Brian caved to peer/family presure and got a Facebook page. I think he realized it would be an easy way to keep up with a lot of people quickly when he got to the internet. He has posted some pics there and other have tagged him in pictures (new and old)! Friend him - Brian Rhodes.When we talk to him he sounds good. He continues to enjoy his work (and play) in Burkina. He's adopted a kitten (see
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I just linked up some new photos that Brian posted this week. See sidebar - Dec-Feb '09.As you can see in the pictures, Brian has done some more work on his house - added furniture and got organized. There are also some nice pictures from a recent rock-climbing trip - note all the safety gear.Enjoy!
Brian has been back in Burkina Faso for about six weeks following his unplanned winter trip home. Since then, the weather has turned to the HOT season with temps as high as 114 degrees. I can't even imagine.Brian's puppies are apparently in another village - they relocated when he was in the states. His English classes had to be covered by another staffer so he is now developing a class/
Thumbs up!
Brian learned on New Years Eve that he had been cleared to return to his assignment in Burkina Faso! He spent New Years in Washington DC with a fellow PC volunteer - Meredith who was home for a visit on the east coast. He heads back tonight via Paris and should be in the capital city of Ouagadougou the evening of January 5th. Brian made good use of his recuperation time visiting with
Brian had his follow up appointment today with the orthopedic doctors and has been medically cleared from his injuries. This means the physicians feel he is fit to return to PCV duty in Burkina Faso. He turned this paperwork in to the Washington DC PC office today and now waits for the Burkina Faso PC office to give approval for him to return. Lots of paperwork and waiting - sounds like the
I feel blessed by luck and a chain of events that let us get to see Brian over the holidays! Lucky and grateful that the circumstances that allowed us to see him were not more serious in nature.
Brian is doing well. After getting the word that he did not need surgery on his hand, we flew him to Denver for a visit December 12-19th. We had a mini-Christmas before he had to go back to Washington DC
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So, Brian's Peace Corps service has been temporarily interrupted. As I have mentioned in other posts, Brian has been pursuing his hobby of rock climbing since being placed in his village. He has some rock formations nearby and he met a gold mining field geologist near his village who is a climber.
Two weeks ago Brian was climbing with his friends when he took a minor fall. He injured his ankles
Brian is feeling more "at home" in his village in Burkina Faso. The photo at left is a picture of his living room in his house. In the doorway are a couple new members of Brian's family. He has adopted two puppies some kids found on the side of the road. He has named them Moab and Khyber. No idea what kind of dogs they are. When he got them they were so young they were just getting their baby
My Mom saw this article in Newsweek - she clipped and sent it to Brian. Helps us understand the challenges he will be facing.
When we talked to Brian on Sunday he said - "the days seem like an eternity but the weeks pass quickly." Brian is in his 3 month adjustment and acclimatization period in his new village. He is supposed to lay low, meet people and gain trust before he starts on any PC related projects. He has been doing so and trying to avoid total boredom. He reads a lot, plays scrabble with some of his
Brian went to Banfora today to use the internet and post some exciting pictures! Banfora is about 52k away from his village so he uses public transport to go there. It is also where he goes to get mail and for larger shopping trips.
Brian had heard there were elephants in the river valley along the Burkina Faso, Mali, Cote de Ivorie border so he and a fellow PCV (Megan - business development -
Hubby and I facilitated a Peace Corps parent information/support meeting in Denver this week. We offered to share a story and ended up getting roped into leading the discussion. The session is for prospective PCV's and their parents as well as parents, friends and family of current and returned PCV's worldwide. There were about 30 people there and it was very interesting to hear the varied
The June 2008 Burkina Faso training group are officially Peace Corps Volunteers. This is the only photo I have so far - these are the Girls Education and Empowerment Volunteers. Can't miss Brian - he seems to have found the most colorful fabric in the market! As you can see most of the Volunteers are wearing traditional outfits made from local fabrics.
Brian spent this past weekend in the city
Congratulations to the Burkina Faso June 2008 training class on their swearing in as Peace Corps Volunteers! We are all very proud of you and can't wait to follow your work experiences in your respective villages! Keep on blogging if you have internet access over the next 2 years!
Brian ended his training with a feeling of accomplishment. He shared a story with us about a young girl in his girls education empowerment group that was withdrawn and quiet at the beginning of the program who now - will speak out loud to the group! A skill needed for school success.
