Nightmarish Coffee and Earplugs

N’Zerekore, Forest Region, Guinea

Sunday, October 22, 2006

I have reached a new low in my coffee drinking life.

After about 7 unsuccessful attempts at lighting the gas stove in the IRC Guesthouse and thus using up all of my matches, I resigned myself to a breakfast of cartoned orange/pineapple nectar and instant Nescafe coffee in room temperature water with powdered instant milk. Ouch.

Still coffee is coffee and hopefully it will serve its purpose of jolting me awake after a sporatically sleepless night.

I need earplugs here.

Buzzing insects, then the pitter-patter of little feet in the ceiling and in my bags (God! Rats too?!?!?!). Then, at 3:20AM, Mr. Ramadan started chanting on a mega-microphone loudspeaker… loud enough to force just about anyone – Muslim or not – out of bed to pray just to make him stop.

Yes, I should have brought earplugs to N’Z.