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Friday, February 24, 2012

One Month In (Again)


I’ve been at site for a little over a month now which is weird to think about giving the variable speeds at which time seems to pass here. For instance- each day seems like it takes forever, but each week seems to pass fairly quickly. I guess it depends on if the month is viewed as 30 days or 4 weeks because one would lead toward a conclusion of the former while the other one, clearly the latter. I’d say Month 1 was clearly the latter. And now, halfway through Month 2.
The first 3 months at site is known as the etude de milieu- basically studying the community. It’s a time to concentrate on language skills, meeting people, judging which resources are in the community, what can be found, what the community needs help with, and what they might say they need help with but isn’t really a need- more of a want. I speak French everyday- for the majority of the day. I might exchange a few words in English with the head of the CSPS (called the Major (really l like titles over here) Note: CSPS= health center). But that’s cause he wants to take the TOEFL exam and he spent 2 months in Taiwan doing nursing/ management stuff and all the courses were in English so he understands a fair amount. Then of course, everyone else wants to learn English and I’m not exactly sure how to teach it. I also spend a fair amount of time speaking moore- the local language. I’m getting better at it and everyone thinks it’s amazing that a white person speaks it. When I asked why they thought it was so amazing they responded that there is a lot of French foreign aid work that comes to my village and they don’t take the time to learn moore so it’s just different for them. I have a tutor for moore who comes twice a week to teach me things and we actually do a lot of practical language learning so it’s health or cultivation related and also I’m learning to write and read moore as well as speak. The lessons are done in French and Moore so my French vocabulary gets a nice boost as well. It’s pretty mentally fatiguing going through those lessons for 2 hours at a time. But, anything else would be a bit slow so just go for it.
Meeting people- I spend a lot of time at the CSPS and I meet all the sick people who come in. Now, they treat roughly 1000 people a month (and that’s when it’s not the rainy season) so I see a lot of people. Also everyone brings a friend or family member with them when they come to the CSPS so people know I’m here, as well as my purpose. I also help with baby weighings and tell parents if their child is at a healthy weight or whatnot. I also go to the marche (market) everyday and buy veggies for the evening or something like that so that’s a great way to meet people. I guess what I’m really trying to say here is that I don’t sit in my house all day and read books (although I’ve started reading A Song of Ice and Fire and it’s quite an awesome read)/ watch movies (don’t have electricity at the moment so electronics can’t be over utilized). Meeting people also helps judge the resources in the community- for example, a few weeks ago I found a guy who wants to start an herbal remedy program that relies on plants that can be grown in Burkina Faso for sicknesses, ailments, etc. Seems like a cool idea- and he seems motivated to use remedies that are scientifically proven to work. Cool idea- he wants me to help him find international partners although I’m still trying to get him to explain to me why he wants international partners and what expenses he needs financed.
But, a lot of what people have voiced is that they don’t necessarily want money from me but a way to get money either from selling things or international partners. Money is a tough issue here, because to be honest no one has enough money. But, money isn’t always the problem and even less often- the solution. A while ago my grandmother sent me a link of a madTV skit that featured the I-rack. An apple product that was basically a storage rack, that didn’t work. It didn’t hold anything, it seemed to have no purpose, and when it caught on fire, the promoter just started throwing large quantities of money at it to try and fix the problem. Needless to say the money caught fire too, and he quickly moved on to introducing the I-ran (a pair of used shoes). Whenever I think of using money to solve a problem I always come up with that mental image. But I digress, last week when one of the health agents brought up the fact that he needed money to give to the people who come to his presentations so they would have motivation to come. I replied no you want money and instead tossed out the idea of a free consultation at the CSPS for everyone who was at the program. I thought it would not only be motivation to come but it would also get people to come to the CSPS. A few days later I actually met a Canadian who is working with the health system in a larger city and she’s a business consultant and I told her but not throwing money at an issue and she actually took the words to heart and is now thinking of other ways to go about financial issues. On the other hand, I was walking down the street the other day and a van of Irish people pulled up to me, asked me if I spoke English and then asked me if I had use for 200 free hearing aids so you never really know what to expect.
Mid-February will bring the Language component of the In-service Training (IST), and also, maybe a bed. It will also herald the coming of the hot season and now that the cold season is over (haha cold season, right?) I’m very interested to see how hot it will be.  To slightly ameliorate the situation I will be getting electricity In the near future and with that means a fan, which means air circulation. Not the worst thing ever. 

