My day in Conakry shopping

Let me explain my excitement. First, I haven’t seen a real (4 walls and a ceiling) grocery store since I have left Ohio, and today I got to go to my first Lebanese store in Conakry. Lebanese stores are kind of a God send to American in a third world country. They had the most random stuff I’ve ever seen but it was AWESOME.

This morning we got up early and went and withdrew our money from the bank. Who knew, I moved to Guinea and became a millionaire!! Yep, I withdrew millions of (Guinean) dollars. I’m rich!!! Ok so converted into American dollars it’s under $1,200 for three months and moving in but here… good lord that’s a lot.

After our bank experience some one years (PCV’s that have been in country for a year) take us to the leb stores. I walk inside those double wide doors and the ark angels from the heavens are singing the songs of joy! They had Dove shampoo, deodorant, CHEESE, soy sauce, pickles, snickers, Franks Red Hot sauce, air freshener, cereal, hummus, you name it. It was like a little America, with a Lebanese accent. Really, it was like walking into any American dollar store but here it was a gift from god. For the first time in Guinea, I almost forgot where I was but then I had to walk back outside into the hussle and bussle and heat and I remembered where I was.

Oh today, I also got ICE CREAM!!!!!!!!!! I know all of you are back home freezing your butts off, but here its hot! It’s really really really hot. And today was the first thing of ice cream I have had in a long time. But when I ordered it I thought it was cookies and cream and when I asked, the guy responded in some thing I could not understand. So I just nodded and said ok. Sat down and expected one thing and got a mouth full of something else. It was pistachio, odd I know right. But it was delicious none the less!

I just want to give a quick shout-out to all of the other partents out there who i know are reading these blogs. All of your kids are great, we really have turned into our own little family network here.