One Month Down: Weeks 5 and 6

WEEK 5

 

March 7, 2012

 

I can't believe I've already been at site for a month. Time is flying by and I can only imagine how quickly it'll continue to pass when I actually start working.

 

Monday I had my first Susu lesson with Mr. Soumah, the history teacher here. He has tutored all of the other PCVs from Bintimodia and so I feel confident that he will actually be able to help me. He seems very accommodating and is pleased with my effort so far.

 

Yesterday I met with the English teacher to discuss a revision class for students interested to learning English. We worked it out so I will be teaching revision once a week for two hours for any student or adult from the village. I am very happy with this because it won't be too time consuming, but it should be very beneficial to those who attend. The students in the college (7^th-10^th grade) are being taught incorrect English by their Guinean teacher and have incredible difficulty pronouncing words, since the teacher can't even pronounce them properly. Hopefully I will be able to correct mistakes of the teacher and help them practice real English.

 

The same cat that broke into my house a few weeks ago was hanging around the hospital this morning looking for food. I called it over and it was being very sweet with me so I was petting it and trying to encourage it to like me. It was purring super intensely and did that "I can't get enough love" biting thing Bomber does. It was really nice, and I'm considering adopting it, especially since I know it belonged to the previous PCV. I still plan to get a kitten, but for now I might see how this cat works out.

 

Conte was really excited this morning. He told me to start sitting in on consultations with the stagiares. I am very happy about this, because now I actually feel like I'm doing something instead of just being a secretary for the hospital.

 

March 8, 2012

 

Another morning of consultations! I actually enjoy "working" at the hospital, instead of sitting helplessly outside. There is a specific procedure to each consultation; the "doctor" questions the patient about symptoms and whatnot then takes blood pressure, temperature, and weight. Sometime during this process, a diagnosis is made (usually Malaria) and the patient receives medication (usually aspirin and antimalarials, even if that was not the diagnosis).  Our health center is not equipped with a lab so we can't run tests for malaria or anything else; therefore, all diagnoses are presumptive.  After the patient gets the medications, or is written a prescription to have filled in Kamsar, they pay an arbitrary amount of money (but not much) and head home.

 

Today I sat in on another American history lecture with Mr. Soumah. The lecture was on the stock market crash and Great Depression in the 1930s. It was a great overview of why/how it happened and the effect it had on international economics. However, he didn't really discuss what happened after. He mentioned FDR and the "New Deal" saying it helped rebuild America, but didn't go into the actual importance of these programs in shaping the face of America today. When Mr. Soumah asked if I had anything to add to the class, I wanted to talk about these things, but refrained; I figured it might be for a future class and I wasn't confident in my ability to discuss the issue and answer questions about it.

 

Immediately after the history lecture I had a Susu class with Mr. Soumah. I love learning the language, even though it is a little challenging. A lot of the words are from English or French, so picking up a lot of the vocab shouldn't be too difficult. Also, Mr. Soumah thinks I'm the best student ever, but really it's just because he is teaching me things I kind of already know and Susu overall is an easy language to learn, so I'm picking it up quickly.

 

Mr. Soumah is also helping me with some things outside of academics. I mentioned I want to paint my house and so he is looking in the market for interior wall paint for me. He is supposed to get it this weekend and the man will come to paint my house Sunday!

 

WEEK 6

 

March 12, 2012

 

Well, the man did not come to paint my house yesterday. I'm a little bummed about this, but I have Susu this afternoon so I can ask Mr. Soumah about it and see if he was able to buy the paint.

 

This weekend was really awesome. Friday I sat in on consultations throughout the morning and hung out with Kadiatou for lunch. There was a sacrifice of a goat at her house for something to do with her aunt. I eat meat rarely so it was a great treat to eat the grilled goat. In the afternoon, Lamar and I worked in the garden and he showed me other plots we are starting for rice. I really enjoy being there and want to try spending more time working there.

 

I spent Saturday in Kamsar and tried a new place for lunch. I got a hotdog that turned out to be two hotdogs on half of a French baguette with mozzarella cheese, onion, tomato, mustard, and ketchup. It was delicious and inexpensive, especially considering how large it was. I talked a little with the owner, and he told me about the WiFi there, and to my understanding it's free, which is awesome. I will definitely check that out next time I'm in Kamsar, since the internet café isn't the greatest.

 

Saturday night I went to the video club run by my brother/cousin. The music is pretty good, except for the really traditional stuff. However, I really do no like the skits. They are very strange and are in Susu so I can't even really follow what's happening. Also, they are cheaply made, which is not usually a problem, but the volume is up sooooo loud that when the dialogue or music happens the sound is blasting out and it's too loud to even hear. It's really annoying and I cannot handle it.

