The Fouta Djallon is one one of the most beautiful areas in West Africa. There are waterfalls and striking views galore. In July, I decided to visit the region with the amazing Amy Porter who is a Peace Corps volunteer in Timbi Madina. We biked a good portion of our trip and it was FUN! Mountains and hills and hills and mountains... yippie.... reminded me of W.Virginia... without the incest (but who knows, maybe I just didn't see it). What was not fun were the taxi rides; when we used a taxi it was usually a hair raising experience. The taxis would go up the mountains at maybe 15km/hour and then down the mountain at light speed... it gives your heart an extra beat or two.

I was able to check out Labe, which is the capital of the Fouta Region or Middle Guinea as some might say (Moyenne Guinea in French). Stayed there for a couple days and then biked a good 2 1/2 - 3 hours to Ashley's site... where we ate lunch and I cursed out her dog. From there we went to Timbi Madina and chilled out for a few days. The highlight of the stay in Timbi Madina was our trip to the waterfalls some 25km away (I think)... this is where yours truly crossed a river in the height of the rainy season... without falling into the river. Thank you very much... i'll be accepting gifts at the end of this segment. No for real... not one of my brighter moments, but I decided to cross the river to see... believe it or not... the other side. It took me a good 35 minutes of me staring at the rocks and the pace of the water for me to get back across again. Anyway... made it back in time so we can get caught in a rain storm on our way back. Wonderful. The fouta by the way, is cold. So on the way back, we get stuck in front of this house, cold, and its pouring and then there's these kids who are just staring at us probably thinking... "look at these stupid americans biking in this weather." Well I end up yelling at the kids to open the door and let us in... they do and then Amy and I make fun of them until the rain stops.

Fun in the Fouta baby... and after this trip I spent my 30th birthday in Mamou! Also, during this week would be my 7th month in La Guinee.

Chimp chicks rock! Yup, I said it... chimp chicks are awesome. What, you may ask, are chimp chicks... well, they are women who dedicate some, if not all, of their time to the care, promotion, and preservation of chimpanzees. And that is awesome. About a month into my service at my site, Faranah, I learned that there was a chimpanzee park associated with the national park of upper Guinea. After a rather unusual introduction where the director of the park thought I was a "good-english speaking" african, we became friends. One of the great benefits of being friends with chimp chicks... is you get to see chimps!

A weekend in june, I went up to the Centre de Chimpanzee; let me tell you... that center is in the middle of nowhere. I know people think that Faranah is in the middle of nowhere... which I can attest to... but the park... which is 85 K North of Faranah, is really out there. After 40 km, there is no sign of human existence aside from the road... which is a really poor excuse of a road. Its practically impassable; it takes 6 hours on average to drive the 85 km; that is ridiculous. Well, I'm in the pick-up truck going to this place and we stop 3 or 4 times to get wood, trees, anything that is blocking the road. As we're en route to the park, we see a team of wild boars and a huge green moamba snake. Scary. for real... cause it crossed the road like it owns it. And it's at this point I realize how stupid I was to bring flip flops instead of my sneakers.... and Estelle (the director of the Centre de Chimpanzees) is quick to point this out to me.

We're finally at the site and I start to freak out cuz I feel like I'm trapped on a land-island. There is absolutely no way to get out of this center ... I'm stuck there for the next 3 days and 2 nights... to hell with "survivor," try going out to this park. Anyway, I'm pleasantly surprised when we get to site, that the chimp chicks are pretty hot and they cook... and their all from France or Italy... cool accents!!! Also, Estelle forgets to tell me that there are a bunch of chimps running around free in the park... why would this be a concern you may ask? Fun fact... an old female chimp is stronger than 20 really strong men. Also, if they see a human and they have a "I hate all y'all" complex (this is true by the way, if a chimp has been abused by a human in the past, it will attack other humans) they would tear me to shreds. Oh, and I'm on the methaquin medication, so I'm really freaking out. Fortunately, the ladies at the center took care of me.

Why are there chimps running around freely in the woods you might ask? Well this particular center is a "release center" meaning that the chimps that are here will be re-released into the wild. It's like a re-habilitation center for chimps. The center helps the chimps get re-acclamated to the wild. Cool, huh.

The next day, after a delicious breakfast - I help out with the chimps. Man, I forgot my camera at home, so I don't have physical proof that I had 3 kid chimps climbing up all over me... it was pretty cool. I played with the chimps in the morning and then in the afternoon I helped with the feeding. The feeding is for the chimps that are in their cages... and their big and loud. And they really do jump and swing when they see food, or their excited. It was really cool. So basically, that was my trip... but I will part from you with one other fun fact... Genetically (DNA), humans and chimps are 97% identical. Word is bond.

