a brick of francs

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 it is Africa

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