Posts
I’m currently in Ouaga for training, TOT (training of trainers). It’s a weeklong training that prepares us volunteers along with the rest of the Peace Corps staff to become trainers for the new trainees coming in. This is really exciting because we look forward to new groups of trainees who arrive only 2 times per year. This time, being a seasoned and experienced volunteer, I am a trainer for the new trainees. Their training will be different from ours because the education program has completely changed and been restructured (for the better, in my opinion) since last year. Due to this, their stage is longer than ours was, and they go through a lot of significant training that I never had, but wish I did. We are also welcoming a brand new sector this time, an Agriculture program. But, this is neither here nor there. What I really want to tell you about is my unplanned and unwanted tour of Burkina.
Normally, my trip from my site to the capital is about 7 hours, in an air conditioned bus (NOT a bush taxi… thank god), and on a paved road (a luxury most volunteers do not have). So, all in all, my trip, although rather long, is much better than a lot of other peoples. Well, 3 days before I’m supposed to be in Ouaga, a PC staff calls me and tells me that due to security reasons, I cannot travel my normal route and am forced to find a new one. I, of course, have no clue to a secondary route, so I’m frantically calling other volunteers to try to find one. Unfortunately, there was only one option. A route that took me on a cross country trip, which not only costed an arm and a leg, took 3 days, but was entirely bush taxis. I was rushing around trying to get my things together because I realized I had to leave ASAP or I wouldn’t be there in time. All my clothes were hanging on the line to try. Thank god it’s a million degrees here and they dry in about an hour ha. And for all of you that know me, you know that I am not a light packer, but due to the unusual circumstances surrounding this trip, I had no other option. I know my Dad would be proud of the fact that I only brought one bookbag and a purse for 10 days away.
My first leg of the trip wasn’t too bad. It was only 2 hours on a bush taxi. But, I was squished between a big woman and crying baby. I couldn’t move an inch, so in true west African spirit, they fit in 5 more people. Now, I’m holding the crying baby while the mom is holding the taxi door close, and a brown liquid is dripping on me from the ceiling. Super. Thank god it was only 2 hours ha.
The next part of my trip was significantly longer. I woke up at 5:30 because I had no clue where the taxi left from or what time, so I figure it would be better for me to get there earlier. Thankfully, it was easier than I thought. I arrived at the taxi station, and a man says, “Hey! White person, where are you going?” I tell him, and he tells his apprentice to take my bag and puts in on a taxi and voila… I have a taxi. Easy as that. Now, I just have to wait. Normally, in all my taxi experiences, they do not leave the station unless the car is completely full. Then, they will add 5 more people, a goat, some chickens, and a man hops on the roof. This could take 30 minutes or 5 hours. You never know. I ask the driver when he’s leaving and he says, “Tout suite!” (Very soon). I ask if he actually means very soon, or very soon after the car is full. He assures me that no, we will be leaving very soon. I’m doubtful. Then 30 minutes later, he says, “Hey! White person, get in the car, we’re leaving.” So, I head over, and hop in and to my surprise, I’m the only person in the car. And, not to my surprise, the driver was not the owner of the car, but his 15 year old apprentice. We leave the station and pull over about 3 minutes later. I ask what’s going on, and, of course, they don’t speak French, so I have no clue. And I’m still the only person in the taxi. Eventually, the owner comes, and we head off… to the gas station. “Hey! White person, we need you to pay so we can get gas.” I hand over my fare, he fills up an empty bucket with gas so we don’t have to stop along the road, and finally, we’re off for real. About 2 hours later, we pull over in a town, and the taxi driver hops out of my taxi, and without saying a word, hops in another passing taxi going in the opposite direction. What the heck?! I swear, sometimes, I do not understand Burkina Faso and the people here. How can you just leave me, the taxi and the apprentice on the side of the road without saying anything?? I sit and wait and wait, and then I go to pee (which ended up being very complicated because, again, no one spoke French and so they couldn’t understand what I wanted. It ended up being a very embarrassing pantomime with me squatting near the ground pretending to pee.) An hour and a half later, the driver saunters over ( don’t worry… he just had to eat), hops in and again, we’re off. For 20 minutes until we have to stop again. This time, the driver and the apprentice hop out and TAKE A NAP! I’m not kidding, they took a nap on the side of the road for 30 minutes! Finally, after them waking up due to me “gently” throwing stones at them to wake them, they get in and we continue. When, of course, 30 minutes later, we have to stop again to pick up some people. This took about 20 minutes because it took 5 men to heave a bag of rotted meat onto the roof of the taxi. I can only assume, they were planning on selling this meat in the city. In a country where deodorant doesn’t exist and latrines do, bad odors don’t faze me that often, but holy shit, that rotting meat… I honestly thought I was going to throw up in the taxi. And, to make matters worse, they were heaving the bag up on my side of the car, so the blood and random pieces were dripping down my window, where they dried instantly due to the scorching heat and I was forced to look at them for the rest of the trip. Again, we’re off, and this time, only 7 hours since leaving my original destination, we finally make it there. A fellow volunteer met me at the station and the first thing he said to me was, “Why did your taxi take so long?”
