Update, Update, Update!

Check out my NEW address on the right...packages go there :)

Joyeux Noel!

Christmas has come and gone here in Burkina; though for me, it definitely did not feel like the holiday season!  For one thing, there was NO snow here.  Instead, the weather has been lovely; the temperature is usually around 80 degrees during the day, and it dips down each night to a cool 60 degrees or so.  Needless to say, Christmas was a bit different than the celebrations I usually have in frozen Iowa!  In addition, I did not get into the holiday cheer this year because I have just moved to my site, and I did not really have much time to settle in and prepare for the festivities. 

My Christmas ended up being wonderful however, as my host sister from training came to stay with me for a few days.  Michelle arrived on Christmas Eve and stayed until the 27^th.  It was great having another person around in my big, empty house, even if she laughed at my feeble attempts at cooking a Christmas meal (I don’t blame her)! 

On Christmas Eve, Michelle and I went to the 9pm Christmas Mass at the Catholic Church in town.  It was the first time I had been to the church, and it was very impressive.  It was full even twenty minutes before Mass started, and more and more people kept poring in.  I was amused by the sight of all the Burkinabé people, dressed in winter coats, scarves, and stocking caps in the 60 degree weather, especially as I was somewhat hot in my sleeveless dress in the church!  With all the outdoor gear and the chorus of hacking coughs, I would have thought I was back in Midwest America for Christmas!  It was a lovely service, though I did not understand much of it.  Thank goodness, part of the homily was actually a skit performed by Burkinabé kids; it was really entertaining. 

Other than Mass, Christmas here was fairly low-key.  On Christmas Day, Michelle and I visited another American who lives in my town, as she had prepared big pots of Burkinabé food.  Afterwards, she and I hung out most of the evening in the courtyard of my counterpart, talking with all his friends and family that came throughout the night.  Honestly, the best present I got this year was the time spent with Michelle, my host sister.  Even if I have known my Burkinabé family for only a couple of months, there was something really nice about spending Christmas with my family!

I hope everyone back at home had a lovely holiday season…I was thinking of you all a lot!

Not Really What I Had in Mind...But It Works!

So I am getting more used to being here at site, away from my friends and my Burkinabé family in Koudougou.  I have been kept busy each day, exploring the area and meeting many people in the community.  Everyone here in town has been very friendly and accepting of me, which has made the transition much easier.

Some of the town highlights thus far are:

• The huge garden at the edge of town, where people in the community grow lettuce, peppers, piment, mangos, and spinach.  I visited the garden one evening with my counterpart, and he bought me some lettuce, straight from the ground!  After I soak vegetables in chlorine and filtered water for 15 minutes or so, I can eat fresh vegetables in salads, which is an amazing change from the peanuts, rice, and to I eat every day here.
• All the fresh fruit and vegetables available everywhere here!  Women sell papayas, mangos, tomatos, peppers, onions, and many other types of fresh food on the side of the road here every day, so even though our marche is only every five days, I can find all the produce that I want.  Cooking has been a big change for me, now that I do not have domestiques to make my food for me.  I have never enjoyed cooking anywhere, but West Africa has made this task even more cumbersome for me.  Thank goodness for these fruits and vegetables!
• The local, bustling marche.  I have only seen two market days so far, but it is obvious that I can get anything I need every five days here at site.  For sale are pagnes in every color and design, baskets, hardware supplies (necessary for my new house!), produce, rice, jewelry, and a myriad of other products.  Over time (here and in Koudougou), I have also become more adept at bargaining with the vendors, though I still get a bit confused with the French and Jula prices once in a while!
• The view from the goudron.  Goudron is the French word for “paved road,” and there is one that runs straight through my town (in fact, the only paved road in town).  My site is spread out along the goudron for about 5 km, so every day, I bike from my house to my association, the marche, a church, a school, or another village.  The view from the goudron, and the views of the southwest in general, are absolutely breathtaking, as the landscape is covered with mango trees as far as the eye can see.  There are also grand rolling hills and little cliffs that add more variety to the relatively flat scenery of Burkina.  Not only am I getting a lot of exercise every day with my biking, but I get to have a beautiful “commute” too.

