Phone number

Alison has cell phone service…for now…and she asked me (her mother) to post her number on her blog since she does not have internet. Her number is 011 224 639 58129. Calling from SKYPE is about 22 cents/minute. I think some calling cards work too. She can receive text messages too. Guinea is 5 hours ahead of central time. I think hearing from a few friends and family would make her day. Alison is hoping to post another update on her blog when she returns to the capital city the beginning of August. Stay tuned….

Packages

Turns out, you can send packages! Use the same address, but make sure to print the label (from a computer), and make it very official looking. Labels that haven’t been computer printed have not made it. Oh, and write “Livres” on it. Place anything important in a tampon box inside the main box. Apparently no one wants to mess with tampons.

Today we are leaving for the adoption ceremony with our host families. I won’t have internet for a few weeks now, but expect some news after our first trip back to Conakry.

Under African Skies

We made it! Here we are in Guinea! We were greeted at the airport with loud cheers and a huge sign from probably 20 PC staff (both American and Guinean) and 10 or so current PCVs. They all have been so friendly and seem genuinely thrilled to have us here. We could not have received a nicer welcome.

We’re at the PC house in Conakry for a few days until we start our training on Monday. The house is air-conditioned, which is making it easier to adjust to the heat and humidity. It overlooks the beach and the Atlantic — very beautiful!

Hope all is well at home! Keep me posted on what’s going on.

Almost There!

Hi everyone!

Today we are leaving for AFRICA! I’ve spent the past two days at staging (orientation) in Philly with my group, G16. There are 25 of us, all education volunteers. The group is pretty young; the oldest person is about 27. We come from all over the US (and world!) — Florida, New York (but originally Ecuador), Arizona (originally Mexico City), North Carolina (originally France), LA, Washington, and we’ve got a few from the Midwest (Iowa, Ohio, Chicago, Indiana). It is an amazing group. Everyone is great and easy to talk to, which is very comforting because I know I will have good people I can lean on when those frustrating times arise.

In other good news, we will have internet and spotty cell phone service for all of trianing, which I know my mom will be thrilled to hear As soon as I get a cell phone number, I will post it.

For now, I am so excited I can’t sleep (really, I woke up at 4:30 this morning). The next time I write to you will be from the motherland. Take care, everyone!

My New Country

Hello, hello! I’ve been struggling to work this blog (it took me nearly an hour to get the Guinean flag uploaded; someone please tell me how nice it looks!), so I wanted to try uploading an image while I am still at home with all these tech-savvy people around to help me.

So I proudly present my new home to you — voici GUINEA! My assignment is secondary math education somewhere in this West African country. I’ll find out where specifically during training. Our first three months in-country will be spent training in a town 75km southeast of the capital, Conakry. During this time we will live with a family and learn French, a regional native language, how to teach in Guinea (where corporal punishment is common practice), how to stay healthy, etc.

More to come soon from the other side… In the meantime, I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July!

Send Me on My Way

I’ve said my goodbyes, and it’s nearly time to leave, but the good news is we can still stay in touch! My address for the duration of my time in Guinea will be:

Alison VonAchen

Corps de la Paix

BP 1927

Conakry, Guinea

WEST AFRICA

Please, please send mail, and I promise to write back! Because the Guinean mail system can be iffy, here are a few suggestions on sending mail:

• Number the letters you send so I know if any are missing
• Mail is less likely to be tampered with if it’s addressed in red ink
• It’s also less likely to be tampered with if you draw crosses and write religious phrases on it (in French) such as “Dieu regardez-vous” or “Dieu merci”
• If you’re sending a postcard, put it in an envelope. The pretty pictures are likely to end up posted on some Guinean’s wall instead of mine.

At this point, don’t even both sending packages, but of course I’ll let you know if that changes!