After 5 days tenting out in Robertsport, Jon and I have continued our vacation in Monrovia to enjoy some creature comforts including Internet, A/C, grocery stores, hot showers and CNN. So we will use our ample Internet to hopefully post some photos, do some emailing, and catch up a little on news.

Here’s a small update on what’s been going on here in Liberia:

Unfortunately, most of the photo's wont load. We'll try our best over the next couple of days to get them up. I posted some photos to Facebook so you can see them there. We try but the speeds are just dismally slow!! Sorry!

Bunnies

There's a lady that raises rabbits in town. They're pretty great.

Yekepa

Jon and I took a trip up to Yekepa at the tip of Nimba County right on the border to Guinea and Ivory Coast. We had always wanted to hike up mount Nimba when we were in Guinea and so took the chance to go up on the Liberian side. Yekepa is an old mining town in the mountains. It has a strange Suburbia feeling about it. Nearly everything in the town was built or provided by the mining company. All the housing was built as row houses for mine workers. Instead of artfully named quarters of town, people tell you where they live by giving you a number and a letter. “I’m in C block 4”. The Mountain itself shares tri-border point with Guinea, Ivory Coast, and Liberia and has one of the highest iron ore concentrations in the world. There is so much iron in the mountain that trees can’t even grow on it. The place has a haunting, apocalyptic feeling due to years of mining operations followed by years of looting, vandalism, and civil war. The mountain looks like some strange stepped ancient ruins that runs down to a huge water-filled quarry. All around stand old rusting mining equipment and trucks as if work had suddenly and dramatically been halted mysteriously. Here and there are the burnt-out skeletons of the former mining infrastructure and establishment.

Needless to say we had a great time visiting the area and taking a break from the normal rhythm of life.

Rural Women’s Association Fund Raiser

On May 1st I attended a fund-raiser for the Tappita District Rural Women’s Associations. Groups from all over the district came together to raise funds for projects they were spearheading in their various towns and villages. Some were building women’s health clinics; others schools, warehouses, and marketplaces. I went with a friend of mine to a town about 45 minutes away called Grey. We arrived very early….meaning ‘on time’ in the US and had plenty of time to chat, eat, and chase her 3 year old around. When the program finally began there were many music and dance performances before the fundraising rally officially opened. Many important officials were invited including the CEO (roughly equivalent to a County-level Super Intendant), and the chief elder. I was asked to open the raffle and expressed how impressed I was with the women’s initiatives and explained how their work has been influencing the younger generation in the Tappita Girls Social Club. After that, each invitee was invited up to say some words and to officially give their donation. After many such speeches and plenty more dancing, we finally headed home around 5pm. I haven’t heard what the final tally was of the funds that they were able to raise but I am sure that they are all well on their way to achieving their various objectives.

The CEO’s visit

On May 6th the County Education Officer came for a visit to the school. The visit had been planned for the beginning of the school year but had been pushed back many times. Unfortunately because of the changes, there was less of a turnout then the school had hoped for. Even with the small attendance, the event was very entertaining. All 4 high schools in Tappita gave musical performances and the cultural troupe gave dance presentations to welcome the CEO Mr. Wolf. I will try to post some videos of these performances if the internet gods allow. During the CEO’s address he answered many of the teacher’s pressing questions and gave the school district some gifts and supplies from UNICEF.

Mock WAEC

The reason that Jon and I were able to take our small vacation this week is that presently, our 12th grade students are taking National Exams (the WAEC). These national exams are very important for these students to graduate or to move on in their studies. Generally the week before the exams, there is a trail run test given by each individual school with varying levels of success and resemblance to the actual WAEC test. Last week was rather trying because, for some reason, the school administration was looking to Jon and I for direction in the administration of the test. We were asked to take a leadership role in administering tests to 200 students at once for three days from 8am to 5pm and all of the small and large crises that arose in between. And then, on top of correcting our own exams and calculating the year-end averages for the 12th graders, we were expected to administer all the make up exams. After all that we felt that we deserved a little break so we took off to go to (see below….)

Robertsport.

Robertsport is one of the most beautiful spots in all of Liberia. It is also a hot spot for beach lovers and Surfers from all over the world. We went down to visit our friend Raj at his site and to soak in a little sun. We found a great place to camp right on the beach for $5 a night, took our first surfing lesson, swam, ate incredible seafood, and slept all afternoon in perfectly placed hammocks. A few other Peace Corps friends were enjoying the beach as well. During the weekend, the whole place was packed with NGO and UNMIL Land Rovers but during the week, there was no one around and we had the beach almost completely to ourselves! It was a beautiful place and we are hoping to make our way back there again very soon.

Well that’s really about it. Time has been flying by. We are coming up on the end of the school year and we are beginning to turn our attention to our other projects in the community as well as the Peace Corps trainings in Sierra Leone and Liberia. We are yet to hear what our schedule will be like for the rest of our service but one thing that we do know is that we will be really busy!

Take Care and I hope that you enjoy the long overdue pictures!

Hello all!

Again sorry for the long delays in our updates but in case you have forgotten…we live in West Africa where things never go quite as smoothly as you might wish.

We have been keeping ourselves busy over here. School has been quite a bit less productive as school days keep getting canceled for various events: the president’s visit, a teacher’s meeting, outdoor work days, holidays, the white guys are the only ones who showed up again days…there are various reasons that school just cannot possibly happen. But these days are not just disruptive in and of themselves but are compounded by the fact that when they occur, there is at least one or two days that students will “go for weekend” and just not show up. When there is no school, students who live far from the town will go home to re-supply money and food from home. Other students just don’t come. So for an example, if there is a holiday on a Monday, the students will not come on Tuesday because they went for a weekend or they are recovering from all the resting they did on the holiday. Wednesday is market day so every week, at best 1/2 the students at the school will show up. Maybe Thursday the teacher’s will decide to stay home or maybe have a impromtu meeting so school will be canceled again and everyone will “go for weekend until Monday…or Tuesday…..but then there is market day and the cycle continues. In the past three weeks there were very few days that we stayed at school for the whole day. We taught our classes but with 7 students in a class and no other teachers, there is only so much motivation to continue for the whole day.

Several University students came to hold tutorial sessions for the 9th and 12th graders who are preparing for national exams. I was pretty busy writing new lesson plans for tutoring sessions which included Saturday morning physics reviews….JOY. The students, who came from all the high schools in Tappita really enjoyed the sessions and so there has been some discussion in continuing them.

The girls group has broken ground for ther community garden. We wrote a letter requesting some help from the UNMIL troops in Tappita and on Saturday they came and promised to donate seeds and technical assistance and brought us delicious snacks: apples (a rare treat for the girls) imported oranges, guava juice, rice, beans, and cookies. The girls were thrilled. I hope that they keep up their ambitious good works. I have been going to the field with them for the past two Saturdays. It feels good toiling and sweating beside them. It is truly a cross-cultural experience. They are always so worried about me and if I really can do so much hard work with the hoe. I teach them about white skin and the need for sunscreen when there is not a shady tree in sight. We work and sing and talk and for awhile we can truly feel the differences fall away. We are hoping to plant tomatoes, cassava, peanuts, cucumbers, cabbage, watermelon, and moringa. I took some pictures and will post them when I can.

Jon and I attended a wedding at the Catholic church this past Saturday. The celebration was more western and less involved then the three day guinean wedding marathons that we used to go to. So this time, instead of spending our whole weekend and a few very late nights sitting, dancing, and feeling odd, we spent a wonderful day enjoying the event. The mass was very traditional, but with some fun African twists with the music and dress. The priest’s homily was really nice and made me think about our wedding. He spoke about how people should be whole human beings when they come into a relationship and not just be looking for the other person to make them whole.

We were honored with a surprise visit from out country director and the acting African regional director on Sunday afternoon. We sat and chatted. We had a small lunch and they gifted up some american food…including oreos!!! Double stuffed! YUM. Woe Woe likes them too! Earlier in the week we also had a vist from some other staff who came for lunch but ended up staying for dinner because PK's cooking is so amazing. So basically the whole staff of Peace corps Liberia were at our house last week!

I guess that pretty much brings us up to date. We are really enjoying ourselves here in Tappita. 5 of our friends came this weekend to spend Easter weekend with us. It's been great catching up and enjoying each other's company.

Just a quick update while there is some internet. I'll post some photos when I can!

Be Well,

Kim and Jon

I'm sorry that we have not updated our blog very frequently even though we now have the internet at our site. The internet that we have is pretty slow and that coupled with the speed of my "vintage" computer and that the process entailed in setting up the generator as well as dealing with a monkey jumping up every two minutes and threatening to pee on the keyboard means that we do not go online that often and when we do we usually only do one or two things.

So just as a quick update:

We've been busy working at the local library. When we first arrived it was just a dusty, moldy room filled with unpacked boxes of books and books jumbled up on some rickety shelves. Now, with some help from our librarian Etoile, We are beginning to get the place into better shape. We have organized all of the textbooks and unpacked and catalogued everything that was in the boxes. (It's surprising the kind of random books we across. If the local students ever start up a Cocktail Bar they'll have the perfect book to teach them how to bar-tend.) We alphabetized all of the fiction books and are now just waiting on some more shelves to be finished so that we can display the non-fiction. We've also organized a children's corner for primary school students. Kim likes to read to the students during recess, but she needs to be careful not to invite too many or the library gets overrun. So anyway, with some minor repairs and some more work, the library will be ship-shape in no time.

Kim joined a young women's empowerment group in town. The "Women of Destiny" are a women's group formed to help support the young ladies of the area as well as participate in social activities. The girls meet 3-4 times a week to play kickball and are making plans for a community garden project. They’re still in discussion as to whether they might be raising goats as an heifer-style economic empowerment initiative. Two weekends ago, they launched their group with a parade through town and an 'opening' ceremony. Kim was asked to give the welcoming speech and the address was broadcasted on the local radio station.

So Kim and I have adopted a 'child' her name is Mona Woe-Woe and she is, as far as we can tell, a Campbell’s Mona Monkey. She is just a tiny baby. She has imprinted upon Kim and thinks she's her mom so she can be a little clingy. But she has stolen our hearts and hey...when else in our lives will we be able to own a monkey for a pet? We get lots of attention when we walk through town with her on our shoulder and people are always asking about her. We will post pictures when we have more time.

Last Friday we had the honor of meeting the President of Liberia, Madame Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The president stopped in Tappita briefly to see the new Chinese hospital that is being built up the road from our school. School let out early so that everyone could take part. Jon and I stood in the hot midday African sun to see her. Everyone was so excited. There was a lot of music, drumming, and dancing and the Gio "Long devil" was shaking his stuff on long stilts. The Market Ladies association dressed in white to greet the president with palm fronds, singing, and dancing. The massive convoy pulled up and the president’s car rolled right into the compound and so after waiting so long in the hot West African Sun, sweating and sun burnt we figured we had had enough and were not going to be able to see the president. We contented ourselves with a consolatory cold soda in the shade. But just as soon as we sat town another “Qui-poo” or white person starts yelling “Where are the Peace Corps people!!!! Peace Corps Hurry!!! Very confused Kim literally throws Woe-Woe (who had come to join the action) to a friend and we go over to the convoy. Apparently the US Ambassador to Liberia helped us out. She brought us, still sweating and sunburned, up to meet the President. It was incredible as the sea of people parted and the “Iron Lady” herself stood before us. We had only seen pictures, read her biography, and seen her in a documentary and suddenly she was right there shaking our hands. We barely knew what to say but we got to greet her briefly as she made her way back to her car to continue her trip around Liberia. Unfortunately it all happened so quickly that we didn’t even get to take a picture. Hopefully we will get another chance to meet and speak to President Sirleaf in the future.

A few nights ago we were invited to dine with the Captain of the Bangladeshi UNMIL at their compound in Tappita. We have been getting to know some of the UN guys in the area as incredibly enough we stick out when they are driving around town on their patrols. We had a great time chatting and the dinner was fantastic: chicken and fish with lots of tumeric, parsley, and spice and delicious naan. It was a great change of pace from rice and cassava paste!

So that’s about all the news that we have right now. Life is pretty good. We have basically had a week-long holiday because Wednesday was a holiday and so the students couldn’t come Thursday or Friday because they didn’t feel like it or went home to their villages and Monday also is a holiday so we’ve been keeping busy reading and napping. So as Kutch would say “Life is Tough!”

Be Well Everyone!

Jon and Kim

So …

Where has the time gone?

