Ditinn, Guinea, West Africa
October 1999
Well -- I made it! I swore in as a volunteer and now I'm
at my site: Ditinn Centre in Ditinn Sous-Préfecture.
I'm sitting outside of my house on a straw mat, drinking
Ovaltine (Mmm!) What lies ahead of me is a yellowing
grassland/savanna which has several grass huts interspersed among the
trees and short grass and rice fields. In the distance are
high-relief 'mountains' which have red exposed rock faces and lush forests
(too steep to be farmed). If I look right I can see a tall and thin
waterfall (la chute de Ditinn). The rainy season is about to
end, which means no rain for several months and cool weather. I find
my surroundings to be very pleasing. There are lots of cool birds,
butterflies and plants. I've seen several monkeys too (gray with
black/brown faces). Strikingly, this area is known to be chimpanzee
habitat.
Africa up to this point has been surprising and
stereotypical at the turn of every corner. There are things that I
see here that I have trouble believing, pretty much every day in fact.
Things I have personally have difficulty with include: language, cultural
integration, and the rigors and monotony of training.
When I first got here, my French was abominable.
After a month I was able to communicate my basic needs. After 2½
months I could get across some complex thoughts every now and then.
It's extremely frustrating not being able to communicate your feelings to
other people -- it's even harder if the other people wouldn't understand
even if you could speak their language fluently due to cultural barriers.
Once in a while, I'll be listening to somebody speak French, I'll think I
pretty much know what they've said, but don't feel like having the other
person repeat themselves for clarity. Later I'll find that I
completely misunderstood. Some people think you're and idiot after
episodes like this; then they proceed to treat you like a child.
Currently, I feel much more confident in my abilities, although I still
have to work on it. It feels good to be able to speak in French
reasonably well.
Culturally, I've been somewhat inept at times. Every
time you come to a new room or place and see people, it is customary to
shake their hand and greet them in the national language, regardless of
whether you know the person or not. The national language here (in
the middle of Guinea) is Pulaar. People will get mad if you don't do
this! Pulaar is pretty. I've been told it is the Ewok language
in Return of the Jedi. There are words that have been used for
characters in the movies. Examples: Lando (Lando
Calrissian) = chief; Chewbacca = to not be measured with your
fingers'. Here are some greetings in Pulaar:
On jaarama = Hello
On belikke e jam? = Did you spend the night in peace?
Tanaa alaa? = How's it going?
This language is my current personal nightmare. It is
complex, yet pretty fun to learn and is key if
you want to communicate with everybody. I got a friend (an
American) who is 12 kilometers away from me who speaks it fluently.
She just lent me her notebooks and dictionary about Pulaar, so I should be
set. She's a 2nd-year volunteer from Minnesota.
Oh, another cultural weird thing: In West Africa, it's
very weird to be a young man, early 20's, living alone unmarried, with no
children, and it doesn't help to be the only white person in the village,
either! Recently, a young single woman was 'sent' to me -- she gave
me a plate of food and left, and told me where to find her later.
Let's just say I handled the situation without being culturally
sensitive (I didn't 'accept' her).
So far, I haven't done much actual work. For the
first 3 or 4 months it's the plan of integration where I try to get to
know and understand the needs of the community, further develop my
language skills, etc. What I've been doing lately is going to the
main primary school in my village where I have been sitting in on classes
and trying to understand the system. In my spare time I've been
reading, writing, painting, going on hikes, bird watching (lots of really
cool species here, like the Violet Turaco and the Black-Winged Red
Bishop).
I have no electricity, no running water. I use lots
of candles and I get water from the pump, which is pretty far away.
I do live in a real house, made of stone and stucco, with a tin roof which
reflects the sun really well -- it keeps it cool inside.
There's a family next door, in the same building to be
exact. A mom, a dad, 6 kids (all very young, under the age 13).
The parents, Madame and Monsieur Diallo, are very nice. The mom
makes my lunch every day: rice and sauce (peanut sauce is the best!)
I make my own dinner and breakfast.
I can get some pretty decent fruits and vegetables here,
on Thursdays, the day of the market. The market is huge -- the
streets fill up with people for the whole day. When I go to buy
things everybody stares at me and most try to talk to me in Pulaar.
If they know me, they say my name: Boubacar Diallo - my African
name.
The days are long here, but the time passes by very fast.
Any accomplishments I have had so far feel like huge feats. Three
people have left from my group (early termination), which is very low.
I have never felt more alive, more of a chance for personal growth.
I have also made some great friends. I'm planning several trips.
You may have heard of Timbuktu -- that's gonna rock! (see
15 September 1999 letter) I'm also
thinking about Ghana, Mauritania, crossing the Sahara via camel...
If you can find one, I'd love a book about mammals of
(West) Africa, or a book about chimp/monkey behavior.
Take care,
Mike
