September 4, 2009
I have been at site exactly one week from today. It has been different that I expected but it definitely started off well because I did not run after the PC vehicle to come get me right after it dropped me off. Affectation was pretty low-key and I was very ready to be on my own. I spent the first few days completely cleaning my house, which involved moving everything inside outside, sweeping, and mopping the house, before replacing everything to get rid of bugs and dirt. I have also bug bombed my house two times already, as I do not like insects, especially large crawling ones, inside my house. And I have already killed my fair share of cockroackes (be proud Papa, I didn’t even scream when one crawled across my foot). After getting myself situated in my house, I went out and greeted my neighbors and some of the important people in town. It was pretty awkward, as I didn’t know what to say other than hello, my name, and what I am doing here. As I am the 3rd SE volunteer in Tougouri, most people understand what I am doing here and have been expecting me, which is actually very comforting.
Now, about my house; I live in a courtyard with 6 other houses, called a celebratarium. My house, only a year old, is made of concrete (better than mud- fewer bugs) with a tin roof (I wear ear plugs when it rains because it is so loud) with 2 rooms: a bedroom and a kitchen/dining room, with an outdoor latrine and shower area. My house is small, but it is all mine (which I share with my cat Eloise-more on her later) and I really do not need much space at all. Already, I have found that I spend the majority of my time outside on the porch anyway. Currently, there is only one other inhabited house in the courtyard- a new family moved in the day after I did, but they are in Ouaga at the moment. The people who live in the other houses will move in closer to October, as it is still vacation and Tougouri is not their home village.
So I must admit that it is a bit lonely at the moment. However, I have been making an effort to leave my courtyard at least once a day to go to the marche, buy bread, or go greet people. Yesterday I had lunch with the nuns in Tougs and I like them already. Still, I am awkward at chatting with people, one because of language barriers, and two because I am not good at small talk, even in English. So after saying hello to people, I usually sit there I silence, because I do not have anything to say. I am sure (or I hope) that in time I will feel more comfortable, but it takes just that, time. And time is what I seem to have a lot of at the moment. My school’s director is not here yet, so I have not set up my teaching schedule and therefore cannot lesson plan yet. Instead, I have been reading a lot and taking lots of naps. Also, because the sun sets before 7pm and I have no electricity and nothing really urgent to do, I have been going to bed around 7/730pm every night. This means that I have been waking up around 5am with the roosters and donkeys. Nevertheless, I am definitely getting my beauty sleep. It has been raining a lot, thankfully keeping the temperature down, so I have been sleeping inside more nights than not. I’m sure that will change when the rains stop and the temperature heats up again, but I am enjoying it while it lasts! However, the storms 3 days ago caused a lot of flooding in the area, and all over Burkina, washing out many roads and leaving thousands homeless. It is hard to remember that when I am enjoying my cool night’s sleep, others are watching their homes get washed away. I am definitely thankful for what I have!
Speaking of having things, I also now have 2 kittens! The pregnant cat, Eloise, who I inherited from Becca, the volunteer I replaced, is no longer pregnant and is instead the proud mother of two. The kittens are too young to play with at moment, but I am hoping they will emerge from under my bed soon (Eloise’s ‘den’). Right now I just hear lots of little “mewing” noises.

So that is about it for my first week at site. Admittedly, I did not think I would be going to the internet already, but another volunteer, Mike, suggested that we meet up in Kaya (our regional capital) for the day. So here I am! And I am glad I took him up on the suggestion, as I am going a little stir crazy in my empty courtyard. So until next time, take care!

Swear-In Ceremony

I am now an official Peace Corps Volunteer, as of last night, August 25, 2009. I am also a year older, as of August 24, 2009 (thanks for all the birthday wishes!). The swear-in ceremony was last night at the ambassador’s residence, at which 32 of the initial 32 people who started training in June got sworn-in as official PCVs. So all of us have made it through training! The past few days in Ouaga have been glorious, mostly due to the feasting of wonderful food that has been occurring. I chose a great time to be born, because in Ouaga I have been able to eat pizza, ice cream, and hamburgers. Other than eating a lot, I have been spending my time shopping for site. Because I am a replacement site, I get life pretty easy because I will inherit many things from previous volunteers at my site, such as a stove, bed, furniture, and mattress. Because I am inheriting a basically furnished house, I do not have to buy many items for moving to site, unlike volunteers who are at new sites, who have to furnish their houses from scratch. Therefore, I have spent a majority of my move-in allowance on food for site, such as olive oil and oatmeal, purchased at one of the two grocery stores in Burkina. I also bought a thin mattress for a cot, which apparently a lot of volunteers prefer over a bed for sleeping, due to the heat. Right now, I am very glad that I am a replacement site, because things are very easy for me this week, while other volunteers have been stressing out about getting everything for site. However, once at site, I might wish I was at a new site, because I very easily might be compared to the previous volunteers for months. So we will see….