As you may have noticed, our last blog post was quite a few months ago. Strange as it may seem, it feels like just yesterday that we were saying goodbye to Guinea/Mali and were on an airplane back across the ocean. Between that time and the present moment, it seems that we have lived many and various, and strangely inconsistent lives. It is hard to articulate but upon landing in America, after a few days it felt like our year in Guinea was this strange and vivid dream. Jon and I went to visit our friends Kate and Jim in Hawaii and that again felt like some alternate reality from the cold snows of the New England winter. We have only just hit our 2 week mark here in Liberia and it feels as though home and holidays were ages ago in some other realm. Time is strange like that…sometimes it leaps, sometimes it crawls, sometimes it stands still…and sometimes it just seems…fragmented…

After our evacuation from Guinea, we were sent home for a few months of R&R to await our return to finish our Peace Corps service in Liberia. We came home to a surprise visit from my parents at Logan airport and a warm welcome to freezing northern Maine. We spent a few weeks with Jon’s family, enjoying every minute…and putting back on all the weight we had lost! We spent Thanksgiving with my family in Boston and en route were able to visit many of our Maine friends. During this time I was studying for the GRE (not very fun or exciting) but as soon as that was over, Jon and I dashed off to Hawaii.

We spent two weeks snorkeling, hiking, lazing on beaches, and driving around The Big Island, Kauai, and Oahu. Kate and Jim were amazing hosts and really helped us to get out and see their favorite parts of the islands even though they had busy work schedules. We managed to make it to all the different sand beaches, including a pretty long, hot hike to a green sand beach. One of the best days was when Jim and Kate took us out to Makala’awena Beach a beautiful (and again hard to reach) pristine white sand beach. We drank Coronas, laid in the sun and played in the waves. Another Peace Corps Guinea Volunteer, Jake, who happened to be in the area, met us there. Then we headed up to Mona Kea, the highest point on the Big Island. Up on top is an internationally renowned astronomical observatory. Because of it’s location and strict light pollution ordinances, the observatory offers some of the most pristine images of the night sky. After a race to rent a car, make the trip there and a little harrowing race up the winding roads, we made it to the top just to see the sunset. We stayed as night fell and watched as the entire milky way lay above us. Jon and I also visited a botanical garden and offered a lei to Pele, the volcano goddess as close as we could get to an active lava flow. On Kauai, one of the most incredible things we did was to go on a boat ride with HoloHolo tours along the picturesque Napali Coast and got to do some more snorkeling near the “Forbidden Island” It was great…7 1/2 hours and more food that could ever be possible to eat!

Hawaii was incredible. Pictures will have to suffice since we are running on a generator right now and I could go on until it ran completely out of gas.

When we got back we had to fight the jet lag and jump back in a car to return for a northern Maine Christmas. We had a blast with our nieces. We have some really cute photos of them dressed in fairie and hula girl costume that they got for Christmas. Very shortly thereafter I had to run back down to Massachusetts to visit with my brother and other family coming into town. We spent New Years in Boston with my family, saw the parade and went skating on frogpond. We then met up with friends and went out to dinner in the north end and ended up staying with PC Guinea friends at their hotel overnight.

Which finally brings everything up to date.

We have been in Liberia for 2 weeks now. The town that we live in is called Tappita and we are teaching at Tarpeh Memorial High School. Jon will be teaching Grammar and Composition to the 10th-12th graders. I will be teaching Physics to 10th –12th and Chemistry for 10th grade. The school had a library desperately in need of some help as well as a computer lab that is suffering from lack of funds and the inundation of harmattan dust amoung other things. So we have some great projects to look forward too. Also, it appears as though the paints that were donated for our world map project did not make the return trip with the rest of our belongings so we are going to try and have that shipped here and we can work on that as well.

We'll post pictures and more information later but for now the generator is running low.

Be Well,

Kim and Jon

So..

Where has the time gone?

As you may have noticed, our last blog post was quite a few months ago. Strange as it may seem, it feels like just yesterday that we were saying goodbye to Guinea/Mali and were on an airplane back across the ocean. Between that time and the present moment, it seems that we have lived many and various, and strangely inconsistent lives. It is hard to articulate but upon landing in America, after a few days it felt like our year in Guinea was this strange and vivid dream. Jon and I went to visit our friends Kate and Jim in Hawaii and that again felt like some alternate reality from the cold snows of the New England winter. We have only just hit our 2 week mark here in Liberia and it feels as though home and holidays were ages ago in some other realm. Time is strange like that…sometimes it leaps, sometimes it crawls, sometimes it stands still…and sometimes it just seems…fragmented…class After our evacuation from Guinea, we were sent home for a few months of R&R to await our return to finish our Peace Corps service in Liberia. We came home to a surprise visit from my parents at Logan airport and a warm welcome to freezing northern Maine. We spent a few weeks with Jon’s family, enjoying every minute…and putting back on all the weight we had lost! We spent Thanksgiving with my family in Boston and en route were able to visit many of our Maine friends. During this time I was studying for the GRE (not very fun or exciting) but as soon as that was over, Jon and I dashed off to Hawaii.

We spent two weeks snorkeling, hiking, lazing on beaches, and driving around The Big Island, Kauai, and Oahu. Kate and Jim were amazing hosts and really helped us to get out and see their favorite parts of the islands even though they had busy work schedules. We managed to make it to all the different sand beaches, including a pretty long, hot hike to a green sand beach. One of the best days was when Jim and Kate took us out to Makala’awena Beach a beautiful (and again hard to reach) pristine white sand beach. We drank Coronas, laid in the sun and played in the waves. Another Peace Corps Guinea Volunteer, Jake, who happened to be in the area, met us there. Then we headed up to Mona Kea, the highest point on the Big Island. Up on top is an internationally renowned astronomical observatory. Because of it’s location and strict light pollution ordinances, the observatory offers some of the most pristine images of the night sky. After a race to rent a car, make the trip there and a little harrowing race up the winding roads, we made it to the top just to see the sunset. We stayed as night fell and watched as the entire milky way lay above us. Jon and I also visited a botanical garden and offered a lei to Pele, the volcano goddess as close as we could get to an active lava flow. On Kauai, one of the most incredible things we did was to go on a boat ride with HoloHolo tours along the picturesque Napali Coast and got to do some more snorkeling near the “Forbidden Island” It was great…7 1/2 hours and more food that could ever be possible to eat! Hawaii was incredible. Pictures will have to suffice since we are running on a generator right now and I could go on until it ran completely out of gas. When we got back we had to fight the jet lag and jump back in a car to return for a northern Maine Christmas. We had a blast with our nieces. We have some really cute photos of them dressed in fairie and hula girl costume that they got for Christmas. Very shortly thereafter I had to run back down to Massachusetts to visit with my brother and other family coming into town. We spent New Years in Boston with my family, saw the parade and went skating on frogpond. We then met up with friends and went out to dinner in the north end and ended up staying with PC Guinea friends at their hotel overnight. Which finally brings everything up to date. We have been in Liberia for 2 weeks now. The town that we live in is called Tappita and we are teaching at Tarpeh Memorial High School. Jon will be teaching Grammar and Composition to the 10th-12th graders. I will be teaching Physics to 10th –12th and Chemistry for 10th grade. The school has a library desperately in need of some help as well as a computer lab that is suffering from lack of funds and the inundation of harmattan dust amoung other things. So we have some great projects to look forward too. Also, it appears as though the paints that were donated for our world map project did not make the return trip with the rest of our belongings so we are going to try and have that shipped here so that project may yet get off the ground!

We bought a USB internet card and a generator so we have entered the technology age and will have more constant access to the internet....and yes.....that may mean more blog posts for the 2 of you who actually do read this!!!

I will post photos next time we get the generator going....Be well all!

Love Kim and Jon

As in all life there are good things and there are bad....we shall begin with the good....

About a month ago, Jon and I were able to take our first vacation out of Guinea to the neighboring country of Mali. We went with two of our friends and had a great time. We were finally able to see the entire stretch of the country; see the amazing contrasts of culture, language, ethnicities ecology, landscape, and architecture that makes up Guinea. We crossed into Mali and found the temperature there very similar to the eastern part of Guinea: dry, flat, and hot! But for us, coming from the coast, having heat that was dry instead of humid was actually a nice change!

We spent some time in the music captial of West Africa (and the capital of Mali) Bamako and treated ourself to delicious pastries, beer on tap, and amazing Italian cusine. We went to the markets and were astounded by the incredible craftsmanship of the artisans. After a stop in Mopti and another crazy day of shopping, we headed north on the Niger River on a big boat. As we made our way north, it was amazing to watch the landscape change from red and dry to sandy and dusty as we continued through the sahel and entered the lands of real desserts. We kept our eyes out for hippos but unfortunately did not catch a glimpse of one.

We got to Timbuktu, that place of myth and ledgends, on the "Fete" day to celebrate the end of the month-long fast of Rammadan. Because it was a day of celebration, everyone always dresses to impress in their long, colorful boubous and complets of shiny bazin. Many of the Tureg men wore their turbans and decorated their horses with colorful saddles. The city felt so mysterious and ancient. With everyone in their fancy clothes, it really felt like we had entered some old fairy tail or story from 1001 Arabian Nights. It was almost like we were in a ruins that people still lived in. We would see these old buildings of mud and brick, peek in the door, and the whole family would be sitting chatting sitting on their sandy floor. All the doors and windows were elaborately carved and beautifully decorated with bits of metal. There was sand everywhere! flowing over the paved streets, blowing on the wind, in your ears and between your teeth! In the evening, we took camels out to watch the sunset on the dunes. We have some great pictues and hilarious memories. And to quote my friend Jesse, " if anyone out there was wondering what sound a camel makes I would say it’s kind of loud warbly groan, pretty much exactly like a bantha from Star Wars." Jon's camels was a little unruly but we all had a great time.

The next day we continued on to Dogon Country. Dogon is an area that runs the length of an escarpment or sort of long cliff in the middle of Mali. The area is renowned for its mystery and distinct animist beleifs. We went hiking for three days there. Up in the cliffs there are said to be the remnants of the minature homes of the Tellem or pygmy people. The dwellings are very high in the cliffs and so there are many ideas and myths about how they got up there, what happened to them, and where they went. The landscape was beautiful and everyday we would hike through nice little villages nestled under the cliffs. Every night we slept on the roof under mosquito nets and woke to the sun coming up over the village. We passed through beautiful fields of millet, groves of boababs and besides one small run-in with beeeeees, we all escaped unscathed. During mid day, the sun was soooo hot that we were not supossed to hike so it was a nice paced hike with lots of down time to rest, drink millet beer, and explore.

And so, it was after 2 weeks of exploring and traveling that on our taxi ride back to Guinea that we heard on the radio that there were protests being held in the Capital. Now in a place that is as unstable politically as Guinea is, this is never a good sign. Also, knowing the disposition of the military and those in power, we were definitely worried.

And now the bad...As many of you may know by now, we are back in the States for a little while. On September 28th there was a huge opposition gathering at the stadium in Conakry to protest the president, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara's rule and his declaration that he would run in the upcoming elections. In 50 years, Guinea has only had 3 presidents and so people are very used to this game that is played by it's leaders to maintain power. This time, people were not going to let this go without their opposition being voiced. 50,000 people, many young and well-educated men and women from the universities were there to show their opposition. The military and red berets moved in and opened fire. They dropped tear gas and closed off the exits. The beat an assaulted many of the attendees. 157 people were killed and 1,200 were injured. The government has only aknowledged the death of 57 people and many of the bodies seem to have disappeared. We were on our way back from our vacation when we heard the news. Fortunately we were able to go back our village to say some goodbyes before the word came down that we were being consolidated in Mali. We were in Mali for few weeks until we were informed that the program in Guinea had been suspended or in other words, we would not be able to go back until the political situation righted itself. Here are some news articles to read:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8280603.stm

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/10/27/guinea-september-28-massacre-was-premeditated?print

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=86819

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8334150.stm

Before we left, we were able to say goodbye to our friends and Guinean family. They will be missed very much and we hope to return soon to visit them. Sierra and Rocky, our goats went to live with my friend and her wonderful family (below) and we were given a very lovely send off by them.

These are the real people behind those headlines that you read. The ones that are struggling day to day and who are only looking for stability and a brighter future for their children. It is these people who are harmed by vicious dictators who are willing to rule at any cost.

In just one day we will be welcoming the new group of trainees. We have reached the halfway mark in our service and it seems like it just flew by. It's strange to reflect on what we were doing, who we were just one short year ago. A year ago I barely could put together a sentence in French. A year ago I was afraid to eat even an orange and terrified of everything on my first trip to the market. A year ago, I was more concerned with the weight limits of my baggage then with really contemplating what joining the Peace Corps and teaching physics in a foreign language could possible mean. A year ago I was saying goodbye to all of my nearest and dearest, having one last American meal, checking and rechecking the packing list.

