Eleven Months In!

Monday May 17, 2010

I have been in Burkina Faso for over 11 months. In some ways it feels much longer but in other I feel that I just got here. The days and weeks seem to fly by, but the minutes and house drag. I am also almost done with my first year to teaching! I’ve taught my last classes and filled out report cards. All that is left is the final teacher’s meeting and then I am done! It feels very good to have a year to teaching done with.

To celebrate, I went to Bani, a neighboring volunteer’s site, last weekend where I met up with several other volunteers and we went camel riding and explored the mosques to Bani. In Bani, against Islamic traditions, there are several mosques on the hills surrounding Bani that instead of facing towards Mecca, they face toward Bani’s grand mosque. As the myth goes, the local iman, El Hadj Hama, left Bani in the 1950s and wandered in the desert for many years, while walked to Mecca at least two times. According to his followers, El Hadj is God’s last prophet on Earth. In the 1980s El Hadj returned to Bani and started a breakaway sect of Islam, which I believe only exists in Bani. The mosques were quite a sight to see, not quite worth all the hype they get in guide books, but a good hour’s hike. It’s also hard to believe that the mosques are only 30 years old; they look much older, especially because they’re built with mud bricks that weather prematurely.

Saturday afternoon six of us ventured out on camels to a local gold mine where we camped for the night. Camel riding is quite an experience, but not a comfortable one I’d say. Compared to horseback riding, camel riding feels downright precarious. The saddles are placed directly on the camel’s hump and while riding, you place your legs in front of you on the camel’s neck. I thought I was going to fall off on every step, but luckily I did not. Because there were not enough camels for the number of riders (four camels, six riders), we had to double up, which meant that four people were riding in saddles and two were behind riding without saddles. Surprisingly, I enjoyed riding behind without a saddle much better that riding in a saddle, as I was allowed to place my legs on either side of the camel rather than out in front. And today I am nice and sore!

Burning in the Sun

Gwen and me in front of a barrage

Old men beginning the dances

Hot season is upon us. Temperatures generally get up to 120 (at least) each day. My brother, at home in the U.S. checked the temperature in Ouagadougou at 4am my time- it was 99. Yes family, I wasn't kidding when I said it was hot. The heat is bearable except on humid days with no breeze. On those days, all you can do is lie down between 12 and 3om, fanning yourself, thinking cold thoughts to keep away the heat rash. However...drumroll...we had our first rain April 13th! When it started raining, I went out and danced in it. All of my neighbors thought I was crazy- not that unusual. Before the 13th, I hadn't seen rain since October 31st- nearly 6 moths with no precipitation! We haven't seen rain since the 13th though, although I hear that those lucky folks in the south are getting regular showers. I am hoping for rain everyday!

Last weekend I went down to Diebougou to visit another volunteer, Gwen. Diebougou is very different from Tougouri, with lots of trees and hills. Friday we went to a traditional fete at a neighboring village, where we watched high jump, long jump, and archery contests. Archery is popular down near Diebougou and as boys come of age, they are given their own personal bow. Later that day we watched traditional dancing of the Dagera and Gan people, which is also very different from the dancing up here. It involved mostly line dancing with everyone doing the same movements in unison. I enjoyed it when the dancers jumped way up in the air. Saturday was windy and we all just stayed at Gwen's house watching movies all day (oh lucky ones with electricity). It was just the break I needed. Sunday I rode the 8 hours back to site, a trip that seems like nothing now!

This past week has gone by relatively fast, thankfully. I am getting tired of school, students, and the constant noise. Because I live with 13 other people, there is always noise and I am never ever alone. It, in addition to the heat, is beginning to drive me crazy! After visiting other volunteers, such as Gwen, I realize how much I miss having my own space. Because it is so hot, I spend 95% of my time outside and outside space is everyone's space. It's hard sharing my bedroom with 13 other people. Also, a new man in the courtyard told me that I shouldn't wear shorts- which are long and I only wear them to sleep in. I know women wearing shorts are not culturally appropriate, but it's very hot and it's my courtyard too! And he walks around in only a towel 50% of the time, so what's the big deal? Also, I live with 9 chickens that really like to poop on my porch. But, the rooster is dying today and I am going to eat him! No more crowing at 2am right next to my head!

I would also like to apologize for the lack of pictures. Internet is very slow here, but I will try to put up more when I am visiting home in less than two months!!! Can't wait to get some hugs from the family... :)

March Madness

Time for the giant spiders...

Where to start...