First Week at Site


So, I’m at the end of my first week at site and it’s definitely been a bit of a roller coaster so far. I was under the impression that I was going to be leaving a while after everyone else did so when my ride to leave SIL showed up at 830 in the morning- I wasn’t exactly ready. So, I packed in a hurry, ran to the marche to grab a few more things, and then ran back to SIL, threw it all in a truck and then left to a place that houses peace corps volunteers called the Transit House. Luckily, I didn’t forget anything. I spent the day just relaxing at the Transit House (watched Elf because I had kind of forgotten it was almost Christmas) and then went to bed knowing that the next day was going to be a rough one.
The next day, the peace corps driver showed up a little before 8 and we hit the road. We got to my site around 10 where I met the President of the Coges and one of the nurses at the CSPS (health center). Apparently my major (person in charge of the CSPS) is in Taiwan and won’t be back for another week or so. Unfortunately no one seemed to know that I was coming so nothing was really ready but in the peace corps you learn to just go with it so that’s what we did. They prepared me a nice meal of rice and sauce with some chicken in it- and I was quite tired so while I ate- all I really wanted was a nap. The President of the Coges is going to be my moore tutor so it’s nice to have that already set up and out of the way which means I can get to practicing my moore within the first week rather than after the first month. He actually teaches the alphabetization class so I will be learning how to read and write in moore. Unfortunately, my stutter is now back with a vengeance and the stutter is now present in both French and Moore which leads people to think I don’t know what I’m saying or that I’m just an idiot. I’m pretty sure neither of those are true and it’s just time and practice that will help me.
My house is very big. It has 4 rooms and a lot of windows which allow for a nice breeze to flow through- which is great especially because it can get really hot here. It will also soon have electricity (or so I’m told).
Sunday passed without much incident- I said hi to my neighbors and went to the CSPS to just hang out there. I did a fair amount of reading too- I have this tree that I sit underneath and read and wave to people as they go by on the main road. The president of the coges and one of the nurses also took me around to visit all the important people (maree, chef, prefecture, etc) one of whom was disturbingly familiar with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Monday-Friday I followed the same basic routine. I’d go to the CSPS in the morning (until 12 or so) and then I’d repose (relax) until 3 whether that meant walk around the marche or talk to people, or read was pretty much up to me- no one does business between 12-3 (not even nurses). Then from 3-5 I’d have a moore lesson or go back to the CSPS or do some self studying.
Someone once told me that in the Peace Corps- the days are long but the weeks are short and I find that to be an incredibly apt description of life here. Each day I invariably end up thinking- hmm...I have 3 more hours to kill what should I do? And then at the end of the week I think- wow that went by quickly. One day at a time seems to be the way to take life here.
Honestly, it can get pretty lonely here as well but it’s tough to do anything about that really besides just try and keep yourself busy which is definitely harder than it sounds. I think that I am going to run out of books sooner or later so I’m trying to pace myself. If I let myself I’d probably read all of Game of Thrones in a day which- is not a good thing.
And sometimes, I just also want to be alone. It can be fatiguing to have to deal with people in 3 languages (yes some people do try and speak to me in English) then I have to think in French but maybe say something in moore. It’s getting easier but as each day goes on- it gets progressively harder as it gets later in the day. I think as the weeks go on and I get more comfortable with my French that feeling will go away. 

Swear In


The swear in process was surprisingly quick and efficient. In the morning we all piled into a bus and went to the Ambassador’s house. It’s a nice house with a lot of grass, and a pool- where greeted people, and then sat under a tent while people talked (in French and English) about what it means to be a Peace Corps Volunteer – and some even quoted JFK.  It’s interesting because when I was on the plane back from South Africa I saw this show called Kennedys and it was about the first election that tried to put JFK in the white house. It had the guy that played Carmine Falcone from Batman Begins in it. Anyway, now when I hear anyone talk about JFK I always picture him looking a little like Greg Kinnear. Regardless, it was a nice ceremony where everyone who spoke said some very sincere things. After that we ate cake, and drank some soft drinks- then we were kicked out of the Ambassadors house (because he does have a real job) and we went across the street to the Rec center which has some amazing food (including a taco salad) and a pool- and we spent a few hours there. I jumped in a few times it was cold but very nice and extremely refreshing.
After that one of my friends and I ventured into downtown Ouaga to buy cots, stoves, and any other miscellaneous items that we hadn’t yet purchased. It was a fairly mindblowing experience having people assault you from every direction trying to sell you things and then have them run off to get someone who does have what you’re looking for if they don’t have it. It was surprisingly hectic yet congenial at the same time.
When we returned to SIL (the place where we’re staying) we got changed again and went out to dinner- it was kind of like a one last goodbye dinner where we ate food that wasn’t rice, beans or chicken and we spoke in English! The group I was with chose an Indian restaurant which was surprisingly good and then we went to a Turkish place for desert- all in all- a good pair of choices. After that we went to a bar- and met up with a lot of other peace corps volunteers (95% of the people at the bar were American) and then we left for a club called the majestic which has a lot of mirrors and a lot of dancing. I don’t really “do” dancing but it was nice to spend time with everyone before we all split up.

