Blogs from Hauts-Bassins, Burkina Faso, Africa

The rest of this entry will be pretty abbreviated just because it was a slow journey back to Ghana and would get really really frustrating a lot of times and I am still trying to block out the bad memories. Plus we did a lot and I’m just getting tired of typing so much! So the next day we went left Timbuktu for another LOVELY ride in a 4x4 back to Mopti. Our driver was a lot better this time so we didn’t get stuck in the sand as much. We got to Sevare in about 9 hours and said bye to Jacob and headed to an internet café to email our families and tell them we got back alive. We went to a hotel and decided to try to save a few dollars and sleep ... read more

I spent my last few days in the village wandering to my favorite places, saying goodbye, and handing out gifts. People loved the soaps, lotions, and flashlights from the US (thanks, mom!) as well as all of the little things from my house that won’t be making the trip home. The village fonctionnaires gave me lots of nice souvenir fabric and the villagers presented me with gifts, too: mountains of peanuts, mangoes, guinea fowl eggs, a really nice carved wooden stool. They showered me with benedictions and well wishes for my family, friends, and all of the American people. I took final trips to the school, the health center, local restaurants, friends’ houses, and the clandestine women’s dolo cabaret. I spent some time just hanging out with my neighbors in the courtyard. My colleagues from school ... read more

March 8 was International Women’s Day, a huge fête in West Africa. For several weeks the villagers were planning a department-wide celebration in Satiri. Everyone from a dozen villages was invited to an all-day event. All of the planning and organization was done by village women who met each week at the Prefet’s house. Naturally there were a couple of important village men that couldn’t stand seeing something be organized without their direction; they attended and pretended to run the meetings. The women let these men do their thing but directed their loyalty toward their female leaders: the new Prefet and a few women fonctionnaires. Mme Sané, the doctor’s wife and the school secretary, was put in charge of organizing much of the ceremony. She is smart, trustworthy, and too nice to refuse to help ... read more

The weather in January was downright bearable. The dry winds from the north brought lots of dust and a strange coolness. The days were in the high 80’s/low 90’s but the sun was less intense and the nights were cool: below 70 even! This was freezing for the villagers. They were bundled up in your old winter coats and huddled around fires at night, all complaining about the cold. School started thirty minutes late each morning because it was considered unjust to expect the students to arrive in the bitter early morning cold. As for me, I’m enjoying each day that it’s cool enough to sleep in my bed on a mattress and not on a cot outside. But it won’t last long now. “The Cold” has already left us and we’re headed quickly toward ... read more

So I went into Ouaga last weekend and I had written out a whole blog update, then I forgot it in the village. So sorry for the delay and the back-dated entry. CDP got the most votes in the elections and now have a majority in the national assembly. Not sure what that means for the country exactly. Still hot here. People keep telling me that the rainy season starts in mid-May and then it gets cooler. It’s mid-May. I’m still waiting for rain. I biked in to Bobo this morning with my neighbor, and a little section of the road has been paved. That little piece was wonderfully smooth and not dusty to ride on. A couple weekends ago in the village was the dance of the masques. It is almost planting season, and ... read more