African Adventure 2

10-17-07

This morning I was up at six, because a car was coming for me. We were going to town, OHG and have a little break from the intense schedule. The night had not cooled down much and the bucket bath was refreshing at this point. Before leaving our village, we trainees met with the community health board, a group of six members (one woman) plus the local male nurse, who is always the secretary on the board. We asked them questions we had prepared in French the day before. The RN led the responses, and the board members were very interested in who we are and what line of work we had done. Translating this into their language (Moore') was challenging for the RN it appeared. This health board is representative of the ones we will work with in any village we may be assigned to in BF, so this experience should serve us well in the future.

Right when we arrived in town we stopped at a gas station and got yogurt and drinks, anything cold is coveted by all of us at this time. The change of scenery did us all good, we even enjoyed our French class in town. We got on our bikes and went to get lunch, some of us went to the internet cafe, only to find that it shut down the night before, and was still not up and running. I had bought a cell phone by now and the office staff at the internet cafe helped me text msg my kids and set my phone ringer, an important thing really.

While on my lunch break, I biked to the big market in the center of town, a maize of little tables and huts, where the locals sell produce and handmade items. There are some unusual sales, you can get your motorbike washed on the spot, or your shoes shined, or you can pay to have your bicycle stored. There are always tables filled with flip flops and ones with cell phones, and local food sells well. I did purchase a roll of toilet paper for 400SFA, which is about a dollar. Not really a bargain, but my negotiating skills in French have a ways to go. I later learned that the PC pays 500SFA for a two roll pack of TP.

As I rode back to the training center all of a sudden my phone rang and it was Angie, what a treat to talk to her and find out about things at home. By now I was most certainly late for my class, but that's alright—it was conjugating French verbs in 100 degree weather! Later that afternoon we had a couple hours free time, and again my phone rang and it was Chris, so good to hear from him. He's getting a phone card, cheaper way to talk I hear. All I can do from here really is text msg. That reminded me I need to get post cards to send right away to all my grandchildren. I gave my kids a long list of things I need......I told Chris that I am an expert on bike tire repair, as I had three flats the first two days I had my brand new bike...I now know I can't ride over the grass beside the pathways, which have thorny brush in them. And that is a guaranteed puncture in my tire.

At 5pm with our bikes on top, the van took us back to village, about 7 kilometers, and from there we biked back to our family compounds (less than a mile) just as darkness fell. It is refreshing to cool down every night via a bucket bath under the stars in the sky as my douche is a brick structure, open to the sky above. I have since taken a picture of this structure to show you. My latrine is on one side, and the bath area (douche) on the other. At this time of night it is dinner, then bedtime. It is so dark out by 6:30pm and with the grueling schedule, it is natural to turn in early.

10-19-07

Peace Corps sends a car for me and my luggage by 7am, as we are stopping at OHG for classes and preparation for going to villages of current PC Volunteers all over the country. They call this the “demystification visit”. I assume that means it makes it real to us. Three of us from the Health sector are going to a village 100m. SW of the capitol, called Gao. Meanwhile after our language class, we had a couple hours of free time, and we rode to town and got on the internet at a local cybercafe. One hour is 350 SFA. After that we found the sandwich shop, Melissa one of the trainees is living with a family, whose mom has the shop and hand makes each sandwich as it is ordered. My favorite is hard boiled egg slices and avocado slices, with red onions and tomato slices on the long French roll. Yummy!

The afternoon session for all Peace Corps Trainees was hilarious—Siaka, Saliou, Printout, PCV and others did a skit on what it's like to take a bush taxi. People, animals, and baggage kept adding to an already full bus. Then a pregnant woman with a baby strapped to her back boarded. Then a guy with a goat got on. People had to move seats constantly. Pickpocketing happened. A Muslim got out his mat to pray at one stop. And the driving was erratic to say the least, first Siaka would floorboard it, then shift when the engine was revved up, and all the folks leaned way over as the load shifted. I'm telling you we were in gales of laughter. That was just a preview of things to come.......

We 34 PCT boarded a nice bus to Ouagadougou (the capitol) the next morning. After the three hour ride, we all split up to go to our respective sites in country. Our little group, three trainees and our language facilitator went to a small bus stop and waited over four hours for our bush taxi. Apparently we just missed the first one. Since my tent, mat, and potty chair were tied together, and the single strap wasn't quite doing the job, I bought a long rubber strap from a vendor. By then my pride had deserted me.

To pass our time we found a modern western grocery store in the center of town, We each bought ourselves a treat, mine was a chocolate croissant. Then Becky and I wanted to look in the big mosque nearby, and we had to cover our head with a scarf to look in. Some guy took us around to a doorway, and said we could look in, but not enter, and he allowed us to take pictures. For this experience he wanted us to each give the Imam 2000 SFA. Becky protested, and after a couple minutes we each gave him 500 SFA and left. Bintou told us the guy shouldn't have charged.

Still waiting for the bush taxi, I watched a shoemaker lace together sandals with a long threaded needle. It reminded me of Doug lacing saddles and other leather things. Two customers came by and got shoe shines while they waited, now there's a lost art. “Vous travaillez tres bien! Your work is very good” I told him.

