You asked for it!

Hi all I decided that I would go back through all of your posts to me and answer the questions I found there that I may have not addressed. So here are some of your questions and my answers!

What's with the new name? Is that customary or are they unable to remember/pronounce Rasa?
Both, even though there in a French word that is similar to my name that means full, most people have an extrodinarily hard time pronouncing my name, also when they do it takes me a while to answer b/c I don't recognize it as Rasa.

It's kinda Peace Corps thing to get a new name and it just makes life easier and all of the little kids can remember my name better. So Aminata Barry is me for the next 2 years.

Now this of course comes with a feexceptionsns all of the Guinean Peace Corps staff knows me as Rasa and the few villagers whom are curious to ask what my real name is know that I'm Rasa. My favorite is the boy in my village still in high school and hee can speak a little English, wedecidedded he had a crush on me so he sent me a love note and about 30 bananas to my house via his little brother, ahhhhh romance. Anyway he calls me Rasa but I think it just makes him feel cool, it's so weird to me though ever once in a while when I'm walking through town to hear my American name it's discombobulating

The funny thing about the whole name thing is all Americans here call me Rasa and most of my Guinean friends/family call me Aminata then I get confused when I meet a new Guinean through an American b/c I never know what name to give them? So I'm usually like Hi my name is uhhhhhhh, and then pick one or the other but sound like a genuine ass in the mean time.

I will be very interested to hear if the little village has a school of any kind. Perhaps the children travel to a school in a larger village?

So yes, my village does have a school we have two types actually. At the primary level there is a French school similar to a public school at home teaches all the basic subjects from 1st grade to 6th grade. Now kids don't start school at the same age we do so a 6th grader could be 14 or 15 on the older end of things depending on when they started or how much they've flunked. From what I hear, at least in my village primary school is not much more then glorified babysitting, which is a shame b/c most of the kids are still illiterate by the time they get to middle school.

Here middle school is called Collage, and we havthoseof thouse too. This is for 7th - 9th graders and since we are a bigger village in the area kids from neighboring small villages will walk or bike in to school every day six days a week. I'm guessing they travel as far as 10 - 15 kilometers away, but I'm not entirerly sure. Now, I say six days a week but noaccountableld accounable for much so if you don't come for a week it's not like the teacher calls your parents or you get detention, chances are your parents are the reason you could come in the first place.

Then there is Lycee (high school) for 11th 12th and terminal now we definatly do no have one of thouse so for the lucky few whom have family and the money to move to Mamou (30 kilometers away) for the school year will go to high school. Otherwise you stay home get married have kidsunfortunatelynd unfortunatly this is the fate of most of the girls in my village. I have yet to meet a girl in high school from my village, now mind you they are just coming home now for summer break but at the same time I know only one girl in collage who is planning to go to Lycee and that is completely contingent on her family.

You haven't mentioned the weather, so I am wondering. What is it like in the area where you will be living?
The weather where I'm at is actually nice. There are other people in the Fouta (mountainous region) whom have much cooler weather but my nights now get down in the 50's and 60's and days in the 80's, I think??? I generally rainoccasionalbut the occassional all day rain is glorious b/c I sit on my porch in my sweatshirt and drink coffee listen to the BBC and read...all day.

It's suppose to get cooler in October - December so much so I might need a blanket to sleep with (YES!!!!!) And in February-April there is no rain so the air tends to stay hotter during the nights. If you are super curious about the climate I think weather.com is a good resource and you’ll probably know when I'm getting rain before I do because there is no weather channel for me to watch and the occasional weather report on the BBC is a joke.

Will you be in your studio house for the whole two years?
Yes

How do you get around?
Walking or riding my bike for village stuff and excersize otherwise bush taxi's which are the cars are the most broke looking vehicals on the face of the earth and in fact I broke down 4 times in 20K then had to get a new ride making my 30K trip home from Mamou a 4 ½ hour adventure that should have been 45 minutes (not my best day)

Are there buses?
Yes, occasionally but unless I'm looking to meet my maker I will not be getting on one...ever.

Do you have to walk a lot?
Yes, more then college but I love it and I get to know my neighbors and villagers much better. And b/c culturally I have to greet most people it's often a great way for me to feel better on a down day b/c everyone says hello asks me how I'm doing and the little ones just like to give me high fives!

Do you teach in your home or is there a school?
I have an office where I’m going to work out of and act as an advisior for anyone whom is intersested in my help. Advising on bookeeping, accounting, marketing, basic business practices, display and customer service. However as a secondary project I will be teaching English 2 days a week.

Are your pupils all adults?
The people whom come to me for business advice are all adults the English classes are for everyone so students and adults.

