bikes and fetes and adventures

Hello all,

I just wanted to write about the past few days before finishing up my post on the rainy season.

Peace Corps Burkina is currently doing a Tour de Faso, bike tour around the country organized and run by volunteers in order to raise money for our Gender and Development group. It also happens to be Peace Corps' 50th anniversary. So I got to join for a few days and it was quite an adventure. check out burkinabiketour.blogspot.com

About a month ago Peace Corps gave me a letter to give to my Mayor informing that several volunteers will be passing through Bilanga on the bike tour. What does my Mayor decide, Fete! (party time)

So a week before the arrival of my friends, we sat down and planned the craziness that was about to occur. The accountant of the Mayor's office is a really good friend and basically took the whole thing on and began planning, along with my best friend/tutor, and I just sat back and waited.

The couple days leading up to it, I started realizing how much my village was putting into this party, and it really touched me to see so many working so hard, essentially for me and my friends. I went to my friend's house the night before and saw the goat they were gonna kill for us to eat. And not to mention all the chickens.

So, Friday comes and I head over to my best friend's house, after running some errands, who scolds me for showing up late to help with the cooking. She had a team of 10 people, all folks I know, preparing and cooking away. She put me to work pounding leaves and garlic and pepper and who knows what. I attempted to stir the giant pot of chicken parts but after 30 seconds of the smoke I started crying and was pushed aside and told to cut up eggplants.

Then my 2 closest PC volunteer neighbors called and said they were almost there so went to go bike around and pick them up and in the middle of all that the group of bikers called to say they were about 10k away!

Shoot, they're about 2 hours ahead of schedule and we are not ready for their arrival. Can't get a hold of my friend who's responsible for the whole thing, and start running around like a crazy person. Grab benches from the Church, tell the group to stall for a while, then finally get a hold of my friend who says that it'll be okay, we'll tell the group to go to the dam to meet them and instead of going to the center directly, they'll escort the group to my house.
The mayor calls and tells me to get the heck over to the dam to welcome the group but we're short a bike, but it all works out. The 9 bikers start walking across our crazy dam of gushing water as kids help carry their bikes and the support driver follows. My village selected a group of people to dress up in tradition garb and bike the crew to my house, pretty cool welcome if I do say.

After a little respose time, we get picked up again and head over to the community center and were welcomed by singing and dancing and lots of people. It was one of the most awkward events of my life as I tried to balance the desires/expectations of my village, (my villager friends and then the authorities as well) and all the volunteers who came to stay with me and are exhausted. They place the 12 of us facing the rest of them and I'm the only one who knows anyone and don't really know how to handle it all. But it was so great and I was so impressed by how cool and ready everyone was.

They start by serving the group drinks, and not only do they bring sodas, they bring bottled water as they know I don't drink unfiltered water in village, and even thought to bring napkins and water to wash hands and just put so much thought into the whole thing. They also knew to pull out the chicken heads and feet as we americans don't really know what to do with those parts. It was just amazing how much thought and consideration they put into all of it, I was so impressed and touched by it all.
My mayor gave a speech all about the Peace Corps program which surprised the heck out of me and all my fellow volunteers were so impressed.
We handed out a few certificates and posters as a way to say thanks which again was tricky to decide who all to give them to, but in the end, everyone seemed happy.
Many pictures were taken and while a highly stressful event for me, it was one that I will never forget, to see all the people that I have been trying to live in community with for the past year come together to help celebrate the arrival of my friends.

There was supposed to be another cultural night/event that night but it ended up raining all night long, so we just crammed in my house, ate spaghetti and drank some wine.

The next day the car was supposed to come in the morning half of the day but delays happen and didn't show up until 3 or 4. So we chilled and ate out and meet the village Chef and other folks and generally had a good time.
That night was a whole other adventure of riding around burkina in the dark, car breaking down in the middle of no where so pulling out a laptop and movie while random burkinabe came by and watched and then finding some other random village to eat but only finding bread that tasted like kerosene and baggies of fish. But that whole day we were in my province so I got to see a lot more of my area and try out speaking Gulmanchema, my local language, throughout the area. And it was all with good company and a spirit of adventure, so basically a blast.

Didn't make it to the next place till around midnight, crashed on the porch, woke up at 5 to bike 45 miles in really hot conditions to Kaya. That night I said goodbye to the crew and caught a ride with the driver to Ouaga.
It was just a few days but quite defining in many ways so I thought I would share it all with you.

Check out the pictures to better explain the adventures.

Here's at the Fete, getting ready to eat soon. Mayor is giving a speech behind.

When the volunteers just go across the dam. Getting ready to follow those who awaited them.

Entering Bilanga, 3 good friends in front, excited to make it.

The whole group crossing the dam.

My friends awaiting the group in their traditional gear, about to show the way into town and my house.


Some of the group right after the fete.

The group and my chef as we went to see him the next day to "demande la route" for leaving

We happened to be dressed in rainbow that day, so decided to take a picture, my brothers are the clouds on the sides.

Getting ready to leave to the next village, posing with the mayor and some other folks.

Broken down in brousse (bush), pulling out a laptop and watching a movie while waiting as the other driver went to go look for parts. One of the highlights of the trip as this book group of ladies and kids watched behind us and I understood little comments they made in Gulmantchema.