Coming Home

50It has been over 27 months since I left the continent of Africa but I'm leaving tonight. I arrive in Wisconsin tomorrow evening if all goes well. I hear there has been lots of snow, flight cancellations, and even airport closures in Europe so am a little nervous flying through Paris. I'm so ready to be home that I worry about delays and getting stuck in Paris!

I will be in Wisconsin over Christmas with my parents and sister. December 30-Jan 3 I will be in Washington DC. Then I'm going to Charlotte from Jan 3-7. I'm spending the weekend of Jan 14-16 in Chicago. I also plan to spend a day or two in Madison.

If we can meet up during any of these trips or at my parents' house please let me know. I hope to catch up with as many friends and family as possible during my month home. I no longer have a cell phone so call my parents' house or email me.

Saying Goodbye

I wasn't sure what to do before leaving village to thank everyone and say goodbye. I ended up planning two parties and the village organized a third.

My second to last day at site, my best friend Dabre made dolo and sold it all morning. I helped some but not as much as usual since I was trying to pack. That afternoon, she asked the priest to come to her house and in the middle of selling dolo and everyone getting drunk, we formed a circle and prayed. They thanked me for my time here and blessed me on my voyage and in my future. It was very sweet and so Burkina! Afterwards, Dabre gave out about 40 liters of dolo to celebrate! We danced all night long!

The evening before I left I was invited to the mayor's office and assumed he would thank me but didn't expect anything else. All of the village elders and chief's from each neighborhood were there along with many functionnaires and other local leaders. They had a very formal ceremony that followed strict protocal here with an MC, head table with special guests, and several speeches. Everyone thanked me for all that I had done and the functionnaires repeatedly commented on how hard life is here and how well I have done. They presented me with gifts in a very formal fashion as well. I had to stand in front of everyone and the MC announced who would be giving me a gift on behalf of which group. I then was asked to speak in French and Bissa but other than thanking everyone for their support, I was unsure of what to say. Afterwards we had soda in cans (very unusual here) and most of the elders didn't know how to open them. They then tried to do a toast but everyone had already started drinking since again thats unusual in village. It was a very sweet send-off and showed me what I did mean for my village.

That night I had asked the women in my family to prepare a meal that we could all eat together to celebrate my time here and to thank them. I felt bad asking the women to cook at their own party but thats how it is done here and I know they prefer their own food over mine. There was some miscommunication and they invited the whole family which makes up the entire neighborhood of several hundred people. Everyone got to eat though and had a good time.

The next morning I left for Ouaga with all my luggage on a bush taxi. My friend Dabre came with me and I had to say goodbye to her the next day. Its been hard to leave but I am definetly ready to be in the US now and am excited for my next adventure.

Two Years of Changes

Up until just a few months ago I was not at all ready to leave my village or Burkina Faso. Its been a hard two years and I've definetly had my struggles but overall I have loved the last two years. I have learned and experienced so much that I never could have in the United States.

Its the little things that really made me feel like it was time to leave. The stuff that I have put up with for two years just started to get to me. I was sick of the difficulties in everyday life. I'm ready for modern conveniences and customer service again!

Even though I felt ready to leave, it still was difficult to say good-bye not knowing when, if ever, I would return and even if I do get back here, if all my friends will still be in village. I have watched the toddlers when I arrived grow into big kids and have seen babies born that are now walking & talking! I have developed close relationships with several individuals and it is hard to leave knowing these friendships will be hard to continue.

My village has also had lots of changes in two years. Just before I arrived a mayor's office, secondary school, and youth center were built. Since I arrived, they have laid pipes, built a water tower, and had faucets to sell tap water in each neighborhood. Unfortunately few people use this since they have to pay for water while pumps and wells are still free. They also bulldozed and created wide roads on a grid system (of course, it all was ruined during rainy season so were back to the same paths worn over many years as before). A women's center was built and officially opened by the First Lady of Burkina Faso but is still not being used. A community meeting room was built but groups are used to meeting under a large tree like has been done for hundreds of years. They also put up electrical lines and a power company building so electricity is coming very soon. They are in the process of putting up a cell phone tower so we now will have service from two of the three companies here.

Anyways, there have been a lot of visible changes over the past two years. Many of the development projects in the village seem like a waste of money but that has allowed me to better understand this frequent problem with development aid.

Leaving Village

I moved out of village today. It was definitely really hard but also exciting to think about whats next. One of my friends was pregnant and I have been saying for months that I wanted to hold her baby before I left. Like so many women here, she didn't know how many months along she was so we weren't sure when she'd give birth. I thought I'd miss it but I got the call at dawn this morning that she gave birth to a big baby boy at 3 am! I biked over to see him and hold him for just a minute before I had to catch a bush taxi. This final event made me feel like it was time to go since it was the one thing I have been saying I wanted to do before leaving village.

I will write more once I get control of my emotions. In the meantime, I thought I'd share a list of gifts I got from villagers and folks I work with.

• 3 straw hats
• basket with leather cover
• pagnes (cloth used to make outfits)
• belt with bottle caps used for traditional Bissa dancing
• maraca
• leather sandals
• small checkerboard leather purse
• large checkerboard leather purse
• traditional woven fabric
• calabash (half a gourd used for drinking water or dolo)
• calabash spoon
• peanuts
• dried okra
• soumbala (local ball of spices)
• 2 sweet potatoes
• fabric tote bags
• chief's mask

By far, the coolest gift was the mask. A guy from my village made me a mask (his first time ever) of the village chief who died a few years ago. He was a very important figure and there has been a lot of problems finding a replacement so the gift is very meaningful here.

I also really love the belt for dancing since my best friend Dabre has been collecting bottle caps and working to make this for probably the past year. Well and of course we love dancing together!

The okra and peanuts were from my girls from the girls club. They have nothing but wanted to give me something (like so many of the gift givers) so were sharing what they have, what they cultivated themselves.

Belize Here I Come

After over a year thinking about transferring and six months since I applied (gotta love Peace Corps!), I finally have something official to share with all my loyal blog readers. I will be completing a third year in the small Central American nation of Belize! I haven't heard yet what exactly I'll be doing but I will continue as a health volunteer. I requested to work with an NGO on reproductive health in a city and was told they are seeing how they can accommodate my preferences.

By extending for 13 months, Peace Corps provides an all-expenses paid trip home for a month. That's right, not only is my flight covered but I also get a $12/day per diem - should be enough to cover a burrito and beer right?

I arrive in Wisconsin Dec 21 and fly to Belize Jan 24. During my time in Americaland, I want to see, do, and eat as much as possible. I'm planning a short trip to Washington DC and Charlotte plus a weekend in Chicago and at least a day or two in Madison. I would love to see as many people as possible so let me know what your plans are and how we can meet up.

And start planning your vacations to Belize now!

Updates

I know I have gotten bad about writing but I'm just not sure what to share anymore. My service is winding down quickly. I have a month left at site and am trying to figure out what I need to do before I leave my home for the last two years. I've started saying good-bye as other PCVs from my training group have left and informing people in village that I too will be going soon. My village will be replaced by another volunteer that will arrive in mid December so I also am trying to prepare them for this change.

I hosted three trainees on demystification over Halloween weekend. The idea was to show them what the real life of a PCV is like. I don't know if I succeed but I think they had fun. I tried to cook some good food since that was the hardest part of training for me. We also had a couple activities to do so they could learn more. We made liquid soap with some women and then went out to my Peulh village and gave a sensibilization on malaria. It was fun to have these "newbies" here and realize how much I have learned and grown in the past two years!

Lately I have been making a lot of soap with Dabre. Weeven tried making hard soap and are hoping to continue this. Its a great way for her to make a little extra money and everyone loves our products!

In the past month, I have also written my practicum and had it approved so I am graduating in December. Thats right, I now have my Masters of Public Health!

This weekend I am celebrating my 26th birthday, my third in Peace Corps! I guess I'm really getting old but still don't feel ready to get a real job and settle down.

As for whats next, I don't have any official answers quite yet. I did just learn that I am returning to WI on Dec 21 and will have a month of leave before starting a third year in Peace Corps. More info coming soon....

Wedding Season

October and November are wedding season in Burkina Faso because families have just harvested many of their crops for the year. They now have more free time and more money to throw a wedding. In Bissa country, the traditional wedding ceremony and all-night dance party are always held on a Thursday or Sunday. They are held at the groom's home or his family's home. I always assume weddings are happy occasions but its recently become obvious to me that this is not always the case for the bride.

When a girl gets married, she is leaving her parents, family, and home to move in with her husband's family. Her mother is no longer really her mother. Instead she must turn to her mother-in-law. When she gives birth, it will be her mother-in-law that is present; her mom can't see the newborn until a few days later. Many girls get married young--16, 17, or 18 years is not unusual for a wedding and I have seen girls even younger though this is often a forced marriage. Yes, forced marriage does exist in my village though it is illegal. The few cases I have heard about usually involved an older man taking a third or fourth wife who happens to be a young girl. Her parents have arranged the marriage and she has little say. I've been told this is less and less common nowadays but it gives you an idea of how awful the lives of girls and young women can be in this country.

