Merry Christmas from Burkina Faso!
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Get Busy
Mosque in Yako:
.
We celebrated Thanksgiving here last month. About 12 of us got together for the holiday. Using a large metal pot, some bricks, and charcoal, I managed to fashion an oven. We used this to bake a 14lb turkey, and 2 apple pies. We of course had all the other accoutrements that the availability of ingredients would allow: Mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, and cranberry sauce from the can. I tried out a new recipe from Saveur Magazine as well, curried creamed onions. They were a hit and were very easy to make. We all ate far too much, drank a bit too much wine, and fell asleep on my porch. It was a nearly perfect Thanksgiving, except for the stark absence of football.
I have a site mate in Yako as well. This worked out rather well as we are good friends. He is a volunteer at the high school, and has been a lot of help getting my computer lab set up at my primary school.
Oh yea, I should mention. I have a computer lab at one of my primary schools. It's the first time I've seen computers at a primary school, and will be a great opportunity for a girls club. As a matter of fact, our first meeting is in 2 days. I spoke with the director of my school and had her select 10 of her most successful CM2 (6th grade) girls. We've got 5 computers and that is all that I think I can handle at the moment. This club will promote the girls' interest in science, math, and technology, as well as give them an early introduction to computers.
Aside from this I've been working with the mother's association at another school. We have been throwing ideas back and forth as to how to earn some money for the school. The school lacks a nice latrine, and a water pump. They currently have a well. They also lost several hundred kilos of beans to infestation. Kids who are fed have more incentive to come to school, and are able to pay better attention. We decided that we would start by making and selling liquid soap. Our first batch was 14L and sold within a day. This next round we'll be making around 70L. Word has spread quickly that our group makes good quality soap.
So things are rather busy at the moment, and hopefully will become more so as I continue my service. I'd like to host a full out girls camp or conference with exceptional girls from throughout the region.
I'll probably stay put for Christmas, and throw a party for volunteers on New Year's eve. Thanks for reading, hope you are enjoying the snow.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Revelations After 15 Months
It just so happens that the 2pm bus from Bobo to Ouaga is full up. This means I'll be taking the first bus tommorow morning. The Bobo office has cleared out. I was left with a package of real coffee, and a French press. Needless to say I'm in the mood to write.
Let us talk for a moment about Islam. Or rather, let me write, and you can read. I don't consider myself an expert on this topic. However, I do believe that my experiences overseas are of value to those who would otherwise remain in the dark regarding one of the most hotly debated topics of our generation. I would like to start by saying: Dear Americans, if you are not Muslim, or have studied the Muslim faith, then you know very little about the topic and should not speak your mind regarding it. Before you even open your mouth, do some research, and listen to those who are more informed than you. But wait, thats not good enough either. Listen to many, many people and sources who know more than you, and then ask questions. Be scholarly. This way you can avoid people who would provide you with divisive misinformation, and come to your own conclusions. There is positively nothing wrong with admitting you are clueless on a topic, and opening your mind.
For those who feel they learned everything they need to know about Islam on 9/11, I beg of you. Please. Go and do some reading. Check out a local Muslim cultural center. Speak with American Muslims in your area, they are your neighbors. You are bad for all of us until you are more informed.
Now I'm not saying that every Muslim should automatically be considered a great person. There are shitheads of every race and denomination. I've certainly met liars and theives in Burkina Faso. Some are Muslim. Others identify themselves as Christian, and/or Animist. All of these people are a minority, and usually not well respected among their neighbors. However, I am constantly moved by the hospitality of the people in this country. I lived in a town that is about 80% Muslim. I was consistently welcomed in to people's homes, and offered a great amount, despite what little they had. People are curious about Americans. When we are able to exchange our cultures, we realize that our values are more similar than different. It hurts me greatly when I hear ignorant, outspoken bigots pass judgement on a group based on the actions of very, very few. It upsets me even more when this is done in the name of patriotism. Unfortunately, our media tends to encourage this type of behavior.
The two articles below are covering the same address from one man. This man is an American, and a Muslim. While the CNN article illustrates the Imam's call for a stronger voice for moderate Muslims, the Fox News article perpetuates a divisive argument with a loaded headline. The fact is, the cultural center, part of which is a mosque, is NOT on hallowed ground. It is however, very near the site of an American tragedy. The Fox News article twists the man's words to make him sound as if he doesn't believe that the former site of the WTC is in some way sacred. This is an obvious attempt by the Muslim-fearing (read, bigoted) right-wing media to smear a man who just wants to see a little more solidarity among his fellow Americans. The real point here is that our media is way off target when it comes to covering what matters, and doing so in a responsible manner.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/09/13/new.york.imam/index.html
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/09/13/imam-says-nyc-mosque-site-hallowed-ground/
Well, this particular missive sort of came out of the blue, and I'm sure that some people will disagree with what I've said. Thanks for reading anyhow, and please comment!
