Peace Corps Ebola Update

Here's an e-mail that was sent to our Peace Corps staff and then forwarded to us:

"There has been a resurgence of cases in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Peace Corps HQ made the decision to evacuate all the volunteers in those countries as of July 30th. Two volunteers are isolated after being in contact with a person who reportedly died from ebola but are not showing any signs or symptoms of the disease. 

There have been no cases in Burkina Faso reported.

Remember - Transmission is through bodily fluids: urine, sweat, blood, stool, semen. Prevention is to not touch anyone who looks ill (not just sniffles, they will look very ill) AND do not handle or help with deceased persons. If you are a health care volunteer you should never be participating in clinical activities that involve touching any patient - this includes weighing babies (a major activity in Burkinabe villages). 

The initial symptoms of ebola are fever, diarrhea and vomiting. Although you may experience these symptoms with many diseases, they key in ebola is that it will not occur in isolation; many others in your village will also be sick. Be aware of your surroundings and let the [Peace Corps Burkina doctor] know if you notice any trends in your communities.

For more information on ebola, please visit http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/

This outbreak is something that we, Peace Corps HQ, the US State Department, and CDC are closely monitoring and having regular discussions about. There are still no confirmed cases in any countries that border Burkina Faso, and the present risk for us here is still low."

"WHO Director-General Margaret Chan will meet in Conakry, Guinea on Friday with the presidents of affected West African nations, the United Nations health agency said in a statement."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ebola-outbreak-who-launching-100m-plan-as-death-toll-tops-700-1.2723455

Summer School

École de vacances - Summer School in Léo
You can see that the class size is relatively small during summer school. This classroom will be full with over 100 students during the regular school year.

We are now on Week 2 of 4 of practice teaching at Léo's summer school. Peace Corps calls this Model School since we observe, practice and review how to appropriately and effectively teach at our future sites. The 6 weeks of training before Model School prepared us with the French proficiency to get through an hour-long class, the structure of a lesson, the method of using the chalkboard and the interactions necessary for teaching a large class. I've been asked many times by family and friends at home how I'm qualified to teach science in another country without a teaching credential. It's a great question, especially considering I studied psychology/neuroscience and the past two weeks I've been teaching geology. The Peace Corps technical training sessions have been extensive in covering every aspect of teaching in Burkina Faso, including subject-specific material for teaching science. I felt extremely prepared going into Model School and felt like I was effective as a teacher after my first class. But my opinion of being effective is completely subjective. So, when the local Peace Corps staff who observed my class told me that I truly did a great job and my French was fantastic, I had a mental jump for joy as I thanked them for being so nice.

A classroom building at my future lycée (pronounced lee-say, meaning junior high) in Boussé

Lesson Planning in Burkina Faso

Inspectors travel throughout their respective provinces to observe teachers to make sure teachers are following the protocol for classes. Today an inspector observed my class. Burkina has very strict requirements for lesson plans, so our Peace Corps staff made sure our lesson plans were well prepared for today. Each lesson plan must contain the title of the lesson, the objectives, the materials required, the information, exercises to ensure retention and an activity.

Sample Burkina Faso Geology Lesson Plan (First Half) 

For math and science classes, the teacher divides the board into quarters. The left quarter of the board is strictly for information that will stay for the entirety of the class period. This includes the title and objective(s) of the lesson. The middle two quarters of the board are for the lesson's information and diagrams. The right quarter is reserved for vocabulary words.

Learning in Burkina Faso

American education is focused on critical thinking and creativity. Chinese education is focused on problem solving and results in higher scores on standardized testing. Burkinabe education is based on rote memorization. That's it. Many times after lessons in my K-12 education, teachers would ask us how we could apply the information to our personal lives. We'd brainstorm different ideas as a class. We'd critically think and maybe have a homework activity to create our own personal applications. If I ask my 4th grade (equivalent of American 8th grade) geology class how they can apply the properties of granite to their personal lives, they will stare blankly at me and/or regurgitate the definitions I'd given to them. Burkinabe children are very good at taking a definition and spitting it back to you verbatim. Ask the kids to put the definition in their own words on an exam? Volunteers say that's damn near impossible. Everyone rights down the definition the volunteer had given them. It's really hard to wrap my head around, especially since critical thinking has been so critical to my American education. The students that DO make it through the Burkinabe system to university are dumbfounded by the immediate need to critically think. It's literally dropped on them as an expectation of entering the university. It's very interesting.

