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.