Orange Dresses and Fancy Shampoo

When I left Kankan my friend Halimatou and her family gave me a party dress made of orange "wax" fabric printed with a money-and-squiggles pattern. I've been meaning to put it on and take some pictures so that I can send them some thank-you photos showing how well it fits and how much I enjoy the the shoulder ruffles. It turned out that Chelsea, one of the other PCVs in Conakry for Close-of-Service, also had an outfit that she wanted to document, so yesterday we got dressed up and took some Guinean-style glamour shots in the yard behind the Peace Corps office. (Except that we smiled a lot. Guineans often avoid smiling in photographs.) It was fun, and some of the pictures turned out pretty well, even though all the bright green foliage gave many of the poses a very I'm-trying-to-sell-you-some-fancy-hydrating-shampoo look to them.

Natural Essences for Natural Shine! 

Also, awhile back we were advised  to make a list of the things we like about living here (so that we don't just remember the rough parts) and also of the things that we dislike (lest nostalgia trick us into forgetting the rough parts). This is what I have so far:

Things I Will Not Miss 

Trash fires, really terrible roads, worse bush taxis, blatant and unapologetic sexism, inflexible gender roles, appalling homophobia, how people just toss trash on the floor, fetid sewage puddles when it rains, being caked in dust when it stops raining, terrible beer, animal cruelty, being called toubab/fote/chinois/la blanche/le blanc when I go out, being told that in America everyone is rich and perfect, being crammed two to a seat in cars, worrying that there will not be any competent doctors nearby if I get sick or injured, everything starting two hours late...

Things I Will Totally Miss 

How far out of their way total strangers will go just to help me out, occasionally seeing monkeys in the wild, neighbors who are totally happy to consider me part of the family, having same-name tokora friends, delighting people with my little bit of local language, super green hills, being able to plan my own day, being part of the PCV community, never worrying about who will pay for my medical care if I get sick or injured, having clothes tailored, good peanut sauce, shopping for fabric, people handing me babies, always being invited over for lunch, T9 texting (I am so good at it now), picking ripe mangoes right off the tree, speaking in PC jargon, different kinds of bananas, constantly being seeing new things, the little old ladies who spent 20 minutes helping me find a squash, really feeling great appreciation for vegetables, hot showers, fast internet and other luxuries...

Welcome to the Peace Corps Palace!

Happy Birthday to Marielle, Arielle, Switzerland and Me!

The birthday box that I'd stowed in my suitcase.
I forgotten about some of this stuff, so opening it
turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

Happy birthday, indeed. I started this morning with coffee, and Birthday Cake Oreos, and a nice long yoga session, followed by scrambled eggs, the BBC World Service, and delightful text messages. (The filling in Birthday Cake Oreos smells and tastes exactly like Funfetti frosting, which is the sort of thing that I avoided in America but find absolutely delightful here.)  

(The thoughtful computers at Starbucks & the Red Cross also sent their regards.)

When the internet came on I was greeted with an opening salvo of birthday well-wishes, and also Radio Lab just added a new episode about Blood, so obviously the day is off to a pretty fantastic start.

Breakfast of (Birthday) Champions. Thanks, Heather! 

A few minutes ago there was a little commotion and one of the guards called out “Hey, les poulets! Les poulets!” and then came in to help me shoo a couple rogue chickens out of my bathroom. We got them out, but not before they both pooped on my floor.

Anyway. I have a few mundane office-type things to do here and then I’m going to head to the market to pick up vegetables and stuff for dinner. A few PCVs (and PCRVs) and I are going to get together to cook, bake a cake, and talk English.

UPDATE:
Dinner was excellent. I made salad and green beans and garlic bread, Stacey cooked up some fancy soup, Kenny contributed a box of Kankan's finest wine, Keila provided moral support, and Sarah made a delicious lemon cake (With frosting!! From America!!) that is sadly not pictured because my camera is falling apart and stopped taking pictures. Many thanks all around, it turned out to be a really nice birthday.

Peace Corps neighbors are the best neighbors.