And I’m back in Conakry, with coconut palms, ocean beaches, and the promise of eggnog and Christmas cookies this evening. I would like to formally acknowledge that my life is wonderful, in a way that is completely out of proportion to the amount of planning and effort I’ve put into it. I keep finding myself in wonderful situations like this.
For the last two weeks I've been in Dubreka, helping out with training for the latest group of Peace Corps trainees. Since my training on arrival in Guinea was fairly bare-bones, it's been fun to sit in on some of the cultural and language sessions. And it's fun to be in a completely different climate: Dubreka is on a salt-water inlet, so there's crabs in the market, fish in every dish, coconuts, warm humid nights, and neon-green rice fields.
Still, I miss the cool, crisp nights in the Fouta, the flowering vines that spill from the trees over every footpath and road, the hazy views across valleys to distant hills and mesas.... and I miss Mariama and her kids; slow mornings washing my laundry under the orange trees; hanging out in the coffee shops on main street... soon I'll be back.
And while Christmas does make me terribly lonely for the people I love back home, I just have to say that I'm not missing winter in western Washington. Most years I enjoy the long hibernation of rainy days, twilight afternoons, and lazy mornings in front of the fire waiting for the sun to rise. But this year, the sun feels so good on my skin. I may become addicted to the tropics.
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