OK, from now on I'm going to blog with photos IN my posts...
Here are the old ones in case anyone got to missing 'em.
01 September 2008
09 August 2008
Update - 9 August 2008
June was a transition month. School ended, the fonctionnaires moved out, the community waited for rain, and once it had come, they went to the fields to work. July was a busy month! And August is shaping up to be very busy too... So I hope you are all enjoying the summer in the USA, and elsewhere. I'm thinking of you! Thank you for checking out my blog.
June
School officially ends on June 15 but, in reality, slows down to a stop one or two months before that. In April the teachers complained that it was too hot to teach, in May they claimed that the school-year was over. By the middle of May the teachers and students had thrown in the towel. I left village around May 24 for a "Training of Trainers" in Ouahigouya. When I came back at the beginning of June, all the teachers had left. The school director stayed to coordinate the end-of-elementary school exam on June 10-12. This year Belehede was selected to become a testing center. The village was very proud to be hosting the exam. Out of the 15 of our students who took this exam, however, only 6 passed. Only 1 of the 6 is a girl. That means that the 5 girls and 10 boys who failed the exam will either drop out of school or repeat 6th grade. Some of them have already repeated this grade or another one. The 6 students who passed the exam may or may not go on to junior high school. This depends on many things: whether or not the student's family has relatives in a town with a junior high school - the closest schools are 40, 50, and 70 kilometers away; whether or not the family can afford to pay the school fees and the costs of transportation for the child; whether or not the patriarch is actually committed to sending this child on for more school, etc. I'll let you know what happens with these children.
With all the teachers gone, the summer in Belehede is a different place. Volleyball transitioned from an all-fonctionnaire to an all-villager game and then ended for the year. Once it begins raining, Burkinabe farmers spend ALL day, every day working the fields. High noon in Belehede at the beginning of the rainy season (before everything becomes really green) is like the Wild, Wild West after the gold ran out. Completely deserted. Man, woman, and child are all out in the fields tilling land, pulling up old growth and weeds, planting seeds, carrying food out to family members, supervising work animals, fetching water, etc.
Basically, some people left town, and all the rest started getting really busy. Luckily I already had a lot planned for myself: 2 weeks of working at Pre-Service Training in July, 3 weeks of girls' camps in July and August, VAC* meetings in July and September, and the swearing-in ceremony of the new volunteers at the end of August. I also had a few guests (fellow volunteers) in June which was really fun. We made cookies, village pizza, goat stew, tuna burgers; traded stories; slept outside under the stars... all lined up on thin mattresses on my porch... anyway it was a nice couple of days with my June guests.
I started one new project upon the request of some enthusiastic village friends: Friday night English club. So far so good, we've had 6 meetings with about 15 people each time. Before the first meeting I told my guy friends that I would start this English club on this condition: "You bring a notebook, a pen, and a women." I told them I was not interested in starting any dudes-only activities, obviously, so I sent them out to find interested, motivated femmes. We've got at least 5, so, not bad.
July
At the beginning of July, I spent two weeks in Ouahigouya working as a Peace Corps Volunteer Facilitator, (PCVF). A new group of trainees arrived in country on June 11 and settled into the same training city and host villages as we did one year ago. It was great meeting these people. They are an enthusiastic and fun group. It was also great to facilitate and finally be one among the experienced volunteers. Still, I tried not to tell them this is how it is because every volunteer's experience is honestly so different. As PCVFs we shared experiences, answered questions, and of course, facilitated technical training sessions. "How to incorporate theater and radio broadcast into your service," "How to start a girls' club," or "How to use Participatory Analysis for Community Action, (PACA)" are some examples of GEE technical training topics. We also sat in on medical, security, and cross-cultural sessions to share what we cook in village, how we deal with stress and harassment, and what we've learned through our cross-cultural experiences.
On July 4th, the trainees threw a kick-@$ party with great food and traditional Burkinabe music. We ate, danced, and celebrated American Independence. The downside to the fantastic meal was that more than half of the trainees subsequently got really sick. Ha! Since about 30 people helped prepare the food...who knows what did it? Bottom line, they all got better and no one quit. No harm done! ;)
I spent one night with my former host family in Komsiliga which was wonderful. It had been one full year since I had seen them or been reminded of their immense warmth and uniqueness as a family. Upon my arrival, every female member of the family, including the very old grandmother, came literally running up to me to throw her arms around me and say hello, welcome back. I saw baby Megan. Do you all remember how I named a baby? Well, I really, really did. Megan Tall is on the child's birth certificate and they all call the baby by her American (Irish-American) name. Megan McSherry and Meaghan Griffith you are the namesakes for a beautiful girl! She is healthy, sweet as anything, not afraid of white people, lovable, and beautiful like her mother. My camera was not working at the time but the trainee staying with the family this time around took pictures and promised to send them to me.
