"Tout est bon"

Sunset from our apartment balcony greeted us on the evening of our arrival. Good omen for the future?

We’re back...and yes, it does feel as if we’re back home. By the way, did I ever mention that I hate flying?

After the long, ‘tight’ and trying trek over the Atlantic followed by a painful 6 hour layover wait in Paris, we embarked on the final leg of our journey, hopeful that our flight into Africa would be a bit more comfortable than our jaunt over the Atlantic. It wasn’t. The man assigned to the seat in front of me was a giant Russian dude, taller than I, who obviously had not flown much. His trying to squeeze, or should I say ram, his suitcase/trunk into my overhead bin...no amount of vaseline would have helped him here..., gave him away. This novice flyer was oblivious to any inkling of traveling etiquette. The reclining of his seat even before takeoff and his talking (shouting) to his fellow eastern bloc buddy 3 seats back (that’s how I knew he was Russian) kind of gave me a good idea of the kind of uncouth oaf I was dealing with as well as a preview of the martyrdom that lay ahead in the next six hours of my life. Oh well, what if I spend the next 6 hours with this gentleman’s head in my lap? It’s not as if I had intended on reading, eating, breathing, working on my laptop, watching a movie, or engaging in any of those distractions anyways. Business class...one day...

A lot of white faces on the plane. In the past, Madeleine and I were usually the only visible caucasians on the Paris-Conakry flight, but this time around, our flight appeared to be filled with expat passengers. Some of the people we spoke with (Madeleine did most of the speaking, I was swearing at and becoming intimate with my new Russian friend’s head on my lap, trying to doze off by counting specks of dandruff as opposed to sheep) were going to Guinea for the first time, as consultants for this and that. With the inauguration of the new president and political stability eventually coming to Guinea ( I say coming and not returning because the country has never had political stability), it is obvious that the country was entering 2011 on a hopeful path.

Arrived at a busy but somewhat less chaotic than usual Conakry airport. I chose to go to a women customs officer because these are a rare species, and also because I figured women custom agents would be less apt to ‘demanding’ special entry fees (similar to the special exit fees) than their male custom leeches counterparts. Something about women being more ethical than men...my matriarchic tendency rearing its not-so-ugly head again.

Stamp, stamp, stamp...Bienvenue en Guinée the lady says...nice touch, this country may be going places. We quickly noticed the welcoming and comforting face of our friend expediter Sylla, who welcomed us back and calmly scurried (at the Conakry airport, one does not move around, one scurries around) to find our luggage. With Sylla accompanying us, the customs agents at the door did not ask us to open our luggage for inspection, which is a good thing because I was too tired to attempt to explain those 16 gallons of Maple Syrup. Good old reliable Bivan met us in the parking lot, welcomed us back home, and assured us that "Tout est bon".

Early morning rise came quickly Monday morning and the ride to school gave us a better idea of how Conakry had changed for the better during our short absence. Our morning commute to school was on cleaner streets, piles of garbage which had been scattered and strewn everywhere and anywhere were gone, there was more than the usual number of heavy machinery around, waiting to bulldoze and make disappear the dilapidation that is Conakry. To me, the most flagrant change was the absence of military...men and hardware. I guess with the inauguration of the new president a few weeks ago and the installation of a new civilian government, the military had returned to its barracks. However, I could not help but think that, having tasted the fruits of power under the junta, how could the military ‘give up’ power so easily? But then, I didn’t really want to think about that on this first morning back...

Arrived at a freshly painted school...amazing what a difference a coat of paint will do. Kids and staff arrived and obviously happy to be back with their colleagues and friends. There was a group of new families waiting for me at the door. We had anticipated new enrollment; expecting 7 kids. 15 new kids showed up! That represents a 34% increase in enrolment! I guess the impression and the subsequent conclusion that we had last night on the plane when seeing the number of fellow expat passengers was correct...Guinea is now open for business.

All week was spent looking at revamping the school organization to accommodate the sudden increase and expected continued growth of enrolment. A good challenge to have. Will submit a proposal to the school board on Tuesday for the hiring of 4 new teachers over the span of the next three months. Made it through the week dragging our feet due to the exhaustion caused by the trip back. Oh, before I forget, did I ever mention that I hate flying? Anyways, we will spend the major part of the weekend sleeping.

And that’s the kind of week its been.