My 2 years are up!

swearing in as a PC volunteer 2 yrs ago

Well, my 27 months have come to an end. Tonight I’m flying home to California after 2 wonderful years as a Girls Education and Empowerment volunteer in Pobe-Mengao. I return to Burkina in September to begin my 3^rd year as a volunteer with Friends of African Village Libraries.

Overall, my experience in Pobe was amazing. I made some incredible relationships that I know will last for years and years. Through activities like girls’ clubs, girls’ camp, sensibilizations, AIDS formations, nutrition projects and the library project, I’m happy and satisfied of what my little-experienced-self was able to achieve.

Unfortunately my stay in village did not end like I would have liked. An emergency security situation forced me to evacuate Pobe without saying goodbye to my friends. But while this situation is unfortunate, I’m happy that I am extending a 3^rd year. Hopefully in several months I’ll be able to return to Pobe and say my proper goodbyes.

Pobe-Mengao's famous Mamyou fertility statue

Tonight I return home for one month and the truth is that as excited as I am, I’m also partly petrified! I haven’t been home in over two years! I’ve been living in an African village in Burkina Faso, a country many Americans have never even heard of. Now I’m heading back to the fast-paced land of technology where time is money, where being in fashion doesn’t mean wearing bright multi-colored mismatched-patterned outfits; where my taking a 2 hour nap at noon time is not going to be acceptable.

I know I’ll feel out of touch. Who are the Jonas Brothers? Why are people so obsessed with Twilight? What the hell is Twitter? Is it true we have a Black president? (just kidding).

There are two things I am most excited about: 1) Seeing family and friends (obviously) and 2) Food! Everything from sushi to Mexican to my mom’s home cookin. I’ve already planned a major Costco run. I’m slobbering all over myself now just thinking about it.

Volunteers who have visited home already gave me good tips and warnings. For example, beware of my first grocery store experience….I’ll be in shock! (And wear a jacket…passing by the freezer section is like being in Antarctica!)

Overall though, I’m really excited. I am looking forward to relaxing, spending quality time and catching up with family and friends. For me, the fun begins right from the plane ride. Air France baby! Free champagne, free wine, free cheese. Is it sad that I’m actually looking forward to the meal served on the plane?

bike race, computers and....extension?

Claiming my prizes; Amy and I before the race

After 2 years of bike parts constantly breaking, changing flat tires on a weekly basis and biking 25K just to buy vegetables….it’s safe to say that I truly hate biking. Ironically, I feel like it’s biking that I will be most known for in Pobe. It started with last year’s Women’s Day bike race. (It wasn’t until I won the race that people started calling me Emilie instead of Nassarra). And this month, apparently, I have “saved the name of Pobe” with another biking feat.

I participated in a bike race in Djibo organized by a big mining company. There was a 25K men’s race from Pobe to Djibo and a 5K women’s race in Djibo. When I said I wanted to sign up for the men’s race (It’s the exact course I bike for veggies anyway so why not?) I was told no. I flipped. “That’s ridiculous! I can bike 25K! WOMEN can bike 25K! I vowed to bike in the race no matter what. I imagined flying past tired sweaty men with a sign attached to my back reading “Vous venez d’être dépassé pars une femme!!” (You’ve just been passed by a girl!) I’m a GEE volunteer. This was going to be GEE at its prime.

Then I was told the winners of both the men’s and women’s races got big prizes including new bikes and lots of cash money.

I registered for the women’s race. (Add prizes and cash money to anything and any PCV turns into a competitive, money-hungry beast….I can always empower girls another day.)

I convinced the Roses and Thomas to also compete in the race, so we all got together in Djibo the night before. The race itself went very well, I won first place! I won a sweet biking jersey, a new bike and nearly $300 worth of CFA!! All because of a FIVE k race! The mining company was literally throwing money around, creating a big hoop-la over nothing. Ever participant had to wear a t-shirt that had the face of the Minister of Mining plastered on the front. Coincidence that all this occurred just a couple months before elections? I think not. It was kind of ridiculous, but I still gladly accepted the prizes. All the money went to the library (more books!) so at least it was for a good cause.

A big secondary project that Amy and Aaron Rose did was create a computer room in their village of Titao. After getting it up and running they decided to conduct a week-long IT camp to introduce computers and how they work to students and functionaries. Three other volunteers including myself spent the week helping them, teaching everything from the parts of a computer to how to make a power point presentation.

