Harvest

Rice

I got to harvest rice for the first time with my community counterpart. I followed him on my bike to someone's rice fields and helped harvest rice with 30+ other men. I was way slower at it then them, obviously. So after 20 minutes, someone took my tool so that someone else could work more quickly. Fine by me! They managed to harvest all of the fields in one morning since there were so many friends there to help.

Look at me go!

It was seriously the most bizarre sight for me. Watching PBS and the Discovery Channel and any other informational programming, it always seemed to be Asia harvesting rice. I had no idea that riec was harvested in Africa, too. I'm not quite sure which type of rice it is because, as you can see, the fields aren't submerged in water. But, the rice still grows. So, I'm not quite sure about that! It's in the works. But, the soil is fertile because these fields have been producing rice for this family for over 80 years!

The harvest starts by grabbing the groups of stalks and chopping them, then placing them in piles. After that, the women and children follow to bundle together the piles.

Many hands make light work!

The women and children bundle together the piles. 

The tool used to chop the stalks!

Peanuts and corn

As I explained in an earlier post, my community planted peanuts and corn in my courtyard before my arrival over 2 months ago. Well, they're harvested! I'd never eaten raw peanuts before, but they're really good!

The peanuts grow in the dirt. Once the leaves turn yellow and start to wilt, they're ready!!

The corn didn't get very big because it was planted too late in the year, but that's okay! Corn is corn!

You can tell that rainy season is over. This is what my courtyard looks like now, after 2+ weeks of no rain, but continued 100+ degree weather. I don't even notice how much I sweat anymore. This heat...man.

Penny and my new rooster Leonard in my drying up courtyard

Speaking of Penny. I would just like to mention that my crazy hen is like a cat. She flies up onto the 5ft. wall and goes into my neighbors' courtyards as she pleases. She then returns whenever she feels like it. Leonard, my rooster, is too heavy to fly over the wall. He likes to crow and wake me up at 3am some mornings. Thanks Leonard, but the sun won't be up for another 2.5 hours.

Sesame

My neighbor grew sesame this year. The sesame seeds are in the pods.

Tabaski: Feast of the Sacrifice

The men pray in the front and the women pray in the back.

Wikipedia's story behind Tabaski:

When Abraham attempted to cut Ishmael's throat, he was astonished to see that Ishmael was unharmed and instead, he found a dead ram which was slaughtered. Abraham had passed the test by his willingness to carry out God's command.^[1][13]

This is mentioned in the Quran as follows:

100 "O my Lord! Grant me a righteous (son)!"

101 So We gave him the good news of a boy ready to suffer and forbear.

102 Then, when (the son) reached (the age of) (serious) work with him, he said: "O my son! I see in vision that I offer thee in sacrifice: Now see what is thy view!" (The son) said: "O my father! Do as thou art commanded: thou will find me, if Allah so wills one practising Patience and Constancy!"

103 So when they had both submitted their wills (to Allah), and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead (for sacrifice),

104 We called out to him "O Abraham!

105 "Thou hast already fulfilled the vision!" – thus indeed do We reward those who do right.

106 For this was obviously a trial–

107 And We ransomed him with a momentous sacrifice:

108 And We left (this blessing) for him among generations (to come) in later times:

109 "Peace and salutation to Abraham!"

110 Thus indeed do We reward those who do right.

111 For he was one of our believing Servants.

112 And We gave him the good news of Isaac – a prophet – one of the Righteous.

—Quran, sura 37 (As-Saaffat), ayat 100–112^[14]

So, every year, Muslim families sacrifice a sheep as part of their second largest religious celebration after Ramadan. Aïsseta's family is Muslim, so I asked if I could go with them to pray and celebrate on Tabaski. She was more than happy to bring me! 

Their family purchased this ram for the equivalent of $70 USD a few days before the celebration. 

I'd just had a new dress made by the tailor across the street from her boutique. The material cost the equivalent of $4 and it cost $5 to make. $9 for a perfectly fitting dress? Yes, please! I take full advantage of having a tailor here! I wanted to buy a scarf I found in the market. The vendor asked $4 for it. I brought Aïsseta with me and I only ended up paying $3 for it. Win! It's very helpful to have a local come with me so I don't get the foreigner's price.  I'd also had my hair braided the day before the celebration. I was ready for a world of pain after watching the little girls cry while getting their hair braided, but I think all of those years of sports increased my pain tolerance because it really didn't hurt that bad. The hair dresser asked every 5 minutes if it hurt because it hurt all of the other whites she braided. But, it was totally fine!