Let us talk for a moment about Islam. Or rather, let me write, and you can read. I don't consider myself an expert on this topic. However, I do believe that my experiences overseas are of value to those who would otherwise remain in the dark regarding one of the most hotly debated topics of our generation. I would like to start by saying: Dear Americans, if you are not Muslim, or have studied the Muslim faith, then you know very little about the topic and should not speak your mind regarding it. Before you even open your mouth, do some research, and listen to those who are more informed than you. But wait, thats not good enough either. Listen to many, many people and sources who know more than you, and then ask questions. Be scholarly. This way you can avoid people who would provide you with divisive misinformation, and come to your own conclusions. There is positively nothing wrong with admitting you are clueless on a topic, and opening your mind.
For those who feel they learned everything they need to know about Islam on 9/11, I beg of you. Please. Go and do some reading. Check out a local Muslim cultural center. Speak with American Muslims in your area, they are your neighbors. You are bad for all of us until you are more informed.
Now I'm not saying that every Muslim should automatically be considered a great person. There are shitheads of every race and denomination. I've certainly met liars and theives in Burkina Faso. Some are Muslim. Others identify themselves as Christian, and/or Animist. All of these people are a minority, and usually not well respected among their neighbors. However, I am constantly moved by the hospitality of the people in this country. I lived in a town that is about 80% Muslim. I was consistently welcomed in to people's homes, and offered a great amount, despite what little they had. People are curious about Americans. When we are able to exchange our cultures, we realize that our values are more similar than different. It hurts me greatly when I hear ignorant, outspoken bigots pass judgement on a group based on the actions of very, very few. It upsets me even more when this is done in the name of patriotism. Unfortunately, our media tends to encourage this type of behavior.
The two articles below are covering the same address from one man. This man is an American, and a Muslim. While the CNN article illustrates the Imam's call for a stronger voice for moderate Muslims, the Fox News article perpetuates a divisive argument with a loaded headline. The fact is, the cultural center, part of which is a mosque, is NOT on hallowed ground. It is however, very near the site of an American tragedy. The Fox News article twists the man's words to make him sound as if he doesn't believe that the former site of the WTC is in some way sacred. This is an obvious attempt by the Muslim-fearing (read, bigoted) right-wing media to smear a man who just wants to see a little more solidarity among his fellow Americans. The real point here is that our media is way off target when it comes to covering what matters, and doing so in a responsible manner.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/09/13/new.york.imam/index.html
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/09/13/imam-says-nyc-mosque-site-hallowed-ground/
Well, this particular missive sort of came out of the blue, and I'm sure that some people will disagree with what I've said. Thanks for reading anyhow, and please comment!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Yako to Bobo
Greetings and salutations faithful readers,
I've been out of touch for the past week or so as I've been participating in a bike tour of Burkina Faso. I met up with the core group of bikers in Yako, my new site. We awoke at 4:30AM, and loaded up our support car, and hit the road at first light. The first leg of the trip was to the village of Toma, the site of PCV Bovard Tiberi. The trip was along dirt roads, which wound through millet fields. It is currently the rainy season so everything is verdant and beautiful. At around 15k we met up with new PCV Nick McGregor, a fellow Spartan, at his site of La-todin (there are about 5 different spellings of this, and the villagers themselves don't seem to have reached a consensus). We continued on, completing the 70k trip mid-afternoon following a lunch stop. Bovard has a rather unique set up. He lives in a private school compound in teacher's housing. The compound is located on top of a hill, which made for a climb to finish out the ride, but provided us with a great view of his village and the countryside. After an ample dinner of chicken and pasta, and a few Brakinas, I set up my bug hut outside under the stars. Ahhhh.
I awoke to the crack of thunder and scrambled to disassemble the tent in a delerium, switching between the task at hand, and looking wildly out at the approaching lightning storm. I managed to make it inside just as the rain started to fall. I slept on the floor and proceded to be devoured by mosquitos. So much for a peaceful night under the stars. When I woke up the next morning, the rain was still falling. Because we were sleeping under a tin roof, it sounded as if God and the devil were engaged in some sort of round-robin tapdance competition with Fred Astaire. Though when I walked outside I realized that it was only lightly raining. We postponed riding and debated our plan of action. Eventually we had a car go and scope out the road. They returned with the good news that everything was passable, and that we would be able to ride on to Dedougou. The rain broke shortly after. We had cloud cover most of the day as we biked one of the more scenic legs of the tour. The road was difficult, but manageable. After about 35K we stopped at a small village to warm up with some hot tea, and learned that the supposed 70k ride was actually closer to 90k. Oops. With 55k of craggy dirt road winding out ahead of us, we pressed on.
Dedougou is a large town, and home to two volunteers. We stopped, caked in mud, chafed, and walking like old-timey cowpokes, at the first bar in town and did some much needed rehydrating. I stayed at PCV Ryan Barthels house, and managed to get a solid night of sleep on a real mattress. Phew. This was easily the most difficult day of the trip.
