Sophie the Cephalope, Zen Sprouts, and Lawn Chairs

Spending my last evening in the city catching up on the television and movies that I've been missing. Finally got to see 3:10 to Yuma, Nick and Nora's Infinit Playlist and Slumdog Millionaire and I'm working through the second season of Weeds. We've got some very packed and busy weeks coming up so its been nice to just veg out for awhile and relax. Also had to get some t-shirts printed for the girls conference that is coming up really quickly in mid-june. I will post some pictures of the design when I have some.

Some new news:

Recently one of our students, Yero, came to our house with a strange, brown, bunny-looking animal in his arms. Before we could really react or say a word, he throws this strange animal into my arms and says "Ça c’est pour vous" and smiles proudly over the present he has given us. Of course our next question is "What the heck is it?" He gives us a name in Sussu tokeh which didn't help us very much. Well we did a little research and found out this little friend is called a cephalope or commonly called a bay duiker which is a type of antelope that lives in the bush. She is a funny little cutie with tiny little ballerina hooves and a big shiny black nose. Here is a picture with Yero and one of her by herself.

Jon and I went on a hike a while back but I wasn't able to post any photos. A man from the USGS came by to do a GPS mapping survey of the area and talk to some of the local conservation groups. It was great! We were able to see a satileite image of our village and the surrounding areas. We also got to meet a former Peace Corps volunteer who is still working in Guinea. No chimps this time but it was neat to see the interest and ecological importance of the dense forest near us. We are hoping to continue working with them to help preserve the area.

Jon and I finally got our fence built and dug our garden. And in spite of the fact that everyone says we've dug it all wrong, I am very proud of us. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures before we left but we have some sprouts already. We planted carrots in a special box and sifted all the soil and amazingly!! there are actually coming up! We also planted pumpkins, squash, and zuccinni, lettuce, basil and sunflowers and they are all doing really well. We have also planted a very nutritious plant called moringa but as of thursday they haven't come up. We planted some peas and beans but nothing has come up. If anyone could send us some more pea and bean seeds, we would really appreciate it. More photos to come as things start growing!

Our cement stone pathway to the garden....

Jon's Carrot Patch Zen Garden

This past weekend, we were out in Kindia, a city about 4 hours away to go a wedding of the daughter of the Sous-prefet and also my best Guinean friend, Mariam. We left with most of the family right after prayer call (aka VERY early) to take the one car that takes the direct route 3 times a week and even though there was already 8 people in the car plus the chauffeur, we still managed to find another 4 en route. Really, one must love the transportation system in Guinea.

Once there, we were introduced to the extended family and feed a breakfast of rice and palm oil. We paid a vist to some other volunteers in the area and went along with Mariam to see her university. We got to get dressed up in oue West African finery, eat almost constantly vast quantities of rice and sauce, and sat awkwardly for long stretches of time on plastic lawn chairs. BUT its was an amazing time. Mariam looked absolutely gorgeous and the dancing was fantastic! Unfortunately we also both got a little ill so we had to miss out on some of the festivities. but as Guinean weddings are full 2 day events, we still got to enjoy quite a bit. We had a blast, despite being under the weather. If I can manage, I will try to put up a video of some of the crazy dancing.

Who is that handsome fellow?

Other then all that, things have been fairly calm. Next week we will start reveiws and after that compositions will begin...then girls conference follows immediately, then an HIV/AIDS training in the Fouta region and finally we'll be helping out to train the incoming group who arrive in July. Life is moving really fast out here! I can't believe that we are coming up on a year in-country! We are having a blast, being challenged beyond anything else we have ever done, and finally finding the time for our hobbies and side projects in Moussayah.

Hope all is well in you neck of the woods. As for me....I'm going to watch some more television!

Love you all!

Kim (and Jon!)