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Sunday, December 4, 2011

Surgery


It's Thursday evening now, and I was discharged from the hospital this afternoon. Unitas hospital in Pretoria was pretty interesting- and I would find it very interesting to be a patient in an adult hospital in the US to have a tool for comparison. But, as hospitals go- it wasn't bad. The bed was comfortable, the nursing staff was friendly and efficient, the food was tolerable, etc.
I was planning on bringing a book with me to the hospital but I forgot to grab it on my way out the door and boy was that a mistake. I went in to the hospital Tuesday morning, and at 1PM they wheeled me into the operating room. Much like last time, I remember them giving me the anesthesia and then not much after that. But I woke up a few hours later (I have no idea how much time passed because I didn't see a single clock in my ward) and everything seemed to be functioning still. It was actually alot easier getting up and getting moving again than I thought it would be so that was a pleasant surprise. There were zero complications from the surgery but I had to spend an extra night in the hospital because the pain killers they were giving me weren't meshing well with the rest of my system. So, Wednesday I just chilled out in the hospital under the influence of pain killers. I spent Thursday morning just waiting to be released. I think I woke up around 6 and wasn't released until 1pm so that was a long wait- and more than once I found myself wishing I had brought a book.
But now I'm back at the Guest House just resting and healing. It hurts, but it's a manageable hurt, and I'm not totally incapacitated though everyone seemed surprised that I was up and moving around. However, I don't see myself running any marathons anytime soon. But, I've heard that the recovery process can be exponential at times and I'm hoping that this is one of those times.

Medevaced


I have been sent to the Peace Corps Regional Medical Center in Pretoria, South Africa. It is actually pretty difficult to get there from Burkina Faso, but the trip was pretty enjoyable. I spent one day in the Peace Corps Med Unit in Burkina Faso and then I was flown to Ethiopia. Ethiopia is 3 hours ahead of Burkina so by the time we got there it was pretty late at night. There were a bunch of people traveling to South Africa and the flight wasn't until 8AM the next day so they gave us hotel vouchers and a bus and took us to a hotel to spend the night. Thus, I enjoyed a bed, a bit of Hawaii Five-O, and a hot shower the next morning (at 4AM). At 5 we were bussed back from the hotel, and left in the Ethiopian Airport for a while- not a bad place to be- definitely more going on there then the airport in Ouaga. From Ethiopia we flew to South Africa- and that was a huge change. When I stepped into the airport it felt like I was in Europe, or a weird place in the US where everything is green and people drive on the left side of the road and have the steering wheel on the right. Actually, it really reminds me of Puerto Rico. Anyway, it's kind of strange to think that it took me 14 hours of flight time to get here from West Africa.
When I arrived here, there were 3 other medevaced Peace Corps Volunteers who were all, interestingly enough, from Zambia. So much for the land of misfit toys that I had heard so much about. In terms of length of service, it varied. There is someone who is actually doing a 3rd year, someone who has 8 months left, someone who is 4 months into service, and then me (still in training). The whole being in training part actually causes a lot of issues here for 1) the IT people- I can't use the internet at the Peace Corps Bureau because I'm not in the system yet and 2) the rehabilitation process. Since no one knows what my site looks like (myself included) I don't know how I am going to be able to manage at least 4 weeks of no physical activity at site. In the states that usually means no exercise, etc for those weeks. Here that means, no pumping water, no bike riding to the market, no carrying water, no carrying the bucket I use to bathe- all that stuff. Clearly I'm going to have to talk with the country director and the PCMOs a little bit to figure out some sort of plan because as of right now, there is no way I can go to site.
I met up with the surgeon on Monday afternoon, and he wants to have the surgery Tuesday afternoon (it's kind of like scheduling a haircut...what are you doing tomorrow at 1?). So, all of the usual surgery rules apply- no eating after midnight, no drinking after 10am. Luckily I was able to check myself into the hospital early which will save me a bit of a headache Tuesday morning. It's kind of weird doing this all by myself and having to explain to people yes I work for the United States Peace Corps...no I do not have a gun.
From talking to the surgeon it seems like a fairly straightforward procedure. To repair the hernia (it's a left inguinal hernia) all they do is cut me open, push it back in, and then put in a mesh-net type thing to prevent my intestines from falling out of the hole again. I should be out of the hospital by Wednesday afternoon if all goes well and there aren't any complications or anything like that. No news on when I'm going back to Burkina Faso but given the new news about not being able to do anything physical for a while- I'm not sure what I would do in Burkina- and the PCMOs here don't seem to know either.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Holiday Season


