Forays into Recreation 201

Notice the recent post titles? Someone may have gotten all the seasons of Community on their laptop from a Ms. Meyer during In-Service Training. Score... That conspiracy theory episode is the best...

But Will R. from Alison Hill! I have not finished answering your question! That last post was just getting a bit too windy for my liking. You said you want to know about our recreational activities? Well, let's learn! But a quick review. Or something like that. 

Quick tea history that I forgot to include last post: Making tea like described previously used to be looked down upon quite a bit by the community here because it was the drink of drifters and nomads who had nothing to do but spend their time making tea. Somehow, that got twisted into a symbol of luxury in a way, showing the tea-brewer could take the time to make the tea and didn't have to concern himself with the fields or animals, etc. And the tea-craze has spread like... crazy... here in Burkina. (Can't think of a better adjective! Sorry!)

But for a reaaaaally good time,. the bar scene is where it's at. Beers here are too expensive for the average villageois here, thus it's really only the functionaires (government employees) or the more successful people who can afford to go out, have a Brakina, Pelforth, or even Guiness, eat a roasted chicken, etc. For everyone else, it's all about the Dolo Caberet or Banji Hut.

But first, quick note about etiquette here in the Burks! If you invite someone somewhere, you're really offering to pay for everything. Careful, my friends. I know some volunteers who have gotten into somewhat tricky situations because of it. There is no splitting checks here. On the plus side, there was one week when I kept getting waved over by people at the bar/restaurant near my house on my way home from school. Thus, free chicken and beer/cokes/water whatever! I felt like quite the freeloader that week...

Anyways, Dolo is a local type of beer that everyone makes at their houses by fermenting... uhm... something. I think Sorghum? Or millet. Or something like that. Now is a bad time for me to forget I guess. Anywho, this stuff is EVERYWHERE and cheap! Women fill up plastic trash cans with Dolo and sell it in the marché, on the side of the road, at their houses, or anywhere else they can find. People come and drink all day. Sometimes, it can get a bit too crazy. But, man, everyone loves it. It's at weddings, funerals, birthday parties, holidays, soccer matches, etc. The Southwest of the country (where I may or may not be located) has an additional drinking option as well- Banji, or Palm Wine. Harvesters climb palm trees several times a day to drain the tree of some of its fermented... juices? Dunno. I do know though that it can be sweet or sour based on how fermented it is. They define each batch by sweet or strong. I was once waved over on my way back from school by a couple of guys at a Banji hut. I talked with them for a while about why I'm here, they bought me a calabash, or wooden bowl, of Banji and we bonded briefly. They told me they really appreciated how I took the time to stop my bike, sit down, and talk with them. It was pretty cool...

But so far I've really mentioned card games and drinking. The people here love listening to music, especially Akon. They also play a ton of soccer. My town hosted a soccer tournament in the town square area when I first arrived. A ton of people were there and it was pretty intense. The orange team won 2-1 whoever they were. And when the kids are not playing soccer, they're on the local foosball tables. I once played with a guy who kept saying MESSI! every time he hit the ball. I thought he was speaking a local language until I realized he was saying Messi, as in the soccer player. Oops. Also, I know during certain months, my teachers at my school set up a net and play volleyball together Tuesday nights. But there's been too many bees and that's been put on hold for a bit.

Basically, in analysis, the real priority here is spending time with other people. There are not really many solo habits here. Those with tvs usually only do so socially from what I observe. There's a lot of free time really because there are no fixed work hours in village, and, as a result, a TON of bonding going on. And again, these activities are mostly for the men because the women are busy cleaning and preparing meals. That's another topic though! So, dear readers, if you're chill and like downtime, come to Burkina Faso! If you're into staying out and going dancing, come to Burkina Faso but stick to the major cities!! It's always a good time here. Haha, in my village I feel like I'm always busy, or always could be busy and I think people think it's unnecessary. Why work when you could be drinking tea? And each time I drink it, I start to agree.

Forays into Recreation 101

...Let's have a little fun, shall we? BOOM. PUNNED. Or something. My sense of humor has not improved at all in country. Sorry about that folks.

