Kate in Guinea

Observations Continue

2009-06-07T10:56:00.012Z

Officially, the observation period is over. However I am certain observations will continue forever. I know enough to know I'll be learning something new about how things are here every day I'm here. Following the observation period was another round of training where we discussed in details techniques and ideas we could implement now that we have some possible project ideas in mind. We also compared notes on what we learned about our communities. It was great to see everyone in my group and catch up.

Now we can begin working! I say this with sarcasm because work is a loose term for us. It isn't exactly what most people back home think of as work. In some senses, most volunteers have already begun working during the observation period. Work here entails any project idea we may feel compelled to pursue. Pursuing the idea can include any number of things, but in general, it includes locating resources (be those people or objects or information) and having conversations with people trying to get them on board with the project. I did not begin any projects during my observation period. I tried to gather as much information as possible, through formal and informal meetings. I have a few ideas for projects that I will now begin putting together. In planning these projects, I could very well discover that they're not feasible for one reason or another. My major idea is to help the cyber cafe my partner organization sinks money into each month reach autonomy. One way to reach this goal is to give computer literacy trainings. There is a great demand for this. It would be very exciting to help people acquire these skills that could assist them in their work or in their search for employment. At this point, I'm working with my organization who has already begun working on this project with their donor organization. We'll continue discussions in order to plan out the project. Another idea is to support an organization for the promotion of nutrition. They do work with a tree called Moringa that we learned about in training. I will help the organization prepare and give presentations on the tree and it's virtues. It is very nutritious and can fight malnutrition. Unfortunately, not many people in the community are aware of it and how to use it. Further projects would include support I'll give my partner organization. They give business trainings on many topics we discussed during training. I'll compare my notes with their models as they go about designing their trainings.

I've recently passed the six month anniversary of my arrival in Guinea. I feel I've made it over a significant hump. There were tough times, but I feel much more comfortable in general. I also believe it was tough enough that I would never choose to experience something like that again, at least not for a while. I now have friends, know some areas of my community, built relationships with my host family, and in general have a great deal of support. Equally as important, I've developed a number of coping mechanisms. I have ways of handling issues and that makes a huge difference. Overall, after being here and striving to learn about this country, I've grown an attachment to it. So every day there are things I don't like and ways I get past it and things I do like very much.

An island off the coast of Guinea. Some of the group treated ourselves to a trip following our training.

It is now mango season, which means people without won't go hungry for the time being. For me, I have a delicious mango whenever I fancy one, as my family has a number of grafted mango trees in their front yard.

A waterfall near my city. It's only a trickle now compared to what it will be at the height of the rainy season, so I'm told.

Answers to Questions

2009-02-07T09:07:00.000Z

I sent a bunch of answers to some questions I received and figured it couldn't hurt to post these in case there are others wondering the same things.

The city I'll be living in is huge - 140,000 people if I remember correctly, maybe it's the size of Burlington. There are plenty of people who speak French. All schools nation-wide are taught in French because there are so many local languages. Anyone who has attended school speaks French, so a lot of people in my city do because there are many schools there and anyone who has moved there from somewhere else did so probably because they were educated enough to find work here. There is the occasional person who speaks English. They learn this at school as well, but only for a fraction of their school time and not so well either. Many many people will ask me to teach them English. My host sister is in private school where they're taught English much better and earlier on in their school career. I've already started working on vocab with her.

I'm in an apartment with 2 rooms and a bathroom in a 2 story house. The family is like a host family for me. They try to do everything for me. They are so, so nice to me. The family has resovoirs in their back yard which contain all of the water they collect when the water does run. They share this with me. This water comes from a treatment center so it's safe to put in my water filter and to use for bathing.

