Two Weeks In

First of all, I would like to apologize for the lack of pictures on this blog. I have taken a few, but the internet here is very slow and I haven't found the patience/time yet to sit to wait for pictures to load. However, I will make an effort to do so soon.

I have been in Burkina for two whole weeks, although it seems like I have been here several months at least. The past two weeks have been spent going to class, learning about the Burkina school system in preparation of teaching, learning French, and of course sweating A LOT. It's been in the low 100s the past few days, without any rain, despite the fact that it is the "cool and rainy season." However, the few times that it has rained, the temperature drops and it is lovely! (And the Burkinabe put on their winter coats). So I've been pretty busy, with class from 8-5 every weekday and 8-12 every Saturday.

Last weekend was my first weekend with my host family, in which I went to the marche with my host mother. Instead of having grocery stores and shopping malls, most of the buying (and selling) is done at the local marche. Because I'm in Ouahi, the second largest city in Burkina, there is a large marche everyday where almost every needed item can be found. So we went to the marche on Sunday to buy ingredients for dinner that night, a local dish called to (similar to solid cream of wheat that is eaten with a variety of sauces). The marche is a very very busy place with many people all negotiating and bargaining. Prices here are not fixed like they are in the U.S. Instead, it is expected to haggle for the price of a good. Because I am a foreigner, the price is jacked way up, so I have to know what the correct price should be or else I will be taken for a ride.

In addition to going to the marche, my mother showed me how to do my laundry without the use of a washing machine. Basically, you soak your clothes in soap and lye water, then scrub them until the dirt comes out, then rinse them. When doing my laundry for the first time, every item of clothing that I scrubbed, my host mom would resrub because I apparently am not good at scrubbing. Also, everything I hung on the line to dry, my host mom took down and rehung. They definitely have their ways here.

Last weekend there was also a football game between Burkina and Cote d'Ivoire, which was a BIG game. Although Burkina lost the game, when the first Burkina goal was scored, the city literally erupted in cheers; it sounded like St. Mary's after Obama won the election, except no one was running around banging pots and pans. The Burkinabe people are a very loud people on the whole-they talk loudly, they laugh loudly, and they play music really loudly. Last night I was trying to fall asleep when a local restaurant started playing music and it sounded as if there was a radio baring music next to my head. I wonder if the villages are this loud, but I doubt it as there is less electricity (or none at all), which means fewer radios and tvs that can be blared. Also, there are a TON of motos here. These motos are not quite motorcycles, but rather mopeds that one pedams to get started. Very few people own cars, but many people own motos (at least in the city). It's funny because on tv, all of the U.S. car commercials are replaced by moto commercials.

The people here are also very friendly. I've learned that greetings are very important so I should say "bonjour" or "bonsoir" to everyone I meet and even people I see when riding my bike. This is very different from the U.S., where you mostly keep to yourself when walking down the street, and you might even be called crazy if you said hello to everyone you saw. Also, another big difference between the U.S. and Burkina is all the waiting (West African International Time:WAIT). People move at a much slower rate here and time is not money. There is none of the rush rush rush attitude that is seen and felt in the U.S. ( expect that one time when I thought I was going to get run over by a moto, I had to rush rush rush to get out of the way). This might be one of the things that I will have to work hardest to get used to, because I can be a pretty impatient person. When I'm ready to do something, I want to do it right that minute.

The children here are either very friendly, yelling "nasara" (white person or foreigner) and wanting to shake my hand, or they look scared when they look at me. Which in turn makes me smile, but I'm not sure that helps or just makes them more scared of the grinning white person who dresses funny. Speaking of dressing funny, almost all of the women here wear pagnes, which are brightly colored cotton cloth that are worn in a variety of styles. My mother bought me a pagne and took me to the tailor to get a dress made, but I was pretty sick at the time (the one day I've been sick here) so I didn't really pay attention to what kind of dress was going to be made for me...I guess I will see. However soon though, I want to buy some pagnes and get some cool clothes made!

So far, my experience here has been great. I know I've been pretty spoiled, living with a functionaire (civil servant) family (my father is an economics professor at a local high school) in a house that has both electricity and running water. I also live in the city so food is not hard to come by, as the marche is very close (so I'm eating great... for the moment at least). The Burkinabe people are also a very clean people, or at least cleanliness is a sign of rank, so my family males sure that everything is clean and I shower two times a day. I know, I would never do that in the U.S., with water conservation and everything, but I'm not going to lie, it feels great to get wet often in this heat. I actually look forward to coming home and showering after being covered in sweat and dust all day. So don't worry, I may be in Africa, but I am clean!

