New Pic: Lisa in Guinea

WOW! Check out Lisa's long new post below! Just found a blog of a fellow PCV - and she has a group picture with Lisa! Check out her blog from the link on the right.

For Lisa - From Mom & Dad

Lisa - We are thinking about you constantly - hope all is well. We went skiing at Keystone this weekend and wanted share a couple of snapshots with you.

Message from PC Country Director: Steve Peterson

(Click on photo to enlarge)

Dear Family and Friends of Peace Corps Guinea's newest training class:

Greetings. My name is Steve Peterson, and I am the Country Director for Peace Corps Guinea. All 37 trainees, who comprise what we call our 'G11' training class, have arrived (with all their baggage!) and are doing fine. Presently, they are in a 4-day orientation at a site 4 hours drive from Conakry. On Thursday, they will move to our pre-service training site in Forecariah, which is a 2 hour drive from Conakry. Enclosed, you will find a photo of the group.
Cheers - Steve and Jen Peterson

Message from Lisa in Guinea!

Hello Mom, Dad, Loved Loved Loved Ones,

Others are waiting to use the computer, just wanted to write that I arrived in Guinea safely, we're staying at the Peace Corps hq in Conakry and leave for an orientation site in the mountains tomorrow for 4 days, I think we will have internet access there too. I'm so exhausted, and this place is nothing I could have ever imagined. I can't believe I'm In Africa. You are all on my mind and I miss you all so much. Talk to you soon,

Lisa

Lisa's in Philly!

(In picture left to right: Jake, Tara, Lisa, Nick & Chris) This morning a small group assembled to see Lisa off on the first leg of her journey. We left for the airport in plenty of time to allow for parking lot construction, baggage check-in and security screenings. You'll be impressed to know that Lisa did indeed fit all of her items into the two bags plus a backpack carry-on! The official weight? 78.5 pounds! Who would have thought we could squeeze in another 1.5 pounds!

The airport was pretty quiet, so we took our seats just outside of the coffee shop to spend as much time as possible with Lisa before she departed. Much to our surprise, (and we still don't know the cause) the airport gate area was evacuated and all passengers were instructed they would have to go back through security screening! The bomb-sniffing dogs were out in force, arriving airplanes were stopped on the runway and the usually short line for security screening became the longest we've ever seen! No problem, we took advantage of the extra time to sit in the line with Lisa while we waited for the "all clear" sign.

All in all, Lisa made it through screening and her airplane was only delayed about 30 minutes. She made her connecting flight in Dallas, and I received a call confirming her successful arrival in Philadelphia. Just received a call - she's all checked in to the hotel. One casualty of the day --her large duffel bag that was purchased to hold her large-frame backpack came back all wrapped in duck tape with the infamous note "inspected." So -- all of the little extras that had been tucked in to the duffle bag will need to be relocated to the backpack or suitcase. The joys of traveling.

Next on the agenda for Lisa is an intensive 2-day orientation - and --Lisa's all time favorite - immunizations! ;-)

The packing is almost complete...

Lisa has been busy collecting items as she prepares for the adventure of a lifetime. She is about to depart on a 2 year assignment to Guinea, Africa for the Peace Corps. Her assignment: to provide help and support for small business development.

With a weight limit of 80 pounds, the task has been challenging for both mother and daughter. Christmas gifts looked quite different this year - journals, camping gear, batteries, wind-up flashlights, Teva sandals...light years away from the usual gadgets, games and fashions. The list provided by the Peace Corps lists dozens of items --surely, if we include them all, there is no way she'll stay within the 80 pound limit. Then there is the other problem of how she can possibly carry it all. I'll let you all know how it goes!

On January 10, Lisa will fly to Philadelphia for a 2-day orientation session with the Peace Corps. Then it is on to Africa, via Brussels, Belgium. She'll have 3 months of intensive training in country which will cover the basics of language (French --with multiple variations and dialects) health, and safety. She won't find out her final destination (city --specific job assignment) until sometime during her training.

Mail is not always reliable, thus the reason for establishing this blog to share information between Lisa and her family and friends. It is our hope that she will have occasional access to the internet and that this forum will be a place where she can quickly catch up on happenings at home, and share information with all of you.