The next day, I wake up really early and start on my third and final leg of the journey. This, thank god, was a bus and a rather long trip, which I was thankful for because that means the bus will be air conditioned. HA! Once again, I was wrong. The volunteer warns me that this transport company is horrible and to be ready. So, I get there really early and buy my ticket. The bus was supposed to leave at 8, and, of course, the bus arrived at 8:20 full of people. I head over and wait for the people to get off the bus, which is when I realize that the people on my bus have already forced themselves onto the bus. They, literally, push people out of the way to get on the bus. Despite being the first person there, I was one of the last people to make it on the bus. There are no assigned seats, so if you’re the last person on the bus, you will have to stand for the entire 6 hour bus ride. In my case, I was seated between two very large and loud African women who insisted on getting off the bus at every single stop to buy a snack to eat on the bus, one of which was fried chicken. You know, an easy, on-the-go snack. So, I’m trying my best to sleep so I can pass the time easier. Despite it being so hot you want to die, the trip went smoothly with no big hiccups and I made it to Ouaga on time.
After that really long trip, I decided that I deserved to eat well, and so, this week while being here, I’ve been splurging… eating anything with cheese and chocolate ha. Unfortunately, my week is about over and my wallet is significantly smaller, and now I have to head back to site.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Witch Doctors, Charms and Spells
One of the most fascinating aspects of African culture is their religion. In Burkina, about 60% of people are Muslim, 40% are Catholic, and 100% are animists. They believe that spirits can move all objects, such as animals, trees and rocks. I have heard stories of people being arrested or even killed because other believed they were ‘skin changers’. They believe that humans can take animal form, especially cats, to carry out revenge. If the act was carried out while a human was in their animal form, they cannot be held responsible because it wasn’t them who carried out the task.
The Burkinabe believe the spirits here are very powerful, but can be pleased with offerings or animal sacrifices. I have witnessed several animal sacrifices for the land to remain plentiful, for the rivers to continue running with water, or for farms to have a lot of crops. The spirits can bring about health, happiness, wealth, or a variety of other positive things.
I have also been witness to the outcomes of unhappy spirits. Almost every accident or illness is attributed to a bad spirit who has been sent by someone. When someone falls sick, before taking them to a hospital, they will be taken to a marabout, or more commonly known as a witch doctor. They believe that you became ill because you did something bad to someone else. Then, this person sought out a witch to send a curse your way.
A few months ago, there was a young man staying with my neighbors’ for a few weeks. Towards the end of his stay, he started acting very strange. He wouldn’t sleep at all. He would wander the river behind my house, the area traditionally known to be a sacred place for witches. He refused to drink water or eat any of their food. His calm demeanor suddenly changed. My neighbors’ family became very stressed out about this, and called his family to come immediately. They explained to me that he came from a pagan family, and his recent change in behavior was due to that. Someone had cursed him. His family came and took him to a marabout where they carried out a traditional ceremony to remove the curse. I tried to convince them to let me come and meet the witch doctor and see the traditional ceremony, but they wouldn’t let me. Apparently, afterwards, he was cured and returned to his life as normal.
The town I live in has a significant pagan community. When I first found this out, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I half expected to meet someone who dressed in black and did spells, like in stereotypical movies. Of course, I had to meet one to learn more about them and their beliefs. I did so rather quickly and easily, and after several conversations found that it is nothing more than a belief in several gods and spirits. They believe witches can curse people, or bring about good things. They believe that marabouts can in fact remove the curses.