The next two weeks were a whirlwind. I collaborated with two other volunteers to host the first two of three one-week girls' camps we're organizing this summer. The first camp was in Belehede with 25 girls. The second was in Tongomayel (David's site) with 16. We organized three major blocks of activity per day: 8:00-10:00 for life skills training; 10:30-12:15 for theater; and 3:00-5:00 for sports, music, or art. In Belehede, the girls arrived at 7:30 for a half hour of warm-ups/ organizing for the day and went home for lunch but we gave them a snack during the morning break. For both camps we held opening and closing ceremonies with the parents at the beginning and end of the week. In between the ceremonies were 5 full days of activities that were scheduled as described above. In Belehede we wound up adding two more mornings of theater practice, at the request of the girls, before their final performances in front of their parents at the closing ceremony. Before each individual activity we also tried to incorporate an icebreaker or warm-up to keep it interesting.
Basically, this project was awesome. It was by far and away my favorite initiative as a Peace Corps Volunteer so far. We talked about self-esteem and assertiveness, role models, HIV/AIDS, and income generating activities. We introduced the girls to kickboxing and yoga, had them create collages from magazine cutouts, and taught them a little bit about music with the help of a guitar and battery-operated keyboard. But best of all - from my perspective - was our experience with theater. These girls who started the week loathe to raise their heads above their desks from beneath their arms and hands to answer a question... created, practiced, perfected, and performed three mini-plays. Then they showed up to the closing and actually performed before their parents and neighbors! It was almost unbelievable... to see them have comedic timing, remember not to turn their backs to the audience, speak loud and clear enough for the audience to hear, support and help each other get it right, engage completely in their productions... It was awesome. For now, I will leave it at that. This is just an update, in any case. Next time I blog though, I will tell a story with less information and more detail.
August
Finally, in August, I am here in Ouaga finishing up my Mid-Service Conference. We have been here for over a year! As you can see, things are still going very well. But I love, love, hearing from you so thank you for commenting on the blog, emailing, mailing, and calling me. You guys are so great.
Miss you all and hope to hear from you soon. Much love....
*Volunteer Action Committee
June
School officially ends on June 15 but, in reality, slows down to a stop one or two months before that. In April the teachers complained that it was too hot to teach, in May they claimed that the school-year was over. By the middle of May the teachers and students had thrown in the towel. I left village around May 24 for a "Training of Trainers" in Ouahigouya. When I came back at the beginning of June, all the teachers had left. The school director stayed to coordinate the end-of-elementary school exam on June 10-12. This year Belehede was selected to become a testing center. The village was very proud to be hosting the exam. Out of the 15 of our students who took this exam, however, only 6 passed. Only 1 of the 6 is a girl. That means that the 5 girls and 10 boys who failed the exam will either drop out of school or repeat 6th grade. Some of them have already repeated this grade or another one. The 6 students who passed the exam may or may not go on to junior high school. This depends on many things: whether or not the student's family has relatives in a town with a junior high school - the closest schools are 40, 50, and 70 kilometers away; whether or not the family can afford to pay the school fees and the costs of transportation for the child; whether or not the patriarch is actually committed to sending this child on for more school, etc. I'll let you know what happens with these children.
With all the teachers gone, the summer in Belehede is a different place. Volleyball transitioned from an all-fonctionnaire to an all-villager game and then ended for the year. Once it begins raining, Burkinabe farmers spend ALL day, every day working the fields. High noon in Belehede at the beginning of the rainy season (before everything becomes really green) is like the Wild, Wild West after the gold ran out. Completely deserted. Man, woman, and child are all out in the fields tilling land, pulling up old growth and weeds, planting seeds, carrying food out to family members, supervising work animals, fetching water, etc.
Basically, some people left town, and all the rest started getting really busy. Luckily I already had a lot planned for myself: 2 weeks of working at Pre-Service Training in July, 3 weeks of girls' camps in July and August, VAC* meetings in July and September, and the swearing-in ceremony of the new volunteers at the end of August. I also had a few guests (fellow volunteers) in June which was really fun. We made cookies, village pizza, goat stew, tuna burgers; traded stories; slept outside under the stars... all lined up on thin mattresses on my porch... anyway it was a nice couple of days with my June guests.
