March Madness

Hello, Bonjour, Ney y beogo!

<-----(How do they DO this??)

The second school trimester is nearly over. The next two weeks will be busy, writing up/correcting 300+ tests, calculating/processing/and ranking/recopying each students' grade by hand....fun stuff. But then its a week long break which I'm looking forward to!

An HIV/Aids sensibilization, run by Peace Corps, was held in Djibo in mid February. 11 volunteers, myself included, each brought four villagers to participate in the 3-day long teaching. The goal was to teach the villagers, each well respected in their villages, all about HIV/Aids so that when they return to village they can in turn discuss/teach what they learn with others. I chose three women and one man from Pobe. At the end, Azera, one of the women I brought, was excited to talk to me about an idea of performing an Aids-themed theater performance with my girls club to do in front of the village...so I think the goal of the event worked out!

<-- (Leti, a student at the primary school in my homologue's classroom. The drawing done by yours truly )

A particular thing happened that I think is one of my favorite funny stories in Burkina (so far). The one man I brought was Hamidou, my friend and president of the Association Parents-Eleves. We arrived in Djibo at night, and the next morning the sensibilization was to start. It was late, dark and the volunteers just wanted to get all the villagers settled into their hotel rooms. Unfortunately, because we arrived too late, Hamidou's room was given to another guest. It being late and the other hotels full, Kevin (another volunteer) asked his Burkinabe counterpart if he'd mind sharing a room with Hamidou, just for that night. It was one room, one small bed. You could see the awkward/uncomfortable looks on both men's faces. Not too happy. (But who would be if you are a grown man and asked to share a bed with a complete stranger.) Now, if this were the United States this is exactly what would have happened:

Both men would remain in their awkward/uncomfortable state. They would have refused to share a bed and one man would have probably ended up sleeping on the floor. The next morning they would avoid/ignore each other, never talking or even making eye contact for the rest of their time in Djibo.

But of course, this is Burkina. Here's what really happened:

The next morning I found Hamidou and immediately apologized again, ensuring him that he would have his own room for the rest of his stay. He pulls me aside, a huge grin on his face, and says that in fact, he got along fine with the other man, and Hamidou doesnt want his own room, he'd like to stay in the room with his new friend for the rest of the week. Since he was smiling I tought he was joking and laughed along with him. "Wait, you're serious?" I asked him. Yes, he told me. He and the other man were now friends and in truth he's not used to sleeping alone, he usually always has his children in the same room with him. "Could I check with the other man to see if he'd mind?" he asked me. A little shocked, I went to Kevin and told him what Hamidou had said. Kevin burst out laughing. Apparently, his Burkinabe counterpart has asked him the same thing, he didnt want to sleep alone and wanted to see if my counterpart would stay with him for the duration of the event. Now, these are adult men, both married with children. There's absolutely nothing sexual about this. They are just two grown men not used to sleeping alone who enjoyed one another's company and became friends. Recounting this story makes me smile everytime because with all the liberalness of America, this situation would never have happened in the States!

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(men hanging out at Pobe's marchee)

International Women's Day is coming up. I am told in Pobe there's events including an all women's bike race. Also men are supposed to do the work of their wives, including the shopping and cooking dinner. Not sure exactly how the day will pan out but I bought my colorful Women's Day pagne to wear and will be celebrating with the rest of them!

In other news, a Doggie Epidemic swept through Pobe. Many dogs throughout the village got incredibly sick, a few died. Unfortunately Dounia caught the epidemic. I returned from the Aids sensibilization to find him emaciated. For 5 days he didnt eat, he was throwing up and would only drink a little water. Near the end he was so weak he couldn't even walk. One night my mom called and I told her that I didn't think Dounia would make it. I went to bed. The next morning I was on my way back from getting water at the pump when I see Dounia bouncing up to me, tail wagging and tongue drooling. A doggie miracle! After just a few days he seemed at 100% and today he's back, chubby again and up to his dirty tricks of chasing after my neighbors' chickens, scaring little kids and creating mayhem throughout Pobe. It's good to have him back :)

I just finished reading a book, "The Village of Waiting," by George Packer that my father had sent to me in a care package. Briefly, it's the story of Packers' experience as a PC volunteer in Togo. I found the book both facinating yet upsetting at the same time. Reading it, I felt like Packer was writing about MY experience in POBE. It was eerie how many similarities there were, from the characteristics of the village women, the (inappropriate) behavior of the teachers, to his roller coaster feelings of loneliness/happiness/isolation. If any of you are curious to know more about my personal experience, read his book. What is a bit depressing though is that he was a volunteer in 1982-83...more than 25 years ago! I find it depressing to think that even after so much time has passed, village life throughout W. Africa remains nearly exactly the same. I found his critique of Africa to be a bit pessimistic and harsh. He didn't seem to have much of anything positive to say about the country (He didn't complete his 2 years). While on some issues I may agree with him, I find that despite all the poverty and corruption, there's still so much joy and beauty.

Lastly, internet MAY be coming to Djibo! Construction is underway at the Djibo post office for an internet cyber. I have no idea when it will actually open or if the connection will be any good, but Im definitely excited at the prospect of having internet only 25K away instead of the 100+!

(Changing times? A mud brick/straw house with sattelite!

Cell phone tower in the background)