Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Letter to Mom and Dad - October

Dear Mom & Dad,

I wanted to thank you very much for the packages you've sent so far. I've received 3 from you, one from Joe and one from Margaret. I've received 3 others from friends. All of which I'm very grateful. All the vitamins came just in time, as I was running out of my current supply. The compass, books and vitamin supplements are eagerly received. Right now, I don't have much time for reading, but I'm trying to take time for letters. The UNO cards are a hit and I've been teaching the locals and my families here how to play.

The last month with the growing correspondance with friends and family has been great, but I've missed a few phone calls and hope people will keep trying. I tried calling a few times and left a message, but I can't talk for long as you know. If you tried to call, please do so with an international calling card or get a good plan for your phone. Some of the calling cards aren't too bad. You can get them on the internet.

It seems people are really keeping track of me on the blog, which makes it cool that everyone is posting their letters that I write. I hope people keep it up. The letters have become my personal journal in a way. An outlet to say the least. I'm afraid the posting order may not be correct, but overall, folks are able to get what my days and life are like. What do you think of the blog?

Heard about the tough yields on corn and beans this year, but it seems we came out alright. Anymore word on how New Orleans shipping is getting repaired for harvests? Listening to BBC it seems that Bush is being quite an ass about not accepting aid for Katrina from the UN. Pretty ridiculous. It's an eventuality that he would show his true colors. I hope Tom Delay is found guilty too. The Republicans are seemingly tripping over themselves lately.

You guys planning on anymore trips in the next couple of years? You're more than welcome to come to Burkina. I hope my letters don't deter you. But if you are torn between here and China, I definitely recommend China.

I'm thinking about doing a trip during next year's Christmas holiday to Europe. Wanna meet me there? That'd be different. Anyhoo, thing's are going well for the moment here. My hair is growing like a weed and is starting to look like one. {Editor comment: Must have been pre-Mohawk!}

My digestion is starting to get regular, which sounds like an odd statement, but is a regular source of conversation here. Commonly, you'll hear from locals "Bon Digestion!" before a meal (instead of Bon Appetite!) and they mean it here. They really hope your digestion is good, 'cause it's often not, even for the locals. Good Times...... If that doesn't encourage you to visit, I don't know what will.

Training is coming to an end and I'll be moving permanently in a couple of weeks to my new village, called To. I'm a little nervous, but in a good way. It's another big change and I'll be unsettled again for a while. I won't feel comfortable and I'll feel frustrated. It's weird to look forward to all that, but I am. I'm really hoping that I make a home here, at least for a little while. I'm definitely looking forward to coming home and being back in the States, but I want to make a go at it here. I have a feeling, if I can survive and be happy here, nothing can faze or bother me.

I want to say, thanks again for all the packages. I'll be going to Ouaga in about a week and 1/2. When I get there I'll try to get on line and post a bit more. {Editors comment: Good to hear from you in real time, Laura!} I'll probably post my Xmas list while I'm there just because of the delays in shipping and such. If you can send me someone's name, I'll start working on a gift. Don't expect much coming from me in the form of boxes for Xmas. I might have to revert to drawing pictures for gifts:)

Hope you're doing well and I'll be keeping touch the best I can. Love, Laura

Monday, October 24, 2005

Letter to Joy and Mark

October 9, 2005

Dear Joy and Mark,

Hey, how's it going? Thanks for the great letter keeping me up to date on your activities. I really appreciate it. It sounds like you guys have been doing some great sailing while in WI. I'm sorry I didn't get to see you in June before I left, but I'll try to next June. I'm aiming to be there for my cousin's wedding.

I can't say there's much of any sailing in Burkina, but there's plenty of wind. In December, during the dry season, some of the hot sahara wind comes down and brings a bunch of dust. They call it "le Pousse," or dust, because of all the wind and dust that comes. I'm really looking forward to it ... not. The weather has gotten slightly cooler since I arrived. Instead of averaging 100 it's averaging 95. Good times. :) It may even get so cold as 70 during December and 50 at night, but that seems unlikely to me.

The latest game we've been playing to pass the time while biking between villages has been "what's the craziest combo?" For example, yesterday's winner was a woman with a bowl on top of her head; in the bowl was a sack; on top of the sack was a water container; on top of the water container was another smaller sack. She also had a baby strapped to her back and she was leading four goats and a cow. She was definitely grooving. I am personally fascinated by the women who can balance all that stuff on their head while biking. That's some serious circus material right there. :) I've tried walking with some of those packs or bowls. That shit is heavy. Gotta build up the neck for that stuff.

Well, I'll let you guys go. Hope you have a good winter. Keep in touch. Take care.

Always, Laura

Sunday, October 23, 2005

Holler

Hey guys,
getting ready to leave for village tomorrow. Hope you are all doing well. Please keep up the posts, hoped you like the poem. :)

My latest list of requests is for Xmas.

-I would like for Xmas, a broad rimmed hat to replace the one I lost, please. I have a big head so make it a large, if possible.
-photos of all my friends and family.

That's all I really would like for Xmas. Thanks for all the stuff so far. I can't to get to village and get settled. Living out of a backpack gets old, but easier.