Now, those that know me know that I am one of the most computer incompetent people, so the idea of me helping out, showing others what to do was a little scary. But the camp went well (minus constant power cuts) and I probably learned as much as the students!

Emilie Crofton, computer guru?

This month, my time in Pobe has been strange emotionally. In village I have been really bored, lazy, frustrated, anxious and even somewhat anti-social. I realized I am going through what I like to call Africanized Senioritis. I’m nearly done with my projects and work in Pobe, ready to move on to other things. Although, unlike the majority of PCVs, I won’t be moving on too far away.

I remember a phone conversation that I had with my mom several months ago.

Mom: “I just read another volunteer’s blog about how they decided to extend their Peace Corps service for another year. Emilie, I want you to come home after 2 years. PROMISE me now you will not extend!”

Me: “Mom, believe me, I am coming home after my 2 years are up. There’s no way in hell I am extending, I PROMISE!”

Well, here I am announcing that I have officially extended my Peace Corps service (sorry mom).

A couple reasons why Ive decided to extend:

-I feel like it took me a full year before I was settled, felt integrated in the community, developed the trust of the people and did meaningful/sustainable activities that were actually needed. This second year has just flown by, there’s still a lot more that I can and want to do.

- I am interested and curious about working in the NGO world. I could go back home and work some lame desk job with some NGO, or I could stay here with an NGO and work directly in the field, learning skills and experiences that will truly help me see if this is what I want to do or not.

For my extension I will not be in Pobe-Mengao. While I will still be a Peace Corps volunteer, I will be “working” with Friends of African Village Libraries (the NGO that helped me with the library in Pobe.) Having worked extensively with them, I really like and respect what they do and believe they make big impacts in village communities. I think it would be wonderful to be apart of that. I would be splitting my time between their bureau in Ouaga and their village libraries (most of them being in the south-west part of Burkina)

Here are some of the projects/activities the director sees me working on:

- Speaking to Ministry, WB officials and other NGOs to get larger scale production of appropriate children’s materials

- Leading a workshop for 100 Maires on “Establishing a community library”

-Helping create a set of six workshops for improving library services

- Networking with cellphone/software engineers and cellphone companies to pilot web-interface for FAVL librarians to do their monthly reporting

-Helping create 25 illustrated children’s books for young readers

-Working with a local printer to produce children’s books

-Working on normal FAVL activities at the different libraries such as literacy camps, reading programs, etc.

-Helping in running/facilitating the study abroad program

While Im really excited for next year, I am honestly looking forward to my upcoming home leave. (If you extend, Peace Corps flies you home for one month). I will be home the month of August and am looking forward to seeing family and friends, eating good food, and not sweating 24/7. Amina!

New This, New That

These past few weeks, it's been all about the new. New things, new people, new experiences...

New Maire

I mentioned last month that the Maire of Pobe-Mengao passed away. The village elected a new Maire and to the great excitement of many, Konfe Inoussa was chosen. Inoussa is a good, hardworking and honest man who is much loved in the village and is also my good friend and neighbor. After he was elected it seemed all of Pobe was cheering and dancing, firing off rifles (blanks, thankfully) in celebration. People are saying with Inoussa as our new Maire, good things will come to Pobe.

Pobe's new Maire

Potato Fete in Titato
While I go to Titao to visit the Roses (married PCV couple) quite frequently, what was new for me was attending Titao’s annual “Fete de la Pomme de Terre.” Yes, the festival is almost as ridiculous as Gilroy’s garlic festival, only, its all about potatoes. After a morning of speeches and cultural/traditional dance and song, we shopped at the 100 plus stands of farmers selling, you guessed it, potatoes. Potatoes potatoes everywhere! We all had a lot of fun and of course, ate a lot of potatoes.

traditional dancing in Titao; selling patates

New Internet
Remember way back when, back when they were building a new cyber next to the post office in Djibo? Construction was already well underway, the guy telling me it’d be up and running in just 2 weeks? Well, more than one year later, it’s finally true! Yes, no longer do I have to travel 113K on ridiculous/horrible/unreliable/windowless/always late/always breaking down transport to use internet. Djibo’s first cyber is now open!! Which means that I will now be able to (cross my fingers) check email on a weekly basis. The bad news, is that some genius put some restrictive setting on the computers so that no one is able to use a USB key, meaning we cant save anything, work on any personal docs or upload any pictures. We can’t even open attachments in email. Which means, Ill still have to travel to Ouahigouya/Ouaga to work/send documents, open attachments and update the blog.