Anywho, Will R. from Alison Hill writes in with this request: "I'd love to hear about what people do recreationally there. I know you probably don't have a ton of spare time, but what kinds of sports, games, or other activities are enjoyed there?" 

Thank you dear reader for your question! Permit me to fill my Third Peace Corps Goal quota for the day (sharing Burkinabé culture back home in the states) by answering! Yep, absolutely going to answer that. Any day now...

Have I built up the suspense? I've been working on that for my short stories. But I suppose here is neither the time nor the place. But! If you're REALLY hankering for an activity that takes a long time, go no farther than the classic go-to Burkinabé recreational activity of choice- making tea. It ain't your Grandma's herbals either, hipster readers. This stuff is legit.. Brewed with fresh mint and vanilla sugar, one can take a healthy two shots worth of tea after only two hours of work!

Ok, disclaimer, found this picture from cdn.wanderlust.co.uk. I don't know this guy, never seen him before in my life, but it's a much better picture than I could take. Also, my battery charger died so I'm not taking many pictures these days... I'll try to figure out how to give you guys something each post though. Anyways, note the care he puts into serving this tea. Here, you pride yourself on making a good shot of tea. It's basically the ritual of manhood. Maybe. All I know is I really won't be integrated until I can do it myself. EVERYONE drinks tea, and by everyone I mean just the men.

Anyways, you need that mini tea pot, a glass, you're little 100 cfa box of green tea, mint, a TON of sugar, some vanilla sugar, charcoal and a little basket for it and you're good to go! Start by boiling the water over the charcoal (go figure) and add the tea. And then sugar. And more sugar. And more sugar. And other stuff. But the cool part is making the mousse, or foam. If you pour the tea from up high, it creates a ton of foam which is mainly used for showing off. It's necessary to pour the tea back and forth between the tea pot and the glass at least 30 times if you want a decent drink.

Have I mentioned you're serving up to 6 people with this one tea pot? That's why you use shot glasses to serve it. That, and it's extremely sweet. I heard somewhere it's the number one cause of diabetes in hummingbirds. Which are here. And outside of my house. Pretty cool actually...ANYWAYS, taking tea is a group activity. The men gather into groups called Les Greines (maybe that's the spelling?) and just talk about life, love, possibly things a shade below love, and American politics. Seriously, the people here are much better informed than I am... But they brew a pot of tea up to three times, recycling the tea in the pot. Thus First Tea is SO much better than Second Tea, and I'm not even going to mention Third Tea in this blog, it's so not-as-good-as-First-and-Second-Tea. Yeah, suck on that Third Tea. These groups also play music, or play checkers and cards or even play Bocce Ball. Yep, that's right. Crazy popular in the middle of the country. It's pretty fun to watch actually...

But! Back to tea. You drink it, pass the glass back and wait some more for the next batch. Before you know it, you've passed your entire siesta (12-15h) drinking tea, laughing, or asking when you're getting married and having kids. Also, I had a long conversation about Viagra without realizing what was going on at the time. Seriously, I'm into euphemisms as much as the next guy, but not in a second language! That was... awkward... Meh. Now this is awkward... Let's call this post quits for brevity's sake and I'll see you next semester?

...What?

Today's topic- the bizarre.

Put on your aluminum foil helmets folks- doesn't hurt to stay protected. Especially when there's clearly alien activity happening in your neighborhood. Or just reaaaally weird religious practices. I... I just can't explain what's going on!

So, around the corner from my house is a crossroads of sorts, formed by two dirt roads. Sometimes I can find the most odd collection of items assembled in the middle of the intersection. For example, today there was a nest-shaped collection of dried parsley surrounded by a shattered pot. The other day, there was a large shell with an egg lying in side of it. Before that there was a ring of chicken feathers on the ground. 10 Mattbucks to whoever can come up with some sort of commonality between the three! And believe me, Mattbucks are in high demand.