The day of the wedding, the groom's cousins, brothers, and other male relatives go to the bride's home and "kidnap" her. I put this in quotations because everyone knows its going to happen and its really a game for the two families that will now be combined by marriage. The bride's sisters and female cousins will resist the kidnappers and try to keep the bride from leaving. I hear sometimes they try to make it very difficult for them to take the bride but this really is all in jest. It makes me think of the symbolism in this event though. They really are kidnapping the girls, taking her away from everything she knows, and throwing her into a whole new life.

The ceremony then takes place during the day but the bride really plays no role. The only wedding ceremony I've been to was for our prefet, the local leader kind of like a mayor. Since he is a functionnaire I know the wedding was a little different but I at least got an idea of a traditional ceremony. I was the only woman at the ceremony except for some of the groom's female relatives that were cooking and getting water in the background. Even the bride wasn't present. My understanding is this is because it is the two families that agree to the marriage at a Muslim ceremony and the fathers or uncles who will say the marriage oath. Anyways, I guess it is similar to a father walking his daughter down the aisle and giving her away at an American wedding. In both cases, traditionally the girl goes from being a daughter in one family to a wife in the other.

In the evening, the bride's younger female relatives will carry her gifts which usually includes pots & pans and everything she needs for a new house to the groom's home and sings as they go. This is the only cost for the bride's family. They provide supplies for the new house while the groom's family pays to put on the big party and has to build the bride a new hut. Once they arrive, they will sing to the groom's female relatives asking entry. Everyone else sings and dances all night long but the bride cannot dance. She will watch the festivities though.

The reason that I have really been thinking about weddings and how hard it is for the bride is because a girl I know very well came to tell me she was getting married two days later. I was shocked because I felt I knew Adinatou well and thought she was still in school. She is a member of my girls club, went to the national girls conference with me last May, and occasionally comes over to hang out with me. What I learned is that her family decided they couldn't afford her school fees this year even though I know they have more money then many in the village. I guess it was a choice for them. They also decided it was time for her to get married. She is 18 so getting to be an old maid here I guess. Thankfully, it was not an arranged marriage. She considered her new husband to be her boyfriend for the past few years. I never knew about this guy though and I guess he has been living in Ouaga. When I asked about him, she really knew very little about him such as if he had gone to school, spoke French, or what he did in Ouaga. She said they really had never talked very much. She thinks he is a good man though so I am praying that he is.

Adinatou sat at my house for about two hour the day she told me about her wedding. She said very little but I felt that she wanted to talk so I tried to prompt her with questions. She admitted to being very scared and not wanting to get married. She is hoping to continue school next year but it will depend on her husband's family. This is not unheard of but still is very rare. She told me she is a virgin and is very scared of having to have sex with her husband. I really didn't know what I could do so I listened and tried to show her I care. She said she would come back the next day. It seemed like she just wanted a break, a chance to relax a little before her life was turned upside down. I spoke with my friend Dabre in the meantime and she was also very disappointed and feels this is a forced marriage. She says we could have tried to stop it if we knew in advance but it was too late.

The next day Adinatou returned and we talked and sat together some more. She said she didn't want to get pregnant right away and still wants to continue her schooling. When I asked if she could talk to her husband, she said I should. In this culture, it is very normal to use a third party to give important information. Still I was surprised about this. She said she would tell her husband to come find me and I plan to discuss family planning options with him as well as her education. I also reminded her that there are options she can use without her husband knowing and encouraged her to come to the CSPS and see Dabre or the midwife. I informed both of them that she might come and they also encourged me to talk to her husband.

I am disappointed Adinatou didn't come to me sooner especially if there is something I could have done. I wish I had known she was being pulled out of school so I could have talked to her family. I really believe in her and see that she has potential. We've talked about how she wants to become a teacher or a nurse. She has dreams that go beyond being a wife in this village! I realize that I have done what I can though. She did come to me which shows she trusts me. It is hard for girls here to confide in others and I am sure it was scary for her even to come to my house. I am so thankful she did though and then could tell me how I could help her. I haven't talked to her husband yet since they have only been married a week but I am hoping this is one last thing I can do before I leave site. I also plan to go visit Adinatou in her new home and village before I leave. I know this is so scary for her and I feel helpless. I just hope that she knows I care and that she remembers some of the health topics we discussed in the club.

So this wedding season has made me rethink the excitement of getting married. I've had a great time dancing and partying at weddings in my village but never really considered what the bride was going through. Its so easy to assume that they are thrilled since in my culture they say a wedding is the biggest day in a girl's life. It definitely is eventful day here but that doesn't mean the bride is happy.

Pictures Galore

After months of not uploading pictures I have finally put a ton up on Picasa. Most of them my friends took or I borrowed a camera since I no longer have a camera. Check out photos from July through October for what I've been up to.

Bike Tour Wrap Up

The bike tour ended a few weeks ago and they announced that they raised 4500 dollars! Thanks so much to everyone who donated and especially to the friends and family I know about who gave.

Thank you Dad, Mom, Suzy, Mary, Peter, and Barb!

Tons of pictures were posted on a picasa page for the tour and since I don't have a camera this the best way to share pics with you all. There are a ton but I participated the first few days so they should be at the beginning of the album. Check them out!

Time Flies

I have been in Burkina Faso for two years now and the time has just flown by. I remember how stressed I was about what to pack and how to prepare for leaving the US for two years and now I realize how unimportant all of my concerns were. Yeah I use a lot of the stuff I brought but the reality is I have learned to get by with whatever I have and would be fine without a lot of the junk I did bring. Plus my amazing family and friends have sent me anything I could possibly need.

I have two months left in Burkina Faso and I realize this too is going to pass way too quickly. I’m trying to enjoy the little time I have left but am finding it hard to know what to do. I have been in and out of village so much that the last three weeks that I stayed in village (I think the longest I’ve gone without a night somewhere else since March!), I didn’t know what to do with myself. People are really busy harvesting and I don’t have time to plan any new programs so I just need to hang out and enjoy being with my village friends and family.

I am not sure what is next at this point but promised my dad I would be in Wisconsin for Christmas 2010 before I left the US two years ago.

Random Notes

It seems like I have a lot of little events to share but have not been feeling very motivated to write lately. This blog may seem a little scattered but please bear with me.

A few days after I returned from Niger, Dylan came to village to help put on a computer camp. We had planned to do this earlier in the summer but had to cancel so were trying to squeeze it in before school started. As I think I’ve mentioned, an American company built a computer lab at the school in my village about 3 years ago. It is outfitted with 20 computers in great condition that are run off solar panels. For the first year and a half there was even satellite internet though it was never used so they stopped paying the bill. The computers are rarely used and usually just by the teachers but students have expressed interest in learning more so I wanted to set something up. My friend Jacque who is the pharmacist was particularly interested and helped with some of the arrangements. We held 3 different sessions a day each for an hour and a half. One group for girls, one for boys, and one for community members. The girls were mostly from my club and younger but the boys that came were mostly in high school in another town and much more advanced then the girls so it was good to split them up. The community members included the madarassa (Islamic school) teacher that is in my family and my friend Dabre’s husband. Neither had ever touched a computer and it was interesting to give them this experience. Dylan discussed the parts of the computer and how to turn it on and then did lessons in Microsoft Word and Excel and had them use a typing program to learn the proper finger placements.

School officially began in Burkina on Oct 1 though the first week or so seems to be spent figuring out who is in what class and how they are going to pay school fees. I think they are now just starting to teach classes. In my family we have two kids starting school this year. I’m so excited for Akeem and Assetou and have tried to show the family how important I think school. Barkissa, my 13 year old friend and helper, also is starting middle school this year. She passed the big exam last spring that students have to take at the end of primary school and is one of the lucky ones who gets to go on. I’ve been hearing a lot of complaints about how expensive school is and many people are unsure of how they will pay their children’s school fees. In my village, primary school costs about $5 for the year and middle school costs about $40 plus they have to buy notebooks, pencils, and other supplies. This doesn’t seem like much but is a huge chunk of most villagers income especially when you realize they may have 5 kids in school.

It is now harvest time and people are out in the fields bringing in their crops from this year. Right now they are harvesting corn, beans, peanuts, and okra. The millet won’t be ready for several more months but people are hoping for a good harvest this year after several bad years. I was told to go out to the fields one day with my friend Dabre but had no idea what we were doing. We showed up late because had work at the CSPS to do first. Turns out it was a work party in the fields. Dabre had been paid to make dolo for one of her neighbors who asked people to come help him weed his fields in exchange for dolo. The men were all lined up in the field with their dabas (hoes) and weeded in unison to the music from a drummer and maraca. It was almost like they were dancing as they weeded. I have spent a lot of time in the fields but this was my first experience with a social gathering like this revolved around working together and helping your neighbors.