All I have is chalk and a chalkboard in my classroom and a book to work from at home. Science, especially geology, has a lot of facts to memorize before it can be applied. So, each lesson I write vigorously on the board so the students can write the material down. Every so often, I'll check for comprehension by making sure that they understand the different words in the definition. French is their second language, too, so a lot of science terms have never been used in their daily lives up to the point of my lessons. I'll then ask the class to give examples of the word and usually a few can get in the ballpark. I then have to reach in my box of French vocabulary to try to find a way for them to understand a word I had only learned while writing the lesson. We then continue the lesson with a lot more writing. Why so much writing? We have to assume that they students have not purchased the textbooks. And when I say textbook, I mean pamphlet. If I could afford to buy books for my entire 110+ person classes, I would. But, our Peace Corps stipend only covers immediate needs like food and transportation, so that's out of the question. That's also not Peace Corps' purpose in developing countries. That's something I could talk to aid organizations about. Even then, it's great practice for them to write the material down. 

Air Algerie Flight 5017

A plane holding 118 passengers crashed in Africa. That's probably the most information the average American took away from the tragedy that happened last Thursday morning. The people of Burkina Faso are part of one big family, so to hear that they lost 28 in a plane crash absolutely devastated them. The Government of Burkina Faso declared Friday and Saturday as mourning period in remembrance of the victims of the crash. France declared Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as mourning period in remembrance of the victims, especially the 54 French, onboard. No matter the cause of the flight, the Burkina government provided psychological services so that all of those impacted by the crash can have someone professional to talk to. I thought that was amazing.

The media's lack of censorship in its coverage of the event shocked me the most. Friday night's broadcast showed a number of things that would never be shown on American broadcasts.

First, the news showed camera footage of the scene of the crash. The crash occurred in the desert frontier between Mali and Burkina Faso. The camera footage showed shapeless debris, a smoking worker's boot and quite possibly limbs. The coverage wasn't great quality and it panned quickly, so there's no saying what I really saw. But, my jaw dropped once they started to show the coverage. I thought I'd mistranslated their warning for upcoming disturbing images. Material like that would never be released in the US. If it is released, it is usually years after the event after all investigation is complete.

Second, the news showed Burkina's Prime Minister telling the victims' families the news that the plane had been recovered, there was only debris and no survivors. I was completely shocked that something as intimate as this would be shown on the national news. The amount of grief was unbearable.

Third, the news reporters started to interview family friends and those close with the victims. Hearing my host mom's gasps at the details of the families onboard was the hardest thing for me. A Burkinabe family of 5 was onboard. So sad.

Fourth, Burkina Faso's President traveled to the site of the crash to meet with the French military and say words of condolences. 

As a result of the plane's take-off from Ouagadougou, BURKINA FASO was the #2 search on Google Thursday. It's sad that it took such a tragedy to put Burkina on the map. 

Peace Corps Office and Embassy Visit

On Saturday, July 12, Jamie and I arrived in Ouagadougou after the 2-hour ride on the Obama bus from Yako. We were on our own to find our way to the Peace Corps Transit House, where we'd be staying with other volunteers for the next two nights. Based on successful past experiences, Peace Corps provided us with a list of taxi drivers who know Peace Corps destinations well. I got ahold of Abel,, but the conversation was no easy feat. Phone conversations in West African French absolutely terrify me. I'm fairly fluent now, but most of my comprehension of the West African accent comes from my ability to watch their lips…not possible over the phone. I told him at least 3 times that there were two of us at the "STAF gare (pronounced gahr)." He didn't seem to understand, so I said we were Peace Corps volunteers looking to go to the Peace Corps Bureau in Zone du Bois, a specific NGO neighborhood of the capital. He said he'd be there in 5 minutes and hung up. Well, not only did I pronounce "gare" like "guerre (pronounced gehr)," which means "war" in French, Abel didn't hear "gare," he only heard "Zone du Bois." So, after 5 minutes, he called saying he was at the Peace Corps Bureau waiting for us. Oh man. I explained that were at the STAF bus station and then it took about 2 minutes more of talking to try to explain WHICH bus station I was at because apparently there are  a lot in Ouagadougou. Hot mess. Classic mix-up. Anyway, when he arrived 30 minutes later, I told him that we know the Peace Corps prices, so we'd know if he tried to overcharge.  He enjoyed this game and said, "well, what are these prices then?" After we told him 1,000 cfa each, he went on about how he went to wrong place first, so I gave him a hard time about not understanding me. When we arrived, we handed him the money and he just left. He knew there'd be no more discussion. It was amazing. Peace Corps prepared me well for that situation!