Ever since I arrived here, I’ve been hearing about this ‘pagan mask ceremony’ that takes place in May. Well, now it’s May and the ceremony has arrived. I’ve learned that for an entire week, the town shuts down. Everything closes and no one can leave their houses due to the sacred and secret ceremony. The pagan men wear masks and go around to all the parts of the town to do ‘fetishes’, or curses. In this case, they are good curses. They are blessing the town and the people. But here comes the weird part, no one outside of their religion can see this. If you see by accident, they will curse you or kidnap you for the duration of the ceremony. If you see on purpose, they will send a curse that will kill you. For an entire week, they cover every inch of the town with their blessings. They wear masks, play flutes and drums, and they dance. Needless to say, I want to avoid all curses so I’m leaving town haha.
At first, I thought people were bullshitting me. I didn’t believe in any of this ‘black magic’ nonsense and thought it was all a hoax. I’ve talked to a lot of people about this subject, and I haven’t come across one person who doesn’t believe in it. I thought that maybe the more educated people who live in cities would think this is fake but they don’t. On the contrary, they are afraid of it. If nothing about these witches, curses and witch doctors are true then why do people still believe in them after hundreds of years?
The Burkinabe believe the spirits here are very powerful, but can be pleased with offerings or animal sacrifices. I have witnessed several animal sacrifices for the land to remain plentiful, for the rivers to continue running with water, or for farms to have a lot of crops. The spirits can bring about health, happiness, wealth, or a variety of other positive things.
I have also been witness to the outcomes of unhappy spirits. Almost every accident or illness is attributed to a bad spirit who has been sent by someone. When someone falls sick, before taking them to a hospital, they will be taken to a marabout, or more commonly known as a witch doctor. They believe that you became ill because you did something bad to someone else. Then, this person sought out a witch to send a curse your way.
A few months ago, there was a young man staying with my neighbors’ for a few weeks. Towards the end of his stay, he started acting very strange. He wouldn’t sleep at all. He would wander the river behind my house, the area traditionally known to be a sacred place for witches. He refused to drink water or eat any of their food. His calm demeanor suddenly changed. My neighbors’ family became very stressed out about this, and called his family to come immediately. They explained to me that he came from a pagan family, and his recent change in behavior was due to that. Someone had cursed him. His family came and took him to a marabout where they carried out a traditional ceremony to remove the curse. I tried to convince them to let me come and meet the witch doctor and see the traditional ceremony, but they wouldn’t let me. Apparently, afterwards, he was cured and returned to his life as normal.
The town I live in has a significant pagan community. When I first found this out, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I half expected to meet someone who dressed in black and did spells, like in stereotypical movies. Of course, I had to meet one to learn more about them and their beliefs. I did so rather quickly and easily, and after several conversations found that it is nothing more than a belief in several gods and spirits. They believe witches can curse people, or bring about good things. They believe that marabouts can in fact remove the curses.
Ever since I arrived here, I’ve been hearing about this ‘pagan mask ceremony’ that takes place in May. Well, now it’s May and the ceremony has arrived. I’ve learned that for an entire week, the town shuts down. Everything closes and no one can leave their houses due to the sacred and secret ceremony. The pagan men wear masks and go around to all the parts of the town to do ‘fetishes’, or curses. In this case, they are good curses. They are blessing the town and the people. But here comes the weird part, no one outside of their religion can see this. If you see by accident, they will curse you or kidnap you for the duration of the ceremony. If you see on purpose, they will send a curse that will kill you. For an entire week, they cover every inch of the town with their blessings. They wear masks, play flutes and drums, and they dance. Needless to say, I want to avoid all curses so I’m leaving town haha.
At first, I thought people were bullshitting me. I didn’t believe in any of this ‘black magic’ nonsense and thought it was all a hoax. I’ve talked to a lot of people about this subject, and I haven’t come across one person who doesn’t believe in it. I thought that maybe the more educated people who live in cities would think this is fake but they don’t. On the contrary, they are afraid of it. If nothing about these witches, curses and witch doctors are true then why do people still believe in them after hundreds of years?
