Week 1 in the bag.

So heres whats been going down the past few days. I flew out of Detroit for Philly and met up with the other volunteers to go through staging. Everyone here is great and gets along just fine. There are 32 of us all together (half girls ed half secondary ed with a few random IT guys).



Philly was a great time. and I had fun getting to know everyone; and afterwards we went out and ate a fairly extravagant dinner (seafood risotto oh yes) on uncle sams per diem money. We woke up early in the morning the next day and got immunized for yellow fever and were given our first dose of malaria prophylaxis.



We flew to Paris on an uneventful flight and waited in Charles De Gaulle where we met another volunteer on her way back to Burkina from a vacation in the US. We were supposed to refuel in Niger but the plane got grounded there and I got my first taste of Africa. The first I noticed stepping onto the Tarmac in Niamey was the air. It is so thick and hot here and has the slightest smell of charcoal. The sun was hanging low and lazy over a flat orange and red horizon.



We were put up at a hotel in Niamey by Air France and had even more opportunity to get to know each other. However the bus ride in the morning back to the airport was an eye opening one. Niger is extremely impoverished. Children run up to passing busses trying to sell bread, mango, and peanuts. Villages made of mud brick are scattered everywhere behind buildings made of corrugated metal.

Our stay in Niger was very brief but still something that I wont soon forget.

Moving on... We landed in Ouaga about an hour after departing from Niamey. Its hard to describe my first impressions of the city without sounding negative. I was, and still am extremely happy to be in Burkina. Ill save the detailed descriptions; do a google photo search or something.

Since then our time has been very regimented. I moved in with a host family in the village of Bogoya (8k bike ride from Ouahigouya) and they have been extremely generous and hospitable. Im currently taking language classes in French and Mooré and am progressing well. Everyone in my village speaks Mooré so Ive learned a few greetings ( very important to greet EVERYONE). Im still healthy as can be unlike some of the other volunteers, and plan on staying that way. Also Im 10 days smoke free.

Anyway I have to bike back to village and I need to beat the heat, It should be around 100° today.

Contact Info

So here we are. I'm scheduled to leave for staging tomorrow morning. My flight leaves at 9:14 from Detroit Metro and arrives in Philly a short while later. I'll be there until the morning of the 11th and I'll have my phone with me to make some last minute calls. I want to put a big thank you out to everyone who has supported me up to this point.

Today I met with a man who served in BF during the mid 70s. He has done well for himself and he continues to be active in a number of ongoing programs in BF. We sat down for breakfast and I agreed to take a digital camera to a friend of his who lives in Ouagadougou. I think it will be a great way to help out a former volunteer and his friend, as well as a way for me to connect locally.

Anyways lets get down to business; contact info:

Evan M. Johnson
Corps de la Paix Americain
01 BP 6031 Ouagadougou 01
Burkina Faso, W. Africa

My email is:

Emjdj1@gmail.com

I will have to post my African phone number once I get it. This may take a month or so. For all of you Michiganders reading, time in BF is 4 hours ahead. That's all for now folks, I've got to stuff some last minute things into my carry-on.