Happy Holidays from Burkina

Pictures from my friend’s wedding are here.

Uh, wow. It’s been a while since I’ve written, huh? I’ve been spending most of my time in village this fall, so I guess that explains it. Electricity is coming to a village 60km from me sometime next year (supposedly), so maybe we’re next.

I had a wonderful Christmas (though sadly less snowy than Minnesota’s Christmas). Christmas Eve I was in my friend’s village. Four or five of us PCVs living “nearby” got together for an afternoon spent in his market making friends. Transport was interesting- two full buses passed us by, but I was assured that there would be a third. No problem. Uh, well, the third bus showed up on the back of a flatbed. I thought they were going to have us all pile into the bus and ride in the bus on the flatbed all the way to town. Nope. Instead, they piled us all into the cabin of the truck. 4 adults, 3 students, 2 kids, 1 infant…and a partridge in a pear tree. However, we made a delicious pork stew for dinner on Christmas Eve, so all the mediocre transport (I say mediocre because though crowded it was the first time I haven’t had to stand for the ride to town in about three months) was quickly forgotten. Then Ryan and Sonia’s host family brought us dinner #2, then the family called us over for music, dancing…and dinner #3. We stayed up celebrating until around 1am (WAY past village bedtime), but the family was out until at least 4am. Good times had by all.

I was in Ouaga on Christmas Day, and again we feasted: this time turkey, beef, mashed potatoes, wine, stuffing, and apple crumb cake. Delicious. I must admit, however, that despite all the good food, it was the bread with REAL BUTTER that disappeared from the table the quickest.

The day after Christmas I went north to Kongussi. One of my colleagues got married, and since I’ve never been to a traditional wedding, I figured what the heck. Nothing like an American wedding. The groom and all his friends and family gathered in the morning (late morning…Africa time). We started off by all going over to the bride’s family compound and speaking with her father. The groom’s friends spoke on his behalf and asked for the girl’s hand in marriage. He consented (this was all arranged months ago), and so we went over to the bride’s mother’s family’s compound. We spoke with the bride’s grandmother and her friends, mother and sisters, female relatives, and another group of women. Each time, the groom’s posse gave a little money and kola nuts and spoke highly of the groom. At the end, we all had a big feast. Everyone feasted except the bride and groom- they kind of played socializing roles, making sure people had what they needed/wanted and even serving a little bit. Once the feast was over and guests got up to leave, the bride’s friends blocked the doorway. Much arguing pursued, and in the end we were all forced (especially the groom) to pay to leave. A nice little trick to make sure the groom and his friends appreciated the feast.

I think the most interesting aspect of the wedding was how little a role the bride and groom played. I asked about that, and I was told the bride didn’t even need to be there. I pushed on that issue a bit, and then I was told that really, the groom didn’t need to be there either. The ceremony seemed to be more of an agreement between the family and friends of the groom and the family of the bride. I guess everyone knows the bride and groom already like each-other, so it’s more important to make sure the families involved have given their approval. No wedding vows or anything. I think I only even saw the bride and groom together once in the whole afternoon. A family affair.

Happy holidays to all, and all the best for 2010.

Cantine Scolaire Update

Happy November! A lot has been happening in village, and time is flying; I can hardly believe it’s already the middle of the first trimester at school. I’m teaching four math classes- one sixth grade, two seventh grades, and one eighth grade. My days are basically full of teaching, lesson planning, helping students with homework, and doing stuff around the house. Not exactly a dull life.

Things have been moving pretty quickly at the elementary school. (More pictures here…it won’t let me upload again in this post…technology…) The kitchen was built in about two weeks and is almost finished. The walls are up, and the rooftop is on. We have a locking door, and a small wall, forming a bit of a courtyard where the women will be able to prepare meals with minimal disturbances from passing goats, donkeys, and cows. It looks great, and everyone is excited to start using it. The hole has been dug for the staff latrine, and as soon as the harvest is in, gardening season will start, so we’ll be able to plant our garden. The school got a new headmaster over the summer- with the Burkinabe system of assigning and reassigning civil servants such as teachers, it’s common for a person (like our former headmaster) to get moved around every few years- and he is thrilled to have such a positive project going. Everyone expresses their thanks to our gracious donors.

As I mentioned, school has been going well. I’m’ trying to do a lot more interesting activities this year, especially in 6th and 7th grades where I’m familiar with the curriculum. I’ve been doing lots of word problems in math class- this not only helps with students’ math skills, but also works on logic, critical thinking, and, most importantly, French comprehension. On that note, I even had my 7th graders write me a letter the first day of school telling me about their summer. I’ve also started giving a “study tip of the day” at the end of class. Things like making an outline, redoing homework problems, summarizing what they’ve learned in their own words…I’ve found that simple activities like these really go a long way in helping them out.