Holiday season has finally arrived and rather than cold weather, and hot chocolate we have 100 degree days and dust...lots of dust. The rainy season has long since ended and now all the PCVs are concerned about the harvest and how it was bad. This could mean tough times when the food does run out for the Burkinabe. No food means food prices increase and for subsistence farmers, it means that they will not be eating 3 times a day, and might be forced to eat one or 2 times a day- not the best situation ever. However, the feeling I get from the Burkinabe that I talk is that they aren't concerned about the impending food shortage, and they continue to make dolo (alcoholic drink made out of millet) rather than try and save money (or millet) for later. I'm sure this isn't the case with all Burkinabe, just the one's I've observed/talked to. It's funny, but the thing I envy most about Burkinabe culture- the ability to just live one day at a time and not spend today worrying about tomorrow's problems is also the source of some of the problems that the Burkinabe face. What a paradox.
For Thanksgiving, the other Trainees and I are actually making our own meal with mac and cheese, turkey, probably a few pies if we can manage it, and all those fun things. I'm sure that it'll taste really good but for me the holiday has never been about the food. Thanksgiving is all about being thankful for what you have, and I'm most thankful for my family and friends- so while I'm happy to be celebrating with all the new friends I've made here, there will definitely be something missing because I won't have my big family to spend Thanksgiving (or Christmas) with. I hope that everyone reading this is able to find something that they're thankful for and is able to express that thankfulness in an appropriate manner.
On a similar note, I had held out hope that I would be able to be home for Christmas this year, and it turns out that is not going to happen which is sad but not totally unexpected. Christmas won't be the same without the people that made it what it was. I have experienced a slight health issue in Burkina and that is being taken care of before Christmas and in South Africa. If you want to know what's wrong with me, just shoot me an e-mail, I really don't mind saying, and if you don't care to know I won't bore you with the details here. Needless to say, it's not life threatening, and I'll end up okay. The real interesting part will be seeing what happens when I don't finish all of training and then try and become a volunteer. I'm going to guess that I'll probably have to do some additional training when I return from South Africa. But, I've never been to South Africa so I'm sure I'll have some fun things to blog about and some cool pictures when I return.

Getting Away


This weekend I got away, and it was awesome. The health stageairs went to visit 3 different current health volunteers to see what they do on a normal weekend (and to help with a sensibilization too). I visited a volunteer named Bridget way up in the North of Burkina Faso in a town called Bissingi near the big city of Ouyagouya. So we woke up very early Friday morning, and left the training center at 555 (this meant I had to wake up, shower, and eat breakfast somewhere in the 400s). Anyway, we piled into a peace corps car and went to Ouaga where we were dropped off at different gares (bus stations). Our bus left at 8 we had a lot of time to spend just hanging out at the bus station. We got up to the city without incident, grabbed lunch, met some other volunteers, and then went to the marche, and the alimentation (store) to buy food for breakfast and dinner. Then we biked the 8Km to her site- met with her CSPS (health center) staff- spoke some moore and some french and then proceeded on our way. Hardly anyone in the village speaks french so my moore got a lot of practice this weekend. We met the savings and credit club of the village- a women's group of about 14 members and each week they save 25 cfa and place it into a communal "safe", they also make (and sell) liquid soap and we got to see them do that too. When I asked what they're saving for- no one really had an answer to that question and the PCV said they weren't saving for anything because business ventures aren't the safest bet and credit is hard to repay. So, she's working on a way to make it so the women switch off taking the money home with them so they can use it to pay for school, buy medicine, buy food (everyone is worried about the lack of harvest this year), things like that- it was really cool to be able to see them do that- especially the camraderie the women had with eachother.
The next day we woke up early, and went to one of the satellite villages (a smaller village that doesn't have it's own CSPS so they go to the one in the "main" village. We went with the head nurse (major) of the CSPS- he runs the CSPS there aren't really any doctors until you get to the district level, and did a sensibilization on family planning. We reviewed what STIs looked like and then learned how to put on a condom. There's something kind of funny about a man demonstrating how to properly use a female condom. When there are men present, women don't usually talk very much so this session was primarily for women. We didn't have too much to do with it because it is 1) more sustainable when the Burkinabe lead projects 2) it helps if someone of their own culture shows them something new and 3) we don't have the language for it. But, if the Nasarras go, then the Burkinabe will go so our job was mostly to sit there and look pretty. So we did.
After that we saluated some people, reposed a bit, then went to the CSPS- killed some chickens, cut up some vegetables, and had grilled chicken and salad- which was amazing (and not too difficult to make- I have to learn how to gut a chicken though). We then played some cards- I taught the CSPS staff Crazy 8s. After that we went home, made dinner, watched a some soap making, then went to bed.
Sunday, we woke up at 6- that's sleeping in! Packed up, got on our bikes, headed back into the city to catch a bus for Ouaga- we got into Ouaga around 11 and hung out until 3 just doing whatever we wanted. I now know why PCVs living in cities spend more money than those living in village- everything is so much more expensive than in the city, and there is more western food- which means everything looks appetizing.
Usually I buy lunch for less than 500cfa- but the pizza I got today cost 2400cfa, plus the 1000 I spent on ice cream- so it was a splurge day but it all tasted really good.
Everyone needs mental health days, and the same is true in Burkina Faso. It is so easy to just feel stuck in a village, even if you are with 21 other Americans (I can't imagine what PCVs feel like sometimes). So this weekend was a good chance to get out, do something different, have a GI health day too (let our palates experience something different). So, now I'm back in Sapone- ready to go back to work tomorrow, ready for Thanksgiving on Thursday- but more importantly, ready to get back to learning moore. After a week of no language whatsoever, and a weekend of seeing a village where the PCV has to speak moore all the time- I'm ready to get going and to improve my abilities in that area.
I guess what I'm trying to say is: get out, explore- don't get too caught up in whatever you're doing. Work is hard, school is hard, exams are hard- so get out: even if it's just for an hour or two- you'll feel better.

