Happy Christmas!

Howdy ya'll!

The trimester is over! I've finished grading and calculating averages and arguing with students over undeserved points, and now I'm sort of on vacation.

My plans have changed. Elephants and Ghana will have to wait. Mali, here I come! I'll be hiking the whole time, which is odd considering how much I love the sedentary lifestyle (i.e. sitting on a beach in Ghana). But I'm very excited to see Dogon Country for I've been told it's a must-see. I'm including a description of what my trip will be like, courtesy of PC Burkina's almost-former director. See below yo!

I will be spending Christmas in Bouroum-Bouroum with Herman. Pancakes and chicken may be in my future! And tomorrow I'm going to a baptism. The women and men celebrate the baptism separately, so I'll be hanging out with the women and eating spaghetti. It's customary to bring soap to a baptism to give to the mother, but I think I might also go hunting for some baby clothes in the marché here in Gaoua.

Herman says hello. He killed a mouse outside the other day and then brought it inside my house to eat it. A bit backwards, no? The smell was horrible, but Herman didn't seem to mind.

Merry Christmas!


DOGON COUNTRY? MALI

Introduction. Mali’s Dogon Country is rightfully considered one of the most interesting places on this great earth, offering world class trekking where culture and nature intersect in a powerful way. The heart of Dogon Country is the Bandiagara Escarpment, a 150 kilometer (100 mile) long sandstone cliff with numerous villages along its top and bottom, and ancient Tellem houses perched on tiny ledges along its up-to-150 meters (500 feet) high face. The area offers the possibility of treks from a single day to several weeks, although 3-5 day trips are perhaps the most common.

Encounters with the Dogon people make a trek along the escarpment unique and memorable. People working their fields, women pounding millet, children playing in villages, old men gathered in the low-roofed meeting places, women barefoot or in flip flops with large pots on their heads negotiating ladders and narrow ledges, lively and colorful markets, etc. -- these are everyday sights along the Dogon trails.

Given Dogon’s reputation, it is no surprise that much has been written for the tourist and visitor. There is, however, surprisingly little detailed information for the serious hiker for whom the region offers magnificent trails and scenery -- whether on the top or on the bottom of the impressive escarpment, and, even more so, when going up and down between the two. The ascent trails often include ladders carved from logs, airy ledges, rock clefts, spectacular rock formations, and even caves!

It should be noted that “peak bagging” is not part of the Dogon experience -- this is not a mountain range and there are no summits of particular interest. The highest peaks in Mali are near Hombori, further to the east.

This guide is written for people who want to know more about trails, geography, distances between villages, and interesting hikes and destinations. It is not my intention to write about Dogon culture as there are many other sources available. As a hiker in Dogon Country, it is important to be flexible, allowing time to take in cultural events and sites along the trails; hikers who focus exclusively on accumulating kilometers, or sticking to a fixed itinerary, will miss out on much of what Dogon Country has to offer.

Geography. The Bandiagara Escarpment is in central Mali, just north of Burkina Faso. The escarpment faces southeast and, starting west of Bankass, runs northeast 150 km to Douentza. The terrain below the escarpment is a sandy plain with significant sand dunes in many areas. The top is mostly bedrock, a barren moonscape in places, cut by gorges that extend from cliff fissures far back into the plateau. In these gorges, there are rushing streams in the rainy season, as well as active gardens in the drier months.

Climate and Weather. Mali is hot, and hikers need to plan ahead and adapt accordingly. December to January is the coolest time, but tourists are abundant and the Harmattan dust blowing down from the Sahara can be a problem at times (peaking in the somewhat hotter month of February). March to mid-June is extremely hot, and this period is perhaps best avoided altogether, although the lack of tourists creates a temptation.

The rainy season is from late May through mid-September. It is mostly hot and dry with occasional downpours; there are also occasional periods of fog and mist. The rains diminish the heat, but be prepared for the possibility of muddy trails, slippery rock ledges, flooded roads, and many summer time tourists. Stream and river crossings may be challenging with options including wading, piggybacking on your guide’s back, or perhaps catching a lift on a passing donkey.

End of August into September has fewer tourists and is spectacularly green -- with crops in full bloom -- making this a favorite time for the author. October-November (harvest time) is hotter and drier, but not as hot as March to mid-June.

6 AM -10 AM and 3 or 4 PM to dark (which varies from 6:00 PM at the winter solstice in December to 7 PM at the summer solstice in June) are the best times to be out on the trails. Plan to spend mid-day (approx. 11 AM to 3 PM) holed up in a campement having lunch and waiting for the weather to cool down. Bring a book and/or journal and take a nap on a mattress (which will be supplied upon request) if the heat does not keep you awake.

It is recommended that you break camp at the very first sign of morning light to maximize hiking time in the cool weather. Tell your guide that hot water will do for breakfast tea or coffee and carry your own bread/jam or snacks so you don’t have to wait for a cooked breakfast. If you start hiking at 7:30 AM, you have already missed out on one of the best hours of the day!

Hiking right up to dark is recommended for those who want to cover terrain; the two hours before dark offer glorious light and reasonable temperatures. Don’t miss being out during these magic hours! Those two hours each day offer the true glory of hiking in Dogon Country, typically supplanting the best memories from the other twenty-two.

Also, if possible, plan your hike to correspond with the full moon.

Waterfalls. During rainy season, there are many attractive cascades, such as those in Ende and Tigou. Teli, Ourou, and Banani host spectacular waterfalls, each descending the full height to the escarpment.

Rock Climbing, Bouldering, Canyons, Hang gliding. The rock climbing potential is enormous, but little has been done. Records of climbs are sketchy at best. The Ende pinnacle is one feature that has reportedly been climbed. Climbers on hiking trips are encouraged to bring their climbing shoes for bouldering near the campements and at rest stops along the trail. The quality of the rock is generally excellent. Slot canyons will also occasionally be encountered, and they offer some adventurous, if short, side trips. Hang gliding is another possible activity, but you will need to bring all your own equipment.

Villages and Markets. There are numerous villages on both the top and bottom of the escarpment. The cliff bottom villages are generally more scenic (with the cliff face in the background!) and well known from a tourist point of view, but some on top, such as Begnimatou, are equally spectacular. Some of the villages are quite spread out, as much as a kilometer in length (for example, Ende), and many comprise multiple sub-villages.

Village names can be confusing, due to both multiple spellings of the same name (as described previously) and also because one village name may have multiple variations for various nearby sub-villages (for example, Idjeli-na and Idjeli-do). For the most part, one name only for each village is used in this guide. Usually, cliff top villages have different names than those below but there are some exceptions such as Idjeli, Kundou, and Yougo. The suffix –na identifies the cliff bottom village.



Most villages have markets every five or seven days1 and visiting them can be a memorable experience. They typically start in the afternoon and continue into the night. A central activity, especially in the evening/night, is drinking the local millet-based alcohol beverage, brewed and sold by women who actively offer samples in calabashes to convince you that theirs is the best quality to buy. Ask your guide to help plan you itinerary so you can stay at least one night in a village on market day.

Campements. Most villages have at least one campement. Some are fairly primitive while others are slightly more “upscale” -- meaning that they are cleaner, have an overhead tank in the shower stall (as opposed to just a bucket), and might have a porcelain toilet over a cement latrine hole and flowering plants growing in the courtyard. Except in Sanga, no campements have electricity, running water, fans or air conditioning. Be sure to bring your own supply of toilet paper, soap, and shampoo!

All campements have foam mattresses, but it is recommended that you bring your own mosquito net and cord to tie it up with (the square type with four tie-in points is recommended over the “tepee-style” with a single tie point).

Most of the year, you will want to sleep on the roof, accessed by stairs or a Dogon-style ladder, as the rooms are uncomfortably hot, even at night. Be prepared during the rainy season for the possibility of late night storms which result in rapid descent to a room! Rooftop poles or posts are usually available to tie up your mosquito net. Most campements have blankets (although they are not usually needed), but is recommended that you bring your own sheet. During the cold months of December and January, you will want to bring a sleeping bag or at least an extra blanket.

You can wash your clothes in a bucket (or someone at the campement will do them for you for perhaps 500 cfa). Except perhaps in the rainy season, they will dry very quickly (even at night if there is the slightest breeze).

Meals. Campements make meals at the instruction of the guide. Offerings are typically limited: couscous or pasta with sauce and a few vegetables and some chicken or goat meat is common. Your guide may bring some canned vegetables to liven up the meals. Some fresh produce, such as tomatoes, may be available from local gardens during the dry season or, to a limited extent, in the rainy season. Fresh fruit is uncommon at most times of the year.

Breakfast is hot water with tea or instant coffee and bread or local donuts. Your guide may bring jam or peanut butter.

Campements will provide water from a nearby village pump or well. Treatment of some kind is recommended. If you choose not to treat the water, it is recommended that you get it directly from a pump to avoid possible contamination from campement water containers.