That’s pretty much it from me. November is typically the mini-hot season here, but this year hasn’t been too bad. A couple of evenings ago I noticed a cool nip in the air on my way home from school. Sure enough, I checked, and the thermometer had hit 85. Mornings are typically a chill 75 degrees; the cold season is just around the corner!

Go Time!

Howdy again.

Go Time has definitely summed up the past few weeks since I got back from America. It was very hard to leave the good life, but now that I’m back in the swing of things, all is good.

We’ve started school as of last week. They built a new classroom which opened only a few days late. It looks great, and writing on a new blackboard is quite an exciting experience (hey, small pleasures here). All the 8th graders are happy because it means that we have two classes of about 70 instead of one class of 130 as they had last year.

Things are going full speed ahead at the elementary school. We’ve gathered sand, bricks, and gravel. The Parents’ Association has traced out the outline for the new kitchen, and all appearances are that they’ll be able to start building this week. The Parents’ Association President is very motivated, and everyone wants to get things rolling soon. Next will be the latrine for the teachers. The garden will have to wait a couple of months as it’s not yet gardening season; they’ve used the land for growing corn and millet all summer.

As some of you may have heard, there was some terrible flooding in Ouaga at the beginning of September. 150,000 people lost their homes which were literally washed away with the rains. Mud brick houses don’t put up much of a fight. Many people are still living at temporary campsites.

On a more up-lifting note, there was recently a huge article in Newsweek about Burkina. Victoria’s Secret (yup, that Vicki’s) has made a deal to buy organic cotton from mostly female growers in the Southeast of the Country. The article talks about the huge strides Burkina is making in the areas of women’s rights. It was published a couple of months ago, but more recently, Pres; Compaore was named as the head mediator of a peace-making team in Guinee. Check out the Newsweek article here.

That’s all for now.

America: Soft, Shiny and Delicious!

After walking a half kilometer with a travel backpack and a plastic tote bag; hailing a cab; calmly waiting my way through check-in and security; sitting in a stuffy waiting room; and taking the 15-minute, 20-second airport bus ride from the terminal to the plane (15 minutes waiting, 20 seconds driving), I got off the airport bus and started up the stairs to the 747. Air conditioning rushed down the stairs to greet me. A little slice of Air France heaven that would only get richer as I got closer to and eventually landed in America.

First impressions from the airport in Minneapolis: the cars were all shiny and new. Mom and I had lunch in Edina, and I just couldn’t get over how clean and cute the neighborhoods were. Our waitress came over to our table about ten times to ask us how our food was. And once we got home: so soft! All the furniture and carpeting. I haven’t been that comfortable in two years. Added bonus- I wasn’t sweating. That night we went to dinner, and I ordered a steak. I sent it back because I thought it was undercooked and didn’t want to get sick my first night home. Turns out I was overly paranoid because the meat was so tender. I usually have to chew for five minutes to get it to go down and still end up spitting out a wad of fat.

Target is amazing. So many choices, and a little overwhelming. As was watching TV. My parents have a million channels, and you can download movies directly from Amazon or Netflix. You can also have a TV guide up while your watching TV. It made me a little nervous though, seeing all the options I was missing on other channels. Of course, I could TiVo it all and never miss a thing. And never have to move from that one spot on the couch.

Mom and I went down to Chicago on Friday. We saw a performance of “The Blue Man Group”. Hilarious. We also went to the top of the Sears (now Willis) Tower. They have a glass balcony so you can step out and look directly down over downtown Chicago. My students won’t even be able to comprehend the pictures.

Busy, busy. But everything is so fast in America. We made it from Chicago to Madison (without leaving before lunch…and we arrived clean and not sweaty) in time for dinner with Nick and his friends, then to the Badger football game the next day. They didn’t look too strong until the second overtime, but a win is a win. I also got to see my grandparents, aunt, and uncle in Racine then Dad, Nick and I went to Green Bay for the Packers’ game. Aaron Rodgers…Cal alum turned Green Bay hero.

Back in Minnesota we had perfect weather for boating on the St. Croix. I even braved the chill and water skied (though I must admit I bundled up for the late evening ride home). On Wednesday my friends showed up to explore the Twin Cities before the Cal football game against Minnesota. We had a BBQ, went on a dinner cruise, and spent a day water skiing. And to top it off, we got a solid win against a surprisingly strong Minnesota team in their beautiful new stadium. It was great to see everyone. Best part was that Josh played tour guide for the weekend, so we knew all the hot spots to hangout before and after the game.