I recently made soap with a group of women. Dabre had asked me to make it with her and some neighbors so I picked up supplies in Ouaga months ago and we finally found time to get together. I was expecting a few women but we ended up with 25 women that showed up for the two days it took. We had a lot of fun and they were very appreciative for the knowledge and to take home a free bottle of liquid soap. Now they are asking me to make hard soap so hope to squeeze that in still.

The minister of foreign affairs for Burkina Faso is my neighbor. Well at least he has a huge house that I can see out my window though he usually lives in Ouaga and only comes back for holidays and special events. His relatives are still there though and I have played with his great nieces and nephews and will sit and “chat” with his older brother. Unfortunately in August his mother passed away. I have seen her many times and she was in very bad health and mostly blind so it didn’t come as a huge surprise. Plus they are saying she was 105 years old so I guess she’s had a good life! Anyways, two weeks ago they held a huge funeral for her. I’m guessing a thousand people descended on my town to partake in the festivities and there were cars all over and tents put up to host the visitors. Even the first lady Chantal Campaore flew in on her helicopter and landed in the field behind my house. That’s the second time in six months! I guess you can tell there is an election coming up next month!

There was another death recently that hit me much harder. This is a hard time of year and many people are falling sick with malaria and other diseases. It seems like practically every day I am hearing about someone else that died. Most of these aren’t people I know though and they don’t really affect me. Recently a child that I knew well and played with frequently passed away though. Marc was just over a year old and such a happy baby. He was very chubby and seemed to be in such good health. Nobody is really sure what happened since he had been fine the days before he died and even seemed to be improving a few hours before his death. Its so hard to not have answers here. Death is just a part of life and people move on. His mom was in mourning for three days and couldn’t leave the house and then things are supposed to be back to normal. But they obviously aren’t. I am so sad about this loss and can’t imagine what his mom is feeling. I just want to hug her when I see her but of course that’s not appropriate here. Its hard to know what to do…

On a happier note, there is a small “mountain” in Garango that I had talked about climbing with Karla and Yoshi and never seemed to get around too. I finally went with Dylan last week though and reached the summit. Even Puppy came with! He ran 20 km while I biked and then climbed the mountain and later ran 20 km home. Its really not very high but the land is so flat here that any change in topography is exciting. We met up in Garango and biked towards the mountain. I tried to show off my Bissa and house nearby and we left our bikes there before beginning to hike. Dylan packed a picnic and we enjoyed several hours overlooking Garango and the nearby bush. On our way down, we found a large rock where water must rush over during rainy season. It was very slick and we enjoyed sliding down it!

One final note, there has been a gas shortage throughout Burkina. I didn’t really think much about it until my gas tank ran out and I had no way to cook dinner. Dylan was here at the time and we had to come up with creative ideas for dinner. Dabre lent me a grill and I got charcoal so cooked over coals for about two weeks before I was able to get a new gas tank. We even made lasagna in my Dutch oven one night. It took forever to cook but tasted amazing! Flexibility is what Peace Corps is all about!

One More Vacation

A few weeks ago I took a short vacation to Niamey, the capital of Niger, with my PCV friends Audrey & Heather. We all had a few vacation days left and wanted a little girls getaway. I was most interested in seeing the Niger River and going on a boat ride while Heather wanted to see giraffes. Audrey was up for anything. We all were interested in shopping especially for silver jewelry made by Tuaregs, a nomadic ethnic group found in the Sahel and Sahara.

In Niger we spent the first two nights at the Peace Corps transit house so met many PCVs and got lots of recommendations especially on the best places to eat. We definitely ate very well but am sure it was because we were in vacation mode and willing to splurge. After talking to neighboring PCVs and hearing them rave about Ouaga, I realize you definitely see a place different when you're there for vacation rather than trying to get tons of work done over a few days.

We visited the National Museum our first morning which consists of a few small exhibits, a sad zoo, and some artisan stands. Nothing too impressive but we enjoyed seeing hippos, lions, hyenas, and ostriches as well as displays on dinosaur bones found in Niger and traditional dress.

That afternoon while wandering along the river looking for a restaurant with waterfront view, we ran into a guide who could take us to see hippos on the river. He recommended a restaurant and met us there with a motorized pirogue (a large canoe) a few hours later to start our tour. We spent over two hours on the Niger River and only saw one hippo but he was big and completely out of the water. I loved the ride and the hippo was just a bonus! This is the most important river in West Africa and runs through many important places including Bamako and Timbuktu. Amazingly its only a huge river for part of the year. This being the end of rainy season, the river was very wide and had a fast current. We were told in March people are able to walk across it since its so narrow and shallow.

We were impressed with our guide, his prices were lower than we expected to pay and it seemed easy to make arrangements with him so we agreed to have him take us to see giraffes the next day as well as to a few other places. As it so often is in West Africa, he was over an hour late picking us up and our car broke down so were stuck on the side of the road for over two hours. So much for having to get to the area early before the day got too hot. The town of Koure is promoted as having the last population of wild giraffes in West Africa. I'm not sure its true or not since there are several parks and reserves throughout the region though nothing like what is found in Eastern and Southern Africa. We didn't have to drive more than 5 km or so off the main road before I spotted a giraffe through the bushes. We drove a little further and found a whole group together eating acacia bushes. We walked around near the animals but they would start to move whenever we got too close. I counted a total of 11 giraffes in this group but we were told over 200 live in this area. We also saw camels resting within several yards of the giraffes and other domesticated animals like goats and sheep wandering around the area. People were walking by collecting fire wood and other daily tasks so it was obvious they lived there right among the giraffes. Interesting to see but again no where as cool as the parks I visited in Kenya.

That afternoon we visited Bouban Island located on the Niger River. To reach it, we rode in a small pirogue that was paddled and poled across. We heard it was a really cool place to spend a few hours and the sights included a humongous haunted baobab tree. We were not at all impressed. The restaurant had no food and after tromping through tall grasses and prickers we arrived at a tree that was good size but I've seen bigger in my village. Plus nobody could give us any answers about if it was really considered haunted and if so, why.

Our final day was spent shopping at several different markets, an artisan village, a string of small jewelry shops, and a big (for my current standards) grocery store. We all got plenty of souvenirs but I was disappointed at the high prices of jewelry. I guess they were more Western prices than I was used to but hopefully also Western quality.

We ended our trip with getting dressed up for dinner at a great Italian restaurant. It was so good I even ate two entrees! How will I ever adjust to being able to eat whatever I want whenever I want it?

Transport back home was easy on the Niger side but as soon as crossed the border the troubles begin. Every time I, and all my friends, have returned to Burkina, it has take forever to get through immigration, customs, and border patrol. I don't know what they are worried about people sneaking in but boy do they go slow and stop the bus repeatedly. This time it was made worse by three unfortunate bus incidents. As we pulled away after the first stop, the driver didn't have quite enough room and the side of our bus scraped the rearview mirrors of another bus causing a huge window to shatter and glass to fly. Thankfully nobody was hurt beyond a few small cuts. After an hour spent cleaning this up, we were ready to go again only to find the battery had died so we needed a jump from another bus. At another stop a few km down the road, our back tires got stuck in the mud and it took quite a while and quite a few men to push us out. Only a few more hours later and without anymore bus problems, I made it back to Tenkodogo.

Unfortunately I still don't have a camera but I hope to get pictures from my friends to post in the future.

Biking Across Burkina

I'm excited to announce I survived the bike tour! It was an exhilarating four days of biking for a total of 310 kilometers. There are detailed explanations on the bike tour website but I'll share a little of my own experience. I think I was probably one of the least experienced bikers participating in the first days of the tour having done very little biking before arriving in Burkina. Here I frequently bike 5-10 km but usually not much more than that. I decided to participate in this tour months ago even if would be challenged and am so glad I did.

The event started off with an opening ceremony at a high school in Po. There were traditional dancers, lots of local leaders, and several Peace Corps staff along with the gaggle of kids that always appear when there is something going on. Following the speeches, there was some dancing but unfortunately a soccer game and ceremonial bike ride around the city had to be cancelled because it was pouring. The rain didn't stop us from planting trees though. I didn't quite get why this was a part of the program but each of us planted a tree in the mud and rain. We had a big dinner then headed to bed since our 4:30 am wake up was hours away.

The first day of biking we lined up in the center of the city to wait for the high commissioner (a very important regional government leader) to start us off. Surprisingly she rode up on a bike in a brown velour track suit and her bike tour T-shirt. She had us get ready and then dropped her arm as if it was race; I'm sure they were surprised when we didn't speed out of there.