Most campements have gas-powered refrigerators with cold (or at least semi-cold) bottled water, soft drinks, and beer. Meals, lodging, and the village tourist tax, are typically included in your “package deal” guide fee, but you will need to pay for drinks (other than pump water), so plan accordingly.

Most campements have Dogon souvenirs for sale, especially wood carvings.

Hazards. Heat is the greatest hazard. It saps your energy in ways you might not realize at first. Be sure to maximize hydration before you even start and drink lots of water throughout the day. Carrying a minimum of two liters per person is recommended. Blisters can also result from the intense heat; carry band-aids and moleskin.

Intense sun is another major concern. Sun hats and liberal use of sunscreen are essential. Get early starts and take occasional breaks under shade trees. As discussed previously, rains can create slippery ledges and challenging stream cautions

Malaria prophylaxis is recommended year round, especially during the rainy season. Long pants and sleeves and/or insect repellent are recommended during evening meals. Flies can be a nuisance at times during the rainy season, especially when food is present.

As is the case in much of Africa, bilharzia (schistosomiasis), an illness that originates in snails, is present in water, especially standing water, and swimming is thus not recommended.

Poisonous snakes are present but rarely seen. Keep your eyes on the ground where you are stepping, though. The Dogon say that seeing a snake when you are out hiking brings good luck! Lizards will be regularly encountered, but I have never seen a scorpion (although they are reportedly out there).

There are several nasty plants that the locals refer to collectively as the “Dogon police.” One mimosa shrub/tree has hooked thorns that stick to you like Velcro on steroids, but it is rarely a problem if you stick to the trails. In sandy soils, especially along the bottom, be on the lookout during the rainy season for a foxtail-like grass with both light green and dark purple clusters of innocent looking, but very nasty, little spiny seeds that stick to any passing clothing and are difficult to remove.

Another plant hazard during the rainy season are weeds that grow profusely along the trails up and down the cliffs. Use care to avoid “sandwiching” plant material between your boots and the rocks which can make your step surprisingly slippery.

Speaking of rocks, the sandstone generally has a high friction value, but be aware that some of the lighter colored rock can be polished and more slippery. Of course, when wet, any rock can be slippery so care is advised.

Encounters with the Dogon and Fulani People

Encounters with local inhabitants will occur, and some people, especially children, are quite curious. Dogon is the dominant ethnic group, while some Fulani cattle herders may also be encountered. In general, I have found the villagers to be respectful, friendly and helpful (although you cannot count on them to speak French). Be especially differential to elders. Your guide will suggest proper etiquette.

Speaking Dogon. As in all places, people appreciate efforts to learn the local language. Greet people you meet along the trail with “Po” and “Say-o.” The usual greeting sequence is a fairly long back and forth goes as one person inquires about the other and then the sequence reverses. It goes something like this:

Person 1 Person 2

Po (hello) Sayo (like ca va in French, this works as both a question and a response)

Oumana sayo? (How’s the family?) Sayo

Gay sayo? (How is your heath?) Sayo (sometimes shortened to Say as sequence goes on)

Ho sayo (How are you yourself?) Sayo. Oumana sayo?

Sayo Gay sayo?

Sayo Ho sayo?

Ya po Ya po

Here are a few other useful phrases:

Emma yay Good bye

Digga digga Slowly

Amma u obara God bless you

Edjiko Good

Go Go

Vay Come

Ganna Thank you

Eeen oua I want

Garra yemma Let’s go

Your guide can teach you more greetings and phrases.

Visiting Tellem Houses. Ancient Tellem houses are ubiquitous but most are high on cliff faces and thus inaccessible. Accessible ones can be visited in Teli, Ende, Kani-Kombole, and Nombori. For central and northern areas, including the fine Tellem houses in Ireli and Yougopri, access is forbidden.

It came upon a midnight clear (pictures from the AIDS sensibilization)

I have to admit that I'm having a hard time keeping up with blog entries. With several weeks in between entries I'm bound to forget huge chunks of what I've done. And of course there's also the fact that when I get to use the internet all I want to do is surf aimlessly. But now I am here and write I will!

Most recently I attended a sensibilization on female genital mutilation, or excision, at the CEG where I teach. Practically the entire school attended. I've never been so horrified and disgusted in all my life. We watched a video where we witnessed several girls being excised. Their screams were haunting (dull razors or blades were used and no anesthetic) and I had nightmares that night. I think I have a strong stomach, but I had to work incredibly hard to keep my food down while watching this video. But at least most of the students paid attention and took it seriously; many jumped at the opportunity to answer questions asked of them and, in turn, asked their own questions.

On Thanksgiving, Jillian and I collaborated with my counterpart and the director of my school to put on a sensibilization about HIV/AIDS. I find the pictures (above) quite amusing. Jillian and I were in charge of doing condom demonstrations for the whole school; it was a lot of fun, especially when we called students to the front to demonstrate what they learned.

There was nothing Thanksgiving-ish about the actual Thanksgiving day, but last weekend I celebrated the holiday with other Americans in Bobo-Dioulasso. I ate turkey, green bean casserole, macaroni (almost exactly like Grandma's!), potatoes, apple pie and carrot cake. Holy Amazingness it was delcious! And I got to visit with friends I hadn't seen since August, so it was all quite lovely.

I have tentative plans for Chrismas and New Year's. Tentative because I somehow have to go to Ouaga very soon to get my visa, but I'm stuck in Bouroum-Bouroum at least until the 22nd grading exams and calculating averages. I think I'll be able to work it out, but here are the plans: Christmas in Po searching for elephants or animals besides donkeys and goats. New Year's in Ghana on a beach with an ice cold coke between my peeling hands (my hands haven't gotten better, but I called the PCMO and he's sure it's just dry skin; hydrating lotion is en route from ouaga as we I write!). Then I have to be back in Ouaga on January 5th for Inter-Service Training. Whew! That's a loaded two weeks, but it sounds like oodles of fun.

Speaking of fun, I bought the first Harry Potter book in French and have started reading it. It's taking me forever, but I figure it's a good way to expand my French vocabulary. And it's Harry Potter; what's not to like?

Okay I'm tired of writing for now. Until next time. And if that next time happens to be after the 25th, a very jolly Merry Christmas to everyone!

Happy Birthday, Silly Matt!

Wow, Matt, now you’re even more than halfway to 50. Keep on truckin’! And have some cake! Lately I’ve been craving the box confetti cake with chocolate frosting. But alas, instead I satisfy my hunger with delicious rice and sauce with bits of cabbage. A happy alternative to cake. Anyway, Matty, I hope your bday is splendiferous. Today is also my sitemate, Jillian’s, birthday, so Happy Birthday, Jillian!

I haven’t been able to leave Bouroum Bouroum for 3 weeks, and I wasn’t certain I’d make it out this weekend because of a potential Saturday site visit from a PC official. But JZ, you’re my hero because you came yesterday instead. So now I’m in Gaoua (biked again!).

I’ll try to sum up the last 3 weeks :

I gave exams to all of my classes and it took me about a week to grade them all. For each class, about half the students achieved the moyenne (50%), which is considered ‘normal’ but which I find a little disheartening. After I returned exams I encouraged all students to come to me for tutoring if they don’t understand all the material I‘ve covered in class. I also told them that there will be one more exam before this trimester ends, so those who aren’t satisfied with their grades will have another opportunity to improve their overall score. My goodness, there are some students who just can’t accept the grade they earned. These students approach me and try to argue for more points; after I’ve explained why I’ve subtracted points and they’re still not satisfied, I tell them I’m going to take off another point if they don’t stop bugging me about it. That tactic works pretty well.

Last weekend was the school’s 'nettoyage,’ or cleaning. Boys bring their machetes and girls bring their brooms, and all the students clean the school inside out while the teachers oversee the work. We’re trying to cut down on potential snake problems. But I observed more of the gender role distinctions that are so prevalent here. Girls must sweep, but when I recommended (jokingly) to one of the many male teachers that I could go home and bring back my broom for him to use, he laughed heartily and immediately dismissed the idea. Boys don’t sweep. Women must do the cooking. I don’t know how many times I’ve told Burkinabè men that I don’t like to cook, and every time their response is ‘Il faut apprendre’ (You must learn) because I’ll have to cook for my husband. I’ve yet to breach the subject of my not wanting to marry any time soon (or never, as I actually believe will be the case), and instead I retort that he’ll just have to cook for me. Oh the laughs I get then! Apparently I’m a funny person even when I’m not aware that I am (okay, I do realize that sometimes I’m a bit ridiculous, but that’s beside the point). The notion of boys sweeping or pumping water is completely foreign to many Burkinabè. I’m thinking about experimenting with this a little in my classes, test the gender roles mayhaps, and select a boy to balayer the classroom.

