Wo Nu Wali!! (Hello, Everyone!)

Well, much has happened since my last post: I finally made it to
Guinea, learned a little French and Susu (the local language of the
village we are staying in), and moved in with my host family. My
Guinean family is extremely kind and very helpful; they always try
teaching me new words, both French and Susu, and help me with daily
activities.
DAILY LIFE
Getting acquainted with Guinean life has been challenging, especially
because of the language barrier. So far, I have been able to get
drinking water (with the assistance of my host brother), wash all my
clothes (with my host mom and some other woman that lives in my
house…), hang my mosquito net (it took the WHOLE family for that), and
watch the women make food (they haven't let me help them yet). Life
here is pretty good and overall I'm content living here for the next
three months, but am looking forward to learning more about where I
will actually be completing my service.
LANGUAGE
It is very difficult communicating with people who do not speak your
language. Although I have been able to communicate all my needs/wants
there have been some funny incidents along the way. First of all, I
never know what anyone is saying, even though I have been taught the
words/phrases they are using, because they speak too fast. I blankly
stare at people, trying to figure out what they are saying or asking
me. This is very comical, I'm sure, because greetings here are
extremely important to the people. It is considered rude not to talk
to everyone you meet when walking down the street, so it is very
important for me to talk to everyone, or at least try to say hello,
even if they don't understand me. One memorable language issue was
when I was trying to talk about my cat (yes, of course it's important
for my African family to know about bomber). Animals here are not kept
as pets so to have a cat that lives in my house, sleeps on my bed,
plays with me, eats food I provide, and has a name is totally
abstract. Besides this, I do not know the French word or equivalent
for Bomber and Shadow. For Bomber, I settled on them understanding
that she had a name and is mine. For Shadow, however, I decided to
point out a shadow on the ground and hope they understood. Well, they
didn't understand. They thought I was talking about the ground or dirt
or dark. Finally I think they understand after I repeated grabbed
objects and put them in the light to cast a shadow. Another funny
thing happened when I was explaining different types of shoes we have.
I was understood when I was talking about flip flops and sandals but
trying to explain sneakers was difficult. I tried saying "courer",
which is "to run" in French but they had no idea what I was saying.
Then I tried telling them that they were shoes used for futbol (aka
soccer) but that didn't work either. Finally I got up and started
running around our yard and then I think finally I got through to
them.
FOOD
Overall, I am happy with the food here. Everyone is well spiced and
fresh. However they use oil like Gram uses butter. They cook
everything with oil and use wayyyy more than is necessary. My meals at
home mostly consist of potatoes, rice, and fish. This morning I had an
awesome breakfast of what I can only describe as potato salad. It had
boiled potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and hard-boiled egg,
seasoned with black pepper and some other spices, and mixed with just
the right amount of mayonnaise. It was the best meal I've had at my
house so far. Oh, and every meal comes with an entire French baguette.
Well, I should have internet every Thursday for the next few months so
check back for more updates soon! <3 Brittany