Wa salaam

Training is over. It was long and tough. The real work begins soon...

On Wednesday I finished packing my bags and prepared for Peace Corps to come and pick up my luggage, bike and water filter from my host family's house. My 5 year old sisters insisted on helping me carry my 50 pound suitcases out to the street. I spent one last night with my family. Everyone was somber, knowing that I was leaving the next morning.  I wrote a letter in French and Susu to my mom and aunts to thank them for everything. They couldn't read it, so I read it aloud to them and they started crying. My host family has been so gracious, patient, and loving. I'm going to miss them a lot. The women told me du courage (good luck) and told me they are always there for me.

On Thursday morning I had one last bowl of ye fure (rice porridge) on the porch with my family, and left with my mom, aunts and two sisters to take a taxi to the farewell ceremony. I was so happy that all the amazing women in my family could come to the ceremony. Families of all the volunteers attended, as well as government officials of Dubreka. Volunteers gave speeches in each of the languages we learned during training (French, Susu, Pulaar, and Malinke). I gave the Susu speech. Here is an excerpt from my speech:

"Muxu ngae nun muxu babae wo nu wali! Muxu mu noma wo sare fide....Na findi ma suni na n na, barima dari xoroxo. Kono wali bara muxu xili. Muxu lan muxu xa siga. Nakui, wo xa fe mu ne mu ma muxu ra.
Wo nu wali. Allah xa wo sare fi. Wa salaam"

We can not thank you enough for everything you have done for us... We are sad to leave you, but our work is calling us and we must go. Never will we forget all that you have done for us. We thank you. May god bless you. Peace.

We ate one last meal together at the ceremony. Each family got a giant bowl of rice and vegetables to share. They also brought plates and forks. My family saw that all the other volunteers were eating with forks, so they handed me one. I didn't know what to do - eat rice with a fork? No, I put the fork down and went at the rice with my hand, as I have with every other meal with my family. That's how we do it in Guinea. Afterwards we said our goodbyes and hugged each other and cried. I got onto the bus headed to Conakry with all the other volunteers and waved goodbye out of the window until we turned the corner.

Conakry - we arrived Thursday afternoon. I see this city from a much different perspective now than my first few days here in Guinea. Before I didn't think much of Conakry. Now it seems incredibly luxurious. For example, I took my first shower in 3 months. There is electricity, air conditioning, and toilet paper. Really, what more could you ask for in life?

Yesterday, September 23rd, we swore-in as official volunteers. The ceremony was well attended by Peace Corps staff, our trainers, American diplomats and Guinean diplomats. Volunteers gave speeches in local languages again and I drummed with the children's group from Dubreka one last time. On Tuesday I will leave for my regional capital and on Wednesday I will be installed in my village. Not sure when the next time you'll get an update from me, but I'll try not to let it be too long.

I'm really excited and nervous to start this new part of the journey. Most of all, I'm proud. I'm proud that I've made it this far, proud to be a teacher, proud to be a volunteer in Guinea, proud to be a part of this great organization, and proud to be representing America.

 

And finally, some long awaited pictures:



Trainees showing off our new Guinean clothes at the beginning of training



Cascades de Soumba - waterfall on the outskirts of Dubreka. Went swimming there a few times.



My brothers and sisters on the porch coloring in a map of the world that I made for them.



My brothers and sister, Elhadj, Maman and Mohamed in the back of the house.



The courtyard of my future College-Lycee (middle school/high school). Yes, that's a cow.



The average street in my village.



Arc-en-ciel over the compound wall in Dubreka.



11/14 members of my host family posing in front of our compound wall in Dubreka




Laundry! A neighbor and my oldest brother, Mohamed, insisted on doing my laundry for me. I couldn't refuse.



My host mom pounding rice, in preparation for the Ramadan celebration.



Host family in our kitchen preparing for the Ramadan celebration. Maman, Damaye, Ibrahima Sory, Papa, Laze, and the freshly killed chicken.



Terminale (last year of high school) social science students in Dubreka. For our practice school awards ceremony they performed a skit in English. So proud of them!



Stacey, Allison and I with the kids we drum with.



The kids drumming at our swearing-in. Stacey, Allison and I joined them shortly after this pic.



Team physics. Me, Amanda, Momo, Tosten, Mary, Maimouna (our trainer) and Keila. 


Wa salaam!

Ca n'est pas une maladie

If your hands are swollen, bruised, and possibly a little bloody, don’t worry. Ca n’est pas une maladie, it’s not a disease. This is what Yaya, my drum instructor says to us after we complain that our hands will fall off if we drum anymore.  2 other volunteers (well, technically “stagieres”) and I have been learning Guinean drum and dance at the local centre du percussion. I’ve mastered a few rhythms on the tam-tam (djembe)  from the Basse-Cote of Guinea. Recently we’ve been joining the children's drumming group in preparation to perform together at our swearing-in ceremony in Conakry on Friday.The children are absolutely adorable and animated and we have such a fun time playing together.