Zone du Bois

Transit House

The transit house is essentially a frat/sorority house for volunteers, but so much cleaner. Anytime volunteers visit the capital for work, health or personal travel, we have the option to stay at the transit house instead of a local hotel. There are two large rooms with bunk beds, two bathrooms (one for each gender), a kitchen with two fridges and stovetop, and a living room with couches, large tables and chairs for work, and a giant library of books that volunteers share. It's amazing! I brought my Nook, which is fantastic for travel, but it's so nice to have paperback options, too! I grabbed the first two Game of Thrones books. There's also free wi-fi. Score! I forgot to take pictures, so I will do a more detailed post about the Transit House and neighboring restaurants and hangouts after a future visit there.

Peace Corps Burkina Faso Bureau

Peace Corps Bureau, Burkina Faso, West Africa

The Peace Corps office is a 4-story building right next to the Transit House.  There are 110+ Peace Corps education, health and economic development volunteers here in Burkina Faso, so this office is here to support us. There are computers on the 4th floor for us to use when we visit. Anytime we have paperwork to fill out, we go to the 3rd floor, which is where most of the administrative officers are. The reception and conference rooms are on the first floor.

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Peace Corps Conference Room, Burkina Faso

Peace Corps Medical Exam Room, Burkina Faso

The medical offices are on the 2nd floor. We have two doctors: Jean-Luc, who is from Cameroon and has worked as a medical officer for Peace Corps for many years, and Crystal, who is a nurse practitioner from Canada who has had extensive medical experience in the US. As you can see in the pictures, we are well taken care of here! Peace Corps takes our health very seriously. Jean-Luc knows how much parents worry about our health in developing countries, so when I asked to take photos he said, "Oh yes, of course! Take a picture of the medical chair. Ooo, don't forget the supplies. Here, come to the pharmacy and show everything we have! Ooo, take a picture of the malaria meds!" It was hilarious. Jean-Luc is a character. With his Cameroon accent and joking demeanor, we trainees joke that he has the same personality as Rafiki in Lion King. He's definitely the medical boss and incredibly intelligent, but his delivery is energetic and engaging. He knows how to make us laugh when we're talking about a subject like post-diarrheal re-hydration.

Peace Corps Pharmacy, Burkina Faso

Peace Corps Malaria Meds

US Embassy

The embassy was by far the highlight of our Peace Corps tour of the capital. I've visited tons of US Government buildings in my 23 years, but I don't think I've ever felt like a part of the bigger picture. As a Peace Corps volunteer, I am just as much of the US Mission in Burkina Faso as USAID, MCC and the consulate, among other governmental affairs here. It was extremely motivational and inspiring!

But, before I get to that, let's just talk about how the US Embassy is an oasis in Burkina Faso. I have never experienced as sharp of a contrast as when I went from sub-Saharan Africa to inside an American business building. The next time you're in an office building, if you aren't right now, look up at the ceiling and register the lights, the central air conditioning, the clean carpet, the electric outlets, etc. (I could go on forever). Our jaws dropped once we passed through security into the Embassy conference room. We were just happy to be on American soil. We had no idea that it would be the exact same as any other business building in the US. In Léo, our training site, we've become accustomed to no minimum electricity, no air-conditioning and minimal access to running water. So, you can imagine our excitement to see the amount of electrical outlets for charging devices, the beauty of the pristine white ceiling, the lack of dirt and dust on the perfect leather chairs, the smell of a clean building. I actually forgot I was in Africa.  I probably appreciated the air conditioning the most, but this was also my first exposure to FRESH COFFEE. I brought a French press and coffee grounds, but I've been saving that for when I get to my site in 4 weeks since instant coffee is easy to come by here. Not only was there fresh coffee, there was MILK. Fresh milk is also hard to come by. Café au lait has never tasted so good. Probably the funniest encounter was in the restrooms, where we had the privilege to use super clean toilets and sinks. One of my girl friends said, "it's like I flew home and back for a second!" and one of my guy friends walked out and said, "ahhh, it feels good to pee on American soil." Let me remind you that this was only a week after 4th of July, so we were still in the patriotic spirit. 'Merica.

