YETP

I write to you today after a grueling week and a half of travel, hosting, and workshop conducting.  It all passed by in a blur of icebreakers, flip chart paper, and beautiful new faces and, though exhausted, I feel like this has been one of the best work experiences I’ve had to date.  

Let’s start at the beginning, eh?     ~        ~        ~        ~        ~        ~

Last week I left Ditinn for a quick little jaunt up to Labe.  I chose an awkward day of the week to on which to depart (Friday).  It's just one day after our weekly market (meaning that drivers don’t really have a reason to come into our town since there won’t be many passengers) and also is the muslim holy day.  

Dubious about my cabbie friend’s reassurance of “Oh yeah, there’ll totally be taxis on Friday…  God willing…”, I nonetheless hauled myself up at the crack of dawn and trucked my hiking pack into the middle of town.  As I approached the farthest outlying boutique, I saw a gleaming white taxi facing me.  Odd, I thought to myself, given that every taxi I’ve ever taken has pointed in the opposite direction, towards Dalaba.  Out of curiosity I asked the boutique owner whose car it was.  He replied that it was his, that he was going to Labe, and that there was just one seat left, and would I happen to be interested in going?

Notons Bien: Friends, I have gone to Labe at least 14 times throughout my 22 months in Guinea.  Each and every time was either a 7-hour bike trip or a 5-hour multi-taxi car ride smooshed between surly teenagers, boisterous middle-aged mamas, crying babies and/or an array of barnyard animals.  

Like so... but sweatier.

This was the 

                         very

                                     first

                                                TIME

that I was made aware of a direct, 3-hour trip in a spacious and well-maintained vehicle...

My fury abated after a few seconds, and we were soon on our way.  Ah, life, you never cease to bless me with your ever-so-mischievous surprises.

In Labe we met to discuss an upcoming girls’ conference in June, and to also hold a Malaria training for our regional house staff members (followed by a delicious barbecue).  The next day I was on my way to Mamou to meet with my friend, Abe, so we could go over logistics for our Youth Entrepreneurship conference.  I was charged with going to Conakry to welcome all of our foreign participants and help them get oriented to Guinea.  We were lucky enough to have 2 guys from Senegal, 4 people from Benin, 4 from Burkina Faso, and 6 from Cameroon, all a mix of Peace Corps staff, volunteers and volunteers’ host country national colleagues.  

Guys, they were an outstanding group of people and, as it just so happened, one was from Spokane, WA (where approximately one half of my family resides), another went to school in Springfield, MO (where I have extended family), another girl went to Boston College just a few years before I did, and two others happen to be friends with one of my favorite people alive, Travis (also currently serving in Peace Corps). 

It’s a...

 

Ya dig?

The conference itself was an absolutely wild ride.  It was my first opportunity to meet our newest group of volunteers, G25, all of whom made a truly wonderful first impression on me.  The conference center is situated on top of a mini-mountain, and one night we all trekked down to the bar/night club at the base to play “newlyweds.”  It’s become a signature activity in Peace Corps Guinea now, thanks to my group’s penchant for silly game shows and intimate/borderline invasive socializing...  They don’t call us the touchy-feely stage for nothing.  After “newlyweds” we danced and danced and danced until we were spent.  Thankfully, the adrenaline and sheer joy pumping through my body made the ascent back up to the conference center pass by fairly quickly.

During the actual conference, which was 4 days long, I conducted 2 sessions and a number of icebreakers/energizer games.  The games were no sweat, and I actually reveled in the opportunity to relive some of my favorite moments as a member of an improv club at BC.  Just for those who are interested, we played “Wah,” “Simon Says,” and “Dum dum dah dah.”  While a few of the volunteers rolled their eyes (understandable, as icebreakers are just a teensy bit overdone in the college environment), to my delight I found that the Guinean, Cameroonian, Beninese, Senegalese and Burkinabe participants were completely taken with the activities.  Throughout the conference, people were humming the dum dum dah dah song, and “Wah” (basically just chucking an imaginary ball and yelling WAH) at a facilitator or fellow trainee became our way of sending positive energy and thanks their way.  Though small, these little aspects created a thoroughly positive and constructive environment throughout the week.  It’s nice to know you had a hand in something like that.

My sessions were 1. Analyzing and categorizing start-up, direct and indirect business costs, and 2. Creativity in entrepreneurship.  Despite an epic battle with a horde of nerves on the first day, my sessions ran very smoothly and I gained a lot more confidence in my French public-speaking.  Once you realize that no one really cares if you mix up le and la so long as you’ve got the content down-pat, things become a lot less stressful.  Our 8-person training team was a mix of Guineans and Peace Corps volunteers from all over Guinea and with a wide variety of experience.  2 of the Guinean trainers run their own business consulting company in Dalaba called “Kenny Vision” (named after the volunteer who initially trained them in entrepreneurship), another woman works with AGUIDEP (an economic development NGO), and another runs a youth center in Kindia.  Our volunteer trainers came from all four sectors, Community and Economic Development, Agro-forestry, Public Health and Education.  

I could talk your ear off about this team of people, but perhaps that will be better left for another time.  Suffice it to say that I’ve fallen into a state of profound admiration for all of them.

Though I know full well that all trainings must come to an end, saying goodbye to the participants today was rough.  I’ve told many of you how much I enjoy life in Ditinn, how I’ve bonded with my students and some fellow teachers, but I have to confess that nothing really compares to a Peace Corps gathering here.  The staff, the volunteers and all of our counterparts form the kind of engaged and thought-provoking community that is quite hard to come by.  Add in the warm camaraderie that blossoms amongst fellow Americans in a foreign place, and you’ve got the recipe for a truly unforgettable group of people.

Have I gushed sufficiently for you to understand just how grateful I am for this experience?

Tomorrow, I’ll return to Ditinn to pick up English review classes for my Terminale students.  There is approximately 1 month left before their national exams begin, so we’ll be reviewing a couple times every week until then.  I’m putting my computer classes on hold for now, since I’ve realized that I need to rework class fees and schedules.  I’m putting together a manual that I can leave behind with my student trainers, as well as the next Education volunteer that they place in Ditinn this coming September.

Wow.  It’s surreal that I’ll be replaced so soon.  But I’ll save deeper analysis of my 2 years here for a later date.  Don’t want to prompt the waterworks just yet, you know?

Sending all of my love and positive thoughts your way.

Kelsey Gasseling, signing off.