Sunday, December 19, 2010
Photos, in no particular order
Pics continued
Talent show pics!
You don't want to mess with CG
Photos
The busiest week ever
Ok, maybe it wasn't the busiest week ever, but it was certainly close. First, a numerical overview of this week, in no particular order: 4 cities, thousands of CFA, 30 stressed new volunteers,7 bags, and 1 puppy. And now for the explanations.
Leaving Koudougou
Monday was our last night with our host families! We had a thank you ceremony at the training center, and then all headed home to pack. And since I am a messy person who often procrastinates, I had a ton of stuff to put away that evening. I also took pictures with my host family that night, minus my host dad, since he was away on a business trip. I had taken a picture with him in the morning, and if I really want a full group photo, I can always give photoshop a shot.
We all headed to the Center on Tuesday morning, followed by our stuff that was brought by PC vehicles. After the most relaxed day of training ever (mostly a free day except for about half an hour of activities), we had time to use the cyber, eat a last dinner in KDG, and prepare for our talent show! For our last night all together at the Center, we wanted to do something special, and a talent show was the perfect answer. There was quite a range of talents, from musical numbers to balancing various things/people. My talent was taking pictures of the performers. Depending on internet speed, I'll try to post a photo of each performance. But if that doesn't work, here's the line-up:
-CM and DS's composition of “Koudougou” to the tune of the song “Fuck You” with back up singers
-CG (Not me. This whole initial thing might get kind of confusing) and her martial arts moves
-SW juggling oranges in various ways
-Ramongo: the musical
-KtA and DS giving a SNL Weekend Update-like routine, which was hilarious
-JK reciting some cool slam poetry
-AK, TM and EE's interpretive music/dance ode to diarrhea
-SS performing a story from his chair (forensics people know what i'm talking about, lol)
-RH balancing chairs on his nose, and then DT on his knees
Onward to Ouaga
Wednesday morning, we left KDG and drove the 1.5 hours to the capital. After checking into the hotel and utilizing the free wifi for a bit, we had a session to get all the details for affectation, which was when we would be sent to our sites. And though it was nice to finally have a concrete plan of what was happening, the meeting also caused a lot of stress when we found out that most of us would be leaving the day after swear-in, bright and early. That meant only about 1 day (Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning) to go around and buy necessities. And for the people who were moving into brand new houses, that was not a lot of time. This was made even more difficult by the fact that there were problems with our bank accounts. PCVs replacing someone where supposed to get 100,000 CFA and PCVs going to a new site got 200,000 CFA for a move in allowance. Various reimbursements and half of our December stipend was also supposed to be in our account by Wednesday. However, when a huge group of almost all 30 of us arrived at the post office to withdraw our money, we discovered that only about 75,000 CFA was in there. Confusion and panic ensued. But we tried to make the best of it and withdrew the money that we could, and headed off to Marina Market, a store full of Western goodies. I proceeded to blow most of my move-in allowance there, splurging on a purchase of an electric water kettle.
Becoming actual PCVs
The next day was our Swear in ceremony. We had the morning to go shopping again, and I returned downtown along with some others. Marina Market has legit cheese, and for lunch, I split a ¼ kg of chedder and some crackers with a friend. Probably the last time I'll be able to eat chedder for a while! Sad.
In the early afternoon, we all boarded the vans to head over to the US Ambassador's house for the ceremony. As you can see from the pictures that hopefully will be able to post, we all had matching pagnes (cloth), made into various different styles of outfits. Yay for group solidarity! Anyway, we had a while until the ceremony began, so we mingled with the PC staff, current PCVs, and various other guests before taking our seats at the front of the lawn. First, the MC and our Country Director spoke. Next up were the thank you speeches in local languages. There were 8 different languages, including French, and a representative of each gave a 2-minute speech. I gave the speech in Gulmancema. After that, the Ambassador gave a short speech and also swore us in as volunteers! Apparently we take the same oath that all other government officials, including the President, do before taking office. Then the Minister of Youth Employment of Burkina Faso talked for a while. A few PCVs will be working under him in various regional capitals. That was basically the conclusion of the ceremony. All of the new PCVs filed out and shook the hands of the important people sitting in the front row of the audience, including the Mayor of Ouaga.
