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!)

twitter or why technology is awesome

I had been hearing very excessively about twitter recently on the copious amounts of BBC news that we have been listening to and so I thought that I'd give it a try. And its incredible...by some sort of magic, Jon and I will, with our cell phone, in a little village in West Africa be able to give day to day updates on this blog and on facebook on the happening chez nous for anyone interested, very bored, or in need of some good old fashioned procrastination.

If you take look to the right of our blog, there is a running tally of things I have been sending with my phone. This is very cool. I am a very lame, uninformed geek and the internet is magic.

Not too much new on the home front but since I was in town I thought that I would let everyone know that we are stil alive and kicking. I head back to site tomorrow to get working in the garden and get ready for the end of school. June is going to be a very busy month too with girls conference, a lifeskills (HIV/AIDS) training and the welcoming of our new training group!! So, I'm not sure how often we will be able to update. But now, with twitter, we can write little notes in the meantime so everyone knows whats going on in our crazy little lives.

Love you all and miss you tons! Hope all is well!
Kim and Jon

Sharing New Lives

It hasn't been all that long since we last posted but we've made it back to the capital for some work...and some repose. Life is just moving along here, everything is fairly calm, not too much new or exciting-and sometimes, that is a good thing!


The school year is winding to a close and we are preparing for the new volunteers to arrive in July for their training. We are planning for a trip to Mali and some fun side projects for the summer vacation. Our days are spent teaching, recovering from teaching, resting and reading, getting our garden ready for the rainy season, and studying our french and sussu. Each day passes quicker then the last although sometimes in the midst of the heat and stress a day may seem as if it will never end.


We've been spending an inordinate amount of time spoiling our new cat Houdini. And as all cat lovers do, we have photographed him in many a cute pose. Jon also loves him so much that I once woke up in the middle of the night because Jon was sleeping diagonally so that Houdini could have a comfy spot to doze...right on Jon's pillow. So, he is quickly making his way into our hearts...and our bed.



"What, did you want to sit here?"

A purse pillow for a sleepy one.

Houdini loves playing in our mosquito netting. Here is a picture that Jon took a few weeks ago. This is not as fun when it is three am and one is trying to sleep!

Cuddles beware, this cat is one good reposer.

A week or so ago, I was getting ready to go to my tutor's house for a Susu lesson. While I was getting ready, I took a look through our bedroom wedding and saw a sheep in our garden. This sheep was acting rather erratic so I decided to watch it for a while. Moments later, I realized that the sheep was in labor and was about to give birth in our garden!!! Jon and I watch in amazement as this new life entered the world. I was astounded. it was the first time I had seen the birth of anything, animal or human, and it was amazing. The most incredible thing was that just moments after it was born, the baby was already up walking around and looking for some food! Here is a picture just minutes after!!!

And there is always, of course Mia, our chicken who has just hatched 4 more (yet to be named) babies and our wonderful goat, Sierra who is getting fatter by the day. Sierra is in denile about her weight gain as she still tries to fit through the narrow bars of our porch fence. I think that soon we will have a Winnie the pooh episode on our hands! Here are some pictures of that funny goat as well!

I'm getting to be a bit of a Little bo Peep around town as she has taken to following me around. I love it, but the ladies in the market just don't understand!

"Do you have any rice to share?"

Look at that belly!! Pretty soon we'll have a new baby goat...or two!!

Last weekend, Jon and I went out to a neighboring village with our pal Mr. Bangoura because we were told that some "experts" were coming into town along with the Forestry department of the local prefecture. We were told that they wanted to take a hike out into the forest and we had been invited along. It turned out that these experts were two americans working with the USGS to do a geological survey of the area. It was awesome! We got to see a GPS map of the area including the dense forest that we are trying to protect. One of the american "experts" is actually based out of Conakry and is a former volunteer so hopefully we will be working with him in the future. We went up to the edge of the densest bit of forest, but due to time constraints, were unable to do much more. But we were able to find some really gorgeous views and had a really fun hike. We didn't see much wildlife, however. But, we have other trips in the works so we will keep you posted about any chimp sightings

That is all for now. We miss you all and hope that all is well, spring is springing and that the sun is falling warmly on your faces.