I started one new project upon the request of some enthusiastic village friends: Friday night English club. So far so good, we've had 6 meetings with about 15 people each time. Before the first meeting I told my guy friends that I would start this English club on this condition: "You bring a notebook, a pen, and a women." I told them I was not interested in starting any dudes-only activities, obviously, so I sent them out to find interested, motivated femmes. We've got at least 5, so, not bad.
July
At the beginning of July, I spent two weeks in Ouahigouya working as a Peace Corps Volunteer Facilitator, (PCVF). A new group of trainees arrived in country on June 11 and settled into the same training city and host villages as we did one year ago. It was great meeting these people. They are an enthusiastic and fun group. It was also great to facilitate and finally be one among the experienced volunteers. Still, I tried not to tell them this is how it is because every volunteer's experience is honestly so different. As PCVFs we shared experiences, answered questions, and of course, facilitated technical training sessions. "How to incorporate theater and radio broadcast into your service," "How to start a girls' club," or "How to use Participatory Analysis for Community Action, (PACA)" are some examples of GEE technical training topics. We also sat in on medical, security, and cross-cultural sessions to share what we cook in village, how we deal with stress and harassment, and what we've learned through our cross-cultural experiences.
On July 4th, the trainees threw a kick-@$ party with great food and traditional Burkinabe music. We ate, danced, and celebrated American Independence. The downside to the fantastic meal was that more than half of the trainees subsequently got really sick. Ha! Since about 30 people helped prepare the food...who knows what did it? Bottom line, they all got better and no one quit. No harm done! ;)
I spent one night with my former host family in Komsiliga which was wonderful. It had been one full year since I had seen them or been reminded of their immense warmth and uniqueness as a family. Upon my arrival, every female member of the family, including the very old grandmother, came literally running up to me to throw her arms around me and say hello, welcome back. I saw baby Megan. Do you all remember how I named a baby? Well, I really, really did. Megan Tall is on the child's birth certificate and they all call the baby by her American (Irish-American) name. Megan McSherry and Meaghan Griffith you are the namesakes for a beautiful girl! She is healthy, sweet as anything, not afraid of white people, lovable, and beautiful like her mother. My camera was not working at the time but the trainee staying with the family this time around took pictures and promised to send them to me.
The next two weeks were a whirlwind. I collaborated with two other volunteers to host the first two of three one-week girls' camps we're organizing this summer. The first camp was in Belehede with 25 girls. The second was in Tongomayel (David's site) with 16. We organized three major blocks of activity per day: 8:00-10:00 for life skills training; 10:30-12:15 for theater; and 3:00-5:00 for sports, music, or art. In Belehede, the girls arrived at 7:30 for a half hour of warm-ups/ organizing for the day and went home for lunch but we gave them a snack during the morning break. For both camps we held opening and closing ceremonies with the parents at the beginning and end of the week. In between the ceremonies were 5 full days of activities that were scheduled as described above. In Belehede we wound up adding two more mornings of theater practice, at the request of the girls, before their final performances in front of their parents at the closing ceremony. Before each individual activity we also tried to incorporate an icebreaker or warm-up to keep it interesting.
Basically, this project was awesome. It was by far and away my favorite initiative as a Peace Corps Volunteer so far. We talked about self-esteem and assertiveness, role models, HIV/AIDS, and income generating activities. We introduced the girls to kickboxing and yoga, had them create collages from magazine cutouts, and taught them a little bit about music with the help of a guitar and battery-operated keyboard. But best of all - from my perspective - was our experience with theater. These girls who started the week loathe to raise their heads above their desks from beneath their arms and hands to answer a question... created, practiced, perfected, and performed three mini-plays. Then they showed up to the closing and actually performed before their parents and neighbors! It was almost unbelievable... to see them have comedic timing, remember not to turn their backs to the audience, speak loud and clear enough for the audience to hear, support and help each other get it right, engage completely in their productions... It was awesome. For now, I will leave it at that. This is just an update, in any case. Next time I blog though, I will tell a story with less information and more detail.
August
Finally, in August, I am here in Ouaga finishing up my Mid-Service Conference. We have been here for over a year! As you can see, things are still going very well. But I love, love, hearing from you so thank you for commenting on the blog, emailing, mailing, and calling me. You guys are so great.
Miss you all and hope to hear from you soon. Much love....
