Last Night in Conakry

Well had my first bout with illness today... I'll spare you the details but lets just say that toilet saw more action than I've seen in months (kidding mom). I wasn't alone though, there were about 12 of us. So I spent most of today watching movies, sleeping, trying to stay hydrated and hoped that soon I would see the outside world.

Tonight we pack up our stuff again because tomorrow we finally leave the comforts of the Peace Corps compound. Our training site is west of Conakry, I'm not sure how long it will take top get there but I'm sure it will be longer than I think. The Agroforestry people will be in a different town than the Public Health and Small Enterprise Development folks, but we will see them a few times a week for language training and field trips. Tomorrow is also a big day because we meet our host families. I'll have more to share with you after tomorrow, but I know absolutely nothing about them. Also after tomorrow no more english, only French. Only one member of our host family has to speak French, so if we don't know what to say in french we're in the dark. But it's part of the learning experience and part of immersing us in to the culture.

We've learned a lot in the past few days, and I don't want to bore you with details so I'll provide you with some interesting tidbits. One of my main concerns is with the bathroom. The Peace Corps compound has western style toilets that flush. While you can find those in other places around Conakry, they do not flush. Where we will be for training there is limited electricity and no running water... therefore pit latrines. A pit latrine is basically a hole in the ground, much like a port-a-potty but it doesn't get cleaned out. If its full they cover it up and dig another. And because its a hole, I'll be doing a lot of squatting... which we were showed how to do properly today. Now to get to what I really wanted to tell you... Guineans don't really use toilet paper, it is available but they prefer the water method. The water method involves a kettle of water next to your pit, and when you are done you fill your hand up and clean up... with your left hand. So your left hand is your 'private' hand, and your right hand is your 'public' hand. Your right hand can be used for greeting people and eating... your left hand not so much. So next time you're eating take a look down... is your 'public' hand clean? what about your 'private' hand?

Because our training site will have limited electricity so I am not sure how often I'll be able to get to the Internet, so keep checking in and hopefully I'll be able to update soon!