Long overdue pics

Pretty Isn't it, That's definitely not Burkina. Yep, that's Ghana.
href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/980/1299/1600/793795/Copy%20of%20IMGP1121.jpg">Me at an old fort in Ghana
High school sensibilization, kinda crowded, huh.
Jimmy Hendrix is alive!

Hey kittens

There is absolutely no reason why I titled this blog with "kittens", just felt like it, and here I am. Gosh, I'm a rebel. whew. Good Times.

Hey guys, How's it going, just had a really busy work weekend here in Ouaga and I'll give you a quick run down of the events.
-Programmed and Directed the starting of new committee officially called AIDS Task Force. However our volunteer committee officially thinks that's a stupid name so we're call ourselves "The A-Team" instead. On para-military name for another works in my book. ;-)
-Created an overly huge Moringa Powerpoint presentation for bureau
-Wrote up a bunch of stuff in French for my new theatre group in my village-more on that later
-Made a ka-zillion copies of Moringa info for village-sorry killed a few trees on that one, yup.
-Recieved some awesome packages from people I love very much, and much joy was to be had here because of them.
-Miscellaneous other errands that are too boring to mention

So this weekend was good, busy and productive. Doesn't happen very often, but when it does, I'm ready for a good strong drink afterward. ;-) Jim Beam here I come!

Things are going pretty well at the moment, that could change, due to some of the drama inflicted on volunteers by our bureau, but hopefully my letters will arrive soon and the posted story explaining that will arrive.

Okay, but i'd like to comment on the packages that did arrive to allay any fears. The packages that did arrive were from;

Margaret and Brad, great photo's and good food, (yum!);
Ashley, great snacks, chef-boy-r-d, and glow sticks that came in handy last night when power went out;
Joe and Kerry, thanks for the book and treats, the card was really nice too;
Susan, perfect timing for the facewash and toothbrush, the powerbars are exactly what I need, thank you;
Mary and Jeff's, the card from Michelle was really sweet and the books and goodies were great;
Grant and Fara Gerdes's, the H.D. book is very cool, I'm taking that back to village, the nice letter update was great and entertaining, thanks for all the halloween candy!
I could go on for each package, but I'll save that for the letters I plan to write when I get back to village and have time.

Latest going on's in village:
I've been helping form a theatre group in village, they are really motivated, surprisingly funny, and I really hope they keep up while I'm gone. There's a few really talented guys so the next few months will be busy with them, until the rainy starts again, I hope!

Just finished a little art competition with the primary schools on hygiene at home and it went off with a couple bumps, but the important things is the kids learned, got motivated and won some prizes. So the essence remained true. The School director is an ass who wanted me to pay for sodas for all the teachers and inspectors, but I wasn't having any of that B.S. Let's just say, he's a bit of a slimeball.

Starting up on Moringa activities again, just started working with folks in garden groups and i'm hoping that will go well.

My Asshole nurse/counterpart, turns out, has been too much of an asshole to all of the villagers. They complained so much about him to the district doctor, he's now getting moved to another smaller village even further in the bush. :-) To say that turn of event puts a new lease on my sejour here, is putting it lightly. I'm hoping he'll be gone by the time I get back. I'm waiting to meet the new one, but am waiting to reserve judgement, wish us luck.

I'm hoping to start working with the high school here more this next month. I plan on starting a girls soccer team, during practice teaching about HIV/AIDS and STI's. Sounds odd, but it's a program set up by Africare hoping to incorporate teaching AIDS info and learning soccer at the same time.
Also I'll be teaching a course on how to write proposals for the "junior" class. That could be good or really bad, by now, I expect nothing.