*Volunteer Action Committee
07 August 2008
01 June 2008
Update - 2 June 2008
Greetings everyone! Here's an overview of the last few months. Please note that I just made THREE NEW POSTS. The other two can be found, below.
March
Following International Women's day on March 8, I had the happy privilege to meet up with my real family without ever leaving the continent! My mother, father, and brother met me in Morocco where we had a wonderful family vacation. Morocco was beautiful and fascinating. I especially appreciated my family's reaction to their first "call to prayer" at four in the morning in Fez: they were terrified. The sound was (honestly) haunting - as if there were hundreds of voices crying from every direction - from muethins at mosques all over the city using megaphones, loudspeakers, or just powerful voices. A muethin is a Muslim man who calls from a mosque five times a day to remind his community to come out and pray. At four in the morning he chants "God is great. Praying is better than sleeping."
So, at this point I have un-regrettably used a majority of my vacation days. I am saving the rest for future visitors (hint, hint) and I can't wait to host those of you who have said that you'll come! ;)
I have no plans to return the United States until my service is done.
I spent the end of March mostly easing back into village life after a relatively lengthy vacation. The teachers had been on break around the same time but were not yet back when I returned so I found it difficult to get much done when many people were not around. At this time I was still waiting to organize action steps regarding the needs cited by the population.
April/May
In April we officially said goodbye to the group of volunteers in our sectors who came to Burkina one year before us. They had their "COS" conference or their "Close Of Service". Of course, most of them are not leaving until July or August which is good because we really like most of them and don't want them to go. But I guess it's just the circle of life now, isn't it? Each time a group "COSes" we throw a big party in Ouaga to celebrate. This group's theme was "beach OR superheroes" and the day was full of fun, group-friendly activities like sector vs. sector kickball, brunch, pool time, trivia, flip cup, etc. Girls' Education came in dead last in most of the day's events. So much for Empowerment. :|
We also had our first VAC (Volunteer Action Committee) meeting with the new Peace Corps Burkina Director, Doug Teschner. From his first day in the office, Doug has been enthusiastically getting to know every Burkina volunteer. His efforts are impressive and appreciated. The meetings went well and it looks like PC Burkina is heading in a good, new direction with improved communication between volunteers and the PC “bureau” (office).
My fabulously-fit running partners abandoned me after only one month of training. :( Apparently, running in cheap plastic sandals wasn't working out for Issiaka. Otherwise both he and Djibilirou had to start building and repairing houses anyway before the cultivating season. So I am back to running occasionally and slowly while cursing myself for not being more disciplined or in generally better shape.
I lost all the music on my ipod through some it-could-only-happen-to-me glitch that involved me plugging the device into a wall and then discovering that then all my music was gone. I did not have music for about four months. Seriously. Anyway, thank goodness I just got it fixed by a tech-savvy friend and finally I'm listening away! Phew! How did I do it? No music for four months...
I have begun to help the equivalent of sixth grade students study for their end-of-elementary school exam. If they do not pass this exam on June 10th, they CANNOT continue on the junior high. Therefore, I have been playing Jeopardy with them once or twice a week and generally encouraging them to take studying seriously. I ask you to hope, cross your fingers, and pray that most of these kids pass this June 10th exam because it is NOT a give-in. I suspect there is one child in the class who still does not actually know how to read. Whenever I asked him to read something off the board, all of his classmates chimed in to tell him every single word. So it's either that or the kid needs glasses...
I have also started facilitating life skills discussions on communication, decision-making, and relationships in a French literacy classroom. My village has three literacy programs - one in Koranfe, another in Koranfe and French, and a third less established one in Fulfulde. The French literacy program was just started this year but already seems to be successful. The sponsoring organization actually provides money to pay the students. This is great because it encourages the students and helps to account for their missed money-making opportunities while in the classroom.
My girls club has come to an end but volunteers in my region are planning to organize three girls camps during the summer. One will be in Béléhédé, one in David's Tongomayel, and another in our provincial capital, Djibo. It should be fun.
The majority of the "village needs" continue to be unaddressed. I am definitely finding it difficult to mobilize the community to take concrete actions. However, I had one small success regarding the community's desire for a second primary school. We took the necessary first step - a formal request to the regional director of primary education. Following protocol, I personally delivered the request to the school inspector. That way, I was able to articulate how much the community prioritizes education. I was able to explain that among all the needs they cited during my "Needs Analysis" activity, the top two were related to education. The earliest we could get a second primary school would be the school year of 2009-2010 but do not get your hopes up, people.