The job is whatever I want it to be. I am partnered up with an NGO, but I select the projects I'd like to work on. For the next 3 months, I'll be observing my community to learn as much as I can about it. During this time, I will try to find out what the community needs most and from there I can start to formulate ideas for projects. My NGO partner does business trainings. They want me to help them with trainings, computers, and English. I can pick what I want to do, so who knows what I'll be doing. I met people at my NGO and they are really nice. My counterpart seems very motivated which is fortunate. Coming from America, often there can be mismatches in terms of work ethic. Again, I select which projects to undertake, so I may find a community member with whom I want to work with on something, so I don't know yet who I'll be working with.

There's the dry season and the rainy season. The rains should start in May/June and last til Oct/Nov. It's been warm - in the 90's with humidity. There were a few days where it felt cold - maybe 80's or 70's. That was about it for the winter, I think it starts warming up again. It's also humid which makes things sticky.

The standards here are different in terms of clothes. As long as I'm in something clean and pressed, I'm formal. I will also wear clothes I have made here. These are always formal by the standards here. They are often skirts with a top (all tailored) made from brightly patterned fabric. I will be moving in to my city next week. I'll be there for the whole 2 years.

Visuals from Training

2009-02-05T17:22:00.001Z

The kitchen at my host family's house in our training city. During meal preparations, sauce is usually cooked in a big pot on the right and rice in a big pot on the right. They jam sticks in from all three sides to get a roaring fire going. Amazingly, the dried roof never catches fire, at least from what I observed.

This is a view of the street from the front yard of my host family's house. There's a pretty serious rutt in the road, not uncommon in this country. The ground is just so dry. I washed my shoes well for the goodbye ceremony, as my host mother insisted, but only 10 feet from the house and my shoes and feet were dirty all over again. Oh well.

This is the duck living with my host family to keep my sister healthy. She told me she faints sometimes, perhaps epilepsy? I've received this sister's name and so has the duck. My sister is [her name] #1, I'm [her name] #2, and the duck is #3. The duck is not often treated so nicely by children here, so I tried to counteract this by being super nice to the duck. Not sure how much success I had with this. But my family definitely made a lot of jokes at my expense. So I succeeded at something! For example, when I pulled out the camera to take pictures of my family, they insisted I take some of the duck too. Of course I agreed!

This is a view of the well.

This is the jerry can with a cutout often used to retrieve water from the wells.

This is a pineapple field on a beautiful farm we toured in a rural district of my city.

Isn't it just paradise? We've dubbed it Hanali - from Puff the Magic Dragon.

This is a view from where we held our workshop with our counterparts. You can get a sense for the houses. This is a hilly region of the country. It was also rather chilly in the mornings here, perhaps in the 60's.

More views from the workshop site.

Training is over

2009-02-05T06:34:00.000Z

We've completed our training and left the training site for good yesterday. It wrapped up with a goodbye ceremony during which we thanked our host families and city officials for taking such good care of us. I was one of a few people to give a speech in a local language. I was so nervous, but it seemed to have gone well. I'm learning the local language that my host family speaks, so I wanted to do the speech as a way to thank them.

We have our swearing in ceremony tomorrow where we become volunteers. A few days of traveling and then I move in to my site. A little nervewracking, but it will be nice to have my own space and to unpack my bags for good. My apartment is in a family's house, so it's like having a host family again. They are so friendly and nice to me, so I know I won't be lonely if I don't want to be.

I've updated the mailing post (my first post, so you'll have to click View Old Posts to see it) to include a list of requests for packages. This is for those who were wondering, because by all means, I am so happy to receive packages. And letters are wonderful as well! It's so great to hear about home and to know how much amazing support I have. I really appreciate it, thank you!

Learning Environment

2009-01-01T11:07:00.005Z

This is the market in Forecariah which is open every day until around 5ish. We head here during our lunch break to buy food, snacks, laundry soap, fabric, tailoring services, etc. We also have a business (mine is a pharmacy) in this area that we visit to study and ask questions.

Our business advising classes are in an opening under some big mango trees. There are no walls, no air conditioning. Some of the distractions include children shouting Fote!, dogs with fairly eaten up ears, hens kicking dirt and leaves to find food for their chicks in tow, a child nearby with an electronic toy (a strange sight in Guinea), motorcycles roaring by, etc. It's different. Not a bad place though because there is shade. Our language class is at a friend of our instructor's house. We just sit in plastic chairs with flip chart paper taped to a wall in front of us.

