Thanksgiving, my birthday, and all sorts of good stuff in Boke - Mas la segunda parte del cuento de arequipe.

Bueno - Espagnol ou bien Anglais? Peut etre francais? Ok - je commence par anglais -

So, back in Kamsar, and yesterday was my Bday and tomorrow is thanksgiving!! Man - can so much fun really happen in one week!! Yeah, so this week has been a great time - Jen came to spend the week in Boke and man oh man have we been eating well this week. I know this is like, not at all exciting on the other side of the ocean, but let me tell you - having Fetuccini Alfredo, Pizza, Chile, and birthday cake all in one week is GREAT! I mean, its AMAZING!!! ANd, the Peace Corps bought us a thanksgiving turkey, so tomorrow, its feasting on turkey (SWEET, its not fish!) and other wholesome goodies all day long. Jan, Ben, Sam, and perhaps a few others shall be coming in to join in the festivities.

Besides the food (but I mean, in the Peace Corps, it is ALL about the food!) I've been having a good and busy week! The teachers are striking in Boke at the moment, but its only half the teachers - so its a bit of a strange strike. Last week, there were no classes at all, so I took off for Conakry for the weekend, but this week classes have started once again. About half (or more) of the students aren't there though, so, though I'm glad to return to teaching, it is really a bit annoying as I'm just teaching things i'll have to teach two more times once the students start returning, or the when the strike ends. Yesterday, for example, I had 17 out of 89 students in my largest class. At least it was a good time seeing them play "Simon says", which they too got a kick out of. We did Guineafy the game though, calling it Ousman Says. Who knew 19 year olds would enjoy that game so much?

Another quick tale of near death in a river. So yesterday, Jen and I went down to the river which my hill overlooks - its a pretty river, and its quite big, and, being so near the ocean, is also very much affected by the tides. In the morning, the water level is about 4 meters higher than in the afternoon. What we didn't know was that the currents also become ridiculously strong as the day progresses. At first, it was a fun water treadmill. Soon, it turned into a struggle against the water and holding on to slippery rocks. I certainly was not faring well in the water, and was convinced I would lose the struggle against mother nature, if not for the fact we were 5 feet from the river bank. But I swear, it was just that strong! I tried to get a grip on the slippery rocks lining the bottom, but just couldn't do it. Jen didn't seem to be doing too well either, but then again, I was just maybe starting to panic and thought she would certainly wash out to sea. Eventually, we did manage to make our way to the rocky banks and climb up and out of the water. Somebody, please, just come and keep me away from Guinean rivers.

Bueno, y ahora unos relatos en espanol! Pues, primero, el mas importante! Les cuento que el arequipe me quedo DELICIOSO!!!! Cocina 2 - Cami 3!! ja...sabia que yo iba a ganar. Bueno, continuando con lo de la cocina...el ponque de anoche que preparo Jen quedo riquisimo, y saben por que?? Ella preparo el ponque con una capa de dulce hecha de Milo. Uy que delicia!! Les recomiendo preparar eso un dia alla en Bogota! Bueno, y lo mejor de todo fue la cantidad de llamadas/cartas/emails/mensajes que recibi de todos! Muchas gracias! Hasta mi hermana en Guinea, Ami, me llamo desde Forecariah y me canto Happy Birthday, pero en espanol! Definitivamente un dia muy especial. Manana, como leyeron arriba, es el dia de Thanksgiving, que lo vamos a celebrar con mis amigos en Boke, con pavo y todo. Bueno, la semana entrante, y pesando unos kilos mas por toda la comida que he comido esta semana, volvere a escribir! Hasta entonces, Oo'o!

Partidazo en la cocina - por fin un Blog en espanol!