Finally, volleyball. This is going great because we still play most nights. It's competitive and fun. No women play except me but I have temporarily come to terms with this. On the court, players have no choice but to treat me as an equal. Only two of us in the group have played off of Béléhédé's makeshift court. Its me and the men - barefoot in dirty, thorny, sand with large branches for posts and a ripped up, sagging net. Every night they separate me from the other experienced player. They organize the game around us. We alternate as the first two picks because neither always wins but it's almost always our match. We joke around and call other players "the pro", "the solid old man", "the attacker", and "the expert". They never call me “the pro”. They also never call me “the woman”. One day during a discussion the men admitted to me that they think of my like a "boy" (garcon) - you know – almost one of them. Is it for fear of the better word? It is a complement to be thought of like a garcon…
The fact is, I've never even heard them refer to me as a woman on the court. They use other descriptives for players like "the old man", "the Dogon", "the Peul", "the young one", "the teachers", "the short/tall one", "the counselor", "the solid one". So, sometimes I call myself "the woman". Sometimes I go out-of-my-way to remind them. But the effort falls on deaf ears: the men are not really ready to share the court.
March
Following International Women's day on March 8, I had the happy privilege to meet up with my real family without ever leaving the continent! My mother, father, and brother met me in Morocco where we had a wonderful family vacation. Morocco was beautiful and fascinating. I especially appreciated my family's reaction to their first "call to prayer" at four in the morning in Fez: they were terrified. The sound was (honestly) haunting - as if there were hundreds of voices crying from every direction - from muethins at mosques all over the city using megaphones, loudspeakers, or just powerful voices. A muethin is a Muslim man who calls from a mosque five times a day to remind his community to come out and pray. At four in the morning he chants "God is great. Praying is better than sleeping."
So, at this point I have un-regrettably used a majority of my vacation days. I am saving the rest for future visitors (hint, hint) and I can't wait to host those of you who have said that you'll come! ;)
I have no plans to return the United States until my service is done.
I spent the end of March mostly easing back into village life after a relatively lengthy vacation. The teachers had been on break around the same time but were not yet back when I returned so I found it difficult to get much done when many people were not around. At this time I was still waiting to organize action steps regarding the needs cited by the population.
April/May
In April we officially said goodbye to the group of volunteers in our sectors who came to Burkina one year before us. They had their "COS" conference or their "Close Of Service". Of course, most of them are not leaving until July or August which is good because we really like most of them and don't want them to go. But I guess it's just the circle of life now, isn't it? Each time a group "COSes" we throw a big party in Ouaga to celebrate. This group's theme was "beach OR superheroes" and the day was full of fun, group-friendly activities like sector vs. sector kickball, brunch, pool time, trivia, flip cup, etc. Girls' Education came in dead last in most of the day's events. So much for Empowerment. :|
We also had our first VAC (Volunteer Action Committee) meeting with the new Peace Corps Burkina Director, Doug Teschner. From his first day in the office, Doug has been enthusiastically getting to know every Burkina volunteer. His efforts are impressive and appreciated. The meetings went well and it looks like PC Burkina is heading in a good, new direction with improved communication between volunteers and the PC “bureau” (office).
My fabulously-fit running partners abandoned me after only one month of training. :( Apparently, running in cheap plastic sandals wasn't working out for Issiaka. Otherwise both he and Djibilirou had to start building and repairing houses anyway before the cultivating season. So I am back to running occasionally and slowly while cursing myself for not being more disciplined or in generally better shape.
I lost all the music on my ipod through some it-could-only-happen-to-me glitch that involved me plugging the device into a wall and then discovering that then all my music was gone. I did not have music for about four months. Seriously. Anyway, thank goodness I just got it fixed by a tech-savvy friend and finally I'm listening away! Phew! How did I do it? No music for four months...
I have begun to help the equivalent of sixth grade students study for their end-of-elementary school exam. If they do not pass this exam on June 10th, they CANNOT continue on the junior high. Therefore, I have been playing Jeopardy with them once or twice a week and generally encouraging them to take studying seriously. I ask you to hope, cross your fingers, and pray that most of these kids pass this June 10th exam because it is NOT a give-in. I suspect there is one child in the class who still does not actually know how to read. Whenever I asked him to read something off the board, all of his classmates chimed in to tell him every single word. So it's either that or the kid needs glasses...
