Turning a page in my Peace Corps book

This is to all my fans - I know you have nothing better to do than continually hit your browsers’ refresh button until my next blog post appears and for that I am deeply grateful. It’s you guys who keep me typing away in the mosquito infested, hot and humid West African rainy season.

But seriously, I really appreciate the fact that many of you have inquired about my next post, and of course, any and all comments left on my blog. I will buy you each a drink when I’m back. Also I misled you. I am currently in an air conditioned computer lab at my lycée in Koudougou. The part about the mosquitoes however is true - the lab is not hermetically sealed and they don’t seem to mind the AC.

Now the long overdue entry.

Since the last post a lot has taken place:

• Model School came to a close with a ceremony to thank all participants
  
• Pre-Service Training (PST) ended!!
  
• All PCTs departed from their host families
  
• We spent several days in Ouaga at a hotel, gorging ourselves on delicious foods, spending too much of our settling in allowance at stores, and taking part in our Swear-In ceremony at the Ambassador’s house
  
• Newly appointed PCVs (that would be us) moved to their respective sites where we will stay for their 2 years of service
  

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been in Burkina for 14 weeks , and that PST is over. I can still remember being at my mom’s house packing my bags and running to Wal-Mart at 11pm the night before taking the plane to grab last minute what-not’s, do-dads and knick-knacks (I love those words). I can also remember cautiously walking around the training site in Ouahigouya during the first week, which is now such a familiar place to me. I can remember spending 15-20 minutes taking my first bucket bath, taking over 2 hours to wash one load of laundry, and getting sick at least once a week. Three months later and it takes me 5 to 7 minutes to shower, I can wash my clothes in just over an hour, and I haven’t felt sick since the last time I drank too many 66cl Brakinas the night of my counterparts birthday (when its your birthday, you pay the for rounds).

The last couple weeks of model school went as planned - I tried to wrap up the very short 4 weeks of IT class I held for my 3ème class. I think for other subjects the curriculum just ended wherever they were in the syllabus. I find it odd how model school works and it seems like a waste of time for the students who attend - apparently they don’t think so because each year they come back for more. It’s like the beginning of a real school year that ends abruptly after 4 weeks - if you started the syllabus from the beginning you just stop before week 5. If you decided to start with some chapter from the middle of the book you continue for 4 weeks and then stop equally abruptly however far you made it in the book. We don’t have a syllabus to follow for IT, so I tried to give a well-rounded 4 week class to cover basics. In any case, it seems odd to do it that way, not that I have any bright ideas for changing things…

PST
And the moment we were all desperately waiting for…PST finally ended. I can’t explain how badly we needed a change of scenery - tensions were running high and we were all ready to move into the real world of doing what we came to do! I can’t speak for everyone else, but I was getting frustrated with training staff and the regulated, tight scheduled day to day routines of sometimes boring classes, repetitive technical, cultural and safety/security sessions etc. Being in a host family is fun and a great experience, but at some point you need to have your own place that you can call home where you can be alone - somewhat of a new comfort zone. Don’t get me wrong, I love my host family, and I have nothing against any of the members of the Peace Corps staff! They were all great trainers. Its just, well, the lack of control over your diet, hours of sleep, level of privacy, being under someone else’s roof, screaming babies, howling dogs, TV at full volume 20 hours a day, and having to share limited space becomes a tough way to live for extended periods of time. But again, training was awesome overall, and I have nothing against the way it took place and what we did or the people who ran it!! It’s all part of your tour with PC and it did prepare me for what was to come (as much as we doubted it at times). Join Peace Corps! =]

A couple of us (I want to emphasize that “we” is in reference to the couple of people with whom I discussed this topic and I speak mostly for myself and not for them) were analyzing the training program and trying to decide what exactly bothered us the most and why it was the way it was, and also whether it was effective in accomplishing its goals.