We were provided with refreshments and tasty hors d'oeuvres at the Ambassador's house and hung out there for a while after the ceremony. My host dad had come to Ouaga from his business trip to attend swear in, so it was nice to see him and chat a bit. And then we headed downtown to celebrate becoming volunteers!
Affectation to site
The day after swear in, most of us got up early to head off or say bye to people who were leaving. My group included 2 other PCVs, and we were scheduled to leave Ouaga at 7 am. After all of the shopping, I had about 7 bags of stuff in total, and also a bike and water filter. We managed to load everything into and onto the car, and then we were off! The first stop was in F (site names will be abbreviated by their first letter), where my 2 closest neighbors from this group will be working. We first went to SW's house, which was brand new and very nice. It even has a running water shower! Then we headed over to meet up with LC's counterpart, who is also my boss. I got to see the main office of the organization I'll be working with in D. LC's house is also pretty nice. He's replacing a volunteer so there was a lot of stuff in there already.
After saying our goodbyes, the driver and I continued on for another 3.5 hours or so to my home for the next 2 years. We met up with my counterpart and the counterpart of the PCV I'm replacing. I was also left a lot of stuff in my house, which definitely makes furnishing and organizing a lot easier. I'm living in a compound with 4 neighbors, and my next door neighbor has a 1 year old boy! Who surprisingly, isn't scared of me and doesn't call me “nassara,” but that could be because he doesn't really talk yet. Though actually, I feel like I'm not as much the center of attention here as I was in KDG or Ouaga. There aren't really screaming hordes of children shouting “nassara” or “la blanche” every time I walk past, which is definitely a nice change. My counterpart has been showing me around and helping me set up my house, and I've been able to walk around the town a bit and meet people. A woman who owns a small yogurt shop nearby was friends with the last PCV and brought me to church today. It was nice to go there and meet more people, but not sure if that'll become a weekly occurrence. And hopefully on Monday I'll be able to do some errands, like getting electricity and opening up a post office box!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
This week in photos
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Pics of Nahouri
Tech week visits!
All of us SEDers (Small Enterprise Development volunteers) had the opportunity to visit various PCVs around Burkina and get another glimpse into what life in the Peace Corps is like. Similar to Demyst, we broke up into 5 groups of 3 and traveled with an LCF (language teacher). This time, though, our activities for the weekend were a bit more focused on technical skills and things we might do at site. Hence the name of our field trip, “Tech Week.”
Heading down south
PP, TK and I caught an early morning bus to the capital, and then another one down south, almost to Ghana. We were visiting KD, who swore in as a volunteer with the last group and just finished her etude period. The etude de milieu, or community study, takes place in your first 3 months at site. You don't really work officially yet, and mostly spend your days going around and getting to know people in the community. This way, you have some time to integrate and assess the needs of the community before you jump into your actual work.
Because KD had spent that period well, barely leaving her site for 3 months, she was able to greet women at the marche and many people we ran into during the weekend knew her name. One tip she had for getting to know people in the community was to write down people's names and actually study them. I'm definitely going to have to do that, considering how bad my memory is, and how bad I am at putting names to faces.
Camping trip!
There was another PCV at the same site, a secondary education volunteer. He was helping to plan an overnight trip by the Club UNESCO at his school, and invited us to tag along. We gathered up our tents and mats and prepared to go camping with 50 students! It was quite the adventure. I'm not exactly sure where we were, but I believe we stayed at a school in or near a park of some kind, about 15 km from KD's site.