Again, I'll try to be in cellphone reception on Wednesdays and Sundays between 5-6pm local time here. So 12-1pm Central Time. Keep trying if you can't get through one week. Been so buzy in Ouaga, haven't written any letters, will try to write again soon. Take care, and I'll try to be Ouaga to post again during Thanksgiving; later

Saturday, October 22, 2005

A Poem-by a fellow trainee describing our 3 months of training

The following is a forwarded message from members of my class. It is an explanation and a poem that encompasses sooooooo many things about our experiences here. I thought you would like to read it. Enjoy!
:

Some people have requested to read my poem that I
wrote for the talent show I mentioned in my previous
email. Although it loses some effect when not acted
out (for certain parts) and if you haven't actually
experienced the culture and customs of Burkina, I have
decided to go ahead and send it. However, all parts
may not be appropriate for all parties. Readers'
discretion advised!

For a little bit of background knowledge, first make
sure you have read my previous email, then also know
that "Nassara" is what they call all white people or
highly educated people here. I can be walking down
the street and literally have groups of people,
children and adults alike, chanting or shouting,
"Nassara, nassara!" A little uncomfortable, but I'm
getting used to it! For the part about the sessions,
we tend to have sessions where they tell us the exact
same thing several sessions in a row...gets a little
monotonous.

ETing is short for Early Termination (ing?!).
Basically, people who can't handle it or decide this
is not for them and head back to the states.

To (pronounced toe and it actually has an accent over
the o, which I couldn't figure out how to type) is a
sort of grainy food the consistency of oatmeal that
has been sitting out for a few hours and you dip it
into a sauce that oddly resembles very green snot.
Appetizing. Who knows?! Maybe it will turn into my
next favorite food!

A MIF kit is a type of sample you put together so they
can see if you have parasites. Use your imagination
as to what sort of sample that might require.

In their culture, whenever you eat something, it is
the polite thing to do to invite other people to join
you, even if it is as small as a granola bar or a
cookie. They always say "Bon Appetite!" before meals
and "Bon Digestion" after meals. Interesting. Never
thought to wish someone well on their digestion!
Another cultural norm is when you great someone, you
ask them how they are, how their family is, their
work, their health, etc. before you go into anything
else. It can get kind of laborative for us Americans
who are used to getting down to business. (Is
laborative a word? Now that I'm learning French, I
sometimes feel like I'm losing some of my English or
making up words that never existed. Oh well, you get
my gist!)

I haven't come up for a title yet, but I was thinking
perhaps "Burkina WHAT?!"

One day I got inside a plane,
Sat down, slept, and woke up again.
A voice came over the speaker loud:
"It's a safe landing," she said real proud.
"Time for fun and beautiful sand,
Lots of sun, have your passports in hand
For AFRICA," she said. But MY stop was FRANCE!!!
I dozed too long now I've missed my chance!
Oh well. Burkina will do just fine.
I'm sure I'll find beaches and have a great time.
I followed the crowd and SOMEHOW became
A Peace Corps trainee, so to Gourcy I came.
Met lots of people whose name was like mine.
Apparently "Nassara's" the name of the times!

The first week here, I made several friends.
We ate lots of food, but it came out BOTH ends.
One friend has a "friend" who eats all her food,
Lives in her stomache, puts blood in her poo.
She's taken the meds to banish this "friend"
But he insists on staying, so she's in Ouaga again.

Flexibility and patience--they said were the key,
But with so many changes, is my nose now my knee?!
The sessions drone on, my mind is in space,
They keep speaking French--What's up with this place?
"You must persevere." "You must dress just right."
"Shake everyone's hands and don't drink at night."
"Here women, they have more work than the men."
What?!!! Am I having DEJA VU again?!

They said we need enough French to swear-in.
Well I can say "Merde" with the best of them,
And other words that aren't very nice--
So I wonder: will these swear words suffice?
And speaking of merde, What's that you say?
We're making a stove out of donkey doo today?!
Dirt of the termites, some water and spice,
Then I'm SURE that the flavor'll be Quite Nice.

Adoption number one, a new family, a new name,
A new house, a new routing--NOTHING's the same!
The voyage was long and I drank too much.
Could you kindly show me the restroom and such?
A HOLE IN THE GROUND?! Where's my porcelain throne?
I peed on a frog cuz I thought it a stone!
And when I am sleeping and deep in my dreams
I am suddenly wakened by some sounds--quite obscene.
A fog horn? No sir. That's the "Cock-a-doodle-doo"
And the bray of the donkey saying "Good morning to
you!"
The sounds of the beasts and the smells of the street.
I've been here so long, they ALMOST seem sweet.

Adoption number two--more changes ahead.
They might not speak French, but at least we'll be
fed!
Segregation returned--all blacks on one side;
The Nassaras on the other--chairs were supplied.
The time s-l-o-w-l-y passed. We sat...and they stared.
He read off the names, but I wasn't prepared!
He said THEIR names first and THEN he said ours...
Oh no! What's their name? I'd be wondering for hours.

Now the simplest things can bring me such joy,
Like licking the chocolate from off of its foil,
Semi-cool drinks, the arrival of mail,
Sweet creamy yogurt, and bread...that's not stale.
Toilets that flush and fans that spin fast,
Showers that work....(as long as the water lasts).