My Day

While I was in college this fad swept through Facebook and most people wrote 25 things about themselves and posted it in their "about me" part of their personal page. Two of my friends took it upon themselves to write 25 things about a third friend who was too efficient in life to do it himself. One of the facts was that he learned all of his life lessons from the last 5 minutes of every Scrubs episode. Intrigued, I started watching Scrubs and since I started watching in season 8, I had a lot of material to look back on. The show is now over, but the point is that each episode is titled "My (something)" because it is based on the narrator's inner monologue. This doesn't really have much to do with the rest of this blog entry but I thought of it because the titles share a common theme- it's an inner monologue.
I've checked my e-mail a few times now and a question I get alot is "Drew, what do you do all day?" Well, my immediate thought was: I do alot each and everyday. That thought was followed by: actually, I don't do much at all. The real answer, it seems, lies somewhere in the middle and, it depends on the day.
Everyday I wake up somewhere between 500 and 6 (they use the 24 hour clock here so colons between hours and minutes are now a thing of the past). Whether this be bladder related, animal related, sun related, baby related, alarm clock, or just internal clock related depends on a whole lot of factors that are probably pretty easy to figure out. If I'm unlucky I'll wake up exactly at 500, be unable to go to bed and just lie in bed for a while. Around 530 I'll start waking up, grabbing some water and head out for a run, do some pushups, crunches, or some form of exercise. To be completely honest, the run has been happening less and less as I've been here longer because it's the same route day after day and it's a bit boring but I've been trying to stay in it. I'm pretty religious about the pushups and crunches though. I miss swim season where I had to get my butt in a pool everyday. Around 615 or 630 I'll decide it's time for my bucket bath and I'll fill my bucket up with some water from the family water jugs and bathe. Since I'm bathing from a bucket this takes all of 5 minutes- so when I get back to the US I'll probably be able to set the record for world's fastest shower. Then I'll get dressed which brings us to about 640 and breakfast time (see "Food" for what breakfast time is composed of). After breakfast I'll usually do some form of puzzle be it a word search, crossword, sudoku, etc (thanks Mom and Mimi!) until 715 when I brush my teeth then head off to class around 720 or 730. I get to class around 745 which gives me 15 minutes to repose (or rest, I guess- I frequently substitute french words for english words now). Resposing generally consists of me finishing my loaf of bread while reading, talking, or just hanging out underneath a fan.
At 800 our classes start and that can either be language (french or moore- depends on the day), technical language (prepping questions for places we go and visit), technical session (learning about health things), Training Directed Activity (TDA- going someplace and doing something, or asking questions, etc), cross cultural session, or a safety and security session. At 1000 we get a break until 1030. At 1030 we have another session that goes until 1230 and that is another one of the aforementioned topics. After this were off until 1400- nice period for lunch- I usually go grab some lunch and then head to the marche to visit my peanut butter lady- this week I'm going to find out her name- I just always forget to do that but I know her family is doing well, her work is going well, and that she slept well. Then I buy some cookies and that makes a good after lunch- desert type thing. At 1400 were in class until 1530 and then we have a class from 1545-1715. After that we're free so I either hang out at the center and decompress for a bit- speak in english for a while, ask follow up questions, do some extra work or, I'll go grab a coke with some other stagaires, or I'll just go home. If I go home I go with the intention of studying moore and practicing with my family. Usually, I help my host brother with homework until it's dark out and then it is no longer suitable to study moore with my family cause now they're all tired and I'm tired too. After homework time it's dinner time, and then I repose with my family a bit- lesson to them talk in moore and try to guess what they're saying. I also wonder how much they think I understand. Sometimes I think they think I understand more than I actually do, and other times I definitely understand more than they think I do- it depends on the day.
So if we do a lot of language in a day, do a training directed activity that involves going someplace, and then I go home and do work- it's a really busy day. Focusing on language for the majority of the day is very mentally fatiguing. But, if we just sit an do cross cultural and safety stuff- it's going to be a boring day and I'm going to tell you I haven't done anything. I guess it's up to you to decide if whether your tax dollars are worth it- I'm inclined to say yes but I'm biased.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Food