I went to the mosque with the family in the morning. Everyone was dressed in their new clothes for the celebration. Since it's such a large community, the prayer was held on a soccer dirt field. The boys went to the front to pray with the men and I followed Aïsseta and her daughter and small son to pray with the women. We shared a prayer mat and it was time for me to follow the masses. The prayer ceremony was short and silent. I followed all of the bending and kneeling and bowing. There was one point where everyone starting humming at the same time, breaking the silence. It gave me chills, it was so beautiful. I'm easily moved by large groups of people sharing moments together. The silence of the prayer was incredibly powerful!

The women finishing praying on Tabaski in Burkina Faso

After the prayer, the festivities began! All of the children ran over to the side where people had setup their carts to sell homemade snacks and candy and toys. I took full advantage of this time to take a ton of pictures!

Aïsseta's mini boutique to sell goods

And then I took a lot more pictures!

My favorite people to hang out with in the evenings in town :)

The females of the family...and little Abadou!

The day of Tabaski was also the day of the market, so I went with Aïsseta into town and sat at the boutique for a little bit. That was when the dad had gone home to kill the ram. Again, so glad I didn't have to watch. Around lunch time, we headed back to her house and I sat under a tree with her neighbors' kids and my puppy. And then we FEASTED! And I say 'we' because Simba was so excited about all of the bones and meat to chew on. My body was just so stoked to have so much protein! I spent most of the afternoon chatting with people and enjoying the shade.

Later that evening, there was a dance at one of the main restaurants in town for the teens and young men and women. I stopped by to check it out and those kids were having so much fun! They'd been looking forward to it for weeks because one of Burkina Faso's rappers would be performing there. I was exhausted and gearing up for the celebration the next day at the Catholic church, so I hung out at the boutique and then went home.

You would never guess, but these are actually some of the happiest people I know. Smiling for pictures is not a thing here...

Me and my friend who is a volunteer in Boussé from Japan

I got a puppy!

My October definitely started off with a woof! A fellow Peace Corps Volunteer, Amy, has been in country since last year. She acted as a Peace Corps Volunteer Facilitator during my group's training in Léo, so we got to know her well. Her dog had puppies toward the end of our training and she let me claim one! I met her in Ouagadougou on the last day in September to receive the puppy. I've never had a dog before, so I cracked up when I saw "I Just Got a Puppy. What Do I Do?" in the volunteer library. The internet connection is so slow or nonexistent at my site that my questions are no longer just a Google Search away, so this book has been fantastic!

Me and my puppy in Ouagadougou

Simba in her basket

I taxi'd to the bus station to catch my bus home. To my horror, the bus station was packed like I'd never seen before. Everyone was travelling for 3 main reasons: going home for the start of school, affecting to teach in the assigned school district and travelling for 2 big religious holidays that weekend. I went into Ouagadougou on the absolutely worst day! Usually I just go up to my bus and hop on without having to formally by tickets ahead of time. This was the first time I had to go to the ticket booth. Burkina Faso does not have a concept of lines. It is first come first served and that means mass chaos. I thought we were standing in a line at the ticket booth, but when the worker returned to sell more tickets everyone pushed forward like we were at a rock concert. Of course my money wasn't easily accessible, so I took off my backpack and set the puppy's basket down, praying that she wouldn't try to jump out. Everyone was watching me because I stick out like a sore thumb being so pale, but I also had a giant backpack and a puppy and my money wasn't ready. Hot mess. I eventually got my ticket and headed over to the other line of mass chaos loading the busses. As a bus backed in, I asked one of the workers if he could put my bike on the bus. He said yes, but make sure you can find a seat. To my horror, the bus had just been unloaded and people were already shoving their way on. Are you kidding me? So I hugged the puppy close like a football and pushed my way head first into the crowd like I was going for the touchdown. You bet I got that touchdown! All Burkina hospitality for the nasara is lost when it comes to first come first served scenarios. I fought for my middle seat between one large woman and another mother with her 8-year-old son on her lap. We became 5 sweaty peas in a 3 seat pod. Oversize lady, me, puppy on my lap, mother and son on her lap. Wow. The puppy slept and I sweated for the next hour until I got home. But, we made it!

