Amazing Times with Anna

I have had an exciting, whirlwind month. I can't believe how fast it has blown by but I have had so much fun traveling and catching up with Anna. I have been here a year but haven't done any traveling except for the few places I had to go for Peace Corps so was glad to see more of this country.

We started out the month with a trip to the southwest, probably the most touristic part of the country. We spent a night in my friend Amanda's village just outside Banfora and then went into the city for a few days. Banfora is a very relaxing, friendly place with lots of good food and after hearing so much about it, I was glad to check it out. One day we rented bikes and rode out to a nearby village where there is a beautiful waterfall. Its not huge by American standards but fun to see in a dry desert country where we don't have much water or green anything. Next stop was a little farther north to Bobo-Dioulasso, the second largest city in Burkina Faso. We checked out the Peace Corps office there, hung out with a few volunteers, ate some more good food, and enjoyed the market.

After a week of traveling, we headed back to my village to experience the real Burkina. I had told everybody she was coming and they were so excited to meet some that came all the way from the United States just to visit me and their village. It felt like there was a lot going on or at least many things to show Anna during our week there so it flew by. I helped lead an HIV/AIDS sensibilization at the local high school so we got to hang out with quite a few students and she saw the school. We also did an enriched porridge demonstration and weighed babies to combat malnutrition, one of my normal weekly activities. Then there were other random daily activities in village including drinking dolo, doing the market, and hanging out with friends and family.

I originally didn't want to celebrate my birthday in village but ended up having one of the best celebrations ever. Anna brought me confetti cake mix and frosting so I even got a real American birthday cake complete with a match stuck in to blow out and a make a wish. My new PC neighbor Krystle biked out to visit for a few hours then later in the afternoon my friend Yoshi, a Japanese volunteer came out to spend the evening. I don't drink much besides dolo in village because beer seems expensive, I don't want to hang out at the one shack that sells beer, and my family doesn't drink alcohol so I try to be discreet about any drinking I do in village. Since it was my birthday though I had a friend bring us a few over. Another friend then showed up with dolo to enjoy at my house. Later in the evening, we threw a dance party with my family in my courtyard. I've done this a few times but this was definitely the biggest. We cranked my iPod mini speakers and set up three headlamps on flashing around my courtyard to act as strobe lights. All the kids from 2 to 20 years old came as well as the moms and even grandma stopped by. They loved all of our crazy American dancing and the little ones copied anything we did. Their favorite thing was when we shouted "Put Your Hands Up" and everyone jumped around. Even grandma raised her arms and participated. After a while dancing to my music, everyone spontaneously started singing, drumming, and shaking their booties to traditional Bissa songs. It was a great mix of these two cultures!

After a week in village we headed north into the Sahel and the real desert. We spent a night with a volunteer in Dori and then continued on to Gorom Gorom, the farthest north city in Burkina. The transport from Dori is notoriously bad. We were in the back of pickup truck sitting on top of huge sacks of potatoes. I think there were about 10 people sitting in the bed and there were bars above the bed with at least that many people balancing precariously over our heads. Plus the road is pretty rough and dusty. We arrived in Gorom Gorom and were amazed to find that even the roads were covered in sand. The Thursday market here is famous. It isn't that much different than other markets in Burkina but I did enjoy seeing the many people that came into town. There are several different ethnic groups in this area including many Peulhs like in my village and Tuaregs, a nomadic tribe that raises camels and travels throughout the Sahel and Sahara. The next day we went out into the desert riding camels for about two hours. We arrived in the dunes and spent the evening there with our guides. It was beautiful and such a change from the south of Burkina and even what it looks like in my village. I've always heard that the desert gets cold at night but was shocked just how chilly it really was! We left early the next morning and watched the sunrise over the sands on camelback. After Gorom we met up with my friend Rob in Kaya and then spent the evening in his village nearby.

Next stop was Ouaga for a few days and my mid-service conference. We did some souvenir shopping and hung out in the big city. On Thanksgiving morning one of our staff members had volunteers over for brunch and game time. It was so fun to hang out, eat yummy food, drink coffee, and play games with friends. We then caught a bush taxi back to village and our own version of Thanksgiving dinner including instant mashed potatoes, boxed stuffing and canned green beans! That evening the girls in my family hennaed our feet and hands for the next day's festivities. We had to leave on Thanksgiving in order to celebrate Tabaski in village. We enjoyed hanging out with friends and family, wishing everyone health and many babies in the next year, and eating sheep and goat (or at least pretending to eat it and then giving it to a friend).

Thanks so much to Anna for traveling all the way to Burkina Faso and spending a month with me. It is so great to have someone from home see what my new home and life in Burkina is really like. After more than a year apart we had so much to catch up on and enjoyed comparing our Peace Corps experiences. She also really spoiled me by bringing a whole suitcase of American goodies. I am definitely not feeling deprived anymore!

I have posted lots of pictures of Anna's visit so take a look. Also a few updates. Unfortunately, Karla, my closest PC neighbor and friend in Burkina has been sick for a long time and was sent back to Washington in October to get medical help. She ended up being medically separated from Peace Corps so won't be returning to Burkina. I am very sad that she is no longer here but know it is important for her to get better. On happier news, I have a new neighbor in Tenkodogo. PC Guinea was shut down and 5 of those volunteers came to Burkina including one who will be by me.