ok, i'm off on another trip... but before i go, here is the link to my pictures from Peace Corps and my travels after.

the show is meager right now, but trust me that my efforts have been diligent. i have a few thousand pictures and am trying to put them up as quickly as possible, in a logical and interesting fashion.

hope you enjoy!

FOOT PRINTS

p.s. i still get mad when people hand me things with their left hand! grr... i guess the reintegration is going a bit slow on that aspect. but otherwise, i think i'm back to being a New Yorker. i've been spending a decent amount of time on the train and nothing will acclimate you to NYC better than the mass transit experience.

I was on the train the other day and remembered that the bus and train ticket systems in Brussels and Geneva were pretty much on an honor system. everyone is expected to buy their tickets and there are machines to check your ticket before you board, but no barriers to enforce that you actually do. For example, both systems have tickets available and machines on the bus or near the stairs that you take to reach the train waiting area, but no turnstile or gate to make sure that you do before boarding. how crazy is that? imagine that in NY - ha!

ok, til next time!

SURPRISE!!

Bonne arrivée à moi!! I arrived in NYC a few days ago to give my mom the best, happiest shock of her life. I asked her to pick up a friend of mine at the airport and host her for the night, but little did she know - she was picking me up, too! So, here is the picture of my terribly shocked mom at the airport a few nights ago. At least it was true that my friend did need a place to stay! And, that is the bag that i lived out of and lugged around all through West Africa, North Africa and Europe for the last two months. I think it started out as about 15 or 16 kgs and ended up as 20kg by the end of the trip. Not too bad!

It was so great to be back in NYC and know that I am completely done with my two years of Peace Corps service! When I saw the lights of NYC at night from the airplane window, I was transfixed by the beautiful lights and the sight of my hometown! A man in the seat in front of me said, "Isn't it lovely?" and the woman across the aisle from him replied in her charming Irish brogue, "Oh, it's just the best place in the world." "Amina," I thought to myself, which is the response to a blessing in several different Burkinabé languages. Though I finished with my service and had been travelling for two months, it was only upon seeing NYC that I realised that my Peace Corps service was truly and completely done. It was a thoroughly satisfying feeling. I left with no regrets, glad that I did indeed finally make it through.

Though, some parts of me still operate like a West African. I am annoyed when people hand me things with their left hand. I wonder to myself why they are so rude and then realize that it's ok, they are not being offensive or unhygienic. Or, still feel the need to ask someone how they are before asking for directions or help. In West Africa, you greet someone and inquire after their family, health, crops, etc... before getting down to whatever business you have with them. If not, they'll probably just lie to you or ignore you completely because what you did is really that offensive to them. Here, I just think to myself, "uh, Jenni, no one cares..." Also, I still feel the impulse to speak to strangers and service workers, like waiters and bus drivers, in French and then I remember that everyone speaks English and would probably think I'm just some lost tourist if I address them in French. Mais, en tout cas, peut-être, ç'est un peu vrai...

Thankfully, travelling around Europe for a few weeks took the edge off of arriving in the land of plenty. Morocco and Europe were my opportunities to marvel over the conveniences and luxuries of advanced development. Now, I am in NYC and am just glad to see friends and family and enjoy all the things that are special to me here. Tomorrow, one of the most exciting things on my agenda is to go to the library! I can't wait! I can't wait to go there and be surrounded by books upon books upon books! I perused the shelves of a charming English-language bookshop in Paris, but unfortunately did not get to just dive into piles of books as I would have liked. I'm looking forward to checking out any good new fiction to get myself lost in or some public health resources so I can further contemplate this field that fascinates me now and give some context to so many things I witnessed or participated in as a Peace Corps volunteer. The newest Salman Rushdie book is at the top of my list, as he is one of my favorite authors. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!!

And, sleeping in has been so great! I know - my body knows - that I don't have to get up, get on a plane, bus or train to travel to a different country within a few days and it's quite nice! I spent Saturday morning in bed reading one of my favorite books, the Rabbi's Cat by Joann Sfar - it was wonderful! Hot showers and oh, bubble baths are the best! This morning, for breakfast, I made breakfast burritos (well, my own Jenni-style version...) with two kinds of cheeses, spinach and CORN tortillas - YUM! I know that it might not seem like a big deal to you, but oh damn, how i missed all those things! Everything is just so yum, yum yum...

Well, I think I've gone on for long enough. Before I go, let me thank all of you for reading my blog these past two years. Thank you for your emails, care packages, texts, prayers and warm wishes. It was definitely one of the toughest experiences I've been through and it would not have been possible without the support of my loved ones back home and my loved ones in Burkina.

Thank you thank you thank you soooo much.

So, now that I'm done, let's celebrate!! Woohoo!!!

live from brussels!

but to rewind for a second: paris was lovely! i had a wonderful time and got to meet up with one of my dearest friends in the whole world and her husband. i was so content to be in a big city, free to roam around (because there are places to walk to and things to see), eat delicious food, experience the culture of museums and cathedrals and do as i please! it felt so familiar in comparison to all the other places i've been so far, yet still a setting that i had vague remebrances of. as i told my friend who was a Peace Corps volunteer in Burkina with me and has been my travelling companion, people must look at us oogling over all the comforts and luxuries of Paris and think that we are two Americans awed by French culture, but in truth, we are more like two kids from a Burkinabe village rediscovering the developed world. there are so many little things that we had forgotten about during our two years in mud brick huts. every little thing is such a joy to us. eating is the most amazing new adventure, amongst all the others that we are experiencing.

We went to Notre Dame, had a picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower, strolled around the Latin Quarter, watched the sunset from Sacre-Coeur, savored delicious sorbet across from the Louvre, etc... i saw the Mona Lisa as up-close-and-personal as it gets at the Louvre and i'm still unimpressed. any art historians want to give me an education? on the fashion front, leggings were all the rage in women's fashion and i am still undecided about whether i think it is acceptable to wear stockings in lieu of pants. i'm thinking: no.

i arrived in brussels yesterday by a quiet and comfortable train from paris. coming from paris, the city seemed a little dingy and dull from first glance but that was too quick of a judgement. after a day and a half of wandering, the city is pretty cute and manageable. the train and bus system are relatively small. overall, i am charmed. additionally, the city is quite foreignor-friendly as most people seem multi-lingual: french and flemish are the functional languages, but people also speak english and i've strained my ears to understand what i can of the many spanish conversations that i overhear. however, aparently, there are no cybers anywhere, as it has taken me a whole entire day to track this one down! the fast food restaurants have real, well-cooked, balanced meals served deli-style. it's delish! my body is happy to be well-fed (and well-clothed, after a much-needed defense-against-the-cold shopping trip in paris! hehee...).

