We're not in Kansas anymore

I can’t say that its true for other parts of the world but time spent here in Africa seems to fly by. Since my last update, I’ve visited Zoroge, a 1,000 person village where we learned about beekeeping and agriculture, attended a meeting hosted by AIMEE, a NGO focused on HIV/AIDS prevention, education and treatment and celebrated Ramadan. Each day continues to be packed with new learning and healthy dose of “dos and don’ts” in making friends with the Burkinabe. I have said it before but it’s worth repeating, the Burkinabe are very formal in comparison to Americans and there seems to be a set of rules to match each occasion. In addition there is a new set of greetings to match. Simply saying good morning can take 3 minutes. I’m not kidding. 1/3 of our classes are language, 1/3 if cross culture training and the other 1/3 is all hands on training. In our hands on sessions, we’re learning how to cook which is quite a feat given the absence of modern conveniences like electricity, and oven, and a variety of ingredients. Later this week I’m making a Mexican feat complete with quesadillas, guacamole and salsa (homemade tortillas, of course) so I’ll let you know it goes. We’re also getting to do thins like create skits and public service announcements on topics like malaria, nutrition and hygiene that are then going to be broadcasted on the radio. Since we’re still only trainees and not yet volunteers, we are being exposed to a wide variety of jobs and responsibilities so that we can get a favor of the types of projects we can implement once we’re at our permanent site. Regardless of sector or location, all volunteers are required to spend a portion of their time on HIV/AIDS awareness. Sex is taboo here and is not openly discussed which makes discussing prevention kind of tricky. There is a fear that if one contracts HIV then he/she may be shunned by their family and/or community, so many avoid the issue entirely by not getting tested. Ignorance is bliss, I guess. Problem with that is that there are 80,000 children orphaned each year because of interested parents. Of Burkina Faso’s 13 million population, 55% of then are under the age of 15 so you can see that this is a huge problem. (Greg, I’m thinking that the Pied Pipers should plan on spending 2 weeks here during the summer of 2008. What do you think?)

Children here are not treated so much like children, as they are “adults in training”. At home in the States, kids are treated like princes and princesses and are showered with everything imaginable. Here, I have seen children play in the streets, barefooted next to a pile of trash and animal waste, while chasing a can tied on a string –there version of a toy. Talk about the “have and the have-nots”; it’s very humbling. At this point I continue to play the roles of the quite observer, however, over time I hope to be able to build trusting relationships in which I can talk to them about makind healthier choices. Another interesting cultural norm is the whole notion that children are to respect their elders, all elders, and do what they are told, regardless of whether or not that child is part of your family. Children are typically the ones that run all of the errands and so they can often be send doing things like buying a couple of cigarettes at the corner store (known here in BF as a boutique) or swaddling a child to their back to give their mother a break. If I ever need anything and I don’t like going to get it myself, all I have to do is go outside of my courtyard and say “wa ka” which means “come” in Moore, to a child passing by and he is obliged to do whatever I ask. I have yet to try this but several of my fellow trainees tell me that they have done this with great success. There are so many more examples that I could give to help paint the picture of life here, but time simply doesn’t permit me to do so.

As a small enterprise development (SED) volunteer, one of our bug tasks is to start savings and credit clubs (S&CC) among women. There is a lot of research shows that businesses are more sustainable and have more positive effects on a family as a whole when women are targeted. Evidently, men are more focused on instant gratification. (I could say something here but I won’t.) : ) The basic concept of S&CCs is that a group of women come together on a regular basis to put money into a joint account from which they may borrow at a later date to start/expand their own business. Some examples of common businesses found here in Burkina include: frying yams or gateaux (small dessert like cakes) on the side of the road, walking around selling fruits and veggies from baskets that they carry on top of their heads, or making and selling bicep or ginger juice that comes in little sandwich Ziploc like bags. Most loans are for $5 or less and the max seems to be about $10. Very cheap to start a business here but without any collateral it’s very different to get a loan from a bank. Hence the savings clubs. It’s all been very fascinating and inspiriting at the same time.

So, it’s week 4 or 5 of taking my malaria pills and I’m happy to say that I haven’t had a terrible reaction the medicine. One of the biggest and most disturbing side effects is violent nightmares. Last week I had my first, and it was pretty bad, but taking a weekly dose instead of the daily pill is more appealing. Most of my dreams are about having a pumpkin scone or Carmel macchiato (skim of course) from Starbucks so I think I’ll be ok. (Kelli, I hope you’ll honor my dream this Saturday as you head off for the farmer’s market.) BF seems to be the only place where Starbucks and McDonalds have yet to reach. Speaking of deprivation, Monday was Ramadan, the Muslim celebration that marks the end of a 30 day (actually a little less) fast. This is clearly an oversimplification of the holiday so I hope no one is offended. My host family is Muslim so the preparations began on Sunday night, which found me having my feed decorated with henna. Quite a process henna is but is lasts for about a month so I’m set. Not exactly a pedicure but I’ll take it. On Monday, people took turns visiting one another in each other’s homes while eating mini meals throughout the day. This was my opportunity to learn yet another greeting salutation pattern. As a guest, I was allowed to accompany them to visit their friends while the rest of the women stayed at home. Back among the women I was questioned why I wasn’t married, how many children I want and why I want’ married. Not all that different from home. As we flipped my photo album there were several inquiries of "is that your husband “each time they say me photographed with a guy. In a culture where women don’t ever even expose their knees I think they were perplexed by the intimacy and closeness of male/female friendships. It’s just hot something that happens here. As I wrap up week 4 I’m struck by all that I still have to learn. I still find it odd that when we eat spaghetti and salad with our hands her but why would these foods warrant any special treatment, i.e. a fork? Nothing else does. We just all dig into the same plate or bowl like one big happy family. That said, the PC experience is all about having a cultural exchange so while a 31 year old, single, childless woman may be an oddity to the Burkinabe, they will have plenty of time to adjust. HA!

As always thanks for the many words of encouragement, letters, pkgs, etc. I hope that this finds you all in good health and enjoying a bountiful life!

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!!

Greetings from Burkina!

I made it! After two days of training and orientation in Philadelphia, I along with 39 others boarded the plane in New York and headed off for Burkina. What an amazing experience this has been. I have been on sensory overload since I stepped off the plane. Upon arrival into Burkina, we were greeted on the tarmac by a host of PC staff and a number of locals. Flying into Ouaga is unlike any other airport Ive ever visited. Throngs of people everywhere and total chaos. Welcome to Africa. After gathering up all of our luggage, we loaded onto the bus and headed to our hotel that would be our home for the next two nights. Looking back now, I see that they were easing us into things. Each morning we feasted on pain du chocolat and cafe and had bottled water around the clock. Our room was a modest but very nice two person room, complete with AC and a shower. Those days were filled with a host of medical inspections, 7 shots and endless hours of do and donts in Burkina. We were also told that our pre staging training would be hosted in Ouahigouya (OHG), the third largest city in Burkina.

Sadly I didnt get to spend much time exploring Ouaga but I expect that there will be plenty of time for that in the months to come. On day 3 we drove two and a half hours to OHG where I have been ever since. The people are absolutely beautiful here in Africa!!! So happy and friendly despite their circumstances. I am living with a family of about 20 people which as you can imagine means that there is never a dull moment. In addition to French, I am also learning Moore and my family is very patient with me as I stammer along. All is well here so far no sickness to report of. Promise to write more soon but now Im off to another lesson.
Wena kon Bilfu... (see you soon!)