Yes, America is pretty awesome. Huge vegetables, nice cars, friends, family, on demand electricity and running water, lakes, rivers, bright lights…but my neighbors just got four sheep, and I get to wake up to the music of baby goats at 2am. (I know, you’re jealous.) It was very hard to leave, but school starts in a couple of weeks, and I’m excited to get back in the classroom and see my students.

T Minus One Day!

In about 30 hours I’ll be getting on a plane to visit the good ole USA for the first time in two plus years. I can’t wait! The three F’s: family, friends, and food.

I had a good chuckle on the bus from village yesterday. We’ve had some big rains the past couple of weeks, so it was even later than normal picking me up in Tcheriba. There were no seats left (including the benches in the aisle), but the five or six of us from Tcheriba shoved our way on anyways. I spent the entire ride to Koudougou standing between some woman’s legs, balancing against the potholes in the road trying not to fall onto her. Just outside of Koudougou we stopped to let off a few pasangers. Unfortunately the driver was a bit antsy and refused to stop long enough to let back on those who wanted to continue. We left a dude and a little girl, despite the fact that everyone was screaming at the driver to stop. Just after leaving the garage in Koudougou to continue to Ouaga, a fight broke out between two of the five or six guys who were riding in the rear stairwell. So we stopped to throw them off the bus. A little kid behind me exclaimed “Quel voyage!” Indeed. I wonder if this will happen on my Air France flight tomorrow. Something tells me probably not.

Morocco

My friends and I went on a 12-day trip to Morocco. We were able to hit up all the major cities- Casablanca, Fes, Marrakesh and Rabat- as well as spend a few days in the beach town of Essaouira. Check out the pictures.

Our trip to Morocco began a bit inauspiciously: with a rainstorm and six-hour delay getting out of the airport in Ouaga. (For the record, this is the second vacation that involved a 5+ hour delay getting out of Ouaga.) Thankfully, our luck quickly improved. The Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca is huge, clean, and sparkly with tiled floors everywhere. Within minutes of getting to our hotel in Casa, we had found the first of many glasses of fresh orange juice. And after walking past the famous Rick’s Cafe, we watched the sunset over the Atlantic from the plaza outside the beautiful Grand Mosque.

FES
The main highlight in Fes is its medina, or old town. In particular, Fes’ medina is a winding maze of narrow alleys that keeps going and going and… Colors galore. There were purses, scarves, rugs, hats, jewerly, music, books, leather. All on sale for “a very good price”. One afternoon we mistakenly asked a kid to show us where the old palace is; he ended up taking us to his father’s rug shop, his brother’s cosmetics store, and then to the tanneries. All were interesting, but when he started demanding ridiculous amounts of money ($10) without having taken us where we wanted to go, we got annoyed and gave hime 50 cents to get lost. The tanneries were especially neat. They treat animal hides for about two weeks before cutting them into workable pieces and making everything from leather belts and purses to jackets. On our last evening we decided to see the “ville nouvelle”, or new town, constructed after colonization. It’s a gorgeous city with wide boulevards and a park with a couple of really nice fountains. There’s even a McDonald’s. We also suffered through a badly dubbed copy of “Ocean’s 13″ in a movie theatre that was about 110 degrees with no fans. At least we were the only customers.

ESSAOUIRA
From Fes, Marty, Caleb, and I took the train (so clean and so fast) back through Casa to Marakesh, where we got on a bus to head out to Essaouira. Essaouira is a medium-sized beach city that seemed to be the Mecca of Moroccan tourist destinations. We were lucky enough to get an apartment facing the Ocean, and we spent a couple of days bumming around on the beach, playing paddle ball, exploring the wharves, and eating ice cream. Unfortunately the beach was a crazy windy and a bit cold, so it wasn’t the relaxing escape we were hoping for. A little like Ocean Beach in San Francisco, actually.

