Arrival in Pobe Mengao

This past month has definitely been exciting and interesting. I am now living in my new home in Pobe-Mengao and am settling in quite nicely. I arrived to find the local school-parent association had planted a few eggplant, bean and a tomato plants in my courtyard as a gift, which was a pleasant surprise. As far as my home goes, it’s a main room with kitchen area and then the bedroom. I haven’t really been able to add anything to the house yet so it basically looks just like it did when the other volunteer I replaced was living there. I have yet to sleep in the bedroom (too hot!) and have no real furniture in there besides a bed so right now it’s my storage room. I have plenty of time to make it more homey. My only complaint about the house is that when I arrived I found it completely infested with both termites and cockroaches. While I’ve been able to slowly eradicate the cockroaches, the termites are still in full force. Let me just say that keeping house is no easy task ! I have to sweep daily to keep the dust (and scorpions) at bay, cook, wash dishes and wash clothes by hand. Add the fact that I have to fetch my water with a big jug from a pump everyday, it makes things interesting.

The market that happens every 3 days in my village is terrible in terms of food… there is none. (I’m lucky if I can find onions. I can find pasta and bread however at one of the little boutique stores). So I’ve been biking the 25K to Djibo every Wednesday for veggies and such. With the rainy season the dirt roads are awful but the scenery is beautiful. Sometimes Ill find myself daydreaming and forget where I am. Then 6 camels will trot past me and Ill remember, oh yea, Im in Africa! So far I am really enjoying the biking…we’ll see how long that lasts.
Truthfully I NEED to enjoy biking, since I plan to depend on bus transportation as LITTLE as possible. I’ve already had a couple transportation incidents that haven’t been too enjoyable. To make a very long story short, during one bus ride (that was supposed to take 1 hour) the bus broke down for about five hours. The sun set, it was dark and I started panicking a little after a man said no other bus would come to our aid and if we couldn’t fix the problem we’d be spending the night where we were…in the middle of the African bush ! To solve the problem a man went to chop down a thick tree branch, made a log from it, from which the driver used as a make-shift part for the bus. The bus shaked rattled and rolled (with a few nuts and bolts flying off as we headed over pot holes and ditches) but we finally arrived at our destination. I am not a very religious person but I have never prayed so hard to God, Allah, the bus spirits….anyone listening to help survive the trip !!

In terms of integration, I have to say I am truly happy that I speak French (thanks mom!). Because of it, I have been able to quickly befriend two village locals who went to school and speak French. However because I do not yet speak Moore, Fulfulde or Karumfe I have yet to really integrate or get to know the majority of the villagers, especially women. I can’t imagine being a volunteer alone in a new site and not speaking French, let alone the local language.
So I quickly befriended Amidou and Sita, two brothers whose father owns the compound that I live in (there are four other homes in the same compound). I spend most of the day relaxing with them, talking, drinking tea and eating maize (corn, which is now in season, that they cook over coals and you eat right off the grill…delicious ! I can eat 4 at a time.)
Sita has not only become a friend but my personal tour guide. He’s been taking me all around not only Pobe-Mengao but the surrounding areas. The village truly has a rich and ancient Karumfe culture which is fascinating. So far I have seen gorgeous views from cliff tops, ancient drawings sketched onto rocks, old statuettes and artifacts, and elephant foot prints imprinted permanently onto rocks from back in the day when elephants used to roam the north of Burkina.
I have been trying to keep my days busy but despite all this sometimes the days seem to pass by so slowly. People literally sit around outside their home all day, talking, sleeping and drinking tea. Now apparently it’s the busy season because most people are out cultivating in the fields. I can’t imagine what its like for villagers once their work in the fields is done. There are no jobs for them, there is literally nothing to do. I’m not supposed to start any major projects until November (we re supposed to spend time integrating, developing people’s trust and getting to know the real needs of the community first) I plan to help out in the schools as a teachers aid starting in October. Not only will I be able to help teachers in the classroom, (student teacher ratio is about 120 to 1 but it will help me get to know the students and children better as well.
Overall I am definitely enjoying myself, my health is good and so far Im adjusting surprisingly well, although Ill be the first to admit there are good days and bad days. A bientot!

