Education via the Total Gas Station

Last night, I stopped by the Total gas station at the end of my road to buy some chips. I got out of the Landrover and started looking around at all the boys sitting on curbs reading and writing in notebooks. Strange, I thought... why so many boys sitting around with notebooks in a gas station parking lot?

I went in, bought the chips and we headed off down the pitch black main highway before it finally hit me what they were doing: There is no electricity in Guinea without a generator. My house has one and the gas stations do to... but most people live by candlelight after dark (if they can afford the candles).

These students were saving candles by going to study and do their homework at the one place nearby with free light after sunset: the gas station parking lot.

And the other question left to ask is: Where are the girls? The parking lot is probably unsafe for them to study... so do they get to study at all after dark? Or are they even enrolled in school?

Maybe these are things that only an educational development specialist finds interesting... still... hopefully it will make you stop and think...

Where your old t-shirts end up....

It's always good when a sketchy looking Guinean guy walks up to your desk at work to flirt with you wearing a second hand shirt that says "3 Rios High School Rodeo, New Mexico" on one side of his chest and "TONYA" on the other... HA! :)

Malaria and Guinea Stocking Stuffers

So I was thinking today as I was sitting at my desk attempting not to scratch my mosquito bites that I would be pretty durn happy if Santa brought me a stocking full of AfterBite ItchSticks... those little magic things that erase mosquito bites. I'm one big walking mosquito bite at the moment and need to essentially take a bath in ItchSticks.

It's the little things in life, right? :)

And this might also be appropriate timing to sing the praises of the bright people who invented anti-malarial medications.

Jehovah's Witness Revival

So today I somehow ended up at a Jehovah's Witness Revival. I'm not exactly sure how that happened. I came in with my co-worker and sat down to listen... And I kept thinking, "Why do these people keep talking about Jehovah??" Then I took a look at the program for the 3 day event and saw that it was a regional annual revival of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Lucky me.

The first sermon was about proper use of health care services. I thought, "Wow... that's a sermon that I've never heard before [And I've heard ALOT of sermons]." Something about not taking blood transfusions and blah, blah, blah and I couldn't help but think that in a country where maybe 5% of the population actually has access to health care services, no one should be telling them to be that picky. To be blunt.

I've never heard the word "fornication" used so many times in a 3 hour period. It was one LOOOOOOOOOOOOONG slap-on-the-wrist listing of things that we, as good followers of Jehovah, should not do including chew gum, view pornography (long talk on that one), and [one of the top 6 things that can put you at the risk for "catastrophe"] -- flirt. Flirting is apparently a cardinal sin now. Who would have known? I was really trying not to get too tickled at that one.

HOW DO I END UP IN THESE SITUATIONS?

Stories for my grandkids someday... Giggle, giggle. :)