We biked a little over 80 km that day to Guiba, twice as long as the longest ride I've ever done in my life. It was on nicely paved road and the weather was beautiful so actually not too difficult. I also found it easier to bike when I'm not alone and can chat with my companions.

Day two was the route I was most scared of but also most excited to do. We would be biking over 90 km and only the last 20 were paved while the rest is dirt, mud & lots of potholes. This is the main road my village is located 4 km off of so where I have done most of my biking and the route my transport takes. Its a bad road but its my road and I know it. I was pretty sure I couldn't complete the whole ride and would end up in our support vehicle; I just didn't want it to be when we were near my village.

We started out early once again and made it pretty easily to the Nakambe or Volta River about 15 km from my site. My PCV neighbor Krystle met us and we rested before heading off to the intersection to my village. My drinking buddy and best friend Dabre and her husband Christoph were waiting for us with dolo and water satches. One of our nurses and another friend Lene also came out to show their support. I was so happy to be able to share this experience with my friends in village! I also ran into several people along the route and a few said they saw us pass.

This was about the halfway point so still quite a bit to go but we were headed to Tenkodogo and I've biked this section a lot. I was doing well until about the last 10 km and actually started wondering if I'd be able to finish a few km out of the city. I was able to reach our destination though and was thrilled to have biked the whole way!

The next day was a short ride, a little over 40 km to Koupela. I remember when I took my first 40 km ride at Christmas and thought it was impossibly long. Now I'm calling that distance short - crazy! Anyway it was a "short" day but actually the hardest for me because every muscle in my body hurt along with my butt. Next time I'm wearing padded bike shorts! The first days of biking were catching up with me! My friend Audrey met us on the road with cold water satchets and signs cheering us on.

My final day with the tour was about 75 km and took us to Fada, the farthest east I've been in this country. As was the case all week, we ate a ton for lunch and dinner. I ate 3 whole chickens myself three nights in a row, another first. Its incredible how much food my body needed after these rides.

I made it to my final destination and am very proud of accomplishing my goals. I may have had the most flats (2) in the group but I biked the whole way and didn't need to ride in the PC SUV. I know there are probably some great athletes reading this and scoffing at me calling this a challenging ride but it was one of the most intense physical activities I have ever done and I succeeded!

The tour continued on without me the next day as other people will join and leave as the month goes on. The gender and development committee is continuing to collect money until the end of the month so please donate if you're able and haven't already.

Friday was the end of Ramadan so everyone put on their brand new outfits and prayed before celebrating the rest of the day. I was in Fada so didn't participate in any celebrations but enjoyed the people watching as I waited for a bush taxi to take me back towards Audrey's village. I spent the weekend with her and we had a good time hanging out, walking around her village, and catching up. Sunday I did a 60 km ride to get back home though it was broken in three parts. The first stop was a bush taxi ride and the second stop was due to rain. I realized I was going to be caught so went to a restaurant. Unfortunately due to gas shortages they had no food and for other unknown reasons has no soda so I was stuck enjoying a beer in the middle of my ride home. I guess there are worse places to be caught in the rain!

Once again, check out the bike tour blog for daily entries, photos, and to donate money. Unfortunately I don't have any of my own pictures since my camera, cell phone, and ipod fell in a ditch of water. www.burkinabiketour.blogspot.com

Tour de Faso

Tomorrow I am headed to Po, a regional capital near the border with Ghana, for a kick-off celebration for Peace Corp Burkina Faso's bike tour. Early Monday morning we will start pedaling around the country to promote Peace Corps, celebrate PC's 50th anniversary, and to raise money for gender and development activities.

I will be biking the first four days for a little over 300 km while other volunteers complete other sections of the tour and some bike the whole country.

I have been trying to practice for 90 km of biking a day with shorter rides of 20-40 km when I can fit them in but am still nervous about completing my part of the tour. Today I biked to visit my new PCV neighbor Marina who is now in Karla's former site. Puppy has been joining me on several rides but usually disapppears after 15 km or so and I find him back at home. Today he ran the whole 20 km with me, hung out, and ran home. By the end he was pretty exhausted though! Its much more fun to have a biking companion then to go alone but he really enjoys chasing motos and I worry about him getting hurt.

OK back to the bike tour, if you are able to support this great cause please check out the website at www.burkinabiketour.blogspot.com. There were some problems with donations and paypal but these have been fixed so please check back if you encountered problems earlier.

Thanks for all of your support!

Accra Lome & the Beach

I just returned from an amazing vacation to Accra, Ghana, Lome, Togo and the beach with Dylan! We started our trip with a 28 hour bus ride from Ouaga to Accra. At times it seemed we may never arrive but that's how African travel goes.

We were amazed at this city - it felt so Western and developed. We saw tall, nice buildings, fast food, fancy restaurants and even gelatto though we couldn't afford it. There really isn't a beach in the city of Accra even though this capital is right on the coast. Mostly its just cliffs down to the ocean but we did enjoy a few beers overlooking the water.

Along with many a cold beer during the trip, we also enjoyed great food during our trip including Chinese, fast food chicken sandwiches, pizza, Coke floats, chicken curry, fresh fish and shrimp,and lots of cheap fried rice on the street. We also tried to have at least one Fan Choco or other frozen Fan product every day. Does it sound like I talk about food a lot? Probably because that's what is often on my mind since joining Peace Corps and vacation to me means eating well. Its nice to be able to live it up even if this means eating fast food I wouldn't even touch in the US.

In Accra we saw the National Museum which was small but interesting, Independence Square, and the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park. I tried to shop at the National Cultural Center, their artisan market, but was too annoyed by vendors constantly harassing me. I did but a few things at the outskirts of their huge market.

After Accra, we traveled east on an amazing toll road - I didn't know roads in such good condition existed here! We drove by hundreds of huge mansions and realized once again that there definetly is some money in this city!

Our next destination was Keta, an isthmus between the ocean and huge lagoon. At its most narrow point I'd estimate there were less than 500 sandy meters between these two bodies of water. We stayed at a nice beach resort that I don't think gets a lot of foreign visitors but seems to be busy with locals especially on the weekend. The beach was gorgeous here and we enjoyed laying out in the sun even if we were the only ones in swimsuits. There were hundreds of people along the beach though - fishermen, women selling stuff and others out buying whatever was caught that day, and lots of kids playing. I know we were entertainment for them but I also really enjoyed the people watching. One day we took a bush taxi a short ways to see a local lighthouse and try out another yummy restaurant.

After a few days on this beach we were ready to move on to a new beach. We took a bush taxi to the border and crossed on foot into Togo where we had to start using French again. Lome is a crazy city and I have to say I really didn't enjoy it. The taxi drivers were rude and we never once were able to get where we asked without having some type of problem. We did enjoy the grocery stores and food though!

In Togo we stayed at a little place on the beach called Chez Antoinne. Its not listed in any of the guidebooks so is really advertised by word of mouth. For less than ten bucks a night we had our own little shack on the beach with private courtyard and straw mattress. There are only 5 shacks there so not many night guests. We were surprised at the number of locals that came to enjoy the beach during the day though. We ran into a group of Togo PCVs enjoying one last weekend together before they COS. It was fun to swap PC stories. Our last night we had a bonfire on the beach in celebration of one of the guy's birthdays.

The trip seemed to be over much sooner than we would have liked as vacations always are. We again had a long bus ride home though this time on a crappy bus with no air conditioning and seats 5 across. Don't think we got any sleep that night.

I promise to post pictures as soon as I get on good internet though I don't know when that will be.

Planting Trees in the Sahel

In honor of International Youth Day (at least that's what we were told though nobody has ever heard of this holiday) last Thursday August 12, Peace Corps was asked to participate in a tree planting and ceremony organized by the Minister of Youth held in Dori, the capital of the Sahel region. About 30 PCVs participated along with a few Japanese & French volunteers and at least 500 Burkinabe from around the country.

Everyone met up in Ouaga and traveled in a large convoy north. Due to threats in the north we were actually an armored convoy with several trucks of military and an armed soldier in our bus. His gun scared me more than the threat but I guess we were safe! The drive which normally takes 4 hours took more than 7 due to numerous stops and a very slow pace. At one stop for people to pee on the side of the rode, I counted 15 coach buses, 2 mini buses for PC, and about a dozen SUVs. We definitely made an impression along the road!

That evening was a bonfire and program led by the Boy Scouts of Burkina Faso. I didn't even know they existed but made me think of Jason. The bonfire was out of the city and the buses had a hard time on the roads. One bus had tried turning around and got stuck perpendicular to the road so everyone had to drive in the ditch to get around. In the process another bus got stuck and started tipping. Thankfully everyone got off safely. The program included lots of singing, dancing, and cheering but most of us were too tired to enjoy it much. It didn't start until after 10 PM, way past my bedtime! We did find it ironic that a big bonfire (i.e. burning trees) was planned the night before a huge tree planting.

