Pulaar-land
| Video of Reid and I learning how to roast coffee in Pita |
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Last week, while in Pita, Reid needed to have his raw coffee beans roasted and ground, but he was not sure where to go. As I was walking home from the market that afternoon, I saw an older woman grinding coffee and I asked her if she would help us and teach us how to do it. We returned later in the day, and spent a couple hours hanging out, watching coffee roasting and playing with a great bunch of kids. We didn't actually do any roasting or grinding, but we had a wonderful time! Reid had fun throwing kids up in the air, and I practiced my non-existant karate moves with the kids, including fat-cheeked Bob Conde.
Let There Be MORE Light!
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Entry written out by hand due to lack of computer on September 5th
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Entry written out by hand due to lack of computer on September 5th
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It finally happened!
After internet fled Siguiri, I thought my Posh Corps days were over. Even ice cream didn't make site posh to me. Hey, there is only so much sugar-flavored ice cream a girl can eat. But yesterday, everything changed. On my way back home from the office at noon, carrying pots of lemongrass and mint (a present to take to Reid), I stopped to say hello to the El Hadj Mr. Berete, the godfather of the family. I asked for the 10th time about electricity, but this time was different. With lemongrass and mint in tow, El Hadj led me to the family electrician, Moussa. We decided I would buy all the wire and switches and for $6, Moussa would give me light.
We spent the afternoon installing wire and sockets and by the evening, I was cooking with real, better-than-day light! And charging my cell phone! At the same time! I called my mom and paced the length of my room bathed in beautiful articicial light. I can't tell you how much easier cooking dinner is with light! And someday soon, I will buy a fan - how posh.
Funny thing though - As I was talking to my mom on the phone, ranting and raving about light, it began to pour and I had to put her on hold to put my buckets outside to collect the rain. "Hey, I still don't have running water!" I joked to her. But you won't find me complaining. I can't wait for the sun to go down tonight so I can have a reason to turn on my new lights!
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