So it's Saturday night, and I'm in the mood to drink heavily. If I were in Ottawa right now, the LK and I and the girls from the team would all be over at our place having a few drinks, getting ready, and probably watching the hockey game. We'd get our game on at some bar, and end up really sloppy, and stop off at the diner on the way home at 4am for some poutine. (sigh). Those were the days... As it is now, I am sitting in the office ready to poke out my eyeballs wondering what the hell [View Full Entry]

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Heya everybody So the rainy season started off last night with a bang. They had been saying that it would start in the next couple of weeks, but I think the fact that it was pouring last night means it's actually started NOW. I'm not too sure what to expect from the next few months, where weather is concerned. My last trip here was at the tail end of the rainy season and it didn't actually rain that much. But it's raining again today (which of course means we lost power for a bit) and doesn't show any sign of letting [View Full Entry]

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Hey everybody I hope you're all doing super. Things here are good, and getting better all the time. My eyes seem to ahve recovered from whatever crazy burning there was, but I'm still not convinced it had anything to do with what the doctor gave me... but whatever! So I've been eating a lot of good food here, as I have already mentioned. Something I never brought up though, was the kebabs or "brochettes" that they have here, and are pretty much the equivalent of street meat. People sell them all over the place, along with other breads and stuff, like [View Full Entry]

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Hey everybody I hope you're all doing super. Things here are definitely exciting as always! Yesterday I finally changed rooms, so I'm really able to get settled now. Although this new room is a bit smaller than my previous one, I actually like it a lot more. It's cozier, and feels a lot less empty, for one. It also has some nice features like a ceiling fan, a bug net on the bed, and a mirror in the bathroom; all things my previous room did not have. It is on the first floor of the villa, rather than the second floor [View Full Entry]

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Hey everyone I hope Ottawa is treating you all well. Things here in Burkina Faso are moving along. Hard to believe I've only been here just over a week. Seems like months... I'm almost entirely over my sickness now, which is good because bolting through the office to the bathroom is not something I consider very dignified! Last night I managed to eat some good dinner, and wow, was it EVER GOOD. I don't know if I've talked about Burkinabe food yet, but those of you who know me well know that I would never dare live in a country where [View Full Entry]

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Well, it was bound to happen eventually. I got really really sick! Friday night I had a great dinner and drinks with our company manager here, and we actually stayed up chatting quite late. But then when I went to bed, I got hit by a wave of diarrhea and then the fun really got started... The whole next day I was in bed with fever and chills and a headache, joint pain, nausea, and of course some more diarrhea. I actually slept in bed under the covers in pajama bottoms and long johns cuz I was freezing! In Africa!!! Oh, [View Full Entry]

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Hey everyone So there's the peacock that lives across the street from us, and it meows. No word of a lie, it seriously meows. I was getting out of the truck one evening at the guest house, and I heard this really loud "ME-OW" sound, but it was so clear it sounded like a person immitating an animal rather than a real animal. So I asked the watchman "What is that sound?" and he said "It's the peacock, he lives across the street. Haven't you ever heard a peacock before????". Of course having never heard any animal other than a cat [View Full Entry]

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Hello everyone Lots of change going on these days. It looks like I'm not keeping the giant suite in the guest house (too bad!) since one of the geos is moving out next week and his room has a complete ensuite bathroom with a SHOWER. So on Tuesday I'm making the move. I also changed offices this morning. I had just sort of set up a workstation in reception until today, but they put me at a proper desk in the accounting department. Since I work alone, it doesn't really matter where I sit, so it's not a big deal. I [View Full Entry]

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Hello everyone I hope you've all been having a good week. It's hump day! Of course when you're an expat who works 7 days a week, that expression loses some of its meaning... Yesterday was an exciting day, lots going on here in Ouaga. In addition to losing power at the guest house, the office lost internet and phone connection for a couple of hours too. Since there was no way to get work done, one of the geos and I went on a little trip to the Artisanal Village. This is a project sponsored by the local govt and the [View Full Entry]

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Hello everyone! It's already been an exciting morning here in Burkina Faso, and I've only just arrived at the office. Apparently the power in the guest house isn't working, so there was no electricity. Funny enough, I actually did my whole morning routine and didn't even notice! See there is no point to a hair dryer here since your hair dries in about 5 seconds anyway. So there you have it, no power. The office is running fine though, so that's good news otherwise I couldn't post this message to all of you! Yesterday was a pretty good day here. Things [View Full Entry]

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