Now training is ending, for Ouaga we yearn,
But first let's reflect on ten things that we've
learned:
The left hand's an insult and "okay" is nil.
ETing's more common than getting a chill.
The food groups consist of pasta and rice,
French bread and to and meat--for a price.
Cough when you're peeing, so no one comes in.
Bringing honey on transport's a deadly sin.
If you're sick do a MIF kit, and then get some rest.
Knees are quite sexy, but boobs...they're just
breasts.
Don't eat without offering a bite to each one,
and wish them a "good digestion" when they're done.
Always ask, "How's the famil? How's the work?
How's the house? How's your sleep? How's the dog?
How's your shirt?"

Well...
Soon we'll be fluent in our local tongue,
Soon we'll be working and think TRAINING was fun!
Soon we'll eat to each and every night...
Now we're headed for victory, we're headed for site!!
We're ready, we're anxious, Look out! Here we come!!
The Nassaras are ready to make Burkina our home.

By Tracey "Bintu" K. Olivier

Hey kids

Yep, you can now call me a Volunteer. Last night went as planned and reminded me of quite a few of the same deals I attended, begrudgingly, in the military. Pomp, circumstance, and anticlimatic. I did, however, dress in traditional Burkinabe garb and all, and I went for the most obnoxious colors I could. When the photos get developed(hopefully), you'll see me no problem. BAM!

I had a good time, and am glad it's over. Monday I head to my site to be dropped off and left by myself, essentially, for the next 3 months. I do get one weekend a month to check my mail, etc. in Ouaga but no leave is allowed. The recent bummer, however, is my nearest neighbor just got Administratively Separated(sent home, and honestly for no good reason, which is part of my current beef with the Admin here, but I digress) and I now have no other PCV's within 160 kilometers of me. Yep, I'm really out there. So I hope folks keep on writing and posting letters as before, thanks for keeping it up!

A friend of mine had a good suggestion about helping her friends figure out what to write her about while she was here. I'm going to ask some general questions and you can write about them in your letters if you get stuck. Okay?
1. What book are you reading now?
2. What is the best book you've read lately?
3. What is the best movie you've seen recently?
4. What meal have you made recently that sucked/rocked?
5. What new music are you listening to?

Mkay, go. Do what you can with these and if you have other stuff you'd like to share and you don't want anyone to know. Feel free to tell me. I'm in Africa, I CAN'T tell anyone. A true asset in a friend. ;-)

gotta go, Tomorrow will be my last post in a while, hopefully all the letters I sent recently have been recieved and will soon be posted also. later
L

Letter to Adi & Rod

Mid-September letter

Hey Adi and Rod,
How's it going? Ihope you guys are doing well. I miss hanging out with you two. (Much Later)
I started this letter on a bus heading from Ouaga back to my training site. The last two weeks have been hectic in a good way. We left our training village, Mako, after 2 weeks of staying with them and then headed for Gourcy for additional training. Stayed in Groucy for a few days and found out our sites for the next two years. Mine is in the south, a village called To. It is a pretty good sized town for the type of work I will be doing. After finding out our sites, I found out most of my descent friends are scattered far, and far away from me. Next we are headed up to Ouga to do our counterpart workshop, we met w/our village counterparts and I got culturally more aware of where I am headed. My counter part, her name is Madume Sawedago, A line is pretty cool and nice. However, my working counterpart who decided not to show up and sent for her instead is a little bit of a punk. But I am sure we’ll get along well enough eventually 
We left Ouaga for my site visit for three days. Here is when I got a glimpse of my life for the next two years. There’s a lot of good things in To. Electricity, a market, a descent home and a soccer field right behind me. So I am rather looking forward to living there. My work environment has some issues that need to be worked out, but overall I think I’ve got a good place to stay. You should come and visit and I’ll give you the grand tour of Burkina. If you do come, whenever, bring some diet coke please!!
After getting adjusted to my site, OH by the way, already, there’s these two cats and a dog waiting for me from the previous volunteer. The two cats are awesome, they’ve been killing all the lizards, crockroaches, and ect. While I’m there. They kick ass.
I went back to Ouaga via bush taxi which was quiet and experience. Think of a regular sized Japanese style van and now picture it w/ 20 people, luggage inside and then picture 10 bikes, a scooter, a motorcycle, 3 more people, 3 bags of grains, a bunch of luggage and a goat on the top. That was my ride for 5 hours. I covered myself in a wrap to keep the dust off of me from an open window. My knees really started to bother me the last hour of the trip having been in the same bent position for so long.
Arriving at Oguaga, I toured about the city on a taxi trying to find the Peace Corps Hostel. Finding it after using two different taxis I met up w/ some other classmates and settled in for the night. We headed out to dinner at this Italian place restaurant that makes its own ice cream. Fantastic! The meals and desserts are very expensive but worth the trip every few months. I think my meal was 14 bucks which would normally pay for 20 meals. Also a little splurge when all you get is rice and grits.
I just got four letters in the mail. I was so happy I cried for the 1st time since being here!!! They were from my parents, my sister Mary, the Jeans of Kentucy and Ashley. My whole week has been made so far. Such a wonderful thing to get mail – indescribable. With that I’ll end this letter to start a new one in order to reply. Tack care.
I appreciate all of your help!
Always,
Laura

Friday, October 21, 2005

Today is the day!