ok, enough of my random ramblings... i'll post again if i can find another cyber. i've really wanted to upload photos, but haven't found a cyber with a reliable, fast connection. i guess that will wait until i am home in NYC. sorry, kids, i really do want to share my pictures.

be safe and take care. à la prochaine!

p.s. i am already shedding my west african french accent. to mourn or not to mourn?

assalaam alaykum! marhaba bikum!

it is 4am in my beloved Fès and I am listening to the morning call to prayer which is the last chance for Muslims to eat until sunset during the holy month of Ramadan. Yesterday, i left Essaouira (the windy city, as the t-shirts proclaim and the forbidding beach affirmed) and was only a little tired after a full day of travel, but unfazed as both the bus and the train left on time and reached their destinations in a timely, safe manner - this is an improvement on my recent modes of transportation. Today, i managed to fall into the nocturnal Ramadaan schedule of my hosts, which is to sleep most of the day and then spend the night socializing and eating to prepare for the day of fasting ahead.

this evening, we drove around Fès a bit and i must say that it has grown in the last few years. the main boulevard was always the most flashy and impressive part of the New City, but this glitz has grown exponentially with new hotels, complete with uniformed bellhops, and sidewalk cafés every few meters. i revisited my favorite part of Fès as i walked through the old medina, down the streets i knew and even past the little alley that leads to the house i used to live in. at the risk of recycling old metaphors about returning to a cherished place, i will say that it was as though time had compressed itself and i felt no difference between the steps i took today and those of several years ago in these same streets. Fès really is as lovely as i remember.

Ok, well, i'd really like to write more but i am tired, so any more details on Maroc will have to wait.

Greetings from the country where "Waaw" (sounds like "wow") is how everyone says yes! Wolof, the most widely-spoken local language in Senegal is hard for me to get in my head. With many aspirated sounds of Arabic and common words with Fulfulde (or Pulaar, as they call it here), my brain is never quite sure what is the meaning of the words that are coming through my ears. Though my new Wolof vocabulary is limited, it is of course versatile and efficient. I know how to say yes (Waaw), no, thank you, how are you?, i am fine and you are weird. Not too shabby, huh?

Great things to celebrate: On Friday morning, i took my last journey on transportation in West Africa! From here on out, it's airplane, baby! Whooohoo! On Friday, the ride into Dakar from Thies took more than 4hrs... for 70km! Quite appropriate for the two years of amazing adventures on decrepit modes of deplacement that I've experienced. Through the flooding that has drenched the outskirts of Dakar, we got the scenic route, squeezing our 7-place taxi through residential alleyways and puddles the size of kiddie pools. It was an absolute mess, but most commuters were quite courteous to one another - alleged, that is because we are in the month of Ramadan...

In my travels, I am moving slowly up the development ladder, from Burkina, to Mali to Senegal, and I have been amazed by the small increases in development and comfort. Most of the taxis are in better condition that any of the taxis I was used to in Burkina. (Though, they often still fail my three mirror check.) In a few days, I am off to Morocco. I am excited to go back after 4 years. I studied Arabic in Fes during college and had a great time. So, I am looking forward to returning and seeing what's changed.

ok, until next time! Ciao!

I suppose that I should get a new blog title since I am no longer a Burkinabe bebe...!

I have been free for exactly 25 days! No more worrying about Peace Corps rules, vacation days or having my professional and personal life too uncomfortably overlapping with each other! But, no more living life in Fulfulde and French, hanging out with my family in village or having the most flexible, unstructured job I will ever have. Ca va aller, as they say.

So, what did I do in my last few weeks? I finished up my last project, a girls camp for girls who were at the risk of failing their national primary school exam. (Check out pictures) I prepared myself for my many good-byes. I spent time with my family in village. Sincerely, I slept a lot, too. It's been an exhausting two years and the last few months were excessively tiring...thus, excessive sleeping. I think that I subconsciously decided to make up for all the sleep deprivation I've accrued since I was 11. School was over, all of my projects were finished and everyone was out in the fields planting during the day, so I'm took advantage of all this free time and slept like I won't be able to sleep again until I enter retirement. And, it was great!

I also started meditating regularly, working on focusing on the present moment and the things right in front of me. My living situation, as you all know, was the ideal place for such an endeavour. I had no distractions - at all, no electricity or anything to entertain myself but whatever came into my creative mind. You would think that such emptiness would make this practice that much easier, but it's surprising how the need to move, do and prove something is so persistent. Life in Burkina was so much slower and less stimulating than any situation I have ever experienced before. I've been a New Yorker since birth and have been on the move, setting goals and pursuing dreams since I was really young. It took great amounts of will and strength to overcome certain habits and ways of thinking and to give in to the pace of life.

When I did finally figure out how to slow down, I learned so much about myself - just from this one aspect of my life in Burkina. I learned to appreciate small accomplishments and to put some space in my mind between the reality around me and the incessant, internal commentary that shapes it. Well, at least, I'm trying to practice these things and hope that I can carry them with me wherever I go next in Life. In the end, I am grateful for my Peace Corps experience. It wasn't easy but if I really think back, it was what i asked Life to give me. I wanted a challenge, I wanted to be pushed and to be made into something new. I am sure that I can't see all the ways that it has affected me, changed me and re-created me from still-so close a distance.

I do know that the experience i gained in my village will forever shape so much of what i think about development - for better or for worse. More concretely, I was able to gain hands-on experience with public health issues on the rural village level. I had always been interested in international development/politics, but the interest was without a solid focus. From my perspective in village, the lack of control of their health was one of the greatest obstacles for my villagers to progress and shape their own lives. Also, the mentality that something as crucial as health is beyond their control cripples how they view their lives and the agency which they have to improve their situations. the lack of understanding regarding illness tranmission, treatment and prevention leaves them more vulnerable than just simply being sick. After my work in village, I am looking forward to seeing how much further I would like to pursue this new interest in public health. So, we'll see where this takes me...

But for now... all this Life-pondering is on hold. Right now, i'm in Senegal, enjoying the chance to travel without the worry of vacation days, living out of my backpack and just soaking up wherever I go with no better purpose than to just be there. and, it's great! I went from Burkina to Mali to Senegal by bus, so i have been slowly crawling up the development ladder. it has been an adventure. The place where I'm staying right now is the home of a friend's sister and has running water and wireless internet. oh, Life is good. I went to Dakar for a few days and it was so soothing and familiar to be back in a big city. The simple things make Life good. oh, Life is very good.

It's been great to have internet access and no longer be isolated and incommunicada in my little mud brick hut. (though, i must say it's odd not having a cell phone. i should probably relish this. when again in my life will a cell-phone-free life be possible or desirable?) I've been able to write emails and catch up on news, especially in regards to the American presidential race. Here's a little bit of presidential economics that I found quite interesting.

Ok, well, this entry was just to inform you all that i made it. I did the two years and I made it! it's an experience behind me now and I've got amazing travels and wonderful things ahead of me! So, i'll update again soon with details of these travels and hopefully some pictures, too.