New method to treat scorpion bites?

So I’m eating the usual dinner of tô at my neighbor's house when one of her daughters (13yrs old) gets stung by a scorpion. Here scorpion stings are not dangerous, they just hurt like hell. The family quickly gathered around her as she sat on the mat crying out in pain. I obviously felt for the poor girl, she handled the bite a lot better than I probably would have, but I was completely struck by the “healing” methods the family used. The father sat next to the girl and had his young son go catch a frog. He then took his daughter’s foot (where she got stung) in his hands and proceeded to slap her foot back and forth with the live frog! He did this for about 5 minutes before I finally asked, what the hell are you doing??? He answered, “Ca c’est notre medicament Africain” (This is our African medicine). Strange? Yes, a little bit, but I decided to keep my mouth shut. I could only sit and stare in confusion/silence when he then proceeded to then press a small coin on the bite, since apparently rubbing money on the wound heals it? Then he rubbed what looked like a small piece of black charcoal on her foot, then made her eat it. Thank you God for westernized medicine!

New Library
The major news of course is the opening of Pobe’s library! La Bibliotheque Villageoise de Pobe Mengao is now officially open! It was a great day, wonderful to see it finally all come together. It’s been a lot of hard work, filled with hardships, frustrations and fear but it’s finally here. Hamidou is already doing a wonderful job as librarian. For more pics and information about the ceremony check out the library blog.

COS is in the air...yikes!

Last month, foreigners throwing money around everywhere in Pobe had me questioning my work as a Peace Corps volunteer and my impact in village. This month, incidents in Pobe reminded me that money is not always the answer. Without getting into specific details, a school official asked one group for help at the primary school. The World Food Program would cease delivering food for the school’s free lunch program next year. The poor, helpless, hungry students would have nothing to eat, could the group give money to help? Of course they could, and they did, handing more than 1,000,000cfa to the person. Unfortunately they gave the money with no witnesses or people around, placing the money directly into the man’s hands. Instead of investing in sacs of rice/supplies for the students food he secretly opened a private bank account where the money could be hidden and spent as wanted. Luckily someone found out and notified Pobe’s authority figures. They demanded he return the money and chastised him, though that was the extent of the punishment.

Literally a couple days after, another incident happened at the school. A teacher called in a young female student (in 5e) to his home in the evening, harassed her and demanded sexual favors. She refused. He threatened to fail her. She still refused. So, he hit her. Her father found out and reported the incident to the school authorities. I witnessed the school officials “chastise” the teacher, though again no real punishment was given.

There are 2 things that realy frustrated me about this. 1) In both situations, asides from a slap on the wrist, neither was punished. I can’t help but think that if this happened in the States both men would have probably been arrested. 2) That both situations weren’t exactly shocking, even to me. Sadly these are situations that happen pretty frequently here. Both incidents just caused several days of exciting village gossip.

Women's Day exposition in the marchee. Women's group selling their handmade purses; Peuhl women selling milk

March 8 was International Women’s Day though in Pobe, the death of our mayor delayed activities until the 20^th. The day included a woman's bike race, sensibilizations on maternal health, and lots of other women related activities. My part of the day included organizing an exposition showcasing all the talents/artisinal items that women make in Pobe. All day we had women set up under the hangars of the marchee, with little signs that I had made showing what they are selling. Women came with handmade soaps, traditional pagnes, clay pots, purses, and plenty of food items to sell. It was a lot of fun and the women appreciated being able to showcase their talents in front of everyone.

This past week I was in Ouaga for our Close of Service (COS) conference. Even though its early (service doesnt end until end of August) they hold it now to help wrap up our projects, and aid us in the transition back home (resume writing, job hunting, grad schools, career planning, reverse culture shock, etc). To be honest the conference really freaked me out, making me realize how close I am to the end. I am nearly 25, still no clue about what I want to do, or even where I want to do it!

Thomas and I "destressing"

Luckily, post conference there was the COS party, which was a great stress reliever. It was nice to see a lot of volunteers that I rarely see, talk with others, simply relax and enjoy the night.

Now back in village we're in preparation for the Library's big opening day on April 6th! We've been busy fixing up any last minute items and the library committee is in charge of organizing the ceremony. Should be a lot of fun!