As of Right Now

...I (jon) am writing my last post before I head back to the village. There's still a bunch of stuff the Kim and I need to catch everyone up on. After the cat incident, surprisingly enough, life went on. We still have the cat by the way and he's doing great. Kim and I are yet to decide on a name but we're thinking very seriously about Houdini (like the illusionist)

or maybe falcor (the luck dragon from 'The Neverending Story').

The Monday morning after we got back from our visit with the hunters, before our classes started at the secondary school, Kim and I went to visit the primary school in our village. Some family and friends back in the States had been sending us school supplies and we went to the school to drop it off. The faculty at the school were really pleased and the students were ecstatic. The experience was incredible. How refreshing it was to be surrounded (thronged really) by a crowd of enthusiastic young children. As we went from class to class the students would sing out greetings together. After that Kim and I would walk around passing out some of the school supplies (mostly pens, pencils, colored pencils, and that sort of thing). When it came time to leave the students sang goodbye and thank you songs. It was so beautiful to be surrounded by so much joy. I can't say enough how full of happiness Kim and I were when we finally left. What a way to start our week.

Well that week came to an end with reviews and test leading up to what at present is a one week spring vacation. Kim and I have spent the majority of our time in Conakry but we were lucky enough to take some time to head out to a small group of islands off the coast. We left the city on a tiny boat with a 15hp engine - passing through a veritable ship graveyard - and found ourselves in sun-drenched paradise about an hour later.

We and a group of our fellow volunteers spent the better part of the day swimming, throwing frisbee, and combing the beach. All in all a great way to pass the time. Kim and I cooked and shared a bunch of hot dogs we had bought at one of the grocery stores that can be found in Conakry. That and the watermelon made the experience almost feel like home. Kim found some beautiful jewelry, we had a nice walk around the island, and came home the the Peace Corps bureau salty, sun burnt, and exhausted. It was great.

Shortly thereafter, Kim left to take some of our Peace Corps friends to visit our village for a hunters ceremony that coincided with the full moon on Wednesday. She told me today that it went great and everyone had wonderful time. Apparently there was a bunch of food and music. If it was anything like the ceremonies I've been to out that way I can attest to just how amazing the surreal the whole experience can be. What happens is a group of hunters will play Coras (guitar/drum things) while another group will pantomime as deer and hunters. This all to the periodic back fire of gunfire as people fire their rifles into the air flourishing them for dramatic affect.
I, on the other hand, stayed in Conakry so that I could go on a little fishing trip. I and good friend headed back out to the Island were we had just visited 4 days earlier. After having met a local fisherman while exploring the island's small village community, he and I had tentatively planned to go on a fishing trip just out past the islands. We got to the islands and after swimming for a little while we headed off to get ahold of the fisherman so we could take off on our trip. We fished well into the night and then got back to his house were we stayed until morning when he brought us back to the mainland. I won't lie, it was a bit scary now and again but we had a great time and there were some big fish. We caught a red snapper and a barracuda both well over 3ft. We got some photos of the smaller fish, but the big ones didn't come out until after the sun went down. We used long spools to catch these things and it was a really neat experience. For the little fish we just lifted them into the boat but for the bigger ones we had to hit them with this long stick that had a spike on the end. Truly a remarkable, albeit harrowing, experience.

That gets us pretty well up to date. Tomorrow I leave Conakry and head home to Kim. The school year is coming to a close in just over a month and we're trying to get ourselves prepared for that. Otherwise, everything's pretty much the same back at site. The people are great. The scenery is wonderful. No complaints here.

jonathan

chimps are blurry! thats the problem!!!: Mitch Heberg, RIP

When last we left our heroes they were venturing into the African bush in search of perilous adventure.
One has to admit it has a cetain 'pulp' appeal if not a twing of melodrama. Well as Kim was writing (not so sutle remark aimed at denoting that this is Jon - hello by the way), after the local hospitality brigade served us some wonderful food; we were invited for a walk into the woods with some of the local hunters. Avid fans might recall that we had already gone out on a trip like this with another group a few months back. Last time we saw a bunch of chimp habitats and a totally great waterfall which we hope to check out again during the rainyseason. Well, needless to say, we accepted and left with four locals and our stalwart companion, Mr Bangoura.






