YAY, I got medically cleared to go back to site. I am amoeba free and there are no crazy African viruses in my system!!!!! How exciting, I know. Anyways i will be saying goodbye to Conakry and all of the wonderful amenities that i get to enjoy here today. Starting Monday i will be going to In Service Training, which is a two week program of more language and business trainings now that i have a better idea of what i will be doing!!! Can't wait!

Only in Guinea...

So I went to get dinner tonight at the Beach Bar (and yes the name is correct, a bar on the beach overlooking the Atlantic Ocean) and look what i found.... one of those real, "Only in Guinea" moments

Part 2

So I went to get dinner tonight at the Beach Bar (and yes the name is correct, a bar on the beach) and look what i found....



Step TEAM



1/2 American Step team + 1/2 African Robot = CRAZY COOL



Thats a man, on a head!!!!



1/2 American Step team + 1/2 African Robot = CRAZY COOL



A nice Reggae African band



Same band different angle


A great band too, rapping about Guinea



Good times!



Me playing the "White girl card" and getting back stage of the concert



Great African Band, singing about Guinea's independance



Same band, different angle



Another great African Band



Walking up the stairs to the computer lab in the Conakry house

update of mailing me stuff

Now that I have spent some time in country and everyone keeps asking me what are good package ideas or what do I need/want/like from them I thought I would take some time to update what are good ideas to send.

- Magazines (especially fashion mags, I can take the photos to the tailors and I can get CUSTOM made cloths TAILOR FITTED from the ads of Dior or JCPennys)
- Food (microwaves do not work when there is no electricity so nothing microwavable but easy mac/ramen/pasta with sauce are good) *Note I can easily get butter and eggs and stuff like that
-Beef Jerky (always a classic)
-Handheld games (something to kill the time)
-Movies (I still have my laptop so I can watch movies!!!)
-Granola Bars (makes a great breakfast, snack, treat to give little children)
-Instant Coffee/Late stuff (there coffee here is AWEFUL and the electricity is non-existent so no coffee maker, I.E. the powder you spoon into hot water to make "coffee") oh actually I should have my mom and dad (*wink wink*) send a French coffee press so I can make REAL AMERICAN COFFEE that way you could send specialty coffees (and yes I consider Folgers specialty right now)*We do have instant Nescafe powder here
- Books (the newer the better, there are a lot of books in country so older books are probably already in country)
- So far I’ve noticed people send can/packaged fruit. DON'T get me wrong I love it but I can get pineapple and oranges here a lot cheaper than you can send them. I got a really good apples and caramel packaged parfait thing. Delish!
- Snacky stuff is always a classic (at site I crave salty snacks so anything like crackers and cheese, pretzels, sunflower seeds, cheetos, cheese in a can... you get the idea)
- I'm going to start a garden here soon so seeds are always good. I've got some herbs but fruit's and veggies would rock too. (If you are wondering its hot here in Africa so if you would check to see if the plant can take the hot arid temps) oh a flower garden would be cute too...
- Make me a mix CD/cassette of your favorite songs. Really please do, I can not tell you how much Akon and Bob Marley I listen to here. Include song titles so I know the new song names and I don't have to just make them up.
- Little packets of Oreos or other cookies
- Deodorant (Its hot and I sweat, not joking)
- TV Shows (lord knows I like my TV shows and Guinea just isn’t cutting it so you should sent me your hot new favorite series)
- Photos of you and your loved ones (I’ve got a special wall in my house for photos that have been sent and right now that wall is pretty bear except for Molly, me and Nate and Aunt Bonnie, Uncle Wes, Matt, Kyle, and the soon to be bride Kristine)
- Cans of soup (I love cheesey potato with BACON!!!!!) and Ravioli
- A jump drive with music and podcasts (even TV shows and movies!) on it (if from iTunes, include your username and password so I can authorize use)
- M&M’s (they melt in your mouth, not in your hands) *LOVE Peanutbutter, Peanut, Almond, Dark Chocolate you name it…
- Hot chocolate mixes
-Any kind of pampering stuff (It’s rough living out “en brushe”)

**Be aware that you can do all of this stuff online at www.usps.com, including ordering free flat rate boxes, and printing postage. In fact, you get a 5% discount on the shipping fee if you do it online.**


I've heard horror stories from volunteers saying that they got entire packages of things that you can easly get in country and in order to prevent that i wanted to list somethings i can get here.
- Organic peanut butter (In fact, that’s the only type of PB that’s here)
- Instant Nescafe (we got it, so don’t send it)
- Sardines (I don’t eat them and they are here)
- Soap (actually the soap here smells good and is anti-bacterial)
- Spam (ok its knock off brand but its everywhere)
- Candles (yep, I can easily walk across the street and get candles even matches)
- Coca Cola
- Peanuts (or ground nuts as they call them in England)


Please refer to the November 18, 2008 MEGA-BLOG for more packing and mailing instructions as well as more ideas of gifts.