Friday, May 6, 2011
Appreciating the Differences
I started a correspondence program between some of my students and a class from Philadelphia. As soon as I collected the letters from my students, I had at least 5 students ask me every single day whether I received the responses yet. I felt like I could sympathize with my parents from our long car trip days to Chicago, “Are we there yet? I’m hungry! When are we stopping?” Considering there’s a significant time gap in mail to and from the states, I heard this question a lot. Well, this week, I finally received the letters, and I was as excited to tell my students that they arrived as they were to hear that they arrived.
I was impressed with my students’ ability to translate the letters from English to French, considering they are only in their second year of English. But, I ran into some unforeseen questions, questions I wasn’t expecting.
One American student wrote in the letter, “In America, we have malls. Malls are where teenagers hang out.” So, then my student asked, “What’s a mall?” How do you explain this concept to a kid from a developing country? A country where the only places to buy clothes are vendors on the side of the road who sell used clothes that people in America don’t want. (But, I’ll admit, I search through those side-of-the-road clothes piles and have had some good finds)
The next topic was snow. The American students wrote about the four seasons, which is always an interesting topic because the climate here is so extremely difficult. The students here know the word snow. They know it translates to “la neige”, but they don’t have a damn clue what that actually is. So, I’m trying to explain to them that it’s frozen water, but not like ice. It’s soft, and you can play with it. I think I confused them so much it would have been better for me to just say I don’t know what it is. That conversation was difficult enough, imagine the conversations I had afterwards involving snowmen and snowball fights. If anyone can tell me how to explain this concept to these kids, I would appreciate it. Better yet, can anyone send me a snow machine hahah.
The last thing they couldn’t comprehend was how big schools in America are. One student wrote that he was in classroom number 113. Then, my students asked what does that mean? I explained that every classroom has a number so you know where to go. In my middle/high school, there are 704 students, 7 grades and 7 classrooms. So, when I try to explain that there are many different classes for each grade and each one has a number, they were blown away. They couldn’t believe there was a school with 113 classrooms in it.
It’s not that I don’t recognize the differences, but I’ve lived here long enough to accept them. I forget about the differences, and so when I get questions like, “What’s a mall?”, “What’s a snowman?”, or “There are 113 rooms in one building?!?”, it puts me back in check. It reminds me how different the lives of people here are compared to the complicated lives we live in America. Is one way better than another? No. But, one way does have malls haha.
I was impressed with my students’ ability to translate the letters from English to French, considering they are only in their second year of English. But, I ran into some unforeseen questions, questions I wasn’t expecting.
One American student wrote in the letter, “In America, we have malls. Malls are where teenagers hang out.” So, then my student asked, “What’s a mall?” How do you explain this concept to a kid from a developing country? A country where the only places to buy clothes are vendors on the side of the road who sell used clothes that people in America don’t want. (But, I’ll admit, I search through those side-of-the-road clothes piles and have had some good finds)
The next topic was snow. The American students wrote about the four seasons, which is always an interesting topic because the climate here is so extremely difficult. The students here know the word snow. They know it translates to “la neige”, but they don’t have a damn clue what that actually is. So, I’m trying to explain to them that it’s frozen water, but not like ice. It’s soft, and you can play with it. I think I confused them so much it would have been better for me to just say I don’t know what it is. That conversation was difficult enough, imagine the conversations I had afterwards involving snowmen and snowball fights. If anyone can tell me how to explain this concept to these kids, I would appreciate it. Better yet, can anyone send me a snow machine hahah.
The last thing they couldn’t comprehend was how big schools in America are. One student wrote that he was in classroom number 113. Then, my students asked what does that mean? I explained that every classroom has a number so you know where to go. In my middle/high school, there are 704 students, 7 grades and 7 classrooms. So, when I try to explain that there are many different classes for each grade and each one has a number, they were blown away. They couldn’t believe there was a school with 113 classrooms in it.
It’s not that I don’t recognize the differences, but I’ve lived here long enough to accept them. I forget about the differences, and so when I get questions like, “What’s a mall?”, “What’s a snowman?”, or “There are 113 rooms in one building?!?”, it puts me back in check. It reminds me how different the lives of people here are compared to the complicated lives we live in America. Is one way better than another? No. But, one way does have malls haha.
Trapped
Where to begin? Over the last few weeks, despite all my efforts to stay positive and happy, I’ve mentally checked out. I have the same feelings of being lost, confused and trapped as I did after being evacuated last year.