The swear-in ceremony was last night and many people got affectated to their sites this morning. It was very sad to leave the people who have become my best friends in the last few months. It is especially difficult because these people have become my family and due to living in completely different parts of the country, I may not see some of them for months. Although most people left for site this morning, I am staying in Ouaga with several other volunteers until Friday, when Peace Corps transport will take me to my site.

I must admit that now that swear-in is over, I am getting more nervous about getting to site and being all alone. I contacted my counterpart (my advisor at site who is a teacher at my school) this morning and found out that she will not be at site when I arrive on Friday. So I am a little anxious about getting to site and not knowing anybody and having to go around and greet all of the people in town by myself. However, many people (functionaries) will not be in village until at least half-way through September because it is still vacances, during which functionaries travel to their home villages or to Ouaga. So I am hoping that my counterpart arrives in Tougouri before too long. I also hope that my school director comes to site soon, because I would like to get my teaching schedule straight and begin lesson planning, which I know is going to take some time. However, I have been told not to expect my director before September 15^th which means no lesson planning for at least two weeks, therefore I am going to have TONS of free time. To keep myself busy and not go crazy while not speaking to any Americans for a whole month, I plan on giving my house a thorough cleaning and of course bug bombing my house, painting my bedroom yellow (I bought paint and paintbrushes today), reading a bunch of books (I borrowed 10 books from the transit house library today), getting back onto a running schedule, and of course getting to know my village and community I will be living in for the next two years. So I know it seems as if I will be busy for the next month, I have a feeling that there will be a lot of down time and I will be taking many naps, which I am not complaining about. Also, because I am leaving for site, I will not have internet access at site, so I am not sure when I will be updating next. In order to use the internet, I have to come into a larger city, either my regional capital or Ouaga. I do not see myself wanting to go that long without internet and contact with the rest of the world, but volunteers are discouraged from leaving site for the first three months, because those months are very important for integration. However, that being said, I do not plan on leaving site all that often, but I have a feeling I will be going stir-crazy before too long. So we will see how long it is before I need to get away. Therefore, do not be alarmed if I do not update until next month, I am fine, but am just busy integrating!

The whole group

Those of us in the Northeast of Burkina

One Week Until Swear-In!

I have only one week until swear-in! Yay! I have been doing pretty much the same thing this past week: model school in the mornings and language and cross-cultural classes in the afternoons. Today I gave my second test, which was a little silly after only having a week of classes. However, we need to learn how to calculate grades, which is difficult to do with only one test. So everyone had to administer another test this week. For the rest of the week I have a pretty light workload, as tomorrow is test corrections and Friday is a party for the last day of model school. Then we leave for Ouaga this weekend to become real volunteers!

The highlight of last week was the cooking session, where we learned about cooking Burkina style. Each person was given 1000 CFA (the equivalent of 2 US dollars) and we had to prepare a full meal. My group decided to make banana bread, creamy garlic mashed potatoes, salad, and crepes for dessert. I was full and actually satisfied after that meal for the first time in weeks!

Bovard is very happy with our creations

Trying the banana bread batter that we put in our crepes with honey

Gwen and I finally meet!

Our very large and delicious salad!

The Salle de Profs at model school, as you can see everyone is working hard aka playing cards

I am ready for stage to be done, but as the days to swear-in get closer, I get a little more scared day by day to be all alone at site, but I think I can do it! I am ready!

A Rough Week

Model school has been going well, but I have been having a little bit of issues dealing with cultural differences. Here, women are considered lower than the men; men are allowed to eat first, talk first, basically do everything first. Women do basically all of the work around the house, which is one reason why boys continue in school while girls drop out to do housework. However, times are changing, especially in the more urban areas. Nevertheless, girls still do most, if not all, of the chores. Last week we did an activity with the students, in which the girls and boys were broken into two different groups and were asked to write out a daily calendar of activities for both boys and girls. It was very clear when both groups came together that the girls were awake more hours than the boys and in that time spent many more hours working, while the boys played soccer and hung out with friends. And these are mostly children of educated functionaries (civil servants).

