I arrived in Guinea on February 3rd and I'll be here for the next 27 months, if all goes according to plan.
Guinea is in West Africa. There are FOUR countries with the word "Guinea" in their name but the Guinea I'm living in is the only straight-up GUINEA. Yes it can be confusing so here's a short animated youtube video you can watch to learn about the naming history of the four guinea's.
It's my first time on the continent of Africa and I'm vibing with it so hard. Nice people, good food, lots of lizards and fruit producing trees. Of course, I've only been here for a short time and explored a little bit of the town our Peace Corps training center is in. But from that small glimpse I really like it here! I feel better here, like I can breath a bit more deeply.
Speaking of breathing deeply, I have COVID lol. I had allergy-like symptoms last week but then last Sunday (almost a week from writing this) I woke up with a really stuffy nose so I took a rapid test just to check. If we get a positive Covid test we have to be in quarantine for 5 days from when symptoms started, then do another test and if it's negative do another test 2 days later. So if you're "lucky" you're only in isolation for 7 full days. Sadly on Thursday I tested positive again so that added 2 more days to my sentence. Today (Saturday, day 6) I tested negative so I'll take another test Monday and if THAT'S negative then I'm a free woman.
I've tried to keep up with my French studying but man self-study is so hard. And not as fun! It's fun to learn something and then go out into the community and actually use it. But c'est la vie. These are the cards I've been dealt. It's better to get Covid during training than when I'm at my site. At least here I have internet and oscillating fans and a shower!