After trudging for hours thru plantations and bamboo groves, we arrived in vally filled with palm trees (apparently a major food source for chimps). Unfortunately we had to walk along a this rediculously muddy, trecherous river bed from that point on. Neither kim nor I had really planned, or dressed for this but we kept our heads down and powered thru. And it all payed off; Kim and I saw three chimps in the wild. Unfortunatly, the dense cover and failing light made it that we only have this one, rather dark and fuzzy photo. But we were there and we'll remember it for ever. It was so surreal as the hunters all started to act like giddy little kids pointing and making a great big deal as we fumbled with the camera half in a panic ourselves to atleast take a few photos.
"Chimps ARE blurry, thats the problem!!!"


Anyone skilled at 'Where's Waldo' can probably find the black splotch in the foreground to the right of the leftmost tree. That black splotch, in all its majesty and splendor, is Pan Troglodytes Verus in the wild. Pretty rad. Unfortunately our trip didn't end there and we had to walk back to town in the failing light which soon became utter blackness. There is a saying here that 'In Africa, when the sun goes down, it's dark'. Obvious isn't it. But in a world without light pollution, or electricity of any kind - such as the African bush, the duh-factor of the saying acts only to incapsulate more fully the shock one recieves upon incountering complete and utter darkness.

Well the morning came and we had a little breakfast with the local head of the community whose house we had stayed at the night before. We were then invited to an impromptou gathering with the hunters and thier families. This was a remarkably great time. I had an oportunity to play the Cora which you can see from the pictures is drum/guitar made from a calabash, animal skin, and other assorted objects. Everyone seemed to get a pretty big kick out of that and the ladies inticed Kim into dancing with them which she always loves. They also brought us more food - meat and bouille (local fair resembling hot rice pudding) - which we ate a great deal of.

Eventually we had to head home which was a lovely bikeride through the rolling hills and small hamlets on the periphery of our sousprefecture. Home coming is always an event as everyone seems to be surpised that we keep returning. Sadly our homecoming was rather sullied buy the events I'm about to relate.
When we got home we unpacked, started our laundry, and the other chores that comprise our daily routine at home. At some point we begain to notice a lot of activity around our neighbors latrine. (I'll take a minute to explian the bathrooms in Guinea real quick in case anybody might not see clearly the image that I'm trying to paint. There are a great variety of latrines. There are water level latrines, pit latrines, indoor and outdoor latrines, flush latrines, the list goes on. All opperate in ostencilbly the same manner, being that there is a hole in the ground and one must indevor to aim as one can. Our neighbors have pit latrine which is outdoors and by all accounts resembles an outhouse.) Eventually, one of the kids came and told me that something was in the latrine. "Il y a un chose di-dans!" This latrine, it should be noted, has been the sight of many a snake sighting and killing. I therefore natually assumed it was a snake or lizard or something and decided to go check it out with my neighbor. Well I got there and I didn't see anything. Meanwhile I'm asking him what it is and he dosn't know the word for it which surprises me (he's a rather smart little guy after all). So I look and look but I don't see anything, all the time looking for some lizard. But then I hear it...and my heart drops. (don't worry this story has a happy ending)
It's a cat. Twenty feet down in this horrifying abyss of shit, someone has thrown a cat. I know how obsurd it is to wax sentimental about the suffering of a cat when the world is full of human suffering. I know that starvation, disease, poverty, and war destroy lives and that this suffering in many cases goes unadressed. With all that in mind, I can't even begin to express my disgust at the type of person who could throw away a life like that. Domestic animals place such unassuming trust in people. And than someone goes and does something like this. What a complete and utter betrayal of that trust. This person completely abandoned any semblance stewardship or paternal responsability.
So there it is, a tiny little cat mewing weekly, and I ask the little boy next to me how long its been there. And again my heart drops. He tells me its been there for two days now. Someone put it there the night before Kim and I left to go on our trip and it had been there ever since. People had kept using the latrine and everything. What had been disgust directed at one person becomes a wave of scinicism with the indifference and ineffectualism of the bystanders.

