Hey friends and family. I've now been at site for 2 months and still enjoying it. Things related to work are slow and frustrating, but village life and making friends is going really well. There is so much happening and so many great people there. However, I stayed a little long and am quite glad to have a couple days break and see some other volunteers a bit in the capital. Start the journey back tomorrow though. The following was written originally in my journal but has been edited for your viewing pleasure :)
September 24, 2009
It's 8am and all I've done today is bucket shower, fed my cat, ate breakfast, washed dishes, doctored my semi-infected mosquito bites, cleaned bloody fish, cooked and served said fish; pas des problems. I feel like I could stop for the day and be accomplished, but I've still got to go get water, clean a lot more dishes, clean my house, try and study 2 languages I need to learn, go talk with about 10 different people, cook again, try to do something/learn something related to Girls Education in Bilanga, all while checking in on my cat who thinks he's starving every couple hours. Pas des problems, as long as I don't have to repeat yesterday.
Yesterday started with a nice but not so relaxing bike ride as I was really too tired. After that was the usual bucket bath, eat, try to read a little. Then I decided I really needed to do laundry, I leave for 5 minutes to get soap and come back to find my cat looking like he's going to die because some little kid hurt him. And while most of the time I don't really like the cat, he's still mine and my responsibility but I really hope when he gets bigger he's not so needy. So I finished my laundry which quite frankly is hard and I do not enjoy, but it has to be done.
All this is happening while this horrible smell is coming from my house of fish that my neighbor/brother gave me the night before but I didn't know what to do with. My other neighbor comes but I ask her and she tells me I need to do it asap or it will become "gater" or spoiled. But I seriously don't know what to do, the fish is still whole and I know some need to be gutted before cooked. As the day before I went with my friend to the dam and watched her buy and clean the fish to prepare them to fry and sell.
My neighbor tells me she'll come back in a little to help. My counterpart comes and tells me to throw it out but then my neighbor comes back and it is embarrassing, hilarious and fun cooking with her. It's tricky a bit because I don't have the same things as the people in my village do for cooking and I also have no experience with this. The two times I think I've prepared fish, it came frozen in a box and I all I had to do was stick it in the oven. Most people here have never heard of an oven.
Though eating here has made me realize how wasteful we are as Americans. For example, the meat we buy comes ready and simple, but how much meat was thrown out before you get the pieces you wan? Here, if possible, you eat it. People are starving here but you wouldn't realize it at first because there is always a lot of food around. But in reality, most people just eat a little at a time of the stuff they have to buy and all other time it is To, which only temporarily feeds the appetite, it doesn't really feed the body, nor does most of the food they have here. I find myself wanting to eat a lot more than necessary because my diet always seems to be lacking something, and I have more money than others to get whatever food I really want, that's available.
Anyways, background info. So we prepare the fish but my neighbor/brother comes and tastes it and says it's gone bad already. So he has to go throw out this big pot of fish and I feel like such a failure. He assures me it's fine but I know it is not, he worked hard to catch that fish and if he had sold it he could've made enough money to eat off of for a couple days, or eat the fish himself. It was the only food I've really seen go to waste since coming to Burkina.
But Burkinabe are patient and understanding. I feel like I've made 100 mistakes here but people keep helping me out, showing me the way. My brother went fishing again the next night and this morning we prepared the fish together and it turned out really good.
After the fish extravaganza, my 2 brothers retrieved 2 watermelons, or pas sec, which were a treat except for one of my brothers sliced his finger (really really badly, should have gone to doctor) and I tried to doctor him up. I played guitar with someone for a while, actually I watched him play. Then I visited several people before calling it a night and despite the unbearable heat I managed to crash quickly and deeply, of course, after feeding my ever hungry cat.
For someone who strongly believes in a common worldwide humanity, sometimes I am really taken aback by how different it is here. More than anything its just exposure, living in village definitely limits your perspective. I so badly sometimes just want to take people here for one day to shown them the US, to show them a grocery store, sky scrappers, boats, ovens, cities without farm animals everywhere, sidewalks, restaurants, the list can continue...
Not to say no one knows about these things, Ouaga has a lot and a lot of people have traveled, but definitely not the majority.