Man... I'm in Mali thinking "my year in Guinea has been amazing." Truthfully... it was hard... really hard. One, the illnesses and bacteria that I have acquired and continue to carry to the bitter end have been kkkkkkkkrazy. Then the whole communication thing... I took high school french, but that was a really really long time ago... and i barely passed that. I would think I'm saying something right and find out I had to say the "i" with an "eee" sound or do something funky with the "q" ... anyway it was tough; but what's tougher is when you get the french down and the people still don't understand you (and that could be for whatever reason). Et puis... the whole culture thing ... yo... i still don't get the whole thing but its amazing... and completely different. I lived in Faranah... in Sankara region of Guinea... and they party all the time. Everyday there's dancing and drumming... people are extremely friendly... and my host family was awesome. Yo... my host family was broke as a joke but they took me in like one of their own... offered food, shelter... even clothing. Anything I asked, they hooked it up. Yo... my host dad offered me wives! And that... is cool.

So when peace corps - guinea came to the difficult decision that it will be suspending the program, I knew that I that I also would have a difficult decision. Let me take this time out to say that PC Guinea administration is awesome...they have worked really hard to make this transition into the next phase of our lives so much easier. Even before the evacuation, I knew our admin was awesome...but they really took the cake with all the accommodation's they've made for the volunteers. PC Mali has also done a wonderful job hosting us as well. It will always be appreciated. So it has been really hard to come to the decision to leave peace corps. I've terminated my service and will be heading out to Ethiopia. I figure its that time, and it will be very difficult to continue where I left off in Guinea if PC is able to return by June. Personally, I feel that I should take this opportunity to spend time in the country of my family... Peace Corps is supposed to open up August 2007 so we'll see if I can be involved with that. So with that ends the Peace Corps Guinea Chapter... so till next time.

Ok... I've been here in Mali for a month and I've had to reflect on the activities I've been involved in over the past year. While thinking of the things that I've done or were planning to do, I realized that for the first time, I have been doing work that I care about. If I did something, I put my heart into it, and I was really passionate about it. So, it kind of pains me to think about a lot of my programs or efforts because I had a lot planned for 2007. It takes a really long time to get work going here in Guinea. As extenisits, we "find" projects that can be supported by the community.... and the effort it takes to find a project, people capable of carrying it out, etc. is very draining. But so rewarding. So its for that reason that I have to say that being evacuated sucks!

This is what I listed in my description of service for peace corps; I was small enterprise development volunteer...

Small Enterprise Development Trainings: · Researched, procured, and developed an applied business training program for a local youth association. The youth association received training on how to manage the cassava farm and turn it into a viable business venture. The youth association had over 50 members and the cassava farm was approximately ½ acre. · Provided Microsoft office training for local computer center trainers. Aided 2 trainers in developing and executing a comprehensive training program for their existing students. Small Enterprise Development Integrated Programs: · Reviewed budgets and did feasibility studies with the CEO's and staff of MouNa cyber cafe and Fast-Net with the goal of partnering Conakry financial backers with village entrepreneurs in Faranah and Mamou. · Presided over community election processes held under the umbrella of the local government. Organizations included Association for Promotion of Community Development-Guinea, County Animal Husbandry Committee, and the Youth Association for the Development of Faranah.· Offered business-consulting services to 3 local entrepreneurs and 3 associations. The associations were Mano River Women’s Network, Association for Promotion of Community Development – Guinea, and the Youth Association for the Development of Faranah. The entrepreneurs were shop and snack owners. Consulting services included providing accounting and marketing techniques, implementing effective logistical practices, and advising on financial management.· Introduced and implemented internet marketing for a local drum and dance troop called APERSAF (Association de Percussionist Sans Frontiere). Due to volunteer efforts, APERSAF is currently officially recognized and published by the by the Guinean national office of tourism.· Designed a village banking system to be practiced by a targeted women’s society. All participating parties were identified and in agreement with terms and conditions of the project.· Prepared a seminar of local successful female entrepeneurs for the benefit of other female entrepeneurs. The idea was to cross the literacy barrier by having the sucessful entrepeneurs share their experiences.III. Secondary Projects: In addition to his primary duties in Faranah, Mr. Yimam was involved in various other projects during his service. Working closely with fellow volunteers and community officials, Mr. Yimam organized and designed educational conferences, worked to enhance the treatment capacity of health care professionals as well as encouraging youth sports programs. · Collaborated with the director of the local private school to implement an educational improvement and awareness seminar for the commune of Faranah. The program was to involve local community leaders and media to encourage students, their parents, and their teachers to take their commitment to education seriously. · Provided English lessons for the professors of the local university. This beginning level course was for 12 weeks and had 5 participants. · Designed a literacy program for the village of Sokourala. The program was intended to provide a women’s society of 25 members a 4-month training at their site. · Reviewed and consulted 2 university student associations with their project proposals and action plans for 2006-2007. Consultation advice ranged from project management to procurement of funds. · Designed an anti-excision campaign for the commune of Faranah. Local community political and religious leaders were invited to discuss how to end this practice. The campaign was designed to be sensitive to the cultural value of the practice while simultaneously eliminating it. · Trained a local village counterpart at a four-day HIV/AIDS workshop emphasizing prevention and methods of disseminating information to his community. As a culmination of this workshop, Mr. Yimam and his counterpart conducted an information session for over 120 people in a well frequented night club. They covered topics such as options for contraception, a demonstration on proper usage, and important facts pertinent to the AIDS situation in Guinea. Finally Mr. Yimam's counterpart handed out over 300 free condoms, using money earned in Per Diem at the workshop, to participants. · Researched and procured funding for a county-wide HIV/Aids training and testing project. This was the first project of its kind for Peace Corps; HIV/Aids testing has never been done at the village level with Peace Corps. The project was designed to have “Train the Trainer” program at the county capital of Faranah. Afterwards, the newly trained trainers were to go to their designated sites and provide 2 HIV/Aids trainings (this would be done at 7 villages). Afterwards, a team of doctors from the Faranah hospital would offer HIV/Aids testing at each of the 7 targeted sites.I am really proud of the work I have done and the contacts that I made in this past year. I hope that the political situation in Guinea improves so that other projects like the ones I have helped create and design become a reality. Did I tell you that being evacuated sucks? If not... it sucks.

