The Family
Meeting and living with in my Guinean host family has got to
be one of the most nerve-wracking but fun experiences I’ve had, period. It all
began at our “adoption ceremony” which took place last Friday morning in
Dubreka. It consisted of some speeches presented by the head of PC Training,
Julie (our Country Director), and a representative of the prefecture, among
others. We then watched a group of children drumming and singing – it was
really quite impressive – until we were pulled up onto the stage to dance.
(Those of you that heard about my experiences in Mali know that this is NOT my
first time publicly humiliating myself in this fashion.) Finally, they brought
the families up one by one and announced what volunteer would be taken away
with them, much like a game show. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t
terrified. Fortunately, I was near
the beginning: la famille Sylla. Four of my host brothers came to the ceremony
to meet me: three small children and one in his 20s. Having the kids around
made going back to sit with the family far less stressful and more pleasant.
Fortunately, most of the family speaks French.
La famille “Le Bon” Sylla (as we are known) live in a home
just next to a large soccer field (much like my host family in Mali!). My own
room is separate from the house; it’s essentially a concrete square with 2 beds
(one that is broken), a desk, and a chair. Peace Corps has provided me with a
water filter that takes up much of the desk space. There is a small window but
the room is very, very dark. But it’s my own room with my own space, so I like
it!
The rest of the family compound consists of other homes
where different members of the family live around a courtyard. There is a well
in one corner of the courtyard, and a small room where the cooking is done in
another. The latrines (one for showering, one for the bathroom) are behind the
kitchen. This compound is connected to another where the rest of the family
resides by a doorway, and between the two compounds there are at least 20
people living here, most of them children. I haven’t quite figured out who
everyone is yet, but I’ve asked many a question about how people are related
and I think I’ve got most of it figured out. Essentially, my host father is the
chef de famille, and many of his nieces and nephews live with us as adopted
children. My host mother’s younger sister also lives on the compound with her
children, as do a couple of close friends (one of whom is a tailor that makes
beautiful clothing). I love the kids. Much of my time at home is spent playing
with them, and my oldest host brother has already decided that Aliou, a
3-year-old, is my “husband.” I especially enjoy the children as they are
patient with my incessant questions about Susu (the language my family uses for
conversation).
In terms of amenities, the house does have connection to
electricity, but the town of Dubreka is often cut off. In fact, in my 10ish
nights here, I have seen the electricity working twice. This means that when
the sun goes down at 7PM, I usually retreat to bed shortly thereafter. There is
no running water, which is fine. My drinking water comes from the pump that is
on every other day (I store it in large jugs in my room), and my water for
cleaning comes from the well in our compound. The only major issue with that is
that water is HEAVY and I am not the strongest. But alas, I will improve!
My host father is polygamous. My first night here, my
siblings told me I would have to wait until the next day to meet him, as he was
at his other wife’s house. Last night my host mother talked to me about it. She
asked me about polygamy and the United States and we discussed why it isn’t
commonplace. I asked her why she and her coepouse (co-wife) don’t all live in
the same compound (as I’ve seen in the past), and she explained that living
separately was the will of my host father. I did not want to pry, but she did
tell me that her co-wife also has two children and that I will go to meet them
one day. My host mother’s youngest daughter, Madou, is named after the other
wife. It is my understanding that having multiple wives is very expensive and
can therefore be seen as some sort of status symbol. I know that my host father
works as a director for a company that produces flour. Based on the fact that
he has adopted many of his nieces and nephews, I presume that he is well off
relative to the rest of his family.
I adore my oldest sister, Mariam (yes, this is also my name
given to me by my mother – very confusing). She is 20 and has been great at
taking me under her wing. She just took the baccalaureate and is waiting for
her scores to see if she can go to university next year (this level of
education is already a huge deal for a woman in Guinea). Since it’s the summer,
she spends everyday sitting outside selling fried sweet potatoes, looking a bit
like a child’s lemonade stand. She tops them with hot sauce and they are
delicious!
Speaking of…
The Food
Oh, rice. Sadly, I don’t love rice. I hardly eat it in the
states. Here, it is served at every meal (including breakfast). I suppose I
will learn to love it.
For breakfast, my family gives me a piece of bread (actually
quite delicious baguette) with something on the side. That something on the
side differs. My first morning here, it was a giant fish with the eyes still in
intact with cold pasta on the side. That did not make me very happy. The next
morning, it was a mixture of avocado, potato, tomato, and onion – so good. It’s
a bit of a gamble. If I really don’t like it (the giant fish), I take a few
bites out of politesse and tell them I’m full.
At school, I go to the market for lunch. My favorite thing
is to just eat a full mango. I cannot put into words how delicious these
mangoes are. I truly have never tasted anything like it. If I’m hungrier, I’ll
buy some baguette and avocado, a bean sandwich, or a hard-boiled egg. Since it’s usually so hot, a mango is
usually all I want. It’s about 15 cents for a huge, juicy mango.
I eat dinner at home. I still haven’t really figured out if
or when my family eats dinner (they each just seem to eat when they’re hungry),
so I eat on my own but usually sitting with my family. The meal: rice and
sauce, always with fish. The fish is actually pretty good; since we’re so close
to the coast it’s always quite fresh. The sauce can be made with many things
(peanuts, gumbo, tomatoes) but it is always really spicy, which I love. I also
think the spice might overpower any really fishy taste…
The Weather
The weather is INSANE here. Right now it’s the rainy season;
you can tell when you look around. Everything is so green and beautiful. I have
never witnessed rains as strong as here, even in Minnesota. Last night we had
an incredible downpour for four hours. Since the roofs here are tin, it’s
particularly loud. It can be kind of startling when it wakes me up at night,
but usually I find the noise to be soothing. During one of our first nights in
Conakry, we had our first really big rainstorm. Some of us went up onto the
roof and stood under a shelter to watch it. It was unreal.
I think that’s all I’ll include in this post – sorry it got
so long. I’ll definitely post about what I actually do all day every day at the
training center soon. A bientot!
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