Blogs from Ouagadougou, Centre, Burkina Faso, Africa - page 7

Hey everyone I finally got pictures, but got an hour to spend on internet and I know it will take a while to donwload them on the blog. So i'll only put pictures today and come back to tell you more about my life either later or tomorow. See you all... read more

Life is not easy... If you would have an idea of how many times a day I hear this sentence!!! It's insane! But it's true and even on my side. It's been almost 2 weeks in Burkina faso now but I feel like it's been forever. But first, let's start with the basic good and bad stuff. New things happened in my contract. First, I am now the one paying my own rent. But the good thing is that the NGO is giving me extra money for that. So with that money I was able to get the house I wanted. It's so nice. I can't wait to send you all pictures soon. The only thing is that it's not furnished. SO i had to buy a fridge for 300 bucks, a little stove thing for ... read more

Formerly known as Upper Volta, in 1984 President Thomas Sankara renamed the country Burkina Faso. In the dominant Burkinabe language this means "Land of the Incorruptibles", and was one of many steps taken towards improving the economy and the lives of increasingly poor population. His reforms worked too, until in 1987 another army coup led to Sankara's arrest and execution. Recently in a league table taking into account health, GDP and development, the United Nations ranked Burkina Faso 175th out of 177 countries. Compared to my last blog for Mali where I struggled to know what to leave out, for Burkina Faso I don't really know what to write about. I only stayed at two places, the capital Ouagadougou, and the equally wonderfully named Bobo-Dioulasso. Both were pleasant and seemingly in no way as poor ... read more

I've heard great things about the mail system in Burkina: packages usually get here in a month, letters arrive in two or three weeks! In Guinea it took three months to never to get a package. Here's my new mailing address: Rose Corps de la Paix Américain B.P. 1065 Bobo-Dioulasso Burkina Faso West Africa There are even cell phones that work here! My number is (011 226) 76279349 International text messages are pretty cheap. I'll respond if you text me.... read more

I'd been anticipating the Moro Naba ceremony ever since I first read about it. I envisioned a procession of kings and dignitaries in extravagant, colorful finery. Based on what I knew, it only happened on Friday mornings around dawn, when kings from neighboring areas came to pay homage to the Moro King, reenacting a page from Burkina Faso's history. As I danced to Prince til the wee hours of the morning, I opted to stay awake all night, rather than risk missing the Moro Naba. When the rooster crowed (literally), I sprang into action, hailing taxis and rallying laggards so as not to miss the magnificence of the ceremony on our last day in town. Marquis had volunteered to be our guide and met us at the prearranged place and time. We taxied over to the ... read more