Now I'm feeling more and more comfortable in this foreign place. I am no longer afraid. I can travel alone unafraid. I go to the market in Conakry and negotiate its dark and treacherous pathways without missing a step. I eat pretty much whatever catches my eye in the market with out fear. I am more comfortable now riding in cars crammed full of sweaty people then I am when I have a whole seat (!) to myself. I cannot sleep or stay in air conditioning anymore, it makes me cold and sick. French now falls from my tongue with very little thought or effort. Granted, this french must be jumbled and improper but I can now communicate most everything that is necessary in a language that up until a year ago was completely foreign to me. Jon and I have been working hard to even learn Sussu to the same level...something that I never believed possible when we got here. We have wonderful friends and support here that keep us smiling and laughing. We have survived our first year of teaching large classes and have seen success...sometimes small, sometimes large. We have overcome stress and difficulties and thrived. We have a wonderful house, garden, and more animals then we have ever had in our lives. We have shared amazing experiences: hiking the mountains of Moussayah with hunters, amazing meals with our friends, drinking endless cups of tea, lazing around in the hammock, making the neighbors kids collapse in piles of giggles, soccer with the girls.

This time last year, was the hardest 3 months of my whole life. With so many adjustments all coming at us at once, we felt unprepared, scared, slow, useless. So I want to salute all of us in G-16! We made it! Congrats!! One year down and so many amazing adventures yet to be had! Here's to a great second year!

All the girls of the group (12 for 12 and going strong!) made a wonderful dinner together the other night of green beans, eggplant parmesan, and garlic bread. We also baked an amazing cake with chocolate frosting (Thanks Allison!) and enjoyed some Amarula (a yummy South African liquor like Baileys that is made from the Amarula fruit. Thanks to Marg and Jon who brought some back from their incredible african safari!) We had an amazing evening and the rooftop could not be beat. This group of girls are amazing, motivated, wonderful people. Watch out cuz they will change the world!

G-12 Ladies: Nothing but Class!

Marg, Carolina, Ashley, Isy, and Christina.. prep time!

Sweating it out in the Kitchen

We went to a Hiv/Aids Conference which was informative. We brought two teachers from our school to get the training and they seemed very honored by the invitation and truly interested in the topic. A group of young people from a local hiv/aids mentoring group came for the training and it was really inspiring to see young Guineans that were so motivated for change at such an early age. There were many ups and downs at the conference but over all, it was well received. Although Jon and I had a lot of grading to finish up, it was nice to be with our friends again and it almost started to feel like vacation. At the end of the conference we had a candle lighting ceremony and everyone was able to share what they learned their aspirations for the future.

Mr. Bangoura and Mr. Soumah...our couterparts at the conference

Aminata from the youth group and me.

Jon and Bryan...Don't cry

Emily, Tiffany, and Rachel at the candlelight ceremony

Jon and I were invited to lunch to our "brother" James Boucher's house. For any of you who received a batik this past christmas, this is the artist who made them. He fed us one of the best meals I've had yet in Guinea. He took us into his workshop and showed up the painstaking art of batik making. Essentially, he draws a design on a piece of white cloth and then paints melted beeswax where he does not want a color to go, and then dips it in ink. Many of the colors he uses are all natural that he collects himself. Most batiks take a total of 2-3 weeks from start to finish. This visit definitely made me appreciate his work even more. He also showed me this amazing multicoloured batik quilt that he made. Here are some photos of J. Boucher at work:

Another Portrait of an Artist

Specially designed PC Guinea Batik

My friend Rachel came to visit Moussayah last weekend. Jon stayed in Conakry so it was just us girls which was wonderful. It's always nice to be able to have a friend come and visit because not only to you get to share your life with them but you also get to see your surroundings through new eyes which is always uplifting and amusing. We visited the school, I introduced Rachel (or Fatoumata Binta Diallo) to my friends, we played with little Mama and Papa, and sat on the porch with Yero. Basically, she really got a pretty accurate glimpse into our little world. ALSO...and very exciting-ly : Sierra had her baby! It's a cute little bundle of fuzz that Jon named Rocky. He is hilarious to watch especially when he comes out of the barn in the morning because he doesn't seem to know how to walk...only jump. It;s unfortunate that we will have to be away for so long and won't be able to spend much time with him. But as I have been informed, goats have babies every 6 months...so we will definitely have another chance!!!

Rachel and Rocky

The Mosque in Moussayah

The Farmer in The Dell

The New Family: Sierra and Rocky

So that's our life in a nutshell. We are working hard to plan a great training for the new group. We are looking forward to a bit of a vacation out to Mali at the beginning of September. Things are going well. we'll be in and out of the capital fairly often this summer with work so we will try to update when we can!

That being said, we do have some bad news to report.

The first is concerning our "family" and Neighbors, the Camaras. Like all government officials, Sous-prefets are liable to very quick, last-minute "changements". Basically, whenever the government wants, it can remove or change the placement of any or all of its' posts. Mr. Camara had been made the Sous-prefet of Touge', a village to the far north and will be moving in the next few weeks. This is very sad because we have become very close to everyone in the family and truly considered them to be our Guinean family. They will be very missed and have very much brightened up our lives up on our hill. But I suppose, to look on the bright side, we will now be able to see some other parts of Guinean when we go to visit them.

Secondly, Houdini, our lovely friend has disappeared. We have our speculations, but we believe that maybe while we were gone he went too far to hunt and maybe didn't make it back. We are still holding out hope that he will turn up sometime but he has been missing for a while. We miss him a bunch. But one thing that you sense here really quick is that this is really an atmosphere of survival of the fittest....in many ways. Well, wherever he is, he is missed.

Love to you all,

Kim and Jon

I had been hearing very excessively about twitter recently on the copious amounts of BBC news that we have been listening to and so I thought that I'd give it a try. And its incredible...by some sort of magic, Jon and I will, with our cell phone, in a little village in West Africa be able to give day to day updates on this blog and on facebook on the happening chez nous for anyone interested, very bored, or in need of some good old fashioned procrastination.

If you take look to the right of our blog, there is a running tally of things I have been sending with my phone. This is very cool. I am a very lame, uninformed geek and the internet is magic.

Not too much new on the home front but since I was in town I thought that I would let everyone know that we are stil alive and kicking. I head back to site tomorrow to get working in the garden and get ready for the end of school. June is going to be a very busy month too with girls conference, a lifeskills (HIV/AIDS) training and the welcoming of our new training group!! So, I'm not sure how often we will be able to update. But now, with twitter, we can write little notes in the meantime so everyone knows whats going on in our crazy little lives.

Love you all and miss you tons! Hope all is well!

Kim and Jon

It hasn't been all that long since we last posted but we've made it back to the capital for some work...and some repose. Life is just moving along here, everything is fairly calm, not too much new or exciting-and sometimes, that is a good thing!

The school year is winding to a close and we are preparing for the new volunteers to arrive in July for their training. We are planning for a trip to Mali and some fun side projects for the summer vacation. Our days are spent teaching, recovering from teaching, resting and reading, getting our garden ready for the rainy season, and studying our french and sussu. Each day passes quicker then the last although sometimes in the midst of the heat and stress a day may seem as if it will never end.

We've been spending an inordinate amount of time spoiling our new cat Houdini. And as all cat lovers do, we have photographed him in many a cute pose. Jon also loves him so much that I once woke up in the middle of the night because Jon was sleeping diagonally so that Houdini could have a comfy spot to doze...right on Jon's pillow. So, he is quickly making his way into our hearts...and our bed.

"What, did you want to sit here?"

A purse pillow for a sleepy one.

Houdini loves playing in our mosquito netting. Here is a picture that Jon took a few weeks ago. This is not as fun when it is three am and one is trying to sleep!

Cuddles beware, this cat is one good reposer.

A week or so ago, I was getting ready to go to my tutor's house for a Susu lesson. While I was getting ready, I took a look through our bedroom wedding and saw a sheep in our garden. This sheep was acting rather erratic so I decided to watch it for a while. Moments later, I realized that the sheep was in labor and was about to give birth in our garden!!! Jon and I watch in amazement as this new life entered the world. I was astounded. it was the first time I had seen the birth of anything, animal or human, and it was amazing. The most incredible thing was that just moments after it was born, the baby was already up walking around and looking for some food! Here is a picture just minutes after!!!

And there is always, of course Mia, our chicken who has just hatched 4 more (yet to be named) babies and our wonderful goat, Sierra who is getting fatter by the day. Sierra is in denile about her weight gain as she still tries to fit through the narrow bars of our porch fence. I think that soon we will have a Winnie the pooh episode on our hands! Here are some pictures of that funny goat as well!

I'm getting to be a bit of a Little bo Peep around town as she has taken to following me around. I love it, but the ladies in the market just don't understand!

"Do you have any rice to share?"

Look at that belly!! Pretty soon we'll have a new baby goat...or two!!

Last weekend, Jon and I went out to a neighboring village with our pal Mr. Bangoura because we were told that some "experts" were coming into town along with the Forestry department of the local prefecture. We were told that they wanted to take a hike out into the forest and we had been invited along. It turned out that these experts were two americans working with the USGS to do a geological survey of the area. It was awesome! We got to see a GPS map of the area including the dense forest that we are trying to protect. One of the american "experts" is actually based out of Conakry and is a former volunteer so hopefully we will be working with him in the future. We went up to the edge of the densest bit of forest, but due to time constraints, were unable to do much more. But we were able to find some really gorgeous views and had a really fun hike. We didn't see much wildlife, however. But, we have other trips in the works so we will keep you posted about any chimp sightings

That is all for now. We miss you all and hope that all is well, spring is springing and that the sun is falling warmly on your faces.

...I (jon) am writing my last post before I head back to the village. There's still a bunch of stuff the Kim and I need to catch everyone up on. After the cat incident, surprisingly enough, life went on. We still have the cat by the way and he's doing great. Kim and I are yet to decide on a name but we're thinking very seriously about Houdini (like the illusionist)

or maybe falcor (the luck dragon from 'The Neverending Story').

The Monday morning after we got back from our visit with the hunters, before our classes started at the secondary school, Kim and I went to visit the primary school in our village. Some family and friends back in the States had been sending us school supplies and we went to the school to drop it off. The faculty at the school were really pleased and the students were ecstatic. The experience was incredible. How refreshing it was to be surrounded (thronged really) by a crowd of enthusiastic young children. As we went from class to class the students would sing out greetings together. After that Kim and I would walk around passing out some of the school supplies (mostly pens, pencils, colored pencils, and that sort of thing). When it came time to leave the students sang goodbye and thank you songs. It was so beautiful to be surrounded by so much joy. I can't say enough how full of happiness Kim and I were when we finally left. What a way to start our week.

Well that week came to an end with reviews and test leading up to what at present is a one week spring vacation. Kim and I have spent the majority of our time in Conakry but we were lucky enough to take some time to head out to a small group of islands off the coast. We left the city on a tiny boat with a 15hp engine - passing through a veritable ship graveyard - and found ourselves in sun-drenched paradise about an hour later.

We and a group of our fellow volunteers spent the better part of the day swimming, throwing frisbee, and combing the beach. All in all a great way to pass the time. Kim and I cooked and shared a bunch of hot dogs we had bought at one of the grocery stores that can be found in Conakry. That and the watermelon made the experience almost feel like home. Kim found some beautiful jewelry, we had a nice walk around the island, and came home the the Peace Corps bureau salty, sun burnt, and exhausted. It was great. Shortly thereafter, Kim left to take some of our Peace Corps friends to visit our village for a hunters ceremony that coincided with the full moon on Wednesday. She told me today that it went great and everyone had wonderful time. Apparently there was a bunch of food and music. If it was anything like the ceremonies I've been to out that way I can attest to just how amazing the surreal the whole experience can be. What happens is a group of hunters will play Coras (guitar/drum things) while another group will pantomime as deer and hunters. This all to the periodic back fire of gunfire as people fire their rifles into the air flourishing them for dramatic affect.

I, on the other hand, stayed in Conakry so that I could go on a little fishing trip. I and good friend headed back out to the Island were we had just visited 4 days earlier. After having met a local fisherman while exploring the island's small village community, he and I had tentatively planned to go on a fishing trip just out past the islands. We got to the islands and after swimming for a little while we headed off to get ahold of the fisherman so we could take off on our trip. We fished well into the night and then got back to his house were we stayed until morning when he brought us back to the mainland. I won't lie, it was a bit scary now and again but we had a great time and there were some big fish. We caught a red snapper and a barracuda both well over 3ft. We got some photos of the smaller fish, but the big ones didn't come out until after the sun went down. We used long spools to catch these things and it was a really neat experience. For the little fish we just lifted them into the boat but for the bigger ones we had to hit them with this long stick that had a spike on the end. Truly a remarkable, albeit harrowing, experience. That gets us pretty well up to date. Tomorrow I leave Conakry and head home to Kim. The school year is coming to a close in just over a month and we're trying to get ourselves prepared for that. Otherwise, everything's pretty much the same back at site. The people are great. The scenery is wonderful. No complaints here.

jonathan

When last we left our heroes they were venturing into the African bush in search of perilous adventure.

