Endorphin High

Africa » Burkina Faso » Centre » Ouagadougou
May 25th 2006

Published: May 25th 2006

Heya everybody
Wow, so I feel like a million bucks! Maybe more!

I finally got off my keester and took my first run. You see today is a holiday so I am only obliged to put in a few token hours at the office. So I slept in (until 9, hardly a sleep-in by Ottawa standards but I loved it!) and went to the office for a bit. Then I came back, had lunch, etc. and did more work until about 4. Then I decided for some reason that I really wanted to go running. I think being so sedentary (sitting 12 hours a day behind a desk is the definition, I'm sure) was really getting to me and maybe part of why I was feeling so low before. So I checked to make sure it was ok (since it's light out I figured it would be fine) and around 4:30 I hit the dirt road!

This run was significant in many ways:

1. It was my first stretch of really strenuous physical activity since I've been here.
2. I got to go by myself which I almost never get to do.
3. I lasted more than my projected 10 mins. 😊 A whole 20 mins! Woot!

This pales in comparison to my runs in Canada which were more like 45 mins to an hour, but in Canada it wasn't 42 degrees! Actually, the hardest part of the run wasn't the heat, it was actually the air. Since the roads are not paved here and it hasn't rained in several days, the air is full of dust. So after awhile it hurts to breath not because you're tired, but because your throat is sore like you've just smoked 5 cigarettes in a row (at least that's what I imagine it to be like). Not sure how I'm gonna overcome that one, but we'll see.

After the run, I was kind of dizzy and disoriented, and absolutely DRENCHED with sweat (definitely equivalent to as sweaty as I've ever been), but I was feeling so good that I didn't want to stop exercising. So I took my yoga printouts (thanks LK!) and headed to the roof. I did about another 20 mins of yoga up there, which also felt fantastic. It was kind of gross cuz I was REALLY dripping by then but it was a great after-run-not-tired-yet workout. Lovely.

Then I came back downstairs still not ready to give in, so I had a lovely stretch on the patio. Terri will attest to how much I love stretching after a workout, and this seemed to fit the bill. So by then I figured I was almost done, so I headed to my room to have a shower. But then I caught a glimpse of my exercise ball and did some ab work (just a little bit) for good measure. This is like the Neverending Workout!

After all that I had a VERY satisfying shower and came back to the office. I have drunk almost 2 litres of water in the 30 mins since that workout, and my body seems very glad to be rehydrating. My vision is returning to normal. I think if I can make this run/yoga a fairly regular thing, I'll be able to conquer whatever Canadian summer throws at me!

Anyway, now you know the story of why I currently at my most happy since I've been here: a crazy endorphin high! Yeah! Also, I need to send special thanks out to LK and Terri for supplying me with hand-me-down MP3 and headphones. That combo has been MAGIC here since our villa doesn't even have a stereo. It makes the workouts (and other quiet time) much more enjoyable. Thanks, ladies!

As for non-workout related news, there have been some develpments in a few areas here. Turns out my housemate (our VP exploration) is having a birthday on the weekend, but the guy who normally plans that stuff is out of town, so it fell to me to organize something. Since I'm loving the roof so much, I've planned a rooftop party! Should be fun! All the staff are going to be there, and some expats we work with from other companies. It will be a nice social event, and I definitely wasn't about to miss it, so I moved my trip to the field back one day. The perks of being the party planner!

Also, I'm applying to take a course in MALI for 2 weeks!!!! It's part of the well-drilling stuff that we're doing. You need to do basic hygiene and sanitation education in the villages where you put these wells in because in a lot of cases there are huge misconceptions about where diseases come from and how they spread, etc. That is something I found on my last trip that people in developed countries really take for granted. We know what germs are and bacteria are. People living in rural villages here do not. I actually visited a village where they would all wash their hands in the same bowl (we're talking dozens of people) and then a child would drink it so that it could make him strong. Now, if the child actually survived whatever illness he probably got, I bet he was strong! But you see how there is a real gap in what we consider common sense, but is really just socialization. ANYWAY, (sorry for the development rant) the point is that you can't just plop a well down anywhere you want and hand it over to people to use without showing them the basics of how to use it properly. This kind of sanitation education is a big thing over here and part of what makes wells sustainable. So we initially had an NGO here doing it, but they're the guys that were overcharging us like crazy and we're not using them anymore. So I found an organization here (called CREPA: Centre Regional d'Education Pour Assainissment) who teaches people how to teach people hygiene issues. So in the interests of cost-effectiveness and other issues, I'm going to Mali for 2 weeks to take this course so I can teach people in the villages how to conduct hygiene education in their own communities. I think it's brilliant because it not only saves the company a lot of money (it will cost less than a quarter of what the NGO would have charged us) but I also get to learn some new things, and we get to empower local people to teach each other these issues. Of course I'll be there to help them do the training, but it's really them who will be teaching their own communities. SO COOL!

We have offices in Mali so I'll be staying at the villa over there. I even know the manager of that office so it will be good to have someone I know. Admission to the course is limited, though, and they require a sort of application with your educational background and CV etc. So hopefully I can get a spot. If not, that puts a big wrench in the plan... The course isn't until July though, so I'll have a bit of time to find an alternative if this doesn't work out.

So there you have it! That's the news of the day. I hope you've all enjoyed this episode of my African saga. Sorry, it's a long one. Let me know how you're all doing (I'm loving the comments) and keep well everyone.

Much love,
-Brownie

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