Then, I get asked a lot of questions. Some simple, like do you have corn in the US? yes lots, but not millet. Do you have sheep? yes, but they look different. And other questions that are quite difficult to answer, like, do you have lots of hungry skinny children in the US like here? Or other things like trying to explain the educational system in the US or why being 23 without a husband and kids is quite normal, or why it is hard for me to remember everyone's names, or to not use my left hand, ever, or why I don't know how to prepare To (what everyone eats) or prepare much for that matter.
But as frustrating as that all can seem to be, it is also the beauty of this experience, and a large goal of this experience, we learn from each other, everyday, and do so in an open and understanding manner.
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okay, hope all is well with you. talk to you again in a month, and thanks everyone for all the support you've been sending my way, much appreciated!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
just a few snaps
Here's just a few photos that's I've been holding on to. My camera isn't really working too well so I haven't been able to really take pictures of my house and village, but I managed to snag a couple of my cat!
His name is Umanli which means luck in Gulmanchema (my local language). My neighbors/brothers named him because he had a lot of luck that I found him. His mom got killed and his brothers all died and he was going to but I found him so he lived, thus the luck. I've had him a month now, so you can imagine how little he was then. He's quite honestly a pain but he keeps me company. He provides for a lot of fun interaction with my community members as well. I often get asked "A buga te?" or "How is your child?" and I respond "beeni" or "good" because now I have a "kid" and we laugh a lot.
The other photos I have are from the swearing in ceremony in Ouaga when I became an official volunteer. We all got traditional complets made for the event. My host sister helped me pick out the pagne (material) and the tailor.
Me ready to go
Jessi and Tyler in their matching pagnes.
about to write another blog with more updates.
His name is Umanli which means luck in Gulmanchema (my local language). My neighbors/brothers named him because he had a lot of luck that I found him. His mom got killed and his brothers all died and he was going to but I found him so he lived, thus the luck. I've had him a month now, so you can imagine how little he was then. He's quite honestly a pain but he keeps me company. He provides for a lot of fun interaction with my community members as well. I often get asked "A buga te?" or "How is your child?" and I respond "beeni" or "good" because now I have a "kid" and we laugh a lot.
The other photos I have are from the swearing in ceremony in Ouaga when I became an official volunteer. We all got traditional complets made for the event. My host sister helped me pick out the pagne (material) and the tailor.
Me ready to go
Jessi and Tyler in their matching pagnes.
Colette, Devin and Mikey all dressed up.
here is the lovely ladies of my language group with our 2 professors, some of my favorite people in burkina in this photo. 
about to write another blog with more updates.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
beginings
Well folks, I survived my first 3 weeks! We had our swearing-in ceremony in the capital on the 25th and on the 27th I moved to my new home.
I arrived in Fada today, after a very very very dusty bush taxi ride, my regional capital, one of the larger towns in Burkina. It's a little overwhelming here after being in my village for a little while but nice as well.
I've been trying to think about what I could write about for my first blog after moving to site, and I haven't been really able to think of much. Which is actually kind of funny considering I have a lot of thoughts about these next 2 years after my first 3 weeks at site. But I can't manage to find myself yet, which means I can't find my thoughts to share with you all. Most of the time, things are fine, things seem normal as I go day to day trying to discover my village, but other times it hits me that I will be here for 2 years, have to create work, and don't really know anyone, and it gets quite overwhelming.
The people of Bilanga have been kind to me though. While in some ways I wish I was meeting more people, every time I interact with someone, they are incredibly helpful and friendly. When I finally get the courage to ask someone for help, I am overwhelmed with how willing everyone is to do anything for me. Including watching my baby kitten that I “rescued” recently (it's mom died and it's so little I have to hand feed it) while I take off for a couple days. Or taking me to their fields to show me around, then giving me a chicken to prepare! (And then killing it, handing me the body parts, including the head and unborn eggs, and telling me to enjoy. Which I might add I made a really fine dish out of and shared with my neighbors who also really enjoyed it.) Or simply going with me to buy things when I don't know where to go.
Most of my time has been just filled with me trying to figure out how to do simply daily tasks. Even though it's a village, finding a place to buy bread is an adventure. Doing household tasks take up a lot of my time, like fetching water, cleaning dishes, cooking. Chatting with people, or sitting with people, takes of the rest of my time. I frequent a few places everyday to chat with some people who have befriended me. I've also enjoyed taking some bike rides and getting out to see the area, it is actually quite beautiful. There are 2 dams here which are incredible and the fields are everywhere. The millet in some places reaches 15 feet tall and sets quite the scenery.