One has to admit it has a cetain 'pulp' appeal if not a twing of melodrama. Well as Kim was writing (not so sutle remark aimed at denoting that this is Jon - hello by the way), after the local hospitality brigade served us some wonderful food; we were invited for a walking into the woods with some of the local hunters. Avid fans might recall that we had already gone out on a trip like this with another group a few months back. Last time we saw a bunch of chimp habitates and a totally great waterfall which we hope to check out again during the rainyseason. Well, needless to say, we accepted and left with four locals and our stalwart companion, Mr Bangoura.

After trudging for hours thru plantations and bamboo groves, we arrived in vally filled with palm trees (apparently a major food source for chimps). Unfortunately we had to walk along a this dediculously muddy, trecherous river bed from that point on. Neither kim nor I had really planned, or dressed for this but we kept our heads down and powered thru. And it all payed off; Kim and I saw three chimps in the wild. On fortunatly, the dense cover and failing light made it that we only have this one, rather dark and fuzzy photo. But we were there and we'll remember it for ever. It was so surreal as the hunters all started to act like giddy little kids pointing and making a great big deal as we fumbled with the camera half in a panic ourselves to atleast take a few photos.

So we had only been back at site for a few weeks but I must say that they were some very interesting two weeks and we have many a tale to tell. We are back in the Big City Lights for our school's one week vacation. Many of the other education volunteers are using their well-earned vacation time for a trip to see other parts of the continent or a much needed and well-deserved rest-up at home. Jon and I are planning to do very little in general but take care of the necessities in town and a much-inticipated trip out to some of the islands off the coast. I am really looking forward to spending some quality time laying on a beach!!

As for the events of the past few weeks...

I will begin with an AIDS sensibilization that we helped out with in town. I have now learned to never expect anything to go the way I want it to or the way I expect it to here in Guinee. However, I have found that sometimes things can work themselves out in a very Guinean style. We were approached by a fellow professor and the youth group in town for assistance with the sensibilization. This basically meant that they wanted us to provided some sort of materials i.e. condoms and posters. Here is Jon preparing...

I knew that there was a group of youth mentors from a neighboring village who often do these types of things so I tried to contact them, fairly unsuccesfully. When finally we got in contact with them (two days before the event) they agreed to come out with 7 of the kids. The day of the event passed with me having no knowledge of what was actually going to happen except an approximate time and all of these youth group kids sitting on my porch playing crazy eights who knew even less then I did. We had some idea that there were some music groups invited and that there would be a dance and that at some point we would be talking about AIDS.

The day of the event, at the onset, seemed like a flop...it was supposed to begin at 1pm and began the contemplation of really beginning at 4. Like all big events in Guinee, it involved lawn chairs in a big circle, huge speakers with too much reverb, and many loud electronic squeakings...but perhaps that is the halmark of the grand fetes.

Music was played and several music groups rapped or sang in succession and slowly but surely the lawn chairs began to fill and young students began to wander in. The youth group from Forekariah did an amazing job, especially under the time restraints and circumstances. They put on a little play and a condom demonstration. Though it was all in Sussu and I really have no idea if any really pertinent information was transmitted, I must say that the event, lead by Guineans, for Guineans surpassed the uneasy expectations that I had set for it. But most importantly, I think it was important for the young people of Moussayah to see these people, of the same age, doing something so important. Perhaps this will spark some motivation to start a similar group there. The SIDA dance was a bit disappointing, with more lawn chairs and loud noises but lots of condoms were given out...and I suppose that is as good as anything.

Last week was the most intensly bizarre, interesting, and outright bewildering week in my recent history.

It all began on Friday when....ah..no....it all began on thurday morning with the slaughter of the baby...goat (that is) by the tree in our front yard.

And no, not Sierra, but the neighbor's newly purchased young goat that I was looking forward to naming and getting to know. The morning was made even stranger by the presence of...what's this? a slight sprinkle of rain after months of scalding harmattan!! After sweeping up the leaves in the yard ( a weird but culturally necessary chore here) I headed to school to do a review for the 7th graders. My friend Kate who lives in Hawaii had sent a kids hula outfit for me to use. To add to the unreality of this whole week, I now added a hula outfit... on African kids. I had planned a game like who wants to be a millionaire only if you got the wrong answer, you had to wear the hula outfit and do a dance for the class. They loved it and I have the photographic proof! Thanks Kate!!!

But wait, there's more...

Later that afternoon, I headed to my Sussu tutor, Madame Balde's house. We are sitting there talking when I feel a slight breeze that causes me to turn my head slightly and what do I see but a huge black storm cloud engulfing the mountains and quickly baring down on the village. "I think I'm going to go home." I said. "I think you better run!" she said. But I did not need much encouragement, nor did many other villagers who quickly ran, worried eyes to the skies. Students yelled out "Nana Soumah!" and told me to take refuge in their house but I was determined to make it back up the hill before the rain. The storm came in like a rebirth, cleansing the streets of the town of all it long-laid dust with one great burst. We all ran, mouths clenched against the grit, eyes narrowed and looking at the sky when ever there was a little relief from the stinging grit. Huffing and grunting, I made it up the hill, sand in my teeth, only to have a spectacular veiw of the clouds speeding from the mountains and the entire town below us engulfed in dust. We stood out in the wind, watching the world tense in readiness for what was to begin. And suddenly it came!! Cold, wet, wonderful rain, soaking into the parched earth and making it red as clay. Inside, Jon and I listened in amazement to the pounding newness of the rain on our tim roof. To heighten the strangeness even more, we were able to celebrate with delicious (baby) goat fajitas with rice and quacamole and a box of red wine. NOW how is that for a rather random day?.....

But it doesn't end there.

The next morning, we had planned to bike out to a nearby village to meet our friend, Mr. Bangoura. Mr. Bangoura is working with the Jane Goodhall Institute to organize and sensibilize hunters and try to determine resources usage and protection measures for the forests in the region. We had gone to a few events with him in the past and really enjoyed them. The route to the village was absolutely stunning, I had to keep stopping the bike to get just the right picture to capture the unreal natural beauty that surrounds us. Here are some en route:

When we got there we immediately were taken to talk with The President of the rural Development commitee ( basically the village 'big wig') who was an older self-important man. He had just completed the Haidj. Hands were shaken, we were given a welcome gift of banannas, and were found lodging for the night....with Monsieur le President, of course! After that, we put away our bikes and bags, and went for a walk with a local hunter and Mr. bangoura to the nearby village. On the route we took pictures of some of the environmental damage being done in the area, burned regions of the mountains, brick yards with erroding sand pits, and areas of devastated forest all for the wasteful production of charbon or charcoal. (See pictures below). One of the highlights of our walk was the sighting of a rather large BOA CONSTRICTOR (!) in the wild. Of Course, the hunter then grabbed a very large stick and proceeded to whack the boa with the intention of having him for supper. The Boa did escape, but I'm very sure was smarting quite a bit. We sat for a bit while Mr. bangoura chatted up some hunters and showed some pictures from our previous outings and then returned for an eagerly-awaited lunch.

Unfortunately, this eagerly awaited lunch was very much delayed and we sat in hunger-induced apathy as Bangoura continued diligently to sensibilize the villagers about resource-usage and the formation of hunting associations...all in a language we didn't know. Finaly, after many contemplations of mange-ing my own left foot, a huge, steaming bowl of rice and peanut sauce arrived and we happily ate our full. Upon finishing, we were asked if we wanted to go on the (photo) hunt for chimpanzees...

and eagerly we agreed...

Stay tuned for more of our very bizarre week!!!!

During these harrowing times of climate change, everyone is always talking about their carbon footprint and last night we began discussing the ways that we have been(voluntarily involuntarily) reducing ours. par example:

1.We use less elctricity.

In general, we don't use any. We do use an alarming number of candles at night, however to try and stimulate ourselves to staying awake. But in general, our days follow the movements of the sun. We wake with it, and are ready for bed not long after it sets. Our time with Conakry is marked (and well celebrated) with an overabundance of air conditioning, movie viewings and long nights on the computer but it is certainly less then we have been accustomed to. The absence of electricity can allow us to be more productive....sometimes....as we can't distract ourself quite as often. But with the ipod and the copious quantities of books and magazines that we stockpile, there are always other amusments. We are constantly using batteries for headlamps, speakers, our radio. We try to use only rechargeable but after a time these do corrode or lose their charge quickly so sometimes we have little choice. We do use our little solar panel but often will wait to charge it up with electricity then lay it out in the sun.

2. We use less water.

As all of our water is now carries to us from our students, we are very careful with its usage. We reuse greywater from our laundry to "flush" out latrine. We take very short showers with 5-8 goblets of water, economizing the water as much as possible. We are constantly drinking water but even so, you can easily dehydrate with the dry winds, dust, and heat. We are hoping to renew our attempts at a garden soon once we repair our fence, but hopefull that will not require much more water perday to support. Its interesting to think about if our concerns regarding water usage will follow us home or not. I think there will be many changes to re-adjust to, not the least being overuse and accessibility of water.

3. We throw away less.

Here in Guinee, tin cans are toys, plastic bags are always reusable, and bottles are treasures. I was just told about a voluteer who gives her old water bottles to a lady at the market who then gives gifts of onions or sugar and is convinced that she is always getting the better deal. The garbage that we do accumulate we burn every few weeks which, although is not great for the environment, is better then the alternative of just throwing it in a pile. All excess food gets given to petites or the animals and in general, the world is out compost pile. One thing that I have really come to appreciate is the ability of Guineans to reuse just about everything. I was chatting with a friend yesterday about how much we throw away back at home. I am contantly reminded of the bins outside of any university during move in/out day just piled with tvs,rugs, chairs, foam pads...all these things that we find so necessary and yet so disposable. We live in a disposable nation and the more I see, the more sickened I become. For example, I was informed yesterday that a medication that costs 70 bucks a pop that we were just given is going to expire soon, and that we are forbidden by law to give that medicine to any other entity to use, even health clinics here that would happily take even older expired medicines. But instead $13,000 worth old meds will be inceinerated. And this happens on every level of our lives: it costs less to destroy or dump then to find any other solution. Its sickening and yet its so ingrained into this culture of consumerism. In our village, we have and "need" far more then any other person to be comfortable. Our shelves are filled with spices and special foods, we have hammers and multitools, saws, and shovels: all these things just to feel at ease. This is not too mention all the toiletries that we all want and need to survive that are eventually are thrown away. I'm not really sure that we can escape it, I think it is somehow part of it. Maybe we can only recognize it and try to make more informed decisions.

4. We Carpool

Not only do we carpool, but we carpool with 8 or more other people depending on the size of the vehicle. It really is not a true bush taxi ride if you aren't straddleing the stick shift and sandwiched between to very sweaty strangers with your head buried in their armpit. Of course, that being said, these are some of the oldest, most beatup junkers in the world that leak oil and gas like sieves and I'm sure would so soil the emmissions tester with their fumes that it would never recover. Not to mention that the gas tank is a yellow bidon in the trunk or that the winsheild is held together with a Bob marley sticker.

Well of course we also have taken planes, and keep the AC on full blast when we have it and there is never a real neutrality there....but there is some beauty in the aknowledgement that we have so far to go and that we can always try harder, we can always consume concientiously, reduse, reuse, recycle.

Thats all for now.

We have a break coming up in the beginning of April and we will be on vacation for a week!

Take Care and Be Well.

Jon Om-ing with some of the neighborhood kids. They don't understand Yoga really but think that Jon is a ninja.

Jon and I went to visit some friends out in the Fouta region and found...amazingly...PINE TREES!!

This pod/fruit thing is awesome and tastes like a really sour fruit rollup.

We are back in the bright lights of the city catching up on our pop culture, relaxing, shopping for hard to come by goodies like tuna and oatmeal, and enjoying our first mangos of the season.

This last month has passed amazingly swiftly but it was definitely getting to be time to take a bit of a breather. Life in Moossayah is beautiful to be certain. We wake up to the prayer call at 5:30 every morning and lay still and drift and listen to the world awaken. Every morning we listen to the harrowing world news on the BBC, listen to the voices raise in panic of a financial crisis, and then watch the daily life here continue, unchanged and untouched. As I listen, I heat water for tea and oatmeal.The harmattan winds blows the heat away all night and the temperature in the morning is wonderful. Our neighbor lets the sheep, chickens and our goat, Sierra out of their coup. Sierra quickly makes her way over and runs right into the house to say good morning with a little "meeeh" which also says "give me breakfast". I quickly oblige with a handful of rice. After locking up of big red metal doors, we head down the hill towards school. On the way we say good morning to everyone in whatever language seems to fit at the moment, French, Sussu, Pulaar. The same kids that we pass each and every morning will come running, breathless and yelling "Nana Soumah, Nana Soumah!!!" waving their hands frantically. You'd think that they'd be used to us by now but still they all need to say their little "Ca bah?"