I never thought I would be interested in seeing the source of the Niger river... or any river for that matter. What does being a source of the niger mean anyway? (educational segment begins here) Well, the niger is unique because it actually has an underground source, it's due to this that the Faranah region has a ton of springs... all over the place. The water table is just much higher where we are; and the land is extremely fertile... ridiculous fertile. And all this is because the region benefits from being the source of the Niger river. Now that's the environmental reason to see the river... the other reason is the spirituality associated with it. The locals here believe that the people who view the source will be blessed... as long as we don't jump in... then you're cursed and will suffer for the rest of your life (educational segment ends here) So that kinda was my motivation for going out there… I’ve never been cursed by a river before JOk, so the voyage starts from a town called Banian, 65km southeast from my town Faranah. I left from home with a good buddy of mine, Sekou… loaded our bikes on the taxi and rolled out in the afternoon of December 7th. Got there in one piece and met up with the rest of the people from our party… the lovely Fai and the talented Michelle. Twas a joyous reunion cuz we realized that there were 2 other people as crazy as we were to try and bike 70 km to Kobikoro, another 25 km to Froconia, and hike the last 15 km to the source. The next day we roll out happy and full of energy. After 20 minutes I started thinking to myself... what the hell did I get myself into!!! Banian to the road to Kobikoro is paved 9km and really hilly. The actual road to Kobikoro is not paved and its hot. The further you go down the worse the road gets. Fai fell off her bike. According to Sekou, she did 180 in the air – she flipped over her handle bars. Thankfully she wasn’t seriously hurt – but she was bruised pretty bad. The road was really bad and the hills started getting really steep. The last 7 km before Kobikoro were terrible… wasn’t really bikeable. And climbing hills with a bike and backpack sucks…. BAD. By the time we got to Kobikoro we were exhausted. But hold up… there’s more! Since we were going towards the Sierra Leone border, we needed permission from the equivalent of a mayor to cross through. Fai, being the resourceful woman that she is, acquired a stamped document from the Prefet of Faranah (imagine someone that is the head of the county government) stating that we are free to travel through the region. So Sekou and I go to the “mayor’s” house (not a big deal… there is no real separation between officials and the population… plus he lives in a steel roofed house like everyone else J). We walk up to the guy and were basically interrogated for 20 minutes before we got his approval to spend the night and travel through his town. And he thought I was lying when I told him I’m American! We spend the night with Sekou’s old principal… his family is awesome and his daughter thinks I’m hot (or at least that’s what I’m going to believe)… so I’m liking our arrangements. They give us food and we are merry. The next morning we wake up sore and uncomfortable in all the wrong places. But we were determined and so we left at 7 am. We’re questioned again, but this time by the military, as we’re heading out of Kobikoro. We expect to be back that evening. Man… after 25 minutes, Fai lets us know that she is going to head back to Kobikoro. We look at Fai and are like… WHAT! But she’s right, we thought the road was going to be better (because we were told that) and we really didn’t know what was up with the rest of the trip. And she was bruised up pretty good.Ok… we got to our destination, Froconia, at 1pm. We did 25 km in 6 hours!! That road was hard… we ended up pushing our bikes half the trip, went over mountains, streams, walked, hiked, biked…. That was a really hard trip… but we made it more difficult by not grabbing something to eat… STUPID. I was the least physically fit and I started feeling some serious fatigue. But all of that had to be ignored cuz we had to do the same thing with this mayor that we did with the other. But this time it was more dramatic… imagine 3 really dirty, tired looking people sitting on the front porch of the most powerful man in the region, surrounded by the whole entire village. But we were prepared! We had the letter from the prefet stating that we are permitted to cross into his territory. And also… we brought some kola nuts (traditionally given as a form of thanks and respect). Man… were we mistaken, in the end they let us go but Sekou and I had to talk to the mayor for a good 35 minutes to convince him that we are permitted to see the source of the Niger river. And if anyone has heard me speak French… hahaha… lets just say it was a funny sight. What makes it funnier is that it wouldn’t be the last time. We stored our bikes at the mayor’s house. Ok… so we’re off to hike the mountain to the village that would lead us to source. The fatigue is really hitting me and I am well aware that its me that’s holding the group up. We’re climbing through the mountains and I’m thanking god that we are doing this at the end of the rainy season because if it were the dry season I would be beef jerky by now. Oh… and the trail is dangerous as hell… we’re going over bridges made of twigs looking down at 20-40 feet drop into rivers/streams.We get to the village and again, we quickly become surrounded… this kind of attention would have been normally flattering but I personally was soooooooooo tired. I was ready to collapse… and there was no food stands or whatever because there were maybe 30 inhabitants in the village… and they were all busy following us around… get me food!!! Arghhh. Its at this point that we need a guide. And thankfully… because Fai was responsible enough to do the research, we were prepared for the guide and the cost…. Or were we? It’s 3pm right now. And I’m worried that we might not have time to hike the last 6 km to see the source. But alas, the problem of the guide continues. We find the dude and we’re sitting in a half circle with what seems like 30 million other people… all looking at the guide… The guide is ranting and raving because we only offered him 60 000 Francs (Guinean) and some kola. He wanted something like 500 000 Francs… yeah right… he doesn’t know who we’re dealing with.