How do you wash clothes and what kind of appliances to you have for cooking?
I only wash my underwear and I do it by hand in two small buckets. I pay my family a small amount per load to do the rest of my wash for me. They do laundry a-la-washboard and it’s exshasting and what would take me 2 hours they can knock out in 30 minutes or less. I have a gas tank similar to the propane tanks from home you all use for the grill, and I have a 3 burner range. Basic but I can cook and bake (in a dutch oven)

Is there electricity, sewer, telephone?
No, no and no in the village. I use candle light at night but I'm usually asleep within 2 hours of nightfall. I use an out house for showing and going to the bathroom and there is no telephone, but rumors of cell phone service soon (which could mean 12 - 24 months or never) However, in larger towns allsporadice things are available attypingic intervals. While I was typying this email the electricity went out 2 times and yesterday we ran out of water at the Volunteer house for about 8 hours, which is actually a short time considering we can be w/o water for a day or two, sometimes with 20 people in the house....smelly.
Oh don't get my mother started on the telephone, shotty at best.


What is the write address for us to write to now?

I recently included this in a previous post but repitition doesn’t hurt for the rest of you whom my have lost it

Rasa Vella
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 1927 Conakry
Guinea, West Africa

The more offically looking stamps and stickers you put on it the better chances I’ll get it also using red ink is rumored to help! And THANK YOU a hundred times over for thouse of you whom have sent mail even if I don’t get it the stuff that gets through makes my day, or month b/c I generally get mail once a month.


What kind of alcohol if any do you get to comsume there?

Now this is a Muslim country and Muslims don’t drink alcohol….HA and Catholics don’t have premarital sex right? OK so two types of beer are available and generally you get cold beer only 50% of the time (this is not the type of beer that is good at room temperature or here room temp is hot it’s not that great cold either) There are also some affordable liquor available and is sucks and you have to mix it with crappy Cool Aid like stuff and just choke it down…I’d kill for a Margarita right about now!


When are you coming back?

In all honesty I don’t know. My Peace Corps service is finished in March of 2008 and I will be leaving Guinea then. However I would like to travel for a few months and there is a possiblilty of me teaching English in France for a year after this so it might be 2009 till I make it back to the States, nothing is final I have 22 months to figure this all out.

SOOOOOOOO if you can’t wait that long please feel free to come visit if this email didn’t put you off too badly by the lack of amenities.




Also, the very fun fun fun reason I am in Conakry is on medical rest. I woke up last Wednesday night with an itchy eye and by the morning pink eye!!!!!!! Not uncommon or entirly problamatic, and lucky me one of the Peace Corps Mecial Officers was visiting my village that day. So she gave me some medicine and told me to flush my eye use the cream and call her in the morning (it just so happened the very next day I was traveling to Mamou to use the internet and meet some folks so yes, I could actually call in the morning) WELL that night I fell asleep for about 3 hours and when I woke up I looked like someone punched me in the face. I could barely open my eye and it was oozing a very nice green/yellow puss. At first light I took the first taxi going to Mamou and immediately called the doctor in Conakry he said I most likely had a staph infection in my eye on top of the pink eye and I need to come to Conakry now. Alrighty then, I hoped in another taxi (about 5 hour ride) and at one point when we got stoped at a military check point and they were not going to let us pass (for no other reason then to try to get bribe money, flex muscles and feel important) I lost it, I was in so much pain and tired, scared and all of the other 5000 emotions that happen when you are sick, sleep deprived in a 3rd world country, with an infected eye and have been through 12 hours of pain. I just started crying. Well my new favorite person on the planet gets out and explains to the military that there is a Peace Corps Voluteer whom is sick and needs to see a doctor, voila we're through. I had gained my composure by the second check point (notorious for being difficult) and was able to explain to the guards myself the situation, not to metion I looked like Cyclops at this point. And we got through bribe-free and quick as a flash. I thought the other passengers were going to high-five me b/c they would have been the ones paying the bribes.

All is well now, once I saw the doctor here, the medicine he gave me started working immediately and now my eye is just red and a barely swollen. I feel much better too being here and having other Americans to talk to and also some creature comforts like chocolate and movies...tee hee.

And in all honesty I'm not trying to tell you all of this b/c I want a pity party (I had one 2 nights ago) it's because this is what happens in the Peace Corps and its my reality. And I have been a little sugary with my stories, haven't really been able or wanting to talk about the bad stuff. I.e. witness to deadly car accidents, cockroaches in my bed, bugs in my food. I think you get the idea. However in time and perhaps after the fact I can be a bit more candid about that stuff. Right now I'm happy with repression, I mean really the cockroach bed story is not fun to relive.

On an up note! I'm so super excited that my mom and her friend Mrs. H-C are coming to visit in September and the best part about it is before they come here I'm going to meet them in Egypt for 8 days (OHMYGOODNESS) Can not wait!!!!!

Also please keep the questions coming I'd be happy to answer them in the same format I did today plus it gives me an idea of what you all are interested in hearing about. Not to mention it is the highlight of my day when I see whom has posted on the blog even if its just to say hi, seeing each of your names gets a and ear-to-ear grin and for thouse of you I haven't heard from in ages (MATTY HOW'S HOLLYWOOD BABY) I'm actually bouncing up and down in my chair.

OK, Love you all and miss you tons.

Cheers,
Rasa