We decided that in general (emphasizing the IN GENERAL!! part) there are 3 types of PCT. There are two extremes - on one end you have well-travelled and culturally experienced people who need very little training with respect to learning how to adapt to one’s new environment - these people could be ready to go into the field after a week or two of training that cover details about the locals and their new setting. On the other end are people who have never left the US, have very little to no experience with cultures different from very “American” ones. They need a lot of “training” and benefit greatly from just about every cultural, safety and security and other sessions. Without them they are completely overwhelmed and they probably tend to ET (Early Termination, or “I would like to go home now please”). The biggest group of people fall in between those extremes, and it is for the latter two groups that we think training is oriented towards. For this reason, some of us who fall in the former third of the spectrum were getting very frustrated and were ready to move to our sites several weeks prior to the end of training. I will leave it at that, and en gros, the end of training was well deserved and we now know why training is usually the hardest part of your 27 months of service in the Peace Corps. I don’t mean to offend any fellow trainees, PC staff or anyone else for that matter, this discourse wasn’t personal - just some grand generalizations.

On the other hand, the end of training also included an emotional departure from the families who generously opened their doors and adopted us. There was a collective farewell ceremony where we presented certificates of participation to representative members of our families (Burkinabé like certificates and awards and things that demonstrate any and all accomplishments - they represent a CV or résumé). However, it was the individual good-byes that we each had with our own host family that were rough. I know some trainees cried, host mothers cried, little brothers and sisters cried, and even older teenagers and men cried. There was lots of crying all around the board, and in a society where one does not cry in public, it means a lot to both the families and their stagiaires. So thanks to all families who participated, it was an honor to stay with you, and we, the trainees, very much appreciate the knowledge we gained and the experience we had in your homes. Thanks for welcoming us Americans with weird habits and food preferences into your lives and I hope it continues as successfully as our experiences were.

Ouaga
We stayed a night at the training center where we first arrived oh so long ago (seems that way anyhow) and the following morning loaded onto the same bus we used to come up here and headed for Ouaga, the capital and headquarters for Peace Corps Burkina Faso. I personally enjoyed going back to Ouaga for a bit. I spoke with a couple people who did not like being in a big city and wanted to fast-forward to being at site and in village. Being in Ouaga had a distinct “big city” feel to it while at the same time you knew you were in Africa, and that’s what I really liked about it. I liked being able to go out to a restaurant at night and get really good food, even food that you could serve in the states, while at lunch you could find a guy in front of half an oil drum grilling brochettes and making sandwiches for $1 that you knew would give the average American diarrhea for a week (we are no longer your average American!). Also going into Marina Market, that looked like a grocery store straight out of France - Lu Petit Beurre, real Nutella, Champion brand Moutard de Dijon and all - while right outside you could be hounded by women selling bananas, papayas and lemons balanced on their heads. I enjoyed the combination of those two worlds, although I’m happy I don’t live in Ouaga. The pollution was definitely a factor and after only a couple days there I noticed an increase in phlegm deposition at the entrance to my lungs - detailed but true.

Some of the delicious meals I had the pleasure of degousting (degouster conjugated in English) were burritos and a real chocolate milkshake (at the recreational center for the US embassy), cheeseburger, Vietnamese spring rolls and sweat and sour pork, and at one of the fanciest restaurants in town where a main course still only brought your bill to the grand total of $15, a chicken sautéed with onions, green peppers, carrots and plantains. It was amazing. Not only the chicken and plantains but all the meals we had in Ouaga including the chwarmas and brochette sandwiches we got on the side of the road.

Quick side note - do all my likes and dislikes really revolve around food and eating? More and more I get the feeling that they do…

We had another safety and security session (yes it was another repetition), a health session (again, seen it all before), and some administrative stuff (this however was new!). At night we’d gorge on food, and then after all the admin was taken care of our free time was spent shopping. We received our living allowances and those of us who would not be staying in a regional capital could buy things in Ouaga to take to site in the PC vehicles. I spent lots at Marina Market stocking up on things like 3 liters of olive oil among other stuff. I also bought a bunch of stuff for the kitchen like plates, pans, etc etc. Lots of stuff I can find in Koudougou, but it was supposedly cheaper there and they had a nice variety so I got it anyway.

