Tuesday 23 December 2008 - The death of General Lansana Conté, the President of Guinea for the past 24 years, is announced on the radio. Wednesday 24 December 2008 - The military takes over Guinea. They celebrate by shooting into the air throughout the night. We were scheduled to go to Conakry for Christmas, but for safety reasons we stayed in Forecariah. We had a Christmas Eve party at the office. Most of the trainees were planning on spending the night there. This was good because around 9 PM gunfire was going off throughout the town. The military is celebrating that they’re in control of the country. The party continues amid gunshots, except now under cover of the overhang. The other volunteer training with me, Julie, and I sit apart from the others and contemplate what ... read more

I just heard someone mention off hand on the radio that Senator Obama won Indiana. As with the entire election, this is nothing short of a miracle. The impossible can happen. I know everyone's tired of hearing about the election, but please indulge me a little because this story needs to be told. On November 4th at 10 PM about 20 men and myself gathered in my mayor's living room. I must emphasize that I live in the middle of nowhere, if this was happening in my tiny village it was doubtlessly similiar in villages throughtout West Africa. A $3 liter of gas was put into the generator and tuned to France24. It was an hour before any polls closed, 2 before there were any results: Vermont, 3 votes for Obama. Applause for this not surprising ... read more

Typically Amazing Travel Story: Because there are no taxis that go from my Regional capital to my site, I thought I'd try taking a taxi to my prefecture capital first and then to my village. I got to the taxi stand at the late hour of 9 AM and became aquainted with 3 girls from the prefecture capital who had just finished Terminale (we run on the French education system here which means everyone goes to Grade 13, which is called Terminale or, the last year). This was truly a blessing as the night before I couldn't sleep because I couldn't stop thinking about the plight of girls in my village. Around 10:30 we finally got going. The girls took care of me the entire time and made sure I was fed (cookies, avocados, and oranges: ... read more

22 April 2008 - Random Notes My boss was here for a day a is was wonderful. I was able to vent all my frustrations and worries. She calmly reassured me that they were all normal and I'd been handling them the best I could. She said she picked me for my village because I was a little more outgoing, a little more prepared, both of which surprise me. I don't care if she said that about all the volunteers, it still meant a lot to me. A random kid just showed up at my house with 4 mangoes. I don't think I've ever met him. Mamadou Sadiou, 12 years old, 6th grade. He's sitting in silence watching me write now. I was craving mangoes, so it was a pleasant surprise. But, I think I'm allergic ... read more

24 February 2008 Abdelrahmane just told me that heaving breathing outside my window every night was sorcery and that when he hears he runs away. Scared out of my mind, I kept asking him questions After about 20 minutes and thanks to the English-Pular dictionary that some missionaries made, I learned that “bird of sorcery” means owl in Pular. This revelation made me feel better until I remembered that I was taught that owls go “hoo,” not breathe heavily. But then again, I’m not an owl expert. Maybe Guinean owls don’t go “hoo” and just breathe really loudy and creepily. 6 March 2008 Things I’m doing that don’t surprise anyone at home * Not using toilet paper * Reading lots, re-reading Mountains Beyond Mountains for the 18th time * Trying like hell to learn Pular * ... read more