From Dedougou, we continued south, on the road to Bobo Dioulassou, which is the second largest city in Burkina Faso. From here on out, we would be riding on paved road. The trade off, however, is that we were entering hill country. We did the trip in three legs. We first stopped in the village of Bandukuy. The village is rather small, but has grown in past years with the paved road. We were greeted by the Mayor, an extremely hospitable and welcoming man who made us feel at home in his town. He helped us pump water (read; not normal for a mayor), and bought us lunch. Two other volunteers and I went for a walk around town to stretch our legs and ended up having a beer with the Mayor. He was a very interesting man, who informed us that he had only gone to school through what we would probably consider the 3rd grade. His education has come from cultivating, and living in the village his whole life. When he was in his teens, he told his father that he wished to join the military. His father, a veteran of 20 years, forbade this, for which he is very grateful (it's good to be mayor). After some discussion, we took a small tour of the village in the Mayoral Mercedes, and visited a youth center constructed by a volunteer about 15 years ago. He seemed very interested in getting another volunteer in his town and we were happy to supply him with the necessary contacts. We slept at a primary school, and hit the road early the next day.
Our destination was Satiri, a village located 42k North of Bobo, and home to volunteer Isy Tavarez. Isy was a voluneer in Guinea before coming to Burkina, and has really made a home for herself here. We were greeted by village officials at the road, and shown to her house where several girls prepared spaghetti for us. At night, we had the pleasure of seeing a local drum group perform. As soon as the drums started, all of Satiri showed up in Isy's courtyard. You know that it's a party in West Africa when the naked toddler shows up. Some women cooked up a serious batch of riz-sauce arachide, et poisson(rice with peanut sauce, and fish). I spent the night outside under the stars, knowing that I only had to bike a short 42k in to Bobo the next day. We decided that we would sleep in until 6AM so that we could arrive with our wits about us. Several people on the tour were slated to give speeches to the Governer of the region that afternoon.
Fellow volunteer Josh Gwinn and I decided that we were going to make it in to town in under 2 hours. We really gave it our all and took turns drafting every 3k. The road was very hilly and offered some incredible views. With about 15k left, we reached the top of the hill and could see Bobo sprawling out in front of us. Once we spotted the city we rode like the one eyed jack of diamonds with the devil close behind (to quote The Highwaymen). We managed to draft a camion (large truck for shipping goods) for the last 5k, and made it to Bobo in 1 hour 43 minutes. Woosh.
Later that afternoon, we had a ceremony (in the pouring rain) to commemorate volunteerism in Burkina, as well as pay homage to Peace Corp's 50th year here. The ceremony went very well, and the volunteer speeches were great. Since then I've been relaxing here in Bobo with some friends I haven't seen in a while. This is really a beautiful city, and the polar opposite of Dori. The streets are lined with trees, and the humidity can be crippling at times. Oh, and its buggy. Very buggy. Aside from this, I've been enjoying myself immensely seeing another side of The Faso.
Well thats about it for the bike tour. It was a great experience, and I hope to continue biking at my new site; Yako. Yako is located 110k north-west of Ouagadougou, and is a town of around 15 thousand. I saw my new house last week and it is palatial. I have tiled floors, electricity, and running water. The highlight however, is the flush toilet and shower, which are located questionably close to each other. Oh well, that could end up being a real time-saver in the future. I'll be moving in to my new digs in a week or so, and will update you on the particulars of Yako. Thanks for reading!
I've been out of touch for the past week or so as I've been participating in a bike tour of Burkina Faso. I met up with the core group of bikers in Yako, my new site. We awoke at 4:30AM, and loaded up our support car, and hit the road at first light. The first leg of the trip was to the village of Toma, the site of PCV Bovard Tiberi. The trip was along dirt roads, which wound through millet fields. It is currently the rainy season so everything is verdant and beautiful. At around 15k we met up with new PCV Nick McGregor, a fellow Spartan, at his site of La-todin (there are about 5 different spellings of this, and the villagers themselves don't seem to have reached a consensus). We continued on, completing the 70k trip mid-afternoon following a lunch stop. Bovard has a rather unique set up. He lives in a private school compound in teacher's housing. The compound is located on top of a hill, which made for a climb to finish out the ride, but provided us with a great view of his village and the countryside. After an ample dinner of chicken and pasta, and a few Brakinas, I set up my bug hut outside under the stars. Ahhhh.
I awoke to the crack of thunder and scrambled to disassemble the tent in a delerium, switching between the task at hand, and looking wildly out at the approaching lightning storm. I managed to make it inside just as the rain started to fall. I slept on the floor and proceded to be devoured by mosquitos. So much for a peaceful night under the stars. When I woke up the next morning, the rain was still falling. Because we were sleeping under a tin roof, it sounded as if God and the devil were engaged in some sort of round-robin tapdance competition with Fred Astaire. Though when I walked outside I realized that it was only lightly raining. We postponed riding and debated our plan of action. Eventually we had a car go and scope out the road. They returned with the good news that everything was passable, and that we would be able to ride on to Dedougou. The rain broke shortly after. We had cloud cover most of the day as we biked one of the more scenic legs of the tour. The road was difficult, but manageable. After about 35K we stopped at a small village to warm up with some hot tea, and learned that the supposed 70k ride was actually closer to 90k. Oops. With 55k of craggy dirt road winding out ahead of us, we pressed on.
Dedougou is a large town, and home to two volunteers. We stopped, caked in mud, chafed, and walking like old-timey cowpokes, at the first bar in town and did some much needed rehydrating. I stayed at PCV Ryan Barthels house, and managed to get a solid night of sleep on a real mattress. Phew. This was easily the most difficult day of the trip.