March kicked off with a hot spell, making everyone believe that hot season had come early, and in full force. Luckily though, it cooled back off after a week of oppressing heat mainly due to the "cloud" cover because of all of the dust and dirt in the air. I do believe that the Sahara is blowing in on us, with the Harmattan working its magic.

The 8th of March is International Women's Day, widely celebrated here in Burkina. The festivities started with a "course" in which the villagers biked and walked from one end of town to the other. I wasn't exactly planning to join in, but I happened to be riding my bike through town to pick up my phone from being charged at a boutique when the course was beginning. So I joined in by default. Later in the day came the women versus men soccer game, which was hilarious as the players were all older people and were not the best at soccer. Many people were trying to get me to play, but I refused as I did not want my soccer debut to be in front of the whole town. But, best of all, the women won 2-1!

women and men

he is enjoying himself

so much so that he can take a break

two of my favorite girls in their 8 mars

The following week was busy as I was giving and grading my final tests for the trimester, while trying to calculate all of my grades. I am lucky to have only three classes to grade, while some other teachers have more than six. However, another new teacher just got affectated to Tougouri so my closest friend, Madame Diallo, now has fewer hours and more time to spend at home with her baby and to talk to me :)

March 11th was Culture Day at LDT so many of the students dressed up in traditional dress and performed a skit during the break time. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera so I cannot show pictures of my students dressed up as elders, complete with face paint. That night was Cultural Night where the students put on skits and dances for the villagers. It was actually a lot of fun and I even got to present the award for the best student in reading English. I have never spoken in front of that many people, let alone in French. So, needless to say I was a little nervous but it went well. I later became the photographer before retiring early as it went on for more than 4 hours. That weekend there was a fair at LDT followed by a soccer game between our team and a team from another middle school. The whole town turned out to watch, complete with music and refreshments. And Tougouri won! That night was the student ball, but I left early, at midnight, before the dancing even started. When Burkinabe go out, they stay out late!

Students dressed as gendarmes

Dance time

During the last week of school before spring break we had our first girls soccer game, premier cycle versus second cycle aka middle schoolers versus high schoolers. The whole school came out to watch, and despite the fact that many of the girls were not very good at soccer, everyone seemed to have a good time. But we will be working on getting better at soccer! The trimester ended with a typical Burkinabe meeting that lasted 5 hours. The next day I escaped to another volunteer's site and went from there south to visit another volunteer. Since then I have been in Ouaga, enjoying electricity and internet, and of course had a good time at the COS party for the stage that is leaving in a few months.

Watch out for the masks....or you'll get frapped!

My life this past week has been lots of fun. Mike, one of my closest neighbors, came to visit. We ending up going to a Tougouri traditional fete (party) where we got ushered into the inner circle and sat with the village elders. In the circle, we were very close to Tougs' masks. I asked a few people if I could take pictures and of course everyone said yes, but I was still worried how culturally appropriate that would be. After talking to a few different people, I ended up talking to the chef of the masks and he let me take pictures. woot! After sitting with the masks for awhile, and getting royally sunburned, Mike and I were about to leave when one of the masks came up and hit me in the face with a stick! It didn't really hurt, but I was very surprised, as I thought I was exempt from that- you know, the village white person no one wants to hurt. An old man next to me got up and started yelling at the mask, so I felt avenged. Later that night Mike and I went to the lycee's annual "happy new year" fete, where we ate, drank, and danced all night long. The next day I went to visit another volunteer near me, Kait, in Bani where we spent the afternoon in a mango grove with a meal of chicken, salad, and french fries with ranch. All in all, I'd have to say it was a very good weekend. This past week was spent teaching, as usual. I am currently in Ouaga for the first meeting of the new PC "Youth Development Committee. We're currently trying to define what exactly "youth development" is and what the committee can become to help other volunteers. So if you have any ideas or insights, please let me know!

And as wanted....pictures!

Said's walking now

Birthday boy!

Ready to eat

L.D.T. profs

bandit but cute

Mariame and Salmad

the masks of Tougouri

drunk man

I got her to smile!

dance dance

It’s Getting Hot Hot Hot

14 February 2010

Happy Valentine’s Day! While most of you back home are freezing after all the snow that hit much of the U.S., things over here in Burkina are getting close to boiling. It’s 98oF in my house, and that’s in the shade at 5pm. I can’t help but ask myself why I chose to come to Africa where it’s 100 degrees in February during a year that 49 out of the 50 states got snow (I’ll let you guess which one didn’t get snow). I know that I probably shouldn’t be talking about the heat yet, because I know it’s going to get hotter (“Just wait til April” say the Burkinabe). But for now my sweat glands are having to work again and I find myself drinking more water. My Papa told me today during our weekly phone call that I should try and think about the 2 feet of snow that is covering the East Coast, but that just makes me jealous. I don’t think I’ve seen that much snow at one time since 9^th grade and of course Mother Nature waits until I leave for Africa to dump a bunch of snow on my old stomping grounds. It’s even snowing in Alabama!