Big news in Pobe

One early morning I’m lounging at home when I hear this rhythmic drumming noise from outside. Curious, I peek my head out to see this herd of people marching down the roads, each with some kind of tool: straw brooms, shovels, rakes and even a wheelbarrow in hand. Ends up that a youth group in village decided that Pobé-Mengao was getting to dirty. They approached the Maire who provided them with tools and supplies for a voluntary community cleanup. For three days the group went around the entire village, even in people’s courtyards, sweeping trash together to burn.The drumming sound I was hearing was a man beating a stick on an old paint drum, keeping a steady beat and entertaining the workers. It was so wonderful to see this community outreach, driven by the YOUTH, who care about keeping their village clean. (I realize burning trash isn’t the most eco-friendly thing to do but still…here you don’t have much choice and you can’t ignore their great intentions)

This month in Pobé-Mengao, nassarras were everywhere. First, a French couple here for the entire month working with the health clinic and helping malnourished children followed by a large group of 9 men and women from Poland, here to help with the primary and secondary schools. Their visits made me think a lot about my work as a volunteer. Both groups came with a lot of money, giving gifts left and right to everyone. At first I was, in all honesty, annoyed and upset. Everyone was so thrilled to be receiving these free expensive gifts (supplies for the schools and health clinic, generators, toys, games, food, etc). I was jealous even. I’ve been here nearly 2 years now, trying my best with no money to do what I can to help, and in less than 2 weeks these people come here and are able to do so much more. Questions ran through my mind. Am I really helping anyone here? Isn’t giving the people free handouts all the time only enforcing their dependency on foreign aid? How is this sustainable?
After a while though, I realized that what Im doing here, while on a much smaller scale than them, is still important. The things I’ve been trying to help the peole of pobe with are not necessarily material things or gifts, but mostly education, information and a better knowledge of things. While the results of this might not be able to be evaluated easily and wont have a finishd prokect to show for it, its still important. As another volunteer sold me “They are giving the people want they want. You are helping give them what they need”

Elisee with Pobes famous Mamyou

Elisee, FAVL’s regional coordinator came from Ouaga to visit Pobe and the library. He was impressed and says we’re off to a good start. We still plan to have the opening in April and have been working hard for this to happen, setting up the room and organizing the books, which has been long but at times entertaining. For example, we got a wonderful donation of 130 books from FAVLs library in Bereba, but I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw a biography on (you Quebec folks should like this) Diane Dufresne. But you never know. Seeing a book by Jimmy Carter I wondered how many people would ever want to read it. But literally 5 minutes later I hear Hamidou say “Im trying to find this book I really got into when I was training in Bereba. This book by that old American President guy…”

March is off to an amazing start. We received news that Friends of Burkian Faso approved our grant proposal of $2,000! With this approval we have not only reached our $10,000 goal but surpassed it. As of today we are officially a FAVL-managed library!!!!

The month of march will be busy in preparation of our opening ceremony in early April. Right now, things are getting really busy and exciting!

New Year

I know it's a little late but Happy New Year! On New Years' eve John (volunteer who came to Djibo in December from Guinea) and I decided to start 2010 with a good ol' campout in the middle of the desert. (When I told my mom this, she responded "WHY? Isn't that what you've been doing for the past 1 1/2 years?")
We packed a small bag, hiked for about one hour outside of Djibo, found a spot that was relatively rock-free and pitched our tent for the night. As the sun set, I realized how absolutely beautiful the dessert can be. Who knew! We made a fire and ate the feast we had prepared earlier. I had managed to find those little sparkler sticks which we wanted to line up on the ground and light up to celebrate. Well, the ground was rock solid and theres not a lot of usable items out in the middle of the desert. But we found our solution (I wont go into details but lets just say I discovered yet another use for dried cow patties) and had our selves a mini fireworks session. Our plan was to stay up to welcome the new year but when dark falls at 6pm and you're out in the middle of nowhere, well, things dont really work out that way. We were both fast asleep by 9pm. (Always embaressing when your parents call to wish you a Happy New Year. "Sorry, did I wake you? I though you'd be out partying!" -Nope Ive been asleep for the past 3 hrs)

Also, Pobe had a secial visitor, Nikki Smith. She was a Peace Corps volunteer (teacher) in Pobe from 02-04! She stayed several days in village with her fiancee Dave. It was so great meeting them and having them in village. I was really impressed with Nikki's amazing skills in Moore. Even after 6 years she was still fluent. I had to admit I was embaressed (and jealous) when I had to ask for Nikki's help to translate and understand. It was really interesting to hear about her life experiences in Pobe: her work, friends and daily routine, and see how truly different volunteers' experiences are from one another...even when in the same village. Despite the differences it was obvious to see that we both had a genuine love for Pobe and its people.

