Psychological First Aid Kit

I'm calling it my P-FAK. Only to be used in emergancies. A 10 x 13 manila envelope containing inspirational, heart-felt letters from family and friends.
I don't know who I'd be kidding if I said that I wasn't going to get home sick or that certain things about Guinea or the people won't get to me. Maybe it'll be because I can't communicate with someone that I deeply want to connect with. Or I've been called “porto”, “toubabou” or “foté” (white person/foreignor) one too many times. Someone dies seemingly senslessly in the village, everyone's always asking me for money, people idolize the US too much, I'm sick of having diarrhea for the third week in a row, I don't know why I feel the way I do.. I JUST DO! The possiblities are endless; but a close friend or family member won't always be available to console me. That's when I'll reach for the envelope and pull out a 'random' letter. Read their advice and reflect. Then write a letter back letting them know how their letter impacted me.
I think when I start letting things bother me, I've forgotten who I am. It is my hopes that these letters will remind me of my character and why I'm there in the first place: To impact others on whatever scale possible and to practice cultural exchange.

PC letter to family and friends

Dear Family and Friends,

Greetings from the Guinea Desk in Washington, D.C. It is with great pleasure that we welcome your family member to the Peace Corps Guinea Program. During the past few years we have received many questions from Volunteers and family members alike regarding travel plans, sending money, relaying messages and mail, etc. As we are unable to involve ourselves in the personal arrangements of Volunteers, we would like to offer you advice and assistance in advance by providing specific examples of situations and how we suggest you handle them.

1. Irregular Communication. (Please see #3 for the mailing address to Peace Corps' office in Conakry the capital of Guinea) The mail service in Guinea is not as efficient as the U.S. Postal Service. Thus, it is important to be patient. It can take three to four weeks for mail coming from Conakry to arrive in the United States via the Guinea postal system. From a Volunteer's post, mail might take 1-2 months to reach the United States. Sometimes mail is hand carried to the States by a traveler and mailed through the U.S. postal system. This leg of the trip can take another several weeks as it is also dependent on the frequency of travelers to the U.S.

We suggest that in your first letters, you ask your Volunteer family member to give an estimate of how long it takes for him/her to receive your letters and then try to establish a predictable pattern of how often you will write to each other. Also, try numbering your letters so that the Volunteer knows if he/she has missed one. Postcards should be sent in envelopes--otherwise they may be found on the wall of the local post office! MAKE COPIES OF LETTERS!

Volunteers often enjoy telling their "war" stories when they write home. Letters (or e-mails) might describe recent illnesses, lack of good food, isolation, etc. While the subject matter is good reading material, it is often misinterpreted on the home front. There are two nurses at the Peace Corps office in Conakry to meet the medical needs of the volunteers. Through a “telephone tree”, the Peace Corps office in Conakry maintains at minimum, regular weekly contact with the Regional Coordinators, one per region where Peace Corps works. Peace Corps Guinea has also established a monthly mail run which delivers mail, medical supplies, and sometimes volunteers or staff to each volunteer site.

In the event of an emergency, Volunteers have been instructed to contact their designated Regional Coordinator, who in turn contacts the staff in Conakry, and appropriate steps are taken to assist that Volunteer. In the event of a serious illness, the Volunteer is sent to Conakry and is cared for by our medical staff. If the Volunteer requires medical care that is not available in Conakry he/she will be medically evacuated to either South Africa or the United States. Fortunately, these are rare circumstances.

If for some reason your communication pattern is broken and you do not hear from your family member for three months, you may want to contact the Office of Special Services (OSS) at Peace Corps Washington at 1-800-424-8580, extension 1470. The OSS will then cable or fax the Peace Corps Director in Conakry and ask him to check up on the Volunteer. Also, in the case of an emergency at home (death in the family, sudden illness, etc.), you should call OSS immediately, so that we can inform the Volunteer.

2. Telephone Calls. The telephone system in Guinea is decent at best. Service in and out of Conakry to the United States can be unreliable. If communicating via email or by phone, please understand that the telephone lines and their connections can be, and are often down. In the interior of the country, where most of the Volunteers are located, there are even fewer phones. Sometimes Volunteers plan to be in Conakry on a certain date to receive calls from home. This can sometimes work, but there are also innumerable factors that can make the best-laid plans fall apart. Please be aware that the Peace Corps staff in Conakry and Washington do not have the time to assist in arranging these calls. Your family member will be able to inform you of the actual telephone numbers once they arrive in country.