Herman the Cat is doing well and he loves me! But you should’ve seen him the first week I had him. He absolutely loathed me. Hissed at me everytime he saw me, wouldn’t let me come within 2 feet of him, and then of course the constant howling ALL NIGHT LONG. He wasn’t meowing ; it sounded like he was being murdered, a slow horrible death. I didn’t get any sleep 3 nights in a row and I was about to toss him out on his hiney (not really, but I thought about it a lot, especially when I was wide awake at 3 am). But then something amazing happened last Saturday : Herman fell in love with my feet. He approached them slowly, sniffed at them (and didn’t keel over!), and commenced rubbing his head against them and purring! And he’s loved me ever since. He’s about two months old, black and white (like Licky!), and he loves eating fish. Naturally. Not sure if Herman is a boy or a girl, but I’m leaning towards boy. But that didn’t stop me from putting a collar on him that says ‘Girl Power!’ He’s killed a cockroach (accidentally, rolled over it while playing with it) and likes to play with the little froggies I occassionally find in my casa. And he’s such a lover, always purring and kneading and sitting in my lap, and digging his claws into my legs and hanging from them when I’m standing up and he wants attention. Precious moments, complete with blotchy red marks.

For the 26th, Jillian, my homologue and I are putting on a sensibilization at the school for World AIDS Awareness Day, which I believe actually falls on December 2 but the 26th is the day for the Ministry of Health. We’re going to give the students red paper ribbons to wear (Jillian and I are making 700!) and we’re going to dish out all the scary facts about AIDS and most importantly, modes of transmission and steps for prevention. I’m looking forward to it.

I’ve also been attending the schools’ soccer games which started about two weeks ago. There are at least two classes for each level (6e, 5e, 4e, 3e), and so the matches are intraclass level. They’re exciting and almost all the teachers and students attend, but no girls are on any of the teams. If I’m not able to start a girls’ team my first year, then I’ll try my darndest to kick one off the following year. I miss soccer.

Speaking of soccer, World Cup next summer! I’m going to glue myself to a TV somewhere in Burkina for the entire month of June. Hopefully I’ll be able to manage that because I don’t want to miss it!

I’m going to Bobo in two weeks to celebrate Thanksgiving with some other volunteers. I hope everyone has a wonderfully delicious Thanksgiving next week!

And now it's time to bring out the Christmas music. Come they told me, ba rum ba bum bum.

We did the monster mash

Happy Halloween!

Cool news, I might have a cat by tomorrow. I met said cat in a boutique yesterday but he or she ran away from me and started chasing insects. But that cat will love me, and regardless of its gender I'm going to name it Herman. Herman the cat. I just hope this one is still alive by tomorrow. About a month ago I was supposed to get a cat, but a few days before I was going to buy him or her a dog attacked and killed the poor thing. So I'm really hoping that Herman will be alive by the time I get home tomorrow. I will have to fashion him and litter box and get him rice and fish to eat. Ooh I'm so excited!

School's fine. I gave all three classes a crapload of homework in preparation for their exam in about a week. The homework's difficult and the kids complained, and I lost my patience. I told them that it's their choice to do the work--they're the ones who need to score above or at the moyenne. But I am enjoying some of my students--the ones who take an interest and come to my tutoring hours and learn the material. It's just that when I change the questions around a bit, thereby forcing them to use their brains instead of simply plugging numbers into an equation, I get 80 students saying 'On ne comprend pas.' Reflechissez yo! That's why I gave them difficult homework. Some will struggle, some will ask for help and others will only copy off their neighbors, and then we'll see who really understands the material come test time.

So yes, Halloween in Gaoua! Mom, I received my solar charger package! It got here 3 weeks ago but the volunteer in Gaoua forgot to mention it to me. And I received a letter from Remaroosi--only took two weeks! A bunch of volunteers are here for the weekend--we're going to watch movies and perhaps go dancing--which for me means means moving around in my chair. Just like car dancing! It's the way to go--you get to sit, dance and drink coke at the same time.

And I get Monday off because tomorrow is All Saints Day! Life is beautiful. Trick or treat.

How long an hour can take

Next weekend is Halloween ! Yesterday I carved a pumpkin with Jillian and her fiance, Ibe, while we listened to Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Njimy belt out tunes from the movie classic Hocus Pocus. I wonder if someone is going to take my pumpkin from my courtyard and cook something out of it. Most Burkinabé don’t understand the purpose of carving a face into a pumpkin and not eating it. I told them that I”ll use the seeds for food, salty seeds! Is it possible to grill them? I am without an oven.

Teaching is going well, though I had a hard time teaching my 5eme students how to place points in a Cartesian coordinate system (something they should’ve learned the year before). But I’ve set up tutoring hours, and tons of students came. It was awesome; I was bombarded with questions, completely surrounded by kids who want to learn and do extra exercises.

But it’s not all fun. This past week I had to discipline some kids because they wouldn’t listen or they’d be disrespectful. Thursday was particularly brutal, and I was in a pissy mood all day. I suppose it doesn’t help that I’m not a very patient person to begin with. Also, I had two bats flying around in my classroom last week. It didn’t do much for the students’ concentration and I myself was distracted having narrowly missed a few collisions to the head. No rabies! I don’t want to be the face of rabies like poor Meredith.

I no longer am doing my own laundry! My water girl, Florida, also washes my clothes for me and now they actually smell clean! When I washed my own clothes they smelled moldy, and that is definitely no bueno.

The week before last I did a hand-washing sensibilization in my classes. I brought in piedmont (chili-esque condiment), asked kids to rub his or her fingers in it and then touch their eyes. And some of them were actually going to do it (something about blindly following teachers instructions no matter what they themselves think; I want to correct that). I then had them wash their hands with water (piedmont still present), and then with soap and water. We discussed the benefits of always washing your hands with soap before eating and after using the bathroom; I likened the piedmont to feces and other nasties to get my point across. It was quite fun.

I’ve found 3 scorpions in my house so far, huge brown ones. I was told that the smaller they are, the more dangerous. I sprayed the crap out of them with insecticide and then tossed them over my courtyard wall using my handy dustpan. I also have a caterpillar infestation, but they’re cute and soft and they curl up into balls when I hold them in my hand.

My plans aren’t definite yet, but I think I’m going to Bobo for Thanksgiving (actually the first weekend in December because of Tabasky), and possibly Togo for Christmas. Hello Mr. Beach and Mr. Ocean. Woot woot!

I made a wish list for things I cannot get in Burkina (SEE RIGHT, por favor). The best way to send stuff is to use the flat rate box, it costs about 40 bucks and should arrive within 2-3 weeks. Thank you to everyone who writes and sends me goodies. I can’t tell you all how much I appreciate it!

Swearing In a month and a half ago (and blog entry below!)

Just like a faucet that leaks

I have successfully completed my first week of school! Yay me! And it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I came in the first day of class and I laid down the law; and when students didn't abide by it, I sent them to the surveillant. It was awesome. But I also kept thinking, "golly gee I'm mean." But I'd rather be very strict for awhile so the students know that I mean business, and then ease up later in the year. Pheeeww, it was a long week, but altogether a productive one.

I have two 5eme classes (7th grade) and a 4eme class (8th grade). And right now I'm teaching them about symmetry about a point or a plane, and powers of 10, respectively. I have anywhere between 80 and 100 students in all three classes, but I don't have the attendance sheets yet so I'm not certain of the number. But yes, the class sizes are huge indeed. It's going to blow major chunks once I have to start grading tests. But as the Burkinabé say, "ça va aller."

And the week before last I helped give the polio vaccine to kids five years and younger in the quaint little village I like to call Bouroum-Bouroum, or home. I didn't actually put the droplets in the kids' mouths, but I did mark their crusty little fingers and keep tally of all the people we gave the vaccination to. It was fun, and people gave us peanuts! I find it amusing the number of little kids who are frightened of white people. And their parents know it, too. So what do they do? They shove the kids into my arms to make them start bawling, and then they chuckle chuckle chuckle. It is kind of fun, but I do sincerely hope that those kids aren't scarred for life from being touched by the scary white girl.

And where am I right now? Gaoua, you say? Actually I'm in Diebougou which is about 50 km north of BrBr. The internet hasn't been working lately in Gaoua, so I figured this would be a great time to check out Diebougou and use the lovely internet. So far, so good. Diebougou is more compact than Gaoua and a hell of a lot less hilly, which I dig the way I dig sugar-packed American peanut butter. Yum.

Mayhaps I will buy some baskets and bananas. And of course a coke or two.

Over rivers, farms and statelines

I am a biking fiend. It's twice now that I've biked the 25-30 km from Bouroum-Bouroum to Gaoua; and for someone who doesn't enjoy biking, the ride isn't all that bad.

