Bonjour from Conakry!

Being in the capital city of Guinea these past two weeks has been exciting. The majority, if not all, of the people here speak French since it is the national language of the country. The city offers its perks, but also makes us wish we were back in our little village in Sambouya too. Here many people actually dress like Americans and wouldn’t stick out if you saw them in America. Many women wear jeans with a form fitting t-shirt and heels. We’re used to seeing many people with braided hair in Sambouya, while here many women either have extensions and wear their hair long. There are still many women though that wear the traditional attire, with a loose fitting shirt, matching skirt and headwrap.

In some ways we feel like country bumpkins here since we’re used to living in our village now. The air here is heavily polluted because many taxis and other cars frequently travel on the street. Usually there is traffic and/or people out at all times of the day and night. Since the electricity here is so unpredictable, you’ll hear people banging and using torches at midnight since they use electricity whenever they can. Crossing the street is like playing the game Frogger since there aren’t any traffic lights or signs, and people would probably ignore them if there were any. PJoshua says that before they actually used to be able to see the ocean on both sides from the apartment, but now all you seem to see is smog. There are no trash cans outside, so the ground is littered with trash. We miss the fresh air and nature we’re used to seeing outside. It’s funny to see how foreign we actually feel here.

We’ve been traveling some by taxi here, because it’s the most popular form of transportation. It seems like almost everyone is a taxi driver here. The cars themselves hold some personality to them, as it’s rare to see one without busted side mirrors or a cracked windshield. To get a cab, the number of fingers you hold out shows the taxi driver how many people need a ride. A compact car taxi usually holds seven people. Four adults sit in the back, two sit in the front passenger seat, and the driver gets his own seat. It’s almost always a cramped ride, although it’s an experience that we’ve already become accustomed to. It’s still funny to see two grown men who don’t know each other squeezing together in the passenger seat. At least they know how to carpool here.

The police here are known to be corrupt and they like to accept bribes. They often pull people over for mundane reasons or for no reason at all, just so they can pocket some cash. We actually got to experience this first hand one afternoon downtown. Pastor Joshua was driving and an officer knocked with a stick on the window. Usually, you can honk at them or wave at them and they will move out of the way, but the policeman was adamant that we stop in the middle of a busy street. He wanted to see our papers, and then decided not to give them back. Pastor, who had been through this kind of ordeal numerous times, told us all to get out of the car and all sit around the policeman. We actually found out that they were pretty nice guys, but really just wanted to pull you over so we would fork over some money to them. Since we refused, we sat for a bit. The policeman refused to believe that we were here in Conakry visiting and were actually teachers in Faranah. So, Pastor called one of our students’ parents and had him talk to the policeman, explaining that we were missionaries here. Only after that phone call did the policeman let us go. We never worried about our safety, it was just an annoyance to sit for doing nothing. Even if the policeman would have let us go if we gave him the money he wanted, we didn’t because it would just be perpetuating the problem; besides the fact that it’s not Biblical. It was a good learning experience.

There are some things we have seen that are interesting while in the taxi. The other day we saw a car on fire in a roundpoint intersection, and men were frantically throwing dirt into the open hood of the car to stop the fire. We saw a monkey tied up on a street corner but no one seemed to be watching it. Lots of times people hold up things to sell either on the side of the road or right in the middle of it. Here are some things we’ve seen people hold up: rabbits, candles, puppies, Areeba phonecards, African brooms, etc. You name whatever random thing, and it’s probably being held up in the air right now.

We’ve been able to visit a couple of places while we’ve been here. They do have some nice places to eat if you can find them and you know where they are. We’ve eaten at a restaurant which is supposed to be a fast food place. The service is not so fast, but you can get a burger, small pizza, and sometimes a chicken sandwich if they have chicken that day. We actually went there twice, and the second time they went they didn’t have half the things on their menu because they said there was no chicken. So even here, you never know what you’re going to get.