Public Service Announcement : I’m going to take this time out to say that Michelle and I are Peace Corps volunteers and Sekou is Sierra Leonean… so we’re broke on a daily basis. You may now return to your regular scheduled program.After an hour of this old guide ranting and raving, walking up and down with his cane in anger… and the others around pleading on our behalf… he finally sends another guy to lead us to the source. Man… that was annoying. And I was thinking to myself that I’m too tired and hungry… let’s just head back. So we’re on our way to the source. I’m still tired, still hungry, and I’m still the slacker in the group. After passing by some cow camps and a couple huts and big hills and some more streams and some bridges and some 6 km we are at the source. Which is right on the border of Sierra Leon…. The part that’s not guarded by military dudes. The source is a hole in the ground y’all… it’s filled with water. The area is wooded and its pretty green. But it’s a hole in the ground filled with water. But its fresh enough to drink… so I did… and I drank a lot.. had some Orasel so I mixed it in and drank. We took some pictures, danced…well not really… but we did take some pictures. But we only stuck around for 20 minutes or so… it started getting dark (it’s about 6pm right now). We head back to the village and arrive by 8pm. Family of the guide was kind enough to make the staple meal of Guinea… rice and sauce. We got a room in the local hotel… which is somebody’s shed I think… there were sacks of rice or potatoes in our room. Three to a bed y’all… no longer starved but 3 really stinky, smelly, don’t touch me cuz I’m gonna get some disease from you people. But we slept like babies… really. The next day, we left at 6am knowing that we had to get to Kobikoro that day. What a difference food makes! We got to Forconia by 7am. Picked up our bikes, had a meal and we were off. We got back to Kobikoro 12:30pm. We kicked @ss and took prisoners baby… The road was the same, but wow, we really pushed and we were all surprised that we made such good timing. But our friend Michelle was not satisfied. She decided to leave us and bike from Kobikoro another 60 km to her town of Kissidougou. Can we say crazy. But she did it! I found out 2 days later that she made it in one piece and the road was not nearly as bad (although still unpaved). So again, its left down to 3… Fai, Sekou, and I hung out in Kobikoro that night. The next morning we headed back to Banian. I think that chick still likes me J….

First trip of the new year... biked my way to sierra leone.... a good 70k from a neighboring town. It was a pretty tiring ride; it was pretty much like mountain biking the whole way. So the adventure began the week before when we (Sekou, my partner in crime and me) discovered that I needed a permit to get across the border... and me being broke as a bad joke, I couldn't afford the document. But an amazingly incredible thing happened... the police station where my buddy asked for the permit only had one copy of the permit; so my friend offers to photocopy and even make a "new version" of the document for the police commisary if they just give him the remaining permit.... blank. Let me give you some background... there is no electricity, phone service, or any other sign of modern civilisation in this town... aside from the chain smokin guinean male. What this means is that photocopying is a really big deal, especially if its for free. So the police official gave my budy the blank permit and we filled it out ourselves... so we basically represented the Guinean government... giving ourselves permission to cross an international border.

That's the visa. Next is the trip, which we started the day after Tobasky which meant that everyone was not workng. But it was all good, found a taxi out to a town 65k south east of me. Got there in one peice and the next day we started the 70K ride to Sierra Leone (the destinaion was a village called Kamono). Tired.... Tired... Tired. but it wasn't nearly bad as our trip to the source of the niger river. We left at 9am and got there by 3pm... not bad for mountain biking. When we got to our destination we started raking in the chickens.