The next morning was time for tree planting. We were told we would be planting 20,000 acacia trees in 15 minutes but that morning it was increased to 65,000. Seems impossible, huh? We laid out many of the trees in advance and some big piece of equipment had dug trenches to plant in so it wasn't as much work as it might seem. Hundreds of brand-new dabas (a hoe with wooden handle) were handed out and again it seemed ironic to use so much wood to plant more trees. I think in reality we spent about an hour and a half planting but there were a lot of trees! When we first arrived there was lots of dancing and singing and several balafones and drums. This continued during the planting so we had entertainment as we worked. There also was a long program like at any event here and none of us found it too interesting.

I guess it was a successful event though many of us felt it was a publicity stunt. Blaise Compaore, the current president who is running for re-election in Nov, was mentioned repeatedly and everyone was reminded this event was thanks to him and to remember to vote in a few months.

On a side note, many of us did a little shopping and bought blankets. Dori is famous for its blankets and there is a little custom I found quite interesting. They're called marriage blankets and a woman receives one at her wedding. They are made from thin strips of fabric which are partially sewn together but there are still many holes. The couple is suppose to have sex through the blanket and afterwards sew up that hole. When all the holes are sewn up, they say the couple should have enough children so not need the blanket anymore.

Biking Across Burkina for Gender Equality

I am excited to announce that next month from Sept 6 - 9 I will be biking a little over 300 km from Po to Fada including passing a few kilometers from my village to raise money for gender equality activities organized by Peace Corps Volunteers in Burkina Faso. Over the last two years many people have asked how they can support the work that I am doing here and up until now, there haven't been many fundraisers or activities that I felt comfortable promoting. I totally support this bike tour though and encourage anyone that feels like giving to know their money is going to good use.

Peace Corp's Gender and Development (GAD) Committee funds a variety of activities put on by volunteers including girls camps and the family planning conference camp I participated in with two girls from my village. As you probably know, I have done a lot of work with girls in my village including a girl's camp last summer which became a weekly girls club so these are activities I really believe will help toward Burkina's development.

Below is a letter from GAD which I think explains what an amazing activity this is or check out their website for more information and to donate.

Dear family and friends of Peace Corps Burkina Faso,

Beginning September 5, 2010, Peace Corps Volunteers from around Burkina Faso will be participating in Sur nos Vélos, pour le Faso! , a country-wide bike tour to raise money for Gender and Development projects in Burkina Faso and celebrate Peace Corps’ 50th anniversary.

Gender and Development projects, be they creating a girl-friendly classroom or helping a women's group conduct an income generating activity, are of critical importance in Burkina Faso and represent a significant component of each Volunteer’s work. The sole function of the Gender and Development (GAD) Committee is to support volunteer-initiated, gender equity projects around Burkina Faso; however, the committee’s capacity is currently limited by a lack of funding. The primary goal of Sur nos Vélos, pour le Faso! is to generate funds so the GAD Committee can once again begin giving small-scale project grants and Volunteers can continue the essential work of promoting gender awareness and equality in Burkina Faso.

Please help us reach our fundraising goal by visiting our blog and making a donation:

burkinabiketour.blogspot.com

In Burkina Faso, one dollar goes a long way, so even the smallest contribution will make a big difference! Follow our blog, and we will keep you updated on the road!

In addition to supporting future GAD projects, the bike tour will kick-off Burkina Faso’s “Peace Corps at 50 Years” celebration. Riding from village to village, visiting as many Volunteers’ sites as possible, we will have a unique opportunity to interact with communities, raise awareness of the presence and purpose of Peace Corps, and celebrate the many gender equity projects that Volunteers have performed in collaboration with local associations.

Thank you in advance for your support!

Sincerely,

The Bike Tour Team

Ghana Vacation

The second half of my mom's West African adventure was spent in Ghana. I have been looking forward to a beach vacation for at least the last year and had even planned a trip with some girls in April but had to cancel because of too much work. As I have said many times, Burkina is usually very hot and very dry so I often sit in village dreaming of when I can jump into the ocean, play in the waves, walk in the sand, and eat good food. I was able to do all this during our two weeks in Ghana and more.

We took a bus from Ouaga to Kumasi, a long bumpy ride lasting 16 hours only made worse by the fact I was sick and my whole body ached. I wasn't able to do anything our first day in Kumasi but my mom enjoyed walking around this huge, busy city so unlike Ouaga. The next day we traveled several more hours by bus to Cape Coast and I started feeling better and was fine the rest of the trip. In Cape Coast we got our first view of the ocean and it was magnificent!

Cape Coast Castle is one of the most well preserved of dozens of slave castles located along the West African coast. This also happens to be where President Obama and his family visited on their first official visit to Africa last summer. This fort was built by the Swedes in the mid 1600s, later taken over by the Danes, and then the British before Ghana gained its independence about 50 years ago. It wasn't originally built for the slave trade but later dungeons were built to house hundreds of captured slaves before being led out the Door of No Return to a waiting ship and transported across the Atlantic to the Americas. The castle had a great museum with information about the slave trade and our tour guide was also well informed. Its difficult to imagine the cruelties carried out in this place and the effects on the rest of the world including the changes in African societies, the industrialization of the US, and the power held by the Europeans.

From the castle, you can look down on the beach and see hundreds of fishermen with their wooden boats and green nets. Mom and I were fascinated by watching these men go about their work preparing boats to go out to sea and untangling their gigantic nets. One afternoon as we sat at a restaurant on the beach, we watched over 50 men spend at least 2 hours trying to get a large boat from the beach, over the breaking waves, and into the calmer sea. We were told this was the inaugural voyage for this boat which is why it took so much more work than normal but were still surprised and how difficult it was to get the boat past the cresting waves.

Another day we took a side trip to Elmina, a fishing village just down the coast. They were holding an annual fishing festival so thousands of people and their boats were in town for the huge event. This village is also home to the oldest European structure in Sub-Saharan Africa, a trading fort built by the Portuguese in 1482. This fort, like in Cape Coast, was later converted into a slave castle and housed thousands of enslaved Africans before they were transported across the ocean to a life of servitude if they survived the passage.

From Cape Coast we traveled west along the coast to Takoradi, a large port for ships bringing cargo that spreads throughout West Africa. We then took a long taxi ride on a dirt road to find a small hotel called the Hideout which had been recommended by a friend. It definitely did feel well-hidden and we were happy to arrive after wondering just where we were trying to go. The Hideout is across the river from the village of Butre and usually its easy to go between the two. Unfortunately it had been raining a lot and the river was swollen and had washed out the bridge the morning we arrived. There were small wooden canoes that could take you across but even locals told us they were scared of the river now so we decided to just look at the village and the ruins of another castle from the distance. In Cape Coast and Butre, we stayed in small huts very close to the beach and heard the roar of the ocean and crashing waves all night long. Awesome!

From Butre we went to the town of Busua just a few kilometers down the coast but another long ride because of the flooded river. It seems like Busua is the place to go in Ghana if you want to hang out at the beach. Unfortunately it was cold, gray, and occasionally windy most of the days we were at the beach. I still put my bikini on every day and played in the water. I had been dreaming of this for months! I did find it ironic that it was cold at the beach after months of sweltering in the heat and imagining how good it would feel to go swimming.

We headed back to Kumasi a couple days before Mom flew out and did some last minute shopping. The Kumasi market has been called the largest market in all of West Africa and I would believe it. We spent several hours and saw just about everything imaginable for sale except for arts & crafts or other souvenirs. I also was impressed that we weren't ever really hassled here which I have found to be the case at every other market I've visited. We visited the National Cultural Center the afternoon before our night bus left for Ouaga and found lots of souvenirs including clay beads, batik and tie-died fabrics, a carved wooden statue, and other jewelry.

It was a great trip and I'm happy to have been able to spend time with my mom. We ate lots of great food, played in the ocean, saw some live music and dancing, learned some history, did lots of shopping, and had time to lay around the beach and read. I've been wondering why I couldn't have done Peace Corps in Ghana since we heard there were PCVs in several of the towns we visited. I guess you probably appreciate it more when its vacation though!

Visit With Mom

My mom spent a month in West Africa to see what my life was really like. We were able to do quite a lot but also see the realities of my day to day activities. After a morning sleeping in to catch up on jet lag, we headed over to the Ghana embassy to request visas for the second half of her trip. That night we had dinner at Gondwana, one of the nicest and most expensive restaurants in Burkina Faso. Not exactly an authentic experience but definitely worth it. My friend Yoshi joined us so she and my mom could meet and we could celebrate Mom's arrival and her departure. Yoshi finished her 2 years in Burkina a few days later and is back in Japan now. I'm very sad to see her leave since she has become one of my closest friends here but I look forward to a trip to Japan in the next few years!

