More pics

I wanted to post this picture, because this woman just became our regional mayor. She's from my village, but has a high standing job at the national phone service company. Anyway she's a great example of female empowerment here in Africa. Since she entered office she's already campagned to bring in NGO's to help in her region. Which is so much more than her predecessor did in his 10 years as mayor. He never did anything for his region and finally the people got sick of him. She has also just started the construction of a new maternity for the CSPS of To. Something that was desperately needed when the previous one fell down during the rainy season, like mine did, 3 years ago. She's doing so much for her community and the people are responding and working with her. It's really nice to see. She's never need any of my help and everything she's done, she's done by herself. She's great, I really admire her resiliency.

Here are some traditional dance troupes I saw perform for a NGO that came and visited my village. The whole region turned out to show their interest in working with the NGO. I think the dude(another whitey from france) was somewhat overwhelmed. Anyway, these are the dancers and masks that Burkina is famous for. I actually remember learning about these particular masks and outfits when I was in college learning about the Art of Africa. My professor at the time had written his thesis on Burkina Faso and these mask made up a good portion of our class work. However, I've forgotten most of their specific meanings, but I do remember the outfits are made out of barks of trees that are soaked in water until rotten and fermented. Then dried and fluffed to look like fur. Anyway, here's a little bit of the traditional culture of my village and region.

Good Work Good Times

Hey guys, how's it going. Just back from Ouihigouiya(a similarly unpronouncable named town) doing a the moringa presentation for the new PCV's. I did an hour Powerpoint presentation and then did some demo's on how to make moringa powder from leaves and how to plant the seeds. The immediate feedback was really positive and made all the work i put into it worthwhile, so I indulged myself a little and patted myself on the back. I got to spend 3 days with the newbies and got to know the class a little bit more. It was nice to meet and hang out with some genuinely nice people who were in the same place i was a little more than a year ago. I wasn't there to regal my never-ending knowledge upon them, they had good ideas of their own.
This group was actually pretty playful, like mine. One night when we got kicked off the only volleyball court I've seen in Burkina, by an actual Burkinabe teama, we decided to play....Freeze tag. That's right, the 'ole recess game we all know and love. It was hilariously fun. Indicative of our lazy lifestyle, the game didn't last more than 5 minutes at a time, before we were all bent over laughing and panting. When we were honestly too tired to play more, but we had daylight left, we decided to play Red light/Green light. Hilarity ensued again. I was the first caller. Yelling out the colors, yellow being for slow motion, was side splitting. Especially when they all had frozen facial expression. What a bunch of goofs, but fun I haven't had in quite a while. Nevermind the giggling Burkinabe's watching our frozen forms mid-stride.
The morning after my presentation, I hoped a bus and now am back in ouaga, getting ready to go back to village. I'll be preparing for a women's day celebration and will try not to grit my teeth as I watch the festivities that do nothing of that nature. Then I'll try to start up more activities with my theatre group and keep them motivated and not out to kill each other. Good times again. It'll be good to be back in village. Maybe this time I will actually move back into my old house. Maybe not, I've come to expect nothing from the Health committee and their worthless president. I've done a few things to get ready for my class at the high school so that'll be starting up again, hopefully in full force before i come home for vacation.
A vacation I'm greatly lookin forward too. I hope this will keep me girded for the last 5 months here. May they fly fast and furious, of course, I'll probably still cry when I leave village for the last time despite all the negative things I've wrote about the few people who really suck there. The majority of people in my village are fun for a joke and decent to hang out with, so the laid back nights and evenings, I'll miss for sure. The heat, not so much.
Okay, that's enought rambling for now. Love you all very much and am looking forward to see you all again.
Take care,
L

Theatre Group

These are my guys in various poses to make flyers for performances. They're a pretty good bunch of guys.

Second half of Witch Doctor

I just posted the second half of Laura's Witch Doctor letter "9 Jan 07".
It's worth the re-read!

Kurt, are you feeling ok?!


Tom

Be nice

Hey guys, back again to give you a little of hot air straight from the Sahel! Today I am going to praise the people of Burkina Faso. It's true, because I just got a little perspective that has helped me realize that even though I have to do without alot of creature comforts, at least the locals are generally nice and have a sense of hospitality.

This weekend talking to alot of PCV's from other countries who've come into Ouagadougou for FESPACO(international film festival, google it)they've been impresed with local hospitality. And talking to PCV's of Burkina, who've traveled else where in Africa, they can attest. Burkinabe's are the nicest, if not the most honest, people they've dealt with.

Many people that literally come at you in markets have a bit to be desired in manners, but interactions at shops, restaurants, businesses, and goings on in daily life are generally friendly if you are willing to be the same. As long as you say "hello, how are you?" first you're dealt with pretty well. In some other countries, I've been hearing, locals are obstinate, unwelcoming, and outright rude. So I can be thankful for the cheerful demeanor of Burkinabe's that I've come to take for granted.

There a select few who I think have been genuine friends that haven't been searching for ways to get money from me, but all in all, despite all that, their attitude in life is laugh, laugh, laugh. Life is tough, don't have any money, so enjoy what there is and laugh when you can. It's sometimes hard for me to understand why they laugh over such trivail things and refuse to ever cry from pain or grief in public. Just a cultural normity that keeps the desire for joy above the need to revel in pain. There are hardly anyone here whose "depressed" as we would clinically like to call it. You'd think they'd have reason for it, but I've seen more joy of life here than I've ever seen in the states. So, there's one picture I'd like to destroy for you folks. People aren't walking around in a hungered daze, they're living, loving, talking and laughing.

That's all for now, I'll try uploading some pics next time of my theatre group, they're nuts.

Take care

L