 

Sunday was a relaxing day as usual; washed some clothes, painted my nails, got water from the pump. It was made special, because I got packages form home delivered. Getting packages is like Christmas; I have no idea what's inside for the most part, but I know it's going to be awesome. I got a bunch of food/candy in addition to games and other fun things to share with the PCVs in Boke next weekend. There was one small mishap with one of the packages, though. A mouse got into the corner of one box and chewed into a packet of noodle soup. Well, this, in turn, invited tiny red ants to take over and the box was completely filled with them. Somehow the ants even managed to get into a Tupperware container. Luckily, they didn't ruin anything and I was able to get them all out of the box and off of the various items!

 

March 13, 2012

 

Just had my first English revision. It went really well and I feel great about it. I was worried at first, because it was just Kadiatou and I. Fortunately two boys showed up right as I was beginning so it wasn't too bad. Throughout the lesson, more students trickled in, and by the end I had nine students!

 

I taught them greetings and how to introduce them. There was a simple dialogue to reinforce introductions, learn some vocabulary, and listen to how a real conversation might sound. As a final exercise, I had them answer questions about themselves: name, age, where they live, what they do, and how many siblings they have. I think it was basic enough for everyone to fully understand, but still challenging enough for people to need a little help or a few corrections for their answers. Next week, I think I will have them read aloud their mini bios for practice and to reinforce the lesson before teaching how to express wants and needs in daily life.

 

March 18, 2012

 

I love going to Boke and spending the weekend with other volunteers. It is really great to get out of village for a little while and just have some "American" time. Friday Steph and Marissa bought mozzarella sticks at the super market. We fried them up and also garlic bread, spaghetti, and homemade tomato sauce and had a feast dinner. They were soooooo good and we are definitely planning on buying them again in the future, especially since they were half the price we thought they were going to be. Also, on Friday Marissa gave me a haircut. My long locks have become a chin length bob and it is really nice not to have to "do" my hair. Saturday we started the day watching Lion King and then went to market to buy things for lunch/dinner and look for fabric. We spent almost two hours there but luckily all three of us got some beautiful cloth to make some new clothes. For lunch we made macaroni and cheese with velveeta from my care package and had a delicious salad. The afternoon was spent playing scrabble and watching Rio. For dinner we made tortilla soup and Phil bought beers since it's St. Patrick's day. We even splurged and bought ice to put in the filter so we could have cold water! After dinner we made peanut butter and banana cookies/brownies and watched another movie (Big Trouble). All in all, it was a great weekend, and not too much money spent. Today I am off to Kamsar to try the restaurant WiFi and maybe buy another hotdog sandwich  : )

Settling into Site: Weeks 3 and 4

WEEK 3

Feb 18, 2012

The stagiares are very sweet. This morning they invited me to eat
(which all Guineans do if they are eating) and since I didn't have
breakfast I ate. It was rice with a peanut sauce, fish, and some
pasta. There was a lot of it so I didn't feel too bad about enjoying
it. When I put my spoon down and said I was done, they said I couldn't
possibly be full and to eat more, even though they were finishing up
themselves. I hope they share with me every morning since breakfast is
the most difficult to find here.

Yesterday in Kamsar we (me, Steph, and Marissa) went to a new
supermarket. It was amazing! There was a huge selection and the prices
weren't too bad. They even had a good amount of frozen foods,
including: dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets, burgers, bacon/turkey
bacon, mozzarella sticks, taquitos, and microwave dinners (not that I
expect many people here to have microwaves…). There I bought apple
juice (which was not that good), nacho cheese, and crackers. Well that
was my lunch yesterday and it was awesome! Since it didn't make me
sick, I will eat the rest today : )

A young woman (maybe about 14) just came to the hospital with severe
malaria. Joe put her on a quinine drip with an anti-emetic to control
her vomiting. Now that the stagiares are here and are sitting in on
consultations, they want me there too. It's kind of strange, because
in America people can't just watch a meeting between the doctor and
patient unless they are a med student or something. Well, I'm not in
America and this is a great opportunity to learn some new things so I
guess I will make the most of it while I can.

The Diallo family (Kadiatou) is so sweet! They called me over for
brunch just now and gave me French bread with beans (common breakfast
food here) with chicken in it! Chicken is very expensive here so
people rarely eat it. This was a very nice treat for me and I ate as
much as I possibly could, making sure to pick out the chicken.
Kadiatou was a little upset I didn't eat it all, but I said I was full
and that it was very delicious so eventually she accepted that and let
me be finished. I love that people here are so generous and
hospitable, it makes being "alone" so much easier.