First, Tulinabo Mushingi, the US Ambassador to Burkina Faso, spoke with us about the US Mission in Burkina Faso. Peace Corps is very near and dear to his heart due to his involvement prior to becoming ambassador. To read his biography, you can explore the US Embassy site. He gave us an overview how important we are to the bigger picture of the United States' relationship with Burkina. We're at the local level, whereas the aid agencies are at a larger level implementing projects. Together, we make a well-rounded presence in Burkina Faso. Ever since I met him, I've seen him on the news every other night or so at various meetings. Pretty much every international meeting or national project meeting is shown on the nightly national news.

Second, Jim Parys, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Representative to Burkina Faso, presented an overview of USAID.

Third, Ali Wallace, Development Specialist for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), gave an overview of MCC. Ali was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Burkina Faso from 2010-2012, so he definitely understands the local level perspective.

Fourth, Brenda Soya gave an overview of the Public Affairs Office in the Embassy and their job to have a presence in Burkina Faso's media, whether that's through current USAID projects or the ambassador's meetings. She gave us resources for activities with English clubs. She also talked about the American Library in the embassy that is free and open to the public. I might check it out during future visits to the capital just to be in that glorious American building.

Fifth, the Regional Security Office presented their role in the safety of Americans in Burkina Faso. Sixth, Cristin Heinbeck gave an overview of the Consular Office and their role in reissuing US Passports and issuing US Visas to Burkinabe, among other consular tasks. 

Regional Capital Visit

After visiting Boussé, on Friday, July 11, I went to visit my regional capital, Yako, for two days. Part of the site visit experience is taking transportation by yourself to simulate future travel during service. My community counterpart, Elie, was incredibly nice and met me at my house in the morning to take me to find breakfast and wait for the bus. Since I'm on the main road from the capital, large coach busses drive through every hour and there is usually a second one 15 minutes behind the first. The trick is finding a coach that has enough room underneath for bikes. Since Boussé is only an hour north of Ouagadougou, by the time the bus gets to me, hardly anyone has gotten off the bus, hence making it difficult to find cargo space for my bike. So, after 3 busses passing through, Elie managed to pester the bus employees enough to find space for my bike. I gave him one last look and then I was on my own for the hour-long bus ride from Boussé to Yako where I would meet a current Peace Corps health volunteer. I didn't talk about the bus ride in my previous post, but it is pretty much like any other coach ride in the US. Often the bus is air conditioned and there are 3 seats on each side of the aisle. I always listen to my iPod because the busses usually blast local pop/hip-hop/loud music that all sounds the same and gets old real fast. Sometimes they'll show a Rhianna or Bob Marley music video, but mostly they play local music.

Hotel Shalom in Yako, Burkina Faso

Once I arrived, we went to the hotel that Peace Corps reserved for the current volunteer, myself and Jamie (another trainee in my region). Talk about an oasis! This hotel is about a year old and is beautiful! We walked into our rooms and to my surprise each room had air conditioning! I'm not talking about a wimpy fan that blows slightly cold air. No, these rooms got COLD if you wanted them to. I literally jumped for joy out of excitement! I sure would sleep well that night! We were pretty sure Peace Corps didn't realize this is what they reserved for us, because the rooms cost 15,000 cfa per night, which is a little under $30 and SUPER expensive for an unpaid Peace Corps volunteer's stipend. But, we received travel allowances and we weren't saying no to this beauty!