Officially a Volunteer!

First post as a Peace Corps Volunteer! Took (and signed) an oath so guess it's now official...Im here for good!

Ouaga, the capital, was fun and entertaining. It’s got the large city feel but you definitely still know you are in Africa.
We stayed at a hotel which after living in a mud hut for 3 months, was amazing! Beds, real toilets, showers with HOT water…amazing. We also ate delicious food at restaurants including pizza, ice ceam, crepes and even Chinese food. During training we would always hear about how when we get to Ouaga, we need to shop at the Marina Market, how its an incredible place. I wasn’t sure what to expect and didn’t exactly get my hopes up about it. Well, let me tell you, walking into there I was like a kid in a candy store. Its like an actual grocery store just like in the U.S, like a Safeway! It was amazing and I couldn’t stop smiling or saying “Oh my GOD” everytime I saw something. The store has everything from shampoo, chocolate, cereal, a meat and pastry counter…everything! Wonderful.
While I enjoyed Ouaga, I have to admit Im glad I will be living in a village and not a city. Its fun but very expensive. Also, if you walk outside you are constantly hassled by people trying to sell you stuff because any "white foreigner" must be a rich tourist. It gets annoying after a while. And while Im slowly getting used to unwanted harrassment and attention, having random strangers grab at you to get your attention is not really my cup of tea. You also have to remember that Ouaga is a capital city and has its crazies and violence. During the time we were there one volunteer had two guys on motos try (unsuccessfully) to grab her purse. On a separate occasion two other volunteers were walking together in broad dailight when a “fou”, or crazy guy, jumped on the male volunteer's back and tried to kiss him! When the female volunteer tried to get the guy off him, the “fou” slapped her! Some gendarmes (police) were luckily nearby to grab the guy off and apparently beat him up pretty good before taking him away.
But between good food, going out with friends to listen to live music, seeing the beautiful art available, I really did enjoy my time there.
The Peace Corps swearing in ceremony was nice. It was at the U.S ambassadors house (HUGE!!). Everyone had on beautiful and very colourful outfits! The ceremony was fairly short, several speeches and then ourselves standing up to take the oath. My host brother was able to attend the ceremony, which really made my night because I didn’t think the family would have the money for him to come. But ends up--proving how hospitable Burkinabes are--one of the teachers who taught during training heard about it and not only drove my brother from Komsilga to Ouaga but let him stay the night at his home! It was definitely nice to see him one last time before heading out.
Another fun thing was that there was media, both a television and radio station, at the ceremony. I was interviewed for both of them, which was fun but I didn’t think much of it. I am now currently back in Ouahigouya (about a 2 1/2 hour bus ride from Ouaga), and THREE times today Ive been stopped by Burkinabes who say they recognized me from TV as the Peace Corps volunteer heading out to Pobe! Didn’t realize Id actually make it on tv, let alone on a station playing across Burkina…kinda funny but also pretty cool. Too bad I was hot and sweating balls during the interview!
So as I said I am currently back in Ouahigouya. Tuesday morning a driver from the Peace Corps will come to help myself and another volunteer move into our new homes! Very excited and definitely MORE than ready to get there. The past few days Ive been shopping for things for my home, mostly food (cant wait to cook for myself!) and furniture.
Obviously from this point on my internet access will be much more limited. However I have made a deal with myself that I will travel to the city for internet and email at LEAST once a month. So I will do my best to keep my blog updated.
The next three months will be tough, challenging, lonely and I will have PLENTY of time on my hands. However Im ready to immerse in the culture, get to know and develop friendships with the locals and hopefully get ideas on how best I can help.

Last post as a PC trainee!