The Guinea Desk usually calls the Peace Corps office in Conakry once every week. However, these calls are reserved for business only and we cannot relay personal messages over the phone. All communication between family members and the Volunteer can be done via telephone, email or international mail. If you have an urgent message regarding travel plans, etc., you may be able to send a Western Union telegram to the Volunteer at the Peace Corps office in Conakry.

3. Sending packages. Parents and Volunteers like to send and receive care packages through the mail. Unfortunately, sending packages can be a frustrating experience for all involved due to the high incidence of theft and heavy customs taxes. You may want to try to send inexpensive items through the mail, but there is no guarantee that these items will arrive. We do not recommend, however, that costly items be sent through the mail. Even though many Volunteers sometimes choose to get local post office boxes, you may always use the following address to send letters and/or packages to your family member:


Melinda Rizley
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 1927
Conakry, Guinea
West Africa PAR AVION

It is recommended that packages be sent in padded envelopes if possible, as boxes tend to be taxed more frequently. Custom fees can sometimes be up to $100. For lightweight but important items (e.g. airline tickets), DHL (an express mail service) does operate in Conakry. If you choose to send items through DHL, you must address the package to the Country Director, c/o Corps de la Paix, Quartier Taouyah, , BP 1927, Conakry, Guinea (the phone number for the Peace Corps office in Guinea is (224) 22-78-09 , as DHL will need this information). If you send the item to the Country Director, no liability can be assumed. For more information about DHL, please call their toll free number, 1-800-CALL-DHL, or visit their web site at www.dhl.com.

Sending airplane tickets via international mail is not recommended. Certain airlines will allow you to buy a pre-paid ticket in the States; they will telex their Guinea office to have the ticket ready. Unfortunately, this system is not always reliable.

Trying to send cash or checks is very risky and is discouraged. If your Volunteer family member requests money from you, it is his/her responsibility to arrange receipt of it. Western Union seems to work well in countries where they are present.

We hope this information is helpful to you during the time your family member is serving as
a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guinea. We understand how frustrating it is to communicate with your family member overseas and we appreciate your using this information as a guideline. Please feel free to contact us at the Guinea Desk in Washington, D.C. if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Country Desk Officer
Country Desk Assistant

City of Brotherly Love

I'm off to Philly for a couple of days for lectures, immunizations, and hopefully a little salsa dancing. I'll miss The Ghana Cafe and The Dance Place in DC, but I'm sure there are happenin scenes I can drop into. Anyone that falls upon this and knows about some African or salsa dancing in Philly, give me the scoop. I'll only be there from Jan. 9th-12th so I won't have much time to do anything, but I gotta squeeze in some dancing. Even if I just bust a move straight out of the shower, ooh I feel sorry for my roommate! hah

Sorry for being lame!!

OK! I was avoiding posting this on my blog because I know many people hate reading stuff like this, but I'm gettin' desperate folks. As you can see on the right side of my page I have link for a free iPod. There was this Peace Corps Volunteer that got one and I thought it couldn't hurt to try. So I'm trying to get my iPod too. I wanted to see if my friend was just lucky or if they really do follow through with their offer for everyone. Besides I thought an iPod would be perfect to take with me when I go to the Peace Corps. I've been hoping for this so much that I haven't even thought of what I could bring for music if I don't get enough refferals. I've got two down and need three more. You can help me get my iPod before I leave for Africa on Jan 9th by going here. I just saw that they have the two week blockbuster offer. This was the one I did totally risk free. I canceled my membership after the two free weeks and they never charged me a cent (I did that over a month ago and I still haven't returned the movies).

Please don't hate me for posting this here, I just really wanna have lots of different music (ie Stayin Alive) to share with my village.

Tailored resume

Here's my resume, but the format messed up when I tried to put it on here. I just want all the Peace Corps applicants to see that you don't have to be overly qualified for something---Oh my gosh just realized I posted my address and phone number...I might as well put my credit card number while I'm at it. Think! Melinda, Think!!!