Trip to the Market

2008-12-09T06:52:00.000Z

The road we took to the market:

One heat source we observed was charcoal. Here's an iron powered by charcoal:

French bread sold on the side of the road:

French bread sold from the top of this guy's head:

The vegetable area of the market which reminds me of a farmer's market:

We went out to the market yesterday to aquire fixings for our dinner last night. On account of the holiday, the staff were all off and we were left to fend for ourselves. The Country Director opened his pool to us in the afternoon, which was so very nice. It is definitely swimming weather here.

The market was crowded, winding paths with stalls selling jewelry, hair accessories, fabric, food, shoes. Everything was closing up by 10am for the holiday. There was also an area mostly dedicated to food with vegetables on tables (as seen above) and butchers chopping chickens and fish, lots of fish.

One thing of note while we were out the entire time was that almost nobody begged for money. We passed only a few people in a row who were begging from everyone. The people were so happy to say hello to us and did not want anything in return from our attention. Greetings are super important here. It's fun to go around saying hi and how are you? to everyone as if everyone is your friend.

In some of those pictures, you can see the trash littered about. There are two options for garbage disposal here - burn it or bury it. The air often smells of burning trash. The streets are often littered with trash. Welcome to a developing nation.

This is my last post for a while. We leave shortly for our homestays.

It's beautiful here

2008-12-08T08:01:00.002Z

Here is a view on my way to the computer room. There are gorgeous flowers, palm trees, and so much green here. The walls of the compound have colorful murals of Guinean scenes. We are steps from the beach. This morning we went for a run. The air is coolest at the hour we go (6:30), but people burn trash all the time here. So the air is smokey in places. There are fewer cars, so there is less of a diesel smell. We pass some people. There are stray dogs, but they're not treated like pets here. They have diseases, most likely, so we shouldn't touch them. They are also not used to being pet, I would guess. We walked to the beach after the run. It's beautiful. Unfortunately, sewage and trash is put directly in the water, so it is not safe to enter the water at all. We are at the base of the peninsula it seems, so there are not big waves. Oh, if it were cleaned up, it would be amazing. At any rate, it is so beautiful here. I'll have to get a sunset shot, but take a look at the other blogs from people in my group and you may find one.

This may be my last entry for a while. Tomorrow we leave for our homestays in another city. We'll train in language, technical, and cross-cultural areas. We're very excited.

Restaurant on the Peninsula

2008-12-07T07:20:00.005Z

So far I've been out of the compound twice. One night, we went out the back door, down a side alley, and across the street to a convience store. There wasn't much in there except snacks and a coca cola cooler with drinks. Also, there was a refridgerator containing yogurt in white unlabeled containers. It was delicious! It had a nice vanilla flavor. I highly recommend it!

The second time was to a restaurant way out on the peninsula that is Conakry. We drove past all the embassies and fancy (ish) hotels. Yes, there are more than one hotels. For the most part, in the city there are very modest small buildings that could really be called shacks. There are more sound buildings and multiple story buildings. We passed one built by the Chinese. The import a lot of resources, people included, to build impressive buildings. They prepared American-style food for us. Chicken, fish, spaghetti, salad, rice, bread. It was great. The current volunteers informed us that they eat chicken about once in three months. Protein comes from other sources. She did say she eats fish regularly. Here are pictures from the restaurant trip.

Also, here is a picture of one of many maps in the building we're staying in. We're slowly learning about the four regions of Guinea. It's a very diverse country.

My schedule for the next few days:

Monday is a holiday, so we have the day off. The current volunteers will take us to the market and show us how to get food. Then we'll cook for ourselves. It will be nice to relax for a day. Today (Sunday) we're have another day of lessons. Tuesday we set out for the city where we hold our training. We'll be there for two months and will be staying with a host family. I highly doubt that I'll have internet access. So please send me snail mail. Also, you can still send me emails. It's just that I may not respond or read them for a while.

