Leaving Conakry
Hello everyone,
Ok, so now I am an official volunteer. It feels pretty good. We had our swearing-in ceremony at the house of the ambassador of the U.S. His place was AMAZING. I felt like I was in a tropical resort. His house was like a mansion back home. The ceremony was in his backyard, where he had a pool, a small basketball court, an amazing view of the ocean, and a huge table catered with food and drinks. It didn't feel like we were even in Guinea, which wasn't necessarily the goal, but it never hurts to get a break. The ceremony was actually very nice. I think it was good for us to have a formal transition into being volunteers...Training was hard and long.
It's Monday now and I'm still in Conakry. Pretty much everyone from my stage has left for their regional capitals. I had to stay here for an extra day because of medical problems. I won't go into too much detail, but I might have giardia and I have to be tested to see if I have it before leaving. It ended up being convenient. The extra time here was well needed. Also, I could say goodbye to everyone without having to think too much about leaving myself. It was actually quite sad. I've made some really good friends with people in my stage over the last 3 months and it was tough to see them leave. Those who aren't in my region of the country, I won't be seeing much again over the next two years. It's not like I can't see them at all, but it just won't happen a lot. Oh well, this is the next step in life as a volunteer. Now we go to site and are by ourselves, not alone though.
So, I should find out about my health situation by noon today and then I'm going to take off. I'm heading out with Annie and Steve to Boké. I'm sure I've mentioned it before but I'll explain it one more time. Boké is the regional capital for the volunteers who live in the Basse Cote region of Guinea. Basse Cote is the coastal region. The other two regions are the Fouta (the forest/highland region) and Haute Guinea (the savannah/desert region). In Boké we have a Peace Corps house, where volunteers can come and stay while their in the capital. I will be living about 53 kilometers north of Boké and the road there is unpaved so I will probably be making the trip on my bike. Annie and Steve are a married couple from my stage and their site is Boké. They will be living just down the street from the Peace Corps house. They're a great couple and I'm glad to have them as my closest neighbors.
Yes. So here I go. I'll be in Dabiss before I know it. I'm feeling both nervous and excited. Excited because I'm finally starting my service, I'm finally going to be doing what I came here to do, whatever that turns out to be. It's been so long anticipating this. I'm looking forward to the challenge of settling in to my new place and trying to integrate into the community. It should be quite an adventure. Nervous because I will be alone in a lot of ways. I won't have a single person nearby who speaks English, let alone someone who even knows me. I'm going to have to figure out how to feed myself and wash my clothes. I'll be the strange and interesting white person in the village whose every action will be noticed and scrutinized by all. I have to figure out what I should do as a public health volunteer. There is a lot ahead of me. Yes, I am nervous. But I'm not terrified. I think I'm excited more than anything. I'm quite sure that this is what I want to be doing right now. I'm in a good place to leave.
I spoke to my parents over the phone yesterday for a good 30 minutes or so. It was so great to hear their voices. I've also gotten really nice emails from the rest of my family and they boosted my spirits. I've heard from friends as well. It's so nice to communicate with you all. I miss everyone so much and though I'm so far away from you, I feel close. I feel like I'm bringing you all with me. I'll make sure to keep you all updated on my adventures, please keep me updated on yours. Good luck with everything...Hope it's going well...
Love,
Anders
Ok, so now I am an official volunteer. It feels pretty good. We had our swearing-in ceremony at the house of the ambassador of the U.S. His place was AMAZING. I felt like I was in a tropical resort. His house was like a mansion back home. The ceremony was in his backyard, where he had a pool, a small basketball court, an amazing view of the ocean, and a huge table catered with food and drinks. It didn't feel like we were even in Guinea, which wasn't necessarily the goal, but it never hurts to get a break. The ceremony was actually very nice. I think it was good for us to have a formal transition into being volunteers...Training was hard and long.
It's Monday now and I'm still in Conakry. Pretty much everyone from my stage has left for their regional capitals. I had to stay here for an extra day because of medical problems. I won't go into too much detail, but I might have giardia and I have to be tested to see if I have it before leaving. It ended up being convenient. The extra time here was well needed. Also, I could say goodbye to everyone without having to think too much about leaving myself. It was actually quite sad. I've made some really good friends with people in my stage over the last 3 months and it was tough to see them leave. Those who aren't in my region of the country, I won't be seeing much again over the next two years. It's not like I can't see them at all, but it just won't happen a lot. Oh well, this is the next step in life as a volunteer. Now we go to site and are by ourselves, not alone though.
So, I should find out about my health situation by noon today and then I'm going to take off. I'm heading out with Annie and Steve to Boké. I'm sure I've mentioned it before but I'll explain it one more time. Boké is the regional capital for the volunteers who live in the Basse Cote region of Guinea. Basse Cote is the coastal region. The other two regions are the Fouta (the forest/highland region) and Haute Guinea (the savannah/desert region). In Boké we have a Peace Corps house, where volunteers can come and stay while their in the capital. I will be living about 53 kilometers north of Boké and the road there is unpaved so I will probably be making the trip on my bike. Annie and Steve are a married couple from my stage and their site is Boké. They will be living just down the street from the Peace Corps house. They're a great couple and I'm glad to have them as my closest neighbors.
Yes. So here I go. I'll be in Dabiss before I know it. I'm feeling both nervous and excited. Excited because I'm finally starting my service, I'm finally going to be doing what I came here to do, whatever that turns out to be. It's been so long anticipating this. I'm looking forward to the challenge of settling in to my new place and trying to integrate into the community. It should be quite an adventure. Nervous because I will be alone in a lot of ways. I won't have a single person nearby who speaks English, let alone someone who even knows me. I'm going to have to figure out how to feed myself and wash my clothes. I'll be the strange and interesting white person in the village whose every action will be noticed and scrutinized by all. I have to figure out what I should do as a public health volunteer. There is a lot ahead of me. Yes, I am nervous. But I'm not terrified. I think I'm excited more than anything. I'm quite sure that this is what I want to be doing right now. I'm in a good place to leave.
I spoke to my parents over the phone yesterday for a good 30 minutes or so. It was so great to hear their voices. I've also gotten really nice emails from the rest of my family and they boosted my spirits. I've heard from friends as well. It's so nice to communicate with you all. I miss everyone so much and though I'm so far away from you, I feel close. I feel like I'm bringing you all with me. I'll make sure to keep you all updated on my adventures, please keep me updated on yours. Good luck with everything...Hope it's going well...
Love,
Anders
posted by Anders at 12:37 PM
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