After a nice long nap, I decided to eat the rest of my crackers and
nacho cheese. No sooner had I eaten the last one and Kadiatou called
me over to have lunch. I said I could eat a little but she prepared me
way too much. Again, I ate until I was completely stuffed, but still
half the rice remained. Kadiatou insisted I eat more, but there was no
possible way I could take another bite. I was uncomfortably full,
almost to the point of feeling sick. Kadiatou finally let me go,
although I don't think she was convinced I was done.

Feb 19, 2012

Sundays are lazy days since the hospital isn't really open. Cleaned my
house; washed some clothes; hung out in the hammock. That's all. Oh
yeah, I also did my nails. Exciting.

Today my meals consisted of salami and gummy worms. I ate a little
rice and sauce but got full really fast so didn't have much. I'm
assuming my stomach weirdness (like capacity not illness) is a side
effect of the meds/being sick and will hopefully pass soon.

Kadiatou came over today with Lamar and I showed them pictures of
family/friends/pets from America. They love Janna. They think she is
"tres belle comme Miss" (very pretty like me). They also love Bomber.
They think she is the prettiest cat ever and love saying her name.
It's actually pretty amusing and very sweet.

OK. Something terrifying happened last night. I had fallen asleep
pretty eary, probably around 9, and woke up to a man calling my name
(M'Balia, not Brittany). I only heard him say it once but listened
very closely after that. Looking at my watch, I saw that it was
midnight. I assumed it was my brother who said my name, making sure I
was home, since I hadn't seen my family before going to sleep. Still I
was shaken and after checking that my door was locked, I brought my
keys into my room with me in case anyone was thinking about trying to
get them through my living room window (remember, no screens yet). I'm
sure no one was trying to break in and felt better after seeing a
light in the main house, showing someone was awake if anything should
happen.

Feb 20, 2012

So Lamah has been in Boke since Wednesday (today is Monday) waiting
for medicine from Conakry. We are supposed to do a sensibilization on
family planning tomorrow in Kataco (neighboring village). No one here
has done anything to prepare for it and I'm not exactly sure what
message Lamah wants me to get across. I haven't seen one of these
presentations in Bintimodia yet so I don't know how they normally work
here. Hopefully Lamah comes back today, or I guess we won't be going
to Kataco…

Well, Lamah didn't return yet. I hope he comes back soon because I'm
spending the weekend in Boke with the other volunteers and I would
like to talk to him before I leave on Friday. Also I need to tell him
I won't be at the sensibilization on Saturday…hope this won't be a
problem.

Cell service here is very inconsistent. Even when I have signal, I
don't get texts until hours after they are sent, if I get them at all.
Then in the middle of the night I get like six texts all at once.
Also, I will have service all day until I want to make a call, at
which point it's emergency use only. WHT?! Well, hopefully this will
improve soon since a new cell tower is being built in my village for
the Orange network. I think it should be finished in the next couple
weeks, so we'll see what happens.

Feb 21, 2012

There are seven women waiting at the hospital to see the doctor. I
think Conte is doing vaccinations in a neighboring village and Lamah
is still in Boke so it's only Joe here. He finally just returned after
being away for nearly 45 minutes, but he doesn't have the keys to the
office for some reason so he now has to go find them. The women are
getting really anxious and don't understand why I can't just do the
consultations myself.

Finally Joe is back, but now more people are arriving to be seen. I
feel so helpless, but I can't do vaccinations and I don't speak Susu
so I couldn't even help them if I was qualified.

There is a little boy here with his mother and he is sooo adorable. He
loves the babies around him and is smiling constantly and trying to
play/touch the babies. He doesn't appear sick, but it is likely he has
a respiratory infection since most kids here have something similar to
that almost all the time.

A woman waiting at the hospital keeps giving her baby (like under 6
months old) water. Babies that young should only be given breast milk
and in the 1.5 hours she's been here she hasn't even tried
breastfeeding even though they baby is fussy. Does she want her child
to be malnourished? Does she not have any common sense? I really want
to say something but I'm not a doctor and I don't have children and
I'm not Guinean, so what do I know…

The village is eerily quiet today. School got out early because there
is a soccer game between the college (middle school) of Bintimodia and
Kamsar, so all the kids went off to Kamsar around noon and didn't
return until about 8. It's weird not seeing and hearing the children
playing and working, especially at the hospital because kids are
usually getting water at the pump most of the day.