And lastly, happy birthday to my beautiful sister!! XOXO

Once upon a time, the birds held a conference. The great bird-god, the Simurgh, had sent a messenger, a hoopoe to summon them to his legendary home far away atop the circular mountain of Qaf, which girdled the earth. The birds weren't particularly keen on the idea of this dangerous-sounding quest. They tried to make excuses - a previous engagement, urgent business elsewhere. Just thirty birds embarked on the pilgrimage. Leaving home, crossing the frontier of their land, stepping across that line, was in this story a religious act, their adventure a divine requirement rather than a response to an ornithological need. Love drove these birds as it drove the mermaid, but it was love of God. On the road there were obstacles to overcome, dreadful mountains, fearsome chasms, allegories and challenges. In all quests the voyager is confronted by terrifying guardians of territory, an ogre here, a dragon there. So far and no farther, the guardian commands. But the voyager must refuse the other's definition of the boundary, must transgress against the limits of what fear prescribes. He steps across that line. The defeat of the ogre is the opening in the self, an increase in what it is possible for the voyager to be.

So it was with the thirty birds. At the end of the story, after all the vicissitudes and overcomings, they reached the summit of the mountain of Qaf, and discovered that they were alone. The Simurgh wasn't there. After all they had endured, this was a displeasing discovery. They made their feelings known to the hoopoe who had started the whole thing off, whereupon the hoopoe explained to them the punning etymology that revealed their journey's secret meaning. The name of the god broke down into two parts: "si," meaning "thirty," and "murgh," which is to say "birds." By crossing those frontiers, conquering those terrors and reaching their goal, they themselves were now what they were looking for. They had become the god they sought.

-Salman Rushdie, "Step Across this Line"

setting out on the voyage to Ithaka

you must pray that the way be long,

full of adventures and experiences.

...

be quite old when you anchor at the island

rich with all you have gained on the way,

not expecting Ithaka to give you riches.

Ithaka has given you your lovely journey.

without Ithaka you would not have set out.

Ithaka has no more to give you now.

poor though you find it, Ithaka has not cheated you.

wise as you have become, with all your experience,

you will have understood the meaning of an Ithaka.

"Ithaka", Cavafy

three months left to go...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

(i know it's - what?- three weeks late, but better late than never, no?)

the terms of my service are until august 2008, therefore, i am down to my last six months of Peace Corps. unbelievable. Still focusing on my two main projects: health classes with primary school girls and girls club at the secondary school.

because i am not actually a health volunteer and have no public health training, i have been reading everything i can get my hands on to assess the needs that should be addressed in my health sessions and how to plan them. i recently read a book, "Dancing Skeletons" by Katherine A. Dettwyler, which was a great illustration of so, so many of the health obstacles i see everyday in my village - the poor nutrition of families, lack of varied diets, poor maternal health leading to sickly children, etc... Not everything corresponds to my experience in Burkina because her research takes place in Mali (even though the book is subtitled Life and Death in West Africa, it's really just Child Heath and Nutrition in Mali... but that's so much less dramatic), but it was wonderful to be able to contextualize my very overwhelming experience in Gorgdaji with the work of a nutritional antropologist in a similar West African country. You can read it to get an idea of how very basic the health and nutrition needs of my villagers are.

So, with my primary school girls, i have been working with them on hygiene because many people in my village are not aware of the connection between proper hygiene and better health, specifically through illness prevention. later in the year, i would like to address malaria because so many people are so often sick with malaria but dont take the proper precautions. information is available but the people do not know how to incorporate these ideas into practice. maybe if the children start to learn how to do things differently, then maybe one day there will be adults who do things differently. since the age range of the girls is so huge, 8-13 years old, i try to make the class as interactive as possible. we sing songs, read stories, discuss pictures of poor hygiene and anything else i can think of to avoid having these children just memorize some information, rather than understanding how specific concepts are releveant and important to their lives and maybe someday change their behaviour. i have no idea if i am making any impact at all. and i will never know.

since classrooms are typically so overcrowded, girls are often disadvantaged and teachers are overwhelmed and/or ridiculously unmotivated or discouraged, i aim, at the most minimum, to be able to give the girls attention and guidance they would not have the opportunity to experience anywhere else. i make a point of having the class applaud girls who participate and the class as a whole recognize when they've done something well. also, i try to get the girls to encourage and help each other. my last health session evolved into a small reading group after the class was dismissed. about 7 or 8 girls stayed behind to read the book that i had presented in class, so each of them got the chance to read about half the book by themselves, with my almost undivided attention, going over every word with them. you have no idea what a rare opportunity this was for these girls. it was wonderful.

at the high school, we have talked about how to make good decisions, such as, what are the steps one takes when they have something difficult to decide, who can be resources or role models, etc. we also discuss behaviour and characteristics that will help the girls succeed in school and in life. the girls are engaged and fun to work with. when i started to work with them at the end of the last school year, i focused on theatre activities just to get them to open up a little and do something different. they really enjoyed it, so i was thinking maybe i could incorporate some of that into what we do now, maybe as role plays. next semester, i hope to add AIDS/HIV education, since they are a very vulnerable demographic, and maybe some reproductive health, but only with the support of the health clinic staff.

ok, i have 5 minutes left at this computer, so even though i had more to say, i'll leave you all here. thanks for reading. thank you for all your support and love, mailed, emailed or just telepathically beamed to me from such long distances. i need it and appreciate it so much. thank you.

below is a picture from inside my house. i have mud brick walls which i chalk up with pictures and quotes when my insanity strikes me. the quote is from a book i recently read by V.S. Naipaul, called Between Father and Son. I really enjoyed it.

oh, no! 1 minute left. Gotta go!

So, the school year has started and the countdown begins. Nine more months to go.

I recently started a new project in village. i am teaching hygiene and health to primary school girls, ages 8-13. I just started and so far it's been good. I continue to have my girls club at the high school. We most recently talked about role models and the attitudes to adopt in order to succeed in school and beyond. I'll also continue with my women's savings-and-credit groups which i started last year and volunteer work at the local clinic.

as i've expressed in older blog entries, i see health issues as a huge obstacle for the development of the people in my village. i enjoy working with youth and, from my experiences in Peace Corps, have begun to believe that health is where i'd like to focus my energies. so, since educating and empowering youth is crucial to developing a healthy and productive society, i've decided to spend my last year in Peace Corps working with school-aged kids to help them develop better health practices. (Ok, let's not get too ambitious. just teach them about better health practices -developing them is another story)

so, this is a very mini-update. sorry, so short. love to all. send me your hugs, kisses and thoughts.

side note:

you all suck.

my inbox is empty.

my mailbox is empty.

granted, i haven't updated my blog since july, but i live in a mud brick hut.

you've all got 9 months to redeem yourselves.