Tonite, in fact, I plan to swear in as an official Volunteer! woop woop! (fist pumping in a very geeky fashion) Tonite, were supposed to go to the Ambassador's house, get sworn in, and have dinner. Usually, the PC Country Director pays for drinks and a party afterward, traditionally, but the new one isn't in favor of encouraging alchohol and won't be doing so this year. So, we're heading back to a bar and makin a Halloween themed party for ourselves and whoever wants to come. It should be a bash and a half. Considering I may not see some of these folks for literally the next two years, I'll do my best not to cry when they leave at 6AM tomorrow, stinking of alchohol and dressed as a greek god, cloves and all. Myself, because of the mohawk, I'm planning on going as Mr. T. Unfortunately, though, my fashion statement is seen as unprofessional and shortly after returning from the party, I will be completley shaven once again. Don't worry, there's pictures. HE HE!

There's some issues that are going administratively, that I don't agree with, but because the PeaceCorps is soooooo annal about their public relations on any context, I can't go into them here. I'll vent in some other letters, just don't post them here. The letters I've been writing really are a source of relief for me. Writing' usually isn't, but do to the lack of exercise, they've fit in nicely.

unfortunately, I need to end my post, hope you all are doing well and I will try to post again tomorrow.

Thursday, October 20, 2005

helloooo, again.

I was just reading through some of the posts of my letters and now I see why some people seem concerned. Yeeep. I bitch a LOT on these letters, and don't think I tend to do that on a daily basis, normally(?, gad, I hope not). But, sometimes, these expression of tension are just that, expression. Right now, I'm healthy, pretty happy to be where I'm at, and thankful I have some of the best family and friends in the world. No doubt.
Oh, and don't think that any of your daily goings on are boring for me. I love to hear about the minutia of your lives. It keeps me up to date on you and your worries, too. Besides, whenever I come back, what are we gonna talk about? Not Africa for more than 10 minutes, you'll all get bored, trust me. I like knowing stuff like, i.e. why you haven't remodeled your pink bathroom, :)~ ,etc.
I miss you all, regardless of the color of your bathroom, take care and hopefully hear again from you soon!!

L

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Answers to some more questions

For Joy Jean:
Yep, I'm going to keep the same mailing address for a while, however I won't be able to check it that often. Like once a month. So if you really need to get a hold of me, keep trying the cell phone on the hours I posted. I will also be unavailable via email for the same reason. I have a post office that's 30 miles away that I will try and continue sending letters from, but I don't trust leaving packages there for very long, so I'll continue using the peacecorps office address for now.

My daily life will probably alternate between biking amongst several villages during the day and working within the local clinic, filling out forms. Potentially working with local schools and committies on teaching about AIDS. Stuff like that, maybe teaching English on the side.

For Kurt Kulhavy,

Packages do tend to get here in decent order, many of mine have been opened, I believe due to customs, but nothing noticeable has been taken. For example, the package that held my Ipod, was torn to shreds and retaped, but it still had the Ipod and all the attachments in working order. So,...there you go.

For Ashley:
I haven't had a lot of time to go exploring. I have gone on a few walk abouts for half a day, but nothing extreme. It's too hot. I did see a croccodile on one them, though. It's a bit of a different feel when you're in their native inhabitance and there's no cage between you. I took a photo and used the zoom to the fullest extent, trust me. Where I'm at, there's not a lot of dangerous creatures that are cool. There are a few parks reserves with Elephants, carabou-type creatures and some giraffe, but not a lot. If some folks come to visit we can do that, and I'll make you pay for it. :))
I do plan on taking some leave and visiting folks around Burkina and countries of Western Africa, like Ghana and Mali, both of which I've heard some great things.

Thanks for sending some great letters and packages folks, they mean a great deal and I feel slightly unworthy of all the effort you've put in. You're truely cemented in my heart. Until, next time.

Answers to some questions: Susan's

Helloooo,
I'll start with my sister's Susan's questions.
My favorite thing about Burkina is the religious tolerance and the people. The people of Burkina have some of the most beautiful smiles I've ever seen and they give them so freely. The tolerances with the religions outdistance the U.S. and most of the world easily. My host family, for example, my "father" is protestant, along with his brother, but his wife and father are muslim. They all live together and they all get along fine, to each his own here.

So far the thing I've come to hate in Burkina is the seemingly the expectation that money will solve all their problems. It's hard to argue against that, because this is a really poor country compared to most of the world, but when the given money runs out they'll need skills to make their own. Explaining that, oh about a thousand times, only starts to make a scratch on the way people think here. Oh, I could mention a few other things, like how I feel about exiscion(sp), but I won't go into detail.

Lately, there hasn't been a lot trainees bail, most of them occured in the 1st month, but we might lose a few more shortly because they don't have the required language level to go to site. So far our class has lost 10.