After we all got to the park, the older female students, led by (I think) one mother/chaperone who came along, started to prepare dinner. I tried to help out a bit, but that mostly consisted of stirring the giant pot of tomato sauce a few times and then being bombarded by cell phone cameras. I'm sure it was quite a novelty to see a group of nasara trying to cook and everyone wanted pictures with and of us. We took a break from the paparazzi for a while and talked to a few students, getting an opportunity to practice French. Later that night, a local music group came by and performed with traditional tam-tams, or drums. The festivities carried on late into the night, as the group played and students danced. Everyone stood around in a circle, and students would take turns going to the middle of the circle and showing off their moves. Similar to what you might see at a dance in the US. It was fun to watch, and I'm hoping that by the end of 2 years in Burkina, I'll be able to learn some new dance moves.
Morning came a bit too quickly for my taste, and we were woken up at about 6:15 am by a combination of sunlight, cold and cooking. Somehow, the (female) students who had gone to bed later than us managed to get up earlier and start making breakfast. And they still had the energy to climb a mountain later! Yep, after a breakfast of porridge, we headed towards the Peak de Nahouri. At about 450 m, this was the second highest peak in the country. The climb wasn't too bad, a little bit steep at times, and a great view awaited us at the top. We could see Ghana to the south! Though the landscape looked similar for endless miles, so I'm not actually sure where Burkina ended and Ghana began. Also, the south is known for having elephant parks, but I was unsuccessful in trying to spot elephants from the Peak. Oh well, I'll just wait until I go to my site in the east to check out elephants!
When we came down from the Peak, we stopped by the village at the base. We had greeted the chief before the climb, and got his blessing. While we rested afterwards, one of the elders talked to the group about traditions of the village. This was all in the local language, so I couldn't understand any of it. But it seemed like the students were very intrigued and interested. Despite living right be one of the biggest tourist attractions in Burkina, most of the students had never visited it before, so they enjoyed their time there.
Dessert for dinner
As usual, I'll have to highlight some of the food of this trip. Our dinner on Sunday was pie. Literally, just pie. KD told us about a recipe she had made up with a few other PCVs—fried pie. It sounded like something you could find at the State Fair. 4 out of 5 of us agreed that we would be fine with that and key lime pie for dinner (our LCF wanted some actual food). So we gathered the ingredients and made our dinner of pie. It was surprisingly easy to make. Fried pie just consists of dough and jam, and the key lime pie was no-bake, with a cookie crumble crust and lime mixed with condensed milk for the filling. Sugar overload for dinner that night, but that was totally fine with me.
Other tech week activities
Because the camping trip took up most of the weekend, we didn't get to do all the things that were planned. However, we were able to visit KD's office and meet her counterpart and another member of her association. She works with an agroforestry group that sets up community gardens in surrounding small villages, among other activities. Her counterpart explained a bit about the various sensibilisations (workshops/informational meetings) that they hold. KD had also started a small garden in the courtyard of her office, with some seeds brought from the US. I know nothing about gardening, but I think I'm going to try to start a small one once I get to site! Luckily, one of our tech trainers is an expert on gardening and all things agriculture, so I can get some advice on what to plant and how to plant it.
Next up for our tech week visits was a shea butter association. Apparently, this particular group makes some of the purest shea butter possible, confirmed even by lab results. We stopped by and learned a bit of the process of making shea butter and soap, and I ended up buying a small container of it. I think I've mentioned this in an earlier post, but it seems that one of the biggest problems facing businesses in Burkina Faso is market linkages. I'm sure very pure, moisturizing shea butter lotion and soap would sell for quite a bit in the US or Europe, but the problem is being able to get products over there.
And the one sad thing that happened over the weekend is that I lost my water bottle! It was one of those free Dartmouth camelbaks. No idea where I left it. Somewhere between the Peak, truck, and KD's house. But now I have one less memory of Dartmouth! So, if anyone has one of those Dartmouth water bottles they don't want, let me know! Lol.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Thanksgiving festivities
All the way across the ocean (Which, if you think about it, isn't that far! You know, a visitable distance.) we celebrated the very American holiday of Thanksgiving. All the PCTs split up into groups and helped prepare various things for the feast. We had a stuffing committee, mashed potato group, turkey and chicken chefs, a non-cooking group that handled drinks and decorations, etc. And we also convinced the PC staff that we should have half the day off from training in order to cook. Because cooking over coals and wood is quite a different experience from cooking in the US. Though also surprisingly simple, which makes you wonder if all the different stove settings and various types of cookware are really all that necessary. You can do a lot with just a marmite (basically like a cauldron), and some heat.