For being 8 weeks old, the puppy was so tiny! But, the mother had been sick and the puppy was fighting for milk with her brothers.  She had a few scabs on her body and other volunteers that were also at the Transit House (Peace Corps Burkina Faso dorms) mentioned that she might have worms. I believe it, she slept the entire way from my friend's house to Ouagadougou, didn't play or act curious in Ouagadougou, then slept the whole way to my house. This was also the first time that she was separated from her mother and brothers, but her energy was insanely low. I took her to my neighbor to show her my new puppy and she immediately saw the scabs and said that she had worms. IF YOU'RE SQUEAMISH DON'T READ THIS NEXT PART. Go to the next paragraph. What happened next is gross. My neighbor squeezed the scab area like it was a pimple and out popped a worm. I was mortified, but totally intrigued at the same time. I held down the puppy and she proceeded to pop out at least 10 more worms. My poor little puppy was crying and wimpering and it was so sad to put her through so much pain. My neighbor heard my awws and said I know this is hurting her, but she will die if these worms don't come out. I don't know who was braver, my neighbor or my puppy. Every worm she took out, she then threw into the fire. She has a dog too, so she knows how dangerous these worms are.

It was a amazing to see the difference the next morning in the puppy's energy level. Granted, she woke me up a million times throughout the night whenever she heard loud wind, rain, dogs fighting and donkeys braying. But, she had an appetite and way more energy. I took her to the vet and he gave her a small injection to prevent further worms and washed her with a toxin made for animals to kill any further worms. Sure enough, he found more than what my neighbor had found. He told me my puppy was actually a boy and said that the service was free of charge. People here are seriously so nice.

Such a curious little puppy!

I wanted to wait a few days to make sure he was healthy before naming him. Animals are so fragile here, especially young animals. But, when I took him to my neighbor's house, he curiously walked up to my neighbor's 8-year-old dog and barked the quietest, cutest little bark I've ever heard. It reminded me of Simba in The Lion King when he tries to roar at the hyenas. So his name became Simba. And, he's growing into his name quite nicely! One of his favorite games is to hide in the tall weeds, crouch and then pounce and chase my neighbor's chickens. It's adorable to watch and reminds me of the Lion King character pouncing on Zazu. It's also pretty legit that many of the locals here pronounce Simba's name "Seemba," like Rafiki.

Simba loves chasing chickens!

Simba likes to play with her crepes and fried eggs.

The informational book about getting a puppy has been pretty helpful. But, raising a puppy here is a lot different that in a developed country. In house training, the book emphasizes the importance of regular meals to regulate the digestive system. I wish that was an option. Dogs here eat what the humans eat. I can find dog food in the capital, but it is insanely expensive and my Peace Corps stipend isn't really setup to support that. So, I bought a small bag of off-brand adult dog food to supplement what I feed him. What's been successful so far is NIDO. NIDO is fortified powdered milk produced by Nestlé to promote healthy growth and development in children. It's basically like Pedia-Sure with the proteins and vitamins children need. Simba loves that stuff! It doesn't have lactose in it, so he digests it without a problem. He also really likes scrambled eggs. And of course he LOVES meat. I often take him over to my neighbor's house where I eat lunch every day and she'll give him some tô or rice with sauce and he eats it all! 

Okay, so I don't care what the vet says. After three weeks with me, my puppy has more than doubled in size. She's a girl, not a boy. I picked her up and looked at her side-by-side with my friend's male puppy and there's kind of a big difference. Good one, vet. 

I puppy sat for my community counterpart while he was in the capital working for a few days. Simba is way bigger than his puppy, so when they played she'd usually end up hurting him. If I didn't separate them into two different rooms in the house, I wouldn't have ever slept through the night. Simba just loves playing too much! 

Simba loves to play!

I love my puppy! It costs more than 800 euros to fly a dog back with me to the United States, so I'm making sure Simba gets to know my neighbor really well so she doesn't feel as confused about loyalty when I leave. Every time I lock to the house door, she wags her tail and runs to the gate and then runs into my neighbor's courtyard to play and follow her around. I'm super attached to Simba, but $2,000 can fly me back to Burkina to visit after my service is done. And there are plenty of puppies for me to choose from in the US!

