Welcome to the hight of Rainy Season in Conakry, Guinea West Africa

Walking through the waist deep water is never a good idea especially here but Mary (another PC volunteer)got stuck walking back from the market in a flash flood in the capital city here. Needless to say it was a mess.

Back to my life, lets see. What else have i been up to? I've been stuck in Conakry for a week on hold and today G-18 will come in finishing their training and getting ready to go up to their respective sites. How exciting, i am no longer one of the "newbes" I have elevated up to sophomore status! YES!!!

Otherwise i've been "en ville" (in town) only once to go to the bank and the womens co-op to buy stuff. The womens co-op is great. It is a big group of women here that have a cute shop down town that has set prices (that like doesn't exist here so i love it just for that) but they also use their profits to educating women. So yes their prices are high but at least when i feel i'm getting ripped off my money is going to something good as opposed to so guy buying a new cell phone.

I've been down to the beach bar several times. Its a Conakry classic. I went two nights ago for the end of Ramadon celebration there. There were so many people dancing and having a great time. I also went over to the U.S. Embassy to hang out with the marines for a while and really that is all i have been up to.

Can't wait to come home in November!!!!! Its so soon

Also, i have had to change my e-mail address do to lame reasons but anyways here is the new e-mail address so change it in your address books.

Corinna.Merrill@gmail.com

Hey everyone,

Your friend Corinna here, just going to fill you in on what has been going on in my life on the other side of the world.

I know what you are thinking, “Why has it been so long since your last blog?” Well that is a simple question to answer. I don’t have electricity and even if there was electricity there is no internet for 33 km. But, I have been working on my English class having the kids learn progressive pronouns, future simple and what nots. I have a Moringa garden planted of about 170 trees in the nursery. Sadly I will need at least 3,000 trees to start using the dried leaf powder to enrich the food with vitamins, and nurturance. My business class crashed and burned. That was my fault. The timing was all wrong but I will persevere and try again when the school year starts up. Hopefully it will have a little more success the second time around. I’m also working with a health insurance group in my town re-organizing the book ledger and giving new ideas on business structure. I’m still going into the health center twice a week helping with odds and ends. Also, I am working with the Child Fund Guinea translating documents (Eng-Fr) and general business stuff. Not to mention, getting my own water from the well, hand washing all articles of clothing, finding food and then preparing it (and trust me, finding food is not like walking in to Super Wal-Mart and shopping) and all the other odds and ends survival stuff.

But don’t just think its all work and no play. There is plenty of down time. I have read well over twenty books in the last 5 months, learned (or re-learned) French, picked up some Pular, made friends and slept, a lot.

So a funny stories.

Normally before I leave my house for an extended period of time I will have a big burning of all my trash. Granted I don’t really create that much trash but regardless it must be burned and here’s why. I was running behind one morning and I didn’t burn the night before because of the rain so I thought I could just throw my trash over the wall, like everyone else does (remember there is no city trash man who comes and collects garbage once a week). No big thing. Well when I got back from where ever it was that I was going I found some kids play in the trash pile. This is normal, sadly, but worst off they found my bag of trash. Every single item they were pulling out and asking “What is this?” or “Can I have this?” Keep in mind these are old M&M’s wrappers or a box of empty crackers but they were all up on it. I was mortified. Imagine your garbage man looking at EVERYTHING you used this week and asking “What did you do with this?” Humiliating!!! But now I know, burn everything!

Special thanks to:
Aunt Betty
Aunt Anne
Aunt Bonny
Grandma and Grandpa
Molly and Danielle
Mom and Dad for sending me packages on the August Mail Run

And also:
Aunt Betty
Uncle Glen and Becky
Lori
Amy and Mike
Mom and dad for sending me packages on the September Mail Run