I had a nice long chat with Christina

Hello all,

I heard from Christina yesterday by way of a phone building that is barely more than a booth. She rode her bike to this site, which is just outside Ouahigouya. She pays via a meter for her time, and then I call her back. We had a nice long talk and it was wonderful.
She is well--in fact, very healthy so far. As many of half of the volunteers have gotten sick already. I’ve given her probiotics to keep her immune system strong. And of course, she takes malaria pills every week.
I was standing the the sunny, 85 degree heat today thinking of her as she slogs her way through 105+ temperatures with humidity. “You want to die in the middle of the day,” she says.
The night before, there were storm rumblings in the sky because the rainy season is almost upon them. The farm animals were running around screaming all night, so she got little sleep and then rose at first light at 5:30 am, when their day begins. I’m imagining Chicken Little with “The sky is falling” hysterics!
Christina says the animals are everywhere: in the huts, in the latrine, in the shower, in the common open areas with thatched roofed coverings. In the mornings she goes and says good morning to her host family parents and there are always ten or more animals around them. At night she wishes them a good evening.
When the Burkinabé greet each other, it is never with a simple hello. You commonly ask about each other’s health, sleep, family and more. You can exchange greetings with each person for as long as 15 minutes. Just as well--Christina says you break into a sweat just by moving!
Her family’s father, “Baba”, gave her a gift of a small goat. One of her “sisters” said that this makes her an offical sister of the family.
When she and others met the chief of about 40 villages, they brought him a chicken. They also met the Iman, or religious leader.
For breakfast everyday there is coffee and bread . But for Christina, one of the brothers makes her three eggs. For lunch and dinner there is always a staple such as rice, potatoes, yams, or millet. Sometimes the staple is spaghetti with elbow macaroni! In addition there is always some kind of sauce such as peanut or cabbage and tomato with a little meat. Another common dish consists of peas with a sauce. Some sauces are spicy. The most common dish, sometimes eaten for all meals is “to” (spelling? pronounced with a long o). This is a pasty dough made of millet and eaten with the fingers.
Christina is living with Peul people who are herders and who speak Fulfude. She is learning ther language aw well as the language of the Mooré people who are crop farmers. Mooré is the first language that she is expected to learn in this country of 50 languages!
For these three months of training, there are four Peace Corps volunteers in her village. They get their training in the village and in the city. Next week, for example, a vehicle will drive them into the city for one day and they will bike it back. The rest of the week will be spent in the village. Other weeks, there may be more days in the city with some overnight stays.
Some of you have asked what you can send her. For the first three months, just things that will get used up, and the lighter the better. She would love packets of Gatorade powder or the like, to flavor the gallons of filtered and purified water she consumes to stay hydrated. Small boxes of matches from your favorite retaurants would also be helpful. She needs them herself for her kerosene lantern and the local people love to receive unusual and interesting boxes of matches. So you can make many people happy with these smallest of items. Cliff Bars and Power Bars or the like would also be appreciated.
I just sent four lbs of goods air mail and it cost me about $40. So that’s about $10 per pound. She will also have to pay at her end.
Her address is:

Christina Sobiloff, PCT
S/C Corps de la Paix
01 B.P. 6031
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Africa
Despite the challenges, Christina is very happy. She really likes the other volunteers and the Burkinabé. The kids are cute, the food is great and healthy, the training is intensive and she is relishing the experience. And your good vibes are the wind beneath her wings!

Love,
Imelda