This will be my last posting as a Peace Corps trainee. Next week we are off to Ouagadougou, the capital, to finish our last week of training. We will stay there for the week and then have our swearing-in-ceremony to officially become Peace Corps Volunteers! Everyone is excited, it's a pretty big deal (held at the US ambassador's house, 300 people invited). Another plus is that we all get to dress up, most of us had outfits made here in Burkina so it should be very colorful! Just a couple days after we will all be dropped off at our future homes! It's fair to say nearly everyone (both trainees and staff) is getting a bit antsy and ready to end training...we're all going through a bit of senioritis and finding it hard to listen or pay attention in the training sessions.
As excited as I am, I will definitely miss my host family. They have been so generous, kind and were a great deal of help in my integration/adaptation here during the last 3 months. On Saturday there will be a party in Komsilga to celebrate and honor the families that hosted Kait, Brian and myself. There will be music, food and fun so I'm definitely excited!
I will be sure to post photos of the party, as well as photos from Ouaga and the swearing in ceremony before I head out to Pobe Mengao.

With training and my home-stay experience ending, I can't help but look back on the last 3 months and think of how much I've gone through and learned. Here's a look at a few of those things:

Things that I've learned/have experienced/have gone through during my training:

-time = W.A.I.T (West African International Time). People here have no sense of time. Arriving to a meeting one hour late is considered arriving early. I've definitely had to learn patience and flexibility while here.
-navigating through the city streets of Ouahigouya is a risk to anyone life!! People here do not believe in following traffic rules/laws (a red light has no meaning to many). I've learned to bike very cautiously and am always constantly aware...dont let your guard down and trust no driver! Example, just recently one trainee was biking down the street when a man on a moto, driving with one hand, and carrying a large metal door on his shoulders with the other... cut off this trainee who was trying to turn left and sliced a piece of the trainee's ear off!!! It was literally dangling by a piece of skin!
-having said that.... while I was riding my bike I did hit a little boy trying to cross the street...but it wasnt my fault!! (and the little boy was fine!)
-since the rainy season started in July, I have never had less than 30, yes 30, mosquito bites on my feet and ankles
- You are going to be called "Nassarra" (white foreigner) at least 20 times a day by all Burkinabes, men, women and children. Get used to it and dont take it personally.
-street food sold by vendors is the BEST and CHEAPEST food!! Anything from corn and peanuts to meals like benga (beans and rice, etc...soooo good and easy on the wallet)
-the fashion here is definitely.... interesting. The crazier the patterns and colors you wear, the more fashionable you are!
-I love bucket baths!!
-I know I've somewhat adjusted when I can go to the bathroom at 2 am and the sight of 10 cockroaches crawling around and flies buzzing all over me doesnt faze me in the least.
-the best way to integrate and adjust to life in Burkina.... learn to laugh at yourself.
-I can greet a Burkinabe in FOUR different languages (Moore, Fulfulde, Koromfe and French)
-trying to go to the marche and buy stuff in local language is hard! Their money system is difficult and confusing. Not only is it difficult to mentally translate whatever number they are saying, which can be anywhere from 25 to the thousands, but whatever number they give you you have to multiply it by 5...and that is the real amount that you pay....so confusing.

-People in my village work so hard. I went to work with the men one day cultivating the field.

Such freakin hard work !! I spent 2 hours weeding with the hoe so the « mil » can grow. After 2 hours I already had blisters all over my hands and my back hurt, so the men told me to stop and rest. But these men do this all day for months at a time !! (see picture above)