Send me:

dried fruit (i love dried cherries!!)chai tea mix/tea bagschocolate syrup/hot choc mix (the cold season is coming and i WILL be shivering in 80 degree waether!)ready to eat/heat-and-eat meals (like the Indian or Thai ones you find at the grocery store)drink mixes - tang and country time lemonade are my faves!books (especially on economics, public health and development, to help me frame the experiences i am living)clif bars (nothing with peanuts or peanut butter, please! ewww....no!)candy photosmagazineslettersreally anything is wonderful. just to remind me that the outside world still exists and it loves me! merci beaucoup to ms. sullo and ms. fort for their recent postal love.

As I sit here, i am watching the most amazing rainstorm I have seen this season (granted, I live in the Sahel where it doesn't rain too often and also this rainy season just started... but...). the electricity has cut out a few times, yet still i press on to deliver my news to you. i just saw more sky-to-ground lightening than i have ever seen in my life! it's beautiful! I love rainstorms!

Last week, I had the chance to return to Ouahigouya, where I did my training a year ago, and help out with the training of the new Girls Education & Empowerment and Secondary Education volunteers who have recently arrived. I had the joy of returning to my host village of Komsilga for the community adoption ceremony of the newbies. It was almost overwhelming to realize how far I had gone in one year... that I have enough experience to train these new volunteers, to connect with them and provide support to both them and the training staff. Maybe I do know a thing or two about this vague, loosely-defined job of mine!

Standing in Komsilga, having gone there to escort the new trainees and finding myself welcomed by the women of the village as though i was their child, i realized that i had come full circle. in one year, i had gone so far and grown so much. my hand is so steady and sure now. i saw myself go full circle over the course of the past year. with my first step out of the van, i felt a sun set inside of me and heard the click of a circle being completed. the click of a seat belt is what it sounded like, just like security.

one of the staff facilitators joked that the village welcomed me back as though i was their princess. and indeed, i felt loved and treasured - by these people who don't know anything about how if i invested all the money in my bank account, it would be more than they'll ever see in their lives and could do so much for them; who know nothing about my life in the USA but accept me as who i am to them here. i felt so comfortable. i greeted everyone in Moore and Fulfulde. i went straight up to the chief and greeted him in Moore, completely at ease. i could understand most of, or at least the gist, of everything that was going on in Moore.

the little kids stood close to me, calling out my name as the trainee adoption ceremony went on. the girls that i cherished sheepishly made eye contact with me, but their modesty quickly dissolved as they reciprocated my smiles. i looked over at the elder men of the village and they nodded approvingly to me, as though i had come home. in some ways, part of me was home. i had done so much growing up in the short three months in this village. i can only imagine what it will be like in two years when i finish my service and have to leave my village up north. somehow, i feel like it just won't be the same...

in this village, i spent my infancy as a volunteer - stumbling over words, i wasn't yet able to speak; becoming re-socialized, learning how to be a part of this culture and looking for ways to belong. i regard my beginnings in my village of service more as an adolescence - difficult, lonely, feeling isolated and without the words to explain my growing pains. Seeking out allies to lean on and share with, whose company i could enjoy. having the words, but not yet anyone to express myself to. i look back at my infancy with nostalgia and am charmed by its simplicity, while my adolescent arrival to my village of service resounds with disorientation and uncertainty.

now, as i have reached the adulthood of my service, my hand is steady and, while my mind is sometimes troubled, i can see clearer. i have goals and means with which i can achieve them. i see choices ahead of me and boundaries that i am not afraid to defend. much like my real-life adulthood, i make my own choices and i relish the freedom to have the courage to take responsibility for them.

and as the sun sets, i look forward to tomorrow and everyday after...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After working at the training of the new volunteers, I came back to Ouagadougou for a three-day training as a new member of the Peer Support Network (PSN). PSN is a volunteer-run peer-to-peer support network here in the Faso. We are available to volunteers who just need someone to talk with and topics can range from depression, sexuality (in a culture that is not open/accepting of different sexual orientations), homesickness...etc, whatever kinds of subjects that volunteers would like to discuss confidentially with a fellow volunteer are our domain. We are not professional support but can serve as a channel for PCVs who would like to seek professional help and also as a liaison for the administration and Peace Corps Medical Officers (PCMO - Peace Corps is full of acronyms; it's like a whole different language...).

Our group of 12 PSNs are really motivated and we have a great dynamic so far. We had so much fun during our training (well, as much as you while being trained over the course of three days...), we were laughing so much and joking- the atmosphere was really laid-back yet we were still able to be productive, which is great. I was elected as co-chair of the group and I'm also excited about that. p.s. my co-chair is the first person i've EVER met with the same bday as me, so we are a little Aquarian-Feb 9th powerhouse! :)

First of all, i am excited about PSN because i think it serves an extremely important function. our jobs are very hard, we are so isolated and independent in village and we need this kind of support and outlet. the only support we get of this nature is from other volunteers and it is great to have a volunteer group trained on addressing and dealing with volunteer mental health. how else can we be productive if we don't protect our sanity?

Also, being a part of PSN and being a co-chair gives me my productivity and structure fix. i have been so spoiled this month, starting with a one week-long training for the Pre-Service Training (PST), preparing me to train the new volunteers; then actually working at the PST, which is uber-structured and, finally, attending this training for PSN, i have been able to feel productive and organized with my time and energy. i must say, it has been a refreshing break - having direction, wow. such a rarity in my life here. (although, i do think that my second year of service will be better because i already have an idea of what sorts of activities i want to implement and how before the school year even starts. all the same, it's not like all this organization...)

recently, i've been kind of operating in fits and starts. i had bangs cut and then i cut off most of my hair. i had clothes made, much of new wardrobe was created. i been experiencing strange sleeping patterns: sometimes having spurts of energy at weird times of the day, like right now at 2:45am, and then, knocking out asleep for so long, you would've thought someone was paying me to sleep that much. i've been restless, neglecting my yoga, journaling and other centering activities, but, on the other hand, gaining the benefits of so much time spent socializing, exchanging and just relaxing with other volunteers. so, i've been feeling alittle lopsided-quoi, but it's been worth it to have this change of pace.

this summer is full of different and exciting experiences. though i am alittle nervous to be spending long periods of time away from my site (in terms of integration and continuity), i think i will go back with better focus and energy... with my one-year countdown to look forward to... and lament.

what's up

temp: in Ouaga, it's been unbearably hot until the rain falls and then the most amazing rain storms torment the earth

currently reading: The Middle Passage by VS Naipaul/ The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

just finished: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coehlo

current favorite song: Don't Cha by the Pussycat Dolls (it's my text message ringtone!)

last thing i ate: strawberry ice cream!

last thing i bought: cab ride home (60 cents)

recent butterfly: new haircut!

recent onion: loss of appetite :(

fave destressing activity: narcoleptic napping

unattainable craving: NYC

next lesson: just learned some new listening techniques for volunteer counseling which i am looking forward to practicing

next goal: get my pictures in order!

looking forward to: TOGO & GHANA (how many times can i mention those two country names before actually getting there?)

updated: 18 june 07

Guess what! Guess who is only 4 days from her one-year anniversary in the fabulous Faso!