Um, I think that's mostly it. There's more in the letters, obviously, but I hope you are all doing well after the New year. Hopefully, I'll continue to keep in regular touch, probably via letters, due to the restrictions still placed on Ouaga. But I hope to hear from you all again soon. Take care and be safe

L

packages

Hey folks, just got into ouaga after over a month being restricted from working here. It's not personal, it's a PC Burkina wide-thing. So, I hear I have 7 packages waiting for me at the post. Usually the bureau picks them up everyweek, but for some reason, they've haven't for the past 3 weeks, and my packages are still there, along with probably hundreds of other PCV's. There's a bunch of anxious PCV's here wanting their packages, hopefully we'll get them today. I'll keep you posted. I did get a package from Dave, Elena, and Alex that kicked. The pics of you guys were really nice. I assume it arrived about 4 weeks ago, before the latest stall, and I'm very excited about getting acquainted with Jim Beam. ;-) I'm not an alcoholic, although I play one in Burkina. In all honesty, I'm a lightwieght, But I do enjoy my whisky. :-))))
I'll let you all know who's packages arrived. I'm so anxious, it really will be Xmas for me! (little jiggy step, and clap)
I just sent out another batch of about 12 letters with a PCV who went home for vaca, so that group should be arriving their intended destanation in the next week or two. Hopefully, the previous batch arrived in good order also. I also got nice Xmas letters from Lee and Steph, Ed and Amy, Adi and Rod, and Ashley. They were great and fun to read. Thanks so much for the time you put in. love you guys, and hopefully will talk or hear from you soon.
I'll post more later.
L

Letter to Joy and Mark (December 8)

Hey guys, got your really nice letter and have been lazy at writing you back. Hopefully this will get to you before the New Year (but I doubt it). Happy Holidays, regardless. Is there a big gathering this year as usual or no? I hate that I've missed so many of the big gatherings. I hope I can make them up when I get back.

So, how's this winter going? Frigid and freezing or warm and wet? Well, for me the winter season is a nice balmy 80-85 degrees during the day, I think, and about a chilly 60 degrees at night. I've adapted enough here that the nights really do seem chilly to me. I have been loving the weather lately. The villagers hate the cold and can't believe how I could enjoy the "chilly" 80 degree days. I keep telling them how it'd be nicer a little bit colder and they shiver at the thought. Ah well, I suppose I'd do the same if I lived here another 5-10 years.

Um, what else is going on... Ah, today while I was taking a walk around the village, I was meandering down a well worn path next to a large courtyard of houses. I came upon some kids, 3, I think, each age ranging 2, 3, and 5. Well, the two-year-old upon seeing me, Madame Whitey, goes ballistic and starts screaming his head off. He grabs the 3-year-old and forces the 3-year-old's body between me and his, thinking he's hiding. They're all still on the path, so I'm still walking and coming closer as this 2-year-old is having a conniption. The other two kids are just in awe, so they're just staring (which is normal). I get right up to the kids on the path and the 2-year-old fully freaks out and falls back pulling the 3-year-old on top of him for further protection from the big bad whitey. I couldn't help it, I start laughing my ass off, which probably scared him even more. Next thing I notice all the mothers of this grand courtyard are looking over the wall, laughing their heads off, too. So, I didn't feel *too* bad.

Honestly, little kids reaction to me like that are common. I can't help but laugh anymore. It's rare to find any kids here between the ages of one and four who, upon seeing me for the first time, aren't scared shitless. The days we do large-scale vaccinations against things like polio, oh my, I should bring ear plugs. I walk into a courtyard and if I make any sudden moves or walk toward any child, forget it. That child will need 3 adults to hold him down for the vaccination. That's why I solely log the numbers and age. Kids wouldn't come near me. I found out recently why. All the mothers tell their little kids if they don't behave a Nasara will come and take them. Nasara being me. I guess this is something all mothers do and have done for years. So, I have that going for me, which is nice.

Okay, that's it for now. Hope you have a great holiday season. Take care.

