A New Home

Hello world!

Well, it's been a couple of weeks-- time for an update again!

The visit to Koudougou went very well. I'll start off with a correction from last time: while the computer lab that I'll be working at used to have ony 9 computers, it is currently in the process of expanding to 55! The volunteer who I'm replacing has done some amazing work in her time here, including some successful grant-writing which made this possible. In the work that I'll be doing over the next two years, I will be standing on some impressive shoulders.

And while I did spend lots of time in the new lab-- and even helped set up some computers that had been moved around, I did lots of other stuff too. Let's break what follows into subheadings, as usual.

Travel

Pretty uneventful, actually. Which isn't what you'd expect in the Peace Corps. Many of my fellow stagieres live in rural villages, which involves a bus ride to a larger city (like mine) and then a "taxi brousse" ride with 15 people in an 8-person van from 1971, complete with screaming goats and chickens strapped to the roof. I just had a 90 minute ride on a full (but not overly full) bus. Air-conditioned bus on the way back (for the same price)! I did get to ride my bike in downtown Ouagadougou traffic, though, as I was following my homologue on his motorcycle. Exhilarating.

Food

Thumbs up: Ice Cream

Our Peace Corps living allowance is generous enough to permit a fair amount of beer-drinking. Beer, while cheap by US standards here ($1.50ish for 2/3 of a liter), is still about twice the price of an average meal. I, however have never been known to be a big fan of the stuff, and I like it even less here. This is a good thing, because it allows me to afford ice cream (which is similarly priced). And the ice cream in Koudougou is fantastic. You even get a cookie and sprinkles with each scoop! OK, so it might sound unimpressive to you... but after a couple of months in Burkina Faso, ice cream was a godsend. I could get it every day, even though I shouldn't.

Thumbs in-between: Shawarma

When I was in Granada a few years ago, I had the best shawarmas. So when I saw it on a menu here, I jumped at the chance. It was OK-- unfortunately less greasy than it's European cousins. Healthier... but I did eat it just as I started feeling ill. Perhaps my memory skews my opinion of this. Will have to try it again.

Thumbs down: Hamburger

Shocker! How un-American is it, to thumbs-down the hamburger? Picture this scenario: you're sick for an evening (puking, diarrhea, fever, etc.), but make a quick recovery. You're looking for a good old-fashioned American meal that your stomach will take. Hamburger? Sold!

And then the patty turns out to be slimy, black mystery meat...

The House

My new house! It's kind of like a condo. It's small (common room, bed and bath), in a complex shared with other young (urban) professionals, complete with tiled floors, a flush toilet and an indoor shower. "Everything but a kitchen sink" is how I'd sum it up, because it's true. Not what you'd pictured a Peace Corps volunteer in Burkina Faso living in, huh? I'm looking forward to calling it home, and welcoming volunteers who come in from more rustic places seeking amenities.

The People

Last Thursday, I met many of the important people, as promised:

Monsieur le Proviseur: Principal of the high school (my new boss)

Monsieur le Censeur: Academic Dean of the high school

Monsieur le Surveillant: Disciplinarian (I sent late/troublesome students to him)

Madame la Directrice: Headmistress of the elementary school (I'll be co-teaching there part-tim, it seems)

Monsieur le S.G. de la Mairie: Secretary General of the Mayor

It was a full morning of somewhat awkward exchanges, but on the whole, everything went well. I got to see a lot of them again at the current volunteers' going-away party, which was really a lot of fun. The one thing that was missed: I didn't get to see the elementary school's computer lab, because the teacher of that class was doing some work at the regional office. But I'm excited to see the setup when I get ready to start work in September. After showing my host brother (who's going into "CM1" or 4th grade) some math games on the computer, I think that there's huge potential here with that age group.

The going-away party was, as I mentioned before, a really neat experience, because it was also my first real networking opportunity in Burkina. I spent some time with the other teachers, a lot of whom hang out in the computer lab after-hours, and also chatted a bit with the proviseur and censeur. I also talked for a while with some university students who lead an English club. They are super-active-- they have debates, put on plays and do all sorts of activities in English, and have helped the past volunteers out with their projects. Alas, I may not forget my own English here either!

Model School

I've been back in Sapone since Monday, where I've been gearing up for model school-- a four week short course. Details have just come out about that: I'll be teaching a beginner computer class for 2 hours a day, 4 days a week-- jumping right in. On top of that, there's an intermediate class that all of us IT teachers-in-training are going to share, so each of us get about 2 hours a week of that as well. Adding to the learning experience, we'll be teaching off (Peace Corps official) Ubuntu machines. Nice thing is that there's some decent educational software that comes with that package.

And now for a change of subject...

I do have to admit it's been tough at times. I fell quite ill last week-- and lost 75% of my appetite. Over my time here, I've shed the freshman 15: I'm now as light as I've been since high school. And while I'm recovering steadily, Friday morning was a big test for me: between the weight loss, appetite loss, general queasiness, and the reality of having to prepare for work ahead, I had a panic attack. I ended up going back to bed and sleeping it off. But something that I learned from this: stay in better touch with home! The guilt from not getting back to your e-mails was weighing on me significantly. Tonight I will catch up! But in the future, I hope that you'll be able to text me: +226 66 20 16 52! I get internet access every 2 weeks or so, but my phone is always with me (Peace Corps requirement)!

The final word: 

"Food!"

You may be able to tell that I am hungry as I write this. It's true. I'm looking forward to getting some "soupe de poulet" (chicken soup) tonight, which is a common high-end meal here (chicken here is one of the most expensive meats). But what is the food really like here? I feel like I may have given you all an erroneous impression with the ice cream, shawarma and burger shpiel. That's American-ish fare that we crave after a few weeks here, and that can only be found in a big city. I'll list a few dishes below that I think well represent Burkina Faso:

Benga

One of my favorite quotes: "Je mange le benga, tu mange le pizza. C'est le Corps de la Paix". Benga is made primarily with black beans and a medley of vegetables, maybe a little rice. It's a hearty dish, which I'd give a solid thumbs up.

To

To is (in my opinion) the other side of the coin where it comes to Burkinabe cooking. It's like farina, except with millet flour, and isn't really flavored with anything, only served with a "gumbo" sauce. Not my cup of tea, ut definitely a local favorite.

Riz sauce

This is the most common, and cheapest dish you can find here. My host mom sells it for 100 CFA (20 cents) a plate at the Grande Marche. It's very simple: rice, with a vegetable sauce, usually canned-tomato-based. Not bad stuff. Can come with meat for an extra charge.

Brochettes

Skewers of pure MEAT! These are (usually) delicious. Where does the meat come from? Sheep (mouton), goat (chevre), and occasionally pig (porc). Any part of the animal... hence the (usually) in the description. 50 CFA apiece at the Grande Marche, not a bad deal. I have been known to buy 10... and eat them all on better days...

OK, I think that I have demystified food well enough for now here... until next time! I'm off to catch up on e-mails and finish off lesson plans!

- ETH