]The bush taxi showed up around 3pm with the driver wanting more money for our luggage after we bought our tickets, but Bintou headed that off. We got on board this old long van with seats. Soon we made another stop several miles across town and lots of goods and people were loaded. We laughed as we watched the loaders stuff 4-5' high with cargo, then proceed to tie five bikes, standing erect over the cab. After that a stack of large metal bowls and a large watering can were tied on the top. We boarded the bush taxi.

A mom and toddler and 20 others got in this 8 person van. As we tried to leave, through the window, the driver and a customer had a long heated discussion about something. I thought they were discussing safety, but no it was the cost of transport for goods. It went on ten minutes or so, while all 2 dozen passengers sweated in the van. Finally we left. I was sitting right behind the driver and noticed he kept looking out the window back toward the rear wheel. About half an hour later the entire wheel separated from the axle with a loud noise. This happened after we had gone 50mph on the road to the south. As luck would have it, we broke down in front of a welding shop by the side of the road in a small town with a dozen little shops. An hour later we crossed the road to the bar and had a cold beer, sitting out in front so we could see the van. As the welder worked on the axle all the passengers sat around watching. The driver and one other worker put the wheel back on. I noticed they only had two lug nuts, and I started worrying about that when our LCF announced that Peace Corps was sending a car for us. Whew! I was so relieved. By now it was 6pm. The PC car arrived and we traveled back to Ouaga. By now it was feeling like Murphy's Law, as we came upon a huge traffic jam—the traffic stopped because the President of the Country was passing by. Our driver extracted our vehicle from the snarl and we proceeded to go 30 km around the back way until we reached the PC transit house (a hostel house for PC). It was sheer luxury, after our day. We ordered dinner in and had a real bed to sleep in for the night.

Now we leave for Gao at 8am for our demystification visit. A PC car drove us 3 hr and 100km south of Ouaga and 50 km east on a dirt road to Stephanie's place. She was awaiting our arrival, and had baked banana bread and sliced up watermelon to welcome us. She had an incredibly homey living situation. Her hut had 4 rooms, a bedroom, kitchen, la douche (shower) and a living area. Villagers had poured a concrete patio after Dr. Claude made a site visit and told the village chief “Fix this my son for Stephanie.” Voila! Stephanie had a compost pile from which two tomato plants were thriving. She had planted five trees nearby too. There was a wall around her yard, and a screen covering the entrance, so animals could not enter.

The four of us asked her questions after question about her life in village. She says the Loges doesn't work that well, but the person in the new mayor position is very helpful to her. As we relaxed we met neighbors who came by and also the girl she pays to help out everyday. The 15 yr old girl has family in Ghana. She lives in Gao with relatives and likes it here. She transports Stephanie's water, washes her clothes, cleans dishes and straightens the house.

Soon we all walked around the village, meeting Stephanie's friends to whom she speaks perfect French and some tribal language. The people adore her and she them, esp certain ones. Her neighbor, Rosalie, helped her get connected to small groups of women and men who already had gatherings. She also went into the village school and taught in the first three months there. Her nearest PCV is Marcos, who is a favorite neighbor. They visit each other weekly approximately.

We bathed in the afternoon, then Stephanie made egg roll soup and a bean dish out of the PC cookbook. We had several language sessions with our LCF Bintou, who is a great teacher. Late in the evening, a neighbor woman brought over dinner: barbecued chicken, rice casserole, cous cous, and sauce. We loved it, sitting out in the yard at a table under the night sky enjoying each other's company. We tented that night, me on the patio, and Becky out in the yard, Bintou on a mat (traditional African sleeping spot), and Natalie in the bed and Stephanie on the chaise lounge.

The propane stove top and the oven in Stephanie's kitchen offer a variety of possibilities for cooking, ie Pancakes. While we had language class the next morning and learned past participles in French, Steph went to market to get bread and cheese for tuna melts at lunch. Here in Burkina Faso I have noticed that food is a main source for conversation. Locals go to marche' (market) every several days, because the heat doesn't allow food to stay edible very long.

Monday morning we toured the health sites in Stephanie's village: CSPS, the maternity ward, the pharmacy. During this time we met the village nurse, called “infirmier”, the midwife, who had just delivered a baby, and the ICP and some village teachers. There were 12 women waiting in clinic for a prenatal visit, which was delayed due to the delivery. This gave us a glimpse of the health aspect of village life, which we will be involved with when we each get our assignment in our village.

We walked back slowly down a path near a cluster of animists, who were engaged in a fetish ritual. They had two poles with a pane (cloth) wrapped around them and guys on either end baring the poles in a ritual dance. Back and forth they went with a crowd of worshipers following them. Stephanie said the fetish is thought to be a spirit that comes to “life” after long periods. We watched from a distance. Further along the path we visited the mayor and asked him historical questions about the village. He said the village was two tribes coming together hundreds of years ago, some were Moslem and some were animists. They live cooperatively.