My mom's first full day was spent participating in an activity sponsored by Catholic Relief Service to plant 1200 trees in a new neighborhood built by NGOs to house the victims of last September's floods. It seemed to be a big publicity stunt since after an hour or so of 30 PCVs sporting fancy new shirts planting trees, we all were sat down as a group to listen to all the bigwigs talk about this great project. The truck bringing water in got stuck in the mud and tipped over so I don't think the trees were ever watered. Also only half of them got fences put around so I'm sure the other half were eaten by cows and goats within the first week. Anyways we had a good time and Catholic Relief Service along with other NGOs has done an amazing job of creating this huge new community where six months ago there were only fields. A barbecue was held that evening for all the PCVs and included a balafon (like xylophone made with gourds) band, the traditional music of southern Burkina. I think it was a great introduction for my mom to development work as well as many of my friends here.

A day later we headed to my site where we spent two weeks hanging out and mostly following my normal routine if I actually had a routine. Everyone in village had been hearing me talk about how my mom was coming to visit for at least the last year so were very excited. Visitors are always important here but I was told its an especially big deal that my mom came since she is the one that gave birth and raised me.

We made the rounds at my family compound meeting the women and children who weren't in the field that day. Baby Sakinatou was home so I handed her to my mom even though she was naked. Of course she had to shit right on Mom. Welcome to village! After a change of clothes we went to town to see my CSPS and meet many of my friends. The next day was market day as well as Sunday so I had a girl's club meeting. We made rounds at the market and then decorated visors my mom had brought with the girls.

Throughout her time in village we also helped my friend Dabre with the three day process of making and selling dolo. That's along with drinking lots of dolo made by other women so she was able visit many of the local cabarets! We also weighed babies, made enriched porridge, watched health talks on malaria, the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV/AIDS, and malnutrition. We went to church and danced with the women and children in Dabre's courtyard. Another Sunday we made liquid soap with my girls club and discussed the importance of good hygiene. Dylan came for a couple days with his friend Chris who was also visiting from the US. We all biked out to one of my Peulh villages to see how it is different from the Bissa village. It had rained that morning and the route isn't great on a normal day plus we had all kinds of bike problems so it was quite the adventure.

Before leaving, many people stopped by to wish Mom well and give her small gifts to take home. If I can remember correctly, she received 2 live chickens, 50+ guinea fowl eggs, 2 huge containers of onions, a large bowl of dried beans, a bag of peanuts, 2 local baskets, several calabashes, a small leather purse and sandals, and some traditional woven cloth. She was shocked at the gifts, especially since there was no way for her to take many of the things home, but I explained they are so excited to have her visit and want to show their appreciation. It is the time of year when people don't have much money so they give whatever they have which in this area happens to be peanuts, onions, and eggs right now.

Mom also brought many gifts for my friends and family including tshirts, baseball caps, headscarves, balls, toy cars, a badminton set, and a variety of other toys and games. She had bright yellow shirts made that say Kirstin is my sister so we gave them out to all 30 kids in my compound.

Back in Ouaga, I took Mom to Village Artisinal where you can watch local crafts being made and purchase souvenirs including bronze statues, cloth wove on a loom, beaded jewelry, leather purses, wood carved items, batiks, and beautiful bags made from old plastic sachets. We also went to the huge new Grand Market in the city center to purchase other souvenirs.

We celebrated Fourth of July at my country director Shannon's home with some other PCVs and Americans living in Burkina.

The next day we were off to Ghana and watch for a blog about that coming soon!

Dogon Country

I have just returned from the most amazing vacation. I haven't taken a vacation since meeting my parents last July in Egypt and haven't even done any traveling around Burkina since Anna visited in November so was really ready for a break. I feel the need to mention I wasn't all that excited about this trip though because the idea of visiting the beaches in Ghana where several groups of friends have recently gone seemed much nicer than traveling closer to the Sahara Desert and hiking around in the heat for 4 days. I agreed to go though because I've heard Dogon Country in Mali is one of those must-do places and I figured I'd never be back. Boy was I in for a surprise!

My vacation started in village with a visit from my Japanese friends, Yoshi & Miki. Yoshi is leaving next week so wanted to see my village one more time and Miki had never been here before. My friend had made dolo that day so we enjoyed a few calabashes and visited lots of folks. The next day we headed to Tenkodogo for a small going away party for Yoshi. I then continued on to Ouaga for a night before catching a very early bus to Ouahigouya in order to sit around for 4 hours or so waiting for a bush taxi to Koro in Mali. I went with 6 other health PCVs though we lost one after the first day since she was sick and couldn't handle the hiking. Our bush taxi made 5 stops along the border for customs, visas, etc before arriving in the town of Koro. We had lunch then piled into an old station wagon to drive several more hours to reach the Bandiagara Escarpment. This is basically a small mountain or cliff that is a 150 km long. Originally the area was inhabited by the Tellum people who the guidebooks described as pygmies that mythology says could fly to crevices in the escarpment where they built houses. Our guide Oumar who works with PCVs from all over West Africa strongly disagreed with this though. Their houses are still visible in the sides of the cliff and reminded us a lot of the cliff dwellings in Arizona if anyone has seen those.

The Dogon people arrived in this secluded area about 500 years ago in an attempt to escape Arab invasions and converting to Islam. They again attempted to escape conquering by the French and Christian missionaries. They were unsuccessful on all fronts though their geographical location has allowed them some protection from outside forces and ability to keep their culture and animist religion. Some Dogons are now Muslim or Christian but many continue to practice animism and fetishes and black magic are a big part of their culture.

We visited about 8 villages along the escarpment located both at the top and the bottom of the cliff. Most villages are small with only several hundred people. We also saw several abandoned villages because water had become too difficult at the top of the cliff.

Every day we hiked for several hours in the morning climbing up, down and along the cliffs. We then rested several hours in a village during the hottest part of they day before hiking several more hours in the late afternoon. We slept in small villages on the roofs of people's houses. We walked about 10 to 15 km a day which I know isn't so far but these were difficult routes that often involved climbing rock to rock on a steep path. We found it was more difficult to go down then up because it seemed so easy to make one misstep and go tumbling a hundred meters to your death. Did I say how much I loved this adventure?

In my village in Burkina, houses are made of mud or cement bricks so it was interesting to see how things were done differently in Dogon. Here we have dirt and can make mud easily but there they have lots of rock so use that to build houses and walls around their compounds. It was fascinating to see how well built they were when it seemed one little tap would knock them all down. Because many people farm on the side of a cliff, they have also developed ways to prevent erosion and better use the local resources. I'm not an ag person so can't describe them all but one way I noticed was to put stones around small plots where they would grow crops to prevent the topsoil from blowing or washing away.

Dogon Country is north of my village and therefore closer to the Sahara so although rainy season has started here it was still hot season there. This means it was very sunny, hot, and dry. Not such an exciting change after having it cool down by me. There was a huge storm, their first real rain for the year, our last night though so the next morning we saw lots of flooding. We had slept on a village at the bottom of the cliff so didn't see the effects of the rain at the top but did see huge waterfalls formed by rain running off the cliff sides. We also had to cross a river that had formed over night. We jumped rock to rock and formed an assembly line to carry our bags across. Our station wagon to return to Koro broke down as well after having to cross two small rivers. This meant waiting two hours on the side of the road for another vehicle. Gotta love African transport!

We spend 4 days in Dogon and only saw a part of this amazing area. I would love to return in the future to explore even more. Maybe I will try to return in rainy season to see the changes in the landscape though it does seem even scarier climbing around wet rocks!

Pictures will be posted in a few days when I'm back in Ouaga to pick up my mom who will be visiting for a month!

One Woman's Story

Unlike many PCVs around the world and in many ways against the wishes of Peace Corps, I really haven't focused on HIV/AIDS because it really doesn't seem like a big problem compared to everything else I see here in Burkina. Malnutrition, malaria, and respiratory infections are all much more serious health issues here and I think its more important to focus on these. People in my community are worried about AIDS but I think its mostly because other groups have talked about it so much. In reality, very few people I know are infected with (or really even affected by) this virus. A little fact that's often tossed around by BF PCVs is that there is a higher percentage of people living with HIV in our capital, Washington DC, then in Burkina Faso.

Even if it doesn't seem like a big issue or concern, I do include some information about this disease when I give health talks and my health center offers to test pregnant women that come in for prenatal consultations. Also twice in the last year, we've had health workers come in from Ouaga and test anyone that wants to be. We have found a few cases and try to work with those individuals to get the help that's needed. There is little that can be done in our village though so they are sent to our regional hospital for further testing and counseling as well as free medication to prevent transmission to their child if its a pregnant woman.

Basically I haven't had many situations involving this disease that really affected me until recently. I'd like to share this story with you to explain just how difficult life can be and to help everyone remember just how lucky we are.