I love my puppy!!

I'm Officially a Peace Corps Volunteer!

Swear-in

You don't officially become a Peace Corps Volunteer until you've successfully met certain criteria. Before I was placed by Peace Corps HQ to serve in Burkina Faso, I had to meet specific legal and health requirements. Check! Next, I arrived in country and needed to pass a medical questionnaire about how to take care of health while in-country. Check! Then, after 10 weeks, I needed to be at a minimum Intermediate-Mid level in French as determined by the international LPI test. I received that level upon arrival in country and I was very happy to have tested as Advanced-Low by the time training was over. To reach Superior, you need to be able to use all formal speech and be able to talk business, politics, economics, etc. Well, Burkina Faso won't necessarily teach me THAT much French, but it's a great feeling to be an advanced French speaker after being here for 10 weeks. Other requirements included integrating into my host family, attending and understanding all technical education sessions, proficiently teaching during summer school, passing the safety/security exam and meeting with program managers throughout to ensure successful service.

So, swear-in was more to us than heading off to serve in a site. Swear-in meant we had finally finished 10 weeks of 8am-5pm sessions and early curfews with host families. Most of us hadn't been students in an intensive 8-5 student environment since high school. But, we made it through and we were so excited!

Before we left for the capital, all of us trainees purchased green pagne that we then took to the tailor to make swear-in outfits. I wish I had better internet to post pictures, but my pagne was a dark green and I had a complet made. A complet is a fitted top with a skirt. I'd asked for the skirt to be full length, but he somehow missed the memo and the measurement his daughter took from my hip to ankle, but ça va aller (literally: it's going to go, meaning: it's going to be ok, life goes on).    

Ceremony 

Swear-in was Tuesday, August 19, 2014 at the US Embassy in Ouagadougou. Before we entered the building to check in and go through security, we greeted all of our language teachers who had come for the ceremony. Without them, we wouldn't be able to be successful volunteers. They taught us French and local languages, how to get a good deal at the market, how to get a bus ticket, what gestures were/weren't appropriate and general cultural dynamics. It was so great to see them there.

We waited in a holding room for an hour before the ceremony started. Hey, we were in air conditioning, so no complaining from me! We were then escorted out of the holding room, through a hallway into the atrium of the embassy. Everyone was ready for us. We walked down the aisle to our seats in the front, passing embassy employees, our language teachers, Peace Corps staff and current volunteers who had made the trip to come see us. There were probably around 200 people in attendance. We filed into our seats and the media followed. Talk about distracting. We knew that we'd be on national television, but I never realized how close the camera men get to people they're videoing. I did my best to just focus on the ceremony and not look at the camera, even though I could totally see it filming MY FACE.

The ceremony started with the Burkina Faso and USA national anthems. I looked across the stage to see His Excellence Tulinabo Mushingi, US Ambassador to Burkina Faso, a man filling in for the Minister of Education of Burkina Faso and Keith Hackett, our Peace Corps Burkina Faso Country Director. After our Country Director gave a speech about what we're here for and what this ceremony means, 4 of my friends went on stage to give speeches in 4 different languages: French, Mooré, Jula and Gulmancema to represent all of the ethnic regions our group will be serving in. Then, the Ambassador gave a speech and swore us in as volunteers. He explained that the oath we were about to take would join us with the Founding Fathers and countless others who have served our nation and the oath was as follows:

I, ______________ do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic, and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge my duties in the Peace Corps, so help me God.

The man representing the Ministry of Education then spoke about what it means to have Americans here to help the education system. Then, the ambassador, interim minister of education and Peace Corps country director cut the cake together and then we went on stage to take a picture with them to end the ceremony.

