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| La Dame de Mali |
Part of the reason for our rush up country was to make it in
time for a fun New Year’s Eve party. Coincidentally, I was spending New Year’s
2014 in the same place as 2013: Labé. The crowd was a bit different but a great
time was had. If only for a few hours, we felt very American while playing beer
pong and other drinking games after having pizza for dinner. I realize I just
drew a sad picture of American life but that’s what I miss sometimes.
The real reason we forced ourselves to drive so far so
quickly was to make it to another grand installment of Coup de Pied Contre le Palu (Kick Against Malaria – the same soccer
event I hosted in my village back in April 2013). This time the game was being
held in the beautiful, but secluded, village of Mali-Yembering, which is home
to La Dame de Mali. It’s a would-be
tourist attraction that features a cliff side that resembles like a woman
looking off in the distance. The folklore comes with sexist undertones of
female obedience, but it’s a beautiful natural site by any standard.
The weekend started with a quick trip to La Dame de Mali but she was hardly the
main attraction. Our first full day in Zac and Caitie’s village was highlighted
by a “friendly” basketball game in the evening. I would not declare myself a
basketball player but I would declare myself competitive, sometimes overly,
thus I went for it. It was fun to play a different game with Guineans being as
it’s almost always futbol.
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| Victor's wear maize. |
The next day we prepped ourselves for the big game. After
the loss in my own village I was determined to turn it around for Zac, who was
a week away from the end of his service. Getting our matching jerseys pumped us
up as we walked over to the big dust bowl that serves as the city’s stadium.
With perseverance, luck, and some help from three Guinean ringers, the American
team came up with a 3-1 win! I couldn’t believe it but the scoreboard tells no
lies. Again for those following at home, that puts the American team at 2 wins
and 1 loss thus far; and there are an impressive four more games coming up in
the next month!
The game was followed up by a Malaria Fair at the Maison des Jeunes (Youth House) complete
with DJ. The night started with a slam poem from the local youth group’s leader
who opened for the group’s sketch on malaria. We then lead a crowd of close to
100 teens through an eight booth fair showcasing all the important pieces of
malaria prevention. The first stall they all visited featured a "Promise Banner". In signing the banner, the participants were promising to do their part to protect their community by sleeping under their net every night. It seemed like they were having a good time but the fair
may have been out-shined by the dance that followed. Overall, we got our
message out there and informed lots of teens on vital malaria prevention
skills.
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| Presenting the "Promise Banner" |
The next day I started my trek back to Wonkifong, which took
a few extra days than normal. I had already agreed to give a malaria session to
the newest group of volunteers, thus I passed up my own village to head to
Dubreka. After all was said and done I had traveled more in two weeks than most
Guineans do in their lives, and I was ready for a vacation from my vacation. I
loved every step of that journey but I don’t think that my next vacation will
be as active as this one. I’m thinking beaches.
Any who, that was my second, and final, Christmas vacation
in Guinea. All I can hope is that my next Christmas will involve snow and, more
importantly, my first family. With that said, I’m glad I got to spend such a
nice time with my second family - my Peace Corps Family.
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