A friend recently asked me to speak with a girl that she said was really sick but didn't really explain the situation. The girl came to meet me and it was obvious something was seriously wrong-she was very skinny with sunken eyes. We talked a bit and she tried to tell me about herself but seemed very confused and her stories didn't all add up. At one point she said she was 18 and later she said 22. She had lived in Cote d'Ivoire for a while with her mom but was most recently with her father in Fada. She met a man at the gold mine there and came with him when he returned home to my village. She said she'd been here 7 years, a year, and later 3 months so who really knows though my friend said she thought she's been here a year. The girl said she didn't have a lot of energy but wasn't too sick. She had been hospitalized a few months ago and they told her she had an illness that she could have got from a cut or wound. (This is true since the virus is spread through blood contact with an infected person but I suspect she became infected through sexual contact.) She said she had medication but it was out and her boyfriend hadn't gotten more.

Over a few weeks and multiple conversations with my friend and I, we learned that her boyfriend refused to help her and she had nothing to eat. He would buy alcohol and meat for himself and make her cook but wouldn't share. He also was forcing her to continue to have sex with him even though she was very weak and tried to refuse. He is aware that she is HIV+ but doesn't use a condom. She wanted to return to her father's in Fada so I agreed to help since this seemed like an awful situation for her here and I was concerned she was near the end of her life.

My friend and I spoke with her boyfriend and his mother and they agreed it was best for her to leave but he said he couldn't help. We tried to contact her family but the number she had was wrong. I asked the PCV in Fada to ask around and we contacted the church there but nobody knew her father. Finally we decided she needed to go since we couldn't contact her family to come get her. I didn't think she was mentally capable of traveling on her own (I learned that mental confusion is common in AIDS patients) and my friend was concerned that her boyfriend would pretend to take her but just leave her on the road somewhere with nothing. I thought about taking her to Fada but have been very busy and traveling a lot for PC stuff plus didn't really feel comfortable doing this. I wasn't sure how her family would react and didn't know if having her show up with a white foreigner would help the situation. Thankfully my friend agreed to take her and I said I would pay for both their transports.

They arrived at the bush taxi lot about midnight and the girl didn't recognize anything after swearing she knew how to find their house. A man approached my friend and asked if she needed help. She explained that they were looking for someone. He said he didn't know the family but would find them. He gave them each a bench to sleep on at the parking lot and said not to ask around because he'd take care of it. The next morning he returned with a man from the girl's family. They recognized each other and he asked what was wrong since she was obviously very sick and had lost a lot of weight. My friend explained she had AIDS and needed to go to a hospital. She told him the problems with the boyfriend and that she needed to eat better. This relative promised to take care of her and to go to see a doctor the next day. He said no one in the family had a phone so my friend gave her number to contact us. We haven't heard anything but she felt the man was sincere and I believe that anything is better than the situation she was in. I don't really think there is a lot that can be done to save her life but hopefully she can be more comfortable, relax, eat well, and know that there are people that love for her.

I felt so frustrated and helpless in this situation because I didn't really think I could do anything. In so many cases here, I have found that all I can do is fight for the underdog and let them know someone does care and wants to help. It never feels like enough though.

I am still concerned about her boyfriend. He said he was tested and is negative but I don't believe this. My friend is concerned that he will start sleeping with other girls in our village and spread this awful disease. She calls him half-crazy but I'd say a jerk is more appropriate. It seems even his mother is concerned about this. I plan to talk to him again and try to convince him to be tested. I want him to understand the severity of this and that he could be giving girls a death sentence if he has unprotected sex with them. Its frustrating that I can't just tell girls that he is HIV+ and to stay away from him. I understand the need for confidentiality but also am disgusted that someone would knowingly put another's life at risk. Again I am frustrated at how little I really can do.

Girls Conference

I have just returned home today from one of my favorite activities yet in Peace Corps. My friend Heather, along with help from myself and other PCVs, planned a conference for girls in Kongoussi. Ten PCVs from all over each brought two girls in middle or high school. My participants were two of the older girls in my club and I believe are seen as leaders among their peers, Adinatou, age 18, and Assetou, age 16. Assetou had been to Ouaga before which we had to pass through before continuing north but hadn't done much travelling. Adinatou had never been farther than a town 20 km from our village and had never been in a vehicle. Can you imagine that? Both had so many new experiences in the last five days!

The main theme was family planning but we included a lot of other information including: reproductive anatomy, puberty, youth and sexuality, differences between sex and gender, choosing a partner, the rights of youth and women, female genital mutilation, and setting and
achieving goals. Because we promised their parents to keep an eye on them since there was concern about them getting knocked up in the big city instead of just learning about unwanted pregnancies, we came up with many evening activities as well. We made liquid soap, had a guest panel of women in influential local positions, made mango jam, and I taught them to make a type of local jewelry that is popular here and to make paper. Each pair of girls was given an egg and birth certificate that became their baby for the week. They had to carry with them everywhere and lost points for not having it with them, cracking it, or answering questions wrong about what to do in a variety of situations. My girls tied for first place but I reminded them they still aren't ready for their own babies. Last night we had a closing candlelit ceremony where we told them to pass their flame of knowledge on and gave each girl a goody bag with pencils, markers, hair ties, soap, paper, and condoms to give demos. This was followed by a dance party!

The week reminded me of my wonderful times going to 4-H camps and conferences - the many amazing new experiences, making new friends,and going to new places. This was a huge part of my childhood and adolescences but is very rare here for youth. There really aren't many opportunities like this so I am so thrilled to have been a part of providing this for a great group of girls.

Baby Girl Lene

I have excitig news and thanks to my amazing sister, I now have a smart phone so can get online in village, so I want to share right away. Wait, back up. Did you catch that? I may not have electricity, running water, or public transportation but I can send emails from my own humble abode in the middle of an African village!

So on to my news. There is a new baby in the Lene family who also happens to be my family. Here is Africa, your siblings' and cousins' children are considered your own so really I have a new baby!

I have seen hundreds of babies born in the last year and half and there were 3 baby girls born into my family during my first few months at site. All these are exciting events for me but its even better now that I know the mom well, have been here throughout the pregnancy and really feel like a part of this family!

This is the sixth pregnancy and sixth child (unfortunately its often not the same number with so many miscarriages and childhood deaths) for the mom. I have written about and posted pictures of her other kids since I spend a lot of time with them. The new baby joins Barkissa (age 13), Yacouba (11), Djoudatou (7); my little peanut Arachide (4) and Omairatou (22 months). I would always say that's a lot of kids and a lot of pregnancies for one woman and I am even more convinced after watching their mom, Adjaratou. She is absolutely exhausted and this pregnancy was very hard on her body. Like so many pregnancies around the world, this was unplanned but not unwanted since as they tell me, it is a gift from God. I agree with that but also see the unmet needs of her older children and the exhaustion in her face. She has told me multiple times that she doesn't want more children and we have discussed family planning so hopefully can prevent any future pregnancies.

I have been working with Adjaratou throughout her pregnancy about how to stay healthy and help her baby including going to 4 prenatal consultations (which I usually help with), taking iron pills and a malaria prophylatic,planning ahead to give birth at the maternity, and eating well. I try to do this with all women that I see are pregnant but its been much easier and more important to me when its my "sister."

Adjaratou and I went to the maternity Sunday evening when she thought she might be in labor. She was but birth was a while away so she wanted to go home to sleep. She rested all day yesterday before going back to the maternity last night about 8 pm when she thought she it was close.

At the maternity, she laid on the floor alone after being checked to see how dilated she was. When the baby's head started to crown, we helped her climb onto the birthing table and a few minutes later (at 9:03 pm) there was a new baby girl. She weighs 3 kg and has a head full of curly hair. No pictures yet but I promise to post some as soon as I get to the real internet.

One of the ideas I have really tried to introduce to women here is the importance of beginning to breastfeed immediately after giving birth because it is good for both mom and baby. It helps stop bleeding after the birth, provides the baby with antibodies to prevent infections and illness, and encourages bonding. Unfortunately there is an old belief here that colostrum, the first milk, is bad for babies so it is often thrown out or women wait at least a day before starting to breastfeed. This is an old custom that is hard to break especially because its often the grandma, mother of the husband, who tell women to do this and doesn't want to change. I tried to explain this all to Adjaratou and was thrilled that she tried to breastfeed and the baby latched on less than 10 minutes after being born! Many women have come to visit the baby and mama and commented about her eating already. She tells them I told her to start breastfeeding and the women are surprised but seem to accept. Its these little things, individuals that will make small changes, that is the best and I feel most important part of my work here!

The next culture practice I will challenge with this baby and have done with many others is the thought that infants need water. I explain that milk is made up of water and is cleaner and healthier for the baby plus they won't drink enough milk if they fill up on water but women still want to give their infants water and other foods. This too is slowly changing and, when questioned, many women say babies shouldn't eat or drink anything but breastmilk for the first six months. This knowledge must come first and hopefully there will be some behavior change eventually.

