The end. (Not exactly)

Close of service (COS) is quickly approaching. My stage, or rather the 19 of us who remain, traveled to Kamsar, a city several hours north of Conakry for our COS Conference. We spent 3 days discussing readjustment to the U.S., logistics of how to schedule our flights, health insurance, etc. We also did a lot of reflecting on and digesting everything we've experienced over the past two years. In so many ways our experiences overlap, but we all have such unique stories and relationships that it's interesting to compare notes. I can imagine it would be very confusing for a non-Peace Corps Guinea person as a fly on the wall, as we've sort of developed our own PCV language.

Regardless, this conference was a little odd and inapplicable to me, because...................................
I've decided to extend for a third year!!!!!!!!!! I know I've mentioned that I was considering it to a number of friends back home but it's now official. In a few months I will be moving to my regional capital, Kankan, and working with an organization that promotes gender equity as the "Peace Corps Volunteer Leader for Gender Equity and Women's Empowerment" (yes, it's a mouthful). This means in addition to the work I'll be doing in Kankan with the women's association, I will also be working for Peace Corps Guinea, developing resources and trainings on issues of gender. I'm really excited; the situation for females in Guinea has truly been one of the most troubling aspects of my time here and I am looking forward to devoting an entire year to the cause. Peace Corps is flying me home for the month of September so I can take a little break and visit friends and family. It's a little crazy to me that today is my two year anniversary with Peace Corps!

The past few months have been very busy: first, the end of school (my students just took the Brevet, the high school entrance exam, this past week). The end was bittersweet; I had been so fed up with my 10th grade class for so long that I was more than happy to say goodbye to them. However, my 9th graders, who work hard and are fun to be around, were upset over the fact that I won't be with them next year. Once I get back to Cissela (I am currently in Conakry), I am planning on holding summer math classes for the incoming 10th graders, as it's unclear if there will be a math teacher next year. After saying goodbye to my students, I headed to Kamsar for our COS Conference. It was really important to me to be with my stage all together one last time, so I'm happy it happened. We ate great food, watched the first game of the World Cup in air conditioned luxury, and swam in a pretty dirty pool.

The day after COS Conference, two other volunteers and I had to hurry back to our villages to go pick up students selected to attend a science camp. The travel was filled with typical mishaps: a crappy car with an even crappier driver, an epic rainstorm with barely functional windshield wipers as we drove through the mountains, and 3 flat tires within one half-mile span (ok, that one is not typical and I have no idea how that happened). After spending 2 days traveling all the way back to site, I spent about 15 hours there only to turn back around and head to Mamou for science camp with two of the smartest 7th and 8th graders from Cissela. Science camp was awesome; it was organized by a couple of Physics teacher PCVs. We ran two experiments a day for five weeks, all completely hands on (building an electrolyser, the dissection of a chicken, learning how to use a microscope, among others), and also had tons of camp-like activities (movie nights, ice breaker games, sports, etc.) It was really special seeing these kids being just that: kids. For one week, they had no chores, no strict teachers breathing down their necks and yelling at them, and activities completely for them. The last night we played a slideshow of photos from the week and tears were shed, exactly like summer camps I went to back in the day. Magical!

I spent the past week in Spain with my brother, Ethan. It was good to get out of Guinea for a bit: eat good food, see some interesting places (a huge bullfighting ring, among others), attend a Rolling Stones concert in the Real Madrid stadium, and enjoy comfortable travel in a bullet train, where everything leaves on time and you get your own assigned seat....

I am now back in Guinea, right for the start of Ramadan (no food anywhere). I'm happy to be back: I'll be spending the next two weeks helping to train the new group of Education volunteers coming in on the 3rd. One person among them will be replacing me in Cissela! After these two weeks I'll finally go back to site -- it's been far too long. I'll embrace my last 6 weeks there before heading back to the states for home leave. Then it's back to Guinea for round three!