The first 3 months were given to us to “discover” our communities. So I'm not really expected to start any projects until December or January, which I am very grateful for. But I do have a list of about 80 questions I am supposed to answer about my village. There is so much going on in my community and it's been hard to figure much out so far. I really like that aspect of the Peace Corps; we need to know our communities and the people before really thinking about what can be done. Everything I do needs to come from the people, which will be hard sometimes, but so so necessary for success.
That's really all I got for now. Stay tuned, hopefully I'll make it to internet again in a month with a more detailed update. And I should have more time to write some of you as well.
One more thing, if you ever end up in a village in Burkina Faso, bring a deck of cards, instant friends, guaranteed!
peace, always,
Kim
I arrived in Fada today, after a very very very dusty bush taxi ride, my regional capital, one of the larger towns in Burkina. It's a little overwhelming here after being in my village for a little while but nice as well.
I've been trying to think about what I could write about for my first blog after moving to site, and I haven't been really able to think of much. Which is actually kind of funny considering I have a lot of thoughts about these next 2 years after my first 3 weeks at site. But I can't manage to find myself yet, which means I can't find my thoughts to share with you all. Most of the time, things are fine, things seem normal as I go day to day trying to discover my village, but other times it hits me that I will be here for 2 years, have to create work, and don't really know anyone, and it gets quite overwhelming.
The people of Bilanga have been kind to me though. While in some ways I wish I was meeting more people, every time I interact with someone, they are incredibly helpful and friendly. When I finally get the courage to ask someone for help, I am overwhelmed with how willing everyone is to do anything for me. Including watching my baby kitten that I “rescued” recently (it's mom died and it's so little I have to hand feed it) while I take off for a couple days. Or taking me to their fields to show me around, then giving me a chicken to prepare! (And then killing it, handing me the body parts, including the head and unborn eggs, and telling me to enjoy. Which I might add I made a really fine dish out of and shared with my neighbors who also really enjoyed it.) Or simply going with me to buy things when I don't know where to go.
Most of my time has been just filled with me trying to figure out how to do simply daily tasks. Even though it's a village, finding a place to buy bread is an adventure. Doing household tasks take up a lot of my time, like fetching water, cleaning dishes, cooking. Chatting with people, or sitting with people, takes of the rest of my time. I frequent a few places everyday to chat with some people who have befriended me. I've also enjoyed taking some bike rides and getting out to see the area, it is actually quite beautiful. There are 2 dams here which are incredible and the fields are everywhere. The millet in some places reaches 15 feet tall and sets quite the scenery.
The first 3 months were given to us to “discover” our communities. So I'm not really expected to start any projects until December or January, which I am very grateful for. But I do have a list of about 80 questions I am supposed to answer about my village. There is so much going on in my community and it's been hard to figure much out so far. I really like that aspect of the Peace Corps; we need to know our communities and the people before really thinking about what can be done. Everything I do needs to come from the people, which will be hard sometimes, but so so necessary for success.
That's really all I got for now. Stay tuned, hopefully I'll make it to internet again in a month with a more detailed update. And I should have more time to write some of you as well.
One more thing, if you ever end up in a village in Burkina Faso, bring a deck of cards, instant friends, guaranteed!
peace, always,
Kim
Saturday, August 22, 2009
photo time
Some pictures finally!
Here are some pictures of my host family and area. It got kind of mixed up when uploading, but ça marche. I haven't taken many pictures at all so far but enjoy these few. My camera seems to be broken (not entirely sure yet) so this might be it for a while. I actually left my host family a couple days ago. They have often been my source of strength and joy through this whole process and I am going to miss them terribly.
I passed all my tests and got recommended for swear-in today, so we are all just waiting for tuesday when we become official volunteers! I move to my site thursday, which I am excited and nervous about; it's going to be a big transition again, but if the people in Bilanga are anything like the people in Bogoya, then it should be fantastic.
Anyways, the photos....
Here is this adorable girl who I enjoyed quite frequently. She was scared of me at the begining but by the end she was running up to me and sitting in my lap.
