N xili Caitlin. That's grunt-speak for "my name is Caitlin."

Bonjour from the motherland!!

Yes yes yes, I am here in Guinea. After some hotel fun in Philly we made the journey through Senegal to arrive in the capital of Guinea, called Conakry. For the past few day's I've basically been in a Peace Corps frat house living in bunk beds covered with mosquito nets and just being ridiculous and having fun with the other volunteers. We're on the beach (no, you can't swim in the ocean- gross.) but there is a Beach Bar where we've been going to at night. Imagine sitting in plastic beach chairs in the sand, looking up at the moon, Venus and Saturn, kicking back a Guinean beer and listening to the Guiean cars blast their reggae while they drive and park in the sand. I love this stuff.

We've been doing training too though, so no your tax dollars have not gone to a pure vacation fund. We've had some people from the US Embassy come and basically scare the living daylight of us, telling us about corrput military and a president people are waiting to die. And if he doesn't die soon, we might have a military coup. Awesome. They evacuated PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) a little over a year ago from here, but we're back now. But forreal don't worry. The people here are incredible and welcoming. I love it so much, and feel so thankful to be here.

A few current volunteers have come back to help us with our training and they've been such a wonderful resource to talk to. Apparently Guinea is in the "top 3" of hardcore PC countries. Basically, I will not have electricity. And have a 99% chance of using a latrine for the next 27 months.

Today I got a crash course in one of the local languages. It's called Susu.

N ng xili Mary. My mom's name is Mary.
Volontaire na n na. I'm a Peace Corps Volunteer.

I'd teach you some more of 1) I remembered it and 2) Computers existed with some crazy characters. It's a lot of grunting. No clicking, but grunting is much more practical.

Monday's some holiday so tomorrow we get to lay low. I think I'll leave the PC compound and learn to explore markets. I'm excited and a little bit scared, so let's get going! (Brian Fellows, anyone?) because this country is nuts. I'll let you know how it is. NOTHING like I have ever seen. And I've seen a good deal.

O, fun fact: Guinea is one of the only countries in the world whose capital city (Conakry) doesn't have relilable electricity. It might be the only. It goes out all the time, like during last night's dance party.

Okay well Tuesday I'm moving to live with a host family and won't have internet access/phone until I come back here for Christmas. So, send letters and packages. It's less than $1 for a letter. And I'll get them frequently through Feb 6. So s'il vous plait, write me.

Friends and Family, I love you all and am thankful for your support. I'm lucky to have people like you behind me every step of the way.

Last Night in Ijamsvile

Alright, here it is. In about eight hours I'm getting in a car, saying goodbye to the fam, and meeting the PC crew.

So many emotions are pulsing through my veins, mostly excitement, and a little bit of apprehension because the magnitude of what I'm about to do has not hit me at all. Yet. I have been so nonchalant about this entire event- I never even read through all of the material. I'm just so confident in knowing that I am supposed to start service in Guinea right now that I figure I'll get there anyways- whether or not papers are read or if I packed the right things.

Yes, bags are packed. One rolling duffel and a hiking backpack. Not as bad as I thought, I'm happy with how smooth packing went. I went overboard on toilettries like good shampoo and face wash. But I want to smell good while living in the bush.

My last day in Ijamsville was a great one. Amanda came over and her and Claire made me pancakes for breakfast. Well, Claire continued cranking out CDs for the journey. DJ C-murda cranked out a total of 12. Needless to say, between all of my friends I will never be short of any music for any occasion. I ran some errands with dad and then convinced a stubborn cold-hearted lady at CVS to sell me 16 passport photos for $9 instead of $25. I came home to make some tofu for lunch (I am going to miss tofu), packed my bags with no problems, then went to go see Four Christmases, a new Vince Vaughn movie, with the family. The movie was pretty mindless, but good for the occasion. Enjoyed some Starbucks afterwards and came home to enjoy a last veggie burger with the sister. First I thought I would be missing "American" food like Chipotle and burgers. But no, it's definitely going to be tofu and veggie burgers. I think I'm more apt to find burritos in West Africa than soy protein. 

Anyways it is time to sign off. Next time I'm on here I will be in Africa. Here we go :)