Cake 

Let's talk about this cake for a second. The French word for "cake" is "gâteau." If you walk into the marché or down the street asking for gâteau here, you will receive a muffin sized ball of fried dough, and sometimes this dough has fish in it. Cake? I think not. So, when I saw a traditional American birthday cake, I got very excited. Again, it's the little things here. It's amazing how just eating a familiar food can make my day! My friend Chloe was sitting next to me during the ceremony and we made a B-line to the refreshments once the picture was taken. We're food soulmates…if a volunteer brought us cookies during training or the American restaurant in Léo made banana bread, you could count on us to park ourselves in that area. "Well I already ordered one piece of banana bread, so I might as well order another, right?" It was pretty hilarious. Anyway, we grabbed our respective pieces of cake and mingled with our friends and those who came to the ceremony. Another girl friend asked, "so do you think they'll notice if we take a second?" Girl, you just read my mind. There was so much cake and a group of us went back for seconds. Mind you it was 10am, but is it really ever too early for cake? (The answer is no, btw.) Another girl friend came up to me, knowing I'm a sweets person like her and asked, "so what do you think would happen if I got a second piece?" I laughed and replied, "well, I seem to be doing just fine, go get a piece!" We were all so on the same page, it was awesome. We also knew the extravagance of American and European food would be limited or completely gone once we left for our sites in 48 hours.    

BBQ and Swimming 

After the cake feast, we were escorted out of the atrium to the swimming pool. Yes, the swimming pool. Peace Corps reserved the pool and bbq area for us. We ate burgers, hot dogs, chicken, pasta salad and the list goes on. It was wonderful. Then we jumped into the pool. I had not felt so refreshed in Burkina until that moment. When it rains here, the temperature drops and if I get caught in the rain, it feels nice to be soaking wet (for about 5 minutes until I'm over it), but it was the nostalgia that made me appreciate that swimming pool so much. We splashed around for over an hour and then headed back to the convent for the rest of the day. I wanted to rest, but I also wanted to get a leg up on my shopping, so that's when I went to look at the solar panels and go to Burkina Pas Cher, as you can read in my previous post.

Clubs in Ouagadougou

That night, we went out to a dance club to celebrate. Okay, I was super impressed. I've been to cheap bars with dance floors in Pacific Beach, San Diego to the luxurious XS club in Encore, Las Vegas. I would say this was on the luxury side of the spectrum. There's not a whole lot of luxury in this country and I didn't join Peace Corps to be in Posh Corps (as volunteers joke about placements in other countries where electricity and running water are givens). So, whenever I experience something remotely westernized, I take as much advantage as possible because I don't know when I'll come across it next. Well, since we can't leave our sites for the first 3 months, my answer is 3 months. The DJ worked his booth in the back and played a lot of electronic dance music (EDM), a lot of which we recognized, which made the dancing that much more fun. There were semi-circular couches setup to form booths. And we had the place to ourselves for about an hour until local started to arrive. You should have seen all 30+ of us when "Call Me Maybe" and "Macarena" came on. No shame. We sang our lungs out and danced that Macarena like we were still kids in the nineties.

Food

I haven't talked about food a whole let yet, right? Just kidding. I do want to detail my food experience in Ouagadougou, though, because it was definitely a highlight of the week for a lot of us!

Dany Ice

The first day we arrived, Sunday, I ate lunch at the same place I'd eaten when I stayed at the convent for site visit 6 weeks ago. I ordered a café au lait and a "cheese burger," which has a patty, cheese, egg, fries, coleslaw, mayo and ketchup. Afterward came the ice cream. Everyone was just staring contemplating if they wanted to get ice cream with lunch or dinner. There was no deciding for me, I wanted the refreshing coldness of the ice cream. I gave my order to the lady and I turn around and everyone had followed. It was hilarious. You can't deny the ice cream. It's just not possible! Well, you can imagine I was stuffed, so I snacked on granola bars as a light dinner.

Festival de la Glace

On Monday we were provided breakfast and lunch, but were on our own for dinner. Well, Monday was bank day and we were so hangry after our sweaty, 45-minute ride to the bank that we were ready for an early dinner. We went to Festival de la Glace, which translates to…wait for it…Festival of Ice Cream!! The ice cream strikes back. The third-year volunteer who'd taken us to the bank recommended it and it sounded great to me! When we walked into the ice cream parlor, it felt like a piece of western Europe with its interior decoration, tiled floors, glass cases filled with pastries and sweet smell. We sat in a booth and when I looked at the menu, I was instantly overwhelmed: salads, sandwiches, crêpes, burgers, pizzas, egg rolls, EGG ROLLS? I couldn't believe my eyes. I'm at a European restaurant in a West African country that offers "Cuisine Chinoise." Is it worth the gamble? Egg rolls sound so good. So I ordered a croque madame (grilled ham and cheese with an egg on top) and egg rolls.  And boy was I glad that I did. I lowered my expectations from the amazing egg rolls my boyfriend's mom makes and I was extremely happy. They were simple veggie egg rolls with a sweet and sour sauce. Well, then I HAD to get ice cream because who doesn't get ice cream at "Festival of Ice Cream?" This ice cream blew Dany Ice's ice cream out of the  water. I ordered a coffee truffle truffle scoop with a banana scoop. Amazing. I revealed that I could eat even more ice cream and my friends pressured me into taking some ice cream to go with them. Well, it didn't take a lot of pressure since I secretly wanted more anyway. They were impressed with how much I'd eaten. I remember when I used to eat like that all the time when I was running track and field in college. It had been a while, but the athlete in me came out at Festival de la Glace!