Here are some of my favorite girls ever! The one on the far left is my younger sister, the girl in the middle is my cousin and one of the most amazing young ladies ever, and the other is a friend who came over a lot.
Some more of my favorite kids/cousins. They are all wearing the same pagne because there awas a ceremony at the school that day. I played a lot of cards with these ones.
My sister and friend posing for the photos, too fantastic to not include.
Here's me with them again. Love love these kids.
Here is my Baba, host dad. Wonderful man who really took care of me. He's had such an interesting life and lived in other countries for a while. Helped my out a lot, I'm so grateful.
Bucket bath on the left and latrine on the rightµ. It's actually pretty nice and I really enjoyed taking my bath outside each morning and each evening, quite relaxing.
Here are some pictures of my host family and area. It got kind of mixed up when uploading, but ça marche. I haven't taken many pictures at all so far but enjoy these few. My camera seems to be broken (not entirely sure yet) so this might be it for a while. I actually left my host family a couple days ago. They have often been my source of strength and joy through this whole process and I am going to miss them terribly.
I passed all my tests and got recommended for swear-in today, so we are all just waiting for tuesday when we become official volunteers! I move to my site thursday, which I am excited and nervous about; it's going to be a big transition again, but if the people in Bilanga are anything like the people in Bogoya, then it should be fantastic.
Anyways, the photos....
Here is this adorable girl who I enjoyed quite frequently. She was scared of me at the begining but by the end she was running up to me and sitting in my lap.
Here are some of my favorite girls ever! The one on the far left is my younger sister, the girl in the middle is my cousin and one of the most amazing young ladies ever, and the other is a friend who came over a lot.
Some more of my favorite kids/cousins. They are all wearing the same pagne because there awas a ceremony at the school that day. I played a lot of cards with these ones.
My sister and friend posing for the photos, too fantastic to not include.
Here's me with them again. Love love these kids.
Here's a bunch of people in my host family. My older sister is on the left holding her daughter (asleep). And the rest are some of my cousins, I had 10 in my courtyard, and actually 2 of these kids are just some neighbors.
So, this is called lalu, or hena or in reality hair dye. Normally it lasts one to two months but I got the cheap kind so it only lasted 2 weeks. Usually people do this when they go to a wedding or something but some of the kids were pretty excited to do it to my feet, and I actually ended up really liking it. And just in case you didn't notice, it says my name on the side.
Here is my courtyard, and my bike in the back. The red chair is basically mine and this is also where I hang out with everyone, play cards and everything. And my house is on the right and the latrine is to the right of that.
Here is my Baba, host dad. Wonderful man who really took care of me. He's had such an interesting life and lived in other countries for a while. Helped my out a lot, I'm so grateful.
Bucket bath on the left and latrine on the rightµ. It's actually pretty nice and I really enjoyed taking my bath outside each morning and each evening, quite relaxing. Got to go, hope you enjoyed!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
the talents of burkinabé
so last weekend I had what I would call a bien intergré weekend. I spent is all with my host family and had some fun adventures. I want to share about this weekend because I think it will help describe the lives of burkinabé in my region at least, and a bit overall. And also share some fun things I've been experiencing.
So friday nights in my village are just like any other for the most part, at least during cultivation season. this past friday night the other volunteers and myself ran a ¨girls club¨ of sorts, which was basically getting a bunch of kids together to play soccer and a version of duck duck goose (sheep sheep goat). It was a blast actually and the kids loved it too. For the most part all the youth were under 10 because anyone over ten was preparing dinner. But these kids are really good at soccer, when they don't use their hands, and had some good moves.
After that I go and sit with my older sister for a while then my younger sister makes me dinner. After that I inform people that is was my birthday so I bought cookies (well kind of...). The kids were all excited and afterwards joined me in my courtyard for some dancing. Another talent of Burkinabé would be dancing. The dancing here in general is very different than in the states, but they sure can move in ways my body doess not.
Next day I inform my host sister, before goingto language class, that I am going to town in the afternoon to buy a pagne (material) and get a outfit made for the swear in ceromony. I ask her advice and she decides that she is going to borrow someone's bike and come with me. We had a fun adventure biking to town, picking out a pagne and repairing flat tires (not to mention on a crazy burkinabé bike). There was lots of laughter and I got to see my sister in action, out and about in the maeket, showing me around and where everything was.