ME!

Your favorite Peace Corps volunteer!

Random finding:

My high school is listed on wikipedia.com. How crazy is that?

what's up

temp: in Ouaga, it's a cool 82F which feels so lovely

reading: The Audacity of Hope by Barack

just finished: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coehlo

currently listening to: Flaming Lips

last thing i ate: leftovers from a pseudo-Lebanese place two nights ago

last thing i bought: bag of water

recent butterfly: new bangs (i traded my friend a popsicle for the haircut), support from friends and air conditioning for two weeks

recent onion: e. coli

fave destressing activity: napping on the roof at sunset under the guise of reading after a full, exhausting day of training

unattainable craving: got my eyebrows under control. right now, i'm not craving too much since today is my 9th day in the capital

next lesson: center yourself or just keeping spinning?

next goal: breathe

looking forward to: (1) Togo & Ghana at the end of this month, seeing a natural body of water for the first time in a year and being able to jump into it without the fear of schistosomiasis. (2) also, the satisfaction of having completed one year of this madness. yes.

updated: 30 may 07

I know this is 9 months late but....

here are pictures from the first three months in Burkina, that horrid monster known as:

training!

you guys are mean.

no one leaves messages on my blog anymore :(

i will be in Ouaga until the end of next week because i am being trained to train the new trainees who will be arriving at the beginning of June. yeah!

(which means i can reply to emails without the month-long intervals or i can even maybe -gasp!- chat online!)

here is more information on a few of the words often used on my blog:

Mooré

Fulfulde (for the extra ambitious, here is a written sample of Fulfulde)

Sahel

Burkina Faso (two different links there, either for Burkina or Faso)

current president Blaise Compaoré

former Thomas Sankara, who was assasinated by Compaoré

So, I have great news to report:

A few weeks ago, for the first time during the 8 months since I officially became a Peace Corps Volunteers and starting working in my village, I felt satisfied about something relating to my job. Go, me!

Go, me! Go, me! Go, me!

In school, the creativity and critical thinking skills of most students are either never cultivated or sucked dry because of the nature of the French school system which Burkina inherited. Class curriculum doesn't really resemble what I am accustomed to, especially, in correlation to age group. Everyone considers it nearly impossible to succeed in school and their ability to progress is dictated largely by their performance on national exams. (national exams, may i add, that ask really stupid and irrelevant questions.) Girls have little chance of continuing their studies to a very high level and have innumerable difficulties to face should they decide they might stand a chance.

Enter: Girls Club. I facilitate a Girls Club at the local secondary school for 8th and 9th grade girls, whose ages range from 14 to 18 (cuz that's how school works out here). The club is loosely focused on Health - that's the grand context I used to propose my idea to the School Director, but really, I'm just starting out small with them, working on self-esteem and assertiveness. Just little things, such as making girls speak up during meetings or asking them what they think - gasp!, make a big difference in how these young girls see them selves, their futures and their capabilities.

Chances are most of them won't make it through school. Most likely, they will fail, be married, get pregnant or just simply will be taken out of school for some other reason. However, I hope to help them develop the ideas about themselves that will help them be successful women no matter what they attempt in life. Simple ideas, like decision-making; speaking up for yourself; being aware of yourself, your thoughts and your feelings are the small steps that I am hoping to guide my girls through. next year, I'd like to incorporate more orthodox health topics, relating to body and hygiene and also collaborate with our local clinic to gain access to their support and resources.

yeah! Go, me!

Also, I've started review sessions for the sixth grade students because they take their first national exam in their potential educational careers to pass primary school. Right now, I am teaching math but hope to work on other subjects. I also hope to sneak in some health topics there, too, because healthy students have better chances at being successful students and healthy primary school drop-outs make better parents.

This is a good thing because since I started my job I have dealt with some very heavy tension between me and the primary school staff. Four of the six teachers are constantly not in school teaching because of health issues or something and there are not enough substitute teachers (besides the fact all the primary school teachers i know hate their job, so they'll find any excuse not to have to do it), so the students of the absentee teacher spend the day running around and come to school to get their free breakfast and lunch. Not the most productive use of time for little kids, huh?

So, since I am loosely attached to the school and have an extremely vague job, the school staff didn't understand why i wouldnt just take over a class. I was adamant about not teaching because (a) that's not my job and (b) i'm not qualified anyway and (c) really, it's sooo not my job! (also, i think the primary school atmosphere is a nightmare and would rather help the students from a distance. I have a severe dislike for my "colleagues" there, but that's a-whole-nother story. I would really resent it if I got saddled with someone's sucky job just because they didnt want to do theirs. Plus, it would take away from me doing my actual job because I would be busy at the primary school 6 days a week doing not-my-job.)

This way, I get to work with the kids, teach a bit at the school, run my classroom as I like because it's my regular class and help the kids learn something (maybe). I really try to be fair, encourage them to think and I definitely don't hit them or verbally abuse them, so that should be a nice change from some of the other teachers' classroom atmosphere.

for the record, one teacher really teaches well and i think part of the difference is that she genuinely wanted to be a teacher, but unfortunately, she's on maternity leave... her class is great! And to be fair, the classrooms are ridiculously overcrowded and teaching at our primary school is a very, very hard job. The first grade teacher works with 114 kids, none of whom speak French and she doesn't speak more than words of their mother tongue. Tel me that isn't discouraging? She spends most of her time disciplining, rather than educating. It's horrible and I've seen how she has gradually become more and more unmotivated and I empathize with her situation. But some of the teachers are consumed by the fact that their job is difficult and aren't actually interested in teaching, so ultimately, the children lose out, horribly and heart-breakingly.

Wait, this was a happy post. Let me see. ok, it still is because I am finally able to do something to combat all this mess and i get to do it on my own terms. So, I can feel like I am contributing something to these educational situation for the children.

Go, me! Go, me! Go, me!

