Hey you do Sports- Come help me lift this tree

I’m in Ouaga. I’m here for a meeting of the Volunteer Advisory Committee which basically exists to act as a liaison between the peace corps office staff and the volunteers. I’ve been here since Sunday, and I’m leaving on Wednesday- only to come back on Sunday for In-service training. I’m here and with being in Ouaga it’s a sort of different adventure than at site. For example, everyone at site knows I can speak a bit of moore and I’m the only non-Burkinabe there. However, there are more foreigners in Ouaga and the Peace Corps is one of the few agencies that actually train their people in local languages. So, I usually get a lot of impressed faces, some improved prices, and (always) a smile. It’s all about expectations. I have a friend who used to say no expectations no disappointments. But, I can see it both ways.

As I was riding my bike to the meeting today I was stopped by these 3 Burkinabe who said “Hey, you do sports, come help us lift this tree” (in French). So I said sure, lets do this. So the four of us lifted a tree from the middle of the road and put it on a truck- and I carried on my way. On any given day, I’ve learned to expect the unexpected. But that request caught me really off guard. But I’m really happy that I do “fais des sports” now.

To make things even better, one of my best buddies from stage is now in Ouaga so it’ll be nice to hang out for a night before I go back to site and he goes to save Burkina Faso from inadequate yogurt makers. That’s a little bit of a joke but not incredibly so. Getting good yogurt here can boost a day from good to great. Or from terrible to “you win some you lose some”. Getting bad yogurt though can be such a WTF moment- like going to open a chocolate bar but realizing that it’s empty and someone has just refolded the wrapper and put it back together.

But yea, if anyone is wondering why is Drew spending all his time on facebook posting photos and blogs and not saving the world- I’m liaising.