Well after much pushing I have finally decided to start a blog. No more mass emails. Things are starting to move along more quickly now. I have started work in a near by village and my own garden is coming along quit nicely. That’s about it for my day to day life, kind of boring but nice. When I first got here I think I felt like I was interrupting my life. I was in a strange place surrounded by very strange people. It could not have been life. Now however I am more comfortable and carving out my little notch in the village. Now I just feel like I am living my life, perhaps just a strange part of it.

Points of interest for the month –
A wedding
I went to a wedding for the regional driver at the begging of June. It was interesting and very different from the weddings I am used to. All those coming from Kankan went in the same car. It was about two hours away but in true Guinean stile we broke down along the way. We were crammed in, with more butts than seats. Our welcoming to the village was unreal. The bus pulled into the center of town where hundreds of children waited. As soon as they saw us they started screaming. They were banging on the sides of the bus. As we got off they were falling over each other trying to touch us or if they were lucky shack our hands. I feel like a celebrity here often but on this day I could have been the Beatles surrounded by a bunch of prepubescent girls. It was nuts.
As always there was a lot of food. But not served at a reception just at the groom’s house, you could go back and eat if you want. There were two ceremonies, a religious and a civil. The religious ceremony took place in the Mosque. The bride and groom entered through separate doors, sat at opposite ends of the room, and left through separate doors. At no time during the ceremony was the bride addressed or acknowledged. After that ceremony she walked around to the other side of the building where he was standing and they got into a car. It was very reminiscent of back home. People were throwing confetti and cheering for the couple. They were taken to the village office where an official waited. This time they sat next to each other at the front of the room. The official read the marriage law out of a book basically saying that the man was the head of the household and that the woman now had to live with him. It was strange as this ceremony was held in French. A language that some of the men could understand, including the groom, but none of the woman, including the bride. But that’s how it went. The groom paid the marriage fee of five hundred GF, five thousand = 1$, they kissed on the check and that was it. Outside was a hammock under what looked like a covered coffin. Four men carried it on their heads and the bride got in. They carried her like that around the whole village. I am told that this is reserved for only the important woman of the village, her father is the Imam. The procession ended at the groom’s house where she was presented to his family. This represents that she is no longer a part of her family but a part of his. It is tradition for the bride to cry most of the day and act upset because she is loosing her family and everything she has known.
Her mother is no longer her mother his mother is, although I saw her smiling more than once. I think she was happy about the arrangement. She is his second wife. Something I am used to only if I don’t actually know the woman. He has two wives, no big deal. But with families I know I still feel bad for the woman and disappointed in the men. Before we left for his village I was “talking” with his first wife and she was visibly upset that he was taking another wife. Although I love our driver, I hate that he thinks he should have more than one wife.
After the new wife was presented to his family everyone went back to the center of town where we watched people dancing. Only small groups dance at a time while the rest of the village watches. Not exactly the free for all we are used to. After the dancing everyone went back to the grooms for food. The bride was ceremoniously carried into the bedroom and everyone cheered her virginity. That was it, it was over. It was interesting.

Politics
Ever since we got here we are briefed on the political situation in Guinea. Basically it is not good. The government neglects to pay people like the police, the military, its teachers, or just anyone they are supposed to in general. For some reason these people find it upsetting and strike often. In a dictatorship striking is a dangerous game. No danger to us, we are not striking and those who do are glad we are here. However general unrest is never good. We had to postpone our girls conference because the teachers planned a strike for the same day, how inconsiderate of them. But the teacher’s issues are resolved for now so the conference is set to take place in October before school. July is already booked and September is Ramadan. It would be hard to get participants during a holy month. There is no current unrest, I wouldn’t be in Conakry if there was, but things come up quickly around here. The embassy keeps us well informed so we usually know well in advance. Through it all my village seems unchanged and untouched. When I asked if the teachers there were striking they didn’t know what I was talking about. Peace Corps told us when we got here that the safest place was in the villages. I guess that is why. Not only are they unconcerned with the outside world they are unaware. News broadcasts in French a language few speak and fewer speak well. I am looking foreword to going back to my little village. Nothing much to do and less to worry about.

That’s it for this month. Happy fourth of July. Talk to you all soon