Happy Holidays!

I can hardly believe that I have been in Guinée for almost six months. I hope that everyone out there is enjoying the holidays with the special people in your lives. I am using the break from school to explore the country. The plan was to meet Geoffrey and Christine (a married volunteer couple living several hours south of me) at the taxi station of Coyah at 8:00 on Friday, December 22. I woke up early to walk the 7km to Coyah because I know that I have a day of sitting in cars ahead. The walk is beautiful as I begin before the sun has risen and am able to watch the sky lighten and listen to the birds sing in the trees. I take a different route than usual and am treated to a descent through banana plantations and over a river before entering Coyah. Geoffrey and Christine are not there so I begin waiting.

8:30 passes. 9:00…9:30…10:00. Who knows what can happen to transport in this country? 10:30…11:00…Maybe they took the back road to Kindia, which is the city where we would change taxis. At 12:00, I finally decide to go on. Thirty minutes into the cramped taxi ride, we come to a grinding halt in a long line of traffic. Once we get moving again, I am treated to the view of a large 18-wheeler that had rolled on a switchback. It had tipped to block one of the two small lanes of the road. The truck had been carrying lots of electronics that were now piled alongside the road. Fifteen minutes or so later, we stop again because of a flat tire. Fortunately the driver is carrying a full spare, but the three 50 kg bags of rice and the other luggage need to be unloaded to access it. With the wheel changed we are on our way again. A short while later finds us at 2:00 pm – prayer time. We stop at the next mosque so several passengers can pray. Finally after almost three hours, the typical one hour trip to Kindia is finished. I walk into the taxi station confident that Geoffrey and Christine would be there. No luck.
Fortunately, they do arrive with Geoffrey’s brother, Forrest, within the next 20 minutes. We take four of the six taxi seats and are on our way to Pita, where we will spend the night. The next morning, we return to the taxi station to get a ride to Doucki, our hiking destination. Doucki is a small town that does not even show up on the Guinéen map that I have. In the town, a man named Hassan has an ecotourism-type business that he set up with the help of a Peace Corps volunteer many years ago. Hassan is an amazing person. He speaks French, English, Spanish and many local languages while being an energetic person who loves to hike. He has explored the region and created many trails to show off the spectacular scenery of his back yard.

We begin that afternoon with the Indiana Jones hike that gives the feel of slot canyons. The next day is Wet ‘n Wild, with lots of water. I am convinced to jump into a small pool and then float down and follow the stream of water through an underwater hole in the rock. I usually try to avoid being pushed under rocks in the water but I exited with only a few scrapes. The next day was Chutes and Ladders, which was a long hike down into the valley from the ridge top where the village lies. For most of the day we hiked along the base of a cliff looking up and knowing that we would eventually have to climb back up. We eventually begin the ascent through a small crack in the cliff. The trail is over 100 years old and ladders, consisting of sticks lashed together with vine, have been constructed to climb vertical sections. This portion of the hike is fun as we quickly climb up along a cascading creek. Once on the top, we began the hike back.

On the way back, we are treated to a large group of baboons climbing rocks on the opposite side of a valley. The troupe consisted of 150 or more baboons that swarmed the rocks. I guess the baboon sighting was my Christmas present as it was the 25th.

The next day we decide to leave, but I have different plans than the others. We hike out to the road in the hope of catching transport. Geoffrey, Christine and Forrest are heading back to Pita and quickly get a taxi. I want to return by an alternate route but unfortunately there are no cars heading that direction. I return to Hassan’s to ride out with three guys who had arrived the day before and will leave in the morning. The next day, I leave with them at 8:30 in the morning for the beautiful return trip that gets me to Wonkifong twelve hours later. I am now in Conakry for a few days with a hopeful trip to the islands off of the coast to celebrate New Years.

Thanks again to everyone who has emailed, written, sent packages, etc over the first six months. Your support is invaluable and I love you all that much more for it. Enjoy the holidays and eat some good food for me.

AIDS Project – December 2006

December 1 is World AIDS day and the month of December in Guinée is devoted to education and other activities to promote awareness of this disease that is killing millions of people worldwide, but especially in Africa. It has been projected that between 2000 and 2006, 55 million Africans will die from AIDS.

At the end of October, I teamed up with an elementary school teacher to work on a project that would be presented to the community during December. We began with 12 students (8 from the middle school and 4 from the elementary school) evenly split between boys and girls. The plan was to meet every afternoon Monday – Friday until December 16, the Saturday we had chosen for our big day. To start, I taught the students about the disease, their bodies and prevention. The students had heard of AIDS, but I was somewhat surprised as to how little real information that they knew. After the “learning” portion was over we began planning a theatrical presentation for a community sensibilization (the buzz word for an educational event). I was amazed at the students’ ability to switch between French and Sousou. We began discussing the skit in French so that I could provide input and then the students switched to Sousou. It was important to do the presentation in the local language so more people would understand.

On December 1, the group went to school wearing red ribbons and carrying others to distribute to their friends. The next 15 days were busy as we readied for the 16th. The skit was rehearsed and we anticipated it lasting almost an hour. Posters to advertise the event were made as well as banners for the entrances to the village. The community now knew that something was going to happen! The program included an afternoon soccer game, the theatrical sensibilization and a dance.