Supressing this, I go an get Kim. We tell ourselves that we at least have to try unlikely though it is that we might help the cat. We bring our flashlights to try and see if its even possible to save this cat or if all hope is lost. Straining to see down this rediculously small hole in the floor of the latrine into the pit twenty feet down, we still hear mewing this pitiful cat. There it is, these two little eyes reflecting back up at us. So we devised a plan. We found long stick to lower into the tiny hole of the latrine. We tide a little rope to the end with a sliding knot to snare the little cat. We then lowered the stick thinking first of all that the cat would jump on and climb out on its own volition. Unfortunately it was far too weak, or delerious from whatever toxins it had been breathing. We started to realize how rediculous our plan was and that we could never hope to get this cat. Nevertheless, we kept trying for a while and the cat, who still couldn't move as we was surrounded in sludge, started biting at the little rope we had at the end of the stick. Somehow I got the rope on him enough that we begain to lift him out. It was increadably tense for a few minutes as we were worried that something would slip and he would fall anew and that all chances would be lost. But remarkably we lifted him up to the open and pulled out this putrid little guy who just lay there completely destroyed.
Sadly, Kim and I were sure he was going to die. But we were happy to atleast give the cat some modicum of dignity by giving it a chance and pulling it out of that abysmal place. So we washed it up and put it in the sun.
Kim fed it condenced milk. A few days passed. We have a cat.

I had to add this picture: BEFORE...sad and smelly
AFTER: Happy and right at home
We haven't chossen a name and we're looking for suggestions. Any ideas?

wooden phaluses, african hula, and le serpent boa

So we had only been back at site for a few weeks but I must say that they were some very interesting two weeks and we have many a tale to tell. We are back in the Big City Lights for our school's one week vacation. Many of the other education volunteers are using their well-earned vacation time for a trip to see other parts of the continent or a much needed and well-deserved rest-up at home. Jon and I are planning to do very little in general but take care of the necessities in town and a much-inticipated trip out to some of the islands off the coast. I am really looking forward to spending some quality time laying on a beach!!

As for the events of the past few weeks...

I will begin with an AIDS sensibilization that we helped out with in town. I have now learned to never expect anything to go the way I want it to or the way I expect it to here in Guinee. However, I have found that sometimes things can work themselves out in a very Guinean style. We were approached by a fellow professor and the youth group in town for assistance with the sensibilization. This basically meant that they wanted us to provided some sort of materials i.e. condoms and posters. Here is Jon preparing...

I knew that there was a group of youth mentors from a neighboring village who often do these types of things so I tried to contact them, fairly unsuccesfully. When finally we got in contact with them (two days before the event) they agreed to come out with 7 of the kids. The day of the event passed with me having no knowledge of what was actually going to happen except an approximate time and all of these youth group kids sitting on my porch playing crazy eights who knew even less then I did. We had some idea that there were some music groups invited and that there would be a dance and that at some point we would be talking about AIDS.
The day of the event, at the onset, seemed like a flop...it was supposed to begin at 1pm and began the contemplation of really beginning at 4. Like all big events in Guinee, it involved lawn chairs in a big circle, huge speakers with too much reverb, and many loud electronic squeakings...but perhaps that is the halmark of the grand fetes.


Music was played and several music groups rapped or sang in succession and slowly but surely the lawn chairs began to fill and young students began to wander in. The youth group from Forekariah did an amazing job, especially under the time restraints and circumstances. They put on a little play and a condom demonstration. Though it was all in Sussu and I really have no idea if any really pertinent information was transmitted, I must say that the event, lead by Guineans, for Guineans surpassed the uneasy expectations that I had set for it. But most importantly, I think it was important for the young people of Moussayah to see these people, of the same age, doing something so important. Perhaps this will spark some motivation to start a similar group there. The SIDA dance was a bit disappointing, with more lawn chairs and loud noises but lots of condoms were given out...and I suppose that is as good as anything.


Last week was the most intensly bizarre, interesting, and outright bewildering week in my recent history.