-lastly, as much as I love being here and can say Im here trying to do good, there is no denying that I am a privileged person. I have complained about the food on my blog, eating nothing but carbs like pasta, rice etc. My family has never complained to me or asked me for anything. But during a conversation with my sisters they talked about how difficult their lives were, how hard they had to work and how having enough food is their #1 concern. All they have to eat is "to" a bland mushy dish made of a type of grain which they grow, and sauce. Exact quotes they told me(translated):
"I hate 'to' because we eat it 3 times a day, everyday, but its all we have to eat."
"I force myself to eat to because Megan is still breastfeeding and I need to eat to be able to produce enough milk for her."
"I hate being so skinny. I hate that my bones stick out."
Not exactly things that make you feel great after just chowing down on half a pound of pasta. I guess hearing things like that from my family, who ALWAYS have a smile on their face and are so generous to me, really hit home. I am in Africa, I am in Burkina Faso, one of the poorest countries in the world. Even though I am here as a volunteer and just paid a stipend to live on, I am still receiving more than most villagers. Just something I know I have to keep in mind during my entire 2 years here.

New Address and Wish List!

See my new address (I will be there at the end of the month for the next two years) and my wish list on the right hand side.

The past couple weeks of training seemed to have gone by so slowly. I know training is important but there are things about it I really dont like, for example at times I feel like Im just in a 3-month long summer camp. Im anxious to get to site and start feeling productive. There's only 3 more weeks of training which is pretty exciting!

Interesting events that have happened within the last 2 weeks:

I played basketball for the first time since my arrival here! A few of the trainees and I went to play at an outside court and ended up playing against some of the local guys here.

Lucky for us the national sport in Burkina is soccer, not b ball, so we short, pale, nerdy trainees didnt get our butts killed lol. Had a lot of fun playing and it felt good!

The GEE volunteers wen to AIMEE, a local NGO that specializes in health but also specifically on HIV and Aids. We learned a lot about what the NGO does, not just physically taking care of the sick but going out to small villages to educate and increase awareness. But the most interesting part for me was separating into small groups and informally talking with several patients and Burkinabes living with HIV/Aids. It was my first time ever talking one-on-one with someone living with AIDS, let alone living with AIDS in Africa so it was an incredible experience for me. I talked to 3 different people, one of whom was this motivated, pro active woman who told us everything from how/when she found out she was HIV + to the barriers she faced along the way including the perceptions/stereotypes of those ignorant about the disease, especially in villages. When I am at site I have already planned to do a lot of sex education for young girls but I think HIV/Aids is also near the top of my list. Even though the percentage is low in Burkina compared to other countries in Africa, its still high and more education/awareness about the disease and prevention is always needed.
Those whove talked with me know that FOOD has been an issue for me (the fact that I am unable to cook for myself or get any variety.) So obviously our tech session on nutrition where the trainees in each village were able to cook their own meal was amazing!!! All the cooking tools were brought to Komsilga where Brian, Kait and myself cooked up a delicious brunch.
On the menu: homemade banana bread with M&Ms!!! (Amen to care packages!!!), scrambled eggs with onions, green peppers and tomatoes, french toast and fruit salad! It was soooo good. Obviously, we had some minor setbacks. One being when the PC arrived with our cooking supplies from the city they forgot one critical thing: the stove... so they had to go back to get it and it took more than one hour. We started very late and ended up delaying everyone elses cooking time as well. As for the banana bread, the recipe asked for baking powder but all we had was baking soda so the banana bread didnt rise and turned out more like banana mush/cake....however it was still delicious!
Ever since training started I have been learning the local language of Fulfulde. Yet at my site visit i quickly leaned that unfortunately, Fulfulde is not really spoken in my village. The main languages spoken there are Moore and Karunfe. SOOOO...Ive had to start language over again, this time learning Moore. The fun thing about it though is that because of my situation where unlike the other trainees I dont have to take French, I have my own one on one tutoring with a man called Patrice. Patrice is a young, energetic, "cool" guy but an intense teacher. Moore is tough! And being the only student in the class, I have no chance to daydream and not focus. Hes always quizzing me, asking me to read/repeat stuff...I feel like Im back in school again!! But over the past couple of days with him I have learned 2 very interesting things. One, hes not just Patrice the teacher but Patrice the music star. He came out with a CD a couple years ago and is currently working on a new albulm set to come out around November. PLUS, 2 years ago Patrice also had a music video that played on the tv stations here! He showed it to be on his cell phone. Music-wise, it was actually really good stuff. Id say a mix of traditional/modern African music. But the video is hilarious! In several scenes he's decked out in a gray pin striped-suit singing while sitting on the diving board of a pool of some huge house in Burkina. And its not big chested women dancing in the background but stick-thin men in matching outfits, swaying their hips and snapping their fingers. Its Big Pimpin Africa style. I loved it. Im defintiely buying his new CD when it comes out...I guess you never know who your teachers are outside the classroom.
Something new I learned on Burkinabe culture: Thursday morning Patrice is lost in thought, not really concentrating so I ask him whats up. He tells me Wendsday night his wife gave birth to their first son!!! Im like "Patrice, what the hell are you doing HERE go see your wife and new born son!!" Ends up he cant just leave work like that, he has to wait until Saturday before he can go back home in Ouaga. This is where I am confused. You see, here in Burkina, the grandma of your wife's friend's sister's neighbor dies and its EXPECTED that you NOT come into work because you have to go to the funeral and pay respects to the family. But your wife gives birth to your newborn son and you cant leave work to go see them? Patrice explains to me that here, culterally, sad events are treated a lot differently than happy events. You can leave work for sad events, but aparently its a lot more difficult when the event is joyful. I learn something new everyday.