Finally, December 16th arrived. A public announcement system was rented with an announcer who began publicizing the activities of the day. To branch across communities, the soccer game was held in an adjacent community 2 km away. A large meal was prepared by my neighbor and at 3:00, we began walking to the game. The game was started a little late but treated the spectators to a short, exciting match. After the game, we walked back to Wonkifong, showered and got ready for the evening event. Chairs were brought into the cultural center, a single light bulb screwed into a source on one wall and a microphone was provided. Low tech at best…

In true Guineén fashion, the event got started an hour or so late but the skit was great. I was a little concerned because this was the first time for the students to perform in front of an audience, but the students put on a rousing performance. Each one became animated and enjoyed their role. The audience laughed and I hope left with a heightened knowledge of HIV/AIDS. The event was well-attended with a few Peace Corps friends who had come for support estimating 700 in the crowd. After the skit, a dance evening began for the students.

Bundles of Wood

At times, the stacks measure eight feet wide and 3-4 feet high. Bundles of wood containing 8-10 or more three feet sections of branch or tree are laid in front of the Principle’s are. The bigger the stack, the more trouble that I know a group of students is in.

“Two fagots by tomorrow” has been a recent statement to students not acting as the school administration would like. This means that the student has to either purchase the wood or grabs a machete and head out into the bush to cut down a tree. The wood is then carried on their head to school. Students usually have a few days to bring in the wood but if they refuse they are not allowed in school.

“Carrying a bundle of wood for 7 km will tire them out so that they will behave today,” smiles a teacher.

And the wood, what do you think happens with it?

Fire Season

“Between the month of November and the beginning of January, any Guinean can set a fire to anything they want,” my friend tells me after pointing to a freshly burned field.
“Anywhere?” I ask in a bit of disbelief, “Anyone?”
“Oui”

What was tall, green grass covering many surfaces has turned brown under the constant sun and in numerous locations is being set afire on a daily basis. Reasons for the burns range from preventing serious fires in the middle of the dry season to flushing out snakes. Whatever the justification, the air is often filled with ash and a smoky smell.

Rice

Mid-bite, my teeth strike a hard object sending an instant message of pain racing towards my brain. Instead of rice, my teeth chomped down on a rock. I must have missed that one as I sorted through the rice grains before preparing dinner. Even the act of eating meals needs to be pursued at a cautious rate.

It is currently the end of the rice harvest. The rains stopped during October and the fields are now beginning to dry up as the sun beats down without added precipitation. The harvests have taken some of my students away from school throughout November and December. Flat surfaces in my village are now covered with rice grains drying in the sun. Oover the past several weeks I have seen rice drying around flag poles, on the ground, on patios, even on the sides of roads – essentially anywhere that receives a lot of direct sunlight. Rocks are everywhere so while it feels like a complete surprise to strike a rock when eating, the probability of a rock or two adding itself to a sack of dried rice is high.

Ant Armies (3-décembre 2006)

The view out of my kitchen window reflects the battle of the previous night. The sides of my neighbor’s (Tanti) house are blackened and the earth surrounding the house out to 15 feet is scorched black. Fortunately, there is no sign of the vanquished, the thousands and thousands of ants who laid siege to the house.

By chance, I was at the edge of my porch last night when I saw Tanti come out on her porch, notice something and with a shriek disappear quickly back into her house. What could it be? Instants later she returned on the veranda with the two girls who also live there. They all look and point towards the ground and then run down the stairs. As they reach the bottom of the stairs, each person jumps and runs quickly away from the house.

I yell, “What is happening?”

“They can kill a person. It’s not good,” Tanti replies.

Confused, I leave my porch and go over to where she stands. At the same time, the two girls run past me towards the opposite side of my house. They return in several moments with dried straw. The neighbor on my other side has recently moved out and there are piles of old, dried straw from what used to be their outside cooking hut.

“Look, look,” Tanti urges me as she flashes her flashlight beam on the ground. It takes my eyes a couple of seconds to focus on the moving earth. Nothing is fixed. Suddenly, a sharp pain on my foot helps me realize what is on the ground. Ants. Lots and lots of ants. There are so many ants that the dirt and rocks are almost covered. Apparently, at the end of the rainy season, hordes of ants leave their tunnels underneath the ground to forage around the neighborhood. They can swoop through a house and clean it out.

One of the girls is holding a bundle of the straw and Tanti lights it. She then attempts to light any debris on the ground. I join in and grab a bundle, light it and set the ground, ants, anything that burns on fire. We are soon joined by Bachir, a friend of the family who was just happening by.

Several minutes later finds us all standing on the porch, about 10 feet above the ground.

“They’re coming up! Don’t let them in the house,” shrieks Tanti.

The image of defenders of a medieval castle comes to my mind. As I look on the ground and the base of the walls to the house, the ground is blackened by the teeming ants starting to climb up the walls. The ants have laid siege to us. Running down the stairs to grab a bundle of straw, I am brushed by the heat of Bachir’s burning bundle as he races up the stairs. He reaches over the wall and uses the flame to repel ants coming up. One of the girls drops salt over the edge into the masses of ants while the other pours kerosene onto the ground to be followed by a flaming mass of straw. We are able to stop the upward progression of ants into the house and return to the ground to get the ants away from the building. Running around with bundles of flaming straw, each person is busy setting small fires while also trying to keep their feet moving constantly. These ants are not friendly. I pause for a second and my feet are instantly covered with biting ants. I drop my flaming bundle, retreat to safe ground and beat the ants off of my feet and legs. Some have crawled up my legs and are biting my back. I get the ants off and look at the scene around me.

The full moon has illuminated the area and the light is amplified by multiple fires burning red around the house. After almost an hour of battle, the ants finally disappear back into the earth. Who knows when they will reappear?

Post script: A few days later, I was told that the ants did reappear at another house and killed 5 chickens and were working on a few sheep that were saved. Mean little things...