Bueno pues, familia mia, por fin, aunque meses tarde, escribo mi primer blog en espanol. La ocasion es el dia super Colombiano que tuve en Boke el otro dia. Bueno - fue un intento mas o menos, pues al fin y al cabo no termino tan exitoso como pensaba. Me levante el lunes, con unas ganas de comer pescado frito y arepa 'e huevo. Bueno, yo nunca en mi vida habia preparado pescado. Pero me dije ese dia, "Cami, hoy vas a aprender a preparar pescado." Entonces me fui al mercado, donde las mujeres vendes miles de pescados (aunque solo hay dos tipos de pescado - ahumado y fresco...mas o menos fresco - el pescado si es el mismo plateadito que ni idea como se llama. En todo caso, por 500 francos (unos, que, 200 pesos?) me compre un pescado en el mercado para la semejante tarea de hacer pescado frito. Pero no solo queria hacer pescado frito. Nooo....yo soy un hombre con ambicion, y estaba convencido de que tambien iba a preparar arepa de huevo. Entonces, luego de preguntar mil veces, por fin encontre harina de maiz. Por si algun dia vienen a Guinea, pidan "kabe" en el mercado: se van ahorrar 20 minutos de busqueda y un dolor de cabeza de tanto hablar Susu. Saliendo del mercado, me di cuenta que ademas necesitaba un postre para acompanar mi super almuerzo. Pues les cuento que ademas en Boke comenzo la temporada de guayaba, o sea que hay miles de guayabas por la calle, que por supuesto era una señal que tenia que preparar bocadillo.

Y asi comenzo el partido entre Cami y la Cocina.

Ya en la cocina, me puse a alistar todos el ingredientes: la harina por atras, el aceite por delante, guayabas por los costados, y pescado en el medio. Todo se veia tan lindo en la mesa. Desafortunadamente, hasta ahi llego el exito con la cocina. Me puse a prepara las arepas. Primero, no se inflaban, entonces no podia meter el huevo. Pense que tal vez era que el fuego estaba muy bajito, entonces me puse a calentar mas el aceite. Pues claro, al segundo intento, con el aceite bien caliente, se me quemo la arepa en 4 segundos. Le baje la temperatura, y claro, al tercer intento, la masa del centro no se cocino.

Cocina 1 - Cami 0.

Decidi intentar con el pescado. Pero nadie me conto que habia que limpiar el pescado, abrirlo por la mitad, sacar mil vainas (las tripas, quitarle escamas, y otras mil vainas que nunca en mi vida habia visto). Pues, yo ya estaba listo pa’ meterlo en la olla sin hacer todo eso.

Cocina 2 – Cami 0

Afortunadamente, en ese instante llego Thierno, uno de mis alumnos a la casa. Luego de ofrecer de ayudar a lavarme la ropa (no solo le acepte la ayuda, sino le deje lavar toda la ropa solito). Pues mientras lavaba a lavar la ropa, me puse a pelar guayabas para el bocadillo y olvide el pescado por unos instantes. En esta ultima tarea tuve bastante exito (bueno, pelar fruta lo puede hacer cualquiera, entonces no fue semejante triunfo). Apenas terminó Thierno de lavar ropa, tambien ofrecio ayudarme a limpiar y cortar el pescado. Me habia salvado de meterme tremendo autogol, y como el lo hizo todo, yo casi ni tuver que marcar el pescado. O sea que la verdad, fue un punto recuperado para mi.

Cocina 2 – Cami 1

Me puse a concinar el pescado y a hacer hervir agua para las guayabas. El pescado ni fue tan dificil, y la verdad, me quedo mas bien rico (aunque mas rico aun hubiera sido acompanado por arepa de huevo.) Pero la joya de este dia fue el bocadillo: Con siete u ocho guayabas, luego de dejarlas sobre el fuego hirviendo un rato, me puse a espichar las guayabas con una cuchara (como aca no existe licuadora con pilas solares ni nada asi) luego de espichar por 15 minutos (y sacar tan solo como media taza de jugo), le eche una cantidad de azucar y meti la sopa de azucar y guayaba en la olla. Bueno, en fin, les cuento que una hora despues estaba disfrutando de un delicioso bocadillo hecho a mano!

Cocina 2 – Cami 2

Eso de descubrir como hacer bocadillo fue una maravilla de descrubimiento en el tiempo extra, y mil gracias a Yolis por haberme encontrado la receta! Les cuento que el desempate vendra esta semana, cuando yo haga el intento de hacer arequipe. Pero les aseguro, si el arequipe me sale tan rico como el bocadillo (y yo estoy seguro de que asi sera), este partido desde ya esta ganado. Hasta entonces, oo'o!