Secondly, today I found out that last night, Monday night, the Federal Government declared no school for the rest of the week in order to prepare for the upcoming election day on Sunday. They closed school. For a week. With no notice. For an election which doesn't affect the kids. They can't even vote! I don't understand!!! All that that accomplished is messing with my travel schedule. I was supposed to give my final trimester test today and leave for Ouaga tomorrow, but... I couldn't give the test since no one showed up. This is going to be interesting... The school will administer the test, send the tests on a bus to me in Ouaga for me to grade, then I will calculate the averages for the trimester and send it back. Phew.

Finally, here's a little excerpt that my friend in another town shared with me. It comes from a pamphlet used in schools to teach English through difficult questions and scenarios. This questioned is labeled "Are Men and Women Equal?" What follows is the content of that pamphlet:

-- Equality between men and women is a topical subject. Men claim to be different from women and even more important than women who are always dependant. Women claim to be equal to men because without them, life would not be possible. So it is what we call feminism. That is true because in many African countries, women work.

[MEN AND WOMEN ARE EQUAL]
-Biologically they are the same creatures
-Both are created by God
-Both have the ability to think, to work, and to do anything else
-Women are as educated as men
-They are enrolled in the building of society
[MEN AND WOMEN ARE NOT EQUAL]
-Women give beautiful babies to men and take care of their household
-Men are stroner than women. Men are the image of God but women are created to be a help of men
-Men are more courageous than women
-Naturally, women are very weak than men
-Women speak a lot of and can't keep a secret for a long time.

In conclusion, we can say that the equality between men and women should not be debated, because every women knows that man is head of the family. Woman is consider as second responsible of the family. Instead of talking about the equality between men and women, isn't it good to talk about complementary life? --

This... is crazy... I mean the 2nd and 4th points for the con  argument are basically the same!
No, in all seriousness, woah. I like how the marker of equality is the ability to not tell a secret. So I guess Benedict Arnold was a girl according to whoever wrote this. My friend here says that it was sold to the school by a private businessman and many teachers and students simply bought these before they could read them. However, unfortunately, this does reflect many mindsets here in Burkina Faso (and some mindsets in the US still!) That's why one of the top 5 goals here, the High 5 if you will, is to promote the equality of girls. So desperately needed...

And that concludes are voyage into the bizarre. Tune in next time!

(Note: You'll feel like an idiot if you ever try to translate a rap song into another language. Trust me.)

Let's talk turkey.

Ok. This is what my December looks like.

I have three days of classes left at my school, giving a test on Tuesday and Wednesday. Immediately after the Wednesday exam, I leave to start my trek to Ouaga for a crazy period of formations. First, my camp GLOW training complete with breakfast at the director's house. Then, on December 1st, the first wave of volunteers from my group will arrive for our 2-week training on how to implement projects, teach sensibilizations, etc. During this time period, I'm correcting my 175 tests and I have a 3-day IT committee meeting. Also, I'm hoping to win our Ouaga poker showcase at least once. It's my time. Finally after that, I want to see the new group of volunteers swear in and meet my new site-neighbor.

Now, after that I return to my site for one week of school meetings and then it's vacation! No one will be wanting to do any work. Plus, other volunteers may be coming down to visit my site. So I'm pretty much done with this year! Hopefully, I'll be able to help put my association together in time... That's right. Some really motivated people in my community heard I wanted to do sensibilizations and decided to simply petition to create an organization to do the health trainings with the town. Good going guys!

I continue to meet new people each day. Somebody from the Mayor's office is going to start teaching me the local language Jula when I return from my formations. Plans are in the works to create a garden at my school and plant trees all along the border. An English club just started and maaaaybe I'll get involved. Wasn't quite in the loop about that. But! I'm excited.

I need to get ready and join up with the nurses from my local hospital for another day of rounding up random kids in the market and giving them polio vaccines, vitamin A, and measles vaccines. You know how it is. So! I'll write soon,

Formations

Camp G²LOW is a program put on throughout many Peace Corps countries. It stands for Girls and Guys Leading Our World. Here in sunny Burkina Faso, the upcoming summer will host the third round of these excellent opportunities for the youth to come and be empowered. This is kind of my thing. Thus, I’ll be financial director for this week-long camp taking place in my regional capital. Good thing I’ve had a bit of experience with managing donations and file-keeping! (Shout out to Prattsville, NY here. I hope you all weathered Sandy…)

