Site
new
old

Me
bio

Contact
notes
book
mail

Reads
juddhole
victorianna
vividdreamer
zlicius
djlit
sleepyzoe
serenaville
ashtraygurl
porktornado
thedailywtf
i-girl
ubergrrl
scubafreak
kitchenwitch
aloka
katy-bug
hodgson
reynedecoupe
nicim
thenumber9

Thanks
design
host

Extra


Locations of visitors to this page

Our first letter from Africa...
...written on 02.15.05, @ 1:28 pm

It's refreshing to know that mothers the world over are hell bent on feeding their children.

We got our first letter from my sister Aimee yesterday. Mom faxed it to me this morning so last night I was on pins and needles just wanting some sort of connection with her. Mom would have read it to me but it was 5 pages or so and she didn't think she'd make it past the first without crying on the phone.

I thought I'd add bits and pieces of her adventure here so that you guys could hear what it's like there. I'll obviously edit out the personal stuff but some of the other things are interesting...

So without further ado... Letters from Africa...

This first letter is rather lengthy so I'm just pulling out the things I think are the most interesting and give an idea about life there in general.

"We rode a bus to the compound. The first ride through Conakry was a shock of which I've never felt the like. In the back of my mind I knew it would be, but I wasn't quite prepared for the reality. While I was riding in a nice, air-conditioned bus, the people were staring back at me from their shanty houses. Trash is everywhere; the feeling of hopelessness is oppressive. The people just stared at us. It's akin to the feeling of walking into a room and everyone stops talking, the music stops, and everyone whips their head around to get a look at you."

"Once you get away from Conakry, Guinea is beautiful. It's incredibly green in the Basse Cote and Fouta regions. Palm trees and tropical plants everywhere. Mountains, not like Colorado, but mountains nonetheless."

"So, we were adopted by families in 3 different communities. I'm not just a strange American that they're taking care of. I'm their daughter, granddaughter, sister, and cousin. I have an African name now. I'm Mahawa Thiam. I have 4 brothers, 1 sister, 2 grandmothers, and a bunch of cousins. I've finally managed to get all the names straight."

"I have my own hut outside their house, which has been fun actually. I have a bed, desk, and chair. The headlamp is the best invention ever I've decided. I have a kerosene lamp but it creates a lot of smoke. I have a latrine/shower outside the hut. I actually like taking the "bucket" baths. I pull water up from the well and put it in a bucket. I have a separate cup I use to pour water on myself and get wet. Then I soap up and pour water on myself to rinse off. The "toilet" is pretty much just a hole in the ground. Mine's pretty nice because it has tile".

"The food situation has actually been pretty good. We've had a fairly varied selection. Of course, I eat rice pretty much twice a day. The sauces are actually really good. I'm a big fan of the peanut sauce and they also make some pretty spicy things. I eat French bread and peanut butter in the mornings usually and I eat more fruit here than in the US. My mother doesn't think I eat enough, so she's constantly trying to feed me".


:: | ::
pretty | glow