Site visit!

So last week was by FAR my favorite week since Ive arrived here. The first 3 days consisted of a counterpart workshop where I met with the person who I'll work closest with once at site and help me in the integration proccess.
My counterpart is a woman who teaches at the local primary school in the village and lives there with her children. I'm lucky because quite a few other volunteers werent thrilled with their counterparts or had a hard time connecting because of the language barrier. I totally clicked with mine. She's such a great woman with a lot of great ideas and opinions. We already talked about major problems in the village, things we could do, things I can help with, etc. For example sex is a very tabboo subject here. She says girls never learn about maturation/sex education/prevention methods from their parents or others. She had nine girls in her class this year drop out because they got pregnant. So just awareness and education for girls would be huge. Anyways in summary the workshop was great, we totally clicked and I cant wait to get to site and get started!
Thursday through Sunday I went to Pobe-Mengao to visit my site and future home! I stayed with Joel, who is the volunteer that I will be replacing. The weekend was amazing. Pobe is much larger than I expected, a town of about 5-6,000 people. Transportation to and from Pobe is great, it's right off the main road so I have easy access to big cities like Djibo and Ouahigouya. Only problems are the roads are dirt so during the rainy season they get flooded and transportation is either extrememey delayed or comes to a halt.
Pobe has a primary school and a brand new CEG school (kinda like high school) which will open up once I get there. Theres also a health and maternity clinic, a small marchee every 3 days that sells seasonal foods and some very small boutiques to buy things like soap, etc. Ill still have to bike or bus to Djibo weekly to get foods like canned goods, oatmeal, fresh fruits and vegies, etc.
As far as my house goes, I am sooo excited to start living there. Compared to the mud, thatched-roof hut I am currently living in....I am MOVIN ON UP! My future home is concrete, rectangular shaped, with a tin roof. Its got 2 rooms, the main room and a small bedroom. What is great about replacing another volunteer is that Joel is leaving me nearly everything including a small table, stove, cot to sleep outside, and a cool kitchen furniture piece with counter and shelves. Hes got plenty of cooking spices too which is so key here!! Another big plus is he's leaving me some books! Everyone says volunteers have a lot of extra time and spend a LOT of time reading, so having these books is definitely amazing. There are some things I still need to buy but I am so excited about decorating my home! Like I plan on painting the inside walls and buying a couple other furniture pieces like a bookshelf. There are 4 other homes in the compound but I have my own little courtyard complete with hangar (like a patio area) to sleep under during the hot nights. Despite my total lack of a green thumb I am sooo planning on starting a small garden, so in the future Ill be adding seeds to my care package wish list!
During the weekend I got to ask Joel the hundreds of questions that have been on my mind, learned what he has done in the village, met some key/important people, toured around (cool fact: in the village there are a couple of small lakes made from the rain and there are Caimans, which are crocodiles living in them!). Just taking a break from training to relax and see my future home was wonderful. Overall great weekend.

