January 15, 2004
5:46am
Hotel Tassana - Outside Conakry
Well holy crap, here I am, writing by flashlight under a mosquito net at 5:46am in AFRICA!! These past few days have been such a blur, but I can't believe that I'm actually here. It's sort of like that phenomenon I had in Australia [I studied abroad in Australia for my junior year of college] where I would look at a map and still not be able to believe that I was actually living there. I slept so much on our second plane ride that I think I screwed myself over and have therefore been up since about 3am. This gives me plenty of time to catch up on all I have to say, though, so here goes:
Our staging date got pushed back from January 3rd to the 11th, which was actually great because boy oh boy did I need the extra time. My friends were so good to me before I left, it was unreal. On Friday, December 26th, we all went to Copperfields by Fenway where I thought that we were just going to see Dave's band play like we did at Thanksgiving. Boy was I wrong! It turned out to be somewhat of a surprise party for me (well, a surprise party) and so many people showed up, it was great! I was very touched that everyone had gone through all of this effort for me. Then on Saturday the 27th was my parents' going away party for me. That was pretty intense as there were so many people there and I had to answer all of the same questions over and over again. It was really nice of everyone to come, though, and really showed me how much support I have from everyone. People were also so generous and gave me gifts, cards, and money. That was quite-unexpected.
Ok, Diana and I just realized we were writing by flashlight unnecessarily, because we have electricity. More on that later.
So then on December 30th, Martina came to visit. It was great to see her, I just wish it could have been longer and less hectic. Then there was New Years and moving out of the house in Somerville and the week o' ridiculous hectic packing and last minute affairs arranging began. I've never been so busy or felt so stressed out/overwhelmed in my life. So many little things to do like make a list of my passwords because I will inevitably forget them and bring all of the paperwork I might need for two years with me in addition to trying to figure out what the heck to pack to live comfortably for over two years in the second poorest country in the world. Insanity.
As I'm doing all of this, everyone and their mother of course wants to have a meal or hang out to fit in their saying goodbye time. From about Monday on I got fairly emotional about the whole thing. I was still very excited, but I think the reality of going away for such an extended period of time really hit me. It's not only the extended period of time thing, but also the knowledge that I'm going to have very infrequent contact with anyone. At least in Australia I talked to the fam once a week and could call anyone else I wanted whenever. That's obviously not happening here.
So after much ado and my friend giving me an amazing book they had all put together for me, on Friday, January 9th, I was off to Philly to visit Liza for two days before staging. It was really good to see her as well and have some time to get my thoughts in order before starting this new adventure. She dropped me off at the hotel on Sunday, January 11th, and all of a sudden I got really nervous. I don't know why, but I definitely sort of freaked out [in fact I believe the first time she pulled into the parking lot to drop me off I got so nervous that we went and got something to eat before trying the drop off for the second time]. I found a group of girls sitting around in the hotel lobby who looked Peace Corps and ended up sitting with them and quickly making some friends. That was a relief.
We had some meetings that day about general PC stuff and then were on our own around seven. A group of us went out to eat at this great Cuban place and had a really nice time. Everyone is very friendly and open-minded (and in the same position), so it's been really fun getting to know each other. There are something like 42 or 43 of us, so it's a large group. On the 12th we had more conferences all day and then were free once again around six. Five of us (Ben, Jason, me, Ingrid, and Jen O) went out to eat and then ended up going to a few bars. It was really fun hanging out with a smaller group of people and just getting to know them better.
Bright and early on the 13th we went to get our vaccinations and our blood drawn. I was a bit apprehensive of all this, but I'm glad to say it went quite well. :-) [I used to have a massive fear of needles] We got yellow fever, polio, and measles, mumps and rubella. Good times.
Then around 12:30 we got on the buses bound for NYC. We got there no problem and our flight for Paris left around 7:15pm. Besides sitting next to the biggest weirdo (15 year old from NY) on the way over and some fairly bumpy parts, the flight over wasn't that bad. We got into Paris around 8am on the 14th and had about two hours to kill before the flight to Conakry.
The flight to Conakry was packed. I was so tired at that point and slept practically the entire flight (and it was about 6 hours!). Hence the me-screwing-myself-over part.
Landing, though, was so exciting. The thought of being on a continent that most people never even visit was pretty amazing. Walking off the plane felt like the Vietnam era they portray in movies. It was hot, there were uniformed men all around, and the structure itself didn't look like it had changed much since the 60s/70s. The Country Director and others met us inside and quickly whisked us through customs. We were welcomed by current volunteers cheering, clapping, and holding a sign for us. It was so sweet of them and so uplifting after such a long ordeal of traveling.
