Oh the places you will go

This past weekend we went to Fada, the regional capital of the Eastern province, that's about 220km due East of Ouaga. The purpose of our visit was to get a feel for the day to day life of a volunteer and to have a chance to see the type of work we will be involved in and the living conditions in which we would live. So at 6 30 on Saturday morning and lugged my bag and my bike over to the bus "terminal" and crowded on with 50 others for the first leg of our 7 hour trip. Riding African transport is an experience in and of itself and is an experience that warrants some further discussion. There are a couple of types of transport available here in Burkina. Bush taxi which equates to a 15 passsenger van packed to the max (typically 25 passangers) and the bigger more luxurious buses which are supposed to hold about 35 people but often hold more like 50 people. In addition to all of the paying customers, there are also all sorts of animals and other essentials that are strapped to the roof such as goats, chickens, motorbikes and great sacks of yams. We had the good fortune to be able to ride on the bigger of the two vehicles which was an easier introduction to the new way of getting aound. We made a number of stops, some scheduled, others not but brought about by an elderly woman saying, "Chauffeur, can you please pull over at the next big tree", and there we would find her family waiting for her there amongst the millet fields. Each time we would make a stop, our bus would be surrounded by vendors selling everything from Elle magazine in French and english to baguettes and sweet bissap juice sold in little sandwich bags. There is definitely a different way of doing things here but I am quickly adjusting.

In Fada, we met with the mayor of the town (everyone is always happy to meet the new Americans), met with several business owners and a number of local artisan groups. I spent my 31st birthday (EEK) dining on steak sandwiches and patates sold by a roadside vendor. Life is good and I couldn't be happier. More to come on the living situation by suffice it to say that I am getting better as time goes by. Getting used to the latrine and I don't jump nearly as often or as high when I find a frog in my shower or my room. Success!!