The evening was spent sitting under trees, talking with my family and playing lots of cards with all my cousins.
The next day stared with the grand adventure of doing laundry! I've done it a few times already but this time I helped a lot more in the whole process. First my younger sister informed me that we needed to go fetch water from the pump. No problem, we grab our bikes, strap on the big yellow bidons (containers), and then go another village! I guess the pump in our village is always busy so my family usually heads over to another village near by. This isn't normally that big a deal, we have class in that village sometimes, but the path there is a crazy one. There actually isnt't a real path, but lots of dirt, sand, rocks, bumps... you get the idea. So after filling up the 3 bidons, my sister carefully balances 2 on the back of here bike, one on each side of her back wheel, 1 goes on the back of mine, I pray that I won't fall, and we head back to our house across the rocks and all. Did I mention each bidon is probably 40 pounds? Here is the amazing talent of Burkinabé, my younger sister not only balenced these two shaking bidons on her bike across this crazy path, she often did it with no hands! I think she was just having fun and showing off, and it worked because I was definitely impressed, and a little scared for her as well. We drop off the water and go back for a second round. It was really fun at the pump too, for my sister and me to work together to get into the rythm of the foot pump. There was also a beautiful breeze that day and it created this affect where I almost thought I was at a pool.
The the laundry part begins. I start washing but both my sisters come over quickly and show me the ¨proper¨way of washing clolthes. It's actually really incredible to watch. I think that I am fairly good at doing laundry by hand but then I see them in action and they look like they are doing magic the way the clothes just glide through their hands and move from one article to the next in a matter of a moment, all while getting it much more clean than I could do in triple the time.
That evening I tried my hand at cultivating, just for 30 minutes. Cultivation is the way of life for around 75 percent of Burkinabé, and it is tough work. It takes up all their time right now because it is rainy/cultivation season. Unfortunately Burkina is experiencing a serious drought right now, and many people will sufer because of it.
Anyways, cultivating is tough work. You take this tool, like a hoe, bend over and pound the ground, for hours. I cultivated with all children which made it interesting. Everyone does it, from age 7 to age 70. And if you take a day off, you do something else, like my host dad makes rope from rice sacks when he is too exhausted to cultivate.
The evening ended with some tossing kids around, chatting with my sister as she sells samsa, and others around her, and some more cards.
So friday nights in my village are just like any other for the most part, at least during cultivation season. this past friday night the other volunteers and myself ran a ¨girls club¨ of sorts, which was basically getting a bunch of kids together to play soccer and a version of duck duck goose (sheep sheep goat). It was a blast actually and the kids loved it too. For the most part all the youth were under 10 because anyone over ten was preparing dinner. But these kids are really good at soccer, when they don't use their hands, and had some good moves.
After that I go and sit with my older sister for a while then my younger sister makes me dinner. After that I inform people that is was my birthday so I bought cookies (well kind of...). The kids were all excited and afterwards joined me in my courtyard for some dancing. Another talent of Burkinabé would be dancing. The dancing here in general is very different than in the states, but they sure can move in ways my body doess not.
Next day I inform my host sister, before goingto language class, that I am going to town in the afternoon to buy a pagne (material) and get a outfit made for the swear in ceromony. I ask her advice and she decides that she is going to borrow someone's bike and come with me. We had a fun adventure biking to town, picking out a pagne and repairing flat tires (not to mention on a crazy burkinabé bike). There was lots of laughter and I got to see my sister in action, out and about in the maeket, showing me around and where everything was.
The evening was spent sitting under trees, talking with my family and playing lots of cards with all my cousins.
The next day stared with the grand adventure of doing laundry! I've done it a few times already but this time I helped a lot more in the whole process. First my younger sister informed me that we needed to go fetch water from the pump. No problem, we grab our bikes, strap on the big yellow bidons (containers), and then go another village! I guess the pump in our village is always busy so my family usually heads over to another village near by. This isn't normally that big a deal, we have class in that village sometimes, but the path there is a crazy one. There actually isnt't a real path, but lots of dirt, sand, rocks, bumps... you get the idea. So after filling up the 3 bidons, my sister carefully balances 2 on the back of here bike, one on each side of her back wheel, 1 goes on the back of mine, I pray that I won't fall, and we head back to our house across the rocks and all. Did I mention each bidon is probably 40 pounds? Here is the amazing talent of Burkinabé, my younger sister not only balenced these two shaking bidons on her bike across this crazy path, she often did it with no hands! I think she was just having fun and showing off, and it worked because I was definitely impressed, and a little scared for her as well. We drop off the water and go back for a second round. It was really fun at the pump too, for my sister and me to work together to get into the rythm of the foot pump. There was also a beautiful breeze that day and it created this affect where I almost thought I was at a pool.