Also, there is a hierarchy within the family, the father first, then either the mother or the sons, and then the daughters. It sometimes seems that I have been more integrated into my host family than I wanted. Not that I am asked to spend all of my free hours cooking or cleaning or getting water, but it seems sometimes that my parents assume that what is mine is also theres, as if I really was a member of their family. I do thank them so much for taking me into their family and for caring for me, but I am not a rich American (despite what many Burkinabe think about all Americans) and do not have that much stuff here. The other day I spent more money than I should have to buy ingredients to make no-bake cookies (I was craving something sweet). So I came home and made the cookies, with the ingredients that I bought, and shared them with my family. I then told my mother than I wanted to save the rest to give away tomorrow. But then when I wake up in the morning, my mother has eaten them. I was not very happy, but let it go. So yesterday I made some more cookies and again asked my mom to not eat them because I wanted them for tomorrow. And then I went looking for them this morning and they were gone and my mother wouldn’t really answer me about what happened to them. So that was a little frustrating. Then, my mother had requested last weekend that I cook lunch today, which I am more than happy to do. However, as I was leaving for the marche, she asked if I was paying and I said no, because I do not have much money, and she did not seem very happy with my answer. It is just trying at times because I know my family is getting paid a fair amount of money to feed me and then they want me to buy food to feed the whole family? I do not really understand it and therefore I feel as if there is some tension at home at the moment and I do not want there to be. But at the same time, I do not really know what to do to fix it and to prove that not all Americans are rich and my things are not my families (aka it is not polite to demand candy when I get a care package). But I am working through this…I hope.

Anyway, I think this is a time for a shout-out. I would really like to say thank you to everyone who has been keeping in touch with me. It really means so much to me! So thank you parents for calling me every weekend- you have no idea how I look forward to those phone calls. And of course thanks for sending me those things that I left at home (I wish we had a better packing list). Thanks to Cate and Mother Burgess for sending me monthly care packages. I just got the second one and almost cried I was so happy! And thanks to everyone who has been commenting on my blog and facebook and to those who have been emailing me. I’ve also had some great conversations chatting on the computer with Theresa and Sarah. And Kentai even called me last week!!! Woot woot!!!! These simple things matter so much, so if you have time to write me a quick letter and send me a line, I would really appreciate it (and you might get a pretty sweet card from Africa in return). I also want to say sorry to my friends (and sister) who have gone abroad and I failed to email, call, or send a letter to you. I now know how it feels to be cut off from family and friends and it is hard! (or maybe I am just a homebody who needs her friends around at all times, haha). I really just do not want to lose contact with those I care about in the U.S., but it is a little challenging at times to be the one initiating contact from a third world country. So thanks to everyone I have heard from and I look forward to hearing from everyone else! Miss you guys.

Model School

The last 5 weeks of stage for SE trainees are spent in model school. During this period, we must demonstrate that we can carry out certain activities in order to show that we are able to effectively serve as PC teachers in Burkina. The first week of model school was spent observing Burkinabe and current volunteers teach to Burkinabe students. We also began lesson planning. During weeks two and three, we were let loose and actually allowed to teach students (wow!). However, it wasn’t as crazy or as terrifying as I thought it would be. So for the past two weeks, I have been teaching one hour a day of SVT (Biology) to real students. The rest of my mornings were spent watching other trainees teach and lesson planning. And lesson planning takes a looonnngggg time. First I have to translate the badly written biology textbook from French to English. Then I have to decide what I actually want to teach (if anything from the book) and then I have to translate it back to French. However, I think my French has improved dramatically (at least I hope it has) in the past few weeks, because I have been forced to speak (and think in) French for at least one hour every day. Also, I already feel much more comfortable speaking in front of people. Right now my classes have about 50 students, which is half the number I will have in real school in the fall, but you have to start somewhere right? I have found that I am a little easy on the students in terms of discipline, aka I don’t through students out of class the first time they are chatting- I give them at least one chance. But I have gotten good feedback from current volunteers, saying that I have a good presence in the room and the students seem to be paying attention and are actually learning! Last week we were learning about mushrooms and on Friday a student brought in a huge mushroom that they found in the fields to show me and the class. So at least one student is excited about learning!

Also, last week I administered my first test. However, since there are no photocopiers here, I had to write the test on large pieces of paper and tape up in the front of the classroom. And these large pieces of paper fell down every five minutes. So every five minutes in my otherwise silent class, I would hear a “Madame Madame le devoir! (the test).” So that was a lot of fun. Also, Burkinabe students seem to cheat a lot, so I had to walk around the classroom the whole time and watch for cheaters. And I caught two and gave them zeros. I did feel bad, but we are told to not be timid and not to let them get away with cheating because if they do it once and get away with it, they will definitely do it again. Grading handwritten tests was also a bit tricky, as all the students here write in cursive and of course it is in French, so I had a fun time deciphering some answers. But as a whole, the class did very well, with ¾ of the class over the moyen (middle 50%). Generally only ½ of the students get above the moyen. So I either wrote a very easy test or my students paid good attention to me. I would like to think the later. Also, another challenge here is to get students to think critically and to stimulate student participation and discussion in class. Thinking critically is difficult here, because students are not really encouraged to apply already-learned concepts and techniques to new environments. So I have been trying to as more “why?” questions in addition to challenging students to think ahead to the next step. However, this is a little difficult sometimes, because I do not always understand what the students are saying and I do not really know the material all that well (when did I ever have to learn the different parts of a mushroom or the differences between ferns and moss?).

