Ditinn, Guinea, West Africa
29 August 2000
I'll be in Labé near the end of next month for a few days.
At that time we, the now second year volunteers, will be helping the new
volunteers to move into their sites. We'll go to the big market in
Labé and buy stuff they'll need, which they won't be able to get at their
small markets.
I'm currently sitting on my hammock on my front porch
listening to the BBC world news report. Oops! A storm is
coming in. I better get my butt inside. It's as though it
comes without warning. A few gusts of wind, then, Boom! The
rain hits, hard. The vegetation has gotten amazingly big and green.
It totally changes the surroundings, like I'm in a different world
(compared to the dry season.)
The waterfall which is 7 km from my house has become
powerful, overwhelming all who come near it. I went over to Ditinn
Falls a month ago with my friend Damien and his Mom. I remarked that
the falls had quadrupled in size, brown with sediment from surrounding
fields.
(Note: in the following two paragraphs Mike is referring
to meeting the new Peace Corps volunteers during their first weeks in
Africa):
My stay in Senegal was a good one. It was nice to meet new people;
helping decrease their naïveté at the same time. I helped out with
sessions on AIDS awareness (talked about what I did at my college), mental
health (what a volunteer goes through - how I kept my marbles - in the
first year), and Environmental Education stuff, like how to do visual
aids, various activities, and mud-stove theory. It was cool to hear
"the kids" say they didn't want me to leave. I personally felt the
need to go back to my home in Ditinn. There's this strong opposing
duality in my life here. I have my life with the other volunteers
(quasi-America), but I also have my life as a 'wannabe' Guinean (the
Volunteer experience).
I have these mini-culture shock experiences while in
transition between the dichotomy (Guinea/America and the different thought
processes associated with each).
I've been telling everybody about your (meaning: Mike's
mom) upcoming visit. My African host-mom wants you to have kola nuts
with her. We'll probably eat one or two meals at her hut (yes, a
real hut made of mud and dead grass). Otherwise, we'll cook at my
place. I can make some stuff: pizza, squash, stew and banana bread.
Love,
Mike
