April Book List

Nostradamus
    Knut Boeser

Girl, Interrupted
    Susanna Kaysen

The Winter of Our Discontent
     John Steinbeck

The Mosquito Coast
     Paul Theroux

Congo
     Michael Crichton

Welcome to the Great Mysterious
     Lorna Landvik

Babel Tower
     A. S. Byatt

Wait, this is a Guinean wedding?: Week 10

WEEK 10

April 10, 2012

I spent the weekend in Boke with Marissa and Stephanie and a bunch of education volunteers who are on spring break. It was a lot of fun and we made some awesome meals. The first night was just the three of us so we made garlic bread and mozzarella sticks again. The next day, before the education volunteers arrived (they were all coming from a vacation on the beach) we made brownies with caramel and mango jam. For dinner that night we had sag paneer (an Indian style dish made with spinach and cheese) with homemade cheese and flat bread. It was delicious and the ed volunteers were very grateful because they hadn’t planned anything for dinner.

Yesterday we made pancakes that we ate with mango jam and bananas. That afternoon we lounged and watched movies and just talked. It was a really relaxing day and it was great spending time with the other volunteers, getting to know them better. For dinner that night we made pasta salad, deviled eggs, and garlic bread and Cisse (regional coordinator) brought us half a watermelon.

Today the ed volunteers all went to Kamsar and Steph went back to site, so Marissa and I organized the library, alphabetizing and dusting the shelves. Later the two of us ventured into the market where I bought two new fabrics for clothes (one is white, blue, and red with umbrellas and the other is maroon with white parasols) and Marissa bought screens for her windows/door. On our way out I saw a kitten in a gutter of the market and we brought it back to the PC house to clean and feed it. After de-fleeing it and whatnot, the kitten was very lively and Marissa decided to name it Maakiti (ma-KEE-tee), which is Susu for market. Marissa took Maakiti back to site with her, as I plan to get a cat from one of the PC APCD’s at our next training session in May.

April 13, 2012

Today I went to a marriage for someone in my extended family. This was the first actual ceremony I’ve seen here (besides that weird thing for the funeral) and it was very strange. I don’t quite know how to describe what happened; it was extremely awkward and unexpectedly informal. For the wedding, woven mats were placed in a square on the ground and the Sage all sat around the square. Two white plastic chairs were placed facing the square for the bride and groom. All the people attending the wedding sat in plastic chairs in a circle surrounding the couple and the Sage. The bride came out first; she was very young, no older than 16. She walked into the circle from her house with a woman (I’m assuming her mother) and the woman placed in a chair and arranged her veil so it covered her hair. I felt bad for this girl; she looked terrified, and not just pre-wedding jitter, more like she would burst into tears any moment. I asked Kadiatou if this girl wanted to get married and she said of course, and it was normal for her to be scared (but it was not normal, I can assure you). Then the groom (probably about 24 years old, maybe older) entered the circle from the other side where he had been standing with friends; he sat in the chair next to the bride and the mother of the bride placed a white sheet over both of their heads. Then the chief Sage started speaking in Susu with another Sage echoing him, like at the funeral.

This continued for a while and then all of a sudden people started running up to the bride and groom throwing money at them and at the Sage. I was taken aback by this interruption of the ceremony, but no one else seemed surprised. Once everyone returned to his or her seats the Sage resumed his speech, but only to be interrupted a short while later by more money tossing. This happened three or four times by the time the ceremony was over. After every time money was thrown at the couple, women, like bridesmaids I guess, took the money away and gave it to the family of the bride.

In the middle of the wedding, a random woman (maybe related to the bride?) pulled a chair up next to the groom, sat down, and placed a white cloth over her head and his. Everyone thought this was hilarious (except the bride), but I didn’t understand what she was doing.  When I asked Kadiatou what was happening she said the woman was just joking, but it was very strange. She remained sitting there for a while, almost the rest of the ceremony, before the Sage told her to leave. During the whole service, the bride sat mannequin-like; she didn’t move at all, and I don’t think she ever smiled. Even when it was over and people were getting ready to head to the fête (generic word for any kind of celebration, in this case it was the wedding reception) she looked scared and unhappy.

After the wedding, I was walking home with Kadiatou when she pulled me into the village taxi along with 4 other people and the driver. I thought we were just getting a ride back to our houses but it turned out we were in a parade of sorts, comprised of motorcycles, cars, pick-up trucks, and children running and screaming alongside the vehicles. The “parade” ended at the house of the groom, where the reception took place. Once here, everyone began dancing and taking pictures of the newlyweds, who were placed on a couch in the middle of the yard. All in all, this was a rather interesting, and a little disturbing afternoon, and I look forward to attending more weddings to see if this one was, in fact, typical.