As we tracted back to the house, we came across the local bar and some of the guys there play music, so after the sun went down we had arranged for them to play drums and flutes and dance. That lasted several hours in the moonlight. When the men had danced a traditional African dance, the women and children joined in, then they enticed us to try it, which we did and had such fun. Their dance steps and rhythms don't come so naturally to we Americans. By that time we were tired and hungry so we each gave the musicians 500 SFA for both the dancers and them and headed home. The neighbor brought dinner again and we were treated to beans and chicken, “To” and sauce. We tented again.

We got up early for our 8am bush taxi ride, but had to scurry when the driver showed up at our door at 7:30. We went back to Ouaga (the capitol) and thankfully the return trip was uneventful. I had to stay overnight in the transit house because Sylvie, the medical officer, had arranged for me to get my front tooth repaired. The clinic PC sent me to, cares for the embassy personnel too. They did a beautiful job for me. The BF dentist spoke perfect English, which he learned in school he said. They had the latest equipment, hardened my filling with a blue light. A second dentist was present and haled from Bolivia, and then a third dentist arrived and he was from Brazil. They all spoke good French and some English, definitely an international dental group. My taxi picked me up in an hour and returned me to the transit house, where I could walk to the PC bureau and spend two hours on the internet for free. I was able to send a group email, which made me happy.

On the way back to the transit center I stopped at a nice restaurant and ordered a salad to go. I sat a watched a tape of an old movie “Miracle in the Woods”, a multi-generational family dilemma.

The next morning the van came to pick up several others with me to return to Ouahigouya.

For the next several days we had classes to process our visit with the PCV. we each visited last weekend. We started to learn about conducting a “Etude de Milieu” (study in the village setting). We were transported to another village and learned tools to use in our study at the village level. They are: Seasonal Calendar, Village Map, Roles of women and men in village, and “Needs Assessment” done on a grid. Because this is hands on training, we had then set aside time to train the village leaders on these same tools, having them do the exercises and drawings themselves. It was a real eye opener, comparing what we came up with and what they did. For example they highlighted the mosque and the six village wells, and we hadn't. We emphasized how hard the women work, and the gender roles we observed. We learned from each other!

One of the field trips we took on our bikes was to the cabaret, where a groups of women brew beer from millet mostly. The alcohol content is not regulated by the state and at times it can be as high as 8% we were told. I took a couple photos of this just to show my brother, Wayne, who worked in this business until he retired. And yes, I like a beer now and again.



10-28-07 Sunday

Today Orokia is taking me to meet Salimata, her mother. Her home is across the village of Somyaga. We biked there. On the way we met her grandmother in a field nearby working. Everyone here greets everyone else where ever they find them. I had saved a votive candle to give Salimata. She is blind in one eye, and doesn't get out much in terms of visiting. I think Orokia introduced me to her sister in law there too.

When we returned home an hour later, a group of women and the two of us walked to the next neighboring compound and visited with them. Many, many people were there, groups of mothers and babies, groups of young men, and also men. The women were together in a hut nursing their babies and visiting. It was close and hot in there. Boys were playing cards together. Other young men were hanging out, listening to music. An elder man in the courtyard was plucking peanuts off the picked plants, and I sat down and tried that too. Orokia and I went into one hut and were served rice with goat meat (a little tough to chew, but tasted OK). Azita went over to the neighbors with us, but returned early.

Sunday is such a restful day during training, and I had a nap. I watched Amadi and Madi (15 yr old son) tie millet into bundles to put up to dry. That is an art, tying those things together, using the stems and braiding them around the top securely. This also served as a hanger. The results were beautiful to see. (view pictures)

This fourth week in training was both exciting and hard. We all had our language level test, which I advanced one level up. When you start at the bottom the only way is up, right? The health sector, the group I'm in, had their interviews with the Director of the Health Sector, Dr. Claude, who is so personable and encouraging. It was like a visit, not an intense interview. We chatted about what kind of site I would like, and what skills I would use in village, and about the needs here in Burkina Faso. She thinks that the women need support about taking more time nursing their babies, and about the benefits of colostrum, the first milk, and also about not weening their babies abruptly. We agreed that all the mothers nurse in BF and that is good. I look forward to offering extra support to these moms.

Dr. Claude is an exceptional woman and had just come from an international conference elsewhere in Africa on malnutrition. Her husband is the fourth highest political leader in BF I understand. She has been with the PC here since 1995. She told me about the director's visit recently, and his hope that more seniors join up. You know how I feel about that.

After two days at the training center in classes, Friday I was picked up with the other trainees from my village and we went to Sissomba, another village to visit there and have class. All the Lori's live here, Lauren, Laura, and Lori, all of whom speak perfect French. We practiced conducting a community meeting. We had a great lunch of beans and rice with sauce.

On Saturday we five rode our bikes to town and went swimming at Hotel de la Mitte and ate American style hamburgers. They tasted extra good to us. What a treat! Just to give you an idea: 1500SFA to swim, 3000SFA for the burger, and 800SFA for a Flagg beer (a qt). Then to the internet (one hour cost 350SFA) and our bike ride home (7 km). A great day and break! Lots of pictures.