The Democrats Finally Win as Police Break Up My Night Class

Oh man, I love Kamsar. I think I start every blog entry like that. But, I mean, it's hot in Boke. Really hot. And my house is hot. Really really hot. It's got a tin roof and is surrounded by walls, which block the breeze. I mean, it's an oven. I mean it. So, being able to come to Kamsar, and spend a few hours on the pool is definitely a great treat.

So - my blog today starts out not with news from Guinea, but with my reaction to news from the states. THE DEMOCRATS FINALLY WON SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And it's not just like they won a few seats - they won control of both chambers! And by a landslide in the House. Man - and to think, that after all the energy I put into so many campaigns throughout college only to be disappointed on every election night, all I had to do was get as far away from the United States as possible to see a Democratic victory. Yeah - I'm excited about this. As you know, I of course have no television, so I woke up at 5 in the morning on Wednesday to listen to the results coming in on Voice of America and the BBC. Thank god for my short wave radio and the ten feet of wire that runs up to my roof so I can get reception. Yes, I was quite literally jumping with excitement in my bathroom, in my kitchen, in my living room. I, of course, had to take my shortwave radio to class so that I could listen in between classes to updates on the Virginia, Montana, and Missouri senate races. Well - my eight hours of teaching on wednesday certainly did pay off, as I returned home to hear the news that Donald Rumsfeld was fired! Man - what a great day. Anyway - enough about politics.

All else is going well here in Guinea. As I mentioned in my previous post, I started night classes, which I just love. This week, I introduced the game Jeopardy into my classes, which my 12eme students just loved, despite the fact that a war nearly broke out between the four teams for the 1 extra credit point I awarded to the winning team.

This evening of English review games came a day after my 11eme students' night class, during which I decided to take them on a walking tour of the town to point out different buildings and their names in English (boulangerie = bakery, marche = market, etc.) Well, the last stop on my tour was the gendarmerie aka. police station. Now, suffice it to say that the police in Guinea, and I imagine much of Africa, is just quite not the same as the police in the United States. So my english class tour essentially ended with my class being dispersed by some rather loud police officers. For half a second I thought about being bold and arguing with the police officers about why they broke up my english class. Only for half a second did I think about it. Immediately the sane side of me kicked in, and reminded me I needen't start any arguments with the police. So I waved my students goodbye, and made a mental note to cancel the next day's tour of Boke, and simply draw a map on the board. That was much more relaxing.

Anyway, yeah, that's all the news from Guinea for the time being! Tonight, I do imagine I'll head back and attempt to make some magnificent culinary creation in my kitchen. Lentil soup perhaps? Or maybe arepa de huevo? Or some french toast? Ohhh...if only I could order out chinese or get some pizza. Alas.