Saphoura, who couldn't get enough of the enriched bouille

John, a Small Enterprise and Development volunteer, is working on a project at Djibo's Maison de La Femme selling enriched bouille (porrigde). He came to Pobe on a market day to test out the product and see if there would be any interest in village. I don't think he was expecting much, more curious than anything else. But Bouille Enrichie turned out to be HUGE in Pobe. First we went to a couple boutiques to see if they would be interested in stocking the product. They all said yes and bought several packakges on the spot. Then we went to the crowded market to tackle individuals. I found a spot next to a group of women vendors, laid out the packages of bouille on a small clean tarp, had my tating samples out and ready, and started yelling out : (imagine a newspaper boy yelling in a "COME AND GET IT " style)

"Wandaya wandaya!! Mam tara beere! Mam tara beere ne vitamin! A taara benga, nanguri, sucre ne yamsen! Yaa noogo. Yaa sooma wusgo" (Come and buy, come and buy! I have porridge! I have porridge with vitamins! it has beans, peanuts, sugar and salt! Its delicious!)

Now obviously the locals were all laughing and loved to see this crazy nassara making a fool of herself while attempting to yell out in local language...but hey, I drew a crowd. Not only did I draw a crowd but we were able sell every package of bouille. And once we sold out of packages we told the others to go buy them from the boutiques, which they did....until those sold out too. Not only did Pobe completely sell out but one boutiquier went all the way to Djibo that evening to buy more...only to sell out again! So it was a great day and John was thrilled. If the people continue to buy the bouillie, which is good for everyone to eat but is especially great for malnurished children, this is a very good thing and everyone benefits from it.

My second attempt of getting henna was much more successful than the first. Ramata literally spent hours painting my hands and feet, and I loved the outcome.

Congrats to Hamidou, our new librarian! Despite the grant money dissapointment, things are really coming along. Hamidou just completed an intensive 2 week training down in Bereba (village of FAVL's 1st library). As of today we've raised over $9,400 so we're extremeley close to our goal! A large number of books have been bought and we fully expect to have our opening ceremony by April. Dave, Nikki's fiancee made an amazing video which is posted on the library blog.

Dad and Keiko's visit to Burkina/Ghana

My dad and Keiko's visit to Burkina overall went very well. We did a lot of traveling and visiting in the days they were here but the few minor problems we came across mostly occured during the beginning of their trip. They didn't even have to step out of the airport for that....the airline lost their suitcase (Welcome to Burkina!) After that issue was settled (they found and retrieved their bag the next day), my father's first words outside the airport had me worried about what they'd think of the rest of their trip.

Dad: "Is there a fire? Look at all that smoke in the air!"
Me: "No dad. That's....just...dust"

Luckily I have a family of troopers. This was Keiko's first time to Africa and my father's second (he was in Africa 40 years ago) so its fair to say that while both didn't know exactly what to expect, they were ready to rough it out and were up for anything. Right from the start I was impressed with their easy going attitudes and willingness to go along with whatever I planned. The first couple days we stayed in Ouaga and had my friend tour them around. For their first lunch meal in Burkina my friend took them to a restaurant that served nice local food. To my surprise both Dad and Keiko ordered 'futu', which is basically a variation of "to" served with sauce.

"Now this," my friend says "is a local dish that you eat with your hands." This is where I held my breathe and waited for the disgusted look on my dad and Keiko's faces.

As my friend dug his thick hands into the soupy sauce Dad and Keiko didn't even hesitate...they dug right in and began chomping down, sauce running down their arms. Looking around the restaurant I couldn't help but notice that not a single Burkinabe was eating with their hands, they were all using forks and spoons.

