I have been at site for about 20 days now and so far so good. Little by little I am learning things for myself, like how to search for water which is no easy task. If you want to get fit in 15min a day, just carry a 5gallon bucket of water up a small mountain. I never thought I'd be an exercise guru but I swear by it. It is that all the water I know use in a day because getting water is a lot of work.
I have had very different experiences with work (which I don't really start for three months) but I have sat for 5 hours waiting for a meeting that never happened and than a demonstration of farmers learning how to craft plows to be pulled behind cows. They learn how to make their tools of locally available resources which is great and using a plow to prepare the land means it takes less time to prepare the land and less time securing food source is a great step for development. With my first observations I have thought a lot about development and I will write on this later but their seems to be a discrepancy between projects that get funded and projects that actually work. The challenges of dealing with wants versus needs and the challenge for a need to measure and quantify how development funds are spent.
My site is beautiful. I have had the chance to do some hiking, faire trekking, and get a good panorama of my site but also explore the sites, sounds and smells of my market (marche). I eat rice and sauce every day from one lady with a rice bar but have access to a wide range of vegtables and pasta. Looking into getting a chicken to slaughter and prepare for myself, maybe a small fette when some other volunteers visit. As for now, I am writing from Kindia, 4 hours south of my site where I came to get supplies and visit with other volunteers. It was a true bush taxi experience with the drivers side of the windshield missing, the other half supported by bamboo, the chauffer took the muffler off half way through and we got out and pushed the car up a hill. I apologize to my and any mother who pictures me or anyone riding in such situation. But I arrived without any problems, really. Than when I did arrive, I was taken in a private car with another volunteer to visit another volunteer. The cars battery died and despite AAA not being here or anything of the sort, the battery was jumped far faster than it would take for AAA to arrive. Its amazing how an informal infrastructure exists when no formal one does.
I was talking with some friends here and we were commenting how a great high can become a quick low. Talking about it always brings up the idea of "are you bipolar?" and the answer is no, we're PC Guinea. But its true, any little thing can make or break a day and yet in a second, minute whatever that all can change. It means even the smallest success, like me being able to carry my water all the way without setting it down is a success. But when you are relearning everything you know on how to live, in a new language and new culture, thats just the way it is. And in that light, I don't focus on the meeting which I waited 5 hours for but never happened, I focus on getting to see the farmers craft the yokes for the plow with traditional tools and sitting with the blacksmiths, blowing air into the fire to help them forge their tools, talking with a friend who was involved in the project about the positive effects the farmers will get from producing food easier, knowing how to make/repair their tools and the long term effect it will have in their development and for the development of future generations.
Hopefully next time I can share some pictures, the internet is slow and I didn't have a lot of time, but one of the best things is to share everything that I experience because no matter how normal it may seem to me, I know it is strange, bizarre, interesting for all of you.