Its amazing how this little girl represents so much of my experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer. It saddens me to think I won't be here to watch her take her first steps as I have with the other babies born in my family though.

What's For Dinner?

My mom asked me a long time ago to talk more about common food here and to take pictures. I never got around to get very many pictures but my friend Yoshi has photos that she uses in programs to teach about proper nutrition. I'm uploaded a variety of them and wrote short descriptions so check out Picasa to learn more about what my villagers eat as well as what I live off of here.

MCH Nutrition Workshop

The last two months I have been very busy planning a maternal and child health (MCH) workshop focused on nutrition in Tenkodogo. Six PCVs participated and each brought two villagers that were interested in doing projects with them once they return to site. I ran into lots of problems planning the workshop and was very frustrated leading up to and during it with all of the behind-the-scenes stuff but I think the actual event went really well. Everyone seemed to have learned a lot and enjoyed themselves and I hope will apply what they learned back in village.

We covered a variety of topics that fit under the main theme and I tried to include lots of activities, discussions, and visuals to make it more intersting. Workshops and meetings here are usually very formal with a facilitator that lectures to participants the entire time. When it comes to questions, everyone asks them at the end and he writes them all down before answering them all in order. If there are powerpoints, they are just slides full of sentences. In other words, not at all interesting! The facilitators that I tried to work with really didn't understand what I was trying to describe when I said I wanted it to be interesting and in simple terms but I think they were impressed and learned about a more American style for conferences.

Our basic topics were malnutrition, proper nutrition and the 3 food groups (yep we use 3 in Burkina), moringa, breastfeeding, weaning, baby nutrition and making enriched porridge, hygiene, sanitation, childhood vaccinations, prenatal consultations and giving birth at the health center. We also focused on specific nutrition needs of pregnant and breastfeeding women and young children. I included a session on family planning as well since if there are less mouths to feed, everybody can have better nutrition. The last day we talked about womens group that can offer support, education, or do income generating activites such as savings & credit clubs, gardening, soapmaking, and making packaged porridge to sell. We also talked about different ways to present the info in village such as giving sensibilizations and how to make them interesting, working with a theatre group, doing porridge demonstrations, and doing large murals on walls with health topics.

The final activity was each of the village groups had to prepare a sensibilization and then give it to the full group in order to get some practice with public speaking and thinking of making a presentation interesting. None of them were wonderful but at least its a start and hopefully they can make improvements as they work with their volunteer back at site. Everyone also wrote an action plan of activities they want to do in village so I am excited to hear what they end up doing.

I brought three participants since I was the closest and there was an extra space. They included my village midwife and best friend Dabre who does all my porridge demos with me as well as prenatal consultations and deliveries at the CSPS, Lene who also works at my CSPS and does a lot of the childhood vaccinations and helps out with lots of other stuff, and Assetou who works at a new health center in the next village over and does many of the same things as Dabre but wants to do more activies with women. I am excited to continue working with them back in village now.

I've posted many pictures of the event. I am looking forward to spending some time in village after travelling to Tenkodogo 3 times during April for planning this and a trip to Ouaga for a work meeting. I have been out of village for at least a night every week for the last 6 weeks so its been hard to feel settled or have any kind of routine. Even now I will only be in village for three weeks with one short trip out before I have several more events planned that will take me through until August. I'm exhausted from all of the travels and don't want to think about everything coming up. Crazy schedule!

Traditional Bissa Dancing Part 2

Finally able to upload a second video of my girls dancing. Enjoy!

Traditional Bissa Dancers

There is a group of young women in my village that practice and perform traditional Bissa dancing. I think they are fascinating to watch and was excited to get a video of them when they were just playing around after a big performance they did in Tenkodogo back in February. Several of the girls are in my family and like to come hang out at my house. Aren't they great?

Damn Hot

Hot season is in full force and I forgot just how awful it gets. I think we've been hitting highs at about 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit every day and it maybe cools down to 90 degrees at night. Here's a few anecdotes just to help everyone back home understand my suffering. I have been sleeping outside for about 2 months now because my little cement house with tin roof becomes an oven throughout the day and doesn't cool off until 2 or 3 am. I am up before 6 am every morning because its too hot to sleep any longer. By 9 am I am sweating profusely even if all I am doing is sitting in the shade. My Blue Band margarine is no longer a solid. Leftovers (which I used to be able to keep for a day) start smelling really funky after 2 or 3 hours. My metal chairs are uncomfortably hot to touch even when they are in the shade. Puppy hates the heat so much that he stares up at me and whines hoping I'll make it cooler somehow. He really likes it when I pour water on the dirt or sand and he digs himself a bed since its cooler. After my bucket baths, I can't tell if I'm still wet or already covered in sweat again. In the city, where they have such amazing amenities as fans and showers, many of the freezers cannot get cold enough to make ice.

The one thankful thing is that the humidity is still very low here so everything dries really quickly (a wet cotton tshirt is probably dry in 20 minutes). The rains will start in about a month though and then it will get humid and thats a whole other problem until rainy season really starts in June & July.

I read a great quote lately that I think is great for Peace Corps both literally and figuratively.

The more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war.
-Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit

A PCV friend also shared another great quote with me that sums up my PC experience.

You cannot do great things but you can do small things with great love.
-Mother Theresa

Recent Activities

I have done a few fun things lately that I thought I’d share with you all. My Girls Club continues to meet each Sunday. We play games, dance, chat, and I try to teach about a different health topic each week. We spent about the last two months covering reproductive health with specific topics on puberty, male and female reproductive anatomy, the menstrual cycle, family planning, and pregnancy. I was shocked at how little the girls new but happy to see their interest in learning more and asking questions. Over the weeks they started to put information together and relate things to what we had talked about early. I feel like this is so rare here where the school system asks for rote memorization and students rarely really understand a concept.

We’ve also been lucky to have a few guests come do activities with the girls. In January, my friend Yoshi, a Japanese volunteer, came for a project she is working on. A Japanese doctor that worked in Cambodia started it by asking youth to draw a picture of what is most important to them. He then compiled these illustrations into a book with photos of the artists and some background info. The project has grown and he is collecting pictures from around the world so Yoshi asked my girls to draw pictures. She kept the pictures but gave each girl a pack of crayons. I’ll try to post pictures later since I don’t have them here.

My friend and PCV neighbor Dylan also came one Sunday to teach the girls how to use a computer. This is something they had been requesting since the group first started but I had never gotten around to organizing. Dylan teaches IT at a high school so was happy to work with my girls as well. I don’t think I’ve mentioned it before but the school in my village has a computer lab with amazing new computers that run off solar panels. They were donated by an NGO about 2 years ago but are rarely ever used for a variety of reasons mostly boiling down to the fact that it was not something needed in my community but rather an NGO coming in and saying “here take these.” I was able to get permission for our group and the girls loved having a chance to play on them. Dylan taught them how to use the mouse, find a program, and the very basics of Word. We realized they were struggling with the mouse so then had them all use the Paint program and they enjoyed making designs. We are hoping to do more computer programs this summer when Dylan doesn’t have classes to teach.

Back in February, there was a huge bike race in Tenkodogo. This annual event is put on by the Minister of Foreign Affairs who happens to be from my village so my community gets very excited for it. Before the big event, there are qualifier races in all of the towns in our region to find the top three men and top three women to compete in Tenkodogo. Last year I went with some folks from village and was told to sit with all chiefs so it was me and lots of old men watching bikes go back and forth. As you can imagine, it was a long day. This year I met up with several friends to watch the race so much more fun. In order to make the event more interesting there also are entertainers and musicians. A comedian from my community wore a crazy outfit and pretended to race along with the bikes. He also happened to be our soccer coach and dressed in drag for International Women’s Day. Also from my village is a group of girls that do traditional Bissa dancing. They are amazing and everyone loves watching them. I have wanted to get pictures and video for a long time but am never close enough or don’t have my camera with. I finally got my chance after the race when my friends and I went for lunch at a nearby restaurant. The girls and their musicians also came to eat and afterwards started dancing just for fun. Unfortunately the internet has been running really slow and I can’t get my videos to upload. Hopefully coming soon though!

This past weekend was very busy for me as you can read partially about in the 8 mars post but also because I came into Ouaga Friday for the twice annual COS party held in honor of a group of volunteers leaving in a couple months. This is the only time that almost all the volunteers come together so it really fun to catch up with everyone that I rarely see. This time the theme was Rubics Cube. I’ve never heard of a party like this before but it was a blast. Everybody comes dressed in 6 items of different colors—orange, red, blue, green, yellow, and white. Throughout the night, you are supposed to trade items so by the end of the night you are a solid color. Many people found crazy clothes and accessories at the market most of which is the stuff that Americans donate to Good Will or St Vinnies and end up getting shipped to Africa and sold. The party was a blast though I ended up getting to bed in the wee hours of the morning and had to be up at 5 am to catch a ride back to village for the second fete of the weekend.