My longest but best day at site so far

Ok, so this past Wednesday was, without a doubt, one of the longest and most tiring days at site so far – that being said, it was also perhaps the most enjoyable day I’ve had since coming to Boke and starting teaching. My day began at 7 am, when I woke up, made a coffee/Milo mix drink and walked out the door to go teach at seven thirty. I stopped by the bakery to get some bread for breakfast, which is a key find, as I can now get fresh bread in the mornings right on the way to school. Anyway, I got to school, and it was my heavy teaching day. I taught straight from 8 am to 2 pm, which believe me, is exhausting. It was one of the hottest days here in Boke too, (no idea how hot, but hotter than usual, which means really hot) and I was wearing pants and a long sleeve shirt, which just did not help with the whole tiredness thing.
Nonetheless, I taught my three two-hour classes, during which the students learned different shapes and commands (square, rectangle, etc. and show me, draw, come here, etc.) and tons of new size and object vocabulary (big tree, small candle, long ruler, etc.). The lessons went much faster than planned, and since I’m pretty lucky, having only about 40 students in my smallest classes, I was able to play some review Jeopardy with the kids – it was great to see these kids get so into it. And its hilarious when they get excited about getting 800 points and they taunt the other kids in the room, until I point out the MINUS sign next to their 800 points, and the rest of the classroom then laughs back at them, while they look and me in shock and shout, “WHY MISTA??? Why? C’est pas ca!” I had to point out about ten times that the reason they lost points was because they always got the WRONG answer.
Finally, at 2 pm, I was free to take a two hour break for lunch – so I headed off to a students house, where I enjoyed some great rice and sauce, and got five guavas and 12 lemons as a gift too! At 4 PM, I was supposed to once again go back down to the schoolto begin the evening review courses which I decided to start for my students. So, out of about 350 students total that I have, about 100 showed up. I was excited to see so many there, but let me tell you, having 100 students in the classroom is no easy task. So I taught them greetings that you use with your friends in the States, i.e. What’s up? Not much. What’s going on? How’s it going? Despite the huge number of students, it was stiull enjoyable as it was mostly the more motivated and brighter students in my classes who showed up. Everyone who was there wanted to be there, which made it much easier to keep the class under control.
The best part of the evening course though, was not the “Greetings with Friends” or “Cardinal vs Ordinal Numbers”. Rather, I thoroughly enjoyed teaching the kids how to make lemonade. I had all the lemons which my one student had given me, plus some sugar and water I had bought. So after teaching on the board for about an hour (and beginning to roast in the sweltering Boke heat in a room full of 100 students), I took the students outside, where I set up a table, and laid out my lemons, sugar, and water. As I made the lemonade, I had them write the ingredients in English as I prepared the lemonade with about 50 students crowded around the front of my table. When the first batch of lemonade was done, I had the students make paper cups out of a page from their notebooks, which they promptly shoved in my face. “Me, Mista!!! Me, Mista, Me!!” they all clamored. I couldn’t help but laugh at the 50 faces staring at me holding out a notebook paper cup and shouting “Mista!” as the afternoon breeze finally began to settle on the high school’s courtyard and provided some much needed respite from the blazing afternoon sun, which was finally starting to set.
At 6 pm, I was finally done with the two batches of lemonade and exhausted, began to walk back into town with some of my students. Fortunately, one student’s uncle happened to drive by, so she called me over and told me to jump in, along with some other students, which saved me the walk up the punishing hill leading into Boke. Another student had wanted me to see where her house was and meet her parents (I’m trying to get to know Boke and my students by meeting with their parents at their houses….7 students down, 343 to go). She also wanted to show me the church, which she told me I needed to go to every Sunday. “Je suis un mauvais Chretien” I told her (I’m a bad Christian.), and explained I would try to go from time to time. She and another student were showing me around the church, when the following interesting episode occurred.
A man came up to us, and said, in English, “I must speak with the Reverend Father.” Seeing as how my students didn’t know English, making me the only English speaker in the group, I asked the man, who had a very concerned look his face, what the problem was. He says to me, “I am a Nigerian. They want to kill me.”
“Who wants to kill you I ask? Here in Guinea they want to kill you?”
“No,” he says. “In Gambia. I went from Nigeria to Gambia. They want to sacrifice me. They want to cut my head off. And they want to cut off my penis.” My jaw dropped, but at the same time, I was holding back a laugh upon hearing his last statement, and recalling a story Patrick had told me of penis snatchers in Gambia.
“The father will come,” I said to him, then turned to my students, and whispered, “Je crois qu’il est fou, allons-y.” (I think he’s crazy, let’s go.)
My students were dying to know what he had said, and I eventually told them, after we were out of sight from the nearly sacrificed Nigerian. I wonder what he ended up telling the priest. Anyway, finally around 6:45 I made it back to my house – worn out and still in my sweat soaked school clothes. Despite my wet (and smelly I’m sure) wardrobe, I sat down, put on some Bob Marley, and just kinda enjoyed the fact that despite coming home 11 hours after leaving my house in the morning and running into a runaway from penis thiefs, I was in the best mood and was the most excited about my work as I had been since arriving here. Ok, enough of my writing. I gotta go to another students house for lunch and to meet his parents! Au revoir!