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 [View Full Entry]

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I’ve now been living in Satiri for over a year! The second trimester of school just ended, I’m on spring break, and the weather keeps getting hotter. I had to stay put in the village for a couple of weeks at the end of February because of nation-wide strikes and demonstrations. The people were protesting the high cost of living and in particular a new import tax. There were demonstrations in many major cities, beginning with Bobo. Protests turned to destructive riots - tires burned, roads and cars were damaged or destroyed. Predictably, there were those who took advanta [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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After several months of landlocked dustiness, almost every Burkina PCV makes his pilgrimage to that dreamy Anglophone coast where rivers flow year-round and the trees are always green: Ghana. Land of development, diversity, and luxury…at least by Peace Corps Burkina standards. I traveled with a group of 10 other volunteers (for my reference: Christina, Julia, Zack, An, David, Liz, Marty, Yanneth, and Cassandra) by bus. We bought tickets in advance and were told the bus would be leaving “right away” at 7 a.m. So we were at the bus station, tickets in hand, at 6:30. [View Full Entry]

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Elmina and Cape Coast are two coastal cities that served as ports in colonial times, and their 15th-century castles still stand. Their histories are hideous. Elmina castle was built in 1482 by the Portugese and served as a trading post for ivory, gold, and later slaves. It was captured by the Dutch in 1637 then purchased by the English in 1872. During 300 years of slave trading, more captives passed through this castle than any other trading post in Africa. As slaves became the focus of commerce, the castles storerooms were converted to dungeons and held up to 1200 slaves at [View Full Entry]

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I ni la fila! Ca fait deux jours, deh! I know…it’s been a long time since I’ve updated… The rainy season ended in October and the last month has been harvest time. This year’s rainy season came too late and didn’t last long enough, so the corn harvest has been weak. Since corn is the staple food, many villagers are concerned about shortages later in the year. Some other crops were “gatés” as well, and some, such as millet and cotton, seem to have done alright. Bike paths that once crossed vast stretches of sand are now canopied by ta [View Full Entry]

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For Thanksgiving this year, Radhika and Leslie kindly planned us a grand camping trip in Sindou, in Southwestern Burkina. PCVs came from all over the country to this scenic but remote town. Since there is no regular public transport to Sindou, all of the volunteers had to find their way - most biking, some hitching rides with bread trucks. I threw my bike on a bus that dropped me at Mahon, a small village along the paved road. As I was tying my things to my bike, PCV Cory rolled up, surprised to see another tubabu. I hadn’t seen Cory [View Full Entry]

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School officially “started” October 1st. I went to school at seven on the first day, only to find that none of the other teachers were in town. My principal was there, however, filling out paperwork for newly-enrolled students. The first day of school is the time to begin thinking about organizing classes, getting students enrolled, and making a schedule. Meanwhile any students who show up are put to work cleaning the school grounds - picking up garbage, cutting back weeds. I had been told that this year I would continue teaching math and add a physics and chemistry class. [View Full Entry]

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Early September was spent in the village, and as summer projects had wrapped up or petered out, there wasn’t much to keep me busy. The women of my courtyard were making shea butter from the nuts they’d collected in the fields all summer - a long, labor-intensive process. The cat was (and is) doing well, getting kinda chubby from all the critters she eats. She keeps the mice under control and snacks on crickets in her spare time. The neighbors love her for her pest-control services, and they always call her by her name - no one ever says “the [View Full Entry]

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One day a few other volunteers and I decided to take a quick trip to the north of Burkina Faso to see the Sahel, the dry, sandy region that’s not quite the Sahara. We had hoped to visit Oursi, a village about 40 km from the last major city in the north, Gorom-Gorom. Our travel guide described white sand dunes, ancient ruins, and camel treks. We figured we’d head up for a day or two and come right back. From Ouaga, we took a five-hour bus ride to Dori, a northern town that marks the official start of the Sahel. [View Full Entry]

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