Theoretically, school should start next week on the 1 st because that's when students start showing up (as they come from neighboring villages). So I'll be there, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, poised and ready to teach math.

Life's been pretty quiet lately. I spend my days painting my house (by the way, the red turned out Pepto Bismol pink, but it's growing on me), reading, lesson planning and hanging out in town. Have no fear for I have been drinking plenty of cokes.

It's interesting because though I'm in "Lobi Country" there's a large Mossi population here in BrBr. But the groups are very divided--the Lobi hang out together on one side of the road, and the Mossi on the other side. I try to hang out with both, and there's this one woman, Ilene, on the Lobi side who I enjoy talking to; she's a bit of a firecracker which is probably why I enjoy her company. Most of my neighbors are Lobi, but most of them never come visit me at my house.The Lobi are very much an isolated and independent people. Others may perceive their behavior as unfriendly, but I haven't found that to be so. They saluer me just as often as everyone else in my village, but they keep to themselves and to their own families. I think this behavior is more "American" and therefore much more familiar to me.

I've been given a Lobi name! As the third child my Lobi name is Beni. I like the sound of it and I believe it means 'blessing.' Well obviously my name means 'blessing'; the world did become a better place on the day I was born. Hee!

I was washing my clothes yesterday and gave up in the middle of it. I hate doing laundry in the states, so having to now wash them by hand makes me want to cry. I think next time Florida brings me water, I'll ask her about ajoutering washing my clothes. She's such a nice girl, maybe 19. She's married, has a little girl and she failed her BEPC last year. The BEPC is similar to a middle school exit exam. She told me that she's going to take a year off and then redouble, but I'm not so sure that she'll follow through. At least I'll be around at the time she's intending to go back, and so I can encourage her to do so. I'm wondering if some of these students would pass their exams if only they had extra instruction through tutoring. Undoubtedly I'll have to wait to see how my own students perform, but I think it likely that I'll designate 'office hours' to anyone who wants more help.

I visited Mikey, another volunteer, last week in Kampti which is about 65 km south of me. Kampti's a bit bigger than BrBr, and there I bought baskets to put crap in and cool pagnes to wear. And Mikey also made me delicious American food—tacos, cereal and Kraft macaroni and chesse!

Pictures! Okay, it'll be a while before I'll be able to post pictures because often times the connection is so achingly slow it takes 5-10 minutes to load a page. Count on me posting some within the next couple of months.

But I would dearly love to have some pictures sent to me. In the process of setting up my house I realized that I didn't bring nearly enough pictures with me. So friends and family, if you'd be so kind as to scan through your photos, past and present, and print them out for me and then send them down yonder (CHECK OUT MY NEW ADDRESS!). Family functions, outings, random photos—I'd love to have them all! And I wouldn't mind some more dark chocolate M&M's, and peanut butter.

I'm so excited for October. Halloween is probably my favorite holiday. Hmm, I wonder if the people in my village will think I'm even more odd if I dress up in a costume for Halloween.

Remus, watch Mom's Got a Date with a Vampire! And Hocus Pocus!

Happy Birthday, Shelly!

In Gaoua for internet, chicken and some quality hang-out time with other volunteers in my area.

I've been in Bouroum-Bouroum for 2 weeks now and I'm getting settled in little by little.I'm all set to paint my house. I bought a mattress, a couple of chairs and some buckets, and I'm hoping to get a table or two really soon. A table would be quite nice.

My casa is huge—3 bedrooms; a salon, indoor shower (aka a draining hole in the floor) and a large courtyard. I should be getting a hanggar built soon and a door to my courtyard to keep this one pesky rooster (not to mention some neighbor kids) from coming around at all hours. The family that used to live in this house just moved out before I came, and I inherited their dog for about a week until they came from Gaoua and retrieved it. This dog didn't care much for me at first and he growled every time I entered and left the house. But one day he decided I wasn't so bad (it was probably the animal crackers) and then proceeded to follow me everywhere I went, including to the latrine which was rather interesting. But now the doggy's gone and I'm left wanting a cat. Meow.

Since school doesn't start until October I've been spending my days meeting neighbors, hanging out in town drinking cold cokes, reading (I've finished The Shining and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies), sleeping and thinking about how I want to fix up my concrete house because the walls are seriously depressing me. I also think I have a mouse but he has yet to come out of hiding.

BB has a marché every 5 days. It's a huge village affair and kind of overwhelming when in the middle of it. I almost tripped over a fullgrown, bloodied dead pig at the last marché, which could have been exceedingly unpleasant. But I've bought buckets and dishes and delicious bissap at the marché, and I'm hoping to buy some cucumbers next time around.

Life here has been pretty good so far, if not a little stressful. I don't know how many proposals I've received or how many times I've been asked if I have a boyfriend or to give out my phone number. I'm at the point where I'm wary of almost every man who approaches me, unless of course we're already acquainted. Oh well, I suppose that this awkward and uncomfortable phase will pass eventually, especially once I get to know more people.

I've met the dirzector of my school and we've just discussed my teaching schedule. I'm set to teach 3 math classes for a total of 15 hrs/week. The director also wants me to start an English Club and organize sensibilizations for young girls to make sure they understand the benefits of being babyless while attending school. I'm excited to do these sensibilizations because then I'll also be able to talk about HIV/AIDS preventions and contraception.

Since coming to BB I've pumped water once and then I found a nice girl willing to pump water for me (the pump is far and it sucks pedaling on a bike with heavy jugs of water). I bought a huge purple trashcan that she fills up with water every 4 days or so. Having no electricity I've been using my phone as a light source and have been going to bzed around 7:30. At some point I'll buy some candles or a kerosene lantern. I have a tin roof so when it's barely sprinkling outside it sounds like a thunderstorm inside. The other day I washed my clothes buut then the clothesline broke when it started to rain and my clothes were even dirtier than before. I just about cried. Thanks to some borthday packages I've been enjoying PB & J sandwiches and loads of chocolate. Thanks so much! I've even melted some of the chocolate bars and mixed it in a bowl with Jif, making a peanut butter and chocolate sundae. I am a culinary genius.

Sadly and a bit belatedly, I'm finding that my personality doesn't mesh very well with Burkinabé culture. I love solitude and they consider it abnormal. I find it a little annoying to have people come around and hang out and not have anything to say to me. They prefer to stare. I find it unnerving and odd, so it'll be necessary for my sanity to adust my thinking. But I never noticed this social trait in Ouahigouya because we always had the TV noise to fall back on and I was constantly surrounded by Americans. But here in Bouroum-Bouroum my neighbors come to my house where they sit and stare in silence. Sometimes I'll start conversations and then discover that my visitors don't speak any French beyond 'Bonjour' and 'Ça va?' And still we sit, sometimes for an hour, when all I want to do is be alone and read how Elizabeth Bennett unknowingly wins the heart of Mr. Darcy with her wit and her superior zombie-killing combat skills.

Happy Birthday, Shelly! I hope you have an amazing one!

And I'm off to Bouroum-Bouroum!

It's official, I'm now a Peace Corps Volunteer!

After a few days of air conditioning, burgers, ice cream and toilet seats, I'm now ready to go to site and not have any of those things once again. I'm anxious and excited, so it's a pretty good combination.

These last few days have been a bit disconcerting because sometimes I've felt like I've been on vacation in Europe, what with the food and the nice air-conditioned buildings and all the tourists. But then I'd walk down the street and see donkeys pulling carts--all right, I'm still in Africa.

Swear-in was last night at the Embassy, and it was lovely and everyone was all gussied up, even me. I'll post pictures eventually.

All right, signing off now because the driver is here to take me away, away, away to Bouroum-Bouroum. Next time I write (it'll be a longer entry), I'll have been at my site for about a week, by my lonesome. Wheeew! But my site mate is making me dinner tonight, so I'm really looking forward to that.

Au revoir and thanks for the birthday wishes! I had a great one!

The Day Before, or The Last Day, I guess

I thought I'd write a short post today since I have the time and yes, I have been recommended for swear-in. I passed all of my exit exams and so now they tell me that I'm ready to become a Peace Corps Volunteer. Thank you, thank you.

I posted a few pictures (above and below), so take a gander. Most of them are of my host family (Abiba making me cucumber abd tomato salad, my host family ensemble, and then me and Abiba).

Going to Ouaga tomorrow! And tomorrow also happens to be my birthday! Yay!

The Sankara's (my neighbors), Abiba (host mom) making juice (zomkom, in fact), Emma and me after host family ceremony (I spilled on my shirt)

Happy Birthday, Doug!

Weekend birthdays are spectacular, so I hope yours is extra amazing. I’m certain that the bar-b-q yesterday was delicious, and I’m a little jealous. Okay I’m more than a little jealous. If I could remember my dreams, I’m sure that most of them would be about food. Anywho, Happy Birthday, Mr. Man!