I'm doing well so far. I feel great. I love the food. It's usually rice and a spicy sauce if not spicy rice to begin with. Then some vegetables or fruit. Breakfast is french bread, so yummy. Hope all is well with everyone!

Fote

2008-12-04T21:25:00.000Z

There are accents on that word. I believe a chateau (hat) on the 'o' and possibly an accent on the é (comme ca (like this) if you can see it). It means white person. The children are particularly fond of yelling this at us white people. They consistently shout it at us until we're out of range. We experienced it for the first time on the way from the airport to the PC office. It reminds me of the Banana or Range Rover game, Matilda and Theresa. So as soon as their eyes focus on us, they scream Fote! but not just once (which is what I think you guys do with Banana) but nonstop. Makes you feel special, in a way.

Photos (Hopefully)

2008-12-04T21:04:00.002Z

Here are some photos of where we'll be the next couple of days. Then it's off to a city south of Conakry for 2 months of training. We'll be staying in a home stay there. I do not know if there is internet in that city. The internet connection here is difficult and may be the best internet access we'll have. There are three other laptops in three other regional capitals in their PC houses. Those sometimes have internet access. I won't know for more than a month where I'll be posted for the next 2 years. When I do, I can figure out if I'm close to one of those regional capitals. Being in Small Enterprise Development, I should be posted in a medium city. Most likely I'll be in a house and not a hut. Bummer. Anyways, all of this is just to warn you that I may not be able to post for at least 2 months, maybe more. So, please send letters. They will become my most frequent form of communication, I suspect. I hope everyone's doing well!

Safely In Country

2008-12-04T17:56:00.000Z

I'm in the PC Office for Guinea in Conakry where the internet connection and power is iffy. We arrived this morning after a stop in Dakar, Senegal. There are palm trees and lots of green and views of the ocean from the roof of where we'll be staying the next few days. And it's very hot and humid. Perhaps in the 90's. The housing at the PC Office is in a separate building inside the same compound as the office. We have electricity (except when it goes out for a spell) and showers with hot water! Lunch was a buffet with the largest bowl of rice I've ever seen followed by chunks of fish and spicy vegetables. Also, a coke. It's not so bad so far. I feel well, other than being a tired from the traveling. I won't have any trouble sleeping tonight. We're in rooms with 8 bunk beds. Everyone in the group is friendly and fun to be around. We have some current volunteers with us at our training. They met us at the airport and helped transfer our bags to the vans and trucks. All of us new volunteers have watches and not a single current volunteer does, if that tells you anything. We hear a lot of French now. It's exciting to get back into it.

I cannot post pictures yet and may not be able to because the computers are in high demand and slow. Also, I cannot get to all my emails now because the internet connection is too slow to answer them all in a timely manner. I miss you all! I'm doing fine and really enjoying it. Theresa, Happy (Early) Birthday!!

Mailing

2008-12-02T11:35:00.000Z

Thanks everyone for all of your support and well wishes. I really appreciate them! I'll try to send updates whenever I have internet access. Please send me updates. You can email me at the same gmail address I've been using. Also, you can send me letters and packages. There are a lot of suggestions out there regarding this. Below are some details I borrowed from someone who went to the trouble of listing out the various suggestions. Thanks Dorian!

Mailing Address:

Kate [last name], PCV
Corps de la Paix Americain
BP 1927
Conakry, Guinea
West Africa

All mail is delivered to PC HQ, and then they do a monthly mail run out to my site to give me everything I have received. Something you send could take up to six weeks to actually get to me, and outgoing mail is no better. But PLEASE send letters and packages as often as possible. They will keep up my morale! When you send letters, number them clearly at the top and put the date. Also, make a photocopy of the letter before you send it in case any get lost in the mail, so we will still have it if it never gets here. Good things to send with letters are photos, comics, and news clippings. Do not send money or anything valuable as oftentimes the edges of letters will be clipped to see if there is anything of value inside.If you’re sending a postcard, put it in an envelope. The pretty pictures are likely to end up posted on some Guinean’s wall instead of mine. Be sure to write “AIR MAIL” and “PAR AVION” on the envelope.