The the laundry part begins. I start washing but both my sisters come over quickly and show me the ¨proper¨way of washing clolthes. It's actually really incredible to watch. I think that I am fairly good at doing laundry by hand but then I see them in action and they look like they are doing magic the way the clothes just glide through their hands and move from one article to the next in a matter of a moment, all while getting it much more clean than I could do in triple the time.
That evening I tried my hand at cultivating, just for 30 minutes. Cultivation is the way of life for around 75 percent of Burkinabé, and it is tough work. It takes up all their time right now because it is rainy/cultivation season. Unfortunately Burkina is experiencing a serious drought right now, and many people will sufer because of it.
Anyways, cultivating is tough work. You take this tool, like a hoe, bend over and pound the ground, for hours. I cultivated with all children which made it interesting. Everyone does it, from age 7 to age 70. And if you take a day off, you do something else, like my host dad makes rope from rice sacks when he is too exhausted to cultivate.
The evening ended with some tossing kids around, chatting with my sister as she sells samsa, and others around her, and some more cards.
I learned a lot about my host family and was impresesd with how despite the fact that they lack some of the basic things that we as americains use on a daily basis to function, that they are able to accomplish so much and have an immense creative ability to use what is available, and in some ways don't seem to be lacking anything (besides cold drinks haha).
In other news, site visit went well. I am excited to get started with my actual placement in a couple weeks, though I will be very sad to leave my family, the town, the other volunteers and the staff.
I was sick with some fun things most of july but have been really healthy for a little over a week and I'm a much happier person because of it. We've had a lot of projects due lately, which have kept me busy but they've all gone well.
Hope you all are well!
Monday, July 20, 2009
les femmes burkinbé
Burkinabé women are incredible. I am always amazed by their strength and beauty here. I don't think I've ever encountered people who work as hard as Burkinabe women in my life. I've done a lot of thinking about gender equity/equality since arriving in Burkina as the roles are very different than in the US and because the work I will be doing in the next 2 years surround the issues (girls education and empowerment). According to the UN, Burkina is ranked 2nd to last on the Gender Development Index (based on life expectancy, education and income). So, big challenges for women of Burkina but I have found a lot of hope in some of the women I've encountered that I would like to tell you about. (I'm leaving names out for safety/privacy sake)
My host family is amazing. I have been with them about a month now and I will stay with them until August 20th and they have been a large part of why I am enjoying Burkina. I have a dad, 2 sisters, a niece and then crazy amounts of cousins. My older sister is 32 and is incredible. She is my person that I go to for everything, that cooks for me, that talks with me (and makes me do french drills sometimes) and laughs a lot with me. She is pretty unique for the village and has only been there for a little over a year, before she was living in the 2nd largest city in Burkina. Her first husband (and father of her son who is 10) died 8 years ago and now the father of her daughter (who is 5) lives in Cote d'Ivoire, and gives no support to her. But she is incredibly intelligent, talented and hardworking so is doing pretty good for herself. She sells Sam Sam, a fried millet/bread treat, works as a secretary for a bank association and does other things in the community. She is currently saving up so she can be the first in the village to have a fridge and thus sell cold products (they just got electricity 2 months ago in the village). She has a lot of plans and I'm pretty sure she will succeed. She is also a great source of strength to me. I've been sick quite a bit these past couple weeks and she is always there for me, making me take medication or making me call the doctor, or just sitting with me. My dad also watches out for me too and makes sure that I get the right foods. My sister has also been sick quite a bit since my arrival, yet she always keeps working and keeps a positive attitude.