Speaking of birthdays, mine is next Sunday. My golden birthday—23 on the 23rd. Please send goodies!

My birthday also means that I’ll be 2 days away from becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer. All I can say is it’s about time. I know I moaned and groaned about this in my last entry, but somehow my level of irritability with everything and everyone has grown exponentially in the last week. I desperately want my privacy back; I want to be able to eat what I want when I want; I’d like to get away from a few people; and I don’t want any more training sessions. Once I have these things, I think I’ll be ducky.

Throughout stage I’ve found that I’ve received the most useful information from my informal conversations with volunteers. Hearing about their experiences in village and how they deal with day-to-day frustrations has put me more at ease. Now I know to expect that my first month in Bouroum-Bouroum will be one of the most difficult times. Getting to know people, trying to integrate into the community, and waiting and preparing for school to start might make me lose some of my hair. Hairdressers have told me that though my hair is fine, there’s lots of it. So I guess I can afford to lose some here and there. At least I’m el prepared.

I have one week left with my host family. All in all, it was a great experience and I adore my host mom, Abiba. We talk all the time and do the snappy finger handshake. She makes me food that I like and never forgets which foods I detest (oh yes, I’m talking about benga, tô, bouille). We joke, talk about life in the U.S. and life in Africa, and we sit in a very unladylike manner in our chairs slurping delicious bissap. I think Abiba’s incredibly modern compared to other Burkinabé women, and I feel like there’s more “equality” in her marriage than most here. I feel like she’s a very opinionated, strong-willed woman stuck in a stifling cultural situation. But most importantly, I think she’s happy. Incredibly happy, in fact.

And I’m going to miss her. She told me that she’s going to cry when I leave next Saturday, and asked me what I’d like to have as my last meal with the family. I asked for pasta, meat (cross your fingers for some poulet!) and jus de weda. I’m going to bring out my camera next week to take some photos and then give my host family their gifts (thanks for the cool New Mexico stuff, Mom!). Saturday morning will be difficult, but I’m ready for the next step. I think.

I was told yesterday that the house that was supposed to be mine in Bouroum-Bouroum is actually not the house where I’ll be living. Apparently the Peace Corps doesn’t want me living so close to the road (for security/traffic reasons, though it’s in a pretty secluded, low-traffic area) and so close to the school (where students could peak into my courtyard). So now I have a new house. Obviously I haven’t seen it, but I was told that it’s in the same general area as the other one—thank goodness because I absolutely adore that part of BB. Also, it’s a traditional Lobi-style house (see picture from about 4 weeks ago) with 3 rooms, including a salon and an indoor douche. I was told I have a huge enclosed courtyard as well. Once I see it in person, I’ll give you the real in-depth scoop and post pictures.

Other Stuff: 3 more days left of Model School. I kind of enjoy teaching math, and now I have to plan an exam for next Tuesday. I have a report/presentation due next week on female genital mutilation in Burkina Faso. I finally finished reading Angels & Demons. It only took me practically the entire stage, though in my defense I did put the book down for about 3 weeks before I remembered that I had it. It was an enjoyable read, and now I’m on to The Shining. Living with kids for the past 9 weeks has confirmed for me that I never want children. Ever. Aside from the occasional stomach cramping I’m in good health, which is more than I can say for some of the other stagiaires. By the way, no one on my stage has left Burkina (in shame or otherwise), which is unusual according to the volunteers. It’s because of me—I’m simply amazing and everyone wants to stay in Burkina because I’m here. Actually we’re all still here because we love flies flying into every orifice and mosquitoes sucking blood from our derrières when we have to use the latrine. I’m trying to decide what I’m going to use as a light source in BB—I think I’m going to buy a solar panel. Any thoughts? And finally, if you come across Chocolate Teddy Grahams, please send them my way!

This may be my last entry before I go to Bouroum-Bouroum for the next two years of my life. So next time you hear from me, I just might be a bona fide Peace Corps Volunteer. Recognize, yo! Word.

And thanks for reading!

Darren's got an appetite

I am exhausted and I have beautiful half-moons under my eyes. However, I am sleeping extremely well and even when I wake up in the middle of the night sweating buckets, I tend to fall right back to sleep. My bike manual makes a really good fan and it is my constant companion.

I think a major part of why I’m exhausted is the stress of Model School—which has been going well, by the way—but I can also attribute my constant le tiredness to having every minute of my day planned out for me. I kind of feel like I’m being infantilized, but I also realize that the scheduling and training is necessary. And the truth is that I’ll probably miss being told what to do once I’m at site and I’m completely on my own. But let’s face it, right now it’s a little annoying. I’ve noticed that most of the people in my stage are a little more on edge now than we were in the beginning. Patience has gone down and sarcasm has risen. I love it.

But we only have two more weeks of stage! We go to Ouagadougou on my birthday and then two days later we swear-in. Yaowzers. I’m ready for stage to be over, but at the same time I feel like I’m in no way ready to go to site. Ready or not, I’ll be there spouting out the few Lobiri phrases I’ve learned. Mi fuoré!

Model School Update: I’m switching my subject next week from Physics/Chemistry to Math. There’s a good chance that I’ll be teaching Math in Bouroum-Bouroum, so some practice in that subject would probably be helpful. I also administered my first exam this week. Amusing news before the bad news: A mother and her little chickies wandered into my classroom during the exam. I shooed them away, but they were so cute! And now the bad news: Most of the class performed abysmally. Students need a 10/20 to pass the test, and out of 37 students only 5 passed in my class. I was horrified and depressed, and then I drank a coke so I felt a little better. What confuses me is that I thought my test was fairly easy—I took questions from the lectures and I tweaked them a little bit to make sure the students weren’t simply memorizing everything they wrote down without understanding it. But alas, it seems like most of them did just that.

The Burkinabé education system is based on rote learning, which is a problem when it comes to critical thinking. When the same questions are asked in a different way, blank stares are usually the response, and maybe some drool. Or blank or blatantly wrong answers that make no sense are written on exams. But thank gobbledygook, one girl in my class got a 16.5/20 on the exam. She actually took the time to learn the material and understand the mechanics of it. I praised her in front of the class, and she was embarrassed but happy. And now I know that my test wasn’t impossibly hard—it was just a test that demanded critical thinking rather than a direct regurgitation of the material. That’s that.

We’ll see how my algebra class goes next week. I’m glad that I’m getting a taste of what school will be like at site because now I know that I need to ask questions and teach the material in a way that discourages rote learning. I’ll be tackling fractions next week—woot to the woot!

Today I’m going to the tailor with my host mom to have an outfit made for swear-in. I bought a couple of panyés last week at the marché to use as the material. It’s black, with a red, green and white repeating pattern. For some reason the pattern looks Irish to me, but I can’t explain why. Maybe Celtic is what I’m going for. Anywho, I’m hoping to get a short-sleeve top and long skirt made, and this is my first time going to the tailor. I explained to my host mom what I wanted, and she offered to take me to have it made. It will be our first host mom-daughter outing! Precious moments. Side note: my host mom bought a 24-pack of soda (coke, sprite and orange fanta), which is something she hasn't done before. I don't know what she means by this and if I will be the lucky recipient of 1 or 5 cokes. I'll investigate and get back to you.

I have a few last things to day for this week’s entry: One, arm sweat. I’m not talking about underarm sweat because there’s nothing interesting about that. I’m talking about sweating on every square inch of my arms. While sitting. I don’t think I’ve ever noticed arm sweat when I was in the States, probably because arms are the last part of the body that should be sweating. Golly gee it’s chaud!

Two, I now hate Saturdays. Four straight hours of Lobiri on a Saturday is no bueno for my health. Especially when I finish the fourth hour feeling like I’ve retained very little information.

Third and Last, I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of a couple of packages that were sent some weeks ago. I want chocolate! I’ll let you know, Mom and Grandma, once they arrive—thanks so much for sending the love!

And just in case the rest of you were wondering, I’m not averse to receiving packages and/or letters. Again, just in case you’re wondering, I love receiving packages and/or letters.

Sa ha gbe!

Hope you all have a ducky weekend!

Hi Mamita, here I am: Before and After Bucket-Bath

Bogoya pictures

A Day in the Life of Jane--That's Me!

In addition to the adventures I had in my first week of model school, I think I’ll also describe to you what a typical day in Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso is like for me. I’ll begin to commence! And yes, I’m aware that that’s redundant. What a chuckle.

5:30-6:10: I get up. Even on Sundays I can’t sleep past 7. Why? My body won’t let me, and I suppose the screaming kids in my courtyard could also have something to do with that. On the positive side, my host twin sisters have stopped calling me “Nasara.” Now every time they see me they shout “Jane Lindborg!” Although it sounds more like “Gane Inbor!” but I’m not fussy about pronunciation. Prisca, one of the twins, sometimes sings a song that goes something like this: “Nasara, Nasara, ma soeur Gane (Jane).” Even though she calls me Nasara, she also calls me her sister. I dig it.

