Off to Training!

Hey Guys!

I just wanted to send a quick note. We start training tomorrow, and contrary to what I thought, we will not have internet access at our training site. This will be quite the adjustment for me. lol.

Anyway. I am really excited for tomorrow. Tomorrow is when our "real" Peace Corps experience begins. We leave for our training site located about 2 hours from here to meet our host families, who we will be living with for the next 3 months. I can't wait to meet them! I know come Tuesday morning we're going to have a million stories about our first night with our host families. It's going to be super awkward. lol. But we'll learn.

Anyway. That's all I have for now. My next post won't be for a while (like months.)

But I miss and love all of you! Take care!

Another great day in Guinea.

I really didn't think I was giong to be writing on my blog that often but too many exciting things keep happening that I feel I need to share. lol.

Today was a good day. We started the morning off bright and early with our medical training session that included a discussion on the health issues we need to be cognizant of while in Guinea. Malaria is a big thing here and it's vital that we take our medication regularly. Word on the street is the malaria meds are pretty strong, they sometimes cause nightmares and in the worst cases hallucinations. But those happen very rarely. It's also vital that we drink clean water. Not to grose you out, but apparently catching the runs/ diarrhea is very common among volunteers too. So as a prevention measure to some of the medical issues, each volunteer is given a Medical Kit that includes everything known to man kind. I've never seen a med kit like this in my life! It has everything! On top of the kit, each volunteer will be issued water filters for use at our training site and final post. Training for that will come later. I almost forgot. We have shots too. Today was typhoid fever and there are only 12 more shots left to go! lol. It sound like a lot, and it is, but trust me it is all necessary.

Anyway, after medical sessions we had our French language interview, which is basically a little test to see where our french is so the language trainers know which class level to put us in. I think I'll be in the remedial class. Just kidding. The interview was okay. But I'll find out tomorrow where I'll be.

After language interviews all of the volunteers and staff met on the roof for a party! It was fantastic! There was a live Guinean band there and dancers! They taught us all how to dance! It was sort of comical but so much fun. I hope we get more opportunities like that when we reach our sites. I don't know how many of you listen to Guinean music but what we heard today was spectacular! So beautiful! I wish everyone I know could have been there.

So after training and all today a few of us went out to the beach behind the compound and played football and volleyball with the local people. It was so great. The local people are very friendly and very competitive. I'm sure I'll be out there again tomorrow.

Anyway. Below are some pics from the last couple days. Hope you enjoy!

Sunset in Conakry.

First steps in Guinea. My new friends (from the left Carolina, Valentin, Jesse, Kim, Jon, & Rachel)

All of us crammed into the Peace Corps van leaving from the airport on our way to the compound.



Conakry.

An amazing Guinean band that played beautiful music from our roof top.

We Made It!

Hey Everyone!

So we finally made it to Conakry this morning! And it is amazing!

After waiting in JFK for about 6 hours Wednesday, we finally left in the evening to fly into Senegal to catch our connecting flight to Conakry. The flight was pretty good, nice and relaxing, I almost forgot where I was going for a second. lol. It was such a relief to have finally made it to Guinea; not because it was such a long flight but more so that feeling like after a year of waiting I finally made it! There was an instant rush of excitement that ran through my body once I got there. I am really in the Peace Corps! And I am really about to spend the next 2 years of my life in this country! YEEEES!!

I tried to capture that initial moment in country with my camera only to be told that they don't allow people to take pictures. I was kind of surprised, but then it was explained later that we can't take pictures of military/government people (they were in the background) and in some cases people don't like having their pictures taken because of religous reasons. So basically I only have a few pics so far. (They'll be uploaded later.) I have to be super careful and make sure I ask permission.

As we walked to baggage claim, we were given the ulimate celebrity welcome from the Peace Corps staff! I was so happy! We were greeted by just about every member of the in-country Peace Corps staff including the Director, as well as the some of the current Guinea volunteers. It was so cool!

After leaving baggage claim, all 25 of us piled up into the Peace Corps van. Apparently we need to get use to this closeness because that's how we will be traveling often. We drove through the city to get to out PC compound located about 20 minutes from the airport.... It was an interesting ride; everything is so new and so different. Just from that short ride it was evident that Guinea is a struggling country. It was a lot to take in, in one moment, but fascinating.

When we finally reached our compound we unloaded our million pieces of luggage and took our places in our rooms. There are about 5 or 6 of us in each room and the compound is very nice. This is where the Guinea Peace Corps offices are located as well as the Director's house. At this point, we still have all of the basic necessities, so life is still very comfortable. But we all know it won't be like this for too much longer. lol. But it's a good way for us to get slowly acclimated to the country.

So far all we've been doing is more orienting. We have a jammed packed schedule for the weekend and we head to our training site on Monday and meet our new families. They say that the volunteers develop strong bonds with their host families in just that 3 month period. So I'm really excited for this.

Anyway. That's all the updates I have for now. I will be in touch soon.

I miss you guys already! Love you! Take care!

The Big Day!

So.....TOMORROW IS THE BIG DAY!! I'm really excited!! We've been in Philly for the past 2 days doing some orienting. It's been great so far! There are 25 of us going, all from different areas of the country and various backgrounds. It was really crazy because our last orientation activity this evening was to stand in a circle and talk about the things that each of us were excited about. After the last person said their few words it finally hit me that we're going to be leaving. I wanted to cry. lol. But then it went away after five minutes and I got excited. lol. But anyway, so far everyone has been really friendly and fun and I'm really looking forward to what is to come! Tomorrow morning we leave for JFK, and then we're off!!

