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.
Monday, December 20, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, December 13, 2010
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.
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