Peace Corps Plot Twist: Theft, Travel, and a New Beginning

August 17, 2004

Hey, guess what? I'm back in Conakry. I had a bit of trouble a couple weeks ago in Kamsar. My house was broken into and robbed in the middle of the night...and yes, I was there at the time.

I was startled, as you can imagine, but wasn't seriously hurt. They took some money, my camera, medical kit and other odds and ends that had no value to anyone except me. At any rate, I left Kamsar that day and haven't been back since. I'm heading up there on Friday to pack up my stuff as I've decided I no longer want to live there. Nor do I wish to continue in the service of my host organization, PSI.

For the time being I'll be acting as the PCVL (PC volunteer leader) at the Boke regional office/house. It's just temporary until they staff it with a Guinean - hopefully in September. The Peace Corps is looking into alternative jobs/sites for me to move to. I'm hoping to be an advisor for the other SED volunteers and "float" around the different regions helping out when and where I can.

I'd like to be based in the Fouta Djalon region which has a moderate climate. How nice would that be? When I got home to Kamsar in July I actually had mold growing on my sheets that were left on my bed! I'll hang out in Boke until the new site is made ready for me. I'm hoping to be in Labe. Please note that I changed the address on the Contact Me page for letters. As I'm no longer going to be in Kamsar and hopefully not even in the region soon, I can't use that PA address any longer and hope to get that mail on a timely basis.

I'll update again once I know where I'll be placed and what I'll be doing there.

September 3, 2004

I'm taking advantage of the fact that I'm in Conakry right now and getting free internet here at the office to make this update. I attended a work-related seminar for 2 days in a town called Dalaba and am just passing through Conakry on my way back up to Boke.

Dalaba is a town in the Fouta Djalon region of Guinea - the region I desperately want to be in. Even more so now that I've actually been there to see it for myself. It was amazingly beautiful with fog shrouded green rolling hills and waterfalls galore. It was such a nice climate too - I was actually able to wear my sweatpants, long sleeved shirt and fleece jacket! It dropped down to a chilly 70 degrees F at night (inside) so I was able to get a great nights sleep all bundled up in my wool blanket.

I'm not joking about how cold it felt. I wore my fleece jacket all day long and was still chilled. Wished I had brought closed shoes and some socks as I froze my toes off. Unfortunately I had to leave Dalaba and come back here to my region, the Basse-Cote, and its humidity. I haven't gotten much in the way of news on a new project or site but all the other ideas me and my boss had previously tossed around have been dropped either by Peace Corps or myself for one reason or another. I hope to have some concrete info by the end of next week.

I made a snap decision today to take some vacation time and get out of Guinea to clear my head. I'm heading to Senegal and London. I'll be taking 3 weeks in total and leave in just over 2 weeks. I can't wait to see my special friends, the Lane's, in London. I'll then spend about a week in Senegal. I'm going to take several days to pamper myself and spend them at the Club Med just outside of Dakar. Hopefully by the time I return in October I'll be ready to move into a new site and project.

FYI, my kitten Connie was just fine when I went back up to Kamsar to collect her after my 2 week absence. She clings to me like my shadow but as she's so adorable I can't complain. I've just left her again now for another week so hopefully this, coupled with my impending 3 week vacation, will instill in her a fine sense of independence rather than a debilitating separation anxiety complex...

It's looking like it's going to rain any minute and when it does the internet always cuts out. I'll cut this update short and post it before I lose my window of opportunity. All for now. Take care.

December 6, 2004

Wow, been a long time since my last update. A lot has happened - took a vacation, got a new site, moved, settled in and am now on my way out of the country to spend 5 weeks in the good ole USA! I took off on vacation September 19 and flew to Dakar, Senegal. I had 2 nights in that capital city and did a bit of shopping and sightseeing. It was an expensive place but quite developed, for West Africa.

I then flew off to London where Lisa and her two little boys were there to greet me. Had a wonderful time staying at their house (flat) in Windsor. Such a cute town. Went jogging out to the castle almost every morning. Took walks with the kiddies and basically just relaxed. Once Dave, Lisa's husband, got home from a business trip, we left him with the kids and took off for downtown London. Saw a show - The Lion King - which was FANTASTIC, ate and drank at several pubs, and generally played tourist. Even took one of those double-decker bus tours around the city. The only thing not perfect was the weather as it chose to rain that weekend.

My time in London was over far too quickly, as always, and I flew off again 2 weeks later. I was spending 5 more nights in Dakar, but this time at the Club Med on the beach. Never been to a Club Med before but the idea of being secluded away with a sparkling clean swimming pool and all-you-can-eat buffets sounded like paradise to me. It was very relaxing laying by the pool every day and taking walks around the extensive grounds. A bit lonely though as I felt left out of most conversations at mealtimes as it was in rapid-fire French. My French is okay and I don't have much trouble understanding when an African speaks it. But give me the genuine thing at normal speaking tempo and it takes me a few beats to catch up.

Got good practice as I was glued to my in-room TV every night watching movies dubbed in French and catching up on world news. After getting a nice golden tan and 5 lbs. of extra weight tacked on, compliments mostly of the dessert bar, it was time to head back to my life in Guinea. I was hoping to learn my fate - I'd either have gotten a new site or I was ready to quit.

The day after arriving I got a message from my boss to come up-country so we could go look at a potential site together. Yea. It was a small village in the Fouta region (middle part of the country) called Saramoussaya. We only spent an hour or so wandering around looking at the house I'd occupy and meeting some of the officials I would work with. As there was another site in the pipeline we didn't commit ourselves to this one quite yet but I liked it and could picture myself there no problem. I went back to Boke to hang out while the other site was discussed. It turns out that it fell through so my only option was Saramoussaya which I gladly took. I came down to Conakry and gathered all my stuff together and moved out on November 2nd.

I moved to Saramoussaya and settled in. I painted the inside and got screens up on all the windows. I had to firstremove dozens of wasp nests that were on the doors and windows as well as inside the sitting room. No one has lived there since the last PCV which was 2 years ago. It's a fairly large house (I'll put photos up soon) with a large bedroom, sitting room and bathroom. I have no electricity or running water. The house has electrical outlets and light fixtures because at one time there was a generator but no longer. I get water from the village pump which is thankfully very near my house. I usually get little kids (petits) to fetch it and carry it back for me. That's how it's done here - age is power and the poor kids get stuck doing just about all the menial labor.

As for work, I've been out to visit with men's and women's groups to see how I can assist them. I'll also be working with a training center for kids, mostly girls, that have dropped out of school or have never had the chance to attend regular school. I'll figure out more of what I'll do once I get back there in January. All in all it is a very nice, quiet place. I'm told there are about 2500 people in the village but it covers a pretty large area. I'm fairly close to the market area which is deserted except for Saturday's when it's market day. I'm learning a new local language, Pular, but am getting good practice in French too.

I just left the village yesterday to come to Conakry as I'm due to fly out to Seattle tomorrow night. I have 30 days of home leave plus I'm taking 7 days vacation so it's 5 weeks of American luxury for me. Looking forward to seeing family and friends and catching up with everyone. I also plan to eat a lot of yummy food I can't get here and watch a lot of movies. I arrive in Seattle the 8th and will fly out back to Conakry on the 14th of January. If I don't update again before the holidays, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year to everyone.