I checked my email the other day and realized a couple things: 1) I should really have unsubscribed from some newsletters before I left and 2) those who say the era of cordial emails is over are definitely wrong. I received a variety of questions via e-mail but some of the biggest questions I got are: what do you eat? and what do you do all day? The next two blog posts will answer all those questions.
One of the most widely available things to eat in Burkina Faso is bread. It's not really a loaf of bread and is oddly reminiscent of a french baguette but definitely isn't. There is also something we call village bread which is a lot better than the baguette-esque bread but a lot harder to find in Sapone. I think it's because of our proximity to Ouaga and the Burkinabe think village bread isn't as good as Ouaga-bread. I, on the other hand, disagree- mainly because the village bread is heavier and it feels like you're actually eating something. They also have something they call gateau here which is fried dough that tastes like an old-fashioned donut- it's actually pretty tasty and costs about 10 cents American. I guess my point is that most of the meals I have involve some form of carbohydrate but rather than just listing foods I eat, I think I'll divide it by meal time just cause I can.
Breakfast:
Everymorning for breakfast I get an egg (kinda scrambled but without milk in it) with peppers and onion that is (somewhat sadly) overcooked. Sometimes if I time it right, I can get dressed super fast and then they pull it off the fire sooner but our host families have been told that we have sensitive stomachs and that we can't handle the microbes that might be in food so it should always be cooked longer than it has to. It's nice to see that my family has taken that to heart and that they're concerned about my well-being. The egg is usually pretty salty but I still miss ketchup. I also get a baguette type thing for breakfast and I can put peanut butter (pad d'arrachide), margarine (blue band), or nothing (rien) on it but, I'm allowed to do that myself. I really like the peanut butter here- it's super filling and it's all organic so it's like eating Trader Joe's or Whole Foods Peanut butter. Occasionally I get bananas for breakfast and to be honest, I prefer bananas and peanut butter over the eggs but eggs are harder to find for lunch than peanut butter and bananas so it's no big deal. There is also a lot of fruit here (in the right season) so hopefully I will be able to find mangos, apples, papaya, oranges, etc when the time is right. Gateau is also a popular breakfast food that I used to get but don't anymore- other people get it though. I don't mind not getting it, it's just good to vary carbs sometimes.
Mid-Morning Snack:
A woman comes to our training center and sells yogurt everyday- she must make a killing. It's very good and it's cold- and it's dairy so naturally, we love it.
Lunch:
Given that there are only 3 sitdown places to eat for lunch there we do pretty well for ourselves. My favorite lunch is called Benga (it's a moore word- the french word is arricohe- but it's really beans and rice mixed together). Occasionally I get it with cru d'etais- vegetables on the side- usually cucumbers, tomates, and a dressing of vinegar, mustard, and a touch of mayo. You can also get rice with sauce (riz sauce). It's white rice with a type of peanut sauce and there are usually vegetables mixed in with it like cabbage, etc. Not one of my favorite lunches because I get it quite often for dinner- but with the right amount of sauce it  does taste pretty good. For me the key is not too much sauce- and not too much cabbage. You can also get spagetthi with tomato sauce (and bread) for lunch. It is also pretty salty- lot's of things are served here with a lot of salt- I'm not really sure why. I would hazard to guess that the salt they use is iodized and that iodine deficiences are a problem here but I don't know if that's really the reason or if there is a reason at all. Maybe Burkinabe like really salty foods. Regardless, I keep thinking of ways i could potentially get meatballs and have spagetthi and meatballs but I haven't figured that out yet- that might have to wait until I get to my site in a month. The last lunch option is something like a buffet: you can go to the marche and grab bread, peanut butter, and bananas and make a sandwich type thing out of it. Of course, no lunch is complete without desert so I usually buy a small pack of biscuits after lunch. It's two cookies with a little bit of chocolate-ish frosting in the middle. Lunch usually costs me $1.
Post- class hangout:
There is a restaurant that serves french fries and occasionally people go and eat fries after class. I don't order fries but I have tried them and they are good.
Dinner:
My dinner is actually a rotating schedule. One night is riz sauce, the next is spagetthi, followed by macaroni, followed by riz sauce again, follwed by couscous. Not a bad rotation but it's kind of funny to be able to guess. One night this week I got the spagetthi sauce on rice and that was a great change and quite delicious. But, spagetthi nights are my favorite. I'm pretty sure the sauce is tomato based but there isn't a lot of it- so it doesn't overpower the spagetthi. Another trainee just got spagetthi (no sauce at all) for dinner one night, and I'm glad my family doesn't do that. I'm also glad my family doesn't serve me to everynight (pronounced toe). It's made of pounded maize and some other things as well, and is served with a type of dipping sauce. It's not bad but it might get old after a few nights.
It's hard to say I have a favorite- I mainly eat here just so I can continue to function everyday, and I because it's expected of me. The Burkinabe don't really have favorite foods either- they like whatever they get because sometimes they don't get to eat three meals a day, it depends on the season and the amount of food they have stockpiled.
I think that once I start cooking for myself I'll be able to incorporate more vegetables into my diet and I'll also be able find a "favorite food" here in Burkina.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Posting