Tuesday night, the night after swear-in and our bbq, I went to Dany Ice because it was raining cats and dogs and it was close to the convent. Wednesday night, I came back to Festival de la Glace with friends for our "last supper" in Ouagadougou before we would all be separated and sent off to our sites. I ordered the kingburger. As you can imagine it was large and had lots on it and was delicious. We got even more ice cream than Monday night to-go and thoroughly enjoyed our ice cream binge. But that's the thing, it doesn't feel like a binge when you know you aren't going to have it for a while. I've been reading about great harvest festivals and feasts in fiction and nonfiction my entire life. I never really understood and appreciated a feast until I came to this country. On Ramadan, it was a FEAST for those who had been fasting for the past month. On the holy day of the Assumption of Mary, it was a FEAST and celebration that rivals Christmas and Easter. After living in a small town in a developing country for 10 weeks and then having access to western foods for only 4 days for the next 3 months, we FEASTED and it felt amazing.  

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. 

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. 

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!

My Host Family's Home

My Room

Le balai

I'm usually only in my bedroom for sleeping because it gets pretty hot in there during the day. Electricity is very expensive here and my host dad was nice enough to give me a fan, so I try to only use it when I'm sleeping. It makes a HUGE difference in my quality of sleep. It also works as fantastic white noise during loud thunderstorms. The floor is concrete throughout the house, so I always wear flip flops. My door is about 2 inches off of the ground, so it is not rare for me to see bugs in my room once in a while. I sleep under a mosquito net, so I don't worry about them then. It's the surprise 6-inch black beetle on my curtains that makes me jump and go grab my host brother for assistance. He's a 14-year-old boy. Bugs don't bother him. Anyway, I had my first sweeping experience after about 10 days in the house and now I understand why it's good to sweep every couple days here. A lot of dirt gets tracked in, in addition to bugs that die from eating my bug spray (I sprayed my room and then left for the day, as recommended by Peace Corps). The sweeping device here is the "balai" (buh-lay) which is only about one foot long. Talk about a good exercise for your back!

Shower

My host family does not have running water, so I take bucket baths twice daily: immediately upon awaking and again before dining. Whenever it's around the time for me to shower, I'll hear a thud of a bucket outside my door saying, "hint hint, take your shower." I grab my shower items from in my room, grab the bucket full of water outside my door and take a few steps to the other side of the hallway to the shower area. To take a bucket bath, I use my 12 oz. plastic cup to scoop up water and pretend it's a transient showerhead. It seriously saves so much water. Want to lower your water bills? Consider switching to bucket baths. Or turn off the shower when you're washing your hair, shaving, etc.

Latrine

Sorry if you wanted me to leave a little mystery, but I warned you that I would keep it real on this blog. Here's my toilet for the next 8 weeks. Some restaurants have toilets, but most places don't have running water and thus provide a hole in the ground. Usually the surrounding walls are only about 4 ft high and the area is home to flies having a party. I'm EXTREMELY fortunate that my host parents keep their latrine clean. I don't know what they do, but there are less flies in this outside latrine area than most gas station restrooms. I'll be sure to learn their ways so I can keep mine this nice at my future site.

Burkina Faso shower area

Burkina Faso Latrine

Courtyard

Chez Moi - My host mom came out the door just as I took the picture!

Voila my host family's stunning courtyard. Doesn't scream Africa? I know. Flowers mean bugs, especially mosquitos, so  seeing flowers is rare. Want a pretty yard? You're going to have to find another way in malaria-infested West Africa. So, am I safe here? Yes, of course. Peace Corps wouldn't allow a trainee to stay someone that isn't safe. I take malarial prophylaxis everyday and though mosquitos are definitely present, they don't seem to be too much of an issue here in Leo. As for my host family, I have no idea if they also take malarial pills. They're definitely wealthy by Burkina standards, but I don't know what their healthcare is like. 