MARRAKESH
The medina in Marrakesh is the one you’ve probably seen in pictures. Just across from the stunning Koutoubia Mosque is the Djemma el Fna, which comes alive at night with food stands, henna artists, and guys with monkeys and snakes. And oh, the orange juice. Orange juice stands are everywhere all over Morocco; we often saw several men with carts stacked high with oranges on the same street corner. For 25 to 50 cents, they’ll peel and juice the oranges on the spot. I have to say the orange juice in Fes was better (not least because we found one guy who gave us free refills), but in Marrakesh they added ice, which dilutes it a bit…but it was so hot there I didn’t care. Caleb and I also took a half day trip from Marrakesh to see the Ourika Valley in the Atlas Mountains outside of town. We hired a driver for the day, and he took us around to see the great views, small towns, and even a little hike. The hike was a bit disappointing in length, but it was still fun to be in the cool and refreshing mountain air. Such a difference from the heat of Marrakesh 45 minutes away. Next time I go to Morocco, I’m going to spend more time in the mountains- you can climb the highest peak in North Africa or even go on a ten-day trek to the Sahara.

RABAT
Just north of Casablanca is the Moroccan capital, Rabat. Caleb and I took a quick day trip there before leaving. Rabat is on the coast as well, so the temperature was wonderful. We wandered around town that afternoon and evening, and saw the beach (so many tourists!), the Royal Palace. (King Mohammed VI has a palace in all the major cities, but Rabat is the seat of the government and site of the largest palace. And man is that thing huge! We could only look in from the main gate, but all we could see was a straight, tree-lined road whose end we honsetly couldn’t see.) We also saw the Mohammed V Mausoleum, the burial site of the Moroccan king during the 1950’s when it gained Independence from France. His tomb (and the tombs of Moroccan’s other modern kings) is on the grounds of an ancient mosque that contains Hassan Tower, a minaret begun in 1195 AD and intended to be the tallest minaret in the Muslim world.

Which brings me to a few truisms about Morocco.

1. Fresh squeeze orange juice stands are, as previously mentioned, EVERYWHERE.
2. Also, soft serve ice cream stands are everywhere. For 20 cents you can get a cone. Delicious. For a little more in a shop, you can get scoop ice cream. Very delicious.
3. After OJ and ice cream, the most common sight in Morocco is a mosque. Burkina is split nearly 50-50 between Christians and Muslims, but Morocco must be nearly 100% Muslim. With the exception of one Mosque who must have been broadcasting morning prayer (4:30am) into our hotel room window from a distance of five feet, I loved hearing the call to prayer. The Arabic language is beautiful, and I love hearing the call echoed throughout the city, especially in the evening just after sunset.
4. After mosques, the most common site is construction cranes. Morocco must be just dumping money into roads, buildings, and bridges because construction was all over the place. From the hill at Hassan Tower we could see at least 13 cranes.

Very neat country.

Hope Kicks HIV in the Ballons

For one glorious week in the middle of July, nine PCVs and more than twenty Burkinabé counterparts kicked HIV/AIDS in the rear end. The thirty of us were involved in a joint Training of Trainers put on by the Peace Corps and a British NGO called Coaching for Hope. Though PCVs were probably tempted to tell you that the main goal of the TOT was to put participants through soccer Boot Camp, we were actually aiming to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS and sexual health in rural communities using football (soccer to us Yanks) as a sort of universal communication. Check out the pictures from the week!

The workshop days were divided into two parts. In the mornings we focused on improving our football and coaching skills. We did fun warm-ups, ball control exercises and drills. This is where Boot Camp seemed to play a role. It got easier as the week went on though, and by the middle of the training, most of us were hobbling with only a slight limp from muscle fatigue. We also talked about how to structure a football practice, communicate effectively, and coach with limited resources (a condition in which most us have earned our PhDs). Since the leaders of the workshop were Burkinabé that had been trained to UK professional standards, our counterparts (all coaches themselves) greatly appreciated the tips.

After a luxurious lunch and restful repos (That’s right, folks! We got 150 minutes for repos! …and this is the second Blog in a row I’ve talked about afternoon naps. Priorities?), we came back for the HIV/AIDS portion of the training. Coaching for Hope has developed a series of eight HIV/AIDS workshops, each aimed at a different aspect of prevention: myths and realities; transmission; protection, etc. Each of the workshops is divided into a discussion session done under the trees or in a classroom, and an on-the-field session. The field work put to direct use the knowledge gained during the discussion times with fun football activities. For example, on the day we learned about transmission, we did a neat passing activity where bad passes represented a risky sexual encounter; too many bad passes lost the game for your team, so control that ball! The coaches are now responsible for going back to their youth teams and delivering these eight workshops; PCVs are responsible for helping CFH with follow through and making sure coaches get questions answered if problems arise.

All in all, everyone agreed that the week was a huge success. The Burkinabé coaches are eager to put on the workshops with their teams around the country, and everyone is excited to be able to reach so many youth in one swoop. And by doing something they love.