And one last thing a huge THANK YOU to everyone that has been sending me stuff.
Aunt Anne, Bubba, Nate and Cora- the pancakes/syrup AWESOME idea with the cinnomon and sugar, you rock
Uncle Tim and Mark - The books were great and i just finished the last one you sent last week
Aunt Peggy - still working on those People Cross Word Puzzles. I am determined to finish the book without looking in the back by the end of my two years here
Grams and Gramps - You guys are great with the cards and box. Needless to say the crackers were delish and have been long gone for a while (and the map is hanging on my wall)
Molly and Ginger- You know you rock and the pudding was a great idea, love the post cards too (they are hanging next to the photo of me, you, and that hubby of yours)
Aunt Betty and Uncle Dan - You guys know you are too much and thank you doesn't even cover it and i will have some happy neighborhood kids next week!!
Elizabeth- Loved the X-mas card and when i get back we WILL make good luck Turkeys
Aunt Bonney Uncle Wes, Kyle and Matt-You are one of two photos on my *SPECIAL (PEOPLE SENT ME PHOTOS) WALL* in my house
Aunt Mary and Uncle John- A little birdy told me that you send someone something to send me stuff. Thank you so much!
Mom, Dad and the little Kurt Cobain- You are AMAZING and i look forward to everything you send, mainly because i know you send what i want/need and your letters always cheer me up and make me laugh. SEND PHOTOS and a Coffee press ;)

A Day in the life of the BEST PCV in country

4:06 - Wake up to the sound of the bats in the ceiling. Grab broom and start hitting the ceiling.

5:45 - Say a silent prayer to Allah so that my neighbors keep it down

7:30 - Wake up on my own accord and grab the broom (conviently right next to the bed) and sweep the house

8:00 - Lie on mat and do some crunches and push ups. OK i did that once but still...

8:15 - Start boiling water for some easy mac or ramen or whatever it is that i feel like making into my new favorite breakfast food for the week.

8:30 - Sit down and eat my breakfast inside so i don't have to "invitation" out my american food.

9:00 - Walk over to the bosses house and see if anything is going on for the day (assuming nothing is I might just go up to my cell phone mountain and call someone)

1:30 - Meander my way home and eat rice and sause with the neighbors. Extra pimont (hot peppers) to drown out the taist of the fish.

3:00 - Pular lessons. Mainly consists of me trying to pronounce the word and the crowd of on-lookers laughing their butts off at my butchering abilites of their language that is "tres facile"

5:00 - Leave Pular leassons utterly imbarrased and overwhelingly overwhelmed. Tea time with the boys. This is where i get a chance to laugh at them with our impromptu English lessons.

8:00 - Burn off a layer of skin on my tongue from all of the pimont i use for more rice and sause which is a cold repeat of lunch.

9:00 - Grab my bucket and goble and take a "shower". Scrubbing all traces of Guinea dust off of me.

9:30 - Crawl in bed with a good book and Owen Bennet Jones from BBC en Afrique

10:00 - Say a silent prayer that i made it another day and secretly count the days in my head until i can see another America.

OK so I’ve had a rough couple of weeks here in guinea. Let me elaborate for you. I’ll start at the beginning because, well that is the only logical place to start I guess. So a few weeks ago I was having some foot problems. As in the skin on my feet were FALLING OFF! GROSS, I KNOW!!!!!!!!!!! So I called my doctor and he confirmed my fear. A flesh eating fungus! Yep that’s right. A fungus was eating the flesh right off of my foot. Nothing a little bleach and the hard core attitude of a Peace Corps volunteer couldn’t handle. Ain’t no big thing *** I know what your thinking, a FLESH EATING FUNGUS, no big thing, well keep reading, it gets worse!*** In case you are wondering I am fungal free now!

Then someone stole my bike! Yeah that’s right, I got by bike stolen. In the states, I never and I mean NEVER rode my bike but here, in guinea that is my ONLY form of transportation at site. Imagine your car being stolen and that’s how I felt. I do believe I shed a tear or two as well over my lost bike. Someone came into my compound (walled area around the house) and cut my AMERICAN lock and rode off with my bike. AND THEN, someone was knocking on my door in the middle of the night and asking for me. Which is so not cool. So I had a nice talking with our safety and security personnel and she feels it is safer for me to move. Never fear, I am safe at site. The family I live with got a dog and someone sleeps outside now making sure no one bugs me anymore.

AND THEN I started feeling sick. And this isn’t a normal kind of sick. It was more of an “only in guinea” kind of sick so I called my doctor again and he and I did some tests and I’ve got an ameba. So I went to Mamou (closest large town outside of my site) to get the meds to take care of my ameba friend and the hospital DIDN’T HAVE THE MEDS!!!!!!! They told me I could only get the meds in the capital city. So I spent the next 15 minutes sitting on the steps of the hospital, crying out of frustration and fear that my ameba would take over my body. Once every single Guinean came up to make sure the white girl crying in front of the hospital was alright, I calmed myself down and called the doctor. He said we had two options. The first one being he could send them up on a bush taxi in a few days that just might get there, but there is a big chance the meds might not even make it, or we could try a cheaper generic version of the same med. So obviously I took the latter approach. Well, I had an AWEFUL reaction to that medication, called the doctor first thing Thursday morning and told him “I can’t do this” and he said come on to down Conakry. So here I am, on the good medication, getting more tests done (to make sure there is nothing else wrong).

To drown out my worries and bad feelings yesterday I went and eat pizza on the beach watching the African sun set over the ocean and today I went down town and had a schworma and ice cream and bought tons of food and stuff to take back with me up country.

But other than that, everything as A-OK here. But really, don’t fear, I’m ok!

PHOTOS!!!!!!!!