From Dedougou, we continued south, on the road to Bobo Dioulassou, which is the second largest city in Burkina Faso. From here on out, we would be riding on paved road. The trade off, however, is that we were entering hill country. We did the trip in three legs. We first stopped in the village of Bandukuy. The village is rather small, but has grown in past years with the paved road. We were greeted by the Mayor, an extremely hospitable and welcoming man who made us feel at home in his town. He helped us pump water (read; not normal for a mayor), and bought us lunch. Two other volunteers and I went for a walk around town to stretch our legs and ended up having a beer with the Mayor. He was a very interesting man, who informed us that he had only gone to school through what we would probably consider the 3rd grade. His education has come from cultivating, and living in the village his whole life. When he was in his teens, he told his father that he wished to join the military. His father, a veteran of 20 years, forbade this, for which he is very grateful (it's good to be mayor). After some discussion, we took a small tour of the village in the Mayoral Mercedes, and visited a youth center constructed by a volunteer about 15 years ago. He seemed very interested in getting another volunteer in his town and we were happy to supply him with the necessary contacts. We slept at a primary school, and hit the road early the next day.
Our destination was Satiri, a village located 42k North of Bobo, and home to volunteer Isy Tavarez. Isy was a voluneer in Guinea before coming to Burkina, and has really made a home for herself here. We were greeted by village officials at the road, and shown to her house where several girls prepared spaghetti for us. At night, we had the pleasure of seeing a local drum group perform. As soon as the drums started, all of Satiri showed up in Isy's courtyard. You know that it's a party in West Africa when the naked toddler shows up. Some women cooked up a serious batch of riz-sauce arachide, et poisson(rice with peanut sauce, and fish). I spent the night outside under the stars, knowing that I only had to bike a short 42k in to Bobo the next day. We decided that we would sleep in until 6AM so that we could arrive with our wits about us. Several people on the tour were slated to give speeches to the Governer of the region that afternoon.
Fellow volunteer Josh Gwinn and I decided that we were going to make it in to town in under 2 hours. We really gave it our all and took turns drafting every 3k. The road was very hilly and offered some incredible views. With about 15k left, we reached the top of the hill and could see Bobo sprawling out in front of us. Once we spotted the city we rode like the one eyed jack of diamonds with the devil close behind (to quote The Highwaymen). We managed to draft a camion (large truck for shipping goods) for the last 5k, and made it to Bobo in 1 hour 43 minutes. Woosh.
Later that afternoon, we had a ceremony (in the pouring rain) to commemorate volunteerism in Burkina, as well as pay homage to Peace Corp's 50th year here. The ceremony went very well, and the volunteer speeches were great. Since then I've been relaxing here in Bobo with some friends I haven't seen in a while. This is really a beautiful city, and the polar opposite of Dori. The streets are lined with trees, and the humidity can be crippling at times. Oh, and its buggy. Very buggy. Aside from this, I've been enjoying myself immensely seeing another side of The Faso.
Well thats about it for the bike tour. It was a great experience, and I hope to continue biking at my new site; Yako. Yako is located 110k north-west of Ouagadougou, and is a town of around 15 thousand. I saw my new house last week and it is palatial. I have tiled floors, electricity, and running water. The highlight however, is the flush toilet and shower, which are located questionably close to each other. Oh well, that could end up being a real time-saver in the future. I'll be moving in to my new digs in a week or so, and will update you on the particulars of Yako. Thanks for reading!
Friday, August 27, 2010
Swear-in tonight!
Congratulations to all the new volunteers who will be swearing in tonight. I had the pleasure of working training for 2 weeks in Koudougou. Training is always a difficult time in the life of a volunteer, but the pay-off is more than worth it. I'll be at the embassy tonight in my freshly pressed suit and new shoes brushing shoulders with Burkinabe and American officials, go me.
In reality I'll be standing in the sun saying "Bonjour" and "Bienvenue" for a couple of hours.
I had the pleasure of meeting with a Burkinabe doctor last week. It was a remarkable experience. Simeon became friends with Mike Lavoie (a fellow Michigander) while Mike was a volunteer in the 70s here in The Faso. They have remained friends ever since, and have collaborated on many projects. Mike even brought Simeon to the US for a month a few years back.
My parents and Mike recently attended a concert at the DIA (Detroit Institute of the Arts, for all you philistines). The band they saw was called Burkina Electric. It is a French/Burkinabe collaboration. Mike spoke Moore with the band the band, and took many photos with my parents. He purchased a T-shirt, and asked that my parents bring it, and the photos, along with them to France. I had the great pleasure of presenting Simeon with the shirt, as well as photos of his old friend along side my parents. This is what it's all about man. Simeon even offered to give me and some health volunteers a tour of the Hopital Yalgado here in Ouagadougou. It is the largest hospital in Burkina Faso, so it will be a great opportunity to learn more about the health care system here in BF. We as volunteers typically see the village side of health care. Those of us who are (un)lucky enough to see the inside of a private clinic for medical reasons aren't really getting a realistic picture of what city folks do about health care here. I think that this will be a great experience.
