Jon and I went to visit some friends out in the Fouta region and found...amazingly...PINE TREES!!
This pod/fruit thing is awesome and tastes like a really sour fruit rollup.
We are back in the bright lights of the city catching up on our pop culture, relaxing, shopping for hard to come by goodies like tuna and oatmeal, and enjoying our first mangos of the season.
This last month has passed amazingly swiftly but it was definitely getting to be time to take a bit of a breather. Life in Moossayah is beautiful to be certain. We wake up to the prayer call at 5:30 every morning and lay still and drift and listen to the world awaken. Every morning we listen to the harrowing world news on the BBC, listen to the voices raise in panic of a financial crisis, and then watch the daily life here continue, unchanged and untouched. As I listen, I heat water for tea and oatmeal.The harmattan winds blows the heat away all night and the temperature in the morning is wonderful. Our neighbor lets the sheep, chickens and our goat, Sierra out of their coup. Sierra quickly makes her way over and runs right into the house to say good morning with a little "meeeh" which also says "give me breakfast". I quickly oblige with a handful of rice. After locking up of big red metal doors, we head down the hill towards school. On the way we say good morning to everyone in whatever language seems to fit at the moment, French, Sussu, Pulaar. The same kids that we pass each and every morning will come running, breathless and yelling "Nana Soumah, Nana Soumah!!!" waving their hands frantically. You'd think that they'd be used to us by now but still they all need to say their little "Ca bah?"
We are joined on the route by all of the primary school kids in their blue or red checkered dresses or khaki uniforms. Kids carry piles of wood of their heads or bidons in their hands to fill with water as a duty to the school and to their teachers. Others hold breakfasts of boiled manioc with hot pepper on shreds of bannana leaf. Arriving at school we are generally among the first to arrive. If the classes start on time they are at least 20 minutes late.
Life at school can be very challenging but also really rewarding. Jon and I are both feeling like we are finally finding our stride. We are using teaching techniques that these kids cannot even fathom but slowly but surely they are starting to catch on a bit. That being said, trying to maintain discipline in these large classrooms is a HUGE challenge and has brought me to my wits end on a number of occasions. Many student's level of french is so low that many cannot read or understand the lesson and act out or talk with their friends. So, instead we try to explain things in a more visual manner which tends to work a little better. But for every bad day or difficult moment, there is always something there to balance it....and if the balance isn't quite reached, then there are always good books to escape to or a little tv or music on the ipod that can get us through the rough patches.
We have been really busy. We helped do an AIDS presentation to each of the classes at the school. The information was presented in Sussu by a fellow teacher and then we demonstrated correct condom usage (using a wooden stand in) and asked the kids questions. We used pens and pencils that you all donated as prizes for correct answers.(Thanks again!) I have started an unofficial "Equipe des filles" or girls soccer team. We meet Monday-Wednesday for practice. At this time there are 7 girls who show up fairly regularly and I feel like it is gaining some steam. As in all things, there have been ups and downs, but I like it in a selfish way because it gets me out of the house and running around. Eating only simple starches can be a bit harsh on the waistline!
Jon asked me to share and experience from last week. In doing a review for a upcoming exam, I decided to break the students up into groups to answer questions and then try to find a creative way of presenting the information to the class. Now creativity does not come easily to these students who are so used to simply memorizing passages of information. And though I did not see much real new creative thought, it was fun to see the kids working together to solve a problem. I was hoping for some funny skits or drawings but basically just received carbon copies of drawing that I had already done. But, one of last groups to present was lead by a very serious student who solemnly greeted all members of the class and just as methodically thanked me for giving them this kind of assignment because they really liked it and had never done anything like it before. Its strange that the whole time I had thought that maybe I was just wasting my time and I wasn't obtaining the results that I wanted, but this one student appreciated that this was new and different and I suppose that, in itself, can be labeled a success.
We've also got alot of stuff coming up as well. The Association des Jeunes or the Youth group in town has approached us to help them with an evening AIDS sensibilization and dance for a big group of the young people in Moussayah. So Jon ad I will again be leaving Conakry with a big old back of preservatives to give out at the event. Along with that, we had a meeting with and NGO that works with water pumps called SNAPE Société nationale d’approvisionnement des points d’eau or the National Water Supply Service. We were hoping that they would be able to replace a pump and a generator that would pump water the five spouts throughout town. But because of two failed attempts where solar panels and other generators were vandalized or broken, they would not help with the funding for new machinery. That being said, they said that if we could raise the money, they would kindly install and train all the necessary partners. So we will continue to work on this and keep you informed on any progress.
I wanted to mention our rather amusing (or aggravating) ride from Moussayah. We took the only car that was leaving after school got out on Thursday. We are already sweating and the hottest part of the day hadn't even hit yet! The taxi was an ancient conversion van and this is always a bad sign as with these vehicles, they tend to stop at every house and every person on the route to take on more passengers or strap on some more huge bags of cassava to the already top-heavy car. And this was no exception. What would normally, in a Peace Corps SUV take 30 minutes, took 3 hours. Jon and I have actually biked this same route in the same amount of time. Add on top of that right before departing the driver asks me to get out from my middle seat next to him. He lifts a blanket covering a slab of metal. He then precedes to lift this metal hood and there under where I was sitting is the cars engine. He tops off the radiator with some water (who needs coolant?) and off we go. So not only are we traveling during the hottest part of the day but I am two inches from the engine. I must have lost two pounds just from sweating on our 3 hour voyage. Not to mention the heat from the 20 or so other people that were sharing the same taxi with us. You just have to love the transportation system of Guinea...there is nothing you can do so you just endure and laugh later.
That's about enough for tonight but I wanted to include one more picture of Sierra because she is too funny and fluffy to ignore. I am looking forward to getting back to her morning greetings. Here she is looking particularly adorable.....
All our love to everyone! Thanks so much for your letters, calls and packages, it always amazing to hear from you. Stay Warm.
Be well...
Kim and Jon