Due to the constant unrest here from all groups ranging from military to students to vendors, it has made my life extremely difficult. It has been a continuous question mark of what will happen next. Schools are constantly being cancelled due to protests, life in general is disrupted, all major cities are off limits, and I go to bed at night listening to automatic rifles shots. Is this what my life as a Peace Corps volunteer should be?
I live my life day to day. My packed bags stare at me everyday asking me what am I still doing here. I am trying to eat up all my good, American care package food just in case tomorrow we get moved or evacuated. I run through lists in my head. Did I take pictures of everything here I want to remember? Did I buy gifts for everyone at home before I don’t have the chance to? Did I pack everything I don’t want to lose?
I’m not sure what my next step will or should be. Is the country stables out, will I be able to continue my work here as normal? Do I have the ability to mentally check back in and be the successful volunteer I want to be?
** This blog I wrote about a week ago when I was (obviously) having a hard time. I want to stress that not only am I safe, but I am back to a healthy state of mind. I wasn’t going to post this blog, I was about to delete it, but, I thought that my friends and family should know that sometimes life here is really hard. I go through situations that people at home cannot possibly understand and so this is my way of helping you all to understand a little bit.
Due to the constant unrest here from all groups ranging from military to students to vendors, it has made my life extremely difficult. It has been a continuous question mark of what will happen next. Schools are constantly being cancelled due to protests, life in general is disrupted, all major cities are off limits, and I go to bed at night listening to automatic rifles shots. Is this what my life as a Peace Corps volunteer should be?
I live my life day to day. My packed bags stare at me everyday asking me what am I still doing here. I am trying to eat up all my good, American care package food just in case tomorrow we get moved or evacuated. I run through lists in my head. Did I take pictures of everything here I want to remember? Did I buy gifts for everyone at home before I don’t have the chance to? Did I pack everything I don’t want to lose?
I’m not sure what my next step will or should be. Is the country stables out, will I be able to continue my work here as normal? Do I have the ability to mentally check back in and be the successful volunteer I want to be?
** This blog I wrote about a week ago when I was (obviously) having a hard time. I want to stress that not only am I safe, but I am back to a healthy state of mind. I wasn’t going to post this blog, I was about to delete it, but, I thought that my friends and family should know that sometimes life here is really hard. I go through situations that people at home cannot possibly understand and so this is my way of helping you all to understand a little bit.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Unrest... again.
For those of you who've talked to me recently, you know that the situation in Burkina isn't as peachy and calm as I'd like it to be. I thought I would share some information with you from a CNN article I found:
Ministers fired, smaller government created in Africa's Burkina Faso
From Ouezen Louis Oulon, For CNN
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (CNN) -- In the latest shake-up following weeks of popular unrest and sporadic violence, the top two political figures in Burkina Faso announced on the state-run media outlet that they'd fired 24 Cabinet ministers and formed a new, smaller government.
President Blaise Compaore and newly appointed Prime Minister Luc-Adolphe Tiao said Thursday night on Radio Television of Burkina that there will be 29 people in the new Cabinet, down from the 38 in place previously. The full rationale for the shuffling wasn't immediately made clear. Tiao is expected to take questions from the press in the coming days.
Besides ousting 24 ministers, the two men also said they have brought 15 different individuals into the administration. In addition, Compaore will serve as defense minister as well as president.
Djibril Bassole will become the landlocked West African nation's foreign affairs minister -- a position he'd earlier held, before being tapped as the joint United Nations-African Union mediator for the crisis in Darfur, Sudan.
The country's sitting foreign minister, Bedouma Alain Yoda, was among those left out in the new arrangement. The ministers for culture and tourism, infrastructure, health, education, environment, youth, social action and animal resources also have not been retained, according to Compaore and Tiao.
The new government combines several Cabinet branches. Among those, the telecommunication ministry joins with that of transportation, security comes into the ministry of administration, and the human rights ministry becomes part of the justice ministry.
This news came two days after Compaore tapped Tiao, Burkina Faso's former ambassador to France, as prime minister -- a report also broadcast on the national radio and television network.
All these moves follow several recent breakouts of popular discord and violence in the African nation.
Student protests have been ongoing in the nation since February, according to local media reports. These demonstrations came after a student reportedly died in jail.
