- Isak Dinesen, "Out of Africa"
Happy Belated Thanksgiving! I hope you all had a most excellent holiday and ate as well as we did here in the BF. It's been a while since my last posting as I've been in village for most of November, occasionally traveling to visit my two closest neighbors but trying to put in a lot of face time au village before my Christmas travels out of country (more to follow)! The Harmattan/cool dry season has begun, so the nights are sometimes downright chilly (relatively speaking) and there is an almost ever-present breeze, somtimes gentle, sometimes gusty. The Harmattan winds blow down from the Sahara and bring with them lots of dust but also much welcomed relief for the heat of day.
I've been in Fada for 4 days, having extended my stay for a less-than-pleasant reason...
Thanksgiving and Dysentery
Let begin with the positive. I was fortunate to spend Thanksgiving here in Fada with 20 + volunteers, including some who traveled from other regions to join us which meant seeing friends for the first time since our swear-in. We enjoyed a meal of not only turkey and all the trimmings but two roast pigs as well. I had the unique opportunity to meet of all these creatures before their inevitable demise and was present (though not attentive) during the slaughter of the turkey, although I did watch the de-feathering. Aside from the aforementioned, we enjoyed mashed potatos, gravy, sweet potatos, two kinds of stuffing, green bean salad, cranberries, as well as pumpkin and pecan pies...not too shabby! Unfortunately, I had to beg off early and forego the dancing and debauchery that is a necessary characteristic of most Peace Corps gatherings. I'll skip the details, but the next day I ended up sending a stool sample along with volunteers headed to Ouaga. I realize that this is a gross and slightly strange detail to the average American, but this is standard operating procedure here in Burkina Faso, which has the highest incidence of diarrhea of any Peace Corps country (and that's saying a lot). Anyhow, god bless the PCMO (nurse) who hustled over the the Embassy lab and had results quicker than I could have hoped. Turns out that I have (drumroll please)...AMOEBIC DYSENTERY! Yeah, that's what all of those settlers on the Oregon Trail died of. I will receive lots of meds via transport this afternoon and should be on the mend and eating food other than bananas and bread by tomorrow, as well as headed back to village. I would, however, emphatically reccomend avoiding dysentery.
Brandi and I with the pigs
The Bird
Jorge, Beth, and I at Thanksgiving Dinner
Beth and I
L'Anglais
Before coming to Africa, I hadn't given much consideration to the English language beyond my enjoyment of reading, writing, and speaking. Here, however, English is put on a veritable pedestal and I, as an English-speaker, am often held in high regard for this chance ability, as opposed to the French-speaking Europeans in-country, who aren't nearly as interesting to the average Burkinabé. America may be suffering a massive crisis of image in many parts of the world, but here in Burkina Faso she's still doing quite well and a ticket to the States is the ultimate pipe dream for just about any Burkinabé you'll encounter. Those who've made it to the "land of milk and honey" are considered with awe and envy by their countrymen and those of us who actually COME from the States are peppered, on a daily basis, with comments, questions, requests for a "correspondent" or English lessons, and continual jokes such as "Tu vas m'amener avec toi, n'est pas?" (you're going to bring me back with you?).
I mentioned that I was considering teaching English. After meeting with the two English professors at the lycée, we decided that it would be much more beneficial to the English students to have some extra activities and opportunities to use and practice English. Both of the professors are good, in Burkina terms, where pedagogy is formulaic and resources are non-existence, and speak really decent English considering that neither of them have actually been to an English-speaking country (even Ghana). Beyond that, they certainly have a far superior capacity than I to explain grammatical concepts and rules in French. I, on the other hand, have a wealth of knowledge, from songs and games to cultural knowledge, with which I can provide contextual activities and opportunities for students to really get into their English study (which is actually quite necessary as it is included on the exam to pass out of high school and be eligible for University). Thus, I have started an ENGLISH CLUB! It's open to all English students who are interested. Based on the response I received when I went around to all of the classes to talk about it, I think that attendance will be high, at least at first. We will meet for the first time next Thursday, since there are no classes Thursday afternoons. The younger, first-year English prof. will join me and help a bit in preparing the activities. He's excited to learn songs and games that he can use in the future as well (and is pretty stoked at my presence in general, as a native English speaker is a rarity). My idea for next week is an interactive lesson on the human body - I'm going to use a volunteer and have the students help me identify their basic "parts" and stick tags to the volunteer (we're going to limit it to the basics, head, arm, leg, foot, etc.). We'll also play Simon Says and learn "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" in French and English. It'll be a good test-run to figure out what they really respond to (kids here LOVE to sing). Interestingly, the fact that I'm going to be singing songs with kids as old as 17 and 18 doesn't present the issue that it would in the States. "Cool" definitely exists in Burkina, but a lot of the pressures kids in the U.S. face are a bit tempered here.