I haven't seriously thought about quitting yet, I've definitely stopped thinking about October, 2007. Instead, I'm thinking about what I'm going to do in February next year. When that comes around, I'll start thinking about June when I come back for Paul's wedding in Wisconsin. When I was thinking about the full two years, made it difficult envisioning staying, breaking it down month by month is easier to visualize. The closest I came to think about going home was when I was deficating and puking at the same time, for the third night in a row. That wasn't a fun week, unfortunately, it seems to the time I wrote some pretty dramatic letters, so I'm sorry if that painting a very broad stroke of Burkina. Honestly, right now, my digetstive tract is working pretty well, in case you were wondering. It's a common topic of conversation here. Really.
I wouldn't say I'm to stubborn to leave, but I would be severely disappointed with myself if I did leave of my own will.

My French and Moore are progressing. Sometimes, I wonder if I'll ever feel comfortable, but then I make a learning spurt and things seem easier. Or it could be whether or not I've had any caffeine for the day yet. Who knows ;) I do know, my ability to spell anything in either language has diminished. I get so confused which is the English or French spelling, I had to ask someone how to spell "Answer" for the title of this message. True. :(

I did shave my head, as you can tell slightly, in the photos. Those photos are about a month old. I have since shaved my head again, and now I have a mohawk. Honest.
I figured, I might as well have some fun with this short hair while I can. I can hear the jaws dropping from here. :)) You'll see photos of that in about a month. Everyone loves the new do, tres populaire. I figure next will be a weave or something funky.

Some bugs here are freaky and totally foreign to me. Some bugs spit acid that can scar you, and some are just plain ugly and huge. The worst are the mosquitoes, they transmit Malaria, and that's just not fun. So far, my mosquitaire is working against all those critters quite well.

Commercially they grow cotton, but a vast majority of the crops I've seen have been grown for personal consumption and selling at local markets. My family, for example, works about 7 acres of land and they grow maise, millet, beans, peanuts and other plants for consumption all on the same field, on top of another. The wet season(3 months) supposedly supplies them with food for the rest of the year. So if it's a bad year for everyone, you've got yourself a famine, ladies and gents(that's what happened last year here, and more severely in Niger). I think about 85% of the population live rurally like my family here.

My regular week isn't set yet, so I'll get back to you all on that.

Once, I go to village, I don't have to return until 3 months later. Very Autonomous.

Well that's all of Susan's questions, I'll post this and set up another.

YO!

Hey guys, I'm really glad to see that the photos are available, Thanks Mary and Jeff!!!
Today, I recieved a bunch of mail and I was so thrilled. You guys are awesome! I have about 5 minutes, but I wanted to alleviate concerns about me starving in any way. I'm afraid some of my letters may have been misconstrued. I'm definitely not starving, but the diet here consisted of 90% carbs. So, I request protein bars to alleviate the imbalance. Just to make sure everyone is okay on that. I'm going to address all the question in the letters next post; but I hqve to go. Check back soon.
Love You
L

Pictures!!

Here's a few photos from Burkina!
Laura, please add some comments for us!

Looking good!; This was my third week in country, my host "brother" took this photo, I'm in front of my house.





Laura Cooking:: aaahhh, no, I wasn't cooking I was grinding millet for a pasty concoction that the family eats everynite, called To, like my village's name, it's been a running joke. All those folks are part of my host family. From left to right is Aminata, Habib, Abdul, Isa-lisa, me, Me-nata, and Apul




Laura working: Haaa! I totally posed for this. My family thought it was really funny to see a Nasara(white person) do manual labor, the moment the photo was taken, they took back the hoe and told me to take a break. Little do they know... In the photo are me, my host mothers, Habib, Ata, and my host dad, Salam.




Friends from Burkina: This group is also part of my host family in Burkina, there's about 24 of us in the same courtyard




Courtyard: my home for 3 months




Volunteers: These chics are great! L to R: Colleen, Ann, Kim and me.




Self-portrait: Yep that's me, sans hair, for all the folks who were curious :)


Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Checking in

Hey guys,
Just want to give another update while I can. The village that I will be moving to in about a week has no cellular reception. I have to go outside of town about 6 kilometers to get any reception. In order to try to coordinate phone calls, I figure I'll go to an area of reception on Wednesdays and Sundays for my local time of 5-6pm, which equates to 12-1pm Central Time in the states. For those who have tried to call and for whatever reason didn't get an answer or couldn't talk, etc. Please keep trying. The sun sets at about 6pm here and it's not safe to be out after dark, and I probably won't be able to get to the area until 5pm.

I sent, with a friend, about 7 letters, hopefully everyone will get them within the week.

Mary, I'm glad you got the memory card, if or when you get those pics developed can you get them on a CD disk also? If possible, I need all of the pics developed, doubled, and sent back with the memory card, and disk. I'm asking a bunch, but I WILL pay you back.
I also got you care package today and got a HUGE kick out of all the stuff you put in. The jam, hotel stuff and condiment packetts will definitely come in useful. Although the chocolate chip scented candle is somewhat of a cruel joke, it will be used. ;-)~ THANK YOU!!!!!!

Hope all is going well with everyone, be safe and I'll give another update soon. Beware, my next update will include my Xmas wish list.

Sunday, October 16, 2005

Oops, Still in Ouaga

Hit the return button, instead of the tab on that last post, oops there you go.

Hey guys how's it going? just got into Ouaga and will have access to the internet for the next week. Looks like you guys are updating the best you can. I don't keep track of all my letters but, for those folks who can't update easily and I sent a letter requesting for you to do so, let me know in the next week. It's nothing personal, but I just don't want to miss oppurtunities to keep people up to date. For all the people who have updated the site, THANK YOU!!!!