On March 30, protests erupted over a court case. According to media reports, a man sued a group of five soldiers, claiming they forced him to take off his clothes and walk home because he had dated a soldier's girlfriend. The court found in favor of the man. During the violence that ensued, the defense minister said, his home was attacked.
A small group of presidential security guards revolted April 14over a disputed housing allowance that they said the president had promised them.
They fired shots inside the presidential compound and took to the streets, shooting guns, stealing cars and robbing people, according to defense ministry officials. Two children of a defense official were shot at in the melee and were hospitalized, officials said.
The defense ministry issued a statement the following day saying the soldiers had been paid. And Moussa Ag Abdoulaye, a spokesman for a group of security guards, said on state-run TV that its members remained committed to Compaore and called for a cease-fire.
Still the protests continued, during which buildings in the capital city, Ouagadougou, were set on fire. The president also reportedly replaced the head of the nation's army amid the violence.
The president was at the palace when the demonstrations began and left briefly under heavy security, but he later returned.
In recent days, a curfew was imposed, and sources in the city of Po said violence was also taking place there.
Ministers fired, smaller government created in Africa's Burkina Faso
From Ouezen Louis Oulon, For CNN
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (CNN) -- In the latest shake-up following weeks of popular unrest and sporadic violence, the top two political figures in Burkina Faso announced on the state-run media outlet that they'd fired 24 Cabinet ministers and formed a new, smaller government.
President Blaise Compaore and newly appointed Prime Minister Luc-Adolphe Tiao said Thursday night on Radio Television of Burkina that there will be 29 people in the new Cabinet, down from the 38 in place previously. The full rationale for the shuffling wasn't immediately made clear. Tiao is expected to take questions from the press in the coming days.
Besides ousting 24 ministers, the two men also said they have brought 15 different individuals into the administration. In addition, Compaore will serve as defense minister as well as president.
Djibril Bassole will become the landlocked West African nation's foreign affairs minister -- a position he'd earlier held, before being tapped as the joint United Nations-African Union mediator for the crisis in Darfur, Sudan.
The country's sitting foreign minister, Bedouma Alain Yoda, was among those left out in the new arrangement. The ministers for culture and tourism, infrastructure, health, education, environment, youth, social action and animal resources also have not been retained, according to Compaore and Tiao.
The new government combines several Cabinet branches. Among those, the telecommunication ministry joins with that of transportation, security comes into the ministry of administration, and the human rights ministry becomes part of the justice ministry.
This news came two days after Compaore tapped Tiao, Burkina Faso's former ambassador to France, as prime minister -- a report also broadcast on the national radio and television network.
All these moves follow several recent breakouts of popular discord and violence in the African nation.
Student protests have been ongoing in the nation since February, according to local media reports. These demonstrations came after a student reportedly died in jail.
On March 30, protests erupted over a court case. According to media reports, a man sued a group of five soldiers, claiming they forced him to take off his clothes and walk home because he had dated a soldier's girlfriend. The court found in favor of the man. During the violence that ensued, the defense minister said, his home was attacked.
A small group of presidential security guards revolted April 14over a disputed housing allowance that they said the president had promised them.
They fired shots inside the presidential compound and took to the streets, shooting guns, stealing cars and robbing people, according to defense ministry officials. Two children of a defense official were shot at in the melee and were hospitalized, officials said.
The defense ministry issued a statement the following day saying the soldiers had been paid. And Moussa Ag Abdoulaye, a spokesman for a group of security guards, said on state-run TV that its members remained committed to Compaore and called for a cease-fire.
Still the protests continued, during which buildings in the capital city, Ouagadougou, were set on fire. The president also reportedly replaced the head of the nation's army amid the violence.
The president was at the palace when the demonstrations began and left briefly under heavy security, but he later returned.
In recent days, a curfew was imposed, and sources in the city of Po said violence was also taking place there.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Spring Break- Burkina Style
After two trimesters completed (ok, 1.5 completed and a mini civil unrest), I am now on vacation. I have to say, I've never quite appreciated a break as much before. I met up with several other volunteers in the touristy town of Banfora, which not only includes electricity and wireless internet, but hippos and waterfalls. I mean you can't beat that.
