Until I think of a better title...

I must be doing something right to be receiving so many letters, Christmas cards, and care packages! I feel so loved and I can't express how much all the love and support is appreciated. I promise that I'm in the process of writing you all back but it will take a while to send the letters out because so far the only postal office I know of is in Conakry. Either way I look at my letters over and over and feel like I' m really not that far from home at all. This experience has really made me appreciate home even more and strengthen my ties at home. Again, I have never felt this much love, support, involvement, and pride from my friends and family. My most sincere thank you to all!
My morale as well as the rest of the AgFo training group is very high right now and it all is owed to you all back at home. We have talked about the things we miss at home everyday for the past month which mostly entails food. So every piece of chocolate, every bite of cheese, every sip of Crystal Lite to mask the bleach water has been cherished to its greatest capacity. We laugh about how post-service life is going to be so easy. For example, when finding housing we'll have no problem. We laugh about how easily entertained we'll be by the simplest things like turning on a switch. My friend Teale envisioned us turning on and off a light switch for hours with these glazed eyes saying, "Amazing...works every time!" In all honesty, I see this experience as one really long camping trip. I'm having so much fun here!
Our group is really bonding and moments like New Year's Day will be engrained in all our crazy "This Is Africa" memories. After successfully building a BBQ pit at our trainer's house the next obvious thing to do was to use it. Sounds simple enough but first we had to get the meat. That day was officially the 3rd goat I've seen slaughtered. I've become desensitized by this point so it didn't bother me to see its' muscles still twitching as the parts were laid over the pit. The goat didn't taste that great but the experience was the first of many to bond us "leatherman wearers" closer.
After the BBQ we were ushered to play a soccer match against the town's soccer teams. We were blown out of the water to see the whole town present as well as the prefet (like a mayor) and the town officials. They even went as far to put up nets on the goals. To cut to the point, I miracously scored the 1st goal of the game. I claim full bragging rights only because the only soccer I've played in my whole life has been against 5th graders! It was the strangest feeling hearing my name echo over the loud speakers (speakers attached to the roof of a car). I wasn't even sure that I had made it because at the exact moment I kicked the ball the opponent clocked me. I got up, dusted off, and squealed for joy! The whole town went crazy and I instantly became the town hero. Once I sat out, the photographer came and took a picture of me drinking my plastic bag of water. I have no idea if they are intending to post the picture in some community newsletter but once I find out I'd love to post it so I can show Heny Haba at her finest moment in Maferinyah. My Guinean family was so proud.
Another bonding moment was our success at making BBQ chicken pizza. We've designated one night a week as our "Saturday night shake-down" to get away from the rice and sauce and try to cook as creatively as possible given our situation with lack of cooking ingredients and an oven. Yea...you can call us intense because if you want BBQ sauce you gotta make it and if you want chicken on that pizza you gotta kill it first. Our next group meal is breakfast however we have a birthday request to get some monkey meat before the french toast. I'm not sure if I'd like to go out that way though. AgFo consensus says that being bitten by a Black Mamba is a much cooler way to die.