Feb 22, 2012

Two young men just rode to the hospital on bikes with a little boy
about two years old. They boy is clearly sick, but it's strange for
men to bring him to the doctor since men typically work/lounge/go to
school while women take care of family and home issues. The men (early
to mid-20s) are obviously very concerned about the boy and I feel bad
because Joe went off somewhere and again I'm the only one at the
hospital with the patients. I wonder if something happened to the
mother of the boy and so the father and his friend are bringing the
boy here.

There is another small boy (1.5 years old based on his chart) waiting
here. He is very cute and keeps smiling at me. But he is also very
weak. He looks like a ragdoll, all floppy because he can't support his
head or limbs. He was in with the doctor for a long time (well, longer
than the normal consultation) and I'm surprised he is being sent home
instead of being kept for observation. I think he got some meds at
least.

I hate that people try to keep teaching me the salutation for Susu. I
have been in Guinea for three months, I know how to greet people. It
is extremely annoying and it makes me really angry; I would prefer not
using these salutations at all if this is what will continue to
happen. If they want me to learn Susu, they should teach me useful
expressions, not the same thing I already know. It's especially
obnoxious when someone greats me and I respond in Susu; usually they
say something else in Susu to see how much I know, but when I don't
know the response to whatever they asked and I say I don't really
speak Susu yet, they try to teach me that salutations. Hello! I just
greeted you in Susu! Clearly I know that!

Feb 26, 2012

Well, it's been a few days since I've written, but not too much has
been going on. Friday I left the village early in the morning to go to
Kamsar and then on to Boke, where I met up with Steph, Marissa, and
Liz (an education violunteer) and spent the weekend at the volunteer
house. We had a great time just hanging out and talking about life in
village. We watched some random episodes of TV shows we brought (30
rock, It's Always Sunny, How I Met your Mother, etc.) and made some
awesome food. For dinner Friday we made pizzas with real cheese! The
homemade dough and sauce were delicious and all of it was actually
pretty simple to make. Saturday morning we made French toast with
vanilla sugar instead of attempting syrup. That day Steph and Marissa
went off to Kamsar while Liz and I relaxed at the house. Saturday
night we made chili and shredded some cheese on top. We also tried to
make corn bread. It came out all right but was a little bland and
didn't really cool evenly. We know how to improve it for next time and
will definitely be trying it again. Saturday night after cleaning up
from dinner we watched Pride and Prejudice and ate Oreos with milk
(powdered milk…not as delicious, but just fine for dunking) and
Reese's peanut butter cups we bought in Kamsar. It was a great end to
the day and I am sad to be leaving Sunday to go back to village. I
think we will all be meeting again in a few weeks (we get to visit the
regional house once a month) to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. At least
that gives me something to look forward to!

WEEK 4

Feb 3, 2012

It's been a while since I last wrote, but not too much has been going
on. There has been a young boy, maybe 6 years old, at the hospital all
week. He injured his thigh somehow and can only support a little
weight on that leg. There is a lot of screaming coming from the room
every time the doctors go in. I know the boy had an IV but I'm not
sure what else is going on in there.

Yesterday I sat in on a history lecture for a 9th grade class on the
American Revolution. It's interesting to see how our country's history
is taught in other places, and the emphasis they place on certain
events. I was surprised that the teacher didn't use any notes during
the class, but was able to give dates and names from memory. I guess
that's the result of the education system here: all memorization and
no application of information.

After that class yesterday I went to visit my friend, Liz, an
education volunteer about an hour taxi ride away. It was cool seeing
her village since I haven't been to anyone else's site yet. Every
Wednesday she has revision, like an informal class for students who
want to learn English. I really enjoyed helping lead the class,
especially because this is exactly the kind of English class I want to
teach in Bintimodia.

Today I spoke with the history professor of the college (middle
school) and he is going to tutor me three days a week in Susu. I am
really excited to start (next week!) because I desperately want to
speak Susu and because I'm getting bored with having nothing to do
everyday. I am also starting my own Revision in a couple weeks and I
am really anxious to see how it works for me.

This afternoon Kadiatou brought me to visit Lamar at the community
garden. It is huge! The two of them have a small plot that they work
for their families and I am going to help out a few times a week. It
was incredibly beautiful there and next time I go will definitely be
taking my camera so you all can experience the awesomeness of it as
well.

February Book List

Side-Tracked
Henning Mankell

Dracula
Bram Stoker

Black Noise
Tricia Rose

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

If It Takes a Village, Build One
Malaak Compton-Rock

Lost World
Arthur Conan Doyle

Sammy's Hill
Kristin Gore

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
J. K. Rowling