This is my second blog post in as many days, and this is setting a (potentially) dangerous new precedent. But, the big news here is that we got our site announcements yesterday. Basically, we got the name of the village where we will be doing our service after we finish training. And, I will say this for the Peace Corps, from the descriptions of the sites, it seems like they have done a good job of matching the volunteers to their sites.
My site is a village called Poa (pronounced Pwa - the same Oa that makes the capital of Burkina Faso so confusing to pronounce). Anyway, most people don't know where Burkina Faso is, so Poa is even more obscure but it's in the middle-ish between Ouaga (the capital) and Koudougou (the city known for it's more-liberal ideology- it seems like most of the political riots start there). I'm 30 km outside of Koudougou and Poa is situated on a paved road. That is a luxury that most people don't have. The village has roughly 7,000 inhabitants and the CSPS (medical center) has a staff of 7 (which is big for CSPS standards). They have an ambulance service and they're trying to set up a health insurance program for the village as well- I think I'll have a lot to keep me busy. And, I can provide help at the district level if I want to as well. There is also a high school and three primary schools in the village, which has the potential for programs as well. There is a large chicken fair every December in the village, as well as a market every few days. My house is four room house with large windows, an indoor shower area (place for bucket bathing), and an outdoor latrine.
That's pretty much the extent of the knowledge that I have of the location but I imagine I'll learn more soon.
We also did a cooking session today, apparently banana bread comes out quite well when it's cooked in Burkina (as does pizza, chili, corn bread, key-lime pie, and stir fry).
We've been doing a movie night every week since we've gotten to Burkina Faso, it's kind of a run thing to do to unwind- hangout and get a little taste of home. We've watched Coming to America (Eddie Murphy- we thought there was a certain irony in the title), Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, and The Town. It sounds kind of weird when they're listed like that but they were all relatively enjoyable in their own way. There is a projector and speakers here that we can borrow and hook up to a computer so it's like watching something on a big screen. No sports here but we still get our weekly scores from different sources.
If you're trying to think of things to send me and don't have any ideas- I really like getting letters. I appreciate everything I get- from the pictures of my family and friends (and a handwritten note from my grandma) to spam e-mails that have been printed out and shipped across the ocean. This is, of course, not a demand saying "send me things", but, if you were so inclined- very simple things go a very long way here.
I'm looking forward to the weekend, I have a french exam on Saturday and then a day off on Sunday which I'll probably use to just hang out, relax- go pump some water or sweep my room. Regardless, sleeping in really doesn't happen here so that's not an option. But, I can read for a bit in bed and just "repose" as the Burkinabe say. I finished American Gods- if you haven't read it- read it. I also read The Hobbit- definitely read it (Cam, if you're looking for a book to read- I have a copy in my room, bookshelf on the left, bottom shelf).
Well, that's about all from here. Until next time.

