Site Visit

Last week I visited my site Tougouri with my counterpart, Konate. Konate is an SVT (Biology) and math teacher at my school and she will serve as my connection to the village while I live in Burkina. I can also go to her with any questions, cultural, or otherwise that I have. In Tougouri, I met Becca, the volunteer that I will be replacing. While in Tougouri, I went around with Becca and Konate, meeting many people and learned a lot about my village. However, I did not meet many other teachers at my school, because teachers here work for the government and are told where to work in the country. Therefore, many of the teachers do not teach in their home villages and leave to visit their homes during the summer vacation (June to September). However, I did meet the censeur (David), who is in charge of the school finances, and Mariam, the school secretary, because they both live in my courtyard. I was very glad that Becca was around for most of my site visit, as my French is not all that good and Becca was able to tell me many things about Tougouri that I would not think to ask. It was interesting to see the different places that Becca and I are in, she leaving for the U.S. and me having just arrived. Seeing Becca interact with the people in her village was very aspiring and now I am even more motivated to learn more and do a good job here, because I want to be as comfortable and at ease in two years as Becca appeared last week. In Tougouri I stayed in Becca’s house (now my house) (see pictures below). The house is small, two rooms: a bedroom and a cooking/eating room, but I do not need much space at all. In fact, the house seemed quite large compared to the room I currently have at my host family’s house. It was great to be able to see where I will be living, because now I know more about the future. Also, Becca is leaving the house very well stocked, so I really do not have to buy much! Site visits in the middle of stage was a great motivation booster, and of course a good break from class. Now I am ready for Model School for the next month, followed by swear-in, and affectation (moving to site)!
After site visits, we (the other trainees and I) met up in Ouaga. Getting to Ouaga was an experience- my first experience with BF public transport by myself. Public transport here is like nothing in the U.S. Roads are jammed with bicycles, mopeds, cars, and large trucks and buses, so travelling can be a terrifying experience. Throw in donkey carts and many pedestrians, getting around Burkina can be quite interesting. Cars do drive on the right, like in the U.S., but there are no set lanes, so drivers drive on both sides of the road in an effort to avoid other road traffic. There are relatively few paved roads in Burkina, but the larger cities usually have a few paved roads. Tougouri is also directly on a paved road, so I am lucky in terms of transport (aka I have a direct route to Ouaga that does not involve a bush taxi). Burkina has a number of coach bus companies, with daily departures and generally set prices. Times of departure are followed, for the most part. Although there are many bus companies, some companies are better than others and choosing the right company can result in getting to the destination on time or spending the night in the bush due to a broken down bus. Bush taxis are another option for transport available to PCVs, but bush taxis do not leave on set days/times and do not have set prices. So it is necessary to haggle for the price and then sit and wait for the taxi to leave. Of course, the mode of transport most commonly utilized by Burkinabe (and PCVs) is bicycle.
My trip to Ouaga was relatively unevently, other than the fact that I had to wait a little bit to get a bus that had room for me and my bike. I ended up taking a bus that had room for my bike, but little room for me so I sat in the aisle for the 2.5 hour ride. Becca met me at the bus station and brought me to the PC transit house (a Peace Corps owned building, similar to a hostel, where Peace Corps Volunteers from any country can stay) so that I did not have to deal with negotiating the price for a taxi by myself. Thanks Becca! The other trainees and I spent the next few days in Ouaga, getting to know the city and the PC headquarters there. Ouaga seems to a pretty fun city, with several movie theaters, swimming pools, bowling alley, and even a French grocery store (YES!!!). I also had a chicken sandwich, pizza, and a chocolate milkshake while in the city…soooo good! I have a feeling that I might be coming into Ouaga on a relatively frequent basis after I move to site, if only for the variety in food and the book library at the transit house. Now I am back in Ouahi, ready to start teaching in Model School next week!

My house!

Some interesting cloud formations prior to a storm