I've been lounging at the pool and enjoying the internet almost everyday. I've been able to skype my family and friends, which has been wonderful :)
My grandma writes me a letter every single week telling me of the neighborhood gossip and keeps me informed on the TV shows. In every letter, she signs off saying, "Hello to the hippos for me!" So, I figured while I'm here, I should actually do that. I took off on yet another adventure. We arrived at the infamous tourist site, Tengrela. Here, we were greeted by two Burkinabe "tour guides" and two rickety wooden boats. We payed 1,000 CFA per person (the equivalent of $2), hopped in the boats and headed out in the unknown.
The tour guide, who actually was alot more well-informed about the lake and hippos than I thought he would be (that, or he was just bull shitting all his answers to the gullible white people). The guide, Soumaila, paddles the boat out in the middle of the lake, then stops. We all sat in silence awaiting the "main event". What would happen next? Where were the hippos? He hits the oar on the side of the boat and up pop about five hippos! It was incredible! He said they were the younger hipppos but they still looked really big to me. This is nothing like being at the zoo behind a glass wall or gated fence. Here, we were up close and person (and probably a little dangerous) with the hippos.
So, Grams, this is your "hi" to the hippos :)
Also, my snapfish picture account is updated.
I've been lounging at the pool and enjoying the internet almost everyday. I've been able to skype my family and friends, which has been wonderful :)
My grandma writes me a letter every single week telling me of the neighborhood gossip and keeps me informed on the TV shows. In every letter, she signs off saying, "Hello to the hippos for me!" So, I figured while I'm here, I should actually do that. I took off on yet another adventure. We arrived at the infamous tourist site, Tengrela. Here, we were greeted by two Burkinabe "tour guides" and two rickety wooden boats. We payed 1,000 CFA per person (the equivalent of $2), hopped in the boats and headed out in the unknown.
The tour guide, who actually was alot more well-informed about the lake and hippos than I thought he would be (that, or he was just bull shitting all his answers to the gullible white people). The guide, Soumaila, paddles the boat out in the middle of the lake, then stops. We all sat in silence awaiting the "main event". What would happen next? Where were the hippos? He hits the oar on the side of the boat and up pop about five hippos! It was incredible! He said they were the younger hipppos but they still looked really big to me. This is nothing like being at the zoo behind a glass wall or gated fence. Here, we were up close and person (and probably a little dangerous) with the hippos.
So, Grams, this is your "hi" to the hippos :)
Also, my snapfish picture account is updated.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
The Day I Went on an Adventure
Unfortunately, all schools across Burkina are suspended until further notice. This, seeing as how teaching is my main job, left me with a lot of time on my hands. I graded over 300 papers, wrote 2 new tests, worked on my grant application, read a biography of John Lennon, and created a new recipe of rice and tuna burgers… and it was only Monday. Shit. This left with me a lot of empty time.
On Tuesday, I was feeling rather ambitious, or maybe I was just bored, so I decided to go on a bike ride. Seeing as how I am the most unathletic person ever, I figured I would take a nice, easy bike ride. I started pedaling out of town. I was pedaling, and then I started to get really tired and hot. I told myself I would ride for at least 30 minutes out of town, so I looked at my watch to see how long I was going, and to my great disappointment, it was only a whopping 4 minutes. Despite my laziness telling me to turn around immediately and go sit in front of my fan, I kept going. I made it up the big hill and was now cruising smoothly towards Mali. I kept going and impressed myself when I reached a small town 15 kilometers outside of my town. 15 kilometers! The furthest I ever rode my bike was around my neighborhood block, and that left me sweating and huffing afterwards. And now, I biked 15 kilometers. This is when I realized, I had to bike back. Crap. To my amazement, I made it home in one piece. Then, I took a nap. Haha.
On Wednesday, I woke up feeling like I got hit by a bus. My abs were hurting, my legs were sore, my back was aching. Shit, even my neck muscles hurt. And to top it off, I was sunburned. I decided this day I would definitely take an easy, which is when I received a text message from my neighbor saying he was in town for the day. Great, now I have to entertain someone when all I really want to do is sleep. And, I definitely do not want to get on my bike again. I met him after he finished some errands, then we met up with my site mate, Ben, to get some yogurt. This is when they decided they wanted to go on an adventure. I live in Africa, so “going on an adventure” could mean just about anything. I insisted I was not coming, but they weren’t having that and next thing I knew, I’m at my house filling up my water bottle, lacing up my sneakers and putting on sunscreen. Then, I had to get back on my bike. Ugh. Every part of my body screamed “NO!”, but I did it anyway. Little did I know at that moment, that that adventure would turn out to be one of the funnest days I’ve had here in a while.