One Month In


I've been in country for a month now and it's weird how "normal" being in Burkina Faso is beginning to feel. When I was in Ghana I felt a certain sense of disconnect from the US but that sense isn't as strong here. I don't know what's causing it but I don't feel like I've been gone for a month, but I feel like I've been in Burkina Faso for a lot longer than a month.I think that's got something to do with the weather and the lack of discernable seasons. My friend brought out some Christmas music the other day and I realized that it's almost the middle of November...and it's 100 degrees...and it's snowing in Massachusetts. Another big landmark that I've missed is the start of the swim season (and maybe homecoming? I'm not really sure of that date). It's definitely a big change without swimming to keep me busy, I've got other things to do here, but nothing that will keep me in as good a shape, nor that will act as that good of a stress reliever.
 When I read the blogs of other volunteers who had been to Burkina Faso it was kind of cool to see the dates when they posted blogs- 3 weeks between blogs, 3 months between blogs, etc and I thought to myself that I wouldn't have that long between blogs when I'm there, when I'm in BF I'll have a regular blog and I'll post once a week, once every two weeks tops. But I've been here a month and haven't posted one blog so that just goes to show. However, maybe when I get to site I'll be in charge of my own routine and therefore I'll be able to work a blog day into my schedule.
Over the past few weeks I've been doing some sensibilizations (I know that's not a word in english, it roughly translates to an awareness campaign). The first one I did was at a family's courtyard and that was on proper nutrition. BF doesn't use the food pyramid, they use the food house with protectors, energy, and constructors. Protectors are the fruits and vegetables, energy is made up of carbs, and constructors are protein (I think that's right). That was pretty cool because the family we worked with is a subsistance farming family. They literally grow what they eat and do not sell it, when they need money they sell some livestock (which they also breed occasionally). So, we got to talk to them about what they can grow, and consume that satisfies the food house in order to get a balanced meal. The language barrier was a bit of an issue (Mam gomda moore bilf bilfu--> I only speak a little moore) but I'm hoping to rectify that soon enough. I'm splitting my language time right now between my local language (moore) and practicing french.So we had a translator for the french to moore and I acted as a translator from french to english if it was needed. The second program we did was actually for a primary school and for that we performed a skit that taught the importance of good hygiene with respect to covering food and washing your hands before you eat, etc. In BF, there are a lot of flies. Flies love to land on dirty things (trash, animal poop, human poop, etc) and then move to other things (people, food, people eating food, etc) and a lot of diseases are transmitted via a fecal-oral route. Flies, that have landed on poop and are now on someone's food are a great way to transmit those types of diseases and therefore, if you leave the table you should cover your food...that's the moral of the story at least. The kids seemed to get a kick out of us acting, and they were able to answer our questions about how you wash your hands, when you wash your hands, etc but unfortunately the school did not have a hand washing station. So there was no place to actually put the information we had imparted into action. But being at the school and talking to kids was definitely very cool, and very rewarding in and of itself.
I'm also becoming pretty adept at washing my own clothes by hand. I don't really like it, but today I was able to make my socks (which had turned red from the dirt) go back to being white. A small victory but a victory nevertheless.
I'm trying to think of other things I should be saying in a blog but I really don't know where to begin with life here so I guess I'll do some FAQs, and if you have extra questions, just post it as a comment or e-mail it to me. No, I don't have running water. No, I don't have electricity. No, it's not a big deal but it makes doing things at night difficult. Yes, I ride a bike everywhere. Yes, I wear a helmet everytime I ride a bike. Yes, I think Keen should seriously consider sponsering me because I wear their shoes everywhere and rave about how comfortable/ practical they are for life here. Yes, I do look like the poster boy for REI or Columbia most days. No, I still don't really understand zip-off pants (sorry Papa). Yes, I poop in a hole. No, it's really not that tough. Yes, good aim does take practice. Yes, it is fun not to have to flush. No, toilet paper is not a commodity everyone enjoys here. Yes, I do use it though. Yes, a rooster wakes me up every morning. Yes, it is annoying. Yes, I have been making an effort to dissuade him from doing it outside my window, and yes it has been working. No, it is not the most annoying sound I've ever heard, that prize goes to the donkey. Yes, mefloquin gives you crazy dreams. Yes, you should come visit. Yes, I bathe via a bucket. No, I actually do like it. Yes, it is a bit excessive using hot water to bathe in the middle of Africa. No, I don't have a choice. Yes, I think the other trainees are all pretty cool. Yes, I do wish the diet had more variation. Yes, I am usually asleep by 9. Yes, I do feel like Papa because of my style of dress (maybe Papa should try Keens) and sleeping habits, and I do want to go meet Johnny Cain now.  Yes, I do feel like Trinity prepared me well for the Peace Corps, and I do miss the beach very much.
I guess those are just answers really, but you can probably guess the answers from them.
Until next time.

