A Taste of Volunteer Life

I'm in Kissidougu, hanging out with G15 and G17 volunteers who will be my closest neighbors along with Phil and Andrew in Gueckedou. We had a nice meal of steak and french fries last night which was delicious, though I'm not sure the steak would have measured up to much by American standards. I woke up this morning covered with bedbug bites, big, itchy, bumpy ones all over my arms and feet. Ugh. Luckily, there was calamine lotion in the house as it seems everyone gets bedbugs at one point or another.



In Yende Milimou, I spent the night in what will be my new home! It is beautiful. I have a big 2 bedroom house right on the school property. Picture where the school teacher must have lived in Little Women or something and thats my house. The toilet is around back, a pit latrine, and the shower is a gravel area marked off by a bamboo fence. Picture Gilligans Island. I love it! I basically stayed at the house and people came by and dropped off rice and sauce or introduced their wives, or tried to offer a bowl of bloody pork.



Yende is right beside a big mountain. It is really pretty and green because of all the rain. Yesterday was market day and my local mom took me around and bought me cucumbers and helped me bargain for pannes to tailor more traditional Guinean attire. The whole town is very excited and overly helpful. It is difficult to actually do anything because everyone is trying to help and introduce you to all their friends, etc. I won't have cell phone service which is a bummer but many volunteers dont and I'll be in Gueckedou or Kissidougu often enough to communicate with the outside world, eat ice cream and be with other volunteers.



The bush taxi's have been hell, but I suppose I will get used to them. People in the forest are not used to Peace Corps volunteers yet and they assume we have lots of money. We have to fight for reasonable prices and basically travel the same way Guineans travel. Yesterday this meant, cramming 13 people in a station wagon that needed a push start by the petits (little children). I went to pay the driver the 8 mille francs and he said pay me if we get there. Fortunately, we made it.

I'm tired from a poor nights sleep, sharing a bed with 2 other people and many bedbugs. Somehow I was the only one that got bitten. We are all dreading our very long bush taxi ride back to Forecariah tomorrow but trying to deplace the taxi which means, rent the whole thing for us. Even though PC didn't give us enough money to do this we are pooling our money together to make it happen.

My feet are disgustingly dirty and my clothes reek from 2 weeks of wear. Despite all that, it is good to be with friends and laugh about how ridiculous this country is, and what the heck we are doing here. From the internet cafe we are heading to an orphanage where Jess has to drop off some clothes. Then I think we are going to a bar.

I'll be excited to sleep in a familiar place tomorrow, assuming we make it there in a day. Send me some news and I'll be in touch when I can.

Peace.