I have a category on blog called language fails where write posts about funny language related episodes I’ve been a part of or come across, however there has been a particular series I’ve wanted to write about for some time now. This series has all to do with my experience of working with Brazilians and … Continue reading »
“The kindness I have longest remembered has been of this sort, the sort unsaid; so far behind the speaker’s lips that almost it already lay in my heart. It did not have far to go to be communicated.” Henry David Thoreau This week I read a post that made me smile as it made me think to … Continue reading »
Dear Conakry, It is with a heavy heart that I leave you for another. She is called South Africa; was my first love for eighteen years and we have decided to give the relationship another chance. Things didn’t work out with us, but I’m still sad to leave you, even though you were a bit … Continue reading »
Sometimes I forget that despite being in sub-Saharan Africa, I am still in a majority Muslim country. This has been pretty clear in the office as most of our local employees are Muslim and have been fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. Tonight Muslims in Guinea and all over the world will celebrate the … Continue reading »
We are in the middle of the rainy season here in Guinea and this means two or three months of endless rain. That is what people told me when I arrived but I believed that this might be a slight exaggeration considering that I’ve lived through six and half years of ‘rainy season’ in London … Continue reading »
In the previous post of this series I spoke about the fact that Raquel and I have made a decision and taken a risk which will change our lives from this point onwards. However the decisions taken were taken after considering all our options and considering the impact that these decisions would have on our … Continue reading »
I’m currently rereading a book I read in 2009 called The State of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence. For those who have an interest in Africa this is a great book as it provides with a good history of the period before independence of African countries through to the period post independence. … Continue reading »
Yesterday while scouring Conakry in search for a working ATM, we weaved between the streets the downtown area which gave me a great opportunity for some hidden iPhotography! Enjoy!
One of the reasons I love my iPhone is the quality of the photos it takes and a nifty little app which Mark Zuckerberg thought worth buying: Instagram. I’ve been using Instagram for while now; Initially on my iPod Touch and have to be honest love the app. I love what it does to photos … Continue reading »
West Africa for me is synonymous with great music, even though my West African music education is limited, names like Ali Farka Toure, Amadou et Mariam, Salif Keita and Tinariwen come to mind (though these are all Malian). The possible musical education and journey was one of the things which excited me about coming to … Continue reading »
Reaching a month into a new expat experience is always a milestone worth writing about regardless of whether it is positive or negative. I like writing about these milestones as they provide me with sort of a ‘happiness timeline’ of an expat experience. If you adopt the habit of doing this for everyone of those … Continue reading »
There is one thing I’m absolutely useless in and that is keeping track of how much things cost. Raquel is my price checker when it comes food and most household items. The truth is I’m used to being an expat where most of expenses are paid for by my company that my brain automatically refuses … Continue reading »
Festa Junina was something I was completely oblivious about until a couple of days ago when my colleagues told me we were going to celebrate it here on Saturday. We then received the invitations, which basically stated “Wear chequered shirts and look like a hillbilly!”. I had to do some research find out what this … Continue reading »
When friends and family found out about my move to Guinea, most of my Portuguese friends immediately thought of Guinea Bissau, others mentioned Papua New Guinea. Most didn’t know about the existence about this Guinea (The Conakry one). Before you wonder if there are more? Yes, there are four countries with Guinea in the name: … Continue reading »
Today I was hoping to be writing about a great concert I went to yesterday in Conakry, but instead I will write about one of the most surreal experiences I’ve ever had; an experience that a couple hours later had us laughing and joking about it but in the moment was slightly frightening and could … Continue reading »
Last Sunday a couple of people from work including myself went to an orphanage here in Conakry to continue some work started here a few weeks ago. The Orphanage is called Foyer de St. Joseph (St. Joseph’s Home) and is run by Father Etienne, a French Catholic Priest.
Yesterday some colleagues and I went to an orphanage as part of the social side of the company however on the way (an almost one hour drive) I some opportunities to take some interesting photo’s from within the car which I wanted to share! I will write a separate post about the orphanage visit soon.
So I’ve been a week in Conakry already and well, I can’t say that things have gone too badly and in general the experience has been quite positive so far, despite the realization that I’m back in real Africa; the Africa where power cuts are common, you can’t drink tap water and the internet is … Continue reading »
I arrived in Conakry on Monday afternoon after a tiring flight from London via Paris and Nouakchott (That’s in Mauritania in case you are wondering). Spending four months in the cold and grey weather in London meant that the thirty plus Celsius temperature coming out of the airplane on arrival was a quite a bit of a … Continue reading »
Just a teaser for now… There will be more to come soon! Stay tuned!