We have even been able to eat at a Korean restaurant here. Supposedly, there are many Korean fisherman that eat here. Out best meal was at Mouna, an internet café downtown. We happened to be downtown to get my passport picture and Mouna was closeby. They had a restaurant downstairs that seemed pretty typical to a café/restaurant you would see in the States. The food was good, the service was good, and there was even a large tv that showed European news. Conakry ’s downtown area is mostly made up of some small shops and stands.

Near TM’s apartment is a busy intersection/roundpoint called Enco Sainc (5). There’s a gas station on one side and outdoor markets of food, clothes, and accessories on the other side of the street. One night when Jeje, Shannon, and I went to take a walk to the gas station, we noticed some interesting things. We were standing outside of the gas station as Shannon finished his bottle of Fanta. (When you buy a bottle here, you usually have to finish it on the spot and then give the glass bottle back to the person you bought it from.) We looked around at the chaos of the intersection.

Usually at a roundpoint the person coming from the right has the right of way, but if you can push your way through, then that rule doesn’t apply to you. Cars are constantly honking or swerving around each other, although people don’t necessarily drive fast here. While all of this was going on, we saw to the right of us about five Muslim worshippers doing their daily ritual of bowing and praying to Mecca. Next to them, a soldier with an AK47 and a man were arguing about a fender bender that just occurred. We looked at each other, finished the Fanta, and walked home.

The best part of being in Conakry was when we were able to take a trip to Casa Island. The island was about a 30 minute boat ride away from the Conakry. It was very tropical and relatively untainted by the city. We saw a man illegally trying to climb a palm tree, but he was stopped by a soldier guarding the grounds belonging to a hotel. We were able to collect some seashells for our kids and swim in the clean and refreshing water. It was great to sleep without village or city sounds, although we still woke up to a rooster crowing. There’s just no such thing as sleeping in here!

All in all, Conakry ’s been exciting but we’re excited to go back to Sambouya. We’ve had enough excitement for the past two weeks. On a last note, please keep Guinea in your prayers. The morning we left, a nationwide strike was supposed to start. The Guinean people are not happy with their president and they say they are striking until the president steps down. Thankfully, we didn’t see any signs of trouble as we left, and Conakry was eerily quiet the day the strike began. We haven’t seen effects of the strike here, except that the Sambouya kids don’t have school because the teachers aren’t working. Out here in the country you don’t feel the effects of what may go on closer to the capital. (Update: the strike is now in day 10. There’s no gas anywhere, but we have enough to get out of the country if it came to that. Although we’ve been here through a few strikes already and unlike most other undeveloped African nations it’s been very peaceful.) It’s something to pray for though. We’re just praying for a peaceful end to it all.

The drive to and from Conakry is about 8 hours of winding, up and down, ginormous pot holes. Shannon got to drive the Camry there and back. You really need a 4X4 to navigate the roads, but the little Toyota survived (although at times it felt like the entire under carriage of the car would fall off). Some of the holes were so big you could practically put an entire cow in. Cows, goats, dogs and people were also obstacles to avoid on the way. Everything roams free so we frequently turned a corner and were staring into the front or back end of a cow or 3 cows. The scenery is at times beautiful, but the trip itself is a nail biting and somewhat nauseating experience.

That’s the news from Conakry. We were glad to go and glad to come back. There’s plenty more to write about, but this is beginning to seem a bit novel-ish. Please pray for the strike and for the team that is currently with us. We’ll probably send another update in a week about their time here. We’re doing great. Shannon was a little ill for one day, but he bounced back the next. Pray for Sarah who is working through another bout of malaria and Pastor who is battling a nasty cold that just won’t go away. Pastor will be heading state side for a month of mobilizing in L.A., Chicago and D.C. So we’ll be leading chapel and Sunday church services. Shannon skipped over the whole seminary thing so he’s a little nervous about that much preaching, but he says that he likes to talk so much he’ll be fine. If you could pray for Pastor and for us while he’s away it would be much appreciated. Only 4 months left so we’ll see you all soon!