Getting our luggage was pure chaos and took over an hour, I would say. It was all just so exciting and new, though, that I didn't mind. Even when finding out my entire shampoo bottle and half my conditioner had spilled all over my pack, I still took it in stride. :-)
When we finally had it all, we loaded up in buses to head for the hotel. We somehow hit major traffic (as if I know the traffic patterns of Conakry) and it took us about another hour to get to the hotel. What a ride that was. It's almost indescribable. Not only were we like the circus coming through with thousands of people starring and waving at us, but we (I) were completely overwhelmed by everything. The complete organized chaos of it all was just breathtaking. I really was speechless [for the first and I think only time in my life]. It was like my impression of the DR x 1,000 [I spent 10 days in the Dominican Republic in 2001 volunteering at an orphanage. That was my only developing country experience before Guinea]. I can't see myself ever fitting in or feeling comfortable walking down the street, but I think it's cool that someday hopefully I will!
We got to our "hotel" and were greeted by the entire staff singing "Welcome to Guinea." There are three of us in each "house," which basically consists of three beds with mosquito netting and a bathroom without a door. There are actually flush toilets and showers, but they are quite primitive. I should be thankful, though, because I'm sure they're the nicest facilities I'll see for the next two years.
After putting our bags down we were immediately whisked away to a "tom tom" ceremony. There were four or five men playing drums and a lot of dancers. When I arrived they were in the middle of acting out a story. Then a group of women and a group of men took turns doing these fascinatingly coordinated/intense dances that are like nothing you will ever see in the states. The heart, soul, and energy that these people put into their dancing was amazing.
(Entry continued at 11:38pm - same day)
Ok, so I got really tired and finally went back to bed for an hour at 6:30.
So to continue, the dancing was great. Then we had dinner which was very American with some pasta and salad. Then the training director welcomed us and said, "You left home to come home." I thought that was very sweet.
Today has been a lot of information, but less overwhelming and more exciting. We got two more shots which was great and then just a lot more info. Tonight most of us want to a bar which was quite the experience. I guess it was what I expected, and yet not. I dunno. I'm tired.Ok, I'm going to take a shower because I'm disgusting and hopefully get a good night's sleep [little did we know we arrived at the coolest time of year].
5:46am
Hotel Tassana - Outside Conakry
Well holy crap, here I am, writing by flashlight under a mosquito net at 5:46am in AFRICA!! These past few days have been such a blur, but I can't believe that I'm actually here. It's sort of like that phenomenon I had in Australia [I studied abroad in Australia for my junior year of college] where I would look at a map and still not be able to believe that I was actually living there. I slept so much on our second plane ride that I think I screwed myself over and have therefore been up since about 3am. This gives me plenty of time to catch up on all I have to say, though, so here goes:
Our staging date got pushed back from January 3rd to the 11th, which was actually great because boy oh boy did I need the extra time. My friends were so good to me before I left, it was unreal. On Friday, December 26th, we all went to Copperfields by Fenway where I thought that we were just going to see Dave's band play like we did at Thanksgiving. Boy was I wrong! It turned out to be somewhat of a surprise party for me (well, a surprise party) and so many people showed up, it was great! I was very touched that everyone had gone through all of this effort for me. Then on Saturday the 27th was my parents' going away party for me. That was pretty intense as there were so many people there and I had to answer all of the same questions over and over again. It was really nice of everyone to come, though, and really showed me how much support I have from everyone. People were also so generous and gave me gifts, cards, and money. That was quite-unexpected.
Ok, Diana and I just realized we were writing by flashlight unnecessarily, because we have electricity. More on that later.
So then on December 30th, Martina came to visit. It was great to see her, I just wish it could have been longer and less hectic. Then there was New Years and moving out of the house in Somerville and the week o' ridiculous hectic packing and last minute affairs arranging began. I've never been so busy or felt so stressed out/overwhelmed in my life. So many little things to do like make a list of my passwords because I will inevitably forget them and bring all of the paperwork I might need for two years with me in addition to trying to figure out what the heck to pack to live comfortably for over two years in the second poorest country in the world. Insanity.
As I'm doing all of this, everyone and their mother of course wants to have a meal or hang out to fit in their saying goodbye time. From about Monday on I got fairly emotional about the whole thing. I was still very excited, but I think the reality of going away for such an extended period of time really hit me. It's not only the extended period of time thing, but also the knowledge that I'm going to have very infrequent contact with anyone. At least in Australia I talked to the fam once a week and could call anyone else I wanted whenever. That's obviously not happening here.
