zot in Niger bush camels

First off, we have been told that things are getting worse in Conakry and that a final decision will be made (fingers crossed) on Tuesday. That is exciting for me because I am sick of waiting here, but some volunteers will probably be disappointed that we have given up on going back. Apparently there has been increasing random violence and instability and the embassy has evacuated another six people, so it doesn’t look good. In fact it looks so not good that I am surprised they don’t just cancel it now.

And I’ve just been told that we are starting our transition conference on Tuesday, and that the decision to suspend the program is basically all but official.

Anyway, last night got a little crazy. I spent the day at the American Club, mostly just swimming and laying around. Then later I joined Sajay en ville for some beers and eventually we headed over to meet up with some Mali volunteers at a boit (a club). We stayed there until about midnight, but nothing was really happening so we went to a different boit that was packed. There were some other Guinea volunteers there as well and we formed a nice large group and danced until 4 or so in the morning. I got home at about 5 am, and I had a 10k race at 6:30, so I just hung out for an hour until the race. As a result I am writing this having not slept at all last night.

But the thing with the barrage is that I didn’t have my ID with me, and so while we were en route to the second boit we were stopped and I had to get out of the car and try to convince the gendarme to let me go. He was unmoving, and was threatening me with spending a night in the holding cell, but I told him that was impossible. In the end I paid him 3.000 FCFA and he let me go. Good to know that bribes are also alive and well in Mali. All this happened because when they were handing out IDs they missed me somehow and so I never got mine, but you can be sure I have it now.

I am meeting with my APCD after the session next door finishes (sometime I should record the questions to give you a sense of the ridiculousness questions that people are asking). I hope I will have a clear plan laid out at the end of that meeting, but we will see. She still doesn’t know much I imagine.

I am thinking about trying to get a post that would involve eco-tourism in the desert, such as camel treks and rock climbing. To that end I want her to look at Mali and Niger and Burkina Faso, but none of those countries fit that very well, so we will see. I guess Dominica is an option, as is trying to get some job doing international development work or just ending my service and doing some travelling or something before law school.

But clearly I cannot make decisions in this sleepless state. I will nap for a while and then try to figure out what I am doing.

Today we heard that we won’t have a decision until Tuesday at the earliest. At that point Peace Corps Washington (or the state department) will choose to continue waiting or to suspend the program. Or I suppose to send us back.

The morning information sessions are filled with inane and absurdly detailed questions. It is not a good group format. I usually make it about half way before I decide to go do other more productive things.

Yesterday while enjoying a cold beer at a “bar” near the Peace Corps compound, a small car drove up with an enormous chimpanzee sitting in the passenger seat. He had a chain locked around his neck, and the driver led him over to shake our hands. I expected him to bite my hand off, but he was very nice. Then the driver bought his chimpanzee a coke, and they left. Yes, the chimp was actually drinking the coke from the bottle.

It was bizarre to say the least. And for some of us, inhumane. But in West Africa chimps are considered more like we consider pets in the states. Still, this particular chimp was so large as to be easily dangerous if he wanted to be. But he seemed content to sit in the passenger seat and drink his coke.

Later I am taking a bus to the American Club, where I will swim in the pool and maybe play some poker, and then tonight I think we will be hanging out in Bamako. We will see. There is a conference in Nigeria (or Niger?) this weekend with the CNDD and others, and that may resolve some things one way or the other.

Oh yeah, and I was hoping to have the possibility of transferring to Samoa to teach economics at the university there, but I was told there were no SED positions. Silly, since I was inquiring about an education position, but I don’t know what else can be done. Now I have no idea what I will do. I guess I need to figure that out.

We watched a football match between Mali and Sudan today. It was a lot of fun, though they made us leave fifteen minutes early for “safety” reasons. Silly. Especially since the only goal came only a few minutes later.

Anyway, you might guess from the last post that today wasn’t much fun, and it wasn’t, if only because the idea of having to start over from scratch and losing all that I have been working for these past 10 months is rather unexcited.

Tomorrow we have a briefing in the morning, and then maybe some sessions, the later which I will probably skip. I am burned out on Americans and on socializing and on not knowing what is going to happen or even what can happen. Its bizarre to go from seeing no Americans on an average day to living with more than 80 of them.

In fact, I used to have my own one room house set up exactly as I like it, and now I share a small room with two other people and eat at a big dining hall. But the people here have all been awesome and supportive, and we are doing our best to see each other through tough moments.

There are all these things I wanted to do in Guinea that I never got around to doing, mostly because I thought I would do them next spring. There was hiking in the Fouta, a canoe trip down the Niger River, an excursion to the forest region, and a trip to the chimpanzee rescue project at a nearby park. All of that is for naught I guess. I will have to do better at doing the things I want to do right away at my new post.

Oh yeah, and I got a Mali soccer jersey while I was at the game.