Well, I quit my PC Job...My New African Life: Weeks 7, 8, and 9

WEEK 7

March 21, 2012

Yesterday Fadiga (PC person responsible for all Public Health stuff) came for a visit with the new regional coordinator (RC) for Boke, Cisse. Cisse was the homestay coordinator for training and I know him to be helpful and kind. I am glad he was chosen as our RC because this is someone I report to with problems at site and whatnot and I know Cisse will be easy to work with.

After Fadiga and Cisse left, I had my second English revision. There were seven students there, plus a bunch of younger kids from the primary school. I taught them verb conjugation for “to have,” “to go,” and “to be,” and vocabulary for daily activities. We also went over questions and expressions for wants and needs. I think it went very well, although I gave a lot of new words so in the next few weeks I have to make sure to reinforce it.

March 25, 2012

Today Finda (a stagaire), Bintou (the Mama of the hospital) and I went out into the village to give polio vaccines as part of the UNICEF program that takes place a few times each year in an effort to eradicate polio. We vaccinated about 60 kids and the other stagaires and doctors reached about the same number, totally about 250 kids just today. Over the next few days we will continue to work in neighboring villages to reach as many kids as possible.

It was great exploring the village and talking to people, although some of the children were a bit obnoxious. The vaccine is oral, and I think tastes a bit sweet, so there really should be no fuss about giving it. In fact, most kids didn’t even know what was going on and barely made a sound, let alone resistance. However, a few of the children were terrified of me, because I’m the first white person they’ve seen. They would scream and run away from me, even though I wasn’t even the one giving the vaccine. It was pretty funny, although now the children will probably always associate white people with unpleasant things, like being chased and having their mouths forced open like that.

WEEK 8

March 26, 2012

Today I thought I would be going out to give more vaccinations, but Lamah said it was too hot for me, so I had to stay at the hospital with him. I don’t mind the sun or the heat and the exercise is good so I would have preferred walking around the village again. But, the chef insisted, saying the sun isn’t good for me and maybe I can go tomorrow. I hate being treated like some fragile thing instead of a normal person. Maybe because they have a lot of albinos here who actually cannot tolerate sunlight and so they assume the same is true for all white people.

March 27, 2012

Well, I didn’t get to go out vaccinating again today. I guess it’s just as well since today’s consultations were a bit exciting/gross. We gave a bunch of routine immunizations and this one family with a newborn baby came to have the birth documented and to get the kid vaccinated against tuberculosis and polio. The mother of the infant had an abscess in one of her breasts that was dripping puss. It was really swollen and she was clearly in a great deal of pain. After vaccinating the baby and other children waiting, Lamah started draining the abscess by squeezing out all the pus. I couldn’t believe how much fluid came out of her. There was at least of cup of pus by the time Lamah was finished. About halfway through the ordeal, her husband had to come in and hold her down on the exam table because she refused to let Lamah continue, the pain was so intense. Keep in mind we don’t have any painkillers (besides aspirin) and no local anesthetics either, so her pain was raw, nothing to take the edge off.

Later in the day I had another English revision. This week I taught members of family and had everyone draw and label a picture of their families as well as write a simple sentence explaining what each member of their family does for work or whatnot.  Everyone seemed to understand the assignment and went to task. When I looked over their pictures, I realized they all drew my family (which I drew on the chalk board as an example). I explained again I wanted to see their families, not mine and finally they got it. When it came time to write the sentences, however, there was another issue. Each person wrote a sentence about his or her family members, but each sentence said the same thing, just with the name or family relation changed. I had to repeatedly ask them to be more specific about where someone worked or went to school, or what they cooked, etc. This problem has little to do with the level of English I was demanding of them, and more to do with the fact that students here are never asked to do anything creative. I gave examples of what kinds of sentences I was looking for and those are the exact sentences I got. There is no “in your own words” type assignments here; the teachers give information and students regurgitate it verbatim on exams.  Hopefully with practice they will get used to the exercises I give them and will learn to use their imaginations a little more.

A little girl, about 5 years old, has been coming to the health center every day for the past week to have an abscess above her ankle treated. Everyday her leg looks a little better, with a decrease in the swelling and she is able to walk on in a little bit now. It is clearly very painful, especially for a child, and treating it must be torturous for her because of all the prodding to get the pus out. Yesterday and today the girl’s brother, rather than parents, brought her to be rebandaged and so I helped hold the girl down so the doctor could work. The girl was scared and hurting but was receptive to my being there and was comforted to have someone holding her during the process. I like helping out with this patient because she comes everyday and I get to actually see the good we are doing for her, instead of just giving someone some meds and sending them on their way, probably not seeing them again at all.