There is a girl who lives in my compound, a cousin, who is 14 and amazes me as well. Her whole family works incredibly hard and are genuinely good people. She is really smart and often serves as my translator (moore to french) but can also recall anything I tell her in english. She is still in school, and doing really good. There isn't a high school in village, and normally she lives in town during the school year, but her family needs her around to work. So next year she is going to have to bike each day (45 min. one way) to school and then come back in the evening to prepare dinner and other chores. I hope she continues. A nearby village is currently building a high school so hopefully after a year she can switch to that. Distance prevents a lot of people from continuing education, especially girls, because they are so needed at home for work (the girls have way more responsibilities around the home than boys). Travel is really dangerous sometimes as well. But her family seems to be very dedicated to educating all their children and just the fact that she has made it this far, I have hope that she will continue and maybe one day graduate.
My LCF (language culture facilitator aka my french professor who also lives in village with us) is one of the most incredible people I have ever met in my life. In a country with a literacy rate sitting around 25% and much less for women, she has managed to finish university and now works for peace corps for the training sessions and works for a NGO the other half of the year that does a lot of sensibilizations (information sessions/teaching skills) for villages. She is also hilarious and one of the most genuinely caring individuals I have ever met who is always providing us with encouragement and strength. My language group thus far consists of 3 trainees and her and while I can get really frustrated with language sometimes, I have an absolute blast most of the time and find myself looking forward to class, and a lot of this is due to the atmosphere she creates for us. She gives me hope because she has worked hard and has become incredibly successful in Burkina. And instead of working to serve herself, she gives back to her country, and works hard to make her dreams of a better world come true (and she dreams of this a lot and is succeeding).
There have been many inspiring people I have met in my short time here that have made my experience so valuable. All the Peace Corps staff has been incredibly supportive and helpful. It is also encouraging that all these talented and skilled Burkinabe are working for the Peace Corps because they believe in its mission and purpose.
In other news we spent a day in the capital city recently which was really exciting and a nice change of pace (and food, I had pizza!). At site I will have a counterpart that the Peace Corps choose to work with me, and we are meeting our counterparts this week and then on Wednesday we will go with them to visit our site for a few days. I'm definitely nervous (especially because I will be completely dependent on my french) but really excited to see the place I will be living for the next 2 years. We'll return here next weekend then continue training until August 25th after which I will become an actual volunteer and start my service.
Miss you all and take care!
Kim
My host family is amazing. I have been with them about a month now and I will stay with them until August 20th and they have been a large part of why I am enjoying Burkina. I have a dad, 2 sisters, a niece and then crazy amounts of cousins. My older sister is 32 and is incredible. She is my person that I go to for everything, that cooks for me, that talks with me (and makes me do french drills sometimes) and laughs a lot with me. She is pretty unique for the village and has only been there for a little over a year, before she was living in the 2nd largest city in Burkina. Her first husband (and father of her son who is 10) died 8 years ago and now the father of her daughter (who is 5) lives in Cote d'Ivoire, and gives no support to her. But she is incredibly intelligent, talented and hardworking so is doing pretty good for herself. She sells Sam Sam, a fried millet/bread treat, works as a secretary for a bank association and does other things in the community. She is currently saving up so she can be the first in the village to have a fridge and thus sell cold products (they just got electricity 2 months ago in the village). She has a lot of plans and I'm pretty sure she will succeed. She is also a great source of strength to me. I've been sick quite a bit these past couple weeks and she is always there for me, making me take medication or making me call the doctor, or just sitting with me. My dad also watches out for me too and makes sure that I get the right foods. My sister has also been sick quite a bit since my arrival, yet she always keeps working and keeps a positive attitude.
There is a girl who lives in my compound, a cousin, who is 14 and amazes me as well. Her whole family works incredibly hard and are genuinely good people. She is really smart and often serves as my translator (moore to french) but can also recall anything I tell her in english. She is still in school, and doing really good. There isn't a high school in village, and normally she lives in town during the school year, but her family needs her around to work. So next year she is going to have to bike each day (45 min. one way) to school and then come back in the evening to prepare dinner and other chores. I hope she continues. A nearby village is currently building a high school so hopefully after a year she can switch to that. Distance prevents a lot of people from continuing education, especially girls, because they are so needed at home for work (the girls have way more responsibilities around the home than boys). Travel is really dangerous sometimes as well. But her family seems to be very dedicated to educating all their children and just the fact that she has made it this far, I have hope that she will continue and maybe one day graduate.