3 Weeks In


We have been in country for 3 weeks now, and for some reason it seems like we've been here for a lot longer than that. I don't really know what accounts for the change in time perception but those last days in the US seem like a long time ago.  I have spent the past few weeks in a town called Sapone (south of Ouaga) and I'll be here until December. I spent a weekend with a current Peace Corps Volunteer in a town called Latodin (up near Yako for those of you who want to track my travel in Burkina Faso and I'm actually curious if Google will be able to find those places. Every morning I wake up with the sun and usually go for a run, it's pretty cool because it's so flat here. I haven't had to run up (or down) one substantial hill yet. The Burkinabe staple diet is filled with carbs, so I eat a lot of those. I managed to find some peanut butter too (in fact the market here is filled with people who make homemade peanut butter but I visit the same woman everyday and she has excellent peanut butter). I think she's pretty psyched that she has the nasarra (foreigner) that visits her most days to get 20 cents worth of peanut butter. It's great on bananas and bread and it actually contains a lot of nutrients that I have trouble getting otherwise. I've also been experimenting with yogurt especially because I would hate to return to the US and be lactose intolerant.
Life here has become pretty regular. The classes stress cultural integration so I'm doing my best to pick up local customs while at the same time not looking like the white kid who is trying to blend in. I think I'm doing an alright job of it. I'm pretty psyched about my language progress, my french is coming back faster than I thought it would and everyday I'm better at understanding Burkinabe french (which is way different than French french). It's hot, close to 100 degrees but that doesn't bother me too much. It's pretty cool how the body adapts to new surroundings in an efficient manner. Although, it would be really nice to be able to go for a swim. One thing I'm still working on getting adjusted to is all the animals. There are dogs, chickens, goats, donkeys, cows, roosters, etc. The first two aren't too difficult to live with most of the time. But when donkeys make noise, they really make noise- it's ridiculously loud and drawn out, and it sounds like it's dying. The rooster likes to start up around 4AM and then repeat itself every 8 minutes until 6ish. This usually gets the dog and the donkey going so it's a nice chorus that I have outside of my hut every morning.
I guess it'd be nice to share a little about my daily routine during training. Class starts at 8 everyday and it's made up of 4, 2 hour blocks. One or two of those blocks is usually language, one is usually a health technical training (how to set up a mosquito net, how to make mosquito repellent, HIV/AIDS statistics, etc), and then we usually have one block that is all the trainees together which will usually integrate a cross cultural component. We have a 30 minute break after each block except for lunch which is an hour and a half after the second block of the day. After the fourth block we have an hour of daylight to work with and then it's pitch black and usually time for dinner. That routine then repeats itself throughout the majority of the week.

It begins


10/13/2011
Today was our last full day at the hostel type place we are currently located. We did a "survival language" session today which teaches us basic moore in order to get around if we get ourselves lost. There's no guarantee that the local language I will have to learn is moore and I think that only 3 of the health volunteers (13 total) will end up with the goal of becoming fluent in moore. We also got our language interview results today and my french currently exceeds the degree of proficiency that one needs to become a Peace Corps volunteer. I'm hoping to get a lot better though so I'm looking forward to speaking more French than English in the near future. As such, tomorrow we are moving to Saponne to get our host families and we'll be with them until December. The host families are tasked with helping us in language and working on our cultural adaptation. The program here is more rigorous than my courses in Ghana (for obvious reasons) with classes 6 days a week and only Sunday's off.
I also spoke to another health volunteer who said that being in the health section is one of the most adventurous parts of the Peace Corps. I'm looking forward to the adventure.

Arrival


Blog- 10/12/2011
We just finished our first full day in Burkina Faso. I did learn alot today during my brief tenure as a Peace Corps Trainee. First, there is an incredibly large number of people who work for the PC in the country. Second, the Peace Corps loves to abbreivate everything. Everything from PST (Pre-service training) to IST (In-service training) to some other ones that I haven't figured out yet and I've been curious for longer than it would have taken to just say the phrase. Third, it gets light here really early. To give you an idea, breakfast everyday is at 6:30. I wake up at 5:45 to get a run in beforehand but it's still rather early (although it's completely light out before 5:45 so it's normal here). Today we started off our day with breakfast (bread, marmalade, tea). Usually eggs are a part of breakfast as well. Then we had a meeting with the country director, and a large number of other people: the head of health, the head of business, the language people, the safety and security people, and many others. They then gave us a checklist of things to accomplish including: 1) Bike fittings 2) getting a walking around allowance (29,000cfa which is about $60 I believe) 3) handing in any valuables to the peace corps safe- I turned in my credit card and drivers license because I'm not going to be driving here 4) going to a medical review exam 5) taking a few surveys 6) meeting with the head of our group (my boss' name is Dr. Claude). My name is generating a lot of attention and everyone wants to know why I have two last names, usually the people who want to know ask in english which is certainly easier than trying to explain it in french. 7) Language assessment. After that we had the rest of the day to ourselves and most of us bought cellphones to use in country, and just walked around a bit of the city. There are peace corps volunteers (PCVs) around all the time who have been guiding us around.
The food here is pretty good, and basic. Pasta, Rice, Chicken, a bit of beef, onions, and some other vegetables that I just can't figure out are all foods that we've eaten so far. Tonight we went to the country director's house for dinner and she actually had her cook make chocolate chip cookies- I didn't think I'd be having those for a long time. Apparently the diarrhea and other problems will start next week when we move in with our host families for 8 or 9 weeks. Each of the PCVs with us now speaks very highly of their host family so I'm optimistic.
Traveling to Burkina Faso was an adventure in and of itself. We left Philly at 10 (on October 10), got to JFK by 12, left JFK by 7:30, arrived in Brussels at 8AM on the 11th, left Brussels at 12:30 on the 11th and made it to Burkina Faso by 3:30 on the 11th. Brussels is 6 hours ahead of Boston, and Burkina Faso is 2 hours behind Brussels (so 4 hours ahead of Boston until Daylight savings time ends in which case it will be 5 hours ahead). Although, I must say flying over the desert is cool- really cool.
Oh yea, it's also hot here, it's really hot here.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Staging in Philly