I know my job is girls education and empowerment, but I see that school is just so difficult and life is so hard that i'm just doing my little part for empowerment - community empowerment -and, where and when i can, education. since getting to Gorgadji, i have been so much more interested in health because I feel that if you have control over your health, you have more control over your life. as the first GEE volunteer at my site, i see my job as simply introducing the idea of girls education and empowerment. there are so many things going against the success of girls and the community is so focused on just their mere survival that I feel as if I won't be able to make any grand strides for girls in Gorgadji during my two year service. that was actually a very relieving revelation for the overly-ambitious Jenni. you know, we are supposed to be doing grass-roots development, but this isn't even grass-roots, this is top-soil breaking! this is, trying to figure out where to even throw the seeds!

before my arrival in Burkina, I read something a volunteer wrote and I am going to paraphrase it horribly now. it was something like: you spend the first year trying to understand everything and the second year, you realize you have and it still doesn't make sense. so true! I have been happy in Gorgadji as a community since I got here and it is my connection and friendships with community members that has kept me here when times were tough, but my job is really difficult. I feel a lot more centered now in village because I've been putting less pressure on myself to get things done and have been focusing my energy more strategically. I guess i've had to do a bit of self-empowering before I could really start community empowering.

Speaking of helping others out... please please please send me dried fruit. ANY KIND. the dry season is awesome - as in, truly invokes awe, amazing to look at. but i miss rain and fruits. i don't know who can do anything about the rain, but if you can, hook a sistah up! i do know that anyone can help me with the lack of fruits. so please! :) this past friday, on my way south to Ouaga, I was transfixed (yes, even, enchanted) by the 5 or 6 patches of flowering trees that i saw. my mind was like "oh my lord, color!". the Earth is so hard, hot and dry right now. many of the barrages (sorry, i don't know what that word is in English) of water are all dried up in the North. the landscape is incredible to look at, but not so great on the fruit-providing front.

And one last time:

Go, me!

me and one of my closest friends, Sidonie, a nurse at the clinic in Gorgadjiwhat's up

temp: 115 F, burning hot winds and dust

reading: The Audacity of Hope

still reading: A Continent for the Taking

just finished: the Alchemist (for about the 5th time this life)

current favorite song: Say It Right (Nelly Furtado)

last thing i ate: fish! (only available to me in Ouaga)

last thing i bought: fabric - little joys!

recent butterfly: my Girls Club for high school girls is fabulous!

recent onion: my stupid savings-and-credit groups are still only quasi-functional - grrr...

fave destressing activity: pelting rocks at lizards who are fleeing from the broiling sun

unattainable craving: still, eyebrow threading. i like it better when someone else is responsible for this

next lesson: pacing myself - one project at a time, one step at a time. baby steps

next goal: health work on malaria, before the rainy season hits; brainstorming ideas for the next year

looking forward to: tomorrow and everyday after

updated: 29 apr 07

some pictures from my mom's trip in feb 07

(both from my village)

using the method that most women use to transport things here, this woman is probably carrying food or milk, maybe selling it

near the primary school in the village, this is a typical water pump scene. women and girls are responsible for going to local water sources and bringing back the family's daily water supply. (p.s., i have a really awesome Burkinabe skirt and top outfit made out of the same yellow butterfly fabric that the man on the bike is sporting. yeah for tailors!)

also, at the beginning of last month, i got to enjoy the West African film festival that comes to Ouagadougou every two years, Fespaco. Some of the movies were great. Others were not too bad. Watching English movies like Blood Diamond and The Last King of Scotland in French dubbing absolutely sucks and only affirms my deep and long-standing disgust for dubbed films. As usual, I wasn't too thrilled by the shorts that I saw.

My top two favorites were:

"Death of Two Sons": The Story of Amadou Diallo and Jesse Thyne Brown

this story was amazing - by far my favorite, especially since it hits home on two levels for me: NYC and Peace Corps. eerily coincidental - you would almost believe it was fiction, if you weren't already familiar with the Amadou Diallo story.

(an added bonus for me was that I could understand some of the Fulfulde that the Guinean characters spoke because their Fulfulde is related to our Burkinabe Fulfulde, but really, that's so irrelevant...)

500 Years Later

i genuinely wish that more people could see these two movies. Both presented the truth about painful histories through beautifully crafted story-telling, without forcing one opinion or point of view, while remaining truthful to the people whose stories were being told.

see these movies even if you don't know or care what they are about.

what's up?

temp: 115 F, burning hot winds and dust

currently reading: A Continent for the Taking

just finished reading: The Tipping Point

current favorite song: Share My World (Rhianna)

last thing i ate: mango!

last thing i bought: water, which comes in bags here - 10 cents

recent butterfly: went to a wedding with my closest Burkinabe friend in the Southern part of the country and had a ball!

recent onion: seeing the southern part of the country made me so sad to live in the desolate Sahel :( life could be so different, even in the same country!

fave destressing activity: listening to music! (thank you, Jakhi, for the CDs!)

unattainable craving: eyebrow threading would be lovely - though i'm doing a good job of maintaining

next lesson: patience and patience and still working on giving myself a break

next goal: doing some health work, focused on malaria, before the rainy season hits; getting my girls club started and preparing for summer school

looking forward to: get-togethers that are coming up for the volunteers who are about to finish their service and for the rest of us who just need a break

updated: apr 10 07

hello and lots of love. happy spring to all you North Americans! this is just a quickie hello because I gotta run. Had a quarterly report to write (bah!) and photos to upload, so that ate up my computer time this month.

In front of my house with some neighbors

Sidenotes:

my newest favorite word is: moxie

Happy Birthday to my Mom!

what's up

temp: 100 F, sometimes windy & dusty

currently reading: A Continent for the Taking

just finished: The Language of Baklava

current favorite song: Warning Signs (Coldplay)

last thing i ate: yogurt

last thing i bought: yogurt, cost 40 cents

most recent onion: my women's savings-and-credit groups are still waiting for me to give them $1000 to start their group (yeah, right!)

most recent butterfly: getting the chance to practice my Arabic with venders in Dori

fave destressing activity: pedicure!

unattainable craving: electricity would be nice

next lesson: giving myself a break and some credit (dammit!)

next goal: high school girls club, study hall & primary school kids theatre group

looking forward to: i think i'm due for a vacation near a beautiful body of water, maybe in June

waaay! february.

what a loco month and we're just making it to the end... is March really starting next week?

this year was off to a kick. i had a lovely New Year's, spent with my friends here, dancing our little, ex-pat hearts out on a rooftop in Ouaga, hoping not to hear gunshots from the unrest between the police and army. it's all settled down now, but we didn't know that then. we were put on alert and updated so many times, i felt like i was back in NYC with all the rainbow-bright terrorist alerts.

the harmattan winds and dust brought me back to Gorgadji in the company of a friend and his visiting family. it was interesting for me to see my village through the eyes of strangers, even just for an hour. tomorrow, my mom and i will be heading up north for her to get a glimpse of my life au village. my neighbors, with whom i share a courtyard, were so happy to meet my friend's family, i can only imagine the welcome they will shower upon my own mother. i'm really excited (and a little stressed, mais, on va voir...).