We got a tour of the PC headquarters (aka The Bureau), and met lots more PC staff who work behind the scenes. I also picked up a package!! (thanks mom) Love packages! We then got an introduction at the American embassy by the ambassador and several of her staff. We then saw the volunteer transit house (all these places are in the same neighborhood in Ouaga) and got to grab some books from the library of reading material left by previous volunteers. It’s a “take a book read it and put it back, and contribute any you don’t want” policy. I didn’t find much that interested me (I also didn’t get first picks) but I did get a mini version of the Joy of Cooking. =]

Friday the 29th of August was our official Swear-In ceremony at the ambassador’s house. Several trainees gave speeches in local languages as well as in French, and then we swore in. It was the first time I have ever sworn to uphold the US constitution and felt kind of weird to do so. I think for others it was their first time too. In any case, when that was over it became official - we became genuine authentic right out of the box Peace Corps Volunteers. Then we chased down the platters of delicious food and grabbed glasses of wine to celebrate. Indeed the food was great, although the salty stuff ended too soon and then I ate too many “desert” things and didn’t feel so good after. After that we went out for more drinks and had home-made chips and salsa. We were supposed to have an after party at the hotel where we had been staying all week, but it seemed like no body was really motivated anymore. Several of us did end up going back to the hotel and tried kicking off a party but it ended up being relaxed drinks outside on the terrace. We were up until really late which wasn’t good for those who had to get up at 7am to catch the bus out towards their sites! Most people, however, left on Sunday and so Saturday was another day of shopping and hanging around.

Basically most people were instructed to take public transport and wait for the PC vehicles filled with their bags to arrive in their regional capital where it would start dropping off bags with their respective owners, while others rode down in the vehicles with the bags and were dropped off directly at their sites. I got lucky and rode to site in the PC vehicle with Meaghan and was the first person to arrive at their site! I’m in Koudougou, 75km west of Ouaga, population of 132,000 (in 2006, according to Wikipedia). It’s the 3rd biggest city in Burkina Faso meaning that year round I can get vegetables and fruits (although they are seasonal, there’s always something, and most of the time a small variety) and just about anything else I would need to live and be comfortable (except a gas stove-oven combo which I am still searching for but have only seen in Ouaga).

So fast-forward to right here and right now - I am still in that air conditioned computer lab at my school. Its not exactly what I had in mind for my Peace Corps experience but it’s the work that I’ll be doing that counts. I wanted to be doing health work and living in village, but ended up doing IT work and living in town. Can’t be too picky when it comes to PC service…

Koudougou
I don’t know much about my lycée yet, except that about 2000 kids come to school here and we’re one of the very few establishments with a computer lab and 128k ADSL modem. I live about 2km from school, very near to my counterpart with whom I am currently staying. My house is about 500m from my counterparts, and is a 3 room, 1 douche, enclosed courtyard kind of place. I have a living room area, my bedroom and a spare room that I don’t quite know what I’ll do with. The kitchen is a separate building that is connected to the main house by the covered porch, or “hangar”. In one corner behind the house and kitchen is the outdoor shower and latrine. The 1 douche I spoke of is supposed to be an indoor shower room, where one could pipe in water and have a real shower, but I think its even too small to comfortably take a bucket bath in. So I will probably close that door and never go in again - there’s a shower area and latrine outside. I have an enclosed courtyard which means there’s a 2 meter high wall around my whole house and garden. The garden/courtyard is pretty big (about the size of a volleyball court) and I have a very attractive lime-green gate. At present I have one mango tree, a small plantation of peanuts and a whole lot of grass and weeds that are almost as tall as the wall. Apparently the solution is to “find some kids in the neighborhood to come and rip it all out” and to cultivate the peanuts soon. I think that means pulling up the plants and ripping off the peanuts? I don’t know I’ve never harvested peanuts. Apparently you can “get kids to do it” too. Kids here are so used to doing whatever adults tell them to do that if there’s a white person around who needs help doing anything (washing clothes, cleaning, weeding, getting water from a well/pump, or even harvesting the peanuts in his yard). One of my neighbor kids has already offered his services and casually mentioned that he needs a bag for school so I told him if he gets his friends together and helps me clean up my place when I move in that I’ll buy him his bag - I think it runs like 1500cfa max ($4).

