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Yep. Always safe. - 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 to them so I have to wait until someone else gets home so they can peel them for me.
Ryan sent me a care package and a great letter with lots of words of support. Amazing. Good thing I stopped keeping Kosher because those gummy bears he sent were really good! 😊
Neene Kanne really liked my boss, pulled out
I don't like bikes.
Getting frustrated with my bike and Erich's dog. Brienne's in back, encouraging me to be a badass biker like her. all her French for her, even smiled every time she saw here. She gave her three avacados before she left.
The rain here is incredible. It's like perpetual tornado weather: clouded sky, thunder, never ending strong winds, and then finally after hours of anticipation, a torrential downpour. I suddenly understand how all hurricanes start in West Africa. Before the rainy season, I saw a couple twisters quickly form and dissapate after a minute or two, nothing to fear like back home. But the rains! The Midwest ain't got nothing on West Africa!
The kid's still watching me. I'm trying to decide what I want for dinner. Saliou said he and my potential French tutor will be here in half an hour. Who knows?
We're going ahead with the school renovation project. I'm really happy about it. Kristi, Ryan, and everyone here (especially the DSEE) have put in so much energy already, it needs to happen. They had already raised the money and cut the check, but then Ryan got evacuated so now they have to start all over. The school hasn't been renovated since the French were here. That's just ridiculous. I remember how Muessel was torn
Labe
This is where I hang out once a month :) down a couple years ago because it was the worst facility in the corporation. Muessel was a palace compared to almost every building I've seen in Guinea. Compared to just the schools: it was state-of-the-art.
Sometimes I want to start a library here. PC calls these secondary projects but they're all so health related for me. I want books in French ... I don't know why I didn't bring my books. There's only a few, but it would have been a start.
It's Passover right now and ironically enough, there hasn't been any bread in my village for 3 days. Luckily, my boss brought bread with her so I could continue with
my Passover tradition of
not keeping Kosher for Passover.
I've decided I'm going to learn Pular despite how insanely difficult it is. I had a dream last night that I finally got off my butt and started learning French, too. (In the dream it was thanks to Amy Marsh.) Maybe it's a sign that this French tutor might actually work out.
... I need to bathe. I've gotten into the really bad habit of bathing parts of myself at a time. Feet and legs
Wow
Amazing lookout point in Dalaba one day, face another, etc. I know this doesn't count as bathing every day. I'm working on it.
27 April 2008 Yesterday while doing vaccinations my youngest mom was 15 and the oldest 48.
I'm at Beth's right now, deciding if I should stay for lunch or head back to my village.
I have so much to do this week before In-Service Training (IST) starts!
29 April 2008 So hot outside. It's practically impossible to do anything after noon.
I'm starting to get back to my old "annoying activist" self. This makes me really happy because I was afraid that I'd maybe lost it somewhere. That maybe this was all a mistake. Maybe I was just all talk. But I've been happier and more comfortable lately which has helped put everything in perspective. I hope all this new ground gained isn't lost at IST. I'm worried about leaving for three weeks. Just when people are counting on having me around, I'm taking off.
(Insert two weeks of training here!) 😊
21 May 2008 A couple of announcements!
First, today is my sister Lindsey's birthday. I'm pointing this out not only to
Cool roof
The roof of a hotel in Dalaba say Happy Birthday Linze, but also to let everyone know that her and Kyle are now engaged! Congratulations you guys!
Second, yesterday the President of Guinea fired the PM. The PM was installed last year as a compromise after the brutality in the streets. I don't know much else, but just know that I'm safe. You can always call me if you're worried 😊 You can read more here: http://www.reuters.com/article/africaCrisis/idUSL20836739 or http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7412596.stm
Third, Lindsey added some videos to this blog for me. Search through some of the older entries to find them! Or you can see one of them here: http://youtube.com/user/skyfire24x
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Mouctar diallo
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Labe is my city