i had training coming up in february, so i knew that january would crawl, as i waited in anticipation to be back with the 15 other Girls' Education and Empowerment volunteers for the first time since our affectation to our sites. i finished up my observations of classes at the primary school and am almost done observing classes at the secondary school. i started two savings-and-credit groups with some of the village women, which entailed its own headaches, but that is a story that i will save for another post... can't wait to see how they have survived in my absence (or rather, if). for the first time, i accompanied one of the nurses from the local clinic as she went on her vaccination campaigns to neighboring villages. it was so interesting and tiring. we had a ball together and i learned a lot about the grassroots level of global public health. watching mothers and children get vaccinated against tetanus, hep C and several other illnesses en masse, under a tree in the middle of nowhere will definitely give you a new perspective on things.

then, training came in february and it was great to be around my fellow volunteers. if there's one thing that really sustains me throughout this Peace Corps experience, it's the energy i get from other volunteers. we came together for four days of training in the town of Ouahigouya, where we completed our first three months of pre-service training. it was nice to be back in a familiar place - better yet, to realize that i had been in the Faso long enough to return to some place - that is what was most remarkable.

then, there was my birthday, which i regard as almost a national holiday. my birthday makes me so happy and my friends here made it wonderful! it was the last day of training in Ouahigouya, so we headed to Ouagadougou as soon as our sessions were over. had seafood (seafoooood. yes, seafooood, in a land-locked country!!!) at this uber-fancy, shmancy resturant. really, it was lovely.

now, my mom is here and we are going to visit the north tomorrow. i am really excited for her to see where i live. i know this has all been a stretch for her already and i really appreciate her patience and support with everything. she doesn't speak a bit of French, pas un mot, so i can imagine how tiring things can be. i remember how disorienting and frustrating life was during training when i first got here, so i can sympathize with how she must be feeling.

but!, our trip au Sahel will be lovely. i am so happy to live in the north and i am looking forward to sharing that experience with her. i'll be coming back to Ouaga with her, so i'll be back soon for lengthier, juicier posts.

wend na kond nidaare!

(your response: amiina!)

hello and happy holidays. i am in ouagadougou and will be welcoming the new year here with friends.

happy to have missed the chance to partake in the insane consumerism that christmas can turn into, i would still like to be able to share a gift. on a wall in my house, i have a few poems up from the prophet by kahlil gibran. this collection is powerful and profound - two words i don't like to use too much unless i really mean it. i think everyone should read the prophet. different poems have resonated with me in various ways thoughout my life.

here is "on giving". while i might not love every word of this poem, i value the overall sentiment. enjoy. i hope that 2007 brings all the best of what you deserve and desire.

On Giving

Then said a rich man, "Speak to us of Giving."

And he answered:

You give but little when you give of your possessions.

It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.

For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow?

And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the overprudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city?

And what is fear of need but need itself?

Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, thirst that is unquenchable?

There are those who give little of the much which they have - and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.

And there are those who have little and give it all.

These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.

There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.

And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.

And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;

They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.

Through the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth.

It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding;

And to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving

And is there aught you would withhold?

All you have shall some day be given;

Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors'.

You often say, "I would give, but only to the deserving."

The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.

They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.

Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is worthy of all else from you.

And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream.

And what desert greater shall there be than that which lies in the courage and the confidence, nay the charity, of receiving?

And who are you that men should rend their bosom and unveil their pride, that you may see their worth naked and their pride unabashed?

See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving.

For in truth it is life that gives unto life - while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.

And you receivers - and you are all receivers - assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.

Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings;

For to be overmindful of your debt, is to doubt his generosity who has the free-hearted earth for mother, and God for father.

Christmas decorations made by kiddies in Kantchari

So, after looking over past entries of this blog, I realized that I've been pretty mum about what it is I actually do in Burkina Faso. I've shared some pretty pictures and few little anecdotes and that is all. Since my affectation to Gorgadji, I've been stingy with the info, huh? Time for some details, n'est-ce pas?

Well, let's talk about my living situation a bit. During training, I was living in a tiny, tiny village, which consisted of about 10 families. There was one primary school with three classrooms in which all six grades were taught. Rather than a regular market, there was only a little shop that sold bread, fried dough, sugar and non-perishable items. (but no toilet paper!) There were two ethnic groups in the village and it was clear who was who and who spoke what language - overall, everyone understood Moore. I was trained in assessing the needs of a very small community and I got used to be able to just ask around to find anything or anyone.

Before coming to Gorgadji, I heard that the Sahel is rough, villages are small and the people are extremely difficult to work with and resistant to change, especially when it comes to their young girls. I had the impression that I would be working with just a handful of people and getting to know about them indepthly. I was told that life in the North is very difficult, with constant problems in securing lasting sources for water and that my village would have nothing to offer me in terms of resources and amenities.

When I got to Gorgadji, I was a bit overwhelmed. It took me some readjusting to the fact that Gorgadji is not at all as small as I imagined. There is a primary school with all six classrooms, a high school with three of the six grade levels, a clinic (CSPS - Centre de Sante and Progres Sociale), three mosques, a Catholic church, a Protestant church and a bank. There are several Quranic schools (madrasas) and apparently, after most agricultural work is done, there are literacy classes. Wow! Plus, there are several little shops that are open all week long and the market which comes to town every three days with goods from neighboring villages. There are several ethnicities and languages represented: Peuhls (who speak Fulfulde), Fulses (Kurunfe), Mossis (Moore), Gourmas (Gourmantchema) and a few Hausas. Whoa! The fabric of Gorgadji is so much thicker and richer than I was expecting to face.

Now, this scenario poses many challenges and offers several resources. Because there are two large educational centers, I can work with students in a more long-term way, since they do not need to leave the village to pursue their educations. There is a health clinic which can provide (and has already been providing) me with a wealth of knowledge and support that would have been near impossible to find. The presence of a bank means that I can use their help and guidance to educate people (and women, most importantly) on managing money and financially planning ahead. The mix of ethnicities and religions suggests that the people of Gorgadji have experienced and absorbed elements of foreign culture before. The first inhabitants of the village were Fulse and then, absorbed Peuhls who were no longer nomadic herders. The Mossis and other ethnicities are either sent to Gorgadji by the government because of their occupations (teachers, health works and other state-sponsored employees) or have opened businesses here.

However, the drawbacks of these aspects are many. Though Gorgadji seems to have a thriving market, because there is no large water source nearby, there aren't vegetables or fruits grown in the area. And, this isn't even the hot, dry season yet. The harvest is coming in now. What will be available later? This means that it is hard for the people to maintain well-balanced, nutritious diets. Also, growing vegetables and fruits or using them to prepare other foods is a great way for women to earn extra money. Without money and in poor health, education is not a priority. And, if education is not a priority, it is the education of little girls, who can help their mommies with the housework and will eventually get married, that gets sacrificed first.