Ben said he knows a great route we can follow that follows the river and leads “en brousse” (AKA to the middle of nowhere). We follow our faithful leader and 20 minutes later, we were back at Ben’s house. “Woops, I think I took a wrong turn somewhere.” At this point, I really wanted to go back to my house, but we tried again with Ben insisting, this time, he knew the right way. We headed back into “no man’s land”, where we were biking on small dirt paths where rivers once ran. We kept biking for about 25 minutes when we come into an area I didn’t even know existed. A forest. But not just any forest. A huge, tropical forest that looks like it came out of a scene from a Vietnam movie. We were surrounded by the most beautiful flowers, biggest trees and most colorful birds I have ever seen. Shit, where am I? Oh yea, I’m in Africa. It’s amazing how you can get swept up in life and forget about your surroundings. Forget where you are, and forget, quite literally, to stop and smell the flowers.
I’ll probably never be invited on another one of their adventures again because I couldn’t bike up the river ravine or across the moguls, and I kept making them stop to take pictures of me haha. But, hell, I had fun and I had an adventure. (As if living in Burkina Faso isn’t adventurous enough.)
On Tuesday, I was feeling rather ambitious, or maybe I was just bored, so I decided to go on a bike ride. Seeing as how I am the most unathletic person ever, I figured I would take a nice, easy bike ride. I started pedaling out of town. I was pedaling, and then I started to get really tired and hot. I told myself I would ride for at least 30 minutes out of town, so I looked at my watch to see how long I was going, and to my great disappointment, it was only a whopping 4 minutes. Despite my laziness telling me to turn around immediately and go sit in front of my fan, I kept going. I made it up the big hill and was now cruising smoothly towards Mali. I kept going and impressed myself when I reached a small town 15 kilometers outside of my town. 15 kilometers! The furthest I ever rode my bike was around my neighborhood block, and that left me sweating and huffing afterwards. And now, I biked 15 kilometers. This is when I realized, I had to bike back. Crap. To my amazement, I made it home in one piece. Then, I took a nap. Haha.
On Wednesday, I woke up feeling like I got hit by a bus. My abs were hurting, my legs were sore, my back was aching. Shit, even my neck muscles hurt. And to top it off, I was sunburned. I decided this day I would definitely take an easy, which is when I received a text message from my neighbor saying he was in town for the day. Great, now I have to entertain someone when all I really want to do is sleep. And, I definitely do not want to get on my bike again. I met him after he finished some errands, then we met up with my site mate, Ben, to get some yogurt. This is when they decided they wanted to go on an adventure. I live in Africa, so “going on an adventure” could mean just about anything. I insisted I was not coming, but they weren’t having that and next thing I knew, I’m at my house filling up my water bottle, lacing up my sneakers and putting on sunscreen. Then, I had to get back on my bike. Ugh. Every part of my body screamed “NO!”, but I did it anyway. Little did I know at that moment, that that adventure would turn out to be one of the funnest days I’ve had here in a while.
Ben said he knows a great route we can follow that follows the river and leads “en brousse” (AKA to the middle of nowhere). We follow our faithful leader and 20 minutes later, we were back at Ben’s house. “Woops, I think I took a wrong turn somewhere.” At this point, I really wanted to go back to my house, but we tried again with Ben insisting, this time, he knew the right way. We headed back into “no man’s land”, where we were biking on small dirt paths where rivers once ran. We kept biking for about 25 minutes when we come into an area I didn’t even know existed. A forest. But not just any forest. A huge, tropical forest that looks like it came out of a scene from a Vietnam movie. We were surrounded by the most beautiful flowers, biggest trees and most colorful birds I have ever seen. Shit, where am I? Oh yea, I’m in Africa. It’s amazing how you can get swept up in life and forget about your surroundings. Forget where you are, and forget, quite literally, to stop and smell the flowers.
I’ll probably never be invited on another one of their adventures again because I couldn’t bike up the river ravine or across the moguls, and I kept making them stop to take pictures of me haha. But, hell, I had fun and I had an adventure. (As if living in Burkina Faso isn’t adventurous enough.)
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