We are joined on the route by all of the primary school kids in their blue or red checkered dresses or khaki uniforms. Kids carry piles of wood of their heads or bidons in their hands to fill with water as a duty to the school and to their teachers. Others hold breakfasts of boiled manioc with hot pepper on shreds of bannana leaf. Arriving at school we are generally among the first to arrive. If the classes start on time they are at least 20 minutes late.

Life at school can be very challenging but also really rewarding. Jon and I are both feeling like we are finally finding our stride. We are using teaching techniques that these kids cannot even fathom but slowly but surely they are starting to catch on a bit. That being said, trying to maintain discipline in these large classrooms is a HUGE challenge and has brought me to my wits end on a number of occasions. Many student's level of french is so low that many cannot read or understand the lesson and act out or talk with their friends. So, instead we try to explain things in a more visual manner which tends to work a little better. But for every bad day or difficult moment, there is always something there to balance it....and if the balance isn't quite reached, then there are always good books to escape to or a little tv or music on the ipod that can get us through the rough patches.

We have been really busy. We helped do an AIDS presentation to each of the classes at the school. The information was presented in Sussu by a fellow teacher and then we demonstrated correct condom usage (using a wooden stand in) and asked the kids questions. We used pens and pencils that you all donated as prizes for correct answers.(Thanks again!) I have started an unofficial "Equipe des filles" or girls soccer team. We meet Monday-Wednesday for practice. At this time there are 7 girls who show up fairly regularly and I feel like it is gaining some steam. As in all things, there have been ups and downs, but I like it in a selfish way because it gets me out of the house and running around. Eating only simple starches can be a bit harsh on the waistline!

Jon asked me to share and experience from last week. In doing a review for a upcoming exam, I decided to break the students up into groups to answer questions and then try to find a creative way of presenting the information to the class. Now creativity does not come easily to these students who are so used to simply memorizing passages of information. And though I did not see much real new creative thought, it was fun to see the kids working together to solve a problem. I was hoping for some funny skits or drawings but basically just received carbon copies of drawing that I had already done. But, one of last groups to present was lead by a very serious student who solemnly greeted all members of the class and just as methodically thanked me for giving them this kind of assignment because they really liked it and had never done anything like it before. Its strange that the whole time I had thought that maybe I was just wasting my time and I wasn't obtaining the results that I wanted, but this one student appreciated that this was new and different and I suppose that, in itself, can be labeled a success.

We've also got alot of stuff coming up as well. The Association des Jeunes or the Youth group in town has approached us to help them with an evening AIDS sensibilization and dance for a big group of the young people in Moussayah. So Jon ad I will again be leaving Conakry with a big old back of preservatives to give out at the event. Along with that, we had a meeting with and NGO that works with water pumps called SNAPE Société nationale d’approvisionnement des points d’eau or the National Water Supply Service. We were hoping that they would be able to replace a pump and a generator that would pump water the five spouts throughout town. But because of two failed attempts where solar panels and other generators were vandalized or broken, they would not help with the funding for new machinery. That being said, they said that if we could raise the money, they would kindly install and train all the necessary partners. So we will continue to work on this and keep you informed on any progress.

I wanted to mention our rather amusing (or aggravating) ride from Moussayah. We took the only car that was leaving after school got out on Thursday. We are already sweating and the hottest part of the day hadn't even hit yet! The taxi was an ancient conversion van and this is always a bad sign as with these vehicles, they tend to stop at every house and every person on the route to take on more passengers or strap on some more huge bags of cassava to the already top-heavy car. And this was no exception. What would normally, in a Peace Corps SUV take 30 minutes, took 3 hours. Jon and I have actually biked this same route in the same amount of time. Add on top of that right before departing the driver asks me to get out from my middle seat next to him. He lifts a blanket covering a slab of metal. He then precedes to lift this metal hood and there under where I was sitting is the cars engine. He tops off the radiator with some water (who needs coolant?) and off we go. So not only are we traveling during the hottest part of the day but I am two inches from the engine. I must have lost two pounds just from sweating on our 3 hour voyage. Not to mention the heat from the 20 or so other people that were sharing the same taxi with us. You just have to love the transportation system of Guinea...there is nothing you can do so you just endure and laugh later.

That's about enough for tonight but I wanted to include one more picture of Sierra because she is too funny and fluffy to ignore. I am looking forward to getting back to her morning greetings. Here she is looking particularly adorable.....

All our love to everyone! Thanks so much for your letters, calls and packages, it always amazing to hear from you. Stay Warm.

Be well...

Kim and Jon

Jon and I are back in Conakry. Today we went to one of the nicest resturaunts in the city, the Domiere, where we feasted to our heart's content on all sorts of fine cuilinary delights. After 6 months (!) here in guinee eating mostly rice and sauces of different types and qualities, or soups of the middling vegetables that we can find at site, we decided that it was time for a treat. We went with all the G-16ers from the basse cote region and we ate until we were all about to burst...and were oh so happy about it. Needless to say, for the rest of the day we were not all that mobil but very very content.

Tomorrow we head out to the region of Guinee called the Fouta to a city called Mamou to go to our IST conference where we get to learn about how to begin secondary projects. Jon and I are very excited to begin working on secondary projects as soon as possible. Teaching at a school that doesn't always work the way that one might expect can be a tad frustrating so we are looking forward to having other outlets to inspire change and development in the community. We recently took some first steps in trying to get some projects up and running with S.N.A.P.E, a water resource NGO, and The Jane Goodhall Institute.

Jon and I have had some pretty amazing adventures since the Christmas coup so there are quite a few stories that we would like to share:

Right after christmas, we had made plans to go hike this mountain nearby where we had been told that there lived a troup of chimpanzees. We had been approached a few months ago by a man named Mr. Bangoura to help him to teach hunters and others in the community the importance of protecting the chimps and their habitat. He offered to take us and we quickly agreed. We left early on our bikes for the one hour ride to the village of Djaboui. We left just as the sun was coming up over the house and burning off the morning fog. Biking out was beautiful as the road follows the mountain range. The secondary path the leads up the the village is a really fun little biking trail that Jon and I had actually found by accident one time before. On the way we pass through another small village where we are greeted by many people. Since we were out to search for animals, a family nearby brought over a tiny baby monkey that they had been keeping for a pet. It was so tiny, scared, and cold, that I just wanted to take it home with me. But it quickly reinforced the need for community education about the importance of conservation and protection of wild animals. When we finally reached Djaboui, Jon and I found that the village was actually comprised of three huts belonging to the Soumah family. Mr. Soumah is the head of the association of hunters that have been working with Mr. Bangoura and who are interested in spreading the word about ending the overexploitation of resources and protecting the chimpanzee population. Djaboui translates as "under the mountain"and that it certainly is. The family was incredibly welcoming, almost overwhelmingly so. We were given kola nuts, a very important cultural sign of respect and we were invited to eat a meal together with them after the hike.

We ascended the mountain along with a group of hunters all tooting very ancient-looking rifles that certainly did not look fire-able. The guns seems to be held together with electrical tape and rubber bands and look as if the would explode if anyone tried to fire them. But the hunters knew the mountian like the back of their hands and led us to a stream called the "Chimpanzee River". Although now it is more of a trickle, one could see that during the rainy season, it was quite the raging torrent. We were able to find some beautiful spots and we even found some nests up in the trees where the chimps sleep. (see below) But unfortunately we did not see any real chimpanzees. We did however find a very lovely water fall. We hope to go out there again sometime this month, possible overnight to get the chance to really see some chimps.

At the end of the hike we returned, weary and only a bit worse for wear(...much of the hike was through real jungle so we had our share or scrapes and bruises) to a delicous meal of rice and sauce. We passed a lovely hour or so spending time and taking pictures with the family. Before we left, they gifted us a rooster which then accompanied us to Moussayah on the back of my bicycle

About 2 weeks later, Mr Bangoura invited us again to a ceremony to be held with a group of hunters in another neighboring village. Jon and I had some reservations as sometimes these things can be a big unorganized and awkward since we don't understand the language or the culture fully. But our host "mom and dad" , the Sousprefet and his wife were invited too so we decided to take a chance. When we finished rumbling along the very bumpy road and arrived at the village we were immediately glad that we did go. Apparently, the mother of one of the local hunters had died and it is an old custum that all of the hunters will come down from the mountians,fields and forest, lay down their gun, and spend the whole night singing and dancing with their friends and family to celebrate the life of the deceased. When we arrived, the entire community was gathered around singing to the music of the kora (a string instrument made of a tall stick and a big round gord). The hunters were dancing in the circle. We were the guests of honor and were again presented with kola nuts and a delicious meal of freshly hunted game in a spicy sauce. The griot sang songs and the hunters continued dancing sometimes with their guns and sometimes without and sometimes acting out scenes of the stalking of their prey...complete with somone playing the part of a deer. Also, a bit disturbingly, they would suddenly life their guns and shoot them up into the air, each time giving us a shock.

For all of our worry about going and frustration of the unknown, by the end of our evening there, we truly did not want to leave. I hope that this is a lesson and reminder to us to continue to embrace these very unique experiences and not to let the fear of the unknown daunt us. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures from this evening as it was too dark and possibly a bit too important of an occasion for the imposition of flashbulbs. But certainly it was a memory that we will both hold very dear.

Jon and I have bought a goat.We named her Sierra and we are having a great time with her. She is very funny and very attached to us. Each time we leave her she is very sad and cries. Our chicken Mia also had 4 chicks. We have named the two white ones Castor and Pollock, the dark one is Sweede, and the brown is Stewie. The eat rice out of our hands and are very fun to watch. When you can't watch TV, you might as well have your own live sitcom on your frount porch!

Last but most certainly not least, I wanted to explain the title of the entry. Africa is a place where children play with flowers and scraps of cloth, sardine cans and old bike tires. About a month ago, my host brother Alashane came up to me to show me a tin can lid on a string that he was twirling like those old games kids would play with button before dora the explorer, video games, and tonka truks. He came back a moment later with a big red blossom that he had attached to the string and it opened and closed marvelously with the inertia. I quickly discovered that the tree that produced the flowers was actually on our hill though I had never noticed the flowers before.

This time of year in Guinee is a time of very powerful winds and distintly lower temperatures. (I'm sure everyone at home with the frigid snows would laugh but it can get pretty chilly here in the evenings and early mornings.)The night's strong winds knock down the flowers and each and every morning, as soon as the sun has risen and burned off the fog in the valleys, they come. Little children with bare feet and dirty knees come racing up the hill, jubilently pick up all the flowers they can carry, gather them in their shirts and skirts, and laughing, they descend again with their treasure, content with the day of playing that they have ahead of them.

We take off tomorrow and most likely will not have internet again for about a month or so. But hopefully we will have more fun adventures to share with you then...

a la prochaine..

Be Well,

Kurasi tango...

Era famah (We love you!)

~Kim and Jon

all I want for Christmas...is coup....baby

Just a few days before christmas, we heard the news that the President of Guinee, Lansana Conte' had died. Now, there had always been rumors that he was dying but most people didn't give them much credit as he had been dying for the past 10 years or so. But with his death, the military took power and the constitution was dissolved and the civilian government disbanded. A military official, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, declared himself president and has appointed a 32-member council to rule untill the country can hold free, credible, and transparent elections in December of 2010. He is calling his new regime the National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD). As the country had already begun the process of registering voters, I hope that the international community with which President Camara is to be meeting with today will convince him to hold elections earlier sometime in 2009. Despite all of the hubbub and worry, we are being told that many Guineans are very happy with the change and the turnover of power has been very peaceful thus far. The late president Conte' was buried today and the Prime Minister,Ahmed Tidiane Souare has ceded to the military president.

Through all of this, Jon and I have been safely swaddled (not unlike the baby jesus) in the volunteer house in the capital with air conditioning, electricity, and internet. We passed a lovely, though slightly unreal christmas, together with other volunteers. And amazingly we were able to bring in a lot of the christmas spirit with decorations, food, and even a christmas tree and eggnog! we spent a few late nights stringing ribbons, decorating the tree, and cutting snowflakes out of paper and I must say that we did very well. Jon even got into the spirit by playing Guinean RISK with the fellows in Santa hats.

My friend Isy and I carried on my christmas tradition of making sugar cookies. We quickly realized however that we did not have any cookie cutters at all. So what did we do...we improvised like all good PCVs and made cookies cutter trees and santas and candycanes out of ...what else: beer cans. I must say that I am very impressed with everyone's christmas spirit and wonderful creativity.

I was able to get a nice call on Skype from my mom, dad, bro, and my aunt and uncle. It was so wonderful to hear all their voices through the magic of the interwebs. Its always so nice to hear the voices of friends and family always, and especially at christmas. There have been many troubles with our cell phone reception and we have missed many calls so I was glad that they were able to get through. For anyone who has been trying to reach us, keep trying and hopefully you will get through!! We love you!