Les Voisins (Neighbors)
I have new neighbors! A woman who works at L'Inspection d'Education, which is down the road from chez moi, moved into the newly-finished house in my courtyard. My new neighbor has two school-age kids, an older girl and a younger boy, who have added some flavor and noise to our courtyard. The kids are really great and the daughter, Martine, is particularly sweet and has even taken to calling me "tantie" (aunt), which is flattering. I was pretty sick last weekend (haven't had the greatest luck with health as of late!) with a flu-like cold, complete with fever and migraine, as a result of the Harmattan dust. My neighbors, upon learning of my illness, were incredibly concerned and asked after my health every few hours and even brought me spaghetti they had prepared one evening (spaghetti here, by the way, is prepared with a cholesterol-raising amount of oily sauce, as are most rice dishes, and is definitely not reminiscent of anything we'd eat in the States). Regardless, it was an extremely nice gesture and I am happy to have a full courtyard now. I think I mentioned that I had been alone for the first month and a half or so until a French teacher at the lycée and his brother, a student, moved in. They are awesome neighbors and particularly interesting as they're both Ouaga-born and Bashir, the teacher who is my age, completed university (not at all necessary to become a teacher). They come from a well-educated family and their house is as nice, if not nicer, than mine as far as furniture and amenities. I have to say that it certainly is nice to have neighbors that I can relate to on a different level than the average Burkinabé. They've both travelled extensively throughout W. Africa and Bashir is the only Burkinabé I've encountered who seems to read as much as I do.
A Grand Fete
The birthday of my nearest PCV neighbor was last weekend so my second-nearest neighbor and I decided to throw a fete in her honor. Friday night I biked to her village where we enjoyed an excellent dinner of chicken, potates (sweet potato fries), and spaghetti prepared by her neighbor. The staff of the primary school in her village as well as a few others were in attendance and a good time was had by all.
I should interject here that halfway between our villages is a village with a buvette (bar/restaurant-type deal). As I was pedaling past it occurred to me that a cold beer would be just about the best darn birthday present I could think of. So I turned around and talked to the proprietor who, on the condition of me bringing the bottles back (which I did on my way back to village), agreed to sell me two bottles to take with me to her house. The bottles stayed remarkably cold during the 5k remainder of the ride and were appreciated in a way that only a Peace Corps volunteer in a tropical/equatorial country can understand.
But moving on, I stayed the night at her house and the next day we pedaled the 17k to our next-nearest neighbors village. We had pooled money to buy a goat and some chickens for the fete, which was to include a little boy (Guy) from the courtyard nextdoor who has the same birthday as my PCV neighbor. Guy's family prepared the food and we even managed to procure speakers for the fete. After a day of catching up and relaxing, we headed over to the courtyard where we were greeted by loud Burkinabé pop music and a hoard of dancing children. There were an incredible amount of people present but we were a smaller group who sat at a table inside the courtyard (us, my friend Sali from village, a number of men from the family, and Guy, the little boy). We ate well and partook in some dolo (beer brewed in village, tastes a little like cider), after which we proceeded to dance with what seemed like half the village. It was a pretty incredible celebration and experience in general, especially for Guy (who must be about 10) since birthdays aren't really a big deal here. It was neat to see how happy he was to be the center of attention for a night.
Holiday Travels
I am excited to report that I will not be spending Christmas in village or even in Burkina Faso. Another volunteer and I are taking two weeks of vacation to travel to Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire. We'll spend a week in Accra, Ghana, where one of my best friends from college works with the UN, and then we'll travel over the border to a village in Cote d'Ivoire where the other volunteer's sister is living and working with an NGO. Our transport to Ghana will be an 700 KM (420 mile) 18-20 hour long bus ride (yes, that is a RIDICULOUS ratio when you think about it). Apparently the bus is air-conditioned, however, which would certainly put a whole different spin on the situation (keep your fingers crossed for me!). Regardless, I am psyched to get out of Burkina and see a bit of both countries before heading back to celebrate New Year's in Ouaga. Thanksgiving was good but a little rough (being away from home for the first time, and the whole dysentery thing) so an adventurous Christmas complete with a friendly non-Burkinabé or Peace Corps face will help blunt the experience of Christmas sans famille a bit.
That's all the news for now. I'll be in Ouaga with computer access next weekend when I go to get visas, so e-mails will be read and responded to (that means that updates would be appreciated!).
* Also, postcards from the States would be GREAT if you are inclined to send one as I would like use them for my English club (and, of course, would love to hear from people).
*Lastly, if you're itching to send me something...things that would be appreciated include:
- things to make me smell nice (bath/body stuff like soaps)
- things to make my feet happy (Africa is brutal on les pieds)
- things to make me au courant (magazines, news in general)
- things that taste good (Crystal Light, spices for cooking, sauce packets, M&Ms, granola bars, etc.)
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