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'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!

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.

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!

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

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!

greetings

Ne y yibeoogo
Y yi beoog kibare?
Laafi Bala
Y zak ramba?
Laafi

..... this continues for a while....

Greeting people in Burkina is very important. And if you forget, you will be yelled at, well not really, but they will just interrupt whatever you're saying with a greeting.
Greetings are also on of my favorite things about African culture.
While they can be long and sometimes hard to remember or understand, greeting someone shows recognition and value in each person you encounter. And out in village, you greet everyone you pass, without exception, and I love it. Yesterday morning I was sitting under a baobob tree with a couple other PC stagaires when a line of ladies walked by, we were busy and didn't greet them, so they all lined up near us and waited until we looked at them, then we all exchanged greetings. It was a great moment, to see all these beautiful women demanding us to show our respect and recognition of them.

We got placed with host families a couple weeks ago in a village called Bogoya which is about 7k from the main city we started in. We come back to the city for 2 days of training a week, the rest is in Bogoya or another village. So, there has been a lot of hardcore biking, but I'm enjoying it.

Village life is very different than typical american life. It's hard to describe as only little time has passed and I feel like I am just starting to figure things out just in my compound, let alone the whole village.

Bogoya is very focused on family farming. People in my family have millet, corn, yams and more. It rained a day last week so everyone, and I mean everyone, went out to the fields to cultivate the next day. I am amazed at how hard everyone works in Bogoya, especially the women, it is incredible. Most farm, but some have other professions within Bogoya or go to town for work. My sister sells samsam, a fried bread and bean ball type thing, that is really good. The weather and sun decide everything in village life also. I hardly can keep track of the day or hour; one wakes up with the sun and the goats bleating and goes to bed an hour or two after sundown.

My family is fantastic. I have two sisters, a papa and then a whole bunch of cousins. I'm constantly surrounded by children and have been learning so much through them. Many people in Bogoyo do not speak French, just Morre, but fortunately for me, my older sister does as well as my papa and some of the older kids who hang around a lot. So, through them I can usually figure out what is going on, but the French is coming slowly and Moore is one of the hardest things I've ever tried to learn. But it is amazing how much we are able to communicate without having total knowledge of a common language. I am also humbled constantly by how much my family takes care of me. My papa shows up randomly and always fixes things for me, or cleans (which is pretty unique for a burkinabe man), and makes sure I am doing well. My sisters never let me go without water or a very very full stomach. And all the kids are constantly assisting me, carrying things for me, playing games with me, or helping me study. Their hospitality is amazing.

While some adjustments are necessary in village life, and I miss things like cold drinks, I'm very happy to be where I am currently. I was feeling a little trapped in Ouahigoya from Burkina, but now I'm starting to participate in life here and see a little glimpse of the beauty and the struggle of the Burkinabe.

I hope you all are doing well and enjoying the journey your are currently experiencing.

arrival in burkina

Il fait chaud aujourd'hui, et il faut chaud tousjours.
For those non frenchies out there, It is hot today, and it is hot everyday. And it's not even the hot season. None of us have stopped sweating for more than 5 minutes since arriving in Burkina, with the exception of a little rain dance.

But I am so happy to be here. The journey here was a little longer than expected in different ways. Firstly, being my postponement of service. But most recently, the actual trip here. We left for the airport in Philidalphea on a Wednesday around 1:00 and arrived in Burkina Friday night. Our plane from Paris to Burkina had a stop in Niamey, Niger, a country on the northeast border of Burkina, to drop off a few passengers. We didn't leave for over 24 hours. It was actually a fun adventure and bonding time for our group of 32 Americans who have become my partners in this huge adventure for the next 2+ years. The engine broke down and AirFrance took us to a hotel where we were essentially in lock down (though there was some fun things happening at that hotel).

But once I stepped off that plan and saw some of the people in the streets, felt the African heat from the red sun, and smelled the African air, my nerves that had been building up the past month seemed to dissipate and excitement took over.

I don't know how much I can go into detail now, but this past week has been a whirlwind. So much of my experience thus far is wrapped up in the other volunteers who will be posted in Burkina with me. We are all in the education sector, half teaching secondary math and science (SE) and the other half doing Girls Education and Empowerment (GEE). So far, everyone seems really great. It's a little overwhelming as a whole group, but exciting to interact and meet so many fantastic people who have similar passions. Even after just one week, we had some crazy occurrences that have brought us together, and I'm sure it will continue as we train together in the next couple of months.

We spent one night in Ouaga, the capital, getting some shots, trying on bikes, and filling out some paperwork. Then we drove up to Ouahigouya and were welcomed with music, food and dancing. We will spend the next couple of days with more orientation then be placed with host families with whom we will stay with until August 25, our swear-in date. The GEE people will be placed in surrounding villages of the town and the SE volunteers will stay in town. So, I will come into town a couple times a week (by biking) and the other days of training will be in village with the rest of the GEE volunteers. It is going to be a challenge these next few months, and all current volunteers say it is actually the hardest part of service, but right now I am excited to get started.

I'm not sure how often I will be able to do these as the time is crunched with training and the availability it not great. I'm just starting to get an idea of how undeveloped Burkina is. It's very different in that sense from Namibia and South Africa. Yes, both those countries have more than their share of extreme poverty and difficult realities, but in terms of actual development, Nam and SA are many many years ahead of Burkina. For example, there is no trash collection system even in place. Literally people throw their trash in the streets because there is no where else to put it. There will be so much to learn about the country and its people, the “honorable/upright people” (translation of Burkina Faso) and I think I am ready to begin.

much love and peace,
Kim

Going to Burkina!

Hey friends,

So, big news, as most of you already know. I'm heading over to Burkina Faso on June 9th with the Peace Corps.

I'm going to be working on the Girls Education and Empowerment Project which I'm pretty excited and nervous about. More details are in the previous post or will come later, but I thought I would get this new blog started and spread the news.

A map of Burkina is below incase you're wondering where it is (west africa).

Thanks everybody for all your support!