We ate lunch under the gazebo

We ate lunch at the hotel. I ordered couscous, which has become my favorite grain ever. I eat it plain and it's delish! While the three of us were eating, an older Burkinabe man sat at a table near us. He kept interrupting our conversation to get our attention. Well, before we knew it, apparently Brittany and I were Jamie's wives. Naturally, I just rolled with it. He asked us where we were from, which is Etats-Unis (ay-taz oo-nee) in French, and then he proceeded to talk about how nice Canadians are. "Non monsieur, nous sommes A-mér-i-cains!" He talked about Canada some more. Brittany asked him where he's from and then flipped the situation saying that people from Ghana. We then explained that the US is south of Canada just like Ghana is south of Burkina Faso. He then talked about how nice Europeans are. We ignored him and continued our conversation. He then interrupted again saying, "MADAME, MADAME." This was a great lesson for me as to how it's a social norm to be rude to each other, especially women to men who harass them in this patriarchal society. "Monsieur, Monsieur, WHAT!?!" He responded saying how much he likes the Canadians that visit here. LISTEN DUDE, please leave us to our conversation. We came to a consensus that he was probably drunk. But, it's also entirely possible that he was just being obnoxious. Lesson: men expect women to be rude to them here. Volunteers have told me this over and over again, and now I've seen it in action!

These adorable hotel kittens made the experience so much better.

Air conditioning is expensive in Burkina Faso

After our lunch, I starfish-ed on my bed in my air-conditioned bed for about 10 glorious minutes of cold, and then we departed for a bike ride around Yako. Yako is similar to Boussé in that it is a large town. However, it's a mining town, so people that are looking to strike rich in the Burkina gold rush usually go to Yako to stock up on food, supplies, etc. Yako is only an hour north of Boussé, so when I need to find things that I cannot at my site, why would I travel to Yako when I could travel an hour south to THE CAPITAL. Pretty silly that they had us go to Yako, because Jamie had to travel through Ouagadougou, the capital, to get to Yako anyway. Oh well, it's a pretty cool town. We split a chicken and two plates of frites (freets, French word for fries). Now, this is not your typical rotisserie American chicken. Chickens here are not as plump as those in the US. But, this chicken man must have been trying to impress the nasaras and get us to come back again because that was one big chicken! We almost didn't finish it! We ate like kings and queens and it was amazing!

A street in Yako. During rainy season, it's typical to see standing water in the roads. Here's a typical line of stores, hair dressers and eateries found in most towns. The kid pushing the white cart sells "FanMilk" which is Africa's best version of frosty in a 8-oz. bag. It's delicious, ice cold and cheap, about $0.20 USD. 

One volunteer calls Yako the Wild Wild West of Burkina Faso. We aren't quite sure what these buildings were for, but the bottoms are currently used for shops and food stands. 

Remember when I said that a boutique is a small grocery store? Case and point. I don't think we'd call gas station mini marts "boutiques" in the US. ;)

Saturday, we had breakfast on a corner. The man made us omelets and put them in our baguettes. It was delicious! But then he overcharged us. Again, this was a lesson in how to handle a situation where the vendor won't budge. One egg and one baguette and one Nescafe almost always cost 100 cfa each ($0.20). Labor is rarely an addition to the total price. Each omelette had two eggs, yet the vendor was trying to charge us 800-900cfa total for each of our meals. The current volunteer explained to him that it was too expensive and we know prices of things, so why is he charging us so much. He insisted that he used the best butter and whatever else he could throw in there. She explained that we never asked for that and he needs to tell the customers they will be charged for that. She explained that we will never come back and he is no longer our friend. And he laughed, as would anyone. I told you people here are blunt. I'm learning the best I can!

We hopped on the 2-hour bus ride back to Ouagadougou. We didn't think we'd easily get on the first bus since we had to get two bikes in the cargo space. But, after much insisting, they made space. Jamie and I boarded the bus and it was packed with mostly businessmen. Two men waved me over showing me that there was a vacant seat between them for me. Heck no, I'm not about to be harassed for 2 hours. "Hey Jamie, there's a seat there!" Jamie, who is male trainee, turned around and I found a seat near a mother and child near the front. I am so glad Jamie didn't find a seat before I could resolve that situation! It's sad to me that I have to assume that all men are bad because that's so contrary to my personal approach to life. I always assume the best in people. However, c'est la vie! 

This is the bus station in Ouagadougou. I will take STAF for most of my travel to and from site.

Our bus was the Obama bus! People here are obsessed with Obama. The window shades were painted and the grill also said Obama. Too funny.

Site Placement and Visit

I apologize in advance for formatting issues.

