Well, I did it! As of today, I officially became a Peace Corps Volunteer!
That means...
- I leave tommorrow for Koudougou, my home for the next two years.
- I get to start meeting my neighbors and co-workers, make new friends, and decide on what work I'll commit to for the coming semester and beyond.
- I get to cook for myself every day, and hopefully make some new furniture as a side project!
- I get a payraise! I can afford to send letters now!
Speaking of which, I really appreciate everything that you guys have been sending me. I was a bit sick last week, so getting mail really made my day. I'm looking forward to writing back once I get settled in.
But until then, a few stories since last I wrote...
Model School
That finished well, albeit not ideally. Nearly everyone finished out the class on a great note, but me being sick on the day of the exam, and the disappearance of two of the computers in the lab kept us from finishing the resumé/excel project. I'm glad we tried, and I hope that some of them will try again at a cibercafe. I hope also that they catch the computer thief. As for my health, suffice to say I'm doing better now. I'd simply lost a lot of weight, and my body wasn't taking it so well. Meals were doubled: doctor's orders. I'll have to write another post about this in the future.
Eid
I was familiar with Ramadan before coming to Burkina Faso, and I knew there was a holiday at the end, but the name always escaped me. Well, that holiday is Eid, or as people call it here "la fete" (the holiday/party).
First, what is Ramadan?
Ramadan is a month of sunup to sundown fasting observed by Muslims. My family did not eat from 5:00 AM to about 6:40 PM everyday (exceptions made for young kids, sickness, and important work days-- my brother ate on the day of his final exam). Of course, they were still happy to serve me food during the day. Had I observed Ramadan with them, I have no doubt that I would weigh 120 lbs. right now.
So as you might guess, Eid is all about eating! Ramadan is based on the lunar calendar, and it's over when the new moon has eclipsed, and you see a sliver of a crescent-- hence the crescent as a symbol of Islam. This can vary depending on where you are in the world, and here in Burkina, it wasn't certain whether Eid would be observed on Saturday or Sunday. Apparently, one could see the crescent on Friday night in Mecca, but it wasn't seen until Saturday here, so we had to wait. My youngest brother couldn't do it, so we joked that he could see the moon, but no one else could, with our old, dull eyes.
Back to eating and partying! Here's how we celebrated Eid-- there was a big gathering in the mornng for prayers that we went to, and arrived fashionably late. Muslim prayer isn't quite like Christian church. It's 30 minutes at most, but can be shortened to 5, which is what we did, so my dad could take pictures of everyone. He has one of the nicest cameras in village, so he was the unofficial photographer. Then we went back home where we had prepared 5 chickens, 2 whole sheep, and lots of snack food for all of our friends and neighbors. It was almost like Halloween: visitors would come by to greet us, sit for a half hour and eat, and then move on to the next party.
Looking back on the day, one thing that I noticed was the mutual respect between religions. Christians and Muslims alike were truly equally welcome at our party. The nightly news (yes, we have a little TV) featured friendly dialogue and well-wishes between bishops and imams. No controversy. No equivalent of "The War on Christmas" debate. Just a genuinely good time had by all. My family slept in that next morning. Normally, everyone is awake before 5 (except me!). That day, I was the only one up before 6.
Moving
(Pictures to come...)
I'm writing this post from a cibercafe in Ouagadougou. Most of my things are packed. I left Saponé on Monday, where I said goodbye to my brothers and sisters.
My parents came up today for the swearing-in ceremony at the ambassador's house, and I treated them to lunch at the American restaurant down the street.
These were tough goodbyes, and there'll be more tomorow as all of us newly-minted volunteers part ways. But we'll all reconvene in December for in-service-training. So in the end, I'm excited. I'm happy to settle down for a couple of years to work on projects that will challenge me in unexpected ways. I have big shoes to fill. (Link goes to the blog of the volunteers who I'm replacing) But it'll be fun. It sure has been so far.