So after much ado and my friend giving me an amazing book they had all put together for me, on Friday, January 9th, I was off to Philly to visit Liza for two days before staging. It was really good to see her as well and have some time to get my thoughts in order before starting this new adventure. She dropped me off at the hotel on Sunday, January 11th, and all of a sudden I got really nervous. I don't know why, but I definitely sort of freaked out [in fact I believe the first time she pulled into the parking lot to drop me off I got so nervous that we went and got something to eat before trying the drop off for the second time]. I found a group of girls sitting around in the hotel lobby who looked Peace Corps and ended up sitting with them and quickly making some friends. That was a relief.
We had some meetings that day about general PC stuff and then were on our own around seven. A group of us went out to eat at this great Cuban place and had a really nice time. Everyone is very friendly and open-minded (and in the same position), so it's been really fun getting to know each other. There are something like 42 or 43 of us, so it's a large group. On the 12th we had more conferences all day and then were free once again around six. Five of us (Ben, Jason, me, Ingrid, and Jen O) went out to eat and then ended up going to a few bars. It was really fun hanging out with a smaller group of people and just getting to know them better.
Bright and early on the 13th we went to get our vaccinations and our blood drawn. I was a bit apprehensive of all this, but I'm glad to say it went quite well. :-) [I used to have a massive fear of needles] We got yellow fever, polio, and measles, mumps and rubella. Good times.
Then around 12:30 we got on the buses bound for NYC. We got there no problem and our flight for Paris left around 7:15pm. Besides sitting next to the biggest weirdo (15 year old from NY) on the way over and some fairly bumpy parts, the flight over wasn't that bad. We got into Paris around 8am on the 14th and had about two hours to kill before the flight to Conakry.
The flight to Conakry was packed. I was so tired at that point and slept practically the entire flight (and it was about 6 hours!). Hence the me-screwing-myself-over part.
Landing, though, was so exciting. The thought of being on a continent that most people never even visit was pretty amazing. Walking off the plane felt like the Vietnam era they portray in movies. It was hot, there were uniformed men all around, and the structure itself didn't look like it had changed much since the 60s/70s. The Country Director and others met us inside and quickly whisked us through customs. We were welcomed by current volunteers cheering, clapping, and holding a sign for us. It was so sweet of them and so uplifting after such a long ordeal of traveling.
Getting our luggage was pure chaos and took over an hour, I would say. It was all just so exciting and new, though, that I didn't mind. Even when finding out my entire shampoo bottle and half my conditioner had spilled all over my pack, I still took it in stride. :-)
When we finally had it all, we loaded up in buses to head for the hotel. We somehow hit major traffic (as if I know the traffic patterns of Conakry) and it took us about another hour to get to the hotel. What a ride that was. It's almost indescribable. Not only were we like the circus coming through with thousands of people starring and waving at us, but we (I) were completely overwhelmed by everything. The complete organized chaos of it all was just breathtaking. I really was speechless [for the first and I think only time in my life]. It was like my impression of the DR x 1,000 [I spent 10 days in the Dominican Republic in 2001 volunteering at an orphanage. That was my only developing country experience before Guinea]. I can't see myself ever fitting in or feeling comfortable walking down the street, but I think it's cool that someday hopefully I will!
We got to our "hotel" and were greeted by the entire staff singing "Welcome to Guinea." There are three of us in each "house," which basically consists of three beds with mosquito netting and a bathroom without a door. There are actually flush toilets and showers, but they are quite primitive. I should be thankful, though, because I'm sure they're the nicest facilities I'll see for the next two years.
After putting our bags down we were immediately whisked away to a "tom tom" ceremony. There were four or five men playing drums and a lot of dancers. When I arrived they were in the middle of acting out a story. Then a group of women and a group of men took turns doing these fascinatingly coordinated/intense dances that are like nothing you will ever see in the states. The heart, soul, and energy that these people put into their dancing was amazing.
(Entry continued at 11:38pm - same day)
Ok, so I got really tired and finally went back to bed for an hour at 6:30.
So to continue, the dancing was great. Then we had dinner which was very American with some pasta and salad. Then the training director welcomed us and said, "You left home to come home." I thought that was very sweet.
Today has been a lot of information, but less overwhelming and more exciting. We got two more shots which was great and then just a lot more info. Tonight most of us want to a bar which was quite the experience. I guess it was what I expected, and yet not. I dunno. I'm tired.Ok, I'm going to take a shower because I'm disgusting and hopefully get a good night's sleep [little did we know we arrived at the coolest time of year].
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