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. 

Official Medical Clearance Achieved!

Hallelujah! This means that I no longer have any more Peace Corps tasks to complete before my June 4 departure. Today is the 7-week mark!

Please add me on Instagram! @peacecorpskathleen

After 13 months of paperwork, you'd be jumping too!

TL;DR (too long; didn't read): Peace Corps Medical Process and story of when I received my invitation.

Medical History Form: 

13 months ago, immediately upon submission of my Peace Corps application, I had to fill out this legendary medical history form. You thought filling out the medical history update form at the doctor's office was bad? Each time you click "yes" to having a history of the said illness, you open a can of worms to a whole other flurry of specific questions.

Examples of the medical history form.

• Allergy
• I have an allergic reaction to 1+ of the following: (long list of allergies). Oh boy, here we go.
• Yes. Seasonal Allergy (Pollen, Trees, etc.)
• Yes. I have/had symptoms to this condition (List of symptoms, date of last occurrence, frequency, ongoing or not and severity)
• Yes. I require medication for said symptoms (med name, dosage).
• Personal statement about how this will not impact my ability to serve 27 months with minimal access to western medicine.
• Gastroenterology
• Yes. I am able to tolerate lactose. Yes. I am able to tolerate gluten. What if I had said no?

This continued for every body system.

Pre-Medical Clearance: 

11 months ago, upon receipt of my nomination for science education from the San Diego region, I was contacted by the Medical Applicant Portal (MAP) to complete tasks for my medical clearance. For e v e r y body system in which I had seen a doctor in the past 2 years, I had to contact that physician and upload the documentation to MAP. So that meant my pediatrician and allergist in my hometown and my current physician and neurologist (due to a series of migraines in 2012) in San Diego. Needless to say, I got the documents and received my pre-medical clearance on the last day of July.

Once the nurse pre-cleared me, my application was then sent to the placement office in Washington DC. At that point, the placement people (nice alliteration, huh?) look at my nomination and qualifications and place me in the country and assignment that they deem I will be the most successful. And success is mostly measured by my ability to follow the core expectations. If I can follow those, I have the flexibility and open mind to make a difference.

The core expectations were brought up in every interview and all paperwork.

Invitation: 

4 months ago, after 5 months of absolutely no correspondence whatsoever from Peace Corps, I received an onslaught of emails. Don't get me wrong, the emails were all great, but anytime you receive multiple emails from the same sender, you have a moment of brief panic. Or maybe that's just me. But I let the adrenaline flow right on in, took a deep breath and opened the email entitled, "Peace Corps - Invitation!".

Burkina Faso - Junior High Science Education - June 4, 2014

What's the first thing I did? I looked up the country's location on Google Maps. Then I looked it up on Wikipedia. Then I skimmed through the 58-page Welcome Book attached to the invite email. What did I absorb other than that I would be speaking French? Absolutely nothing. Why? Have you ever tried reading detailed information after receiving a burst of adrenaline? The last time I'd produced that much adrenaline was during the CCAA Track and Field Championships in May. But I sprinted it off. In fact, I ran one of my best times in my career. But, you're talking to a cognitive science and neuroscience major, so let's get into a little more detail for a second. 

• In those fight or flight situations, the sympathetic nervous system sends out a burst of epinephrine, aka adrenaline. At this point, the body ignores all other minor systems in order to let you survive (You have to use the restroom? You just ate a big sandwich? Well, you no longer have to pee and don't worry, you'll digest the sandwich later when you're safe.). However, the parasympathetic nervous system, which regulates those autonomic functions, doesn't really work as an antagonist. So, when I realize that I received my dream placement, it isn't as simple as mentally telling my body to calm down (or ctfd as my friends and I so eloquently say). Nope, the parasympathetic system is just going to wait for the storm to pass. It's helpful in athletics and ya know, saving your life. But, it's not so helpful when you're sitting in a desk chair staring at a computer screen. Awesome. TL;DR: Science. Adrenaline takes a while to be eliminated from the system, so that's why I didn't absorb what I read.

Final Medical Clearance:

This is the point when most volunteers get nervous. Luckily, I had 3 months to complete all of the medical tasks. This meant immunization records and a doctor's note from my pediatric office that I had chicken pox as a child, two dental cleanings and two fillings and a filling correction since I hadn't seen the dentist in over a year (that's what I get), a prescription update on my glasses (I got transitions so I can see well when I'm biking during service) and a full physical exam. I also had to get the yellow fever immunization and immunization updates for polio and tetanus. Good thing I have no problems with needles!

Yellow fever. My boyfriend is Thai...get it? I thought it was funny...

Clearance Issues:

The only issue I had with my clearance was that my creatinine levels were too high out of the healthy range. Why would this be? In my proactive brilliance, I scheduled my appointment 6 weeks in advance. Then I was not-so-brilliant and made a last-minute trip with my boyfriend to see our favorite artist, Zedd, in Vegas. Well, I'd never been to Vegas post-21, so I was in for a treat. When I looked up what can affect creatinine levels, of course after reading that I probably have high blood pressure, diabetes and kidney failure (thanks WebMD, you never let me down!), I realized that I did everything I shouldn't do before that test. I ate excessive amounts of unhealthy meats (worth it...Vegas buffets are unrivaled), I was dehydrated (no excuse) and I drank diuretics (worth it...I love my coffee). 

Solution:

Two weeks ago, MAP told me that I needed to get a re-test of my serum creatinine. Just to be sure everything turned out alright, I went almost entirely vegan for two days. Talk about torture. I eat some kind of meat (mmm... bacon) almost everyday, I eat a greek yogurt every day and I drink coffee everyday. But, Peace Corps service is way higher on my priority list than what I eat. So, I sucked it up. 

I grabbed the wrong juice. This was liquid death.

A small band-aid would've worked, too...

I got the blood results back and I was .04 below the highest allowable value. Phew! My Peace Corps nurse cleared me for service and told me to be nice to my kidneys and stay hydrated. I shall!

TL;DR: Peace Corps Medical Process and story of when I received my invitation.

10 weeks to go!

I can't believe it! By the time I leave, this will have been a 15-month process. I applied, interviewed, waited, got nominated, got background checks, got pre-medically cleared, got invited, got immunizations and here I am, awaiting my final medical clearance and itinerary for departure. More info is soon to come!