Ditinn, Guinea, West Africa
April 2000

Hello, how is everyone?  I'm beginning to realize that I don't write enough.  I would like to start setting aside time for writing letters (exclusively) a little bit of time each day.

I know that I said I'd have better access to e-mail, but I guess this isn't all entirely true.  E-mail is running in our regional capital, Labé, but the phone lines are often down.  I do have a reliable source though in Conakry, if all goes well, that is . . . 'if Allah accepts' (this is a highly popular saying: Si Allah jabbi which is Pulaar for 'If God wills it/accepts'). 

I'll be in Labé for an Environmental Education (EE) summit in a few weeks.  I'll also be in Conakry for a 1st year medical check-up.  Speaking of which, the only African sickness I've caught has been amoebas .  The major symptoms were stomach pain and gastrointestinal difficulties.

Early in this month, we had a memorial walk for our 2 friends that died.  It involved many volunteers, many Guineans, T-shirts, a 38-kilometer walk from Labé to Pita, and radio and TV publicity.  We tried to bring awareness to folks about the difficulties of Guinean travel and it was also another service for our friends.  It took pretty much the whole day to cover that distance.  I felt a little queasy afterwards and had blisters on my feet, but it was sort of fun.  It took about 7½ hours or so.

After the walk, a bunch of friends and I took a trip to Koundara, a somewhat large town, in the Northwest corner of Guinea - in the middle of nowhere, seemingly (on the borders of Senegal and Guinea-Bissau).  We went to visit 2 friends who live up there: Megan and Susan, English and Math teachers, respectively.  We also went to check out the national park: Niokolo-Badiar.  We hung out in Koundara Center for several days.  It's a pretty happening place, but it's probably one of the hottest spots in the country.  We had a thermometer that read 110ºF; I'm not sure if it was true, though.  We had to sleep outside due to the heat.  After we got settled, we hired a taxi to take us to the park (bargaining with chauffeurs is never easy).  We stayed in the park for 2 nights, 3 days.  

On the way to the camp site we stopped at the Information Center and we met a baby chimpanzee named Kouba.  I took a few photos.  She was really sweet, very cute.  Not like any pet I've seen, she had great facial expressions and made human-like gestures.  

We saw some pretty amazing wildlife, at least, better than I expected.  Since we went at the end of the dry season, we were able to catch animals near watering holes.  Our camp (actually a couple of huts made by the park people) was overlooking a marsh and was near a river.  In the course of 3 days we came across: 4 different sightings of baboon troops (groups of baboons), several gazelle-like deer things, a family of warthogs, several amazing birds, and a solitary hippopotamus.  The trip was well worth it, me being a zoologist-type guy and all.  I'm planning more trips to National Parks in Ivory Coast, Ghana, and maybe Niger in the future.

Speaking of animals, I won't be doing the chimp rehabilitation research thing this summer.  There were too many complications.  One of which has to do with the likelihood of me going back to Senegal for training of the new EE volunteers, a two-week stint.  It's difficult for me to think that there will be a bunch of new volunteers here, going through training and all that stuff.  Soon there will be people getting invitations in the mail, they'll look on the map and try to find Guinea, etc.

So, what will I be doing this summer?  I'm supposed to do a secondary project for my village which includes stuff like building schools, installing water pumps, training people, etc.  I'm not sure what part I'd do.  I have to do some research I guess.

I'll also be helping my friend work in his corn and rice fields.  He's a nice guy named Moustapha. I look forward to this kind of work because it's good exercise and gives me something to do when school is out.

Before I forget, I want to tell you that EE volunteers are allowed to leave earlier than was expected for COS (Completion of Service).  I was thinking that I wouldn't be able to come home until August 1, 2001.  Now, I think, I can come home June 1st.  Yes, I'm pretty sure that I won't be staying a 3rd year.  I do miss the US and my family.  I can see myself coming back to Africa in the future, but only for vacations.

I am awaiting your arrival, Mom, if you're still coming.  (Mike's mom and her friend, Buck, plan to travel to Africa in October or November, 2000).  If you are only planning on staying 2 weeks, we should only stay in Guinea, unless you have a flight that goes to Banjul, Gambia or Dakar, Senegal.  If you don't come directly to Conakry we can hang out in one of these other places (Banjul or Dakar).

There are quite a few things to do in Guinea:

• Conakry, the capital city - get a taste of African life in the big city.  We can walk around downtown, try to find some music...

• Rhum Island and/or Bel Air beach - the island is supposed to be very nice and Bel Air beach is a 'hidden jewel'.  A friend told me it was better than beaches he's seen in California and Hawaii.

• Labé, my regional capital - a big town in the Fouta (where my regional house is located).  Good market.

• Dalaba - a neat town near my site.  It has a really nice hotel, waterfalls, and an overlook of the Fouta.

• Ditinn, my site - a must.  It's where I live.  You'll see what volunteer life is like, my schools, the market, a waterfall, etc.

• We can also go to the other regions of Guinea, such as Haute Guinea, and the forest if you'd like.

I really hope that people come to visit, especially 'the Ma' -- you'll never forget it.  I've been telling everyone in my village my mom is coming.  They're excited.

Anyways, work has been fairly good lately.  I recently started an English Club at the Junior High, which is all right.  Also I started another tree nursery with a farming collective of men and women (none speak French).  The tree nurseries I started with the school have been going pretty well.  Since the raining season has started, it's not too much work now.  Before it was somewhat difficult organizing the students and teachers for the watering program.  

I am planning on organizing a play for the students at the primary schools, an EE play.  I think it'll be fun.

I recognize my position here as being experimental; I try new and different things and see what works well, then I help others to do EE better for the next year.  In the process, I'm improving my teaching abilities.

So, I'd like to tell anybody that reads this that I would like you to continue sending hand-written letters, even if I talk to you on the phone.  More thought goes into letter-writing and I can get more out of it, in my opinion.  I'd like to know about any news (family, whatever) even if you think it's not all that important, as well as anything else you want to talk about.

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