Yes y'all... chickens (but if they're high rollers they'll get you a lamb or even a cow on those specail occasions). When people like you in Guinea or Sierra Leone, they give you a chicken. And you cook and eat it and say "damn that was finger licking good." We ate soooo well. Chicken is good. Actually, I will take this time out to say that fresh meat is good. Really good. While we were out there, we basically chilled, visited a couple neighboring villages, and ate more chicken. chicken. chicken. chicken... helped our host with the farm, the house chores, etc. It was super chill. Oh, and the language thing... is koronko... which is a sister dialect of Sankara... which belongs to the Malinke/Mandingo family. And the national language is English... which is cool... except no one spoke it... just koronko. Sierra Leone is going through their presidential elections this year so it is was the subject of every conversation. And it was cold... really cold. So cold, in fact that when we biked back to Guinea, we were in longsleeves. The landscape was beautiful... it was hilly and green.. and there wasn't the field burnings that you see in Guinea. I left January 2 and came back to my house January 6. Oh.. and the people are amazingly kind... I mean what else are you gonna say about a village that keeps giving you chickens. We actually brought a chicken back with us on the bike... tied that sucker to the handle bars and gave him a pat on the head before we took off.

What a way to start the new year!

What really sucks about the end of rainy season... is the heat... and there is no transition. Ok, I like heat... really i do.. but man... i like transition too... one day its a moderately hot 90 degrees with a breeze and then the next day, its 10000000000 degrees ... let us know man. That's literally what happens, and what's funny is that on that same day, people will remind you that ... "oh the rainy season is over..." any your like thanks... but then they'll flip the switch and tell you the cold season is coming... and your like what... its 10000000000 degrees... that's not cold people! But low and behold... its true... it actually gets cold in my town.. and I'm right next to the niger so its especially cold... now when i say cold... take it for a grain of salt...everything is relative. When I say cold... i'm talking like 75 degrees... which is cold if you're used to 10000000000 degrees... really cold... pulled out the pullover, the long Ts, long pants... even the socks. Cold season starts around late november just till mid or late january. its still hot during the day but the nights do get cold... see your breath cold.

The other disturbing part about the end of rainy season is the burning... the burning of fields to make room for their crops, domesticated animals, or whatever reason. In my particular region its done do an extreme level. The environmental consequences are devastating and everyone is breathing it in all the time. A day doesn't go bye when i'm not avoiding a field being burned... its a custom they've been doing for years, and its been frowned upon for a very long time. Hopefully something will get the villagers and the population to stop the burnings... it really is devastating.

But on a happy note... i saw breasts today :) and its not 99999900000 degrees yet

Christmas is fun with the Christians!!! Really... this time of season, I'm usually around close family and friends so it was really hard not being near those I really love... oh just kidding... i love you all. But you get my point. I spent christmas in a neighboring town called Kissidougou with volunteers in the vacinity. Had an amazing time... had great food, company, cheer, and beer... Actually went carolling... ok... you got me... we went to one house and sang a medley that would make a jewish man cry... but it was grand I tell you!!!

What made this trip especially exciting is the black mamba that decided to join us for christmas dinner. Imagine this...you're in a walled in private concession (shared w/several families) and you hear yelling and screaming coming from right outside the door. Us being brave men (uhhh... i'm talking about the volunteers of course) decide to check it out and see this 7 foot black mamba... being stoned by like 12 people. It was later that I discovered that they are one of the most poisonous snakes in the world... I would've been more scared if I didn't have to think about the bush taxi I was taking the next day.

So that was my xmas and it was fun... i hope everyone at home enjoyed their holidays as well :)

Ok... I just realized that I've posted a bunch of blogs on this ... uh blogger... but put no order to these lovely posts... so rather than ordering them out for you now... i think everyone should read them all and try to figure it out for themselves. If you can tell me the order... i would be very very impressed... and probably won't accept it because... i don't know the order. Do you know the order? What is the order? Ordering what? ... and Guinea...

...is not the same without Methaquin.. our not-so anti-malaria medications that we (peace corps volunteers) are required to take (or an approved alternative). The first month I took this great drug, I had panick attacks that really freaked me out... like what am I doing here? What's my life about? Is that heat or is air attacking me? Why don't the hole-in-the-ground toilets flush? etc...

But now that I'm "habituated" to the medication, I can think these thoughts without going into a state of frenzy... which I am very thankful for by the way. Methaquin has this chemical called larium... it effects the brain in a funky way that causes emotional, hallucinagenic side-effects... and i promise you these are not mushrooms I'm consuming on a regular basis. They can make dreams feel more "real"... especially nightmares, so its because of this a lot of people get off them.

There are testimonies of people loosing much sleep due to this drug. Also the hallucinations can be trippy... and I don't think there has been any long term study based on the drug.

Fortunately, I haven't had such a terrible experience with the drug... actually... the incredible sex dreams have completely made up for the negative side effects I've had. So incredible. The only thing that bothers me... is that I had Malaria!!!!! It was a hot august day... and I woke up with aches and a fever and I thought I was battling another spell of... "it was a hot august day" ... when I really felt funky. I go to the local hospital and voila... i have Malaria. I was really pissed because I hadn't had a sex dream in a couple weeks so I was like ... this isn't fair!!!! So its not an anti-malaria drug... arrrghhhh. But what it does do is diminish the potency of Malaria (small print people... always read the small print) so that if you do get Malaria, it won't be that bad. And fortunately for me, it wasn't that bad at all... and the other medication to get rid of Malaria reall does work... I just realize I capitalize Malaria every time I write it... Malaria, Malaria, mmm...Malaria.