The PC logistician/driver was scheduled to go around to pick up everyone's food at around 4:30 pm. But that was not accounting for “African time,” which means that everything generally always runs late. It seems that almost every country I travel to has a different version of “African time.” In Ecuador, it was “Latin American time,” and you shouldn't be surprised if someone you were meeting came half an hour after the proposed time. Anyway, we finally got all our food to the training center at about 6:20. And after another half hour or so, the PC staff arrived. Finally, it was time to dig in! There were tables covered with delicious food, as you can kind of see in the pictures. And for dessert, our Country Director made us cookies. A box full of them. Needless to say, we were all stuffed after the dinner. And then it was time for the dance party! Some PCTs had spent quite a bit of time working on a dance party playlist, and that was showcased as various PCTs and PCVFs (the PCVs helping with training) showed off their moves. It was a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving, and nice that all of us could spend the night together at the training center, since we only have about 3 weeks before leaving for site and being separated by many kilometers and difficult transportation.
More on daily life
I'm not sure how many times I've slept fully through the night without waking up once, but I could probably count the number on one hand. Various factors, such as heat (at the beginning of training), cold (Now that we're in cold season. Like, a staggering 60 F. This requires a sheet as a blanket) and animal cries (donkeys make some weird sounds) make it difficult to get too well rested. For a while, I was constantly waking up before my alarm, which was set for 6:30 am. But recently, I've fallen back into my old habit of pressing the snooze button and delaying the getting up process for as long as possible. This is partially because I have started dreading showers. At first, having a running water shower seemed great and convenient. But now, because it's cold in the morning and there is no hot water setting, I have to mentally prepare for that first blast of water. Bucket bathing, though slightly more cumbersome, allows for the option of heating up water for a shower. I know I could probably ask my host family to heat up water for me, but I don't want to inconvenience them, and I feel that I should be getting the most out of running water while I have it.
Another daily occurrence is the yelling of “nasara,” or foreigner in Moore, any time we're spotted. As one of the PCTs put it, for the Burkinabe children, seeing us is practically the equivalent of seeing an elephant walking down the street in the US. In which case, American children would probably also scream “Elephant!” at the top of their lungs. Though we understand that yelling “nasara” isn't meant to be hurtful in any way, you still kind of get tired of it. As another PCT said, there's really no way to calm down the yelling. You just have to kind of take it in stride. It's actually kind of amazing how quickly children can spot a foreigner. Even biking at night, when it's really dark and you can barely see the road, you'll still be greeted with “nasara.” Though maybe with our mountain bikes, lights and helmets, the last of which is generally not used in Burkina, we just look like some strange creatures.
And a quick side note on mail. It generally takes letters or packages about 2-3 weeks to get to the PC in Ouaga. And we're leaving for site in 3 weeks. And my site is way far from Ouaga. Thus, if you would like to send me mail in the next few weeks, feel free to, but just be warned that I might not get it for a while (though one of my neighbors who'll be in the capital for a few weeks after swear in has graciously agreed to bring me my mail when he moves to his site)! The next time I'll be back in the capital is in about 3 months, though occasionally PC cars will bring us mail at site if they happen to be in the area. Considering my lack of close neighbors, this scenario is probably pretty unlikely for me, unless a PC staff member is coming specifically to visit me. Also, since my site has a post office, I'll most likely try to open up a PO box once I get there in December, and might be able to get things forwarded from the PC office. So, all of this is to say that I'm not ignoring you if I don't reply to your mail for a while!
*Also, I've been told not to put names in blogs, so from now on, I'll most likely just refer to people by their initials!
*Also, I've been told not to put names in blogs, so from now on, I'll most likely just refer to people by their initials!
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