Cam, Duncan, myself, and Mom at Logan Airport shortly before departure

We made it to staging in Philly without much incident. My flight landed early and I met Alex at the baggage claim area and we met another peace corps volunteer who we identified by the telltale peace corps luggage. We then met up with another volunteer, Abraham, and we all caught a shuttle to the hotel. We did manage to arrive fashionably late but all that meant was that we were at the back of a line, not too much lost. 


Staging was actually interesting, and by far the most interesting part was meeting the other volunteers. They're all really cool and very engaged in what we're doing while at the same time they're able to laugh at themselves. As expected it involved a lot of icebreakers, some basic expectations, etc. The Peace Corps then gave us money to grab dinner and to use as "walking around" money while we were in Philly. We also talked alot about our fears, aspirations, and that information will be passed on to Burkina Faso when we leave tomorrow.

Case in point we were walking down the street tonight and this boy comes up to a group of us and tells us he needs help. He has a t-shirt that is obscuring 1/2 his face and its blotchy in places with blood. He says that he needs to call an ambulance cause he was in a fight, etc. So, one of us calls an ambulance and I proceeded to check him out (unofficially, of course) but after ascertaining that this individual was not going to  die we set about trying to calm him down until the ambulance arrived. It's cool to know that 1) we're not there yet and we're already helping people and 2) that there are incredibly altruistic people working with the Peace Corps (though one would expect that, right?). 

For those of you keeping track about the total amount of distance covered, tomorrow we drive from Philly to JFK via bus. We then leave from JFK to Brussels which is a 7hr and 25 minute flight. We have a layover of 3-ish hours in Brussels then we fly to Burkina Faso which is about a 5hr and 50 minute flight. As a sidebar, I'm not sure how long it's going to be until I get to an internet connection in Burkina Faso so this might be my last blog post for a while. 
Kris, Robby, myself, and Minori the night before I left

Being in Philly, I don't think I'm too far away from home but I've been thinking about this for a while now so I figure it deserves a mention. It seems like we don't fully appreciate our friends or family until it's too late. I have unbelievable friends and an unbelievable family. Family that will come over for dinner in a very last minute way whether they live 30 minutes or 2 hours away, and that will support me no matter what I do. It's really important to appreciate one's family especially while you're not on another continent and while you're on that other continent. I also have the best friends in the world. Friends that will make an awesome collage out of photos and make it just the right size to fit into a dufflebag and will then look up the prices of flights to Burkina Faso. Friends that will set aside an entire night or day for me to come hang out with them, friends that will clear a couple minute hole in their schedule even though they are balancing school, work, and a varsity college sport, or friends that will rearrange a busy work day and put off meetings so we can grab a last lunch together. I sincerely hope you all keep in touch and I will do my best to reciprocate using the means at my disposal. I'm not the best at expressing gratitude but hopefully this will give you a bit of how awesome I think you guys are. 

I'm looking forward to heading to Burkina Faso tomorrow and getting there and starting the next leg of the journey. Keep up the inspiring comments, they definitely help on days that are a bit overwhelming. 

Monday, October 3, 2011

Burkina Faso

If you haven't heard of Burkina Faso, don't worry no one else has either. Rest assured though, after reading this blog post you will walk away with the knowledge that 1) it is a country 2) it is in Africa and 3) I am going there. Burkina Faso (formerly known as the Republic of the Upper Volta) is in Western Africa and is bordered by Ghana, Togo, Mali, Niger, Benin, and Cote d'Ivoire. Here's a fancy map:

Anyway, most of the information I've gleaned about Burkina Faso comes from what the Peace Corps has sent out but Wikipedia has also been an invaluable asset.

The CIA reports that "Burkina Faso's high population density and limited natural resources results in poor economic prospects for the majority of citizens". It is also ranked 161 out of 169 on the United Nations International Human Development Index. However, don't let these stats deter you from coming to visit me at some point before December 2013. The Burkinabe are known to be some of the nicest, friendliest, culturally accepting people in the entire world.

Oh yea, they also speak French and a variety of local dialects which should be really interesting to learn and then communicate in.