The one little hiccup I have had here at site is my mouse problem.  I have seen about three in my house as well as two in my outdoor latrine/shower at night.  At first, I was pretty freaked out, and I took care to tuck in all the corners of my mosquito net for protection from the rodents, not the insects!  I bought a trap, and each night, my counterpart helps me set it.  I hear the snap of it when I lay in my bed, and the next morning, a mouse is confirmed dead.  At first, I would not come within five feet of the trap, but now, I have become as brave as to carry the trap out to my courtyard, wait for a neighbor kid to remove the mouse for me, and delicately use a piece of cardboard to dispose of the animal outside in the bush.

I brought up my concerns with my counterpart, and he thought the mice presence could be caused in part by the high brush that surrounds my house outside the courtyard.  He had an idea in mind as to solve the problem, but I did not understand his French very well.  I thought he planned to cut the grass a bit around me, but when he asked for matches, I was a bit confused.  He disappeared for a while, and I continued doing chores around the house until he returned.  We were talking, and I suddenly heard a loud crackling noise.  Suddenly, I realized he had set all the brush on fire!  I panicked a bit, as I pictured the whole neighborhood going up in flames because of my fear of mice!  I did not believe him at first that the fire would burn out, especially not as I saw flames as high as my house.  But he was right; the fire died down.  Now, I have not had a mouse for a couple of days, so I think his idea, though not what I had in mind, was effective!

Southwest.Here I Come!

It’s official!  I am at my new site, here in the BEAUTIFUL southwest region of Burkina, and so far, I could not be happier.  I have only been here for about twelve days, but already I can see myself staying here for the next 710-ish days.  Africa, especially Burkina, is a bit of a “sink-or-swim” environment, and so far, I am staying afloat I think!

Before I was affectated, we had our grand swear-in ceremony at the U.S. Ambassador’s house on Thursday afternoon.  Unfortunately, I had come down with a terrible cold, so I was feeling a bit down, but I pulled it together for the big day.  All 30 of us had outfits made out of the same pagne (African cloth) pattern, and we looked fabulous!  This, I might add, was quite important, as the ceremony was broadcast on the Burkinabe news channels that evening!  The ceremony itself was a bit long, especially as my French skills are still not sufficient to easily listen and comprehend long speeches.  Afterwards, there was a little reception with snacks and drinks, and all of us new VOLUNTEERS were able to mingle with many of the current volunteers that came to Ouaga for our day.  It was great to finally meet some of these other Americans that call Burkina home.  Another wonderful addition to the day was that my Burkinabe host parents made the trip from Koudougou for swear-in, so I was able to talk to them for a while too.  Overall, it was a great end to a fantastic Stage.

Swear-in night, a lot of us went out dancing with some of the other volunteers; it was definitely a lot of fun.  However, Friday morning was not so great, especially as I had to get on public transport at 7 am for the 5 hour bus ride to Bobo-Dioulasso.  In addition, I tearfully said good-bye to all of my best friends in Burkina Faso, my fellow stagemates.  As of Friday morning, we all separated and headed to our new Burkinabé homes.  I spent Friday night in Bobo, the second largest city in Burkina after Ouaga.  I was very impressed by the atmosphere of Bobo; it is much better than Ouaga!  Then, Saturday morning, my Peace Corps driver, a Burkinabé, helped me negotiate at the marche (aka made the all vendors give me a good price, not the nassara/foreigner price) for all the things I needed to fill my empty house.  All of a sudden, we were done shopping, on the open road, and only a short distance from my new village!  The nerves hit me a bit, especially when we pulled up in front of my new courtyard and house.  My two professor neighbors, the driver, and my counterpart helped me unload my bags from the car into my three empty cement rooms of my house, and then the PC vehicle drove off.  I was home?

My house was quite the sight (I will try to upload pictures asap):  It’s a mud brick/cement house with a tin roof.  I have three windows, one in each room, and a screen door in addition to my big metal door.  That is about all I had when I walked into the place!  I hooked up my gas stovetop on the floor, set my water filter on the floor, threw my couple of pots and pans into a couple of buckets, and that was/is my kitchen.  For my bedroom, I set my mattress on the floor, jerryrigged my mosquito net up, and propped my suitcase up like an armoire.  In my salon, I threw down a mat on the floor, and I was finished.  The second day I was at site, I went straight to the carpenter and commanded six or seven pieces of furniture.  Now, I finally have shelves for my clothes, hooks for my wall, and a little table for my water filter.  Soon, my kitchen counter, bed frame, chairs, and couch should be done.  Little by little, my new house will become a home!