                Training is nearly over. It’s come and gone so quickly I can hardy believe it. It seems like yesterday that my family was showing me how to eat rice with my hands, that my host mom was showing me how to correctly get water from the well, that my aunt was showing me how to clean my laundry....Now I feel chez moi, like I'm at home. I dance to Susu tunes on the radio with the children, have compelling conversations about women's issues with my mom and aunts in the candlelight on the porch, and I greet everyone in Susu. The most useful phrase I know in Susu is "Nmu xili Fote," which means my name isn't white person. "N xili Damaye," my name is Damaye. After 11 weeks in Dubreka the whole world knows that I am Damaye, not fote. 

Yesterday we finished "Ecole Pratique" - practice school. We simulated the school environment for 3 weeks - teaching Guinean students at the local school, giving exams and grades, dealing with discipline problems, etc... There are no textbooks for students and there are no libraries. Students do not have access to the internet....thus the notes they take in class are all they have for reference. That makes teaching pretty difficult. The Guinean education system very much focuses on the national exams (the Brevet after middle school and the Bac after high school). They're great with numbers but terrible with concepts. My work is cut out for me.

Well, once again the generator is being cut soon so I have to leave it at that.  I will put up pics soon.
Peace~

Une Vie de Luxe

Hello. My name is Damaye Camara. I have cats in my backpack. I eat dogs. I steal things.

At least that’s what someone with the last name of Sylla would tell you about me. Guineans love to joke and laugh. There is this strange but hilarious cultural tradition here that you make outrageous insults at people who are your “cousin.” Each last name here has a corresponding last name which is your “cousin.” When you meet someone who is your cousin you should immediately tell them that they eat dogs and cats and accuse them of being a thief (don’t worry, people don’t actually eat dogs or cats here...to my knowledge). Beyond verbal abuse, you can also go as far as to steal the goat at your cousin’s wedding and hide it so the couple can’t get married (apparently you need a goat to get married). All of this is in good humor, of course.

Because I’m a Camara, I should insult or expect to be insulted by anyone with the last name Sylla. When I visited my future site a few weeks ago I was introduced to a lot of Syllas. I thought I was perhaps being a bit rude to insult the director of education of the district upon first meeting, but I was reassured once he insulted me back and we all started laughing. The Syllas of Guinea have been rather impressed that after only one month in Guinea I know how to properly insult them. Integration!

The road to my village

Before the car even starting moving from the gare routiere (taxi station) in Conakry, the man next to me asked if I’d be his wife. This is going to be a looooong car ride. Sitting in the back of a tiny car, with 3 adult Guinean men squished in next to me was...rather crowded. After a few hours on a nicely paved road along palm tree mountains and forests, one of the Guinean men informed me that the good road ended here. The road was slightly less smooth, and I though, this isn’t sooo bad. Then the potholes came. We zig-zagged across the whole road trying to avoid the biggest potholes, zooming at what I would guess was 10km/hour – though I couldn’t be too sure since the speedometer was broken. “How long do we have left on this road?” “95km”....uh oh.

            2.5 hours later we were there. And by there I mean a mosque by the side of the road. It was past due time to pray, and this mosque was as good as any. The men got out, left me in the car and then came back 10 minutes later. I inquired about how far we had traveled. Only 50km. Eish. Eventually, 2 hours later, we made it to my village.

            My village is pretty much in a mango tree/palm tree forest (very shady!).  It’s on the Basse-Cote (same region as Dubreka). There are 2 paved roads in my village ( a lot for the average PC/Guinea volunteer), a huge daily and weekly market, and a broken gas station. My future home has walls made of cement (instead of mud) and a roof (instead of straw). Une vie de luxe (a luxurious life)! Running water? Not a chance. Electricity? In your dreams. I’m starting to learn Susu language in my training because that’s what they speak there. Only people who have been well-educated speak French very well. Which, unfortunately, means that most women do not speak French very well.

Home Sweet Home

After the week long site-visit I was really glad to be home in Dubreka. I missed my host family a lot. I got a grand welcoming from the family when I returned home. The kids almost peed their pants they were so excited to see me. It felt good to sit on the ground and dig my hand into the big bowl of rice and sauce and be in the company of the women of the house. 

            PC training is ramping up. This week we start Practice School which is a full simulation of our teaching experience. I will be teaching 11^th grade physics. At my site I will be teaching 11^th and 12^th grade physics (Lycee). Lesson planning is hard work – the curriculum is poorly planned out and the textbooks are horrendous (2 of the French high school physics books I was given here fail to mention Newton anywhere in the book...). I’ve also got a lot to work on in terms of language, I need to increase my technical French and I’m also trying really hard to learn Susu so that I can communicate with the women of my village.

That’s all I have time for now, need to finish writing homework problems for practice school. Stay tuned for more. I leave you with this bit of wisdom: "Qui ne risque rien, n'a rien" - nothing ventured, nothing gained (who risks nothing has nothing.)

