Keeping Bees, Raising Chickens, and Mom Sent Leopard Print Rain Boots

and With Peace Corps, your first 3 months at site are for observation. So up until now, I have been laying back, learning the ropes of Mamou, and adjusting to the physical demands of the Guinean lifestyle. After 3 months, there’s this big training, and you get sent back to your new home to change the world.

Last week during the training I woke up one morning and boarded a bus, drove out to the bush, and met with a group of Guineans to learn (and teach) some beekeeping skills. So I’m standing there in the bush, in a dress and converse sneakers, surrounding by honeycombs and African bees, which are much more vicious than their American cousins (if mom asks, Yes, the EPI-pen was in my purse the whole time). I learned about different types of beehives, honey harvesting techniques, and how to attract bees to the hive. Unfortunately, being in a city, I don’t think the neighbors would like it if their American PCV started putting up beehives around the neighborhood. Afterwards, we took aside a few of the group members and showed them how they could earn some money with the beeswax. We showed them how to make hand lotion and we discussed other other options. The president of the group overheard me talking about beeswax candles (I was actually griping about how Guineans use POS fast-burning imported paraffin wax candles and would be much smarter and more economical if they used slow-burning beeswax candles from natural resoruces) and he turned to me and asked me if I could show him how to make beeswax candles. Now, you might be thinkng, that growing up in the suburbs of Maryland and studying Finance I wouldn’t know the first think about candle making. And under normal circumstances, you might be correct. But I had this intense flashback to a business trip dad took the family on to Colonial Williamsburg, VA about 12 years ago and I vividly remembered Claire and I taking turns dipping opposite ends of a wick into bubble cauldrons of wax with the aid of a woman donning 18th century garb. So I turned back to the President, noticed I had a mini audience, and proceded to tell this man just exactly he could make economical slow-burning candles from the materials he readily had at his disposition. Kiki: one point.

After a hearty meal of rice and sauce (note: sarcasm) I laid down for a nap. Cell phone wasn’t charged because there was no electricity so my alarm couldn’t go off for my next training session. I wake up and realize the conference center is empty. Crap, they all left to go somewhere (where?) without me! Someone tells me they went to a chicken farm down the mountain, I can walk there. So I pull on my dress and start running down a mountain that 6 months ago I wouldn’t have even tempted without hiking boots, passing half-dressed children and mud huts on my way. And all the kids are crying out to me “Hello white person! Is there any evil in your home?” and I’m replying back, trying not to fall face first into the rocks and simultaneously looking at the breathtaking view “No, there’s peace only, thank you!” all the while trying to catch up with the group so I can learn how to raise chickens and profitably sell eggs. And then it hit me: Peace Corps is awesome. And I’m so happy to be here. (and the chicken/egg raising training session was awesome- how cool would it be to start a chicken farm?! and it's profitable too!)

So my first 3 months are over, the real work has begun. I managed to convince the office to install internet on my computer in the office (so I now have one of the 10 connections in the country) and I taught my first English lesson Monday to my friends, helping them prepare for their SAT-equivalent. Only they’re 24 years old. One thing at a time, right?

Take care and much love! Thanks to Trieste, mom, Claire and dad for the awesome packages. I now can plant cantaloupes in my garden wearing leopard print rainboots (yes, mom was thinking ahead ... rainy season coming up!), catch up on real-life with a TIME magazine, all the while doting some Bonnebell lip gloss and new makeup. LOVE IT.