Speaking of Alabama, my family told me today of the several shootings that have occurred recently in Huntsville. It’s very sad and scary to hear about children shooting their classmates and colleagues shooting their peers. However, hearing about the shootings makes me think about how unlikely something like that is to happen here in Tougouri. Yes, I am in Africa, which can be a dangerous place, don’t get me wrong, and yes the police do carry machine guns, and bandits do stop cars with gunshots, but as a whole, I feel very safe here in my village in Burkina. I know things can change very fast and I do my best to be safe, but since I am the token “nasara” in town, everyone seems to protect me. A story relating to that: last week I ripped off hald my big toenail while biking (don’t ask how, only I seem to be able to do something like that). It happened right before I stopped to buy porridge for breakfast the next morning. Everyone there of course asked if I was ok, needed to wash, etc. I said I was fine and would clean up at home. Before I went home, though, I decided to go buy salad for dinner, about a kilometer away. By the time I arrived at my salad man, word had already gotten there that I had injured myself. My salad man, Madi, already had water for me to wash with, which was helpful as a lot of my foot was covered with blood by that point. So moral of the story, people here do watch out for me and try to keep me safe…and I’m also not sure I could even have a secret here!

The highlight of my past week was probably making (and eating) my mom’s bruschetta made with fresh tomatoes and basil yummm. The highlight of my student’s week was probably me doing the “Hokey Pokey” for them. Every so often my students will ask me to sing an American song for them. A few weeks ago I taught them “Head Shoulders Knees and Toes.” A few days after that I saw one of my students doing it outside class with a crowd of students around him- that put a smile on my face. Wednesday my 4eme class asked for a song and since we’d finished the lesson early, I oblided, but the only song I could think of was the “Hokey Pokey.” So being the fearless (and maybe crazy) teacher I am, I did it and got a standing ovation when I “put my whole body in and shook it all about.” I could still hear the cheers as I walked away from school.

Something I was very surprised to learn came out while I was tutoring one of my 6eme (equivalent of 7^th grade) students. We are currently learning the skeleton, so first I had her name the different parts of the body. By the time we got to the bottom half of the body, it was clear that she did not know the names of the parts of her own body! I wonder how many of my students don’t know the names of their own body parts in French. It’s just astounding to me that kids can get to 7^th grade and not know the names for the parts of the body. But this is where I come in and get to teach them…with fun games like the “Hokey Pokey!”

Strawberry Fields Forever

It's strawberry season, just in time for the beginning of hot season! Despite the fact that hot season is not supposed to start until March, the heat has already begun creeping in. So I'll be sleeping outside again soon. The past few weeks have been pretty good; Tougouri is beginning to feel like my home away from home. The second week in January was a little rough, coming back to village after spending more than 3 weeks with Americans, speaking English. So being alone in village was a little hard, especially because I had an ear infection, which meant that I couldn't hear out of one year. A lot of people asked me if something had happened to my French, but no, I just couldn't hear anything! But since then, life in village has gotten much better and I'm feeling readjusted already. I started my second trimester January 10th and feel as if it's almost over already. I've given 3 tests and have 3 more to give before the end of the trimester in March. I've been playing football with some kids in my village almost every afternoon since school started up again. I am pretty darn awful, but everyone wants to pass "Madam" the ball whether I'm on their team or not. I'm starting a girl's club next week, during which we'll talk about all sorts of things from HIV/AIDS to self-respect to decision making to the importance of staying in school. We'll see how it goes. That's about it for now...more to come soon!

Happy New Year

My first trimester has successfully finished, after a 7-hour final meeting. Shortly afterwards I left for Ouaga for a wonderful Christmas dinner with 13 other volunteers. Then I spent a some time backpacking in Mali. We spent the first few days hiking along the plains next to the cliffs. Then we hiked up the cliffs and spent a few days hiking from village to village along the top of the plateau. My New Year's was spent looking out at the plains of Mali under a full moon, a most memorable New Years. Last week I was in Ouaga for in-service training and now I'm ready to go back to site and get back to teaching!

our adventure continues

and we're off

typical Mali house with a ladder to sleep on the roof

baobab trees

houses up in the cliffs

sitting on the edge of the plateau

just walking

watching the sun set on 2009

riding a camel

we made it to the dunes!