Additionally, the wealth and education is pretty much split along religious and ethnic lines. The people who are sent to Gorgadji due to government work are better educated, have more money and, to a certain extent, look down on the villagers who do not speak French and whose lives and well-being are tied to their crops and the Earth. Because of this, I do a lot of gear-shifting. There are different ways to address these varied groups and to gain their trust and confidence. I have to maintain many faces within one community. Walking from one part of town to the other, I conduct conversations and greetings in up to three languages and on a range of different topics, as concern the varied groups of people I connect with.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am learning and absorbing so much. Everyday, I think to myself, "well, damn... where else would I have had this experience? How else would I be seeing all this? When in my life would I have the time to give to this oportunity? ". I grow so much everyday - God, sometimes, I think my bones ache. Life can be so overwhelming sometimes I just have to sit in my little courtyard and stare at the interweaving pattern of my thatch hangar. I think of all the things I've left behind: family, friends, weight (hahaha...) and oh, yummy food and glamorous things! I've asked everyone in my life, everyone who loves to take a deep breath, suspend their disbelief and send me care packages.

Right now, it's a little difficult to see what it's worth... The first three months, we are expected just to observe. Take notes, assess needs and gain some sort of orientation. To the American work ethic, this feels like I'm accomplishing nothing. rien. nada. grr... I have nothing to look over at the end of the day and feel accomplished about. I feel like the community must think that their American does nothing but chat with people, sit in on classes and consultations at the clinic and eat. I can't help feeling like I should be doing something for these people already!

But, if I look back over several weeks, I can see smalls steps emerging. When I walk down the street, people - villagers and other parts of the community - call out to me, to greet me, to chat. The women around my house who don't speak French know me by my Burkinabe name, so as I walk back to my house from the market, I hear "Reina! Reinatou!" and my whole being lights up to try a conversation with them in Fulfulde, as we go through the long pattern of salutations. I chat with government workers as we eat and exchange vocabulary in French, English and Moore. I've had informative and open conversations with people on sensitive topics such as HIV/AIDS, condom use, excision, etc... I would not be privilege to these discussions if my everyday greetings, conversations and mere presence didn't slowly build their trust. And, it goes both ways, there are people who genuinely lift my spirit when I am having a bad day, friends I can confide in and collegues I can chat with about my work and ask for feedback on my ideas.

It's all about baby steps. I am learning so much about myself... about patience, new ways of measuring success, friendship and wisdom. So, I also have to take a few deep breaths and wait. I have yet to meet my darkest day here in Burkina or to give life to something that actually resembles an accomplishment. But, after six months, I am still feeling solid and brave enough to continue... Now that my observation period is over, I am really looking forward to implementing some ideas and try out a few projects. We'll see.

I guess in my next entry, I'll try to let you all know a little bit more about what it is that I actually do, from day-to-day and in the larger scheme of things. I am slowly understanding what "Girls Education & Empowerment" means and what kind of work such a goal attempts. Also, another interesting topic I must share with you is diversity. Diversity in the Peace Corps and Burkina Faso. Also, my own special experience with identity in this country. Never would I have imagined that I would come to Sub-Saharan Africa and continue to play the racial/ethnic guessing game that people like to engage in with me in the US... So, those are future entries to look forward. Keep sending your emails and love!

Before I forget I have to give a special thank you. I really appreciate all the letters and packages I've been receiving. Your postal love reminds me of the hilarious, brilliant, interesting and creative people that I've left behind and miss so much! But, I must say that two people get a extra-special shout out for sending me packages: my Peace Corps recruiter and my dentist (yes, my dentist!). I was the envy of my friends for getting a package from my recruiter because some of them could barely get info out of theirs during the application process - what about M&Ms and magazines during service?! Caroline, you rock! Because of Dr. Miah, my dentist, my friends are pretty sure that I must have some sort of bewitching power over people to get them to send me things internationally. I'm just lucky to know such generous people! (well, I guess, maybe, that does make me a pretty cool cat... hehehe)

Ok, kiddies, it's very late here now and I have to catch a 7am bus back to Dori, so I will conclude here. Thanks so much for all your love and support. I miss you all terribly and think of you so often. Keep emailing/mailing/sending your love telepathically. Your encouragement and love are the shoes I walk in. And, believe me, I've very far from home...

Be it French, Moore, Fulfulde or any other language in Burkina, conversation is punctuated by very specific non-verbal, vocalized expressions. These sounds are used as reactions to convey a range of emotions and statements. Here are a few Burkinabe-isms:

"ah!", quick, slightly aspirated breath to signify shock: "you're planning to stay here, in Burkina for how long? two years? ah!""tch! tch!", two-beat kissing of the teeth coupled with an emphatic side-to-side shaking of the head to convey lack of or lack of accordance with (vigorous wagging of the index finger can be added to indicate severity): "we have no french fries. tch! tch! potatoes aren't in season." "uh-huh!", deeply intoned, coupled with head nod on the downbeat, to demonstrate agreement with or arrival at comprehension (often followed by "voila!", drawn out to sounds more like "wallaaah!"): usually occurs mid-sentence,Me: "So, you think I need a husband in Burkina..."X: "Uh-huh!"Me: "...because you want to go to America with me."X: "Wallaaah!""waaaaay", Oui (yes in French), stretched out to resemble "waaaaaaaay", rather than anything of French origin, simultaneously delivered with a forward gesture of the head, displays shock or disbelief and maybe mild amusement: "no, really? two years? here? in burkina? waaaaay!""pooo-pooo-pooo", a crescendo inflection, which communicates disatisfation or disappointment (also accompaigned by the side-to-side shaking of the head and can be punctuated by two-beat click of the tongue): "you already have a fiancee in the US? poooo-poo-pooooo" So, if you talk to me on the phone and you hear some strange noises coming from the other end of the line, have no fear, it's still me - just a little Burkina-fied. Practice them at home and you too can be "bien integré".

A few weeks ago, I assisted the Ministry of Education and an association for the promotion of education in Burkina with a workshop colloboration. Basically, we went to specific villages, which the association had already established a rapport with, and emphasized the importance of primary school education. It was a bit difficult for us Volunteers because the workshop was in Fulfulde, but ca va aller... it was definitely a learning experience.

Here are the three teachers at this specific primary school. Normally, primary school is 6 years, but this school had only three classrooms, therefore, three teachers and only three grade levels...

Tamboura, dressed in white, leading the sensibilisation. The audience is on the edge of their seats!

Nearby one of the villages where we worked. The houses are made of clay/earthen walls and straw roofs. The use of straw to build the roof poses no problem against rain, considering we won't see rain again until June.

a concert i went to in Ouaga. the singer, Yelli Nooma, performed Francophone African kind of jazz. it was fun...

a street in Dori, my regional capital. Yes, the streets are covered in sand! you see?

Dorothy, a fellow volunteer in the Sahel, and a neighbor named Aziz, who I also call "mon petit marie"/ my little husband