Next week I change classes and will be teaching SVT still, but at a higher grade level. So now I get to teach about geology rather than biology. Tomorrow’s lesson is on the water cycle and I even have a fun song to sing to my class (and you all know how well I sing). Next week might be a little challenging, as I am alternating teaching with another trainee, Lorena, and Lorena has great French. So she has been able to already be creative with her classes, while I am still struggling with pronunciation. I aspire to be like Lorena and I think that in one year’s time I will be there. Haha.

And now some random pictures:

Krystle in heaven eating an apple with REAL peanut butter

As you can see, a really nutritious dinner consisting of pasta and oil, but this was actually a really good meal that we were very excited about

I know it is upside down, but we are all excited about our trip to village

African couscous, made from corn flour and water and cooked for about an hour, which I have decided is too much work and store bought couscous tastes sooo much better

Peace Corps Training for Secondary Education

With les enfants in village

I wanted to give a little information about the whole training program that I’ve been going through…and am 3 weeks away from finishing!!

In order to swear-in (become an actual volunteer instead of a trainee, which I am currently) in the secondary education sector in Burkina, it is necessary that I complete certain criteria. The first of which is language proficiency. The PC has its own scale of language proficiency to judge the language level of the volunteers: Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, and Superior. Each main level has 3 levels within it: Low, Mid, and High. In order to swear-in, I have to have a language proficiency of Intermediate Mid in French. Currently I am at Novice High+ (I am still not sure what the + means). So I have some work to do, but I am getting tutored and do additional workbook exercises every day, in addition to mandatory language classes. So hopefully I will get there…language is just difficult for me. Also, two weeks ago we began learning local languages, which is Moore for me. I am a little frustrated at the moment because I am still struggling to get to the required language level in French and am now having to learn yet another language. It’s just a lot of work at the moment. However, the PC does have top-notch language programs, so I am trusting that by the end of training, with 120 hours of language class under my belt, I will be at the required language level.

The next criteria for swear-in is cultural adaptation. During training we have had many cross cultural training sessions, covering information about Burkina food to local transportation to social events to dating host country nationals (don’t worry I haven’t found one yet, haha). I have been taught how to respect and acknowledge the host culture, especially the dress code. Especially for women, the dress code here is different than in the U.S. I am supposed to dress “professional” when out in public, which means covering my knees and wearing clean clothes that are not ripped or stained. To teach I am not allowed to wear spaghetti straps and tank tops are iffy. Also, I am not supposed to wear t-shirts with writing on them as writing is distracting for the students. This would have been nice to know before coming over here, because most of the t-shirts I brought (4 of the 5) have writing on them. But ca va aller. Also, jeans and sneakers are considered “nicer” than capris and sandals, which is the opposite of in the states. But this is mainly because jeans and sneakers are more expensive than capris and flip-flops, so wearing jeans and sneakers is a symbol of status. I also went to the tailor today to get some African clothes made, so we’ll see how those come out!

Of course I have also been learning about the school system in Burkina and teaching in general. I have to be able to demonstrate knowledge of the theory and practice of teaching in Burkina, in addition to be able to prepare and present lessons that follow the Burkina curriculum. I am currently in model school right now (there will be a blog on that next week, so stay tuned), in which I am teaching real Burkinabe students for 1 hour/day in SVT (Biology). In model school I am learning effective classroom management and developing my confidence in teaching. In tech sessions I have also learned about the Burkinabe school system, which is based on the French school system. The PC has also introduced to hierarchy within each school, so I know who to turn to with certain questions and who I report to, etc.

In addition to learning about teaching, I have had several sessions on PC safety and security and PC regulations. So now I know many rules and know what to do in an emergency. But do not worry (parents), the PC has a whole division dedicated to safety and security, so I am very safe here. Also, I have come to really enjoy the medical sessions (mainly because the Peace Corps Medical Officers (PCMOs) bring us food). During the medical sessions, we learn about a variety of things, anything from preventing malaria to how to give a stool sample if you think you have a parasite to how to splint a broken bone to what to do if a snake bites you (pretty unlikely…but better be safe than sorry!).

Overall, I would say that the PC has done a very good job in training us trainees, at least in the secondary education sector. Of course days with 4 and 6 hours of language training were difficult to get through, but we did it! And model school is a GREAT idea- without it, the first month or so teaching at site would be terrifying. Not that it may not be anyway, but it would be so much more so without model school. And I am proud to say that our stage (the group of trainees that are currently in training) is still 32/32! Nobody has early terminated (ETed) yet!!!

Steph getting her hair done

Steph`s adorable little brother!

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