After touring around we headed up to visit Pobe-Mengao. The visit itself was great. They met my friends and coworkers and really got a sense of the place I now call home. What wasn't so fun was the ride UP to Pobe. Since the morning of our departure my dad was feeling a bit sick to his stomach. Although it can't be proven, I beleive it was the BUSH RAT he chose to eat for lunch the day before. After a long and uncomfortable ride (we were crammed into the back seat of a car with two HUGE women. Cramped space + 2 fat Burkinabe women + pot-holes in the dirt roat + 7 hours is NOT a fun combination.) Then about 7k outside of Pobe the car's gas line snaps, leaking gas all over the place. Then we get a flat tire. Then, while the car is pulled over, Dad steps out and...yes, throws up (what I STILL say is bush rat) outside the door. When we finally arrived Dad was so sick he collapsed on the bed and remained there for the rest of the day. Luckily, he had cipro with him.
I have to say, Cipro is a hell of a drug. He took it and felt much better the very next day. We were able to spend that day touring around meeting and talking to people, seeing the sights Pobe has to offer. It was a wondrful experience for all of us. I think they both were able to really see the kindness and appreciation of the people. Everyone seemed to come by to welcome them, women came to dance for them. With them came praise, thanks and gifts. I think the best part of it all is how great it is for me to have my parents know this part of my life here. I know im lucky that all three of them came and not only witnessed but became part of my life experience in Pobe.

The great mosque in Bobo; Sindou peaks near Banfora

After Pobe, it was then off to visit Bobo, which was interesting; and Banfora, which was incredible. I couldn't beleive the difference between this area and Pobe. So green and lush. So many different sights to see. With the help of a friendly guide named Gabriel we were able to see beautiful sights like the Sindou peaks, Hippo lake, the sacred Baobab and the famous waterfalls. The waterfalls were by far my favorite part and after a long hot day of traveling everywhere it was a great way to end the day.

Keiko at the 'falls; Gabriel the guide cooling off

Ghana

I complain all the time about traveling in Burkina but I have to say, I never experienced such awful traveling as I did going to and from Accra. The bus itself was relatively nice but it is soooo long. Going to Accraa it took 21 hours, gong back 25. But it was oh so worth it!

Cape Coast; Kokrobite

In Ghana we were based in Kokrobite which is about 30k from Accra. We stayed at this place called Big Milly's Backyard, which was very nice and right on the beach. It was a pretty but rather interesting place. A lot of young European hippie women trying to hook up with wannabe rastafarian men, all of whom look like they'd been smokin waaaayyy to much of that ganja! But it was still fun and again, right on the beach so I of course loved it.

We did a couple day trips into Accra and another day into Cape Coast and El Mina to visit the slave castles. Accra was ridiculously busy. I had never seen traffic so horrible in all my life (Let's just say L.A traffic has NOTHING on Accra). What was entertaining while we were stuck in gridlock traffic though were all the vendors walking by with their merchandise to sell. They were all selling the most random things: fruit, bread, clothes, rabbit ears for t.v., toilet scrubber, soccer balls, coat hangers, brooms, etc. "This is better than wallmart!," my Dad exclaimed.

Slave castle in El Mina

The slave castles were really interesting and a very somber and humbling experience. Its hard not to feel anything when you're going into the dungeons where men were branded like cattle and the women raped, the slaves all crowded for months like sardines into the dark and dank room before being shipped off to work a life of hard labor. I couldn't help touching the walls, trying to imagine what they went through though I know there's no way I can even begin to imagine that hell.

I was surprised by the level of development in Ghana compared to other W. African countries. There were tall apartment buildings, fancy stores and the roads were in pretty good condition, there were even sidewalks! Though it was obvious to see the vast poverty. Big Milly's was beautiful but completely surrounded by old dilapillated and cramped houses, children still dressed in grungy rags. I was surprised by the amount of Christians in Accra. Every storefront seemed to have some religious title, and wierd ones at that: Lord's Victory Beauty Salon, With God's Blessing Linnens, Jesus Loves Me Shopping and Christ's Chicken were just a few I remember.

The rest of our time in Ghana was nothing except total relaxation: eating great food, lounging around the beach, drinking beers and eating some more great food. Funny lil story that happened on my way to the bus station to return to Burkina. Im in the taxi alone with the same driver (Felix) that drove us around previously on our trip.

Felix: "So I see your parents left already. How did your mom like the trip? That was your mom right?
Me: "Well actually she's my stepmom"

Felix: "Ooooohhh! I THOUGHT so. I knew she couldn't be your mom. I knew it because you are so tall, and she's much shorter"

Me: "Oh yes...you're right" but what I'm thinking is "Uh...yeah. I'm taller. THAT'S the main difference people see between me and Keiko. Not the fact that she's Japanese."

Ghana was all so relaxing. But the 25 hr return bus ride quickly got me used to life in Burkina. Stepping off the bus, the incredible heat blasting into my face. The dust instantly gushing up into my nose and turning my clothes a rusty red. Taxi drivers hounding me, "Nassarra!" ringing in my ears.

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