It all began on Friday when....ah..no....it all began on thurday morning with the slaughter of the baby...goat (that is) by the tree in our front yard.

And no, not Sierra, but the neighbor's newly purchased young goat that I was looking forward to naming and getting to know. The morning was made even stranger by the presence of...what's this? a slight sprinkle of rain after months of scalding harmattan!! After sweeping up the leaves in the yard ( a weird but culturally necessary chore here) I headed to school to do a review for the 7th graders. My friend Kate who lives in Hawaii had sent a kids hula outfit for me to use. To add to the unreality of this whole week, I now added a hula outfit... on African kids. I had planned a game like who wants to be a millionaire only if you got the wrong answer, you had to wear the hula outfit and do a dance for the class. They loved it and I have the photographic proof! Thanks Kate!!!





But wait, there's more...
Later that afternoon, I headed to my Sussu tutor, Madame Balde's house. We are sitting there talking when I feel a slight breeze that causes me to turn my head slightly and what do I see but a huge black storm cloud engulfing the mountains and quickly baring down on the village. "I think I'm going to go home." I said. "I think you better run!" she said. But I did not need much encouragement, nor did many other villagers who quickly ran, worried eyes to the skies. Students yelled out "Nana Soumah!" and told me to take refuge in their house but I was determined to make it back up the hill before the rain. The storm came in like a rebirth, cleansing the streets of the town of all it long-laid dust with one great burst. We all ran, mouths clenched against the grit, eyes narrowed and looking at the sky when ever there was a little relief from the stinging grit. Huffing and grunting, I made it up the hill, sand in my teeth, only to have a spectacular veiw of the clouds speeding from the mountains and the entire town below us engulfed in dust. We stood out in the wind, watching the world tense in readiness for what was to begin. And suddenly it came!! Cold, wet, wonderful rain, soaking into the parched earth and making it red as clay. Inside, Jon and I listened in amazement to the pounding newness of the rain on our tim roof. To heighten the strangeness even more, we were able to celebrate with delicious (baby) goat fajitas with rice and quacamole and a box of red wine. NOW how is that for a rather random day?.....

But it doesn't end there.

The next morning, we had planned to bike out to a nearby village to meet our friend, Mr. Bangoura. Mr. Bangoura is working with the Jane Goodhall Institute to organize and sensibilize hunters and try to determine resources usage and protection measures for the forests in the region. We had gone to a few events with him in the past and really enjoyed them. The route to the village was absolutely stunning, I had to keep stopping the bike to get just the right picture to capture the unreal natural beauty that surrounds us. Here are some en route:






When we got there we immediately were taken to talk with The President of the rural Development commitee ( basically the village 'big wig') who was an older self-important man. He had just completed the Haidj. Hands were shaken, we were given a welcome gift of banannas, and were found lodging for the night....with Monsieur le President, of course! After that, we put away our bikes and bags, and went for a walk with a local hunter and Mr. bangoura to the nearby village. On the route we took pictures of some of the environmental damage being done in the area, burned regions of the mountains, brick yards with erroding sand pits, and areas of devastated forest all for the wasteful production of charbon or charcoal. (See pictures below). One of the highlights of our walk was the sighting of a rather large BOA CONSTRICTOR (!) in the wild. Of Course, the hunter then grabbed a very large stick and proceeded to whack the boa with the intention of having him for supper. The Boa did escape, but I'm very sure was smarting quite a bit. We sat for a bit while Mr. bangoura chatted up some hunters and showed some pictures from our previous outings and then returned for an eagerly-awaited lunch.








Unfortunately, this eagerly awaited lunch was very much delayed and we sat in hunger-induced apathy as Bangoura continued diligently to sensibilize the villagers about resource-usage and the formation of hunting associations...all in a language we didn't know. Finaly, after many contemplations of mange-ing my own left foot, a huge, steaming bowl of rice and peanut sauce arrived and we happily ate our full. Upon finishing, we were asked if we wanted to go on the (photo) hunt for chimpanzees...

and eagerly we agreed...

Stay tuned for more of our very bizarre week!!!!