I have also started facilitating life skills discussions on communication, decision-making, and relationships in a French literacy classroom. My village has three literacy programs - one in Koranfe, another in Koranfe and French, and a third less established one in Fulfulde. The French literacy program was just started this year but already seems to be successful. The sponsoring organization actually provides money to pay the students. This is great because it encourages the students and helps to account for their missed money-making opportunities while in the classroom.
My girls club has come to an end but volunteers in my region are planning to organize three girls camps during the summer. One will be in Béléhédé, one in David's Tongomayel, and another in our provincial capital, Djibo. It should be fun.
The majority of the "village needs" continue to be unaddressed. I am definitely finding it difficult to mobilize the community to take concrete actions. However, I had one small success regarding the community's desire for a second primary school. We took the necessary first step - a formal request to the regional director of primary education. Following protocol, I personally delivered the request to the school inspector. That way, I was able to articulate how much the community prioritizes education. I was able to explain that among all the needs they cited during my "Needs Analysis" activity, the top two were related to education. The earliest we could get a second primary school would be the school year of 2009-2010 but do not get your hopes up, people.
Finally, volleyball. This is going great because we still play most nights. It's competitive and fun. No women play except me but I have temporarily come to terms with this. On the court, players have no choice but to treat me as an equal. Only two of us in the group have played off of Béléhédé's makeshift court. Its me and the men - barefoot in dirty, thorny, sand with large branches for posts and a ripped up, sagging net. Every night they separate me from the other experienced player. They organize the game around us. We alternate as the first two picks because neither always wins but it's almost always our match. We joke around and call other players "the pro", "the solid old man", "the attacker", and "the expert". They never call me “the pro”. They also never call me “the woman”. One day during a discussion the men admitted to me that they think of my like a "boy" (garcon) - you know – almost one of them. Is it for fear of the better word? It is a complement to be thought of like a garcon…
The fact is, I've never even heard them refer to me as a woman on the court. They use other descriptives for players like "the old man", "the Dogon", "the Peul", "the young one", "the teachers", "the short/tall one", "the counselor", "the solid one". So, sometimes I call myself "the woman". Sometimes I go out-of-my-way to remind them. But the effort falls on deaf ears: the men are not really ready to share the court.
31 May 2008
Living in the present
Hello everyone! Once again, it’s been almost three months since my last post. Time flies!
Well, I love Burkina Faso. Not hopelessly, or overwhelmingly, or unconditionally or anything like that. It's not like I won't want to come home when it’s all done. I will! But I do love it here right now. I love Peace Corps service. Maybe this is interesting - for me, being a Peace Corps Volunteer is like having two present and active lives. My third life is the life at home in America. Yes, here in Burkina I live two separate and not quite equal lives. Most of the time (when you're not hearing from me) I am in or around my village removed from electricity, running water, toilets, cold drinks, bananas, vegetables, and most other fruits. (Although right now Béléhédé has mangos and guavas!) I present myself differently; I wear different clothes, I speak adjusted French and some local language. I've got my friends and my habits which include sitting around drinking small shot glasses of foamy, strong, green tea with sugar; working on local language in a (honestly) filthy, fly-ridden mud hut on a worn, ripped-up straw mat; playing volleyball most nights barefoot in dirty, (sometimes punishing) sand; interacting with some school children and all their teachers; and often walking around village trying to track down meetings that never happened or information that is somehow, perpetually just a bit further away. I eat with someone's family almost every day and sometimes twice a day. In people's courtyards we are surrounded by chickens, goats, sheep, guinea fowl, sometimes ducks or even bunnies, and always children. I respond to a local name, or several names to foreign ears, although I know that they are all the same thing. I use my right hand for everything. I often use only my hand to eat.
When I'm with Americans, it’s different. We dress in pants and tank tops. We complain in English (whereas Burkinabé complain in French, n'est ce pas?) We do not say hello to EVERY single person along the road or in the street. We do not stop to shake hands with strangers or even greet each individual friend when we enter a room. We do not invite strangers to eat. We drink beer, we hug, and we touch. We talk on our cell phones for extended periods of time and we receive enormous, gratuitous packages. We laugh, a lot. We talk about where we want to travel, next. The Peace Corps community is vibrant, mostly young, fresh... Sometimes, with some special friends, you can mix your two lives as a Peace Corps Volunteer. When you are integrated into your community, sometimes you'll act similarly when you are out of it. But in Ouaga with other Americans you are compelled to make a choice. Some volunteers won't ever invite you or strangers to eat; some won't greet people on the street. This is the city, for goodness sake. The other white people don't do that. Volunteers in a group speak ENGLISH. There's no two ways about that. Unless, of course, you're with an American who doesn't speak English as a first language… My friends Yaneth and Kim are Columbian-American. One even received her citizenship just before joining Peace Corps. Volunteers like these learn the host country culture AND the American culture all at once! I'm personally learning more about Americans, in this diverse but very American group, than ever before.