Always, Laura

Leter to Kurt and Deb in Indiana

Dear Kurt and Deb, 9 Dec 06

Hey guys, how’s it going? Hope this letter gets to you in good condition. There’s been a rash of bad envelopes w/ my letters and they’ve been disintegrating during transit. How have tricks been? How’s Sophia? I bet she’s just about that age where she’s scary smart, right? She’ll be one to contend w/ if her parents are any indication.:-) Hope both of your work is doing well. Work here is progressing and getting slightly better this second time around. The dry season is here.
I actually just began working w/ a theater group here in my village. I’m not really doing anything. Their in charge and making decisions. I’m just cheering them along. They’ve got potential, but lasting power remains to be seen. I really hope they can do it. They’ll be doing small skits on local health themes, like AIDS, Malaria and the whatnot. Incorporating comedy in the themes and the same time giving a message. That format usually works for African crowds here. I would love it if the became sustainable. That would be very cool, but a little too much to hope for just now. Step by step, maybe.
I was making an indulgent list of things I wanted to do once I got back to the states. After the holidays and visiting everyone again, I wrote down some options for schooling that I might be interested in. They were: Technical training school (welding, carpentry, Massage Therapy, Graduate School for Urban Development, and Art School. If you notice 3 of the 4 things I wrote had to do with manual manipulation. Maybe I should take that as an indicator. All except the Grad School in Urban Development, I’ve been interested in all my life. I wrote the grad school, it was something I felt I should do. I still can, but it won’t be on my priority list for the first year or so. I don’t regret what I’ve done so far, but the 3 others are stuff I’ve put off a long time, and when I get back I might as well do one or all of them. My parents and family will think I’m nuts, but I’m sure they wont be surprised. Not after all the left field decisions I’ve made so far. “Hey Mom, I’m joining the military!”, “hey dad, I’m separating from the military and joining the Peace Corps and I’m going to Africa!” Telling my folks “Mom, Dad, I’m taking a welding class and carpentry 101 will be a huge relief to them I think. They won’t even bat an eye.
I still think Grad School would be cool, but only for the right reasons. I’ve actually started day dreaming about designing my future. Ya know, making those technical class and art school work together. Who knows, obviously I don’t, not yet at least :-)
That’s it for now. Hope this letter gets to you in one piece and finds you both well. Have a great Holiday Season!
Take care,
Always
Laura

Letter to Mary&Jeff - 11/30/06

I’m currently sitting in the shade of a Neme tree, waiting for a woman to train her how to do proposals for NGO’s. She’s currently 35 minutes late and I’m slowly losing patience with her lack of punctuality. I’m giving her another 10 minutes before I pack up and leave.

Unfortunately, she’s the one woman that I believe has true potential to help her community doing this training, but if she doesn’t show… How can I help her help the community? I can’t and I’ve come to that conclusion long ago with this job.

Recently, my job as a whole has taken a turn for the better, but my outlook on many global issues has become a bit less forgiving and survivalistic. There are times I think in terms of survival of the fittest and at others, this morphs into the responsibility of the strongest for the community as a whole. The two sides battle daily and I’m not sure of the victor.

There are obvious reasons why Burkina is where it’s at in its’ place in the world’s economy. Despite all those, I don’t see anything really wrong with this country staying as it is. There’s a blessed ignorance that could keep this living sustainable indefinitely. But there’s the blind desire for more, that will tip the balance and bring this society and the world’s to a point and then crash. Bring all back to a more basic level of subsistence that will mirror more the current living conditions of Burkina than of the United States.

I think that is becoming inevitable. Definitely sounds like dooms day analysis. It is and it isn’t. I don’t think the world is going to end. No, but I do believe in the rapid decline of mondial standard subsistence. There are just too many people in the world who want the western living standard. It’s impossible to achieve, or for that matter, maintain. The world does have a finite energy source and the western countries are by no means willing to allow the decline of their living standards to accommodate India or China’s populations. Should be an interesting turn of politics in the next 5-10 years and then the next 25-40. People will begin to doubt the idealism of globalization in preference to their regional needs. Then, countries on the edge of environmental catastrophe won’t be limited to countries like Burkina. Western countries will start to feel the burn. Prices will change and then standards of living. Travel will decrease and so will the markets and lower wages will become the norm. The gap between rich and poor will widen like a crevasse and cause political unrest in even the most traditionally stable countries. Well, I think I’ve said enough to cause anyone to think I like to write horror stories. I don’t, but as you can see, my perspective has definitely changed. :-)

Hope I didn’t put any rain in your day. Maybe, I gave you reason to enjoy your day more. :-)

Hope this finds you well. Take care and Happy Holidays!
Love,
Laura

Kights Letter 12 9 06

Dear Kathy, Donnie & kids

Just got you're awesome package. Thanks so much! The chocolate was very much appreciated by many volunteers here. I used the Swiss rolls as pick-me-ups during our quarterly volunteer advisory committee (VAC) meeting. There's one volunteer from every sector & class & try to represent our classes ideas and views on relevant subject matter. Sometimes it's good and sometimes it's really frustrating to work w/ the administration when they consider you like children. There's several people here who've had previous careers like me and are flabbergasted at how much the administration brushes aside our views, but at least I was respected. I feel like a teenager sometimes w/ this office.