I was in Yako, which is 100K NW of Ouaga this week. I was working on developing my future site. Everyone seems very excited to have me around, although housing is still an issue. Because I work in girls education, everyone assumed that I would be female (surprise!). The city was under the impression that I would be living with the president of the AME (mother's association). I was completely fine living in a family courtyard, until I found out that she and her 3 daughters are currently living there alone, while the husband is on Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). My moving in wouldn't be appropriate in any culture.
So the hunt continues...
Thats all for now folks. I have to go pick up my suit, which I just had pressed!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Oh hey Im back!
After a long break from blogging, I've finally got something for you. Tell your friends!
So the biggest news that I have at the moment is that I hit my one year mark in Burkina Faso on June 12th. Big congrats to all the other volunteers who have made it this far. A huge thanks to everyone who has supported me through this. I wouldn't be able to do this without my family and friends. The next 15 months are going to fly by, and I can't wait to see everyone again.
I am currently writing this from a house in Juan les Pins, France. We have been here for over a week now, and it is going to be very difficult to leave. Traveling from Ouaga to Nice went very smoothly, and I got an incredible view of the Atlas Mountains in the morning. There was one unexpected stop in Marrakech. Though at this point I am used to travel taking far longer than expected. Unfortunately, my family had to wait at the airport in Nice for several hours. I arrived to blue skies and warm temperatures. It was a welcome departure from the crippling heat of Ouaga. Everyone was exhausted from traveling the first day so we took it easy. We ate seafood at a restaurant next to the sea, drank Rose, and enjoyed being reunited.
So we've just been enjoying all that The Cote D'azur has to offer, eating lots, drinking a bit too much, and enjoying the pool.
So why haven't I updated in so long?
Truth be told I've been very busy. I am currently looking for a site transfer (goodbye Dori). I've been pulled out of my site indefinitely because of an unspecified security threat. Please do not worry, it is business as usual for the other 100 volunteers currently serving in Burkina Faso. The problem was specific to my region, and I was simply told not to return until they receive further information. Thats all I can really give you for now unfortunately. I've been spending time in Ouagadougou developing training materials for the new group of volunteers who arrived last week. They arrived last week! how exciting is that?
Burkina Faso is currently expanding as a Peace Corps country, so we are receiving a group of around 70 volunteers. This will almost double the current number. Upon my return from beautiful Juan les Pins, I'll be training the new volunteers. This means I'll get to meet and spend time with all the newbies.
As for now the pool is calling my name! A bientot!
Friday, May 7, 2010
Work and such
So I'm currently at our office enjoying some Chuck Brown, James Brown, and P. Funk on Pandora Radio. I'm gathering resources to put on a formation in Dori on the 20th. Heres the basic outline.
1. Educate primary school students on fecal-oral disease transmission, as well as the virtues of latrine use. Many students defecate in a field near the school. This would normally not be problematic, however there are over 200 students and many of them use the same field to play soccer (gross!).
2. Teach proper handwashing techniques, and install a handwashing station next to the latrines at the primary school.
3. Make 15L of liquid soap with local woman, therefore encouraging proper handwashing at home, as well as at school. Soap making can also be used as an income generating activity for local women, allowing them to have money for school supplies for their children.
Following this I'll be heading over to Djibo; to assist Mr. Charles Casler with a girls camp. We don't have specific activities nailed down yet, but theres going to be alot of camp games, and hopefully a little bit of education as well.
Thats about what I'm up to at the moment. And now Pandora is playing Rob Base, and Digital Underground...So I'm going to do a dance.
1. Educate primary school students on fecal-oral disease transmission, as well as the virtues of latrine use. Many students defecate in a field near the school. This would normally not be problematic, however there are over 200 students and many of them use the same field to play soccer (gross!).
2. Teach proper handwashing techniques, and install a handwashing station next to the latrines at the primary school.
3. Make 15L of liquid soap with local woman, therefore encouraging proper handwashing at home, as well as at school. Soap making can also be used as an income generating activity for local women, allowing them to have money for school supplies for their children.
Following this I'll be heading over to Djibo; to assist Mr. Charles Casler with a girls camp. We don't have specific activities nailed down yet, but theres going to be alot of camp games, and hopefully a little bit of education as well.
Thats about what I'm up to at the moment. And now Pandora is playing Rob Base, and Digital Underground...So I'm going to do a dance.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Just about 10 months...
Crazy to think about it. Time has a funny way of passing here. There are some days that seem to drag on and on, but when I get to the end of the month I look back and say, "Where did march go?"
Work is finally picking up (fingers crossed). I'll be heading to Ouahigouya (wah-ee-goo-ya, say it fast its fun) in a week with Maiga Issoufi, a counterpart of mine, to attend a formation put together by Tufts University. I have visions of young female grad students who are thorougly impressed by my rugged African lifestyle (fat chance). Can't blame a guy for dreaming though.
Congeé (spring break) is over and so things are slowly picking back up. I hope to meet with a director at the High School sometime this week to talk for the umpteenth time abou starting an English club.