At this time, we are allowed to leave the compound during the day but there is a government imposed curfew from 8:00 PM until 6 in the morning. Most likely we will all be going back to our site a smidge early, most likely the beginning of the week. Although Jon and I were really excited to spend some time out on the islands off the coast, it seems that until things are a bit more stable, we will be passing our time back at site.

Hopefully we will have the time for one more update before we leave but for now, Merry Christmas to Everyone. You were in our thoughts and very missed during this holiday.

Kim

no flashlight : mt. eerie

I can only love those dark hills

because I live in the day.

I can only see the mountain

because I live in town.

I only (claim to) love night

because I have only smelled it.

Actually living in the night means not talking about it.

I can only say "no flashlight"

because once I accidentally forgot it.

Actually living in the night means actually walking

in the dark, means

to find caves in song.

Every night when the sun slowly sinks and as the last liquid colors leak from the horizon I think about this song. The nights here without electricity or light pollution are so dark that we are nightly confronted by our reliance on light. We go though incredible numbers of candles and I can say that I have never felt so rested in my life as our nights tend to end very early as the clockworks of our body have changed in tune with the moon. But all of our friends and neighbors wander through the night, fully aware and a part of that darkness. I sleep with my headlamp next to my head, ready for any sudden noise, with that infantile yet ingrained fear of the darkness. My body now is so accustomed to waking with the light and sleeping when the sun goes down that here, in Conakry, amidst the lights and television and computers, I am constantly overstimmulated and I stay up until strange hours of the night enthralled with Facebook because my body doesn't know how to shut off now with out that darkness. Perhaps I am beginning to love the night.

In other news, I pedaled out to a nearby village last week at the request of a student of mine in my 7th grade class named Bintouraby.I was able to go and visit her whole wonderful family. We went out into her father's plantation and I saw acres of orange trees, rice patties, palms, and even coco and pineapple plants for the first time. Bintou had specifically asked me to bring my camera and I was able to take many phots of her family. Everyone is so pleased to have their photgraph taken and some of the nicest gifts that you can give to someone is a picture that you took. We also went over to where her father processes all of the rice that he grows. The picture can not do it justice but the dried rice is put through a machine that is run by a motor of which both appear to have been made 100 years ago and leak oil like a seive and the shaf is removed from the kernel. After that, the rice is shaken and sifted using these big round woven discs and the rice is gathered to be sold. After my visit I was given a huge bag of oranges, grapefruits, bannana, and plaintains...and to top it all off....a rooster. It is difficult for me to accept the overwhelming generosity of the guinean culture but for them, that is just how things are done. They told me that I am now a part of their family and hope that I visit soon. They were so thankful that I was teaching at the school. Its completely overwhelming since sometimes at school I feel like I'm just treading water with the students and yet they are so n=very thankful for the work that we are doing, or at least trying to do. Above is a picture of Bintou and our new, soon to be name rooster friend. Our other cadeau chicken, Mia, had been carefully attending to 9 eggs and we look forward to seeing the funny new fluffy ones when we get back to site.

Other then that, we are just resting and relaxing in Conakry and doing all the research for secondary projects that we would like to implement in our village. At this time we have 3 projects that the village would like our help with: 1. a solar panel to run a water pump that would bring water to 5 spouts throughout the village. Right now it runs sporatically with the assistance of a generator but when it is working everyone comes running with theor buckets and bidons. 2. Help to research and set up a chimpanzee reserves on Mt. Bena..yeah thats right, aparently there are chimps here! How rad! So we are going to try and work with the Jane Goodhall Society with that. hopefully we will be taking a trip up to see the area after the new year so stay tuned for photos of that. 3. The expansion and imporovement of the market space in moosaysah. Although this project will have to wait until my Sussu gets a lot better, but it is something that would really benefit all the hard working market ladies in the village.

We are doing a little decorating around the volunteer house to get ready for Christmas but its a bit hard to get into the spirit when you look out the window to plam trees or take a step away from the AC. Hopefully today when we commence the cookie making and christmas music, the spirit willl arrive. But we have set up a little (fake) christmas tree but Jon's mom sent us some balsam fir insense so we are trying to pretend a bit. If only we had one of the cheesy fake fireplaces by which to hang the stockings with care. I will be putting up some pictures of our christmas festivities in our next post. Jon and I are planning to spend a few days out on the Isle de los off the coast of Guinee which is supposed to be really stunning.

More to come but just wanted to get something posted. Hope that you are all well and are traveling safely to your holiday destinations. I hope that the falling snow is beautiful and that you can all curl up and enjoy it with some tea, a napping cat, a crackling fire and a nice toasty blankets. i miss that.

Love to you all,

Kim and Jon

As I'm writing this, Kim is finishing up with some last minute correspondence and school work on the computer and the two of us are trying to prepare ourselves for our trip back to site.

We had a wonderful time celebrating Thanksgiving and hope the same for friends and family back in the states. The Peace Corps flew in two turkeys (hence the title) which we diligently obliged by devouring. Beyond that, everyone lent a hand to make side dishes and deserts in copious array giving rise to a veritable smorgasbord (to quote Templeton the rat from 'Charlottes Web'). Besides eating Kim and I joined our fellow volunteers in watch a great deal of movies. I finally saw the new Indiana Jones (rather disappointing at parts) and IronMan (which I probably enjoyed to much). Other then that, the two of us passed the holiday weekend in relative quite enjoying the sites (but not the sounds and smells) of the local beach bar which offers beautiful sunsets framed by palm frond silhouettes.

A couple interesting photos to share.

Here’s me carving one of the turkeys with one of our Peace Corps buddies.

Here is a picture of a really neat bug Kim managed to photograph.

Here is a photo of the homestead with some of the neighborhood kids.

Here is a portrait of Rambo. I hope to take a better photo of this wonderful piece of modern art but, deadlines being what they are, I was forced to post as is.

Here is a second, more refined approach the medium of visual representation brought to you by my little Guinean neighbor/brother.

Lastly a portrait of the artist (or rather a photograph)

An aside: there's a forthcoming photo of a huge Baobab that Kim and I have been meaning to show off. It’s striking, and makes me feel like John Muir when I get up close. Until next time, be well. Know that were thinking of home, friends, and family.

Yours as always,

Jon and Kim

I was thinking that I would take this Thankgiving to post a bit about the things that I have been thankful for in the time that I have been here. Also, as the time approaches for the new group (G-17) to arrive, I thought I would also empart a little advice that I wish I had known before touched down in Conakry. I know that for months before my departure I was searching the internet and reading all the blogs and packing lists that I could get my hands on. And so...with out further adeiu..

A letter to my future self:

1. Clothing: Even though I tried to pare my clothing down to the bare essentials, I still wish I had brought so much less. Clothing can be custom made for really cheap and if you can find a good tailor, you can have some really wonderful things made for less then $10 american dollars. Also every market has a place to buy secand-hand clothing and I often find great quality clothes and funny t-shirts there. Also at all regional houses there are free boxes where volunteers, when frantically packing to go home after their service, leave a good quantity of nice (and sometimes bizzare) items that you can browse for free!

The clothing that I appreciate the most here are those that are comfortable, light and airy. For men, try to find lightweight pants. The bain of my existence is handwashing pants...it takes a long time and they get very heavy to scrub well. I brought 2 pairs of chacos and though I love how durable they are, I wish I had bought one pair of choco flipflops instead of 2 of the strappy models. Plain, basic cotton t-sirts are great because you can usually find cloth to match one color but because most fabrics have multiple zany colors. Darkish colors are good because things get really dirty here. I live in tanktops and Jon wears cotton hanes colored t-shirts almost everyday. Both of those things were great investments.

2.Books

I obsessed over my book choices for a month before leaving. I didn't bring that many books but I assure you, and new volunteers, you will see when you arrive at Conackry, that there are more then enough books to satify even the biggest bookworms. Each Regional house has a hugelibrary of books to choose from. Bring 1 or two if you're worried, but really you will have plenty of books to read and time to devote to the pastime.

3. Clothes washing and bathroom experiences

I was so worried before I came here about what I would do without a washing machine. Now, as Jon says, we can wash our clothes anywhere in the world. After the first few times that are pretty labor intensive, you get into the rythym of it all and now its not a big deal in the least. As for the bathroom stuff, I hadn't really thought about it too much before I left but within a few days pouring water over myself to shower and squating to do my business it seemed perfectly normal. And strange to say, I sometimes prefer it this way. And don't worry, people will give you hilarious instructions on how to preform all bathroom operations when you get here.

4. Weight loss and Illness

I gave much thought and worry to how much weight we would lose here. Jon and I have both lost a good amount of weight during training and Jon especially is slimming down. This is mostly (amazingly) because we actually eat healthier here then at home. Without junk food and midnight gas station runs, suddenly we are at much healthier weights. And snack food here generally consists of peanuts, whatever fruit is in season, and manioc in multiple forms....not too many trans fats to be found! As for illnesses, thus far (knock of wood inshalah) we have been lucky. I had a bit of a stomach virus when we first arrived but other then that we've been alright. I think the most important thing is to wash your hands a lot. During training I always carried a bottle of hand sanitizer to use before I ate. I have become less dependent on that but I still wash my hands very often.

5. Nice smelling things!

Sometimes after a hard day, all I want to do is wash my face with my St. Ives Apricot face wash. It has gotten me through many a difficult day in training. nice soaps and shampoos can make a bad day disappear...or at least just make one smell better and that always is a plus! Don't skimp on these. I am so very thankful for those nice smalling things!

6 Friends and packages

Receiving emails, letters and packages from friends is always a heart lifting experience. Seeing pictures and hearing stories of home diminishes the distance for a little while and re-news our resolve. I am so thankful for all news of life at home, pictures,emails, letters, calls. Thank you so much!

7. Life without running water or electricity

There is a saying here that "Yeah, I could have running water, but it seems cruel to make the kids run ". All water that we use for drinking, washing, cooking, or cleaning, and "flushing" the tiolet has to be carried up the hill to our house. Before we figured out that there was a well much closer behind our house, we would send "petites" to fill and carry our bidons of drinking water. We would pay them and give them oranges or chandy for their work but always I feel bad. We have tried and often do this work ourselves, but when we are tired, or sick, or just plain lazy we ask the kids to do it. Recently the school has been dolling out the punishment for misbhavior of carrying water up to our house. Although the american conscience twinges at this idea, in guinee this is a normal practice...and lets be real...thats all water that I don't have to carry. And to be honest, sometimes its satisfying to see the object of my classroom frustrations sweating and grunting their way up the hill. :)

Life without electricity is very strange. The darkness of night here is all encompassing. I have never experienced darkness as I have here. We tend to go to sleep at 9 each night. Now that I am in Conackry, I feel so overstimulated by light and sound that I tend to stay up until all hours of the night watching movies or using the internet simply because I can. It is during these dark nights that I am even more imporessed with Jon's choice of ipod and and so very thankful for our headlamps and rechargeable batteries.

In other news,

We have expanded our family to include our new chicken friend, Mia. She was a gift to us from the "president de femmes"or the president of the women's groups in Moosayah. She is beautiful and we are hoping soon to expand our family with some new little fluffy guys. We also "borrow" our neighbors kids, or more correctly they borrow us as well as Milo, the lovable forever puppy that naps continuously on our porch.

I am going to post a more informative update later, but for now, please enjoy a few photos and to all the new folks headed to Philly and beyond in the coming days!!! Du Courage and Bonne Chance!!!! We look forward to meeting you!!!