Guinean bush taxis... are a death-wish in a metal box with wheels. Seriously, I am always ashamed at the way I devalue my life every time I decide to take a taxi. If its rainy season... you're scared half to death because the car is 80 years old with a smelly defroster which is the old woman sharing the seat with the taxi driver (this old woman is wiping the window with a cloth or her bare hands) and the breaks screaming... "not too hard not too hard." God forbid the roads are paved then its a paid roller coaster ride for the whole family to enjoy. And the dry season, you’re dodging cows every ½ kilometer. And you don’t want to see what happens when a cow meets the metal box!

So that’s the seasonal perspective… then there’s the perpetual problems that always arise when you’re dealing with public transport in this country… like waiting… one must wait all the #*%^$ time!!! There are no scheduled times for departure… like, perhaps greyhound… oh no… the taxis leave when the seats are filled up and the drivers get their fare share of the loot from the taxi company (syndicate).

Then you get in the car and realize that there are 14 people in the 9 place (which would normally be a 6 or 7 seater) taxi. And then you’re specifically pissed that your sitting between the big woman and the smelly dude…. Actually had the habit about complaining out-loud about this in English until I found out that on this one particular ride, that the big woman was Liberian… kinda weird y’all.

Oh… and that’s 14 people in the car; there’s 10 others on top with ½ ton of luggage. Its quite a site to see actually. Every time you hit a curb, you think you’re either loosing a passenger or your luggage… and usually you hope it’s the passenger… tear (sign of sentiment).

Actually, one time we hit a bump so hard the taxi driver and his buddy started laughing their tail feathers off … it was because he forgot he left a passenger trapped in the back trunk… so so cruel.

Oh and I definitely need to include the constant break downs, flat tires, piss breaks, oops I hit the dog lets see if I damaged the car breaks.... the list goes on and on. But, if you're ever so lucky, you get to push the car to help start the engine. Almost 80% of the taxis that i've used had needed a "human push" start. And the driver always pops the clutch to start the car. Unbelievable.

So, the next time your looking at tourism in Guinea, definitely read the fine print on public transportation… otherwise you might wind up hanging from a window next to some strapped-up sheep… I’m not exaggerating.

I live right next to the Niger River (5 minutes walking distance)... Its pretty cool... Go swimming... and if i feel adventurous... group bathing in it (yes... all the men have their part of the river, women and children have theirs)... that's where laundry is usually done as well. Its a huge community hangout... so its kinda weird that no one goes there anymore... due to the rainy season... the river has gotten much much wider... its freaky actually. The entire scenery has changed in my region... what used to have what everyone imagines as a savanah type landscape is now green .... very very green. Really really green. And wet... there's streams all over the place ... and cholera has broken out as well (its due to bad water sanitation for the most part, the other part being ... uhhhh .... good water sanitation).

I've been offered 2 wives... and my host dad doesn't understand why I'm not taking a guinean wife at this point. He thinks I only like white girls... which to anyone who knows me is laughing their asses off. There's a lot of singing and dancing in my town.... which is really cool. At about 4pm on the dot, there is drumming to be heard from at least one direction. There's about a wedding a week (which is really crazy cuz the town's not that big) and the dancing is pretty awesome. Oh... and my sisters are pretty hot. Really. I wouldn't lie about this. Just thought I should say that.

I eat rice and sauce on a daily basis.. and if i'm especially lucky.. i eat this sh*t called toe... its mashed cassava with an oily sauce. I'm just not getting used to the food... i'm craving for real food!!! I either eat with the family or eat out... what is cool... is that you can just stop by at anybody's house and sit around and people will feed you. And they'll give you an extra serving of toe if you eat with your hands with vigor!

Feed me!! Feed me!!

Month of May

Yo... Its hot. For real.... i wash my clothes at 8am and they're dry by 8:15... am folks. Ridiculous. Oh, and do you know how I wash my clothes. Ok... I have 3 buckets; one of which has powdered soap that will burn your hands if you have any cuts... and you will have cuts by the time you're done washing! Ok.. and then you have a washboard. You put the clothes in the bucket with the powdered soap and then you put the washboard in the same bucket... and rub the articles of clothing against the washboard... if you have a bar of soap ... you rub that against the clothing as well.... anyway... its a way more involved process than lets say.... putting it in a washing machine. So... after doing this one time at my new site... (I've been in Haute Guinea (Upper Guinea region) for about a month now), I give my clothes to one of my host sisters... and she does it for me :) Its good to be a man in this culture... ok... my host father has...1.. no 2... no 3... wait... 4... count'em 4 wives y'all. and he's got 30 plus kids... we tried counting and it just didn't work out. Oh, and first cousins are considered brothers/sisters here.... the concept of family is crazzzy. Everyone is related... anyway... my dad saw me doing my laundry and was like... "That's women's work... give it to your sister now" (I'm translating). So... I do. I don't cook either cuz that's "women's work" as well. So what do I do you ask.... well... i don't do any house work whatsoever... its kinda cool. I've been at site for a month now and I am making my presence known in the community... I offer business consulting and trainings for my town.... i'm not associated with any NGOs so I have to do my own marketing... but its a good way to know the community.

