Day 141 - I miss my mom's cooking from time to time...

Hmm, hmm, hmm, that was such a good meal. You should try it, too. Yes, I know that my taste standard probably has lowered since I came to Guinea, but I think you agree with me when you try it, too. Thank you Cindy or was it Di and Patty (I've received so many packages and I am loosing track), for providing 2 really great meals from home. One was tofu that I cooked w/ beef and tomato sauce (in a package), the other is Trader Joe's Tuna in Red Panang curry sauce which I heated up today. Yes, it's quick and de-li-cious! I also stir fried local wild spinach called boroboro, eggplants, onions and garlic, added a little soysauce and sugar, and voila, it was a feast! I figure I won't be here for Thanksgiving, so I will treat myself a little early. 

That's the thing w/ the food I got from US, I always want to save them, because I can't buy them here. Believe it or not, Cindy also sent me a can of fois gras, which has been sitting in the trunks for about 5 months now, perhaps I will break into it for my 32th birthday. Holy shit, can't believe I am moving another year into the 30's, but I am feeling young as ever and always feel like there is spring under my feet. 

Oh, I miss my mom's cooking from time to time. She is amazing, can cook up such a feast. I've got a lot of seeds now, but I have to wait till rainy season to plant them. Although I might be able to plant some in a garden that my student has. I can't wait to grow things and share them with people in my village. Also hoping to bake some cookies for my kids for my 1 week off between Christmas and New Year's.

Things that made me smile yesterday:

A market lady called out my name (Aminata) because she knows I like guava, but has been disappointed that it has been hard to find. She saved them just to sell them to me.

My student's mom said if I don't go to her home to eat lunch everyday, she will personally come over and drag me there to eat. (of course, I can't free load there everyday.)

My counterpart who is also like a vice principal of my college, after hearing that I went to look for him twice, came over after dark and took me to drop off 2 letters w/ another person (the 3rd Guinean who lives in the US) who is heading back to the US. He also walked me back eventhough it is the road that's busy at night and I know it well.

Sitting w/ students and locals at the one and only main intersection in our village flipping through the special edition of National Geographics on Katrina. (Thanks Qi for sending me the picture magazine.) Explaining what happened with nature and people, sharing knowledge outside of the classroom. Now, whenever I go to a student's home, I always bring a couple copies of National Geographics. I can flip through them w/ little kids in the family. My students‚ always say, "but we can't read English", but I say "a picture is worth a thousand words".

The 2 days workers' strike passed peacefully. Of course it didn't change a thing. Perhaps a month long strike would make some impact. I passed time by visiting students, other professors and catch up on writing.

So, the second time around biking to Labe for Thanksgiving was a breeze compare to the first. We also were able to "hit" the bank and lose ourselves in the market. I couldn't get myself out of the fabric section of the market. Was also hoping to buy some paint to brighten up my wall. Two volunteers cooked up a storm in the Labe PC house. We had 3 type of birds, turkey, chicken and guinea fowl(sp?), haven't had these much meat in a month.  Then there were 8 kinds of desert. Needless to say, I couldn't walk or sit down afterwards. We headed back to site on Sunday and I was able to then bike back my site after parting with my neighbor. So, it is like this. Between me and my neighbor PCV is 17 km, then from her site to Labe is another 45 km, so on the return trip, I rest a little after the first 45km, then biked back to my site the same day, cos I got to teach the next day.