We just received some grant money to do work with sanitation and water. I think that Dori is a prime candidate for this kind of project. I hope to collaborate with some Japanese volunteers to do some latrine maitenence and education. I essentially want to teach all the kids at my primary school to use the latrine, and not my front yard. I hope to do a series and educate them on handwashing and basic hygeine as well. To cap it all off I'd like to install a handwashing station complete with hygeine tips and handwashing instructions next to the school. I believe it can be done rather cheaply, and the director of the primary school will probably be on board.
In social news, I just DJ'd a closing of service party with the help of two other volunteers. Despite an hour long power outage, we still managed to rock the rooftop until the early morning hours. We danced, ate, drank some questionable punch, and even managed to raise some money for our Gender and Development committee (GAD). We did this with a date auction. 15 or so of us guys were auctioned off to the highest bidder. I offered to cook dinner and serve it by candlelight, and was content to be sold off to Leslie Otto (who happens to be a picture of beauty and class) for 12500 cfa.
Before the COS party I held "Man Camp" in Dori. Sometimes us Girls Education volunteers need a little male bonding. I constructed a grill in my courtyard and made barbecue sauce. We grilled meat, drank beer, and talked about how to improve the literacy rates of primary school students.
All in all is has been a good month. Now I just need to get through the blinding heat of April and then do some singing in the rain. And you can bet that when the first rains come I WILL be singing.
2010 til...
Work is finally picking up (fingers crossed). I'll be heading to Ouahigouya (wah-ee-goo-ya, say it fast its fun) in a week with Maiga Issoufi, a counterpart of mine, to attend a formation put together by Tufts University. I have visions of young female grad students who are thorougly impressed by my rugged African lifestyle (fat chance). Can't blame a guy for dreaming though.
Congeé (spring break) is over and so things are slowly picking back up. I hope to meet with a director at the High School sometime this week to talk for the umpteenth time abou starting an English club.
We just received some grant money to do work with sanitation and water. I think that Dori is a prime candidate for this kind of project. I hope to collaborate with some Japanese volunteers to do some latrine maitenence and education. I essentially want to teach all the kids at my primary school to use the latrine, and not my front yard. I hope to do a series and educate them on handwashing and basic hygeine as well. To cap it all off I'd like to install a handwashing station complete with hygeine tips and handwashing instructions next to the school. I believe it can be done rather cheaply, and the director of the primary school will probably be on board.
In social news, I just DJ'd a closing of service party with the help of two other volunteers. Despite an hour long power outage, we still managed to rock the rooftop until the early morning hours. We danced, ate, drank some questionable punch, and even managed to raise some money for our Gender and Development committee (GAD). We did this with a date auction. 15 or so of us guys were auctioned off to the highest bidder. I offered to cook dinner and serve it by candlelight, and was content to be sold off to Leslie Otto (who happens to be a picture of beauty and class) for 12500 cfa.
Before the COS party I held "Man Camp" in Dori. Sometimes us Girls Education volunteers need a little male bonding. I constructed a grill in my courtyard and made barbecue sauce. We grilled meat, drank beer, and talked about how to improve the literacy rates of primary school students.
All in all is has been a good month. Now I just need to get through the blinding heat of April and then do some singing in the rain. And you can bet that when the first rains come I WILL be singing.
2010 til...
Monday, March 1, 2010
The ides of March are come
Well not quite, but what a good title eh? I wouldn't want to wait for the 15th just for accuracy's sake. It has been quite some time since I last wrote here, and as usual I'm having some trouble getting started.
How about this weather eh?
The Harmattan is in full effect here in Dori. The Harmattan is a trade wind that blows across West Africa, over miles of hot, sandy desert, and into my living room. It leaves everything covered in a fine dust. This dust carries microbes that give people colds as well. YAY HARMATTAN!
Standing in this wind at noon is comparable to having someone hold a blowdryer in your face, while someone else throws sand at you. If you can find two people crazy enough to do this for you I reccommend it. It is worth the experience.
On the plus side I haven't seen a mosquito in two weeks on account of how dry it is. I drink silly amounts of water, and cover my arms with shea butter (an export of Burkina Faso) to combat dehydration.
I was in Ouagadougou an awful lot during February. First, for a safety and security meeting, and secondly, for an IT committee meeting. In between these two meetings I had one week in Dori of absolutely nothing; and I was climbing the walls of my house. It is hard to get things moving here when you can't be around physically to see them through.
The IT commitee is currently developing a fileserver for volunteers with the hopes of increasing institutional memory. A large problem faced by Peace Corps is inherent in the rate of volunteer turnover. Each 24 months or so we have a completely new group of volunteers, who generally don't have a ton of access to information gathered by the previous volunteers. This leads to each group"reinventing the wheel". Our fileserver will allow volunteers to upload project reports into a searchable database. So when Raymond Pularski from Iowa shows up in Burkina Faso in 2014, he will have access to a wealth of project info. Lucky Raymond.
Eventually we'd like to take the server regional, and combine our resources with those of Ghana, Togo, and Benin. This is a bit of a pipe dream at the moment, but I've got faith that we can get the ball rolling.
We've also updated our public website: http://burkina.ath.cx It is shiny and new now, and much easier to navigate in my opinion. Click on "English" for the public site in English.