Hello everyone Kim and I have just come to visit Conakry after spending nearly a month at our site (see photos). The people - and our immediate neighbors in particular - are remarkably kind people and we can't imagine a nicer community to be living in for the duration of our Peace Corps service. Our house is on the top of a hill. Through our bedroom window we can see the beautiful Mount Bena and every night we sit on the porch, often with the neighbors dog Milo laying at our feet. For the first 2 weeks we cooked only with charcoal outside on our porch. Our "host mom" would help us out and bring over rice and sauce and, depending on the quantity of fish, it was generally very good. We have been learning how to make various dishes with eggplant or "abergines" au francais ou coba coba in Soussou as that is practically the only vegetable that they sell in the market. Kim and I try to take turns going down to the little market we have and the ladies harangue us in their light-hearted way: either we eat too much bread or we don't eat enough spicey peppers They have apparently been keeping tabs on each purchase we've made since we've arrived. Most mornings we go to the market and or ears are filled with the market ladies giving us their greetings of "Mama Nana Soumah!" (Kim's guinean name) or "Tana mu xri!" Good Morning in Soussou. The market is crowed with people buying and selling. Young girls and boys walk around with huge plates on their heads filled with corn or sweet potatoes or sweet seaseme candies. There is generally many shouts of "Fote' Ca Va?" which is pronounced Sa Ba by cute little Guinean children. This basically means "White person, How are you?" The market is full of so many different colors and smells: piles of dried, smoked fish, colorful "bengbe" or very spicy piedmont pepers, huge bowls of rice, salt, sugar, homemade soaps, beans. Spread all over the ground are displays of manioc, chives, eggplants, potate and manioc leaves, which are used to make sauces, and huge baskets of oranges. Every night we sit out on our porch and watch the lightning or storms that are very common at this time of the year. We tend to go to bed very early every night. Without lights, television, or computers...there's not too much left to do but go to sleep. Kim's finally conseeded that having brought the Ipod was a good decision and that "as much as she may have griped about it, it's nice to be able to have comfort of watching American TV while in a little village in West Africa". Most of the water that we use for washing is from the rain that we collect from the roof. Water for drinking is taken from the well and is treated and filtered. We have to go down to a pump every so often and fill up our bidons. To do this we make a very precarious trip with the heavy containers on our bikes and then push them up our huge hill. Needless to say this is very difficult. However, it is very humbling to see that ANY guinean child is ready and willing to put that heavy thing on their head and carry it up that crazy hill with out a problem. The other day Kim decided to see for herself what is was like. With much laughter, we tried to balance that heavy bidon on her head. She didn't get 50 yards before she was pretty much done with that experiment. This system of getting "petites" to do the heavy lifting is a culturally acceptable form of work for kids and I am fairly certain that we will be paying some children to get our water from now on! School began without too many hitches. Although school was slated to begin on the 15th, it didn't start until the next Monday the 20th. This allowed us to have our closet neighbor PCV come and visit. This in turn allowed for a welcome change of pace and the oportunity to see our community through another persons eyes. In the end, the experience made us particularly grateful for all the little things that have conspired to make our village so 'right for us'. This Thursday we formally gave the school the donations that were collected at our going away party. Everone was very grateful for the supplies. (Thanks everyone for all your help!) Recenetly we recieved a gas tank for the camping stove we bought last month. This has made our life sooo much easier, in that I know longer need to start a charcoal fire using plastic bags and wait an hour or two whenever meal time rolls around. That being said, I think we appreciated the food more when we were forced to wait. We also had some furniture made which turned our really nice. Along with interior decorating, Kim and I have been putting together the beginings of a garden which required us to commision a Guinean man to go out to the woods and cut palm fronds and wood for us to consturct a wall from. Our town is prowling with hungry sheep and goats just waiting to pounce on our unsuspecting seedlings. Since we've been in Conakry we've been able to relax a little, use the internet, watch some movies, watch some news, eat some schwarma, and get some shopping done( and the AC is a bonus). Also, two of our friends are finishing their service and are headed home this weekend so we've been able to spend a little time with them, which has been nice. We're leaving to head back to site in the very near future and don't anticipate another opportunity to post an entry roughly until Thanksgiving. Until then, we hope everyone is doing well, that you enjoy the pictures, and that you know we think of home often and miss you all. Jon and Kim

Tomorrow morning Jonathan and I will finally be sworn in as "vrai" volunteers with the Corps de la Paix. It's all pretty sureal right now. I can say with certainty that training has been the most severe test of my endurance then anything I have as yet experienced.

That being said, I am both relieved and slightly sad that training is over. On the one hand, our lives are finally ours once more to be lived in the manner of our own choosing. We will finally have a house, a space of our own and independence. we will have time to adjust, to rest, and maybe even to read. And yet on the other had, we are really stepping out from our nice and sheltered microcosm into a lot of unknowns. Most likely for many of us, the language that we have feverishly been learning may be of little truly practical use when we get to our sites and 3/4 of the population only speaks sussu or malinke.

Today was a very strange day. Today we went to the bank to withdraw money for our adjustment to site (aka all the stuff we will need such as gas camp stoves, pots, pans, spices, cutlery, plates, etc) Needless to say this is quite a bit of money under normal circumstances. In Guinea however, the rate of inflation is incredible. One american dollar is equivilent to about 4,500 Guinean Francs. So as we roll up to the bank teller to take out our 6 million Guinean Francs we are handed a brick and I mean a brick of money banded together with plastic lacing. And then upon leaving the bank we have to pass by people sitting on the ground begging and refuse as we cary our wads of money to buy groceries or treat ourselves to icecream and pizza...a luxury that most guineans will seldem or never have.

And the sureality continues...

Today I was able to have two short converstations with two wonderful friends. It was amazing to hear their voices. Please know everyone that even though we aren't able to call or write all that often that you are thought of all the time. We miss you all very much!

The next few days should be pretty busy for us. Tomorrow we are going to the US embassy to swear in as Volunteers. After there will be much swimming and fete-ing for the next few days.( I have heard rumors of pig roasts and bbqs and broniews and creme brulee!!) We also have a lot of shopping to do. Between now and then, I will try to post some more pictures on facebook and elsewhere so you can see a bit about what our lives here are like here. And hopefully byearly next week we will be at our site celebrating the end of ramadan!!!

Love to all!! Enjoy the pictures!!! I will try to finish posting more later!

Well we did make it to the Capital a week after posting the last update. Unfortunately there were rolling blackouts and the internet cafes were non-operational. For that reason and a host of others Kim and I have been, more or less, incomunicato for the better part of a month. I'd like to take a moment and apologize to all those who have patiently waited for Kim and I - with bated breath I'm sure - but we have sincerly been unable to post until now. That being said, I think you can expect us to be updating this blog much more frequently over the next few weeks.

Our Pre-Service Training, as they call it, is ending come wednesday and we will be affectating (swearing in) at the end of the week. This means that anyone hoping to hear back from us should try to email us because we'll have the facilities available to correspond.

It's difficult to tell a single, cohesive story about the last month of 'stage'. Too much has happened. Kim and I visited our site and met some of the villagers. We went to a soccer game and were introduced to most of the town. We saw the school where we'll be teaching (pictures forthcoming), and met the sous prefet (local government minister). It's a pretty little town and we'll post some pictures of it in the near future. When we returned to the town where we're being trained Kim and I started 'practice school' which is exactly what it sounds like. What was originally a nerve wracking concept, teaching 40-something Guineans, became common place and we both feel very optimistic about our ability to manage our classes when we arrive at site. Practice school ended about a week ago and we're presently visiting with our host country counterparts (our highschool principle) at a mountain retreat. Here we're discussing our plans for when we arrive at site and start work. Everything is going well and things in general are becoming more 'normal' - if that can be said.

Thanks to everyone who has been sending us packages, letters, and emails. They really make the distance barrable.

All our love

Jon and Kim

I have been going over in my head how I could possibly describe the last month in one cohesive blog entry. I am fairly certain that I will be unable to aptly capture what a whirlwind of an experience: both good and bad we have had thus far.

...Je vais essayer...

We have been in training for a bit over a month now in a small village. This is a place where all water that you use has been carried in a bucket on top of someone's head. We sleep every night under mosquito netting to avoid contracting malaria. This is a place where if the electricity comes as it does somestimes, it is either in the middle of the night and you wake up with every light on in the house or on very lucky nights when it comes on at 7pm, the entire village cheers in joy (including ourselves). Living rooms are filled to capacity and tvs are dragged outside so that people can enjoy the luxury of watching badly recorded pirated movies usually in a language that no one understands anyway, crazy Bollywood classics, or most usually locally produced choppy and degraded movies in the local language of Susu.Our toilet is a hole in the floor. Everyday, we try to communicate very complicated things in child-like French and usually fail miserably. We shower everyday using a cup and a bucket. We have a neighbor that loves to speak Susu at us even though she knows that we have no idea what she is saying and it makes me glad that smiles transcend language.

Everyday we go to language classes, Tech classes for our subjects ( TEFL- Teaching English as a foreign language and Physique), Cross cultural sesssions ( to try to better understand Guinean culture), Medical, Safety, and Admin sessions round out the mix and in general, to use a phrase from Colleen, its like trying to drink from a fire hose. Classes are generally punctuated by one or two heavy rainstorms a day, and sometimes the rain is so intense on the tin roof that you can't hear anything and we just play cards or plan lessons or sleep to the sound of the rain. On Tuedays and thursdays we have what are lovingly known as "bureau lunches". These are the days that you look forward to because you know that if nothing else goes right, you will at least have a king-sized feast waiting for you at noon.

We are staying with the Soumah family, a wonderful Susu family that live about a 10 minute walk from "L'ecole 3" where we have our classes each day. Our host mom is named Cadiatou and she is a wonderfully warm and genuine person.Her husband, Cabrahal recently passed away and I can tell it has been difficult for the family. Jonathan and I were both given Guinean names and he was named after this man which is quite an honor. I was given the name of Nana. My family loves this names because when they add AHHH to it as they often do when they are teasing me of if I inevitably do or say something silly, it makes the name for Pineapple in french. They get a big kick out of this and I enjoy it as well.

Hopefully I will take a group picture soon and post it and I will explain who's who in the Soumah clan.

We arrived here during the height of the rainy season which means that we also arrived at the height of mosquito season and despite all my best efforts those suckers find me pretty tastey and I'm covered in bites. But the rain has been so nice to listen to at night. Some of the storms have been amazigly intense. A few nights ago, lightening hit the house of a neighboring fellow volunteer and disintigrated his phone charger that was plugged into the outlet. So there have been many weather-related excitements.

It has deffinitely been the most intense month of my life filled with the most imposible highs and lows. From the lows it seems that one may never resurface and from the highs one wonders what all the fuss was about before. Unfortunately, Jonathan tends to take the brunt of my frustrations but luckily for me he does so gracfully and lovingly for the most part. I can only hope that I can be as supportive to him.

We are currently taking a tour of some volunteer sites in the region and towards the middle of next week will spend a day at the site that will be our home for the next 2 years: Moussayah. We are in email contact with some volunteers that stayed there and we are looking forward to corresponding and getting and idea of the place. We are staying at our Regional Capital in the city of Boke with many of the other volunteers in the area. They have been showing us around to all the hot spots (aka places that sell cheese, icecream, and american snackfoods. Tonight they threw a princess-themed party and much hilarity and dancing ensued. I have pictures to post soon.

I will hopefully be able to post again sometime this week and there is another trip to the capital in the works in a week. Hopefully this small snippit will tide you over untill then....

Love to all and to all a good night!

Be Well,

Kim

We touched down this morning at 9:45 local time in Conakry, Guinea!!! Just stepping onto the runway onto actual land just made what had, up to that point been a very surreal experience astoundingly real. I was overwhelmed with emotions...so much time preparing and here we were all were finally stepping into the country that will be our home for the next 2 years. Confused and jet-lagged we met all of our Peace Corps directors and administrators and walked out to the baggage claim where we were greeted warmly by shouts of welcome and joy from the Peace Corps Volunteers already in country. And for what would be another of many time this day, my eyes misted over in a fog of tears of overwhelming joy, apprehension, relief, and sadness too.

Today was a whirlwind. We were all really wiped out from our travels and road weary but the Volunteers and PC Staff helped move our heavy bags to vans where as we traveled to the headquarters, we saw our first glimpse of what a "developing nation"really means. Needles to say, our mouths were hanging open for a while and I certainly had some feelings of misgivings as I saw before me what I had seen only in pictures, moving there in real life, with all its scents, sounds, and colors.

To add to the unreality of the day, we reached the PC headquarters to find them safely corralled with walls covered in beautiful murals and rooms with AC, bathrooms with flush toilets, and a wonderful lunch not far away. We met our countrydDirector, education facilitators, and so many of the staff that our tired minds can barely remember their faces at this time, not to mention their names. But all that will come. I practiced my french and as they say, petit a petit, little by little....

We hung out today with the Peace Corps Volunteers and asked millions of questions, and they were endlessly accomodating, and no matter what stories they told, the good and the bad, they all agree that this is an experience that is not to be missed. Sitting here now, with a second wind, trying to wind down for the first night in guinea (and under a mosquito net no less!) I know that this is so. And though I'm nervous, I'm so incredibly inspired by the people that I'm meeting, those in our staging groups and those from previous groups, that I know that we would not give up this experience for anything in the world.

Love to you al! And let the adventure begin!!!!!