Catch-Up


Due to the physical restrictions that I am currently operating under: no physical activity (ex: biking, running, fast walking) for 6 weeks and no lifting (bags, water canisters, using a water pump, bikes, etc) for 6 weeks I am no longer able to live with my host family. So, until Tuesday, if I have to go to Sapone a PC driver will transport me there early in the morning and then bring me back at night. While it does allow me to get to training it also creates a feeling of isolation for me because I can’t go to the marche like the other volunteers and I cannot see them after class, etc. But, it is only two days and everyone has to work within certain restrictions and for the next month and a half mine just happen to be physical.
Things I learned today include: 1) my French isn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be and 2) my moore is a lot worse than I thought it would be. I am going to have to do a lot of studying and practicing to get back to where I was.
However, I am allowed to swear in with the rest of the group and I am only going to site a day later than everyone else. And, since my site is so close I might actually get to my house before some of the other volunteers do.
Playing catch-up hasn’t been too bad- the only language oriented thing I had to do was a Language Proficiency exam and the rest were administrative sessions that discussed what’s expected of me when I’m at site, how to handle money matters and how much money I actually get, the expectations of the country director, and some cross cultural stuff dealing with relationships and how the Burkinabe are different from Americans.
Since Stage is over, they are moving us to a place called SIL- a protestant retreat if you will, for the next 4 days so we can prepare for swear in, buy some stuff before we head off to site, and just enjoy the company of other Americans for a few days.
There currently an astounding amount of volunteers in Ouaga because people are 1) just here 2) here for swear in or 3) the previous stage (code named G24) is having in service training (IST) at the same time we’re swearing in. So, the bars and restaurants that serve food beyond rice, chicken, and beans are inundated by Americans.
There really isn’t too much to say about the catch up process because it was fairly straightforward- and not at all difficult. In the eyes of the Peace Corps, I am ready to go off to site. 

Return


True to their word, the doctors in Pretoria sent me back to Burkina Faso a few days before swear-in. Actually- I left early on a Thursday and arrived in Burkina Faso later on Friday. So, I got back to Burkina Faso two weeks after I left my host family in Sapone. It was a long plane ride and unfortunately, while I had first marveled at the efficiency of Ethiopian Airlines, our trip home was plagued by lines and inefficiencies all of which would have been easily avoided. For example: to get on the plane no one tried to make an organized line- everyone just rushed towards the door and tried to be the first one on the plane. I tried to point out the logic at 1) only one person can be the first person on the plane and 2) the first person still has to wait for the last person so there’s really no point but no one listened. We arrived in Ethiopia later than expected and getting off the plane was also completed in a rather poor manner: I sat in the last aisle of the plane in the aisle seat- and the guy next to me started yelling at me because I did not stand up and rush to the front as soon as the plane landed- once again, I didn’t really see the point. When we joined the queue to get hotel voucher forms- there was only one person trying to help over 100 of us (it would’ve gone twice as fast had there been two)- although perhaps if I had rushed the front of the plane then I would have been the first one in line- then the problem persists that the first person still has to wait for the last person before the bus can move so really- it’s a no win scenario. Anyway, people also failed to realize that since we were leaving the airport it meant we would have to clear immigration- that means you need your passport. I would say that about half the people in line had given their passport to family members who were not in line and then had to leave and get them and then had to fill out immigration cards at the desk- all of which didn’t make sense to me because they gave out immigration cards on the plane (which was quite efficient). The hotel the put us up in boasted that it had free wifi, breakfast, and dinner but of the 3 the only thing they really had was dinner (the breakfast was cold toast and I again, didn’t really see the point- it’s actually quite easy to keep something warm, especially in Ethiopia. We then travelled to the airport where we had to wait outside to go through security and security there attempted to make a queue. That failed horribly and everyone also rushed the front. They eventually managed to establish order and things went relatively smoothly from there.
When I arrived back in Burkina Faso I was tired, irritated, and physically worn out so it was lucky that all the lines were orderly and efficient and that I cleared immigration with almost no fuss whatsoever. I then took a Peace Corps car back to the Peace Corps Bureau and set my bag down to wait. The PCMO (peace corps medical officer) and CD (country director) came down to see me which was very nice, and we discussed the plans for the rest of training for me- I got a brand new schedule that planned to squeeze in everything I had missed which, I was extremely grateful for and I spoke to my APCD (my boss whose name is Dr. Claude) and Thierry (the Training Manager) because I’m sure it was no easy feat to rearrange 3 days.
So here I am, back in Burkina Faso- ready to get back to work albeit a in a little bit of discomfort and exhausted.
Tomorrow, I will go to Sapone and begin to play catch-up and it will also be the first time seeing the other trainees in two weeks.