Thats all for the moment. I'll try to get another post in in a few weeks, but the porc au four is calling my name down the street.
How about this weather eh?
The Harmattan is in full effect here in Dori. The Harmattan is a trade wind that blows across West Africa, over miles of hot, sandy desert, and into my living room. It leaves everything covered in a fine dust. This dust carries microbes that give people colds as well. YAY HARMATTAN!
Standing in this wind at noon is comparable to having someone hold a blowdryer in your face, while someone else throws sand at you. If you can find two people crazy enough to do this for you I reccommend it. It is worth the experience.
On the plus side I haven't seen a mosquito in two weeks on account of how dry it is. I drink silly amounts of water, and cover my arms with shea butter (an export of Burkina Faso) to combat dehydration.
I was in Ouagadougou an awful lot during February. First, for a safety and security meeting, and secondly, for an IT committee meeting. In between these two meetings I had one week in Dori of absolutely nothing; and I was climbing the walls of my house. It is hard to get things moving here when you can't be around physically to see them through.
The IT commitee is currently developing a fileserver for volunteers with the hopes of increasing institutional memory. A large problem faced by Peace Corps is inherent in the rate of volunteer turnover. Each 24 months or so we have a completely new group of volunteers, who generally don't have a ton of access to information gathered by the previous volunteers. This leads to each group"reinventing the wheel". Our fileserver will allow volunteers to upload project reports into a searchable database. So when Raymond Pularski from Iowa shows up in Burkina Faso in 2014, he will have access to a wealth of project info. Lucky Raymond.
Eventually we'd like to take the server regional, and combine our resources with those of Ghana, Togo, and Benin. This is a bit of a pipe dream at the moment, but I've got faith that we can get the ball rolling.
We've also updated our public website: http://burkina.ath.cx It is shiny and new now, and much easier to navigate in my opinion. Click on "English" for the public site in English.
Thats all for the moment. I'll try to get another post in in a few weeks, but the porc au four is calling my name down the street.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Happy New Year!
So where to start? So much has happened since the last time I posted. I suppose the beginning is a good place.
I left for Ouaga the 14th of December. I closed my windows, and threw a sheet over my bookshelves in hopes of keeping the dust away. I said goodbye to my neighbors and started the hike to the bus station. Some people on the street thought that I was gone for good, and I had to stop to explain that I would return in January.
The mood at the transit house in Ouaga was great. Volunteers who haven't seen each other for 3 months were reunited. Every time the gate opened there was a "HEY! How are you! It's been so long!". I would compare it to watching people at an airport reunited with their families after a long trip. We all went out to dinner to celebrate the reunion.
Training started the next day. We had four days of it altogether. Training.
The first day we were in the conference room for 11 hours.
I used the lunches to scramble over to the Ghanaian embassy to work out my travel visa.
Training.
Training ended on Friday. We stopped early, perhaps to make up for the more grueling sessions earlier in the week. There was lots of time set aside for things like "group discussion and reflection". We decided unanimously that we could discuss and reflect over beers that evening if we felt so inclined. Several of us did.
Fast forward through 3 days of perfect, perfect, relaxing nothing and I was at the bus station. The bus was air conditioned, and the 24 hour ride was rather uneventful save for a woman who actually shook the back of my seat when I tried to lean back about 18 hours in to the trip. I calmly stated in my best "tired after 18 hours on a bus French" that it was the middle of the night, I had paid for my seat, and would do whatever I damn well please with it. I left out the part about, "if you pulled that on Greyhound...".
We arrived in Accra in the early morning hours, and caught yet another bus to Takoradi (about 6 hours). From there we took a cab (1 hour) to beautiful Busua Beach. I realized that I had forgotten my shorts in Ouaga, so I made some cut offs out of a pair of khakis. The sea welcomed me with open arms.
Our stay in Busua was perfect, save for the fact that it was far too short. Leslie Otto, a fellow volunteer asked me how long I'd like to stay the next time I go. I told her, "Two, maybe three years". The cost of living in Ghana is incredibly low, despite the level of development. Burkina is landlocked, so everything has to be shipped overland in to Ouaga, and then redistributed thereafter. This drives the cost of goods through the roof.
The place was touristy to the point that I really felt I was on vacation. Though not so much that it became tacky. Most other people there were young volunteers from various countries, with the occasional odd German couple riding their tricked out BMW motorcycles across the continent.
We left Busua feeling refreshed, and pushed on. We had planned to take a ferry from the village of Akosombo up Lake Volta, thus cutting the bus trip in half. When we arrived in Akosombo however, we found that the ferry doesn't run during the holidays. We found a cheap, yet clean and very comfortable hostel, and stayed the night.
Akosombo didn't feel like Africa in the least, at least what I've come to know of it. Here we've got a small community situated in a rolling jungle, next to an enormous lake. There were streets with 4 or 5 ranch style houses with driveways, garages, and even lawns. We're not in Kansas anymore.
We rose at around 4am to catch a tro-tro (small bus stuffed full of people) to Kumasi. We arrived in Kumasi just in time to not catch the bus that wasn't leaving for Ouaga that day. Good thing we got up so early. Thankfully we were able to find a bus that departed that evening, saving us a nights stay in Kumasi. We were thoroughly exhausted at this point and slept at the bus station. We did get to explore the market a bit in Kumasi, though we were so tired that elbowing our way through the narrow market streets became a bit much.