Well the point is, I guess, that sometimes, I think about my two faces. In village - here are some of the things my community thinks - Adjara is sporty and likes to do sports. For example she runs and plays volleyball. She is not married (or is she?). She does not have children but wants them one day. She wants a husband one day too (for those who really "know" me!) Adjara likes to debate. She does not speak "our language." Adjara does not drink or go out at night. She can dance well but we have only seen her do it once or twice. She comes from America and is therefore rich. She is white - our white person. She likes children and gives them empty bottles, cans, or cartons at her house. She is here to help girls and maybe women. She smiles a lot and likes to travel in and out of village. She is not Muslim but also does not go to church. She does not believe in genies. (Actually only the teachers know that and they are still trying to convince me of the facts of black magic.) She walks around village but when she leaves she rides a bike. She is courageuse (courageous) because she came all the way to Africa from America with no one and moved into the bush and lives alone. I haven't heard them say it yet but they probably think I am crazy too.
Peace Corps Volunteers are crazy. And they are diverse. They come from all over the country and from all different backgrounds, orientations, age groups, religions, and experiences. African-American volunteers in Burkina are called "white person". Latino-Americans experience the same thing. Asian-Americans are called Bruce Lee and Chinese. Married women are called by their husband's first or last name. Homosexual volunteers are advised not to reveal their sexuality to any locals lest they endanger their safety and security. Outside of Peace Corps meetings, I have never heard any Burkinabé even breach the subject of homosexuality. They do not believe it even exists.
This was supposed to be an "update post" but it turned into a tangent about my lifestyles. I will type an update tomorrow. To finish this up though, for now, I'll tell you what I did today and what I did days ago. Today and yesterday I ordered food to the transit house, ate a salad and humus and beer out last night, I watched part of a movie, and sat and sleep in front of standing fans on a real bed, drank water from a freezer that had turned to ice. A few days ago, I held a life skills discussion on assertiveness in a French/Koranfe literacy class; I ate rice with beans and oil sauce; I played volleyball with a bunch of men whose single or multiple wives were home cooking for them while breast-feeding their babies; I walked around village fanning myself with a ever-present hand fan (it's my third arm), and fleeing from brutal sun; I drank warm water; I went to bed not long after the sun. Right now in front of me seven friends are sitting in front of a standing fan and a laptop, on a couch, watching The Office. We just got wireless internet in our Ouagadougou transit house. I can smell someone cooking something in the kitchen. I can see two other people reading an American gossip magazine and Newsweek respectively. I am personally listening to Lauren Hill, Norah Jones, the Cranberries, and Radiohead on my ipod after about 4 or 5 months without music (seriously) because the ipod temporarily broke. This is borrowed music since all mine got erased. A few days ago I would have listened to the BBC news on my (broken) shortwave radio. Often I listen to World Have Your Say and Focus on Africa while cooking or sometimes doing yoga.
The food in the kitchen was popcorn and thankfully, most volunteers do share.
Well, I love Burkina Faso. Not hopelessly, or overwhelmingly, or unconditionally or anything like that. It's not like I won't want to come home when it’s all done. I will! But I do love it here right now. I love Peace Corps service. Maybe this is interesting - for me, being a Peace Corps Volunteer is like having two present and active lives. My third life is the life at home in America. Yes, here in Burkina I live two separate and not quite equal lives. Most of the time (when you're not hearing from me) I am in or around my village removed from electricity, running water, toilets, cold drinks, bananas, vegetables, and most other fruits. (Although right now Béléhédé has mangos and guavas!) I present myself differently; I wear different clothes, I speak adjusted French and some local language. I've got my friends and my habits which include sitting around drinking small shot glasses of foamy, strong, green tea with sugar; working on local language in a (honestly) filthy, fly-ridden mud hut on a worn, ripped-up straw mat; playing volleyball most nights barefoot in dirty, (sometimes punishing) sand; interacting with some school children and all their teachers; and often walking around village trying to track down meetings that never happened or information that is somehow, perpetually just a bit further away. I eat with someone's family almost every day and sometimes twice a day. In people's courtyards we are surrounded by chickens, goats, sheep, guinea fowl, sometimes ducks or even bunnies, and always children. I respond to a local name, or several names to foreign ears, although I know that they are all the same thing. I use my right hand for everything. I often use only my hand to eat.