He has finished his formal Peace Corps training and passed the language test that will allow him to be sworn in
Here are some photos from Brian's site visit a few weeks ago.
As you can see, it is very green (granted it is rainy season) and has some interesting geography.
He will be moving here in about 2 weeks! Brian will be given an allowance to "furnish" his new home.
In other news Brian has purchased some traditional African fabric (Pagne) and will have some pants and a tunic made for his official
Just a quick post to share a little info from our call with Brian this weekend. We caught him this afternoon at the pool at the Hotel L'amite' in Oauhiguya. He really seems to enjoy the respite of the pool, the burgers and socializing with his fellow PCT's. He had spent the night "in town" with Vincent and his host family again. Sunday morning with French cartoons, electricity and all!Vincent had
...when you are off enjoying what you know is one of your PCT's favorite activities that you know he misses terribly?We took our annual trip to the Colorado town of Vail this weekend where we fly fish, hike and enjoy town life! This trip generally included Brian and when I called him this weekend I felt bad telling him what we were up to! I know he is loving what he is doing but don't want to
We have been getting bits and pieces of information about Brian's trip to his site in N-----------.It is in the Southwest region of BF. Closest large town is Banfora. I have been waiting for him to post some photos so I can grab them for this blog.He describes his future village as awesome and as having some interesting geological and water features nearby. On the trip Brian saw some monkeys -
We are very fortunate to be able to speak to Brian at least once a week while he trains. Hope he will still have cell service at his permanent site in the southwest.Training continues to go well. They are starting to learn some more practical day to day skills so that they can be self sufficient in their villages. Right now, their host families provide meals and help with laundry and water. They
Brian now knows where he will be living following training which ends on Aug 29th! He is very excited and pleased about his village assignment!The process for determining village placement includes an interview with the training leadership and the trainees are allowed to express their preferences, wishes and needs based on their experience in the country so far. Colorado guy Brian asked to be
It sounds like the PC Trainee's celebrated an amazing 4th of July! The only thing missing was fireworks!They prepared a barbecue with the mutton from the sheep they were given as a welcome gift from the town chief. The menu also included Burkina beer, fresh limeade, fruit salad, mashed potatoes, sweet potato fries, and watermelon. The festivities included dancing, the singing of the national
Blog connections helped me get through a tough spot yesterday...
I called Brian for a quick check in last night BF time and he answered sleepily, said he couldn't talk, was sick, mumbled something about wicked headache, ibuprofen and fever, the doctor, and that he had to go. I hung up with a sick feeling and my "mom radar" on high alert! Even when your kids are grown adults you cant help but
Came across this info in my ongoing efforts to learn more about Burkina Faso. This is of interest to me as I was formerly in administration at a children's hospital. Every year Baylor sends physicians throughout the world in their program called Pediatric AIDS Corps. Info HERE.
Clinic staff at the 10 room BIPAI-BMS Pediatric Day Hospital at Centre Hospitalier Universitaire - Sanou Sourou
I asked a veteran PCV Dad that I met through this blog about the ins and outs of sending care packages to our vounteers in Burkina Faso. His answer was very helpful and I thought I would share. Thanks to Joe from Dallas!
His daughter Sara is a year into her service and so he is an expert! We will likely hear from him again in the Fall as he is planning a two week trip to see his daughter at her
Last week when I was blog surfing I read an entry from "Peace Corps Dave" that said something about needing a BF cell phone so he would know when to go to the pool. I thought he was kidding, and just longing for a real day at the pool in the USA.Well....apparently he was serious. Learned from my son that the PCV's have discovered a pool at the nicest hotel in Ouahigouya and meet there on Sundays.
As many other parents have discovered you can learn a lot about what is going on with your family member in the PC by surfing other Burkina Faso PCV's blogs. I have listed on the sidebar all those I have found from the June 2008 training class. Let me know if you find others.
It is fun to see your family member mentioned in the context of some social or work PC activity. I even found a photo of
Brian let us know that he got a Burkina cell phone. He buys pre-paid minutes on scratch cards - he says they are sold everywhere on the streets in Ouahiguaya.
So, one of my biggest anxieties as a peace corps parent was the thought of not being able to communicate with my son if I needed to. And now, that worry has been erased! At least for now. I know I can reach him during training when he
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