A heavy but hopeful heart

The past 3 weeks has been a roller-coaster ride full of doubt and uncertainty at every curve. The main thing that got me through it was not having to ride alone. I'll try my best to sum up what I feel like happened years ago. It's crazy how much I have grown and learned in such little time. I'll start with the bad first.
Being adopted by a Guinean family was one of the many things I looked froward to during my 3 months of training. Ask anyone at the ceremony, I was the most eager pup wagging its' tail waiting to be given a home. My family was exactly what I expected - a warm and friendly unit composed of a mama, papa, and 6 children. Actually, there was one exception. I was pleasantly surprised to find out my family is Catholic among a prevalent Muslim country. Anyways, to cut to the bad news...I had a breakdown that first night at my homestay. I remember laying in my bed crying feeling so guilty about the living conditions I would be in for the next 27 months. Even worse knowing that this is the standard in Guinea. I felt guilty because I thought I knew poverty having worked in another African nation with unreliable electricity and lack of clean running water. I felt ashamed that this wonderful family willingly gives me their only bathroom in the house which is literally a hole that rats seek refuge in after being poisoned.
I admit to being an overly emotional person sometimes but I have never cried like that. Only God understands what went through my mind that night. I really hope that night will be the lowest of lows of this whole journey because I felt like I was at rock bottom.
After spouts of more uncertainty and a little food poisoning I feel good now being on the other end of the spectrum. In fact, I feel the happiest I've been in a really long time. I take pride in the fact that I never thought about going back. There is so much to do and so little time to do it all.
You can't trade the experiences I've had in the past 3 weeks for all the money in the world. Like the accomplishment I felt after spending a full 3 hours speaking to my brother in French and laughing our heads off till we were ordered to go to bed. Or the taste of the sweetest pineapple after helping a local plantation harvest a shipment for their European counterpart. Or the vibration of prayer I felt run through my body as I bowed towards Mecca while almost passing out from the heat of my comple and the african sun. Don't worry...I'm not converting! I attend mass every Sunday still. What I'm saying is I feel so lucky. Everyday I still can't believe what I'm doing and I laugh at myself outloud, especially during the hard times. You can't be here without a sense of humor.
I found out the day I got food poisoning that once I swear in as a volunteer I am going to be living in a little village in Haute Guinea (I can't say the town due to PC guidelines). I will be living right on the Niger river and have the crocodiles as neighbors:) My closest PCV will be my good friend Kat and she is just 5K away in a large city with electricity. I'm really excited because my village is unchartered territory with my presence being the first Agroforestry volunteer.
As my language and technical skills become stronger each day I gain a little more confidence and am able to handle situations like when 20 kids are yelling "Fote" which means white person in Susu, to get my attention. Everyday goes by so fast and I know that this whole experience will fly by and I'll be back home. I actually had the most vivid dream, due to my malaria prophylaxis, and I thought I was back in the states. I was so relieved to reach out and feel my mosquito net!
Oh before I go I need to tell you my African name that my family gave to me that first day. My new name is Heny Haba. I just found out that Heny means gold here:) Even though I greet everyone using my new name the town remembers my real name and that I'm the chinese looking one. Even though my name means gold I'm apparently worth a thousand sodas because that what the local boys are saying they want to buy me for!
It's Christmas Eve and I can't help but feel strange while swimming in a pool and walking on the beach. I think of what home is like and wish I could be there among the food, music, and laughter. I miss you all so much and I hope you truly enjoy the holiday season. You are all in my thoughts and prayers. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's!

The Future of Guinea

Today we had more survival language training in Susu. I had a good time coughing up my silent n's and swallowing my x's to imitate our language teacher. After this lesson we had a class dealing with the different types of cultural adjustments when living with our homestays. The topics ranged from eating etiquette to bathroom etiquette. My favorite was when a trainee named Erich demonstrated how to use a pit latrine by standing on two chairs. It truly was a "kodak moment" which I will hopefully be able to share with you all one day but seeing that I am having difficulty finding a way to upload my pictures it will definitely be one day more in the future:)
The day's sessions ended with two guest speakers from the US Embassy. The Security Officer and the Political Officer were able to shed some light on the situation in the country. I was happy to find out that our "American" presence here is very wanted and that there is a high demand for more volunteers throughout the country. However, I left with a certain disparity that I'm not sure how to handle.
The country of Guinea is full of natural resources with so many possibilities for progress. Not only is there an untapped tourism market but being in Agroforestry I learned that ~80% of their mangoes rot. Also Guinea's potential for hydropower could in fact provide electricity for most of West Africa! Statistics like these goes across all sectors because what it all comes down to is that a corrupt government will never allow progress to happen. This immediately made me feel hopeless but I found hope in the Embassy officers knowing that there are many people like them dedicating their lives to development in the most hopeless cases.
They have coined our group as "G15-The Future of Guinea" because we are the first full training group to return since Peace Corps volunteers had to evacuate in January due to political instability. I'm excited to start working with farmers and to address agricultural issues like making drying ovens for those mangoes! But since our presence here will often be the only exposure a Guinean will get of America, I have to remember that every encounter matters. I believe that the answer to corruption lies within having an education. Foreign aid can only take a country so far, but real change depends on the people of that country. A country cannot perform without its' basic human rights.

Bienvenue G15!