The first couple of days at site flew by, as I spent all day struggling to understand the Jula, French, and the local language that I heard all day long.  I met countless amounts of people, and I also tried to make sense of my belongings and my house.  The little adjustments, like fetching bidons of water from the pump down the dirt path, attaching the bidon to my bike, and then pedaling it back home, have been interesting.  In addition, the bucket bath/latrine situation took a couple of times to get used to; I was quite spoiled in Koudougou.  However, the biggest change has been my constant companions here…the mice in my house!  Check out my next blog entry to hear more about that…

The New Chapter Begins...

I have officially left Koudougou, my Burkinabe home for the last two months, and now I am in Ouaga, getting ready for our big swear-in ceremony today!  For the past two months, all of us stagieres have been taking language, technical, and culture classes to prepare for our two years working in Burkina Faso.  We all had to reach certain benchmarks (language) and complete required assignments before we could officially be considered Peace Corps Volunteers.  Happily, all 30 of our stage reached these levels, and this afternoon, we go from PC Trainees to Volunteers!


Before we left for Ouaga for the ceremony, we all needed to pack up all our things, which seem to have tripled in the two months that we have been in Stage.  I spent Sunday and Monday jamming new clothes, pagnes, and care package goodies into my new, gigantic, third bag, as well as somehow finding a way to fit all my original possessions back into their bags.  After struggling for hours, I finally had my room all packed up and ready to go.  But the hardest part of leaving Koudougou was the goodbyes that followed.  Over the past two months, I have grown very close with my host family, and I dreaded the day when I moved out.


Monday afternoon, we had a Farewell ceremony for all our host families at the Centre.  After a few welcome speeches by the Peace Corps staff, each of us stagieres took the stage with our families, presented them with a certificate and invitations to swear-in, and recited a short thank-you.  My speech consisted of: Merci beaucoup d'avoir si bien accuelli chez toi.  Je m'y suis senti comme chez moi."  Basically, I thanked my family for welcoming me into their family; I feel at home with them in Koudougou.  It meant a lot to all the families to hear us  each, in their language, tell them how much they meant to us.  Afterwards, we had a short reception and then all headed home together.


On Monday night, my family had a small party for me.  My mom, sister, and I all had matching pagne dresses made, so we put them on for our little fete.  For dinner, we had a huge plate of rice au soumbala, my favorite dish, and a whole plate of chicken!  I even gave in to my family's demands and ate the rice with my hands!   Then, we had beers, sodas, and papaya; by the end, I was completely stuffed.  After dinner, we took many pictures together, and I gave them all small gifts I had brought from the States.  By midnight, I was dead tired, and as much as I wanted to keep spending time with my family, I had to go to bed.


The next morning, I had a last breakfast with them, and afterwards, I rolled out my bike, ready to leave for the last time for the Centre.  Then, my mom took my left hand in hers (a major faux pas here, as left hands are thought of as dirty and inappropriate to use most of the time).  She explained that because she made a faux pas in bidding me farewell with her left hand, it was necessary for me to return sometime, to right the wrong.  It was a touching, symbolic gesture, especially as she noted that I am welcome to return to my house anytime I want.  Holding back tears, I jumped on my bike and pedaled away, trying to imagine how wonderful my new home in the southwest of Burkina will be.  Unfortunately, all I could think of were all the evenings spent learning French and Moore around the dinner table...I will definitely be making a trip back to Koudougou soon!


But here I am in Ouaga, anxious and ready to be a Peace Corps Volunteer.  The ceremony for this begins this afternoon, at the Ambassador's house.  Several stagieres will give speeches in French and various local languages; the ceremony is also televised on national Burkinabe channels!  Afterwards, we will all take the same oath that President Obama did for our new "office," and then, Volunteers we will be!  One of the highlights of this afternoon is going to be our outfits; all of us stagieres bought the same pagnes for our swear-in outfits.  It should be amazing to see us all in our uniform clothing, created in various traditional Burkinabe styles.  I will try to get up pictures of all of it sometime soon!


I hope all is great at home, especially with  the holiday season upon us.  For me, it doesn't quite feel like Christmas time, especially as the weather is never cooler than about 65 degrees!  I definitely don't miss those snowy winters yet...  I am hoping I will have an exciting Christmas at my new village, but it will definitely be different.  I really won't know anyone around my new town yet, as I only get to site on Dec.19th, but I do plan to find a Catholic church for Christmas Mass.  It will definitely be a different Christmas from what I am used to...


Thanks for all your emails and comments too; once I settle in at site, I promise I will do a better job at responding!