Heading to Koudougou

IST is 2 weeks long. Well, it’s three if you count the language part but now it’s two consecutive weeks. The first week was in Ouaga, the second is in Koudougou. Getting there was actually quite fun- the Peace Corps said you have to be at this hotel by 8AM Monday morning. Get there however you’d like. This was unexpected (because I think it might’ve been cheaper just to drive everyone in the peace corps bus) but it all worked out for the best.

Now, I live near Koudougou- and since I’ve been at my site for a grand total of three months I am a pro at traveling (that’s a bit sarcastic but it’s really easy you just hop on a bus that’s heading towards Koudougou and sit back and enjoy the ride). There are a few big bus companies in Burkina Faso. STAF and TSR are some of the most well known and they frequently traverse the entire country rather than running regional routes like other bus companies. So most people opted for one of those companies; it’s not a bad ride, nor is it uncomfortable. However, there is a company called Visionnaire that is more comfortable and they seem to have an aura of competence. So, with the Peace Corps reimbursing my trip: myself and three others boarded Visionnaire.

It was strange to leave Ouaga, and following the route back to site- mainly because I’ve been travelling a lot lately and to stop going back and forth between locations with only a few days at site in between would be a weird break in the routine of not having a routine.

As we passed through my village I got to say hi to people through the window, and point out my village to the other PCVs. And then, just like that, we were on the road again. We got to Koudougou with no fuss whatsoever and got our bikes and our bags from the top of the bus. Since we’re at the same hotel I stayed at for Language IST- I knew exactly where the hotel was which was a change from the beginning of IST (when we took a wrong turn and got lost…c’est pas facile).

So, we’re heading down the road when we encounter another group of PCVs who had just gotten in also (on TSR- apparently pretty empty which they lucked out on). Seeing as we were all going to the same place, we all biked to Centre Unitas together with a minimum of fuss. It turns out only 10 of us got in Saturday night and the rest had decided to stay in Ouaga to celebrate St. Patricks Day. We managed to have fun in Koudougou with some American style burgers, and a beer (which is still pretty satisfying, even in Burkina Faso).

Sunday, our day off, featured a pool. That’s right. A Pool. And, it was awesome. I taught some lessons, swam a few laps, and even got challenged to a race by the pool lifeguard (or the Burkinabe equivalent). I won. But, it was a truly awesome day to be able to go to a pool and just hang out for a bit. I think I’m going to have to try to make it down about once a month or so- just to jump in, get wet, and take a brief respite from life in the Peace Corps- it’ll be like a mental health afternoon.

This weekend I’ll be heading back to site- but I’ll still be moving around a bit- I’m going to a tree planting workshop in Yako at the beginning of April which, I guess, is almost here. Since it’s always sunny and hot here- the months don’t have the seasonal connotations that they have- which makes it kinda hard to keep track. But, March flew by so I’m looking forward to starting to do some projects and applying what I’m learning at IST.