I don't have a bunch of time, but I'll be back on later. Everyone, take care and hopefully hear from you soon!

Hello, I' m in Ouaga!

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Letter to Hedlund's Oct 5

Things are going well here and my stomach has finally gotten used to the food with all the local parasites included. I just finished writing my portion of a presentation on consultatiion to mothers on nutrition for their newborn children. My section was on recognizing mal-nutrition, preventing it, how, what types of food, oh, and cheaply, by the way :-) All of it was in French and it took me a while because of that.

Two days ago my group, of which there are 3 volunteers, who live in the same village of Mako, went door to door, (or in this case, courtyard to courtyard) to teach people about AIDS and how to prevent it. Before, we met with a few locals and taught them about AIDS, which in turn we told they needed to do the teaching during the "door to door." We then went to 5 different courtyards with about 40 people each, gathered up all the people and divided them into 3 groups: men, women and kids. AIDS along with sex is a pretty touchy subject, so dividing the groups was good. Also, the women tend to be pretty quiet when the groups are mixed. Some of the cortiers were really happy to have us. They listened and asked questions, but the tough ones were when the women asked "How do we refuse visits from our husband when we'll get beaten or thrown out?" How do you answer this woman? She could get AIDS from her husband who habitually sleeps with several other women, and die OR she could refuse him. In the process, get beaten, raped anyway and/or tossed out of her home and left to die anyway. The solution isn't as evident as it seems because women don't have a lot of the same rights we would expect out of this situation.

I felt good about doing the work and hopefully preventing AIDS in some cases, but when reality hits and the culture is unwilling to agree with the solution, it's like banging your head on a wall. Good thing I have a hard head!!;-)

A lot of the better training we do involves forcing us to do things with the communities we're staying in. The door-to-door project is one example. Another is a class we gave the community on how to prevent contracting Malaria, which is like the common cold here in the regularity that people get it. The next one we're doing is about AIDS and we're working with a local theater troupe which will put on a couple of skits that discuss the facts about AIDS and preventing it. Sounds dry, but these guys are really funny, so it should be a big hit for the village. Wish us luck!

Love
Laura

NOTE: Laura included a digital photo disk, so I'll try to post some pictures as soon as I can!

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Letter to Brad and Margaret 28 Sep 05

Dear Brad and Margaret 28 Sep 05 (postmarked 9/30/05 received in WI 10/11/05)

Thanks so much for the awesome care package! Yours and 2 others arrived the same day and it was X-mas for me! The food is excellent and MUCH appreciated. I shared a bit with everyone who happened to be around , that's part of the joy of getting a care package. The 2 other one's I received the same day were from Mom and from the Jeans. Mom's package had my Ipod, which I was overjoyed to receive and the other from Jeans, contained towels, protein bars, and chocolate. I can see now the consistent request will be chocolate, protein bars, and peanut butter. The Chicken of the Sea stuff is a definite bonus too. I have to wait a little bit for that one, until I get to my village to use. I'll definitely ask for that again.

How are you guys! How's Howard? Clara? Thanks for the great pics of you all. Howard is definitely a growing boy and he looks a bit like his sister.

The latest goings on are simple annoyances, but my French is improving and now they've seriously begun to teach us the local languages too. Moore is mine and is structurally much simpler than Francois but just having to learn the vocabulary with all the projects that are assigned makes the days really busy. In a good way, the days are beginning to fly and Swear-In is just around the corner.

There's quite a number of folks who are having problems getting to the required level of French needed for Swear-In. Mine is currently above the required level so I'm not too worried, but some of the others are stressing out big time. The # is large enough that the P.C. required us all to have constant home stay with a Burkina Family instead of taking breaks in a hotel and socializing with each other. That's annoying but necessary for some I think. The latest teacher I've had (they rotate every 2 weeks) has been the best for improving my grammar. I hope I'll actually speak good French instead of just spitting out words.

I got a few calls on my cell phone the other day, but I missed them. I hope whoever called will call back. Today I'm waiting to go to the post office to withdraw some money. It sounds weird, but that's how they do it here. Closest thing to an ATM possible. It kinda sucks because for every transaction, no matter what, there's a charge. If I want to mput money into the account, they charge me. ugh! The regular business hours here are 0800-1200 and 1500-1630. Not too conveninent but c'est la vie. A more common phrase here is "ca va aller" meaning "that's the way it goes" If something is complicated and difficult to figure outor explain they just say- ca va aller! That can be frustrating too.

Our current schedule, we have to move between 2 villages to accomplish our training every four days. It's a bit tiring, cause we pack and try to economize our stuff the best we can along with the books we have to use on projects and put it all on our bike. Then we have to pedal about 12 miles, one way, to get to the other. (Uphill! both ways!! :) It's not too difficult, but you learn to wear clothes a few times between washings and levels of clean is based solely on rankness or smell instead of stains present or not. Our clothes have taken on a dull brown tinge, no matter wht the color. Sitting in class and going about your day goes beyond IF you smell, it's how bad what your smelling is, and if it's yours. No deodorant works for more than an hour. Worrying about style becomes more about if your clothes have holes or not, and can they be repaired?

