Arrival in Ouagadougou, PanAfrican Film Festival

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I found out on Tuesday around 4 pm that I would be leaving Mali at 6 am on Wednesday, headed for Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. We were taken to a bus station where we boarded a Greyhound-style-but-crappier bus that left nearly on time. The seats were small (five to a row where a Greyhound would have four) but we were each guaranteed our own seat and the bus was not overloaded. As it got later it got sunnier and hotter and the Burkinabe don’t seem to like to open their windows. The bus stopped about every half hour, making what should have been a five to six hour ride take twelve hours. Yet, we didn’t break down or transport any animals, so after my bush taxi experiences in Guinea I was rather impressed with the quality Burkina’s transport system.

We spent one night in Bobo and were taken by PC car to Ouagadougou the next morning. Pronounced "oo-ah-gah-DOO-goo", or called Ouaga for short, the capital of one of the world’s poorest countries is still significantly nicer than Conakry. Ouaga actually has garbage cans and trash collection. The mayor even hires people to sweep the streets. There are wide boulevards, divided highways, and some roads even have bike lanes and crosswalks. Parts of downtown look very nice, with tall buildings and some interesting architecture. There also seem to be some charming hotels and restaurants. And there are strawberries.

We arrived here in the middle of FESPACO, a huge West African film festival held every two years. The event draws lots of European tourists as well as every Burkina PCV and roaming traveler. When I walked into the PC house for the first time, the first person to greet me was a fellow Guinea volunteer, now traveling before returning to the States. A handful of them have passed through, so I’ve had old friends around to ease the transition to the new country. With all of the Burkina volunteers in town, I’ve met a lot of new people, and they have all been very cool.

We started training immediately after we arrived with an intro to Burkinabe history, culture, and local language. I’ve started learning Jula, hinting that my post will be somewhere in the southern region, which is a little hillier and greener. In general Burkina is hot, dry, flat, and dusty. It would be nice to be somewhere with a little shade. We are scheduled to leave for our villages in the middle of this week.

Training, however, prevented me from seeing movies during the film festival. I heard about some great films (some from Guinea even) and I was excited to finally go see a film on Friday. We went to the theater, bought tickets, and got a place in the line/mob waiting for the doors to open. It was the last night of the festival, and as it turned out the movie playing was Blood Diamond with Leonardo DiCaprio. It was a good film - interesting, disturbingly realistic - but I still came all the way to the West African film festival to see an American flick dubbed over in French.

The other night the Burkina PCVs held a farewell party for the Administrative Officer, Jeff. He had us all over to his house and made dinner for everyone. We played fooseball and had a dance party, then somebody juggled fire and there was a total lunar eclipse. Then there was more dancing followed by Jeff playing the guitar and everyone singing along to “Puff the Magic Dragon.” Ah, Peace Corps.

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Comments

[Jaim]

FOOSE!!
Hey there Rosie: Just thought I would add in that you and the Jackson Five probably got spanked by the opposing team! hahaha! I love beating you in that game! Its grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr 8! Miss you girl! Hope all is well and continue to keep us posted. Stay Safe! ~~Love, JAIM