Ah, well, you can say you live like Dilbert, I can say I work w/ big brother. Who's got it better? Who knows? I'm glad to hear, in general, things are going well for you all. Sarah sounds like she's becoming a bit more adventurous, and that's good. Kenny sounds like he'll be a force to contend with. I'm sure they've both changed so much since I've seen them last. Hopefully, (I haven't decided yet) I'll see them at the cottage next June, if not the following Xmas or Thanksgiving.

About our fitness challenge/goal. I think Mary is going to do it too. If all of us, Susan & Margaret too, did it, it'd be really fun...We could get t-shirts saying "Speedy Sisters" or something. Just conjecturing. Seriously though, I think you can do it. There will be days when it will be easier not to go for a walk or jog for that 30 - 60 minutes, but do it anyway. You'll start to see the difference, not just physically, but mentally. You'll feel better about yourself for doing it. You don't have to look or be perfect, you just have to do it. You may be wondering why I asked you to do this with me. It's not because I think you're overweight and should get in shape. Honestly, it's not. It's just I see you and Mary taking care of everyone else in your families. I want you guys to do something to take care of you. Something that's good for you and in turn your families. That's all. I really hope we get to do this when I get back. Now we just got find a race that'll be run about that time near us. If not in November, maybe we could push up the dates to next June for when I'm home. What do you think? Let me know.

Just to answer your questions about the Moringa tree. The reason it hasn't been picked up, but maybe in the future, is because it can't grow in Europe or the States that well. It's too cold. It really needs hot, wet weather, near the equator. There is a company that just started making a nutrient drink with it, but it obviously not gained popularity yet. In maybe 5 -10 years it will, I believe, really catch on.

Okay, that's enough from me. Thanks again for the great care package and letters. Hopefully you have a great holiday season! Take care & hopefully talk to you soon.

Love Laura

letter 10-26-06

Dear Mom and Dad,Just got your lwetter with the pics, they were nice. Thankyou. Hope things are going well in Taylorville. I finished reading The Bean Trees and Pigs in Heaven. I enjoyued them, thanks. I got quite a chuckle on how the main character chose her name, Taylor. Pretty cool. The weather has been decidedly drier in the last few weeks. I was sure the rains had completely finished, but last evening the clouds built up and opened their full downpour that gave the crops one last boost. That was probably the last rain of the season. The next good rain probably won't come until latye June or early July. The 23rd was Ramadan, the biggest Muslim holiday of the year. It follows 31 days of fasting which during the day , no Muslim eats or drinks. They do a lot of praying throughout the month and celebrate the end of fasting ( the Karem) by feasting on Ramadan and partying. I tried doing the Karem a few days,but going without water all day and only drinking at night , that just seemed stupidly painful, so I stopped. Too many headaches. The thing that kills me, sometimes, is the women who are pregnant or breastfeeding also do the Karem when they don't have to. Then they complain that they don't have any milk for their baby. Ugh! It's a sacred practice and I don't blame anyone from doing it, but if it threatens your health, what's the point? There few enough people here who can stand to miss a ma meal for a month. All the more devoted, I suppose. The few days following Ramadan, the children tend to dress up and tour the village wishing "Happy Ramadan" in hopes you'll give them candy and/or money. Last year, Ididn't understand this and was annoyed. This year,I was prepared and bought a bag of candy to give out. However, I think I've sufficiently intimidated a number of children in the last year and not very many came tobother me. So,I have a little candy yet to givwe out. Another Habit/tradition during the Karem is to give people packs of sugar so they can add it to their drinks at night for added strength to get through the fasting. I didn't know this until recently and didn't understand why everyone was asking me for sugar. I was like,"Sugar? You've got sugar. Why are you asking me for sugar?" Just another example of clutural exchange/misunderstanding. The day of Ramadan itself I spent at various friends' homes, being fed until I vehementlyrefused more offerings. It was the most chicken I've had since I've beeeen in the country. A nice Change. Well, That's it for now, Hope this letter finds you both healthy and happy. Love,Laura eal, let alonethemain character chose her new name, Taylor. Pretty cool.