Peace Corps Host Family Adoption

On Wednesday, June 11, we all jumped on Peace Corps buses and made the two hour drive south to Leo, the city we will be living in for the next 3 months. Since I was having difficulty with nausea from Doxycycline (my daily malarial prophylaxis), I was assigned to sit in the passenger seat next to the bus driver. As much as I would've loved to be in the back singing to 90s classics with the rest of the crew, I was grateful for the opportunity to take some awesome video of the drive and the villages we passed through. I am unable to upload them now, but I'll do my best to show them to you when I can!

Peace Corps bus!

Arrival

We arrived at the training center and received a warm welcome from the Peace Corps staff (Americans and locals) and host families. I was immediately overwhelmed by the banging of African drums, dancing, cheering and smiles. Thus far I hadn't really felt overwhelmed, but there were so many people there and they were all there to welcome us. I wasn't the only one who teared up because of this. The staff made two single-file lines to receive us. It's a Burkinabe tradition that anytime you visit someone's home, they offer you welcome water. So, I took a sip of the safe-for-Americans water and was refreshed by cold it was. Then, I followed the other trainees into the reception area and took a seat.

Introductions

Once we were all seated, the musicians played for us and the dancers moved in a line, circling through the imaginary stage. Some of the trainees jumped up and joined the line and before I knew it, I was in the line, too. It was awesome.

We sat back down and Siaka, our head language and culture trainer, made introductions and welcomed everyone to the adoption ceremony. It felt like the Olympics hearing everything three times in French, English and local language. One of the host father's also gave a speech to welcome us to their families. I was super glad that I could understand his French because everything he said made me feel very at ease about the prospect of staying with a host family for the next 3 months. Then, the MAYOR gave a speech. He welcomed us and gave us "the key to the city." It was pretty incredible hearing welcome speeches from so many people. Everyone truly is happy to have us here.

Adoption

Siaka called out the host family name and his counterpart called out the trainee name. I'm sitting in my seat, praying that I won't be one of the first few called so that I could gauge how this meeting was going to go down. I was stressing for nothing because it wasn't bad at all! The host family and trainee both go to the front of the room, shake hands, and then gently bump foreheads four times. This tradition is fairly similar to that in Europe where people greet each other with kisses on the cheek. The women here usually greet me with kisses, not the forehead bumps. Anyway, my name was called and I saw my host dad and host brother walk up. The forehead bumping felt like it took forever. And then I had to do it again when I shook hands with my brother! It was super hot, as always, so there was a lot of sweat exchanged. C'est la vie.

The musicians then played again and we had the option to jump back in line with our host families. My host brother stood up, so I definitely had no choice! It was awesome though, we were all having a great time. Once the dancing finished, we had to grab our bags, bikes and head home with the strangers we called family. Well, my host dad had his motorcycle and my brother had a bicycle. How the heck was I supposed to get all of my bags home? My host dad grabbed my giant suitcase and strapped it onto the back of his moto, which left him about 6 inches of seat to sit on for the ride home. I put on my hiking backpack and shoulder bag and hoped my bike wouldn't give out. Thank goodness I only live about a 5 minute bike ride from the training center, because that bike ride was rough with all of that weight.

Home

When I arrived home with my brother, my host dad had already driven back to the training center and home with my other bags. As soon as I arrived, I realized that my family is definitely one of the wealthier families because I was greeted by a beautiful garden. We're in the sahel of Africa, so there's really not a lot of flowers and plants around. However, my host parents grow trees and plants here, so it's always beautiful in their courtyard. I was immediately snapped out of the shock of their nice yard when I realized I should stop my bike before I crash into a wall. I heard someone laughing and I looked over to see my host mom was waiting outside to greet me. I thought she was laughing because I almost crashed, but it turns out she laughs at everything I do, so I'm used to it by now. It actually helps break the ice whenever I'm in an awkward situation with them…which is fairly often with a language barrier. If I note that any of my host family and I talked about something, assume it was in French if not noted otherwise. They have very thick West African French accents, so I have difficulty being fluent with them.

My room is a decent size with a high ceiling, which helps with heat management. I'm actually writing this post from under a mango tree since it gets so hot in the house during the day. I have a twin size bed with a large mosquito net, as provided by Peace Corps. I have two small tables and a chair. One table holds my giant filter system that I use for my water (I'll go into details about this in a future post). I put my school books and journals on the other table. Peace Corps also gave us a "canteen," which is not a canteen at all. It's a long metal box that is large enough for us to fit our electronics and other valuables inside and lock. I also get my own bucket, bleach and insect poison.

In Burkina Faso, it is customary to bathe before breakfast and dinner, no exceptions. My host mom asked how I like my water. I should've said cold, but of course I wasn't thinking, so she brought me super hot water and has been doing so ever since. It's crazy African hot out here and to cool off, I get to take a bucket bath with hotter water than what I used during showers in California. Long term, yes it's probably helping me get a better wash. Short term, though, I kick myself every time I have to bathe, which is twice a day before breakfast and dinner. I actually don't mind not having running water at all. I thought it was going to be a major issue, but bucket bathing isn't bad at all! I'll probably continue a similar form in the US. I shower with probably 2-4 gallons each time. That's nothing compared to what a 10-15 minute adult shower contains in the current California drought.

Dinner was yep, rice with sauce and mangoes for dessert. The first 5 days in the capital, we had been trained on Burkinabe customs, so I was totally ready for my first meal. Nope, I was not. Everything they'd told us went down the drain. Usually the men of the family sit at a table and the women sit on the ground in a different area. Nope, we all sat at the same table. The father always serves himself first, then the oldest sons, then the trainee, then the mother, then the children. Nope, they had me serve myself first. You are never supposed to eat or shake hands with your left hand because that hand is reserved for the latrine. Nope, my host dad and brother are educated, so they understand that if they wash their hands then they can eat with whichever hand pleases them.

I immediately fell asleep under the protection of my giant mosquito net. I startled awake about 3 hours later to a HEEHAW!! I literally sat up in bed until I realized what woke me up. Almost every one of us volunteers has a donkey in our courtyard or nearby and this happens randomly all night long. They're beautiful animals, but if you ever see a donkey in a HEEHAW spat, he'll look asthmatic.  

I've been with my family for almost a week now! All goes well and I have some interesting stories that I will share quite soon!