Each volunteer in the region works with their village to send 5-6 + kids to this camp. I think at ours, we would like to host 70 all-together. It’s necessary to provide lodging and food for the students during this time. During the camp, we put on sensibilizations, teach songs, play sports, and do all that good, old-fashioned campy stuff. Really, the main focus is promoting the girls to be more confident and engaged in their community. Burkina Faso has made it a priority to change long-standing attitudes and ideas about women that keeps them from reaching their full potential. Also, we teach the guys to accept and promote the girls in their village as well. It is crucial for the men to be involved in this process if there will, indeed, be a change.

I will be at a formation for planning this camp, a formation for my IT committee, and a 2-week training for my group of new volunteers all in December. Goodbye site- I’ll miss you... Basically, December gone be CRAY. Of course, after that I’ll be submitting grades (yeah, my students basically get a 2 week reprieve from Math class) and then celebrating Christmas with my community and New Years with the Americans. Hopefully I’ll be able to host some other volunteers who will be passing through during winter break to visit!
We shall see.

Things which are normal for me now…

                Eating sauce with my hands
                Goats and pigs on my porch
                Abandoning all thought of the absolutely complex idea of queuing
                Speaking only in French for weeks at a time
                Being given babies to hold in my lap because there’s not enough space in the van to fit everyone
                Taking 4 hours to prepare afternoon tea
                Clicking my tongue to signal affirmation
                Being able to tell random kids to do errands for me whenever I want
                … and so much more! I just can’t remember what is bizarre for Americans right now…

Triumverates

It's time to start doing projects. I suppose. Today I will be meeting with my homologue and a nurse at the hospital to talk about our plan for helping my ville's hygiene. I'm running a little bit late to get back to town after working in my regional capital a bit though... oh well! C'est la vie. Anywho, I'm trying to set up point people for different projects in different sectors. For example, a group of me and two Burkinabé to work on the promotion of girls in the community, planting trees, health sensibilizations, and income generating activities. Basically, I'm forming triumverates. Should not have read Julius Caesar so much...

What would you all like to know about now? I just gave my first test to my students this past week. Unfortunately, I have not had the time to grade them. Here, a passing grade is a 10 out of 20. And they try to make the test average for the class be about an 11. Thus, things are a bit difficult. One of the major goals here is to encourage critical thinking. Often in primary school, the students are taught only to strictly follow directions and not think outside the box. The culture as a whole does not really align itself with critical thinking. I heard one story this weekend that when a section of forest was cleared out for a future road, the villagers continued to follow the old path- even though it twisted and turned in the now cleared field, the people twisted and turned along with it, declining to simply walk a new path. It serves the people well enough, but, of course, I'd like to help my students achieve their full potential. I'm excited to see who solved my critical thinking problems correctly.

Big news! There is a small village next to mine which is getting a new volunteer. Sadly, the two years has come to an end for the current volunteer... Bon voyage Lyndsay! Thus, the new volunteer will, for all intents and purposes, be my site mate for my remaining time here. After all, I've got the best marketplace around! Hopefully we can collaborate a bit on projects.

Anywho, I'm done eating my papaya and I'm frankly exhausted from this weekend's activities. If you have anything specific you would like to hear more about, let me know! I am but your humble servant, here to cater to your every literary craving. Or something like that. Will write soon! Promise.

La Grève

Ok. It's been some time, no? Let's cut to the brass tacks.

Strikes. If you all know me as well as I think you may or may not know me, you would know that I don't know how I feel about strikes. Did you all follow that? Good. I admire when people take a stand to combat injustices and, to quote Holden Caulfield (shudder), I really do. However, I'm not a fan if innocents get hurt in the process. But let us move forward objectively.

Here, if something happens that gains national notoriety, from time to time the students from university level down to junior high will go on strike. This involves simply not going to school for two days. Yesterday, I was teaching one class when suddenly the class exploded into yelling and people trying to look outside the classroom. I was surprised- this particular class was normally very well behaved. Eventually I was told to let the class out into the courtyard and that I should just hang out with the other teachers and have some coffee. Apparently, some students from another school showed up and got some of our students to simply leave. Eventually an official representative of a university came to explain to the students the reason for the strike, classes were canceled, and everyone went home.

