Oh, crap

Well, it appears I spoke too soon. I am also using a keyboard that does not have an apostrophe, so excuse that as well. My apostrophe usage will be limited this post.

Today the proverbial shit hit the fan, from what I can tell. Yesterday Brad and I biked to my house and things seemed perfectly normal in town. It was dusk and you would have never guessed there was a strike going on except most of the boutiques were closed. I saw a bunch of friends and said hi to my family. Unfortunately, my dumb self lost my keys (there is still a combination lock on the door, so all is good) and Brad figured out how to get in. Anyway, I had planned on going home yesterday, but the pull of the recliner and DVDs were just too much. So I stayed (again) at the missionaries last night. Thank goodness, cause apparently today things got hectic. Here is what I know...

• The woman who met with the President on Monday and presented the list of demands was shot. I am not sure who shot her, but heard that she is still alive.
• Tear gas and shots were fired in Mamou, although we have not heard of any injuries. Brad was in town today and he came back and said it was a little nuts and that I should stay put up here. In my recliner. So I watched About a Boy. Love Hugh Grant. So adorably rumpled.
• Union leaders were (all????) arrested.
• Downtown Conakry was a mess today. No idea how many people were hurt, but I heard 2,000 protesters were there.
• Flights are cancelled. I know someone who was supposed to be arriving from Dakar tonight and he is not coming in. Not sure when they will start again.
• The strike continues. The President responded to the syndicates demands, but they rejected his response.

I apologize if any of this info is wrong, I am repeating things I have been told, but the international media seems to be ignoring us so far, so it is hard to verify!!!!

While I am no longer as confident that this would all pass this week as I was before, I still think it will all calm down quickly and that life will get back to normal. I would not characterize the current mood here as one of war. People are just poor and have little ways of expressing it. As far as the violence goes, I am in one of the bigger cities. All of the volunteers in villages are much more likely to die of boredom than anything else. Stuck en brousse with nothing to do, no one to talk to, no market, no school. Ick. And if I were black I could have been in town today without worrying. But I am white and need to remember that I stick out. So better safe than sorry. I would not want to be on the news as the stupid American girl who was wandering around while some drunk guys stole her stuff or hurt her cause the police were occupied with other things.

Please do not worry about us! The Peace Corps keeps better track of us than most parents and we have a great administration here. Plus the violence is in Conakry, a 5 hour drive away. If I were living in Minnesota and there was violence in Illinois no one would think anything of it, but for some reason when people think of Africa it is like one big city. Even 4 kilometers out of town things are normal. Brad and I took a walk just now through some fields where students have planted crops and it was really nice and peaceful. I hope G13 has the opportunity to see it soon!!

I am currently on an all soup diet. I had brought up some chili and Brad added some minestrone and we got cheddar broccoli from my house yesterday. I think they are all Bear Creek or Country or something. I will have to send those people a thank you note for keeping me fed. I do not want to start eating the food at the missionaries in addition to sleeping in their beds and watching their TV...

Do not hestitate to post a comment here or on facebook if you have any questions. I know it is annoying to try and find information about Guinea on the news, I remember when the last strike happened in June and I could not find a word about it except a 2 sentence AP Bulletin. Grr. If Guinea had oil I do not think there would be a problem finding information!!!

I will try and update again tomorrow. Cross your fingers...I will be reclining with In Good Company and other assorted movie favorites. Love Topher Grace.