My host parents' nursery

My host dad is a retired electrician, but I think he still makes a living by growing/selling/planting baby trees. Within my first few days living there I asked him if he sells the plants and he said no. Maybe he misunderstood my question, thanks a lot language barrier, but I don't really know.

On particularly hot days, it's probably about a 15-20 degree Fahrenheit difference under the large tree (below) than outside and probably a larger difference compared to the house. It gets so hot in my room that sometimes my liquid makeup sounds like water when I shake the container (P.S. at this point, most of us girls have stopped wearing make-up, it's wonderful). This is also the tree under which I do my laundry ever Sunday morning. If it's too hot inside during a soccer match, sometimes I'll go sit under the tree and right letters, journal and/or do homework. I call moments like these "Peace Corps moments." There are certain expectations that a lot of us have coming into Peace Corps, and sitting under a mango tree writing a letter is definitely a #peacecorpsmoment.

My brother (right) and his friend staying cool under the tree.

Donkey (left), latrine (center), cactus (right)

My host family has a donkey, but I have never seen him in use. They don't have a farm, so I don't know why they have a donkey. Maybe he was a gift. I need to figure this out. He stands there tied to a tree all day, every day. My room is right next to the back door of the house, which has a direct route to the latrine. So, I pass him every day on my way from my room to the latrine. If he's feeling especially sassy, he'll follow me toward the latrine (square walled area in middle of picture) so that my exit is blocked when I am finished. If he's in a particularly bad mood, he'll back himself up so that his rear end is facing my escape. This immediately becomes a game of dodge the donkey kick. So far, I'm winning, but I'm well aware that one of these days he'll throw some kicks when I least expect them. If I feel like pushing my luck outside of the dodging games, I pet him on the nose. After about the third stroke he decides it's time to snap at my hand, so I stop. We have a love-hate relationship. At least it's mutual. ;)

Family Space with TV

The chair on the far left is where I eat all of my meals.

I played recreational and competitive soccer from ages 5-15, but I never got into watching professional soccer on tv. I've watched so many soccer matches in the past 3 weeks that I now accidentally call it football during conversation. It seems as my French fluency increases, my conversational English decreases. I've just come to terms with speaking Franglais at this point. All of our classes are instructed by locals following Peace Corps procedures from Washington DC. So, even though I'll be in a cultural, technical or safety course, half of the material is delivered in French. I wake up thinking in French. Just wait until I learn third and fourth languages here. My head might explode.

Well, that was quite the tangent. The whole point about me talking about football was that I watch it every night with my host father and brother. It doesn't matter which continent is playing, I have seen majority of the matches. I come home from the training center, take a bucket bath, then bring my homework out to watch the game and socialize. Okay, let's be real, the socializing consists of me and my host brother making "ooo" noises at the tv whenever there's a collision or goal or whatever. My host family always has "my chair" ready for me and facing the tv. Since it's the best seat in the house for watching the tv, the cushion of the chair has completely lost its integrity. The wooden bar is pushing through my tailbone as we speak. But, if I move anywhere else, they will insist that I move back. The only time they don't say anything is when I make a note of how many insects are bothering me. As you can see in the photo, the tv is pretty close to the front doors of the house, which are always open. At this point, I'm used to casually flicking off small flying African beetles that land on me.

GO AFRICA. But seriously, the entire continent is united in supporting any African team to win. It's pretty amazing. My host brother woke up at 1:30am with his dad to watch the Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) game one night. Cote d'Ivoire is next to Burkina Faso and so is Ghana, so those games are more exciting for my host brother since he knows a fair amount about the countries from school. Unfortunately I haven't seen either of the USA matches because they always start at 10pm here and I'm passed out asleep by then. The morning after the USA v Ghana match I was expecting the usual morning update from my host dad about who won the match because he always gives me the update each morning. He said nothing. I assumed USA won, and sure enough we had! I'm currently watching the Brasil v Cameroon match. I really want Cameroon to win because one of our Peace Corps physicians was born in Cameroon and he is hands down the funniest professional I have ever met. Also, he hands out chocolate during all of his lectures. I'll talk more about him another time.