6:30: I carry my bucket outside in our courtyard and fill it up with water. Then I bathe bucket-bath style.

7:00: My breakfast is always waiting for me on the table in the living room after I get dressed. Often breakfast consists of plain bread (baguette) with Nescafe. I know it’s scary, but I’ve started to drink coffee in the morning. I need the caffeine, and if I put tons of sugar in the coffee it only tastes semi-horrible. Every once in a blue moon my host mom gives me gateau instead of bread. I love the gateau! Gateau is cake in French, though it’s not really cake in the way that we Americans think of it, with glorious gobs of frosting. Instead it’s like fried bread, or beignets like the ones I had in New Orleans. Sometimes the gateau is sold with this topping (which, silly me, the first time I tried it I thought it was cinnamon) that actually tastes like Ramen noodle flavoring mix, the beef one. It is no bueno with the gateau, but other people really like it. I take mine plain and greasy.

7:30: I bike to school. On the way I say “bonjour” to about 100 people, including the kids who shout “Nasara!” and “La blanche!” at me. White I am, thank you captain obvious.

8-12:30: Class, usually language or technical/cross-cultural sessions, sometimes medical sessions. Since the beginning of last week, this time is reserved for Model School.

12:30-2: Lunch! I usually have avocado sandwiches, omelet sandwiches or spaghetti, or sometimes rice with a tomato-base sauce. But I’m not a huge fan of rice, unless it’s with sushi or it’s Mom’s green chile cheesy rice dish. The other trainees and I frequent several places around Ouahigouya, and I usually stop by an alimentation store to pick up a delicious coke.

2-5:15: Class encore.

5:15-6:30: I usually need some time to decompress before heading back to my host family. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy their company and I can actually have conversations with them now, albeit short ones because my vocabulary is still quite limited. But I like to hang out with the other trainees before going home. We play cards, got to the buvette to have a drink, make inappropriate remarks. It’s lovely.

6:30: I return chez moi. I talk to my host mom for a while and then I take another bucket bath. Clean Jane! At first I was impressed with how tan my feet were getting, and then I really scrubbed them hard during one bucket bath and discovered that the “tan” was merely a film of dirt. Nice.

7:00-8:30: Hang out with the family and eat dinner. We sit outside because it’s usually so hot inside the house. My family likes to watch soap opera TV from Brazil, and then it’s the news at 8. By the way, they’re still talking about Michael Jackson’s death over here. Peculiar. For dinner, my host mom knows that I like pasta and cucumber salads the best. Other times I’m served rice dishes with sauce and fish. I usually eat inside by myself. I don’t really mind eating all by my lonesome, and I am glad that my family doesn’t see me struggling with my fork. It’s custom to eat with your right hand, and sometimes my aim isn’t great with my right hand. But I am improving! And now I don’t even have to remember to eat with my right hand—it comes naturally.

8:30-9: Homework and/or bedtime.


I am a party animal.

Sunday is my only day off, and that day is reserved for laundry. I miss washing machines.


Okay, new subject. Model School.

I taught 5 classes last week. It felt like 20. I’m teaching the Chemistry section of the Physics/Chemistry program to about 40 Burkinabé students at the 8th grade level who want to get ahead for the upcoming school year. I attempted to teach the students about combustion, and I brought in candles and wood to burn. I felt like I improved as a teacher throughout the week (in terms of board use and communication skills), but I finished each class with the feeling that not everyone understood the material. Like Friday, for instance. I was talking about explosive combustion reactions, and why some reactions are more explosive than others. The example I used was butane/oxygen compared to butane/air. I don’t know how many times throughout the week that I explained that oxygen was absolutely necessary for combustion reactions, but the students still didn’t understand why pure oxygen mixed with butane was more explosive than a mixture of air, which has a lot more nitrogen in it than oxygen. It was frustrating because my French isn’t fabulous, so I struggled to try to explain it to them in a different way. However (and this makes me happy), by Friday I was starting to rephrase some things for the students if they didn’t understand it the first time I said it. Yay for improving French skills. Slow and steady.

I’m administering a test next week, so I have to plan that out soon. I’m also trying to be a strict disciplinarian in class. If people were more than 5 minutes late to class I sent them to the surveillant (person who takes care of disciplinary issues). Some kids tried to sneak in on Wednesday with late slips. At first I didn’t look at the slips closely, but after they sat down I noticed that the time for reentry wasn’t until after my class was over. So I kicked them out, and no one misbehaved for the rest of the class. I like to think that I’ll be a strict but fair teacher. Maybe the kids will like me, but it’s more important that they learn and understand the material, and know that they can’t screw with me.

So I have another week of chemistry to teach, and then I think that I might change my subject to math. Since I don’t know which subjects I’ll be teaching in Bouroum-Bouroum, I figure it will be better to get some practice in on teaching all the subjects.

Last thing before I sign off:

I spent last night in Bogoya with some of my amis. Bogoya is a village about 8 km from Ouahigouya. The GEE (Girls’ Education and Empowerment) trainees live and go to class there, and I and two other SE trainees (Krystle and Emma) stayed with Sabrina there (my roomie in Philadelphia).

What a change from Ouahigouya. For one thing a lot of people don’t speak French, so I used what little Moore I know to greet people. Aside from “Ny yibeogo,” “Laafi,” and “Y barka” I’m pretty useless when it comes to Moore. Also, the kids there haven’t seen as many white folk as the average city kid, so there was even more shouting and me almost running over kids with my bike than usual.

But the people were incredibly nice and helpful, especially when we were using the foot pump to get our water. It was kind of like a dance, stepping on the pump at the right moment and then shoving off again. However comma it made me le tired.

I did carry a bucket of water on my head! Though I spilled all down my front, I walked all the way to Sabrina’s house from the pump with a bucket of water on my head. I’m really impressed with the women here—they carry 3 times as much weight on their head and they make it look effortless, whereas I’m soaked from water and sweat and I’m dragging my feet. At least I can take comfort in the fact that I’m a constant source of amusement for the Burkinabé.

Below are some pictures from my Bogoya sleepover. There were about 20 kids in Sabrina’s courtyard last night because there were 4 Nasara all in the same place. So we decided to get them even more riled up by taking out our cameras. Another picture is from our delicious dinner of pasta, rice and lentils in one huge bowl with four forks. We had mangos for dessert! There are a couple of goats tied up next to Sabrina’s courtyard, and we gave them the peels of our mangos. We slept right next to the goats and throughout the night they’d wander over to our tent, “Baaah!” at us, and then go back to sleep. Sabrina’s family also has a cat that follows you into the latrine and purrs at you/rubs up against you while you’re doing your business. I have to say it was comforting knowing that the cat would eat any cockroaches that cross my path while using the latrine.

This morning we were fed chicken for breakfast and it was aaaamazing! Chicken is really expensive here and so I don’t get it too often. But last night Sabrina’s dad called her outside; he was holding the poor bird upside down and asked her if we wanted to eat it. At some point in the night he killed the bird, we ate it for breakfast this morning, and then the kids in the courtyard were playing with its feathers.

I felt bad because after breakfast her dad asked us if we were going to help him cultivate, but I told my host mom that I was going to be home in the morning (as did Krystle and Emma, and Sabrina wanted to spend the day in Ouahigouya), so we had to decline. But maybe before stage is over I’ll help her dad cultivate. If not, I’m sure I’ll have plenty of opportunities to do so when I’m in Bouroum-Bouroum.

The last couple of pictures are silly ones of us in bike helmets on the side of the road in Bogoya. I posed with my trademark Jane look (Mamita calls it the “village idiot” look), and then I got the rest of them to do it. Word.

Lobi houses next to mine, bats!

School, view of BB and chameleon

Check out my new house

The little town called Bouroum-Bouroum

All right, this blog is going to be about my site visit to Bouroum-Bouroum. A nice little town about 6 hours southwest of Ouagadougou, Bouroum-Bouroum is green and semi-hilly, and nothing like Ouahigouya. Despite the fact that I love having internet and water readily available to me in my courtyard in Ouahigouya, I honestly believe that I’m going to like Bouroum-Bouroum so much more.

Starting from the beginning: I traveled to BB last Wednesday with my homologue (one of my future colleagues whose job is to help me find my bearings at site). His name is Marc and he spoke very little English, so we had fun working with my limited French. By the way I tested into Intermediate Mid French, one level higher—yay! Public transport in Burkina is insane—assigned seats mean nothing and elbows start flying when people scramble to get on the bus. It was hot and sweaty and uncomfortable, so nothing unlike the rest of my stay in Africa! Marc and I arrived in BB Wednesday night and I was immediately disoriented because it was dark, I had only my bike light, and did I mention that there’s no electricity in Bouroum-Bouroum?