The rainy season is supposesd to start in another month... but until then its supposed to be wicked (can we still say wicked these days?) hot. My family is pretty cool... I still don't know everyone's names and my french still sucks. Communication is soooo hard... and the education level makes it even harder... there's no such thing as analytical thinking here!!! arrrghhh... But it's cool... people will one day understand me... or at least the words that come out of my mouth. Signing off...

You know you're in Africa when you're glued to the short wave radio at least once every 3 months listening to see if your host country is about to change government. Since I've been in Guinea, we've experienced 3 national strikes (meaning all the civil workers don't work). The last strike which lasted for 6 months but was suspended for 5 1/2 got re-started again in January 10, 2007. Its because of this last strike that I am not in Guinea right now... but in lovely Bamako, Mali. Really... its lovely. But... I'll get back to that... Guinea has just reach an agreement with their president... an agreement where he will abandon most of his powers and transfer them to a soon to be named prime minister. So while we're waiting to see if these changes take place and if there is anymore civil unrest....

you're boy is just outside of Bamako, Mali living NICE. There is regular electricity, television, good food, heat... a lot of !*#^%&** heat, and music. Really, I'm impressed with Bamako... compared to the capital of Guinea, it is just heaven... and actually compares to several smaller american towns. My perspective could be skewed because I haven't been to any other w.african cities/countries, and Guinea really is ... dirt poor. I feel like here I have an idea of what life is really like in most w.african countries. For example, while I'm writing this email I'm watching French MTV... yes y'all there's a french version... not as cool though :)

Despite all the development advances in my temporary host country of Mali, I actually do miss my life in Guinea and hoping that the political situation improves... The work that I've been doing is really starting to pop off... and it would be nice to see the projects through completion. Also, the relationships and contacts that I've left behind are truly amazing... and the way I left was definitely NOT ideal...

We (PC Volunteers) were told that we were leaving Guinea on a Tuesday (because of the strikes) and got picked up on Wednesday...and needed to be ready to stay out of the country from 1 week to ... not coming back!! so it was hard saying bye to people without true closure... and also with such short notice, we didn't get a chance to say bye to everyone.

In the meantime, we're trying to make our time productive... but also making sure that we're chilling out and really doing what we need to do to stay positive.

Alright... over and out from Mali

Mayonnaise, red oil, and sardines... I am graced by having at least one of these ingredients in each of my meals. Guineans LOVE their mayonnaise and red oil... unbelievable. Every morning I'm given a super oily salid with mayonnaise and sardines. No matter how many times I try to tell my family that I don't need 21lbs of oil in my salad or that 6 spoons of manyonnaise is more than enough.... and yet they still insist on giving it to me.

Of course, don't get me wrong, I am not complaining... quite the contrary.. my host family is awesome.... and funny... ok... check out the situation. I'm doing the first three months of my service (January - March) in this town called Forrecariah... and...

I am living in this family's house... they've given me a room with a bed, desk, chair, and some sticks protruding from the side wall that doubles as a closet; oh, and I have a window that looks out onto our 4 hectare front yard... hahaahah.... ok.. my front yard is the public dirt path. The house is made out of cement and mud... or just cement... or just mud.. I don't know but its definitely not brick or wood. There are no ceilings and the roof is tin. The house is so hot we can fry the red oil and sardines I eat everyday. Ok... now.. the family

I live with a bunch of people... and I'll describe the ones that I know... its Guinea so there's a bunch of people who sleep in the house who I don't know... but I found out later on that its another brother, sister, cousin, wife, etc.... The mother of the household, who's name is Fatou Kaba, is a widow; thus there is no male father figure... makes for interesting dynamic, especially for a male peace corps volunteer. The dead husband's mother lives within the house... I call her my second wife (i swear its funny in french). Now, there are 2 boys... Fiston and Ibrahima... I'm not quite sure how they're related to the family... one of them is a friend of the family from a neighboring village and the other is the son of a military guy that drives a nice 4x4. Fiston is 18 but looks like he's 12, Ibrahima is 17 and looks like he's the jigalo of the neighborhood. I preach my "use condoms or thingy will fall off talk" all the time with these guys... but between my bad french and their "gotta get it" attitude, I don't know if I get the point across. Now... the 3 girls that live with us... we'll start with Fatim... she's 18 and could be the horniest girl since Debbie...who did Dallas. The other sister is 13 and her name is Yari... she's very intelligent, but way too talkative; I confess there are times when I want to slap her silly (socially acceptable by the way). There's another girl, and I think her name is Marie... she makes my breakfast so I try to be nice to her... I think she's 17.

So that's my house... everyone is a lot of fun, we usually sit on the stoop... which is really wooden stools that are about 10 inches from the ground and just talk trash most evenings. Its really loud, but thankfully my sejour at the lovely University of Maryland has well prepared me for the experience... I can sleep through a hurricane. Everyone tells me my family cooks well, but I still haven't developed a taste for Guinean food; but I have another month or so we'll see if I come around.