Melinda C. Rizley
***************
****
Guinea-Conakry
Jan. 10, 2005

Experience
2001-2004 University of Colo. Recreation Center Boulder, CO
Service Technician
· Responsible for various bookkeeping and monetary transactions
· Provide information about health, fitness, and facility related issues
2001 The Southwestern Company Nashville, TN
Salesperson
· Independent Contractor in direct sales of educational products
· Learned principles of salesmanship and success (e.g. schedule, positive attitude, goal setting)
· Developed communication skills by presenting to 180+ families/week
· Executed all ordering, inventory, sales, accounting, scheduling, presentation, and delivery of products
· Earned Gold Seal Award by working 80+ hours per week
· Received Perseverance Award
2000-2004 Project YES! Lafayette, CO
Volunteer / Co-facilitator
· Worked with “at risk” youth to develop leadership skills to effect change
· Developed and executed 9 month diversity workshop with local high school

Education
2000-2004 University of Colorado Boulder, CO
BA in Geography/French Minor
· Focused on physical geography (forest dynamics, vegetation, and soil properties)
· Studied human geography (international development and geo-politics)
· Gained experience with Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
· Served on the Geography Board 2003-2004

Languages

French- Intermediate/Advanced
· Four years of university level French
· 5 weeks intensive immersion school at L’Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
· Over 500 hours of speaking French in foreign country

Aspiration Statement

Aspiration Statement

Expectations:

Part of the nervousness and excitement while waiting for departure comes from the uncertainty. The phrase "hope for the best, expect the worst” has been running through my mind. I have thus developed certain expectations to prepare myself for challenges that lie ahead. I expect to be confronted with situations that will test me physically, emotionally, and intellectually. Through these tests I will discover many personal strengths and weaknesses of which I was previously unaware. I am prepared for countlessopportunities to practice patience and tolerance during a mutually beneficial cultural exchange. Gandhi pointed out the power in expectation when he said:

If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.

Therefore as I learn more about the culture and my specific assignment I will set upon myself high expectations. My expectations may be idealistic, but they are grounded in reality; however, the specifics will not become completely clear until I know more about my village and assignment. I am aware that my impact on the community may not be very visible. I am like a sower planting seeds within the hearts and minds of the people in hopes that they will flourish. I understand that I have limited control in making these grow, so I will focus my expectations on things that I can control. I will put all my effort into training (learning the skills and language necessary) and day- to-day life to learn what is needed to effect a positive change. I will assess my community’s needs and develop secondary projects if needed. After my service I plan to use the knowledge gained in all areas of my life. I expect my service with the Peace Corps to be one of the most influential experiences of my life.

Strategies:
I intend to study hard and learn all the information Peace Corps Training will provide. I realize that language acquisition is intrinsic not only to learning and conforming to social norms, but also to being able to respond to the needs of the community. Therefore, I intend to use English only when necessary during the first three months. I also will spend time learning from my family by getting involved with daily activities as often as time allows. Once at my post I will work on developing friendships with neighbors, farmers, and families and find a cultural interpreter. Through these friendships I will better understand the needs of the locals and how to respect the elders and traditions while facilitating change. In time I will be able to find people who are willing to work with myself and my counter part to get things done. Change will be initiated by the locals and I will act as a facilitator. I will give people who are willing the tools to continue progress in their village. I believe the most important thing in adapting to a new culture is having an open heart and mind. I look at culture as a neurological map of societal norms that tells us when person does A, it means B. But A does not always mean B, especially in other cultures. This means I must be able to question my own beliefs and the foundation on which they were formed. This will help me to understand and accept that A can sometimes mean X.

Personal and Professional Goals:

* Learn and teach agro-forestry methods for sustainable development that meet the needs of my community

* Become fluent or somewhat fluent in French

* Strive to function in the local language

* Develop numerous friendships with Guineans and engage in a cultural exchange that will deepen our understanding of each other

* Empower locals to better their lives as they see fit
* Take everything I will have learned through the Peace Corps experience to enrich those whom I meet in the US.
* Use experience while forming a non-profit to create social change at home.
*Work for foreign services

The Final Stretch

Well it's the final stretch (for school that is). I've complete the two things that was going to keep me from graduating! I just got to sprint my way home from here. I found a dentist that has been really helpful in getting my stuff done in time--which has to be done in 6 days, otherwise I don't go. I just sent off my 'aspiration statement' and updated resume (which I'll post up here), so as soon as school is over I'll start packing. Well that's it for now. 36 Days Left!!