I slept at Jillian’s house because it would have been culturally inappropriate to stay with mon celibataire homologue. Jillian is the other PC volunteer who has been living in BB for the past year. She wasn’t around during my site visit so I looked after her house and fed her dog while she was gone. I actually think her dog thought I was Jillian because he would follow me around wherever I went (he even came into the primary school’s director’s office during my meeting with him!). Silly Alaska. I definitely want to get a dog and cat when I get to site. One will be my protector and the other will eat the giant cockroaches.

Thursday was spent meeting community members and my colleagues. Unfortunately the director of the secondary school (where I’ll be working) and the mayor of the town weren’t around, so I’ll have to make those contacts once I return to site. I also got to see my house! I’ve posted a picture—it’s the brick house with the red door and windows. I will be the white girl behind the red door. I dig it. Incidentally, in BB kids don’t shout “Nasara!” at me, which is the equivalent of saying “Hey Whitey!” Instead, in more hushed tones they called me “Dubago" or something similar, the Lobiri word for foreigner.

I really like the location of my house because it’s about 2 km from the centre ville and market. It’s in a more secluded area where I’ll have more privacy, and the long road leading to my house is lined with trees and green bushes. Did you notice the huge tree in my backyard? My counterpart and I found a chameleon (pictured) en route to my casa. Isn’t he pretty?

I was disappointed that I couldn’t see the inside of my house—there was a lot of confusion because no one knew who had the key. I think my house has two rooms and a salon (or one room and a salon), an indoor shower, an outdoor shower, and an outdoor cuisinier. And when I say shower, I mean there’s a hole in the ground where my water will drain during my bucket bath. My latrine hasn’t been built yet and they haven’t finished painting the inside of the house or put up a fence around my property. But that should all be complete by the time I arrive at the end of August. I hope. I asked Jillian to try to make sure that the fence they’ll build around my house is also put around the latrine. I would feel awkward and uncomfortable if everyone could watch me walk to and from the latrine.

My house is right next to a Lobi compound—you can see the difference between my brick house and their mud/straw structures. I also live about 100 meters from the college (pictured), which is the secondary, or middle school, where I’ll be teaching. The subjects I’ll be teaching are still up in the air—I’ll let you know once I know. During my stay in BB I discovered that the primary religion practiced here is Animism. They say everyone in Burkina is an Animist, but in BB it truly is the people’s main religion. However, the next largest religious group is Protestant, then Muslim and then Catholic. The two largest groups that live in BB are the Lobi and the Mossi; thus the two most common local languages are Lobiri and Moore. Other languages spoken in BB are Jula, Birifore and Dagari. After learning French, I’ll be focusing on Lobiri and Moore.

Some interesting things that happened in Bouroum-Bouroum: A giant turkey chased me outside the mayor’s office. It then proceeded to chase me down the street after I got on my bike. Haha, I’ll see you at Thanksgiving.

BB doesn’t have any police force or post office.

I ate a meal with my hands for the first time in Burkina. I can’t say I was a fan of this experience, and it’s not because I ate with my hands. My homologue and I shared a plate of Attieké, which is like couscous with fish and onions. Not my meal of choice at any rate. But before we ate my homologue washed his right hand with water, then pulled the fish apart, then mixed it up with the couscous, then licked his hand, then mixed the dish again. I sat there feeling like George from Seinfield, thinking “It’s like you’re putting your entire mouth on the couscous!” But then I washed my hand and I ate the Attieké and it wasn’t half bad. I actually kind of like eating with my hand—I would just prefer to eat from my own bowl.

Oh! This is very important and obviously one of the most vital things I learned on my trip: Bouroum-Bouroum has Coke—cold cokes! They use a car battery and/or solar panels as the source for refrigeration. Glorious! I’m going to make friends with the people who work at the buvette so that they’ll always have the cold ones ready for me. My last night in BB my homologue and I had cokes under the stars in the absolute dark, listening to Celine Dion and Marvin Gaye on his cell phone. It was definitely a moment to remember.

I then spent a night in Gaoua, which is 25 km south of BB. It’s a much larger town that will serve as my source of internet and that will also be the place where I’ll pick up my mail and handle my finances. Gaoua will be nice for those purposes, but it’s too large and one of the most touristy places in Burkina. I much prefer Bouroum-Bouroum.

I then took transport back to Ouaga where I met up with the other trainees for a few nights in the capital city. I ate a cheese pizza, a cheeseburger, a hamburger, a chocolate crepe and amazing burritos at the house of the PC Director of Small Business Development (SED). Thanks Dan! I even got to use a real toilet and take a hot shower—absolutely refreshing. We went to the Ouaga zoo where we saw giant birds, some monkeys and crocodiles, and hundreds of bats—see the pictures! Bats are everywhere in Burkina, which is probably why all the trainees have been given 3 rabies shots!

Now I’m back in Ouahigouya with almost 6 weeks of stage behind me and 5 more to go. We start Model School next week. Eeek! I’ll be teaching Physics/Chemistry one hour a day, five days a week to Burkinabé students, in French. Should be horrifying. Or splendid. I guess we’ll see.

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Broom-Broom!

Actually it's Bouroum-Bouroum. But it's pronounced Broom-Broom, and roll your r's.

I’m going to be living in Southwest Burkina! The southwest happens to be the region where it rains the most! I have to say that I was really surprised when I was told my site location because 1. A lot of the trainees requested to be placed in the southwest and 2. I personally didn’t specify a region so I figured I’d be placed in the Sahel or central Burkina. But here I am. And as of now I am going to be a Math teacher. However, that could change at any time because professors drop out of programs, or they move away, or the schools add or cancel classes. I will be either a math, physics/chemistry or biology teacher—or all three, or perhaps just two. Who knows?

I’m also going to be living in a village where another volunteer is currently situated. This person is a GEE (Girls’ Education) volunteer, so I’ll be the only PC volunteer teacher in the village. I wasn’t expecting to be placed in the same village as another volunteer and I’m almost certain that it’s not too common. But having this other volunteer in my village will most likely help facilitate my integration into the community, and I’m happy that I’ll be close to someone who’ll be willing to help me adjust to a brand new life after training is over.

Next week is site visit! By next weekend I’ll be able to explain in more detail what my home for the next two years will be like. For now I’ll tell you what I know about the South. According to Bradt’s Burkina Faso Guide, the south has the best elephant-viewing! Finally I’ll bathe at the watering hole with the elephants! The south is also the greenest part of Burkina, with the most amount of rainfall and unfortunately the most humidity. The upside is that I haven’t stopped sweating since my arrival in Burkina, so humidity is no object. Anywho, the southwest has red earth, green hills, streams and it is “the gateway into the world of fetishes, sacred rites and bush lore of Lobi country.” It’s been said that all Burkinabe are animists, but that’s particularly true in the southwest. I don't know what local language I'll be learning, but I'm pretty sure it won't be Moore. Again, I'll know more about my site next week so I'll let you all know then.

Wheew! Am very excited and nervous for next week. I leave Ouahigouya on Wednesday with my counterpart, who’s a member of the community in my village, and together we’ll travel to my site. My counterpart will act as a conduit between myself and the members of my prospective village. He or she will introduce me to the chef of my village, my colleagues, the police, etc. I’ll also get to see my new house and begin to cook up ways to make it my own. I envision myself having a lot of fun with paint. Yup, it’s going to be a mess. Right now I’m not sure if I’ll be spending the nights with my counterpart or with the other volunteer in my village during my visit. Hmm, I need to figure that out. We're having workshops on Monday and Tuesday to hammer out all the details.

I’ll be spending 3 nights at my site, and after that I’ll travel to Ouagadougou (sans counterpart!) to meet up with the other secondary education trainees. We’ll spend 2 nights in Ouaga—good food will be had, and I might even get to use a real toilet (sans cockroaches!). I’ll be on the hunt for chocolate and other delectable goodies, so wish me bon chance.

Other stuff from this week: My host mom and dad are in Ouaga this weekend so I've been hanging out with my host aunt.Her name is Mariam and she's been living with us for about 3 weeks now. I've been wondering how long she'll be staying with us, and I believe I got my answer last night. Mariam was explaining to me in full detail the history of the Brazilian soap opera Au Coeur du Peché when suddenly she told me that her husband died two months ago. She told me that she had been living in Ivory Coast with her husband and daughter (1 yr, now living with us too) when about 2 months ago her husband was killed in a motorcycle accident. So now Mariam and her daughter are living with my host family indefinitely. My lack of French made it difficult to express sympathy, so I just said "Toutes mes condoléances" and then I just sat on the couch awkwardly. But we looked at Mariam's photo album and she seemed comforted by my company.

Unfortunately moto accidents are quite common here because few people wear helmets and a lot of the times traffic lights and stop signs are merely decorations. Needless to say it's sometimes a little scary riding a bike here.