What happened just a few hours after my arrival on Thursday, however, was by far the most unique part of my visit:
Upon arrival Joel tells me the village chief has died, the funeral is that day, would I be interested in going...of course I am! SO we go. Need I remind you I am in an African village in Burkina Faso...this is no ordinary funeral.
So we go to the chief's courtyard where the funeral takes place. Here I learn that the chief was like 105 and died a few days ago. After he died they sat ( and tied) his body to make him sit up, and barricaded the body in his home for 3 days. Then on the 4th day, the day I arrived there to witness this, they tore down the wall and removed his (very smelly) body and wraped it up in layers and layers of cloth. Then several villagers picked up the body and carried it three times around the courtyard and then proceed to carry the body 10K away to the burial site.
Some interesting characters at the funeral: the old women wailing "ayiii ayiiii", some old guy who could barely carry his own weight carrying this HUGE rifle and shooting it every now and then, 5 feet away from us. Oh and this other old guy carrying this bloody hatchet which I swaear looked like it had strips of meaty flesh hanging from it leading the people carrying the dead chief.
So I got to witness everything (except the 10K walk) which was so INSANE considering I had just arrived a couple hours earlier. If things could get any more crazy, there were a lot of people from other villages and cities who came to pay their respects. Now I know cell phones are HUGE in Burkina and even villagers and the poorest of the poor somehow have a cell phone (there is a cell phone tower directly behind my future home). But I just found this whole funeral ceremony thing so ironic. Why? During this very traditional, African ceremony that is happening to honor an old village chief, complete with bloody hatchets and wierd traditions/superstitions with the body, there are literally five men chasing after the people carrying the body, snapping photos of the ceremony with their camera phones.
And that was my welcome to Pobe-Mengao.

Funny story

Thought Id try to add a little humor to my blog. The following is a true story:

NOTE: 1) everyone is given a black medical kit filled with everything we need from insect repellent, sunscreen and cough drops to malaria pills and oral rehydration tablets. 2) An LCF is a local well-ecucated Burkinabe hired by the Peace Corps to teach French, local language and cultural adaptation/integration to the trainees.
For my story the LCF will remain anonymous and go by the name of "Burkinabe Bob"

So all the GEE volunteers are going through a particular tech training course. We re all sitting on "nats" (mats) under a grove of mango trees. During the class I am half-mindedly cleaning out my swiss army knife that has collected quite a bit of sand and dirt.
Notice I said half-mindedly. I cut my finger. The cut itself is not too big, just about the width of my finger but the cut is pretty deep. Blood immediately begins to pour out and starts to drip on the ground. I head around to the back and ask "Burkinabe Bob" to bring the med kit.
"I need some cleansing stuff and some bandaids!" I say
Now Burkinabe Bob is a very fatherly type of person who constantly worries. He sees the blood and I notice the mild panic in his eyes. He doesnt speak any English, so he is unable to read any of the medication in the med kit. While grabbing my hand I am trying to help him find cleanser and bandaids. At this point my finger is bleeding pretty heavily so I turn my attentinon toward my hand to try to find out exactly where the cut it.
"I have it! I found it! Here you go!" yells out Burkinabe Bob
I look at what he is handing me. I stare for a good 5 seconds. I then look him in the eyes to see if he is being serious. He is dead serious. I cant help but laugh.
"Burkinabe Bob those are condoms! I dont need condoms I need bandaids!"
Luckily Steven, a fellow trainne is witnessing this small mayhem that is happening and quickly rushes over to find the necessary materials.
Now my finger is clean, disinfected and nicely bandadged...and not wrapped in a latex condom.
:)