We did finally make it back to Ouaga, and without one nervous breakdown (if you ever want a solid travel companion, look no further than the Peace Corps). Though I did find myself getting a bit short with the cab drivers at the bus station. As usual, I was given a ridiculous price (to be fair, my baggage and tan screamed tourist). Eventually we found someone slightly less ridiculous. We were just happy to be done with all the cars, tro-tros, and busses.
I wish I had more photos to post, but I had difficulty charging my camera as Ghana has UK style outlets, and the adapter I have is French. C'est la vie. Go to Busua.
Which leads me on to NYE. A good time was had by all. We bounced around Ouaga, drank a bit much, and ended up at a small kiosk drinking beer and listening to blues music (yes, blues music)until the sun came up.
This has been a monster of a post. I wish everyone health and prosperity in 2010!
I left for Ouaga the 14th of December. I closed my windows, and threw a sheet over my bookshelves in hopes of keeping the dust away. I said goodbye to my neighbors and started the hike to the bus station. Some people on the street thought that I was gone for good, and I had to stop to explain that I would return in January.
The mood at the transit house in Ouaga was great. Volunteers who haven't seen each other for 3 months were reunited. Every time the gate opened there was a "HEY! How are you! It's been so long!". I would compare it to watching people at an airport reunited with their families after a long trip. We all went out to dinner to celebrate the reunion.
Training started the next day. We had four days of it altogether. Training.
The first day we were in the conference room for 11 hours.
I used the lunches to scramble over to the Ghanaian embassy to work out my travel visa.
Training.
Training ended on Friday. We stopped early, perhaps to make up for the more grueling sessions earlier in the week. There was lots of time set aside for things like "group discussion and reflection". We decided unanimously that we could discuss and reflect over beers that evening if we felt so inclined. Several of us did.
Fast forward through 3 days of perfect, perfect, relaxing nothing and I was at the bus station. The bus was air conditioned, and the 24 hour ride was rather uneventful save for a woman who actually shook the back of my seat when I tried to lean back about 18 hours in to the trip. I calmly stated in my best "tired after 18 hours on a bus French" that it was the middle of the night, I had paid for my seat, and would do whatever I damn well please with it. I left out the part about, "if you pulled that on Greyhound...".
We arrived in Accra in the early morning hours, and caught yet another bus to Takoradi (about 6 hours). From there we took a cab (1 hour) to beautiful Busua Beach. I realized that I had forgotten my shorts in Ouaga, so I made some cut offs out of a pair of khakis. The sea welcomed me with open arms.
Our stay in Busua was perfect, save for the fact that it was far too short. Leslie Otto, a fellow volunteer asked me how long I'd like to stay the next time I go. I told her, "Two, maybe three years". The cost of living in Ghana is incredibly low, despite the level of development. Burkina is landlocked, so everything has to be shipped overland in to Ouaga, and then redistributed thereafter. This drives the cost of goods through the roof.
The place was touristy to the point that I really felt I was on vacation. Though not so much that it became tacky. Most other people there were young volunteers from various countries, with the occasional odd German couple riding their tricked out BMW motorcycles across the continent.
We left Busua feeling refreshed, and pushed on. We had planned to take a ferry from the village of Akosombo up Lake Volta, thus cutting the bus trip in half. When we arrived in Akosombo however, we found that the ferry doesn't run during the holidays. We found a cheap, yet clean and very comfortable hostel, and stayed the night.
Akosombo didn't feel like Africa in the least, at least what I've come to know of it. Here we've got a small community situated in a rolling jungle, next to an enormous lake. There were streets with 4 or 5 ranch style houses with driveways, garages, and even lawns. We're not in Kansas anymore.
We rose at around 4am to catch a tro-tro (small bus stuffed full of people) to Kumasi. We arrived in Kumasi just in time to not catch the bus that wasn't leaving for Ouaga that day. Good thing we got up so early. Thankfully we were able to find a bus that departed that evening, saving us a nights stay in Kumasi. We were thoroughly exhausted at this point and slept at the bus station. We did get to explore the market a bit in Kumasi, though we were so tired that elbowing our way through the narrow market streets became a bit much.
We did finally make it back to Ouaga, and without one nervous breakdown (if you ever want a solid travel companion, look no further than the Peace Corps). Though I did find myself getting a bit short with the cab drivers at the bus station. As usual, I was given a ridiculous price (to be fair, my baggage and tan screamed tourist). Eventually we found someone slightly less ridiculous. We were just happy to be done with all the cars, tro-tros, and busses.
I wish I had more photos to post, but I had difficulty charging my camera as Ghana has UK style outlets, and the adapter I have is French. C'est la vie. Go to Busua.
Which leads me on to NYE. A good time was had by all. We bounced around Ouaga, drank a bit much, and ended up at a small kiosk drinking beer and listening to blues music (yes, blues music)until the sun came up.
This has been a monster of a post. I wish everyone health and prosperity in 2010!
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