long time

first of all, sorry it's been such a long time since ive written anything. i really havent been in conakry that often, and the internet connection (when available) other places just isnt fast enough or reliable enough to risk writing a long post just to have the computer die right before i finish hahah. anyway, at the end of december, i came to conakry to meet up with a bunch of my friends to go to sierra leone for the holidays. we left on december 22nd, and after having to get out of the taxi at about 10 roadblocks at the border to show our passports AGAIN, we finally arrived dusty (unpaved road almost the whole way, plus dry season) and tired. we found a place to stay from a lonely planet guide (travel book) that was written a couple of years ago. anyway, that turned out to be a bad decision because the management was very rude and unwelcoming, and they tried to say that we each had to buy separate rooms (there were 8 of us!!!) well, after lots of finagling, we were able to agree on 4 rooms, and we went outside to look for dinner. by this point, it was dark, and as we wandered around the downtown streets (where our hotel was located) we began to feel uncomfortable. this feeling was compounded by multiple people approaching us telling us that we were not safe there, and we should go back to our hotel. we hurried to buy some grilled chicken legs from a stand on the street, and were about to turn back when a uniformed soldier with a big gun came up to us and said he would escort us back. it wasnt a question. we went.

anyway, that night as we ate our chicken (omg, senegal has the best freakin grilled street chicken and hotdogs i have ever had!...or maybe ive just been away from the states too long haha) we decided we had to move hotels for the next night.

the next morning, i woke up to banging on my door. it was my friend Amber, who informed me and Brienne that the president of guinea had died. we immediately called our country director here, to find out what we should do, and he said to go to the american embassy and register there, so if pc guinea needed to find us they'd know where we were.

we got in a taxi (well, 2, because in sierra leone, they have a "one person, one seat", unlike guinea, whose policy goes more like "one seat, as many people and animals can fit with no consideration to acrobatic like bodily twists and bends...plus live stock and children under puberty dont count". we actually got yelled out several times on our way into sierra leone because we had crammed 8 people into what in guinea is known as a "9 place"- a car with 3 rows, and 6 seats (at most seven if you squeeze 3 people in the back seat). one of my favorite differences between the two countries.

the drive to the embassy took forever, because the embassy is like a huge fortress on a mountain overlooking all of freetown. i bet that just the electricity budget for that embassy for one year is more that the whole peace corps world wide budget. anyway, everytime i see a mighty american embassy with our flag waving proud it really does bring a tear to my eye. a little sentimental, but you would be too if you were going on your 15th month away from home.

the embassy personnel were VERY nice and helped us out a lot. while we were there we asked for some recommendations for a hotel within our price range (about $10 per person per night) and they came up with this one hotel they said was very good. soo, we got back in our taxis and went to it. arriving there however, we discovered that the cheapest room was $100 per night, and no more than 2 people could share a room. sooo, that option was out. it was a gorgeous hotel though. oh well, maybe on my next trip when im a wealthy expat i will go that route. anyway, while a few of us watched the bags and ordered some drinks from the hotel bar, we sent the other half to scout for cheaper places in the neighborhood (which def was a step up from the sketchy downtown area we had stayed in the night before). i used this time to call my brother and dad and let them know i was safely out of the country (bc at that point things were really up in the air).

a little while later the reconnaissance team had found a decently priced hotel (no ac, 4 to a room, sometimes running water). we brought the bags and moved in. that night to celebrate our first big night in freetown, we went down to the beach called Lumley where there is a stretch of bars and restaurants. we ate at one, meeting another group of pc volunteers travelling separately.

the next day we took 2 taxis an hour and a half south to a great stretch of beach called River # 2 because i guess that is where a big river runs into the ocean. there must be a River #1 somewhere but we never saw it. That began 6 of some of the most idyllic days/nights of my life. imagine jungle covered rolling mountains rising majestically out of a crystal clear blue ocean, miles away from anything. we stayed in modest bungalows, with intermittent running water and electricity. at one point, we were planning on going to a party with some friends we had met on the beach that day and all needed to take showers. the water was turned off, so we got a member of the management to go check the water tanks to see if he could turn them on. instead he just threw a rock at them. what is he doing, we thought to ourselves. it turns out he was listening for the sound it made when it hit, to see if it was empty or full. he proceeded to tell us the tanks were empty, so we'd have to wait another couple hours till they were filled back up again.

the last night we were at River #2 , we had a great experience. we went for a night swim, and in the complete darkness under the stars, we realized we were swimming among bioluminescent plankton, which created a million little underwater stars, like fireflies, everytime we moved our arms. it was amazing.

by the time we returned to freetown, the day before new years, we had met enough people on the beach (river #2 is where the expats go to get away from the craziness of the city), that we had a little bit of an in on social happenings around town. this led to lots of fun the last few days, and rounded off a trip that was really magical when i look at it in retrospect. one of those things ill never forget. it is so crazy to think that such a short time ago, the country of sierra leone was involved in such a brutal civil war.

speaking of civil war, we had followed the events in guinea really closely over our time in SL, and were all a little surprised when Conte's death led to a peaceful coup d'état which has kept the country in a stable position to this day. of course, we are always watchful, and waiting to see if the situtation will continue in a like manner. we are all hoping for the best, as this might be guinea's big break when it comes to a democratic future.

coming back from sierra leone was a little nerve wracking because we didnt know exactly what we might find. other than a few hold ups at some new military checkpoints, things went pretty well. oh i guess i should also say that the guineans i have come in contact with are all pretty much obsessed with obama, without really knowing anything about him except that, as they say, "he is African, like us." sooo, we have found that what works best at these checkpoints where armed men are asking for bribes, is to mention obama's name and smile a lot with a few words of local languages (susu, malinke or pulaar depening on your current location), and the men will mostly get really excited yelling about obama, and let you go.

back in guinea, i went with the group to drop everyone off in conakry, but the next day had to turn back around to go to the training village to do my week of "stage" (pronounced st- ahhh- zje, the french way). that is also known as training. the group (g17) who arrived in dec 08, were in forecariah, the training village learning all about culture, language, and their technical sectors, and certain current volunteers can apply to go be a volunteer trainers there to share their experiences and help lead certain technical sessions. it sounds like a lot of fun, getting to meet all the new people and hanging out telling stories, but it is a lot of work too. the best part about it was realizing how far i have come since i was in their shoes a year ago.

after a few days of training, it was time for the trainees (from here on out referred to as "Stagieres") to have their counterpart workshop. i believe i have explained this all when i had mine, but if you have forgotten (it has been over a year now haha), it is a 3 day conference when the trainees finally get to meet the main person/ people they will be working with in their villages (the counterparts are Guineans who live and work in those villages already). there is a lot of intercultural sessions, and a lot of action planning sessions. i led a session called "an average week in the life of an agfo volunteer." it was fun, and i love the location of mamou ( in rolling green mountains reminescent of north carolina).

finally it was time to return to my site. ive been in sort of a slump lately, and after all the fun of sierra leone and training i was worried about getting back into the swing of things. when i got out of my taxi, a lot of my fears went away as i was envelopped in a big hug by my best friend in my village, Madame Sow. it is important to know that almost never do Guineans give hugs, so this was a big deal. i was surprised to find that my garden was flourishing (thanks everyone who sent seeds!!!) and i now have so much good salad which is constantly being complimented by other guineans who walk by. i have begun a new tree nursury (you begin them in the dry season, so you can outplant in the wet season.) the new tree nursury is huge, and i thing we'll be able to do about 10 times as many trees as last year. since we planted about 3000 trees last year (about 15 acres of reforestation), im hoping for about 30000 this year. im really excited about it. my mud stove sensibilization of a couple months ago seems to have worked a little bit, but not as much as id hoped. more people come to me asking for them, and ive built a couple since i last wrote, but the goal is skills transfer- i want my villagers to go as others how to do it, the others that ive already taught. it is a slow process. i have also lately had a few men (a group of about 7 actually) come to me and and express their interest in learning about the ameliorated bee hive i gave the sensabilization on a couple of months ago. sooo, on the village front, things seem to be progressing.

in other news, my main complaint about my village is the lack of cell phone service. i am one of only about 10 volunteers who does not yet have it in their village (no land lines either in case you were thinking that) and it is frustrating to come away from a long village sojourn to find out about how much you have been missing from really being out of the loop. there is however good news on the horizon. a cell phone tower has been built, and we are now just waiting for the generator building to be finished. the rumor mill is strong, but through my own calculated analysis, i believe that we will definitely have service by the end of march. in sha allah.

now to the reason im back in conakry. yesterday i took the mail run car (which had brought me a package from Lisa- THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!!!-but seemed to be lacking a few packages lost in the mail from pops- hopefully soon...) to kissidougou, from where this morning i caught the world food program flight to conakry. on wednesday a group of 12 of us are heading up to senegal (a 2 day trip by bush taxi) to participate in an expat softball tournament called WAIST (west african international softball tournament). the main participants are peace corps volunteers and embassy workers, though any expat is welcome. for the pc volunteers, expat host families are found willing to put up a few of us shabby folks for a few days (which really cuts down on expenses) and it is a great opportunity to get away from it all for a weekend- not to mention meet a ton of other pcvs and learn all about the different experiences we all have in our different countries. i cant wait. anyway, this has been obnoxiously long and im sorry. maybe ill add some fun pix tomorrow. until then, upon matt's suggestion im going to start a list of stuff i need if you feel like sending me a package. when i recieve smg i will take it off the list, unless it is one of the things i would ALWAYS be happy to have (ex, goldfish). i really appreciate all of your continual support in this journey and love to get snail mail, so write me if you have a chance. i love you all!!!!!!!