Packages:

1. Print the address label from a computer if possible to make it official-looking. I have read that packages with labels printed by hand have not made it to their destination.

2. Insure the package, even if it’s just granola bars. One volunteer kept track of his packages and received 100% of those that were insured and only 56% of uninsured packages. Write “INSURED” and “ASSURANCE” (French) on the outside. Also write “AIR MAIL” and “PAR AVION” on the box.

3. Number and date your packages so I know I am receiving them.

4. If there is something super-important you really want me to get, put it inside an empty tampon box – apparently no one will touch it.

5. Mail is less likely to be tampered with if it’s addressed in red ink.

6. It’s also less likely to be tampered with if you draw crosses and write religious phrases on it (in French) such as “Dieu regardez-vous” or “Dieu merci”.

7. Please tape the box up really, really well after you seal it so no one can easily reach in and steal stuff.

8. If sending food, please wrap and double wrap in plastic bags (ziplocs preferably, since I can reuse them) to avoid rats and other wonderful creatures from sharing in on my treats.

9. You will also be required to fill out customs declaration form PS Form 2976-A. You can complete this form at the post office or online before you ship at https://webapps.usps.com/customsforms/. Indicate all contents as “Used” on the customs form to reduce the risk of theft.

10. On the Customs form, when listing the contents make them lame. For example, tell them you are sending me pencils or education materials and not expensive chocolate or soccer balls. Just downplay everything. If you’re sending books, magazines, DVDs, things like that, you can mark it as “educational materials” (I would say you could even mark that for stuff like soccer balls and stuff for kids), as it is less likely to be tampered with.

11. If what you’re sending is relatively heavy, I suggest sending with the post office’s Priority Mail flat rate international box (same as the domestic box), as the weight restriction is 20 pounds as long as the stuff fits in the box. The rate is $38.95 for the regular box (11" x 8.5" x 5.5") and $49.95 for the larger box (12” x 12” x 6”). This rate is only good for parcels, so DO NOT include a letter inside as you may be charged the letter rate, not package rate, for the whole package. If you want to include a letter, it is suggested that you tape it underneath the address label or to the inside page of a magazine so it is unlikely to be detected. If what you are sending is light, you may be able to pay less than the flat rate. Ask your local post office.

12. There is no method of disposing of trash or recyclables where I will be going (other than burning or throwing on the ground), so please minimize packaging or put things in containers I can reuse, like Ziploc bags, jars or airtight plastic containers/Tupperware.Be aware that you can do all of this stuff online at www.usps.com, including ordering free flat rate boxes, printing postage, and scheduling a pickup. In fact, you get a 5% discount on the shipping fee if you do it online.

[Edit:] Now that I've been here a while and seen what's available in-country (there is a lot), I have some ideas of what to send in packages:
Newspaper/magazine clippings (articles and crossword puzzles)
Gummy bears!
Dried soup and sauce mixes
Spices
Brown sugar
Yeast (found a recipe for bagels I'd like to try out)
Store brand AA batteries
Cheese products that won't perish - cheese and crackers or cheezits for example
Chocolate - my favorite is dark chocolate
Tuna fish pouches
Chicken meat pouches
Beef jerky
Plastic containers from restaurants or deli counters
Shampoo plus Conditioner
Deodorant
M&M's
Herbal Teas
Cake/Cookie mixes, preferably ones that request only water and eggs

Please go ahead and send everything as store brand because it's quality is really good.

But no matter what you send, I will be so so so happy to receive a package. Just having something in my hands from home is a huge reminder of all the amazing support I have from back home.

Lastly, here is a test upload or as Donna put it, a "Before" picture. My passport photo picture.