I have a fantastically distinct tan-line on my feet from wearing the same sandals all the time, but that's about the only place I have a tan. I typically wear long skirts or pants and a t-shirt. No tank-tops, very risque! The folks here have gotten so used to my short hair they've told me that the photos of me with hair seem weird now. he he!

Life here is getting easier because I feel used to it a bit more. Taking a bucket bath or shitting in a hole isn't such a big deal, but taking a real shower or going to the bathroom with a toilet seat that's attached to the toilet IS a big deal. Little commodities make a difference in the perks of your day. For example, a friend of mine here and I have been sharing a jar of peanut butter for the 3 days for lunch making PBJs. That's not a big deal right?.... YES, it is! PBJs are hot commodities because of the P and B part, and honestly they are more well balanced than most of the meals available here. I'm not exaggerating about the lack of protein in the diet. It's so common to see little kids with distended bellies due to the lack of protein, that you tend to look past them, to the kids with skin like old men and slow mental reaction to their environment. Those are the kids you start to worry about, they're more severe. It's not just malnutrition, it's no nutrition.

Alas, that paints things pretty severe, but compared to the States, it is. Here, including everything else it just becomes part of a large canvas that includes many other beautiful things. Like watching thunderstorms, 100,000 ft high come in from 100 miles away and watching the lightning fill the horizon like a big screen television. Watching the sunsets disappear in quick burst of color w/o patience. Looking at the milky-way so distinct, you can see the outline even in a large village with lights. Sometimes the beauty is so pure, it's overwhelming and sometimes the brutality of life is so pure it's hard to look away. I need to go, but tell everyone,I said "Hi!" and to keep in touch.

Love,
Laura

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Dear Bert & Laura

Hey, How's it going? Hope you guys are doing well. Africa is hot, surprisingly. and really slow. Most of my activity during the day includes swatting flies away from my face. My days are getting better as I get more accustomed to the culture, food and microbes. The food sucks and I can't avoid the food, culture or microbes so I adapt.

The culture here is quite fascinating and extremely gentile but time passes slower than I've ever experienced. I keep busy by writing letters and sketching.

I miss folks from the states quite a bit, but I heard about the disaster in New Orleans and we're all shocked here as well. I'm listening to the BBC news nightly to get any updates I can

My experience with the Peace Corps is varied. Sometimes I see flashes of common sense and progress and sometimes it seems e just another Govt agency piled high in bureaacracy. Unfortuantely at these times they tend to leave us high and dry inconveniently too. Nothing too drastic, just stuff that isn't thought out well logistically.

Just to complete my butch look, I have shaved my hair, but I'm also planning to get earrings, so that should set it off nicely. I totally see you laughing at all this, but I figure, it's Africa and it'll be 2 years, why not.

In a couple of days we'll find out where our assignments will be in country for the next 2 years. Everyone's a litlle anxious to know what and where the will be living. Regardles, it will be the boondocks of Burkina & you can't get more boondocks than that in the world.

Tell your folks I said "hi" and hope they're doing well. I forgot to write down their address so if you could pass on my information to them, I'd appreciate it. I gotta get back to class. Hope you stay safe and keep in touch. Mail is a hot commodity here, & I don't get internet. Take care

Always

Laura

Letter to Joy and Elbert

In a letter dated Sept. 20th.
I just got your excellent letter and am so happy to hear from you. I heard about the hurricane through BBC radio and have been in awe of reports ever since. Heard about the terrible response time to help the needy and am somewhat embarrassed by it. Some people here in Burkina want to send some food to help those folks who were left homeless.

Can you imagine that? This is a country considered one of the poorest in the world and they are still willing to give to others. Its amazing and humbling. There are days I'm very grateful to be here and others I wonder why they want me here, but I'm leaving that all the Fate and we'll see how that pans out.

I'm sorry about Elbert's knee. Tell him next time I'm in town he'll have free slave labor again and to wait for me to arrive. Glad to hear everything else is going well where you are and your family. Tell Bert and Laura I said "hi" and am patiently awaiting their care package. I very much appreciate everything sent my way even if its a post-it note.

It seems letters are taking about 2-3 weeks to arrive and packages at least 4 weeks. We'll see if all arrive safely. (I Hope!) Just finished seeing my new site and boy it will be a lot of work - but in a good way. It looks like I'll be doing polio vaccinations, teaching prevention of AIDS, and daily clerical work @ the local clinic to help facilitate case loads of the health practioners There will be other projects but I'm planning on doing an area demographic study to find out needs of the community. WISH ME LUCK. I'm still in training for the next month until Oct. 21st, and then I head to my village. It's name is To and is quite large for my type of assignment. The lst three months at our site we're not supposed to leave, so I'll hopefully integrate well into the community and start making friends or I'll start sending even more desperate for mail than I've already been.
Love to All

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Letter Sept 21

This is a letter to the Hedlund's.

