Advertisement
Hey everyone
I hope you're all doing well. Not really sure where to start this one, cuz there are about a hundred unrelated things I want to talk about. I'll do my best to keep it organized!
So on Wednesday night my boss from Ottawa arrived in Burkina Faso for a visit. He's staying about a month and it's great to have him here since he's a familiar face and we get along super. Even better, he brought with him my birthday present from some of the Scottish ladies: the entire series of Sex and the City on DVD!!!! 😊 Oh man... how can I express my joy at receiving this here? It was a definite highlight in my trip so far! I have been busy with work and dinners and stuff like that, so I didn't get a chance to sit down and watch them until last night. Jeff and Pascal were good sports and decided they would watch the first episode with me, just to see what this show was like. They seemed to enjoy it but didn't stick around for episode 2. Or 3. Or 4-6. Yup, I definitely watched half of season 1 last night in one shot! IT WAS AMAZING!!!! I think if I could get all of seasons 1 and 2 of Grey's Anatomy here, I might not ever need to come home. So the bottom line is: Thanks Ladies! The movies made my day!!!!
Next piece of news: I may have made a new friend. Last night while working late at the office (like every other day Monday through Friday) our watchman came into my office and said there was someone outside who wanted to meet me, some girl from the neighbourhood. I was like, really? Who? I was thinking maybe Chantal the intern was back from the field early or something, but really wasn't too sure. So I wander out, and it's definitely a local girl standing here, about my age, and she lives across the street from the guest house. I guess she had seen me coming and going over there and just wanted to come over to say hi and maybe see if I wanted to hang out sometime. (!) So I was really glad to meet her, although it took me a minute to figure out why she was there, which really was just to say hello. She was born in Burkina Faso but her parents are from Mali, and her name is Miriam (or something like that). That's pretty much all I know about her. She says she's going to stop by the guest house tonight to say hello, but I forgot that we have more people from Ottawa arriving today so I might not be there. Anyway, having her come over like that is a most unexpected occurance! I am actually not too sure how to handle it. I mean, I'm always glad to make a friend, but when you're white and privileged here, it is important to be aware that sometimes people don't have the most honest intentions when it comes to befriending you. Many people see you as a way out of their poverty, like "maybe if she likes me she'll take me to Canada with her". I'm not kidding, I've had Burkinabes who live in Canada tell me this is the case. My first instinct is always to sort of trust people, so it's hard for me to seem skeptical about her, especially because my gut is getting me she seems genuine. But you never know. Anyway, stuff you don't have to think about in Canada! Sheesh!
I'm hoping Jeff will remember our deal to go out on the town a bit today to a native art dealer he likes, and to the GOLD store our company deals with here. Yup, that's right: a GOLD STORE. 😊 Very much looking forward to this. Basically it's a spot where a reputable jeweler the company has sniffed out keeps some raw gold and some jewelery and you can get it for much cheaper than you can in Canada because all the gold is produced locally. I think it's something like $10 a gram? Does that sound right? Anyway, I definitely intend to have a look and come pay check time... I might go shopping!
In other news, I think I have finally worked out my vacation. I have hummed and hawed substantially about when I can go and where I want to go, etc. The kicker is trying to space them out somewhat evenly while still coming home for Christmas. Since I get three 2-week breaks (about one every quarter) and three flights home (or equivalent) I decided to split up my first round of vacation into two one-week bits and take one soon and one in the new year. So it's gonna look something like this:
-One week: end of July, beginning of August, probably gonna go to Spain or Greece or Europe somewhere where I can have a real shower and get prettied up and enjoy some good weather. I've spoken to my host family there and they're more than happy to have me visit anytime, so that's always nice!
-Two weeks: beginning of September, climb Kilimanjaro. I think my travel agent is going to kill me cuz I've moved the dates about a hundred times, but I'm seriously gonna go do this. One week for the climb, then spend 4 days on the beach in Zanzibar. Lovely.
-Two weeks: Dec 21-Jan4 Christmas back in Ottawa. I think I'll be good and ready for some cold weather by then!
-One week: March sometime-ish. I will have used up all my flights by then, so I think I'm just gonna fart around Africa a bit, and maybe head to places like Ghana or Benin that are relatively safe and I know people, etc. I will be more comfortable and more experienced with Africa and maybe meet a travelling buddy. I was going to take my Europe visit here, but I think visiting Europe in summer is FAR superior to Europe in March!
Anyway, that's the plan. I was seriously thinking about going to Australia but even for 2 weeks if I could swing it, it's just too damn far and there's too much to see. By the time you're over your jet lag you have 4 days and then have to come home. So I think I'll save it for when I've got a good month to spend there. Maybe on the way home from Africa??? 😊
Ok, folks, enough ramblings from me. I hope you're all great, so keep the comments coming. Take care and enjoy the Stanley Cup finals! Go Oilers!!!
-Brownie
Advertisement
Tot: 0.28s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 7; qc: 69; dbt: 0.1994s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Hans/Frans
non-member comment
Sooo jealous
I am soo jealous right now reading about all the fantastic places ur gunna be going, man if i had teh money i would join you for every adventure. take lots of pics! oh and if you wanna bring me back som gold, well i'd never turn it down! tee hee! love you, miss you, hugs and kisses. H/F.