Site Announcement

Wednesday, July 2, was the day the Peace Corps staff announced the sites we will be serving in for two years after training finishes. Halfway through training, which is now, we get to visit those sites. After teaching us for the past 4 weeks, our local training staff thought it would be a fun surprise to show us something they had learned…the electric slide! It was quite the surprise! We all cracked up, it was awesome. Knowing we were full of anticipation as to where we were placed, the staff then made two of the trainees go on a scavenger hunt to find the papers with our assignments. They found a box, opened it up, and out burst candies and chocolate for us! We then started the announcements by drawing site names from a box. Once the site name was announced, one of the placement workers would read a short description and then announce the trainee's name.  Drum roll…

I'm wearing a dress made by local tailor from the pagne (ponya) that I purchased at the market!

Boussé

I will be living in Boussé!! Burkina Faso is about the size of Colorado and our sites are a mix of towns and rural villages spread throughout the country, with the high north as an exception. I could not be more relieved that Boussé is a town and easily accessible by a paved road. The paved road from the capital literally goes right through my town, so that means I won't have to take sketchy bush taxis, which often get stuck in the mud during rainy season, unless I'm traveling to see friends! My site is about 45km from Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. By bus, it takes about 45-60 mins. I cannot complain! And since Boussé is so close to the capital, its market has a decent selection of fruits and vegetables year-round. I can find eggs and meat on a regular basis. Seriously, none of this was an expectation. It's a blessing. There are also a few boutiques in Boussé. No, not high fashion boutiques. Here, boutiques are like mini grocery stores. I'm lucky because one of the boutiques has a fridge/freezer, so I will be able to buy cold items if I'd like! Boussé is in the sahel, which is just south of the Saharan Desert, so it's going to be HOT during hot season (writes the American who is sweating during the cooler rainy season), so having the option of cold items is amazing! I asked my local counterpart, who lives in Boussé, what I need to buy in the capital and he said, "nothing, you can find everything here." Unbelievable. Just wait until you hear about my house!

Friday, July 4, we ended sessions early and rented out a restaurant to celebrate America. We all pitched in to buy ingredients and ate like kings and queens. We ate hot dogs, cheeseburgers, tacos, chips, guacamole, etc. Let me tell you about the cheeseburgers. Holy cow. Literally. I hadn't had American food in a month, so the concept of having cheese on a meat patty was out of this world. Cheese is rare and ground meat is rare. It tasted amazing, but I was even more thankful that my body didn't reject the grease and fats that I hadn't consumed in 4 weeks. We took turns plugging in our iPods and dancing to hits. It was super fun!

Counterpart Workshop in Ouagadougou

Me and Ésaïe

Sunday, July 6, we loaded up the Peace Corps vans and drove for two hours to Ouagadougou to meet our professional counterparts (aka homologues) as part of a 2-day workshop. My counterpart's name is Ésaïe, which is the French name for Isaiah. He teaches physics and PE at the same school as me and I will be the third volunteer he's worked with. We were all joking that he was "alpha homologue" because he always rose his hand with the correct answer to questions during the workshop. He knows Peace Corps backwards and forwards, so I felt relieved to know that he understands safety/security procedures, housing requirements, etc. Also, he went to a university in Germany at one point and has also visited Shanghai. I'm very grateful that his French is comprehensible. We had very productive collaboration and he was able to answer all of my inquiries with regard to my upcoming site visit. Site visit is nerve-wracking because we have to travel with the counterpart we just met, who doesn't speak English, to a place we've never been to. I felt pretty confident going into site visit!

In Ouaga, we ate AMAZING giant breakfast sandwiches of "cheeseburgers." Then we bought "American" ice cream which was vanilla chocolate chip. We all joked around that any weight we'd lost was definitely regained in those few days in the capital.

Site Visit

Wednesday, July 9, we travelled to Boussé! Immediately after dropping off my bags at my house, my counterpart took me to the boutique and bought me a 6-pack of 32-oz. bottles of water. This guy knows what he's doing. I only had enough water for the next hour, so I was very grateful that I wouldn't have to rely on iron tablets to filter water. Then, we went to a little café for breakfast. I don't seem to have an insensitivity to eggs here, so I eat omelets ALL THE TIME. I think my body craves the protein. Anyway, we got omelets with bread. Sometimes, the café cooks will throw in local ingredients, which at this time of year seems to only be onions. Then you put the omelet in the baguette and bon appetit! When the café worker brought the coffee (I use coffee loosely because the only thing they have here is Nescafe instant coffee), he also brought sweetened condensed milk. I have never been so happy for a milk-like substance. So sweet. So good.