I had my second language test today and I'll know the results on Monday. It wasn't horrible but it also wasn't great. However, this time I could understand everything that my instructor said which is quite an improvement from last time! Sadly, my speaking is still atrocious. Ça va aller!

Also, tomorrow I have to do laundry all by my lonesome. Usually my host mom or aunt will take over after an hour ot two, but not this time. I have a feeling that it will take me a day and a half to finish cleaning all of my clothes, and I'll have battle wounds all over my delicate fingers. It should be interesting.

All right, I can't write any more. I'm glad that you had a nice time in Boston, Mom and Doug. And I hope you have spectacular adventures in London and Paris, Shelly and Nathan!

Please send snail mail if you have the time!

Happy Independence Day!

This is my second post in 5 days! Not sure if that will ever happen again, but make sure to check out my previous post--it's a long one.

Today's the 4th of July, and it is our (the trainees') plan to have a fête tonight. Supposedly there are going to be hamburgers--sans cheese because it's so expensive when you can find it, lamb on a stick (or brochettes), pasta salad, other vegetables, beer and COKE! Ah Coke, I may have 4 of them. I'm so excited that I might even take another bucket bath before I go. There will also be dancing (Dance with me, Remus!) and other performances from the trainees. It should be entertaining and delicious.

The wedding we all went to on Thursday was a fun cultural experience. I was sick (some gastro-intestinal issues) and so I couldn't eat the food, but mayhaps I will taste the goodness at another Burkinabé wedding some other time in the next two years. The actual ceremony was very official and business-like. No romance, flowers, music, bridesmaids, etc. Just the mayor of Ouahigouya and the bride and groom sitting at a desk at the front of the room, and the guests sitting behind them. The ceremony was in French so I didn't catch all of it, but vows and rings were exchanged, and even a chaste kiss. It was actually kind of cute, sort of like an impromptu wedding at City Hall, except there were at least 100 guests.

The ceremony was held at a nice venue with a small garden (though it was mostly dirt). Pictures were taken, including one of yours truly with the rest of the PC trainees! Then a man (I'd like to call him the Best Man though I don't think that's accurate) recited the bride and groom's love story, and then we ate. Or we watched people eat. I had cold water and Sprite so I was happy. I can't say for sure whether this Burkinabé wedding was sort of "Americanized" because of the groom. I'd like to attend another wedding where both parties are Burkina nationals, just to see if there's more of a difference in ceremony.

Aside from that, not much else is going on. I'm about to go have lunch--a nice omelet sandwich. Hopefully I'll be able to keep les mouches away. There are so many more flies here than in the US! What's the frequency, Kenneth?

Next week we get our site announcements!

4th time's a charm

I have to get used to the fact that the internet does not always work here.

Almost three weeks in Burkina! I went to the marche a few days ago with my French class and I had this pastry with a custard filling. Not usually a big fan of creme fillings (unless it’s chocolate of course), but this was delicious! That seems to be a pattern here: In the U.S. I never used to like mangos, crème-filled pastries, etc. But here on the rare occasions that I do eat something sweet, it tastes so good. I ran out of my stash of dark chocolate M&M’s this week, so feel free to send me more!

This next week all of the Peace Corps Trainees will be planning a 4th of July party for this upcoming Saturday. I’m not entirely sure what we’ll have because there’s no way we could make burgers. Can we even get ground beef here? I haven’t seen a single cow in Burkina. No bad cow puns, cow dung flung, or cows with guns. But there are chickens in choppers. Plenty of roosters, donkeys and pigs wandering around the streets seemingly unattended. I really do enjoy watching donkeys pulling wagons, though. Well, we might have a bit of goat here or some fish or scraps of beef there, but I’m guessing it’ll be some kind of rice or pasta. Last year all of the trainees got sick off their 4th of July meal—apparently some major gastro-intestinal problems that lasted for a month for some. At least all of the trainees this year were told about this incident because now we’ll all make sure that the meat is cooked well enough and any fruits or vegetables are washed with PC-standard filtered water. I’m going to miss fireworks this year.

Speaking of bright lights, the stars here are remarkable. They’re so much brighter and larger, not to mention you can see more of them here than in the U.S. I watch them through my mosquito net at night, and they serve as a good source of light when I have to use the latrine. By the way, I’m getting better at using the latrines. They’re still a little gross and sometimes my aim is no bueno, but I shoo away the cockroaches and they wait patiently until I’m finished using the latrine before they resurface. But I love sleeping outside because it’s about 20 degrees cooler outside than in my room. I’m starting to get accustomed to the ruckus the roosters make (starting around 4 am), and I can sometimes sleep through the bells that ring at 4 signaling the time for prayer for the Muslim community.

I don’t believe my host family is very religious at all. Since we’re in a larger city I guess it shouldn’t be too surprising. But we’re in Mossi country here up north where the majority of the people are Muslim. My family sleeps outside with me and I’ve never seen them get up at 4 to go to the mosque or pray. My host mom did ask me if I’m Catholic though, so maybe they’re non-practicing Catholics or they go to church or pray when I’m not around. I’ll make sure I ask them before my training is over, but I want to make sure I can use proper French before engaging in a discussion about religion. It was kind of weird the other day when I was talking to my host mom about marriage and kids. I told her I have no intention of doing either things and 1. She was shocked; 2. She asked me if I liked black men or if I would want to marry a white person. I told her that I’m partial to all colors of the rainbow. She laughed at me and seemed genuinely surprised that I’d even consider a relationship with a person who wasn’t white. Tres interresant.

I heard that Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett died last week. Most of the Burkinabe I’ve met know who Michael Jackson was, so they gave me their condolences when they heard about his death. I was watching a news special about it with my host mom, and she turned to me in the middle of it and said “Il ressemble une femme.” She thinks he looks like a woman, whereas I think he just looks rather creepy and skeletal. It was painful watching one of his music videos that the news station aired. But I still like his music quite a bit, so Michael Jackson will live on.

What else has been happening? Let’s see, the secondary education trainees start peer teaching next week. As of now I’m training to be a Physique et Chemie teacher, but apparently that could change or I may have to add a new subject, like Math or English. It all depends on how many students enroll at the school and how many teachers there are. In about 3 weeks we’ll have Model School where the trainees will teach a real Burkinabe class, in French. Holy crapola. I do believe that my French comprehension has improved, but my speaking is still atrocious. I still have to think in English about what I want to say in French, so it takes a long time to have a conversation. But my host family says that I’ve been improving, so yay for me!

I was very excited a fez nights ago because my host mom made me jus de weda. It tastes amazing. It’s a fruit juice that’s splendidly citrusy and sweet, and you can get it cold, almost frozen. The weda fruit is actually quite sour, it sort of reminded me od Sour Patch Kids I’ve never appreciated the luxury of cold drinks as much as I do here. Last week the family in our courtyard had a party because it was their daughter’s birthday—and I had cold bissap. It’s a cranberry-colored juice that’s not as good as jus de weda, but still pretty darn tasty. That was the night of the USA vs Spain game, and the U.S. won! Unfortunately they lost in the final to Brazil. Dommage. I like the TV schedule here—lots of soccer games, almost every day that start around 6 PM so that I can enjoy them when it’s cool outside and when I’m not in class. My host dad is a fan of soccer, so that works in my favor too.

All of the trainees are invited to a wedding this Thursday morning. One of the third year volunteers here in Burkina is going to marry a Burkinabe woman, and I am very excited to see what a traditional Burkinabe wedding is like. All of the trainees are chipping in 100 to 300 CFA (less than a dollar) so that we can buy them one large cadeau (gift). Mom, I guess I am going to have to wear the one skirt that I brought with me.

So I am still trying to maneuver my way around the Burkinabe culture. Apparently it is rude to flat out tell someone `No`here. Instead you have to figure out a way to say no without actually doing it. For example, my host mom made me cucumber salad two nights in a row (delicious, by the way). The first night she left the mayonnaise dressing on the side, but the second night she drenched all of the cucumbers and tomatoes in mayonnaise. And though I tried, I could not eat it all. So my host mom (Abiba) asked me if I did not like the dressing. Instead of saying no (like I normally would, because those of you who know my tastes really well know I despise mayonnaise), I instead said, 'I liked it, BUT I prefer the salad without the mayonnaise. Problem solved, but I am not used to such an indirect approach to dealing with these kinds of things.

I also cannot eat with my left hand, because here the left hand is used for when you go to the bathroom, so it is considered very rude if you eat with your left hand. It's different no doubt, and I'm sure it'll take a long time to get used to, but the Burkinabe have their customs and traditions for a reason. We're told that part of being a volunteer is to learn, respect and abide by their culture.

Well I think I’ll stop here for now. I’m going to try to write an entry every week or so, so please come back to see what I’m up to. And don’t forget to write!

À bientot