We were informed today that we will have internet access while we are going through our 3 months of training so I should be able to keep in contact with most people.

But anyway, I have to catch some z's before tomorrow. I'll be in touch with you soon! My next post should be posted from Conakry!

I love you all! Take care!

Keeping in Touch

This is a just a quick note to give everyone my contact information while I am away.

Mailing address:

Larc Pickett, PCT
Corps de la Paix
BP 1927, Conakry
Guinee (West Africa)

Email:

larc_pickett@yahoo.com

So, from what I've been told, the mailing system in Guinea is not really that reliable, so anyone who sends me anything make sure it's not valuable, and as much as I would love to receive money, please do not send it in the mail. I probably won't get it. Apparently there are special "codes" or "sayings" that should be written on our boxes to prevent people from opening them. I will have to send them to you a little later.

As for the internet, I won't have any. Please feel free to still send me emails, just know that I won't be able to respond for about a month or so. In order for us to get internet access we have to be in the city. Although I'm not certain of my final post, I'm assuming that it probably won't be anywhere near the city.

But I would love to receive care packages and letters guys!! Please send me your addresses too!

Okay that's it.... 2 days!!! :-)

About the Peace Corps

Hey Everyone!! So I'm back from vacation in Cancun! It was amazing and definitely the perfect way for me to rest my head a little bit before heading out.

So right now I have about 6 days before I go to orientation! EEEEEEKKKK!!!! I can't believe it's so close! I think I am feeling about 8-10 different emotions right now. Kind of overwhelming. lol. But none the less I'm getting excited!!! I can't wait to meet everyone!

Anyway, I'm getting a lot of questions about the who, what, when and how of Guinea, so I'll give everyone a detailed explanation about how things are going to work. On July 7th I am leaving from Washington, DC to go to Philadelphia for 2 days of orientation. At this time I finally meet all of the volunteers that will be serving with me (my new family.lol.) Then Wednesday, July 9th is the big day. That morning all of us will travel together to New York to fly out of JFK in the evening. After an eight hour flight, we arrive in Senegal at the crack of dawn to take another flight to Guinea. Upon arrival in Guinea each volunteer will be given a map, flashlight, compass, a bottle of water and be sent to find their way to their individual villages on foot. The only way to get to the village is with a Guinean guide who will find me once I meet him in the upper Guinean forests at the Hog Mango Tree by dusk. When I get there I'll flash my light 3 times and wait for his response. If he's late I'll just have to set up camp. If they do it on Survivor, so can I. Luckily, there are only 5 of these trees in a 25 mile radius, and I know my instincts will guide me to it once I touch down in the Motherland......Sike! haha. Just kidding. Wouldn't that be ignorant? lol. The truth is, the in-country Peace Corps staff will meet us at the airport and we'll be taken to our place of residence for the next 4 days. We're staying in the Peace Corps house ( it sort of reminds me a of a frat house or dormitory.)

We'll be staying in Conakry (the capital) for our first 4 days in country for further orienting and to receive more shots. From there, all of us will travel to our training site in Forecariah.....Guess what?!! Once we get there we participate in an adoption ceremony and each of us will become official members of a Guinean family. I'm really excited! This will be the family that we remain with throughout training.

Once adoption and settling in has been completed our 3 months of training begins! Training encompasses 4 areas, language (French), technical, cultural, and safety training. All of our training is very intense to help better equip us to be effective volnteers. An average day of training begins at 8am (just like any other job) and ends at 5pm, so call me sometime after this. We normally start with 2 hours of language training, followed by a break, 2 hours of technical training, lunch, 1 1/2 hours of homestay sessions followed by 2 more hours of language training. Believe it or not, three months of this still won't entirely prepare us for what we're about to embark on. If you think about it, I honestly don't believe that anyone can completely prepare themselves for this type of environment or work. It's one of those things where you learn as you go.

But anyway. About 6 weeks into training, after we have been carefully observed, each volunteer will receive the big news, WHERE ARE WE GOING?!!! Wherever we are it's likely that we will be the only volunteers in our area. I'm hoping that the next closest volunteer won't be more than a couple hours away....Oh!! I almost forgot to tell you guys!!....The Peace Corps gives us bicycles!! lol. (I'm not being sarcastic, I really am looking forward to this.) It'll be so much easier to get around. I already packed my gel seat cover to make for more comfortable riding.

So basically once we've moved to our official site all the fun begins! The start of the true Peace Corps experience! It is here that we begin our official work, and become functional members of our Guinean community. For those of you that don't know, my official position will be a junior high math teacher, teaching algebra, geometry and trigonometry. Apart from our daily 9-5, each volunteer is also required to be involved in other projects. They can be whatever we choose but one must include a project geared toward education about HIV/AIDS. I know I've said this a million times already but I'm truly looking forward to this, meeting new people, and experiencing a new culture, and most of all helping where I can. It will be a difficult but I'm up for the challenge.


Anyway. For the most part I will be doing my job, but throughout our service we will continue language training to ensure that are as proficient in the language as possible. After all effective communication is key. But I am not certain of the details of training yet. Pretty much this goes on until the end of service. I return to the states on September 27, 2010.

I hope this clears up some of the questions people have. If you have anymore you can just send me an email or write me a letter.