In the mean time, like I said, I’m living at my counterpart’s house. His name is Alain by the way. He is in charge of the computer lab at school but is mainly a Physics teacher. I guess I’m taking over for his computer lab duties so he can focus more on the teaching. I will also be doing my fair share of teaching - that is why I’m here, among other things.

What have I been up to since I got to Koudougou, you might be asking yourself? I also have been asking myself the same question. The answer is a lot of waiting, bargaining and spending (but mostly the waiting). Waiting takes place at Alain’s house in front of his 3 French channels (TV5 Monde Afrique, Direct 8 and France 24), or internet stuff at my computer lab (email, reading lots of news, chatting with friends from home, skype). I have the luxury of staying at Alain’s place for as long as it takes to set up my house (he also likes the fact that I’m around all the time and he said “il n’y a pas le feu” which basically means there’s no rush to move out. Because of that, I haven’t roughed it out in a semi-furnished house like a lot of other volunteers might have for the past couple weeks, but have slowly been acquiring the necessities and setting up shop chez moi. Furniture is typically custom ordered either from an example picture or to your chosen dimensions, so Alain’s good friend, Ziba (who is now my best friend), took me to a carpenter that he’s friends with (lots of friends of friends - everyone is everyone’s friend and they all want to be YOUR friend too) and I ordered a wardrobe, a double bed (should have gotten a woven cot but oh well), bed side table, kitchen table (for putting the stove on and preparing food), a nice chair and a table to eat/work on. While I was waiting for that stuff to be made (took about a week) I spent several days visiting various boutiques (what you call a shop here - kind of a stall on the side of the road, some bigger and you can actually go inside, some small and its all sitting out on display) and the grand marché looking for other stuffs. Stuffs like pots and pans, cooking utensils, forks spoons and knives, bowls, plates, huge buckets and basins for washing clothes and dishes, and the list goes on. And so did the bill. On and on and on, and near the end of November, before we get paid again, I’ll be scraping the penny jar and conveniently showing up at friends’ houses around meal times.

Still concerning spending, I had to deal with some problems with the house - namely unpaid water and electric bills, leaking roofs, shoddy carpentry work for the screen windows and doors (they also put the doors on backwards so they didn’t even open correctly) and light fixtures that didn’t work. Even the president (the PTA pays to rent a house for me so the president of the PTA rented a house that he owns) thought that the problems had been fixed but he never stayed around during the work in progress to verify that it was done properly so he was frustrated at having to call people back to redo things.
The President wins nonetheless because it’s his own house that’s being “pimped out” as I like to refer to it.

So in reference to the waiting bargaining and waiting more, all the things I had to buy, even from stores, had to be bargained for, and all the work that was done, had to be waited on. Things don’t move as quickly and efficiently as they might in the US or Europe, and people do things as they have time, and give approximate deadlines and meeting times - hence the waiting. With that said, the work always gets done.

Apart from the frustrations I have been experiencing with regards to the house and getting settled, I have also been enjoying myself (as hard as it may seem with all the complaining I just did - I got the worst out of the way). I go out every once and a while with Alain and Ziba and we get beers and see other people from the Lycée or from around town. I love eating out at night - street food is good and cheap - I always get achiéké (steamed grated manioc root with vegetables and fish usually) and beef and sheep brochettes and street salad (vegetables with a salad dressing). I’ve also met and chilled with Melissa, a SED volunteer in Koudougou, and Kelly who lives just out of town. It’s really good to be able to hang out with people who can identify with you, especially volunteers who have already been here for almost a year and know whats going on. During the start of service its hard to find people with whom you can vent, if its not family or friends over the phone. We made banana pancakes for Kelly’s birthday and they were amazing. I still haven’t started cooking for lack of a ready-to-use kitchen so I’m aching for more home cooking.

I’m done writing for today but I want to feed your thirst for vincentinafrica news so that’s going to be all for now; this post is long enough as it is and although I have more to say I’m going to save it for the next one. Thank you, come again. Oh and I’m still working on the pictures, they should be up with the next post.

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