Things here are evening out and I got your letter today, which brightened it considerably. For a while there I was getting pretty bummed because it seemed like everyone had gotten mail regularly and I had yet to receive anything. It was pretty disconcerting. Up until your letter (3 others arrived the same day), I had only received a letter from Mom. After mom's 1st one, I went to Ouaga, got on the internet and saw all the posts and activity and I was really relieved. Now, I hope all the posting continues and the mail will start to arrive a bit more regularly. I know I'll need it when I'm initially at my post because I'm not supposed to leave it at all for the first 3 months. It'll definitely be a test of my endurance then. You can expect a bunch of letters from Oct-Jan timeframe.

I would love to hear from you guys regularly, but I know you're busy. If you can send a letter at least once a month or more, that'd be great. I hope your work is going well too.

Since I've visited my site, I'm pretty pumped about learning more French and Moore to communicate with everyone. Wish me luck with that. I'm shooting for getting back on email sometime in late October, so hopefully this will be posted by then.

Right now I'm sitting in my hotel room getting ready to pack for the road again. Heading back to our homestay villages tomorrow for a week and I won't have access to a post office for a few days.

I've been remiss in my letter writing too. I've been traveling quite a bit every few days, but now that people are writing, I'll continue to write too and regularly.

Ooops! The power just went out so I better end this letter. Take care, miss you and hopefully see you soon!
Love, Laura

Monday, October 03, 2005

LCupdates

I'm trying to avoid writing when I'm sick cause it colors everything about Burkina in my perspective a very dark and dreary color. It's not that way here, but life is hard at the same time. A good way to describe life here is: It's simple, but it's hard. All the nicesties we have to facilitate the things we're use to doing don't exist and thus those little things I would worry about at home don't matter here. The essentials take up most of my day.
My Health-1st, My piece of mind-2nd-(the people I love), and then my training 3rd. If I don't have my health, I can't keep a good piece of mind and if I didn't have the support network here and at home, I wouldn't have the piece of mind either. And without that, I wouldn't care to work here. Outside of all that, not much matters to me right now. I hope your doing well and so is your family. Please take care and please keep writing.


Love,
Laura


Sunday, October 02, 2005

Letter to Lin and Shawn (6 Sep 05)

This is a letter to the Gillilands

I'm making my way here. Things are eternally slow, but steady. Classes are going well and I'm getting adjusted to the food. The food, of course, is nothing to speak of, except that it sucks and there's hardly any variety. It's based heavily on rice and millet and sauce from leaves of trees.

The people here have truly been the redeeming feature in all things. Friendly without fault and funny to no end. So gregarious and welcoming despite the lack of material things, it's amazing. I'm looking forward to the work and I'm hoping for the best. Still, 2 yars is beginning to yawn in front of me. I've started to set 3 month goals to stay focused. Every 3 months I have planned a vacation or event to look forward to. Hopefully along with friends I have here, the time here will fly and be enjoyable. In a few days we find out our site placement. The location we'll be staying for the next 2 years.

It's hard to know what to write to you guys. I'm hoping my previous letters are getting posted on my blog site, but I've yet to have access to the internet to see if it's true.

Along with no internet I received only one letter, from my mom, and that's it. If you could relay folks to write me letters instead of email, I'd greatly appreciate it. Mail comes to mean so much here, it's pretty frustrating when everyone who says they're going to write, doesn't. I can't get mad yet, cause people may be writing me emails and I don't know. But real mail is such a gift here.

As you can tell I miss everyone from the states quite a bit and so my sob story ends there.

My days are spent currently in Gourcy, a town of about 20,000 people and it hardly looks any different than one with 2,ooo. The only difference is, Gourcy has a fresh food market every 3 days and the town, Mako where I stay with a family and train doesn't. Most of all the houses are the same made of brick and mud, all one story and all the same color brown. Some buildings are made of cement and this are usually the churches or mosques.

Poeple, who can afford decent clothes, are vibrantly colored and adorned with beaded jewelery. Most however are clothed in what they have and are lucky to have thread to fix whatever holes they do have. The six sets of clothing I brought here is literally a plethora of outfits compared to locals, who literally wear clothes until they fall off their body.

The family I stay with, when I'm in Mako, I think has about 3 sets of clothes a piece, and they're pretty well to do. They look at all the clothes I put on the line to dry when I wash them and seem envious. They typically buy clothes once a year after crops are sold. Whatever they buy is supposed to lost all year until the next crops are sold.

I currently get paid about $4 a day. Meals are typically 75 cents and letters to the states cost a whopping $1.65, which is quite a chunk of my pay check as you can see. The meals alone are 75 cents, with a drink,like coke, it's another 75 cents. Beer, a liter, is about $1.60. To have pants made with fabric is about $5, an apple is about 50cents and a cucumber , because its local is about 10 cents.

All that seems pretty cheap but $120/month paycheck can get pretty tight if you start drinking too much beer, coke and eating an apple.

If you haven't already, heard I shaved my head a couple weeks ago and just now its starting to noticebly grow back. Right now about 3/4 inch, it feels like one of thse really think mink blankets. However, I do look a little too butc, so now I 'm working on getting my ears pierced sanitarily One upper and one lower on each. Pretty radical changes, I know, but it's Africa and why now.

I haven't lost much weight, right now hanging onto a stubborn 135lbs, but with a completely carbohydrate diet, I'll be lucky to stay there.

I need to write other folks and my pen just died, so I'll let you go, take care and all the luck in Thailand

always
Laura