Be Well,

Kim and Jon

So it's a staple among those who volunteer with the Peace Corps(pcv) to post a pack list (plus I advertised that it was forth coming). Well, we arrived in Africa this morning and I already have regrets that I brought a bunch of unnecessary stuff. In this spirit I post a pack list of what Kim and I brought annotated with thanks, regrets, and what i'll falsly title 'insights'. (By the way, Guinea is great, the people are amazing, PC HQ is unbelievable. Kim is posting applicable content as I'm typing this...its a race; expect typos)

Books:

-Mobey Dick

-A Prayer for Owen Meany

-A Game of Thrones

-Lonely Planet's Guide to West Africa (Guinea PCV library honestly has an entire shelve dominated by these)

-War and Peace

-Book of French verb conjugation

-What is a What

-L'Estanger

-Le Petit Prince

-The Scarlet Letter

Don't worry guys we got a ton of audio books of librivox and the pcv library is pretty huge

Electronics

-Ipod classic (thanks again to kyle and joshe for thier help with the content)

-Itrip

-Portable radio

-discman

-tape recorder

-solio solar charger (i've yet to see this thing work although other volunteers vouch for it)

-Battery charger (along with a bunch of rechargables)

Clothes

-too many pairs of underwear to count

-a negligable amount of sox

-bathing suits

-I brought some shorts, kim brought some dance pants

-quick dry, ultralight towels, one each

-4 days worth of dressy outfits each

-2 ties which I wonder when I'll use

-cotten shirts

-wiking shirts

-dress shoes each(mine I regret bringing, or atleast wearing while traveling. I don't particularly forsee wearing them a great deal)

- 1 ratty hat each

-Chocos, one set for me, 2 for Kim (greatist things ever)

Accessories

-4 pairs of sunglasses between us

-Scissors

-3 multi tools (thanks to the Roys and to Kyle G)

-tweezers

-clippers

-an absurd amount of pens, pencils, markers, and crayons (thanks to the friends of the Gibbs family; these supplies are to be donated when we get to site...or so I assume)

-2 cheap watches

-3 nalgenes

-3 headlamps

-a whole bunch of granola bars

-hand sanitzer

-additional toiletries

-a bunch of deodorant (tom's of maine)

-a great big bundel of paperwork

-1 sleeping bag each

-a 2 person tent

-some toesies (to help channel that yoga magic)

-a bunch of elastic bands, tuperware, and ziplock bags

-duct tape

-map of the US

-Hammock (can't wait till I'm using this)

-something like 12 toothbrushes (as if they don't have them in Africa, what was i thinking)

Gifts

-skittles

-maple syrup

-a picturebook presenting different arial veiws across the US

to all those whom we already miss,

be well

Jon (and kim by proxy)

Here we are in Philly! We've just undergone 2 days of staging, or "pre-training training". We've finally been able to meet the 23 other volunteers that we will be spending the next 27 months with. I walked into the conference room Monday a bundle of nerves and today, as we left it after 2 days of ice breakers and flip charts, cultural sensitivity and logistics, yellow fever vaccinations and our first mefloquinine (malaria prophylaxsis) pills, we stepped out as colleagues,friends in the making, ready to take the next step on the adventure that has drawn us all together.

Tomorrow, we make the trek to New York that will eventually land us in Guinea, and although I feel nervous about all that is to come, the excitement of learning a new language, floundering and finding my place in a place foreign and unknown, and hopefully, finding some sort of friendship and acceptance in my new Guinean home far overshadows any doubts and concerns.

Here. we. go.

breathe.

Be well,

Kim

So Kim and I are getting down to the wire. She's already returned to Mass. and I'm getting ready to leave Ft Kent on Tuesday. I'll be stopping in Bangor and Portland to visit and say goodbye to friends as I travel down to stay with Kim's folks in Canton. Its sad to leave the North. Kim and I had a heck of a time this past year what with the snow and the floods. I bet she's happy to have it behind her. We've been waiting and anticipating for this next step so long that I think we grew accustomed to the wait. In a sense I think we're half surprised that our departure date is coming up so soon. With all the things left for us to prepare and pack it seems that we haven't been able to say goodbye to last year.

I'd like to take a second to thank all the faculty at the ft kent high school for the kind letter that they wrote Kim and I. I'd also like to that the members of the 'civil rights team' and the "warriors for change" for their kind gift and for making my year truly memorable. Particularly to the members from the "warriors for change", an incredibly rewarding group of students to work with. Together we managed to collect and send over one hundred and twenty-five pairs of shoes from ft kent to Kenya to provide protection against parasite contraction. Anyone interested in the program should check out Shoe4Africa.com.

I suppose Kim and I will post our pack lists in our next entry. Meanwhile, I've been spending the past couple days trolling librivox for audio books and organizing our ipod. Kim and I invested in a solar charger which we'll use to keep our ipod going since we expect to be with electricity when we arrive at site. We're hoping that between the solar charger and the ipod we'll avoid the depths of homesickness and anxiety that might otherwise come along with living without electricity or running water. It's impressive how much time I've sunk into this ipod. Hopefully serve us well. Maybe if we give it a good, sturdy name like Wilbur or Elinor we'll see positive results. Is that superstitious?

Well I guess that's all for now.

Be well,

Jonathan

FACING AFRICA

These are stone jetties,

And, in the close part of the night,

Connected to my feet by long

Warm, dangling shadows

On the buttressed water,

Boats are at rest.

Beyond, the harbor mouth opens

Much as you might believe

A human mouth would open

To say that all things are a darkness.

I sit believing this

As the boats beneath me dissolve

And shake with a haunted effort

To come into being again,

And my son nods at my side,

Looking out also

Into dark, through the painted

Living shadows of dead-still hulls

Toward where we imagine Africa

To bloom late at night

Like a lamp of sand held up,

A top-heavy hourglass, perhaps,

With its heaped, eternal grains

Falling, falling

Into the lower, green part

Which gives off quick, leafy flashes

Like glimpses of lightning.

We strain to encounter that image

Halfway from its shore to ours:

To understand

The undermined glowing of sand

Lifted at midnight

Somewhere far out above water,

The effortless flicker of trees

Where a rumor of beasts moves slowly

Like wave upon wave.

What life have we entered by this?

Here, where our bodies are,

With a green and gold light on his face,

My staring child's hand in mine,

And in the stone

Fear like a dancing of people

Although you would never be able to tell from the safety of the Boucher home high on a hill, Ft Kent and a good portion of Aroostook County in Northern Maine experienced very significant flooding beginning yesterday. An above average snowfall combined with 3.5 inches of rain caused huge swelling of waterways and road washouts. The Fish river poured over its banks, flooding West Main St. and The St. John was very close to spilling over it's30 foot dykes.

Jon and I had this vision of us in hip waders lugging sandbags to protect the town from the invading waters. We called around to ask about the need for volunteers early in the morning to no avail so I went to work as usually. After about an hour of checking my email, I was told that I should start moving my office materials to higher areas. Now I work in a Wellness center that also houses a gym with treadmills, weight machines, bikes and elipticles that all had to be lifted up as well. I am assuming that this preparation is in advance of a possibility of flooding in the next few days....that is until I look out and see that Main street is already full of water and that the flood is starting to roll into our parkinglot. Jon had been on his way to pick me up from work but as no cars were being let downtown, he had park about a mile away. When we finally found each other we decided to take a look around and see if anyone needed help to escape the water. We helped one of the business owners to grab stuff from his office and then wandered around looking for other places to volunteer. We traveled by foot all over town looking for places where we could be of use. All that we really saw were people standing around and staring at the oncoming water and saying "Wow, that's pretty crazy." over and over again. We asked everywhere we could, and even went to the command center where all the Emergency Management people were sitting around chatting and eating sandwhiches. It was absurd. There was no sandbagging, there was no resistance to the water's movement...nothing. Every so often some trucks would dump some dirt next to the waters apprach hoping that it would stop it. Sometomes I think that's Ft. Kent's Mantra in fixing problems: just put some dirt on it and it'll be fine-even when that problem is far too much snow and ice or a flooding river....

I have yet to go back downtown to see what the damage is like at work. I think I will take the trip later today. It appears that no one was injured during this flood. Our thoughts go out to all the bussiness and families affected by this extreme weather. Ft. Kent is already a town that has its fair share of difficulties and the town, I think will take this pretty hard as many of the town bussinesses have been affected. I don't think we'll know the full effects of the flood until the water recedes in a few days.

Hope all is well. Send some good vibes up to the County!!! Be Well,

Kim

From Kim

Yup. It snows here. A lot.

And through the experience the last few days of yet another snowstorm we have determined at least one concrete thing about the next 2 years: It will not involve the shoveling of frozen precipitation in any way, shape, or form!!

Buut really....a snow storm on the first day of spring!!!? And with this much snow, we won't see the bare ground let alone flowers until the end of JUNE!!! Yes, its beautiful........................but enough already!!!

I'm sitting here with my ever present copilot, Mr. Kitty Boucher, the handsome but unpredictably malicious badass orange tiger tomcat. I'm listening to NPR while Jonathan plays one of those confounding war strategy games that take 300 hours to play and out of which he somehow gets neverending enjoyment. He's currently conquering Tunisia or Maldovia or someplace and I haven't heard him speak or move for the past 3 hours.

Today was Easter and it was filled with the usual Easter things: Bunny Chocolates, Jelly beans, and far too much Ham eating. AND Yes. I ate ham...and a lot of it. I figure if I'm going to have to eat meat in Africa, I might as well start now and get used to the idea and try to learn how to cook the stuff. And by the way....umm ham is tastey!!!! After 10 years of vegetarianism I'm stepping off the wagon and carefully testing the meaty waters. From all the Peace Corps blogs I've been reading, I'll need to be a lot more flexible with my food preferences or I won't have much to eat.

Jon and I are trying to get used to the idea that in July, after a year and a half of paperwork, beuracracy, and waiting, we will finally be stepping into the adventure we have been longing for. Jon mentioned this in his last blog but I thought I would contribute. At the very begining of this whole process we were told that I would be working in a health extension and Jon would be doing Agroforestry. At first this shocked us as neither of us had any experience in either field. But we rallied and researched and got ourselves accustomed to our new identities over time. With a last minute switch a week ago we have had our placement changed and now it seems that we have lost something very dear to us...something that existed for us in only the most rudimentary and yet very distinct way before. This nacent vision passed out of our lives in an instant and I feel that we are mourning for it in a way. I think we just need some time for the formulation of new identities and we will take that first step tomorrow when we accept our placement in Guinea, West Africa September 28, 2008-September 27, 2010.

In the words of Garrison Kiellor

"Be Well, Do Good Work, and Keep in Touch"

From Jonathan

After weeks of waiting on edge for word from the PC about our prospective assignment, Kim and I received news four days ago that we were eligible for placement abroad. Of course we couldn’t access any of the information online. So we waited for the paperwork to arrive through the mail. To place this in the proper context you need to realize the a few weeks ago we were made aware that we had been found ineligible for service in the original program we had been anticipating (of course the PC staff wouldn’t tell us what country we were rejected from so Kim and I logically deduced that we were denied either Avalon or Agartha). Since then our placement officer went about shopping us around to the various African nations in hopes that our specific ‘skill sets’ might find a new, less discerning, home. This of course made us uneasy.

For the past nine months or so I had been living with the prospect of spending the next few years doing agriculture and environmental outreach. In my mind I imagined coming home a green-thumbed environmentalist equipped with the legitimacy of foreign service. I had nine months to imagine the direction I would take as a RPCV (returned Peace Corps Volunteer for all you unfamiliar with PC acronyms). These thoughts probably seem premature but to me they were unavoidable considering the long Northern Maine winter Kim and I have attempted to endure (pictures to come shortly, its ridiculous). Similarly, Kim had been preparing herself for work in the community health sector. Now, faced with the possibility of being placed in radically different programs, Kim and I wait. And wait.

Now that you’re up to speed on the emotional turmoil underlying our expectancy, I’ll tell you what you must have by now guessed. Kim and I will be…teachers…in Guinea.

Despite the initial shock at the drastic change in our assignment (and there was plenty), Kim and I have decided to accept our placement offer and, barring any unforeseen development, will be departing the 7th of July. Kim will be teaching Science and I’ll be teaching English. Kim obviously is more than qualified. As for me, those who know how awful I am at spelling recognize the tragic comedy of my assignment.

Now that that the waiting is over and the initial shock has passed, I expect the next few months will be spent practicing French, worrying about what to pack, and dreaming of Africa.

P.S. Will-to-Flower. I hope everyone appreciates the ‘Nietzschian’ word-play. Can you believe the concessions Kim makes.

Immersion

-denise levertov

there is anger abroad in the world, a numb thunder,

because of god's silence. but how naive,

to keep wanting words we could speak ourselves,

english, urdu, tagalong, the french of tours, the french of haiti...

yes, that was one way omnipotence chose

to address us-hebrew, aramaic, or whatever the patriarchs

chose in their turn to call what they heard. moses

demanded the word, spoken and written. but perfect freedeom

assured other ways of speech. God is surely

patiently trying to immerse us in a different language,

events of grace, Horrifying scrolls of history,

and the unearned retrieval of blessings lost forever,

the poor grass returning after drought, timid, persistent.

God's abstention is only from human dialects.

The holy voice utters its woe and glory in myriad musics, in signs and portents.

Our own words are for us to speak, a way to ask and to answer.