After breakfast, we walked all over town to meet the important people of the region. Since I'm in a pretty big area, a lot of VIPs work here. I met the school superintendent, the mayor, the regional director, police captain and other folks whose jobs I didn't quite catch during the rapid French exchange. With each VIP, my counterpart introduced himself, Elie, my community counterpart, and me. The exchanges all went pretty much the same with the VIP bidding me welcome and thanking me for volunteering to help the community. The regional director went on and on about how important it is in this culture to protect visitors, so if I ever need anything, I should not hesitate to ask. The mayor asked if I'm French. He didn't quite comprehend what I was doing here, but I'll never work with the mayor's office, so it doesn't really matter that he didn't grasp why I'm there. I took being "French" as a compliment. I must have said "bonjour" REALLY well.

My house is BEAUTIFUL!! I am the third Peace Corps volunteer to live there, so it is fully furnished and has decorations that make it feel homey. The house has three rooms, cement walls and a metal roof. The windows have mosquito screens on them and metal shutters for security. My front door has screen doors that lock and metal doors that lock. 

The view of my house as I walk in the courtyard. You can see the bed frame under the tree on the right. A lot of volunteers like to sleep outside at night because it's cooler. I will probably sleep inside, though.

My kitchen! Gas stove setup is on the right.

I will definitely post more pics of the interior later once I move in and make it my own. It is so weird to say that I have my own house at 23 years of age. I mean, how cool is that? I do not have electricity, BUT I HAVE A SOLAR SETUP! Ésaïe set it up a while back. So, I will put the solar panels outside during the day. The solar panels charge the battery. At night, I flick the switches in my house and voila, I have lights! This honestly makes the world of a difference for me. I grew up in suburbia, so I'm not familiar with darkness. Even though my home and courtyard are very secure, I feel even safer with lights at night. Having lights also allows me to cook after the sun goes down without having to use a headlamp. I also can purchase a charging station to connect to the battery so that I can charge my devices while at home. Or, I can charge them at school in the teacher room. Seriously, I am so stoked about my house.

This came from Esaie's mango tree. Giant mangoes are so heavy here, but so delish! This is also a view of the path in my courtyard. The greenery is beautiful, but to reduce rodents, Peace Corps will cut it down before I move in.

In the afternoon, the volunteer that I am replacing came to stay a night to show me around and introduce me to people. It was extremely helpful to see how she lived in the house and what she'd left and how I could use things. She took me to the school to show me around. I met a lady that makes the best fries in town (or in country, they were so good). We ordered some BBQ'd lamb and ate small pancakes that are made with local grains that make it not taste so much like a pancake. She showed me where she's had her hair braided, which greatly helped her integration. She showed me her tailor. She showed me the health center, where I hope to volunteer a lot. My favorite interaction was when I met one of her friends...

School building

(In French)

Me: Good evening.

Burkinabe: Good evening. How are you?

Me: I'm well, thank you and you?

Burkinabe: Well. And your work?

Me. Well.

Burkinabe. And your family?

Me. Well.

Burkinabe: And Obama?

Me. (Cracking up) Well! 

People here are OBSESSED with Obama. He's become a brand in almost every industry, but I'll make a post about that later. ;)

African sunsets are like no other. This was a great way to end a successful first day at site!

French Class

Almost every single day we have French class. I am in the intermediate-mid class with 4 others. Our language instructor is amazing!! We're lucky because she's one of the few Burkinabe instructors whose French is easy to understand. We can understand all of the language instructors, but her accent isn't as thick because she taught in France for three years. 

We meet in tons of different locations around the city of Leo in order to learn the culture. The pictures below are of our favorite spot. We sit at a table under a large, shady tree. Sometimes we order coffee and/or tea since we're near a little restaurant.

One of the trees we will sit under. The teepee used to be a fence, but the goats/pigs/sheep knocked it down. Ca va aller!

The kids in the area will sometimes flock to meet us. We fist bump kids. In French, the word is "tampon." Not kidding.

My water bottle makes a cameo. Just another day in French class!

This mama goat JUST had baby goats! The babies are cute like puppies...at least I think so. ;) Talk about a distraction when trying to learn French!