Peace,

Liz

Petit a petit

ikena from Guinea! Internet and electricity are very sparse here in Dubreka, and I only have a few moments before the electricity is cut, so I will give you a few highlights of the things that have been going on here for the past few weeks.
-The 22 education volunteers here spent a few days in Conakry for orientation before heading to Dubreka for our adoption ceremony (pictures to follow at some point hopefully).
-I live with a host family in a small concrete house. There is no running water or electricity in general, although a few times a week electricity will randomly turn on. We have a pit latrine in the back along with a "shower" (I take bucket showers with water fetched from the well). There are 3 moms, 2 dads and 9 children that live there. Their native language is Susu, but they do speak some French. My first week living there was hectic trying to communicate, but now I'm getting the hang of things. My family is very sweet and they are curious to know about America. The kids especially enjoy learning English.
-For dinner we eat rice with oil/fish/pepper/peanut butter sauce and manioc. All the women and I share from the same bowl and we eat with our (right) hands. I find the food to be pretty tasty, and they feed me a lot ("Il faut manger" is a phrase often heard here, meaning you must eat!).
-I have PC training from 8-5 M-F. Training for me consists of French classes, practice physics teaching, culture training and health/safety training.
-The whole neighborhood already knows who I am and people I don't even know call out my name, well, my Guinean name. My family gave me the name Damaye Camara. Salutations are very important here, and thus I say hello and good morning to just about every single person I pass on the road on the way to training. I know the basic salutations in Susu, which the people here really like to hear.
-There is so much to learn in terms of language and culture. I love soaking it all up, but it's slow going. Thus, we have a motto here, "Petit a petit" which means little by little.

Ok, electricity is about to be cut here at the PC office. I will try to write more when I can, there's so much I have to say about this beautiful place!

-Damaye

Busy busy busy

Wow, I can't believe how fast times flies. Just a year ago (almost to the date) I submitted my Peace Corps application and tomorrow I will be heading out to start training. I still have some last minute things to pack (it's hard to know exactly what I'll need for 2 years).We get 2 checked suitcases, 80lbs total. I think I'm going to need it all...

The plan

All of the volunteers going to Guinea will meet in Philadelphia for a day & night to have a brief orientation. I think there are about 20-25 of us, all working in education (physics, chemistry, math and English). From Philly we will all travel to JFK and fly to Guinea with a few layovers. We'll spend a few days in Conakry and then relocate to the nearby city of Dubreka where our host families will 'adopt' us. We'll spend 11 weeks there in training (language, teacher training, cultural and health/safety). After that I'll relocate to a village or small town for my actual 2 year service.

Merci Beaucoup!

I owe so many thanks to so many people who have supported me in all sorts of ways. Thanks to my parents, brothers and sister-in-law for their love and support. Thanks to my aunts, uncles, cousins and extended family. Thanks in advance to all my friends for sending me letters ;) Thanks to my former teachers, professors and co-workers for mentoring me. Big thanks to the science dep't at St. Charles East high school for donating science materials. Another big thanks to some folks at Baird & Warner for donating materials and money for teaching supplies.

Finally, thanks to you for reading my blog and taking an interest in PC/Guinea!

À la prochaine

I'll update you guys when I can. Not sure what internet access will be like during training. I'll do my best!

Until then, please enjoy:

A song from one of my favorite West African musicians, Ali Farka Toure (& Toumani Diabate) from Mali. 

Richard Feynman (one of my favorite physicists, along with Carl Sagan) talking about fire. His passion for physics is infectious.

Tooli!

Bonjour à tous & Tooli (hello everyone in French & warm welcome in Pulaar)

I can't believe it's not Guinea-Bissau! 

There seems to be a lot of confusion in the general public about what and where Guinea is, so I thought I'd take a moment to clear some things up:

Guinea, also called The Republic of Guinea, Guinée, La République de Guinée, French Guinea, and Guinea-Conakry, is a country in west Africa. 

Not to be confused with any of the following:

New Guinea (an island in the Pacific Ocean)

Papua New Guinea (a country on the island of New Guinea)

Equatorial Guinea (a country in central Africa)

Guinea-Bissau (close! a small neighboring country of Guinea)

Ghana (similar sounding country in west Africa)

Guyana (country in S. America)

French Guiana (part of France in S. America)

Not where Guinea pigs came from (sorry to disappoint you)

I challenge you to take this quiz and practice your African geography!

Departure

I'm departing for Conakry in 2 weeks. Ayoba! (as they would say in South Africa, where I studied abroad). I will stay in Conakry for a few days before heading to the city of Dubreka which is where I will live with a host family for 2 1/2 months of training. I'm super excited and anxious. Still have a lot to do before departure (registering to vote absentee, packing, learning more French, taking care of financial matters, keeping up with Guinean news, etc...). 

"The road is closed, but the road between people is open.”
 I don't have much to say yet, so in the meantime, you should read this great piece about traveling through west Africa (read all 5 parts if you can). This is one of the reasons that I am passionate about African culture and learning new languages. 

 The Roads Between us: a Journey Across Africa

à bientôt