Nothing else is done during the strike- no protests, etc. Somehow the idea got out that the best way of combating injustice was to limit one's education. And that's what I'll say about that.

Potential

Alright folks. It's here. The computer. So! I hope I might get posts up once a week- fairly reasonable if the internet decides to work all the time. But, what, am I my internet's keeper? I can't answer for what it might do!

Anyways, important stuff- NEW RESTAURANT IN TOWN WITH A PICTURE OF A HAMBURGER AND AN ICE CREAM ON IT. Checking that out stat. Hope it's not a trap for Americans... Because it would totally work.

Less important stuff- school started! Finishing chapter 1 on Friday. Man it took much too long to do that... It's been pretty tiring if you couldn't tell by my plethora of sentence fragments. Can't. Even. Type. Full. Sentences. Although, on second thought, non-surprisingly, that actually takes more effort.

Permit me to give you an anecdote of my time as a teacher thus far:
I tell one class that I'll come in during their 3-hour long lunch break/siesta to give extra help if needed or desired. The kids protested a little bit saying that that's not a great time. But I stuck to my guns, figuring I could at least do some lesson planning if no one shows up. I get to the school and work for the hour, and sure enough, no one comes to the big teachers work room/building thing for extra help. I pack up my things and hit the road, firing my bike on all 0 cylinders.
I run into some of my students who ask me, incredulously, where I was going! Everyone's at the classroom! I turn back and sure enough- 40 kids who had been just sitting in a hot classroom waiting for me. They saw me but figured it would be impolite to interrupt my work in the teacher's room! Soooo they ended up not having a night class and I ended up teaching them for two hours. But still- oops? It was slightly embarrassing telling the other teachers there at the time that no one showed up (to which they said duh! It's the break!), leaving, and then coming straight back to find my kids..

Currently, I'm excited for potential projects coming up. I'll be meeting soon with the public high school and discussing how I can start working there non-formally. A teacher/businessman at my high school wants to start a business-themed English club. Absolutely PERFECT for practicing income-generating activities disguised as opportunities for using English to buy, sell, trade... all that jazz. If I can talk with the local women's organization, I might be able to bring a few people to Ouaga for a conference on how to manufacture and sell Shea butter here to raise funds and improve, well, the quality of life! One can never have too much Shea butter. Right?
After starting working with the hospital and health clinics, myself, my counterpart, and the doctor have been thinking of health projects. Mainly sanitation of food cooked by street vendors and of the vegetables covering the ground and being sold at the market. I'll figure that out I guess... I also met with a group who does sensibilizations for AIDS/HIV awareness, family planning, nutrition, and more. Hopefully, I'll be able to work alongside them when they come back into town!
There are fields to improve, trees to plant, spelling bees to organize... Plenty to keep me occupied if I can stay focused and determined. Of course I never mentioned anything about my committee or the various summer camps during, you guessed it, summer. BREATHE.

There's just so much I could say about my time here and I don't know what to share! Maybe next week I'll do something about the various social rules and norms as understood by an American 5 months in. Things can be... interesting here. Example- the general public do NOT know what waiting in line is. Ugh...

So! Hang in there folks. Stay strong. Fight the power. All that jazz. Have fun voting and watching Anna Karenina and all those hip things going on across the Atlantic. Do it... for me. (By the way, just read Anna Karenina on my new Kindle [thanks again man!] and boy was that depressing. I think you can sum up the novel with "Don't trust jockeys". Solid life advice.)

Site! (This one's a doozy)

Alright folks, it's been a while, hasn't it? I promised many times that I would have internet once I got to my site in the Cascades region. Well, I do have internet, but my trusty laptop stopped being trusthworthy and fried as soon as I arrived. You think you know a computer...

But do not fear! I'm receiving a new one (THANK YOU FAMILY!), one that's not 7 years old, so I can continue my work here as well as keep you posted on each exciting new development here in BF. (Of which there are multuous!) For example, coconuts and avocados have hit the scene in my town! