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!!!!!!!

Conte's Passing

From Matt On Behalf of Sarah -

Sarah is safe and relaxing in Freetown, Sierra Leone, with several other PCV's on their Holiday Break. She wishes everyone back home a Happy Holiday season and wants you to know she is doing ok.

my garden!...one of the things that makes me happy here:)

some of the people who help me in my village get stuff done

yay! finally done- this is a picture of my audience around the new "forno ameliore"

making an air hole using a stick...

smoothing out the platform where the wood will rest...

and the walls go up up up...

then, when the walls are a little built up, you put the pot on the rocks like usual, to build the walls up around the pot to really insulate the fire/heat well...

after the rocks themselves are insulated, we begin to add mud "bricks" (balls of mud) to form the walls...

that yellow can there is to hold up the hole which will be where the wood is inserted...

First i put down the three stones and began to insulate them with my "mud" mixture: cow poop, powdered termite nest, straw and water...

mud stove demonstration

i recently gave a demonstration to the presidents of four women's groups in my area on how to build a fuel efficient mud stove. here are some pix from it...

this one is the traditional way women cook here. see the three stones? they balance the pot on there and put the fire underneath. a lot of heat and smoke escapes.

the office, where we did our work in the training village

at the local cafe in the training village where you can get egg sandwiches and nescafe...btw, it is about 110 degrees in the shade and there is about a 98 percent humidity level there.

celebrating my friend caleb's bday in conakry

Happy Turkey Day!

hey yall. so happy THANKSGIVING!!! more than every before in my life i realize how much i have to be thankful for. i love my family, and my friends all over the world. i love america. i love airconditioning. i love cheese. i love pie and turkey. yesteraday, i had more than lately of those things on that list. a really interesting thought i had yesterday as i sat around eating and laughing with my fellow pc volunteers and some of my best friends, is that although my family and friends from home are far away, and i have had very little contact for the past year, i still really felt a sense of home and comfort. what a far way i have come from a year ago, when i was absolutely scared to death if what awaited me here and how i would deal with a life away from america for 27 months. hmmm, well enough self reflection. one year down, one year to go:)

in other news, i just got back from the training village because G-17, a new group of trainees (my class was G-15, and G-16 arrived in july) will be arriving on December 4th and i am one of the volunteer trainers who will be helping with their "stage" (training). most volunteers who wanted to were able to sign up for a two week block during G-17's 9 week training, and we will be helping with technical training as well as emotional support and cultural integration. it was exciting to be back in the village where i spent my first few weeks in guinea. during our 3 days there, we met the new technical, language and cross cultural trainers who would be helping with the stage, and participated in sessions to design and schedule the training program. we did this by sector, so i was with all the other agroforestry volunteers, which was also awesome because we had a chance to share all our first year experiences and hear what did and did not work for who, and what we think was really important for the training and what no one has used and we think should maybe be eliminated or at least have less emphasis.

Now that im back in conakry im going to look up some information on some projects im doing, most notably bush rat breeding- like what they eat and how to take care of them etc. i also have to type up proposals for two projects im trying to get funding for. ill update you on those depending on their sucess.

anyway, i love yall and hope everyone has a happy holiday season!!! here is a little article i thought you might find interesting, i did.

sarah!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7647962.stm

Jess and I pointing to our hometowns on our completed World Map project

me in front of our un finished world map project (my friend jess and i painted it on the side of an elementary school)

more "wildlife of Africa"

my friends and i ready to go visit some bee hives

me getting in my gear to visit the bee hives

Halloween 2008 in Labe (regional capital of the Fouta region)...

from left: Brittany Spears, Sarah Palin (me), Cher, 80's Mafia Guy, Bush Fire, Black Eyed Pea, Magi Cube (like a bullion cube everyone eats here in their sauce), MSG (everyone eats packages of that too in their sauce here), Guinean School girl (that is what their uniforms look like here), another 80's Mafia man

again, another from my "wildlife of Africa" series

the taxi "gare" where i wait patiently (from 8am-2:30 pm two days ago) to get a bush taxi to fill up with enough passengers to leave (at least 3x the amt of seatbelts in the car)

more from my "wildlife of Africa" series...btw, this is a fly hanging off a piece of straw from my thatch roof

me with my friend Madame Sow's new baby Hashiatu

*i know im so sweaty it looks like i just gave birth haha but it was about 900 degrees in that room and people kept walking in and out making it hotter!*

at my friend Madame Sow's new baby's babtism

gone baby gone

Brittany, thank you sooo much for the cd's and letters! i feel like i actually know what is going on in your life now haha! you'll have to keep me updated after the move. ohhh, btw i LOVED the postcard too! im actually listening to the "thinking" cd right now. very chill. you know how much i miss jax! (and all my friends too! :) i hope you are there when i get back in 16 months!~i love you dude!

Pops: Thank you for begining to write me letters again! i got the one today you sent on sept 22. i love the article on the farriers. i know how hard on your back it is just picking the hooves of multiple horses in one day, let alone be doing all that shaving and hammering! i cant imagine the wear and tear over a lifetime! i love you and miss you! sorry my phone cut you off the other day. i havent made it into town to buy a phone card yet.

Everyone: i leave tomorrow to go back to my hut, so no super fast communication for a while. becky, i read your message that you're sending me snail mail so thanks thanks thanks in advance. i will prob get back to internet around thanksgiving when ill be in my regional capital. pops, sorry i forgot to say thanks sooo much for all the pecans you sent in your last package. im going to make a pecan pie for thanksgiving yay! even though it will be about 95 degrees practically in the sahara desert (literally), with pecan pie, how will it not be just like home:) haha. i love you all and miss you bunches.

banana tree behind raven's hut

the one thing in guinea that matt was really afraid of... it was in raven's hut

matt and i swimming in some waterfalls north of conakry

cooking popcorn in raven's village. we were entertainment for all the women in the cooking hut that day! it is hard to shake the pot to keep the kernals from burning, so matt was trying to do it with his foot, but then the rock slipped and we almost lost the whole thing on the ground. luckily at the last minute one of raven's "moms"jumped in, and with her bare hands picked up the pot off the fire and placed it safely on the ground

hammock time (raven's hut)

matt at the soccer field in my friend Raven's village for the end of Ramadan fete (party)

matt getting water from the well in my friend julie's village in the basse-cote region

an outrageous sunset up on the top of a hill in Boke

*that is a papaya tree in the middle*

the market in my village

me with my best friend in my village

matt with my favorite family in my village

sunrise over the countryside on the way from kankan to conakry

matt and my friend jess taking the peace corps car back from kankan to conakry (all the way across the country). we left at 5 am and watched the sunrise over the countryside

my carrots

some lucaena in my school tree nursury. it is good to plant in a line for live fencing, especially to build pastures for cattle since the leaves are really good for them and high in protein.

me at my reforestation tree nursury. the ones on my right are oil palm trees (which do NOT help the environment, but the group needed some motivation to plant other trees sooo...) the ones on my left are the gmelina that we are using to reforest. next year im going to branch out into some nitrogen fixing trees which improve the soil.

a view from the walk from my hut to the tree nursury i use for my reforestation (the one next to my house is for elementary school education on the different kinds of trees and their uses/importance)

the fence i built to keep out all the wild things that might eat the baby trees in my tree nursury. yup folks, i built that. and it goes all the way around that house on the left (well, not around it, but it starts at the back and wraps around my hut...get matt to explain better)

walking back into town from the night in the hotel (about 4 kilometers)

matt standing in front of our hotel in Faranah. the name of the hotel is Hotel del Niger, but we called it "Africa-land" because it reminds all of us volunteers what disney might use as lodging if they created an africa themed resort. the huts are really cute, and have running water (though not heated) and electricity from 8pm to midnight. matt loved it. there is also a pool and a pair of monkeys that run around the grounds.