When I'm with Americans, it’s different. We dress in pants and tank tops. We complain in English (whereas Burkinabé complain in French, n'est ce pas?) We do not say hello to EVERY single person along the road or in the street. We do not stop to shake hands with strangers or even greet each individual friend when we enter a room. We do not invite strangers to eat. We drink beer, we hug, and we touch. We talk on our cell phones for extended periods of time and we receive enormous, gratuitous packages. We laugh, a lot. We talk about where we want to travel, next. The Peace Corps community is vibrant, mostly young, fresh... Sometimes, with some special friends, you can mix your two lives as a Peace Corps Volunteer. When you are integrated into your community, sometimes you'll act similarly when you are out of it. But in Ouaga with other Americans you are compelled to make a choice. Some volunteers won't ever invite you or strangers to eat; some won't greet people on the street. This is the city, for goodness sake. The other white people don't do that. Volunteers in a group speak ENGLISH. There's no two ways about that. Unless, of course, you're with an American who doesn't speak English as a first language… My friends Yaneth and Kim are Columbian-American. One even received her citizenship just before joining Peace Corps. Volunteers like these learn the host country culture AND the American culture all at once! I'm personally learning more about Americans, in this diverse but very American group, than ever before.
Well the point is, I guess, that sometimes, I think about my two faces. In village - here are some of the things my community thinks - Adjara is sporty and likes to do sports. For example she runs and plays volleyball. She is not married (or is she?). She does not have children but wants them one day. She wants a husband one day too (for those who really "know" me!) Adjara likes to debate. She does not speak "our language." Adjara does not drink or go out at night. She can dance well but we have only seen her do it once or twice. She comes from America and is therefore rich. She is white - our white person. She likes children and gives them empty bottles, cans, or cartons at her house. She is here to help girls and maybe women. She smiles a lot and likes to travel in and out of village. She is not Muslim but also does not go to church. She does not believe in genies. (Actually only the teachers know that and they are still trying to convince me of the facts of black magic.) She walks around village but when she leaves she rides a bike. She is courageuse (courageous) because she came all the way to Africa from America with no one and moved into the bush and lives alone. I haven't heard them say it yet but they probably think I am crazy too.
Peace Corps Volunteers are crazy. And they are diverse. They come from all over the country and from all different backgrounds, orientations, age groups, religions, and experiences. African-American volunteers in Burkina are called "white person". Latino-Americans experience the same thing. Asian-Americans are called Bruce Lee and Chinese. Married women are called by their husband's first or last name. Homosexual volunteers are advised not to reveal their sexuality to any locals lest they endanger their safety and security. Outside of Peace Corps meetings, I have never heard any Burkinabé even breach the subject of homosexuality. They do not believe it even exists.
This was supposed to be an "update post" but it turned into a tangent about my lifestyles. I will type an update tomorrow. To finish this up though, for now, I'll tell you what I did today and what I did days ago. Today and yesterday I ordered food to the transit house, ate a salad and humus and beer out last night, I watched part of a movie, and sat and sleep in front of standing fans on a real bed, drank water from a freezer that had turned to ice. A few days ago, I held a life skills discussion on assertiveness in a French/Koranfe literacy class; I ate rice with beans and oil sauce; I played volleyball with a bunch of men whose single or multiple wives were home cooking for them while breast-feeding their babies; I walked around village fanning myself with a ever-present hand fan (it's my third arm), and fleeing from brutal sun; I drank warm water; I went to bed not long after the sun. Right now in front of me seven friends are sitting in front of a standing fan and a laptop, on a couch, watching The Office. We just got wireless internet in our Ouagadougou transit house. I can smell someone cooking something in the kitchen. I can see two other people reading an American gossip magazine and Newsweek respectively. I am personally listening to Lauren Hill, Norah Jones, the Cranberries, and Radiohead on my ipod after about 4 or 5 months without music (seriously) because the ipod temporarily broke. This is borrowed music since all mine got erased. A few days ago I would have listened to the BBC news on my (broken) shortwave radio. Often I listen to World Have Your Say and Focus on Africa while cooking or sometimes doing yoga.
The food in the kitchen was popcorn and thankfully, most volunteers do share.
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