.... oh and my 18 year old sister has been asking me to marry her. makes for a very interesting living situation... oh... and my mom is the queen B of the neighborhood... she runs the show and doesn't take any BS. Kinda cool. Except when she's mad at you...and then your scared.

French is !$%#&^ hard!!! I don't understand anything and the food is horrible. I'm trying to poop but I have to have something in my stomach to poop. Its the end of February and I am starting to appreciate linguists and my colon a whole lot more. Its also hot. Really hot. And muggy. I'm actually really enjoying it because I have a sick sense of comfort... but I have to admit that life without air conditioning is a bit hard. You just don't stop sweating. I will be a sweat drop by the time our training is over.

Fortunately... I really haven't had too many illnesses. My host sister is in love with me... which would be hilarious if I didn't have to always be like... "Yo... get off me;" other than that uncomfortable family situation, I really can't complain. We've been asked to "discover" our neighborhood (like columbus discoverd America?... i don't get it)by our trainers, but truth is no-one really is quite sure about anything... nobody knows their real age and actually how they're related to each other. Everyone calls each other sister or brother, ma or pa, regardless of how close they seem to be in blood relations.

I want to say that I've seen some wild African stuff... but it would be a lie. I don't see lions, bears, and stuff... but I do see a ton of people who carry stuff on their heads... its pretty crazy when you see it at first but by now its gotton old. The bare breasts though... that never gets old. Ok... yeah... I was smiling when I wrote that last line :)

January 11, 2006 - Genesis... ok...maybe that's going too far

Went to Philly to NYC to Brussels, Belgium to Dakar, Senegal to Conakry, Guinea in a 4 day span. Oh, and I'm a Peace Corps Volunteer or Trainee (if we have to be technical) .... and will be one for 27 months. Why am I doing this? I've been vaccinated for something like 8 billion diseases in a 2 day span ... why? Where is this country Guinea anyway? My head is spinning with all sorts of questions and no sorts of answers... for the moment. At the same time, the lust for adventure is pulling me further and further away from home.

Our first week in Guinea was viscious... we stayed overnight in the Country Peace Corps House, then we were shipped for 3 days to Mamou which is right smack in the middle of the country and a torturous bus ride. The place where we stayed has made 80% of the new peace corps voluteers sick. After our stay in Mamou, we were fluent in French and SouSou (local language)... oh wait ... that comes later... like never... oh yeah, throughout this ordeal, I'm not understanding a single word uttered from a Francophone... or even Anglophone for that matter... I'm more confused than normal... why are there so many black people....

Finally, we end up in Forecarriah... our training site for 3 months. And get this, on our trip into the town... we saw the WuTang sign on the side of a building... talk about twilight zone weird... would have never expected that.

The first day at our training site begins with a ceremony for us; during this ceremony we thank the organizers and the leaders of the community for a good 1 1/2 hours... after that we get assigned to our host family by a naming process.. very extravagant and public. I get assigned to a family of women... yes... its a widow and 2 daughters. We had lunch as part of the ceremony before we left for our new homes... the conversation was silence and I immediately realized a problem that I would face all the time Guinea; people will constantly think or say "What's wrong with this black guy?... he doesn't speak french, he looks guinean, but he doesn't speak any local languages? In this part of the world.. when someone says they're American, they expect the big, white, blond hair, blue eyed english speaker with lots of money.... I'm about to disappoint a whole lot of people.

Ok... Mois de Karem... Month of Ramadan... sucks... don't let anyone tell you otherwise. This year it fell from September 24 through October 24. As Guinea is a Muslim country and doesn't completely separate religion from government... everyone participates in the fasting (without water and food from sunup to sundown) lest they be called infidels like those ... those... those Americans!

Since all the take-out joints were closed during the day... i figure i might as well join in on the fasting... and to my surprise... the first day went pretty well... as did the second and the third... its when you get into the 10th day when it starts to hit you ... by the 30th day I was ready for it to be over. But I completed the fast, so according Islamic creed, my sins have been purged for the year (whether its this years' or last years' I don't know... it could be cool if you could designate years... like if you were especially naughty during 1997... or even for the future... if you knew you wanted to do especially meanie things during 2112... but I digress).

My town is pretty active normally... but during this past month... it was pretty dead. especially after 12pm ... because everyone is so tired from the fast. activity continues again after 4pm but its a pretty weak attempt. Its a pretty boring time to be in a Muslim country... and especially Guinea.

But of course, I did not slow down my activities during this month so I continued to do my 60K a week of biking to villages and around town trying do some follow ups on project work. Needless to say, I was really tired by the end of the day. Its really difficult to get anything done during the month of Ramadan... and if someone misses an appointment or forgets to do an errand... well its ok... because its the "mois de Karem" that did it. And everyone always pardons people for their mistakes. Pretty incredible actually... Guineans are a naturally kind people but the amount of nonsense they pull and get away with during this month is ridiculous. Oh... and everyone always tries to get marriage ceremonies one week completed before Ramadan; the newlyweds have to live together for 7 days after the marriage so the wife can learn the ways of the husband... that's how it was explained to me... i think its just so they be like Marvin Gaye and "get it on."