March 31, 2012

So, today was my last day of work at the hospital. This is a very good thing since Joe and I had a disagreement. During a consultation he wrote in the doctor’s record book that one patient was two. He listed half the symptoms along with a diagnosis under one name and then made up a new name and wrote the rest of the symptoms along with a different diagnosis. In addition, he made up information regarding weight, blood pressure, and where the person lived to go along with the fictional name. He knows I saw him do this, but he didn’t explain why, even though I have repeatedly asked why they do things like this. For the next patient, he did the same thing, again with no explanation. Soon after I got a phone call and stepped outside the consultation room. I remained outside after my call to talk to the chef about what happened and to let him know that I won’t be present at consultations if falsifying information continues, unless they can give me a reason why it’s necessary.

Once all the patients had been seen, Lamah asked Joe and me into his office to talk about what happened. I repeated what I said earlier about Joe writing false information in the book and said it’s fine if there is a good reason, but if not then I don’t want anything to do with it. Well, Joe got wicked defensive and started yelling at me, at which point I calmly said it wasn’t necessary for him to yell since this is just a conversation, but he continued yelling so I left the chef’s office, having absolutely no desire to be around adults acting like children.

After this I was really angry and confused about what to do, so I called Fadiga. He told me to forget about the hospital, that’s not really supposed to be my job anyway; I’m just supposed to get to know the people in my community and improve my Susu. This suits me just fine for now since this is exactly what I want to spend my days doing, not sitting in boring consultations where everyone is diagnosed with malaria. Fadiga also reminded me that I should be doing only what I want to do, and if I don’t want to do something I don’t have to; I wish my whole life could follow that philosophy : )

WEEK 9

April 1, 2012

Today was my first day of having no work. I explained to my family what happened and why I no longer need to go to the hospital. They are angry with Joe, who they already don't like. Actually, I think my mom even went down to the hospital to talk to him about it.

During the day I cleaned my house and then helped make and rice and sauce with my mom. They also made me eat about six mangos during the two hours we were cooking, so by the time the food was ready I was full of fruit. In the afternoon I got my hair tressed with my sister Namina and hung out with her friends. After our hair was finished it was time for a "petite repose" so I wrote a couple of letters (you should be getting them soon!) and did a little reading.

After dinner Namina and I met one of the professors and we went for a walk to a neighboring village so I could meet some more people and get better acquainted with the area. By the time we got home it was dark (we had to stop and talk to every person and rest every few houses) so we all headed to our houses.

April 2, 2012

During the night my aunt died. I guess she was oldish and had been sick so it wasn't a huge surprise. All day I sat around and ate. That's what you do for funerals/any sort of ceremony. The women of the family started cooking at 8 am and around noon huge bowls of rice and sauce were brought to out to groups of people and to neighbors houses for everyone to feast on. All through the morning I sat with Namina and some friends just talking and "snacking" (bean sandwiches, popsicle-type bonbons). After lunch was more of the same lounging. People from all over the village came to give their condolences and the whole extended family came from all over Guinea to stay the week. 

April 3, 2012

Today I went to Kolabui (nearby village, about 45 min away in a taxi) to visit my friend Liz, an education volunteer. Her girl's soccer team had a game against Boke so she invited all the nearby volunteers. Marissa and I were the only ones able to attend, but we had a great time and Liz's team won 2 to 1! I was originally planning on leaving right after the game so I could get a taxi (one from Kolabui to Kamsar, and then another from Kamsar to Bintimodia), but it was already getting dark (the game didn't start on time, of course) so I decided to stay the night with Liz and Marissa, just in case there wasn't a taxi leaving Kamsar that night. After we found some dinner in the market (Kolabui is a huge village so there's a huge market at the taxi stand every day/night, unlike my village which has absolutely nothing) it was time for a dance to celebrate the girls' victory.

April 4, 2012

Today was the third day after my aunt's death so there was a sacrifice and another feast. I missed the food since I didn't get back from Kolabui til the afternoon. However, I was able to attend the ceremony in which the Sage (religious elders/old Muslim men) spoke in Susu about the deceased and all the family plus friends and neighbors came. I don't know really what was said, but some parts were funny and there was a lot of exclaiming an "amen" type refrain. After this, I went walking around the village with Namina and Mr. Corsa again, again returning after dark : )

March Book List

The Jungle Book
       Rudyard Kipling

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

Lipstick Jungle
       Candace Bushnell

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
       Robert Louis Stevenson

The Labyrinth
        Kenneth McDonald

East of Eden
        John Steinbeck

The Perfect Storm
        Sebastian Junger

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
        Steig Larson

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
        J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
        J. K. Rowling

I Know This Much is True
        Wally Lamb

Mirror, Mirror
          Gregory Maguire

CSI: Body of Evidence
          Max Allen Collins

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