I'm finally in Conakry at Peace Corps Headquarters. Accommodations are wonderful and the company is even better. The Guinean staff is as welcoming as I imagined them to be. I see a lot of my previous Tanzanian counterparts in many of them and it makes me even more sure of my desire to be here.
Today we spent most of it going through logistics regarding safety and health. Much of this information I've heard over and over again but it only shows how thorough Peace Corps is in stressing the significance of starting out the right way with a solid foundation. I'm a little bit anxious about tomorrow because we will be interviewed in French! If I have the time tonight I plan on writing a letter on how little French I know but how eager of a student I will be, but the Country Director's pool is looking very inviting.
Back to the wonderful accommodations, the Peace Corps headquarters is located right on the beach which is special because Guinea has little beach access but the available space is a haven.
The volunteers stay in a transit house that comfortably fits around 40 and has a library, kitchen, and tv room. I have a feeling that this is living the high life. The cuisine so far has consisted of the freshest baquettes and tea for breakfast, tasty rice and chicken for lunch, and a feast of fish, steamed veggies, and a potato salad for dinner. And don't forget my refreshment of choice...Fanta!
Right now I am enjoying high speed internet through a satellite connection. Oh and mom...I am really safe! There are security guards all around the compound and everyone who goes in and out has to walk through metal detectors. All this special treatment has been wonderful but honestly I can't wait to go out there in the real Guinea. I feel like I'm on lock-down for something like "Fat camp" except they're stuffing us with food!
We'll be leaving this Saturday and will be officially adopted by a Guinean family. At least one person in the family will know how to speak French and/or one of the three local dialects. I'm sure my family will not have the internet so I'll try to keep in touch as much as I can until then.

I am not alone!

I am in the snowy "city of brotherly love" where the cheese steaks melt in your mouth and the liberty bell lies dormant but never silent. I am so excited to be here among 36 other Americans that I know will become my best friends. The first day of orientation left me in the biggest state of relief I have ever felt. For the past year, I have had to fight and defend my reasons for wanting to serve, and now I can just be me. I could not fathom that people actually shared the same anxieties as I did as well as the same aspirations.
Now that orientation is finished I am feeling more nervous but strength lies in numbers and I know I have the support I need within reach now. While other volunteers are anxious about using pit latrines, I can't explain the fear I have in knowing that I probably won't be able to hear my nephew's voice for months at a time or that the mail system is so corrupt that I will not receive my mail. But they tell us that "no news is good news" because if something were really bad than that's the telephone call that family at home will not want to receive. So not to end on a scary note, please know that I will be safe even if you don't hear from me. Now the favor I ask of you is to do the same.

I got an invitation to serve in the Peace Corps!

A sample of my writing skills:

*Graduated with B.S. Microbiology, Medical and Public Health from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Class of 2005
*Worked as a Research Associate in Pharmaceutics at Amgen, Thousand Oaks, CA
*Worked as a(n) Assistant Teacher/Science Teacher/Substitute Teacher at Legacy Private Academy, Valencia, CA

I apologize for the resume like format but I feel it necessary for me to warn you of the depth of my writing skills as well as what I've been up to since graduating from college. No creative practicum whatsoever for the past two years! I may be rusty seeing that I ignored the "All About Me" sections of Facebook and my former communication tool called Myspace.

So now that you've been warned...here goes the beginning of my blog:)

I am leaving in less than 3 weeks for an experience that I have been wanting for the past 4 years and waiting anxiously for the past year. I have an assignment to serve in the Peace Corps as an Agroforester in Guinea (West Africa) for the next 27 months. The purpose of this blog is to keep my family, friends, students, and acquaintences updated with this awesome adventure that I will soon embark on.

Through all the relationships I've made from high school, college, and my jobs I have learned that life is nothing if you can't share it with those you love. It is exactly this learned love that has inspired me to serve. My motto "There is more to life than just your own" may seem a bit too idealistic and selfless but I assure you that I'm not going thinking that I am planning on saving the world. In fact I become overwhelwed thinking "Am I really going to be able to make a difference?"I admit this was the attitude I had immediately after graduating from college but I feel like God's timing is perfect and he kept me here because I wasn't ready. My attitude had to change into knowing that the biggest change that will happen through an experience like this would be within me. I am ready for this.

The biggest change that happened to me during the past two years is knowing the joy of being an auntie. In an estrogen-filled family having nephews has been the best discovery imaginable. I am generally a very happy person but my happiest moments are when I am with my nephews Noah Patrick and Brody Rowan. Since most of you know me pretty well, you know it is rare to not see me wearing a smile. I have been asked quite frequently what the key to happiness is. My simple answer: Be passionate.