Being a Burkinabe

We arrived in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, last Saturday and were greeted by a bunch of the PC staff. It was nice to be taken care of again, after being in travel since Tuesday afternoon. We spent the night at a hotel/hostel called SIL in Ouaga. That night we went to Doug, the Country Director’s house for dinner, where we had pizza (yes there is pizza in BK), spaghetti, and wonderful fruit salad. The next day we filled out paperwork and had the intro language test and then we travelled to Ouahigouya, where our training will take place. Ouahigouya is a city about 2 hours north (driving) of Ouaga. At Ouahi, we were greeted by a bunch of people singing and dancing. After finding our rooms, we had dinner and a dancing troup entertainined us- I even got to dance with them (and you know how well I dance). We also brought the rain that night and we all ended up dancing in the rain. The rain felt very good after the long past few days of travelling and the heat, of which I’m still getting used to (I think it will take quite awhile to acclimate). After dancing in the rain, I even felt cold- I think it will be that last time I’ll be cold in a long time. Right now, it’s the beginning of rainy season here in Burkina, so it’s cooler that it will be in the February-May. So we’re really lucky to have gotten here when it’s not so hot, however to me, it feels very hot and I’m sweating a ton while I’m just sitting here.

The past few days have been spent taking classes and learning more about Burkina. Last night we got adopted in our host families. Mine consists of only a mom and dad- some other trainees have up to 30 people living in one courtyard (area of houses). My host parents are very nice and made sure everything was okay with me, however there is a bit of a language barrier, as I am not that good at French and speak very little Moore- one of the local languages. So last night was pretty funny, eating dinner with my host mom and dad and trying to communicate through French, Moore, and a little bit of English. Last night a bunch of people came over to meet me and talk to my host parents. It was interesting (and apparently very funny to them) to try to speak to all the visitors. Everyone thinks it’s hilarious when I talk (or try to talk). I got pretty lucky with my host placement, as my host family’s house is very close (about a 10 minute bike ride from training), and I even have running water and electricity! So that means that I have a shower- which is a rarity here in Burkina, but I still have to use the latrine that is outside the house. A latrine is really just a hole in the ground and is a pleasure to use, haha, especially with the bugs that scatter when I go to the toilet in middle of the night with my headlamp.

But overall, I’m having a great time here. I know it’s only been a week since staging in the US, but it feels like several months at least- I guess because so much has happened and I’m ready for even more to happen!

The Night in Niger

The adventure has started! It started in Philadelphia in staging, we I met all of the wonderful people who are joining me in this adventure. During staging, we learned more about the Peace Corps, met my fellow volunteers, and filled out a lot of forms. The next day we got the beginning of our vaccines and began malaria medicine (and no I haven't had any crazy dreams yet from the medicine). Then we left for the airport. We waited at the airport for several hours and made it onto the plane. We arrived in Paris the morning on the 11th (very early morning East Coast time). Then we boarded the plane for another 7 hour hop down to Ouagadougou...or so we thought.

We landed in Niger for to refuel and to some people off the plane and then were to fly to Ouaga. After waiting on the tarmac for about an hour, we were informed that something was wrong with the plane and they were going to try to fix it. We waited in the plane for about another hour and then were handed out customs forms, which meant we were to spend the night in Niger- very unexpected. Fortunately, we had met up with another Burkina volunteer who was on her way back to country after a vacation home. So Johanna contacted the Peace Corps office in Niger to inform them of our situation. The airport was like no airport I've ever experienced- very African I'm assuming. But we weren't allowed to take pictures, so you'll just have to imagine it. Air France located a hotel for us to stay in, so we took a local bus into the city and spent the night in Niger.

I'm currently in the hotel, waiting for a shuttle to take us back to the airport this afternoon, where we will hopfully make it to Burkina. The four star hotel we're staying in is very nice- and even has a pool which was nice for a morning swim...I wonder when I'll get to swim in another pool. I also took a VERY nice shower this morning- I also wonder when I'll be able to take another shower with running water...the things we take for granted...

Well I'm off to lunch and hopefully will write again soon!

Ready or Not

I leave for Africa tonight whether I'm ready or not...I think I'm ready.