My LCF (language culture facilitator aka my french professor who also lives in village with us) is one of the most incredible people I have ever met in my life. In a country with a literacy rate sitting around 25% and much less for women, she has managed to finish university and now works for peace corps for the training sessions and works for a NGO the other half of the year that does a lot of sensibilizations (information sessions/teaching skills) for villages. She is also hilarious and one of the most genuinely caring individuals I have ever met who is always providing us with encouragement and strength. My language group thus far consists of 3 trainees and her and while I can get really frustrated with language sometimes, I have an absolute blast most of the time and find myself looking forward to class, and a lot of this is due to the atmosphere she creates for us. She gives me hope because she has worked hard and has become incredibly successful in Burkina. And instead of working to serve herself, she gives back to her country, and works hard to make her dreams of a better world come true (and she dreams of this a lot and is succeeding).
There have been many inspiring people I have met in my short time here that have made my experience so valuable. All the Peace Corps staff has been incredibly supportive and helpful. It is also encouraging that all these talented and skilled Burkinabe are working for the Peace Corps because they believe in its mission and purpose.
In other news we spent a day in the capital city recently which was really exciting and a nice change of pace (and food, I had pizza!). At site I will have a counterpart that the Peace Corps choose to work with me, and we are meeting our counterparts this week and then on Wednesday we will go with them to visit our site for a few days. I'm definitely nervous (especially because I will be completely dependent on my french) but really excited to see the place I will be living for the next 2 years. We'll return here next weekend then continue training until August 25th after which I will become an actual volunteer and start my service.
Miss you all and take care!
Kim
Thursday, July 9, 2009
site placement
So today was a very exciting and impotant day, we found out where we will be for the next 2 years!
So, big drum roll, I will be living in a town called Bilanga. I know very little at this point but I will share what I do know.
My town, I think it is a town not a village, is called Bilanga and it is in the Eastern region of Burkina. If you check out a map my regional capital is Fada and I am about 80 K north of it.
It is a new site for GEE volunteers but there has been a PC volunteer who was a teacher there years previously, which I think is great because they've been exposed to PC but not my project specifically. The province is called Gnanga and the language I will attempt to learn is called Gulmancema. Appartently I will have a 2 room house with a place to bathe inside (kind of a luxurey) and my own latrine outside but I will share a courtyard will secondary schoolgirls.
There are 2 dams in the area so promise to have veggies all year round! I'm definitely excited about that. The east sounds like a cool place and apparently is where the only lions in Burkina are so that's exciting. I'm definitely excited about it but it was also hard because many of my friends are located pretty far away, on the other side of the country. But there is one good friend who will have the same regional capital as me so hopefully we can meet up sometimes.
In other news, things have been a rollar coaster here. I had a good week last week but then I got fairly sick over the weekend which makes everything harder, but no worries I'm better now. Language is hard but I try to focus on how much I have already improved and know it will continute. My family is amazing and I am so grateful for them. I will write more next week hopefully on some of the amazing people I have met here.
Off to dinner, hope all is well!
So, big drum roll, I will be living in a town called Bilanga. I know very little at this point but I will share what I do know.
My town, I think it is a town not a village, is called Bilanga and it is in the Eastern region of Burkina. If you check out a map my regional capital is Fada and I am about 80 K north of it.
It is a new site for GEE volunteers but there has been a PC volunteer who was a teacher there years previously, which I think is great because they've been exposed to PC but not my project specifically. The province is called Gnanga and the language I will attempt to learn is called Gulmancema. Appartently I will have a 2 room house with a place to bathe inside (kind of a luxurey) and my own latrine outside but I will share a courtyard will secondary schoolgirls.
There are 2 dams in the area so promise to have veggies all year round! I'm definitely excited about that. The east sounds like a cool place and apparently is where the only lions in Burkina are so that's exciting. I'm definitely excited about it but it was also hard because many of my friends are located pretty far away, on the other side of the country. But there is one good friend who will have the same regional capital as me so hopefully we can meet up sometimes.
In other news, things have been a rollar coaster here. I had a good week last week but then I got fairly sick over the weekend which makes everything harder, but no worries I'm better now. Language is hard but I try to focus on how much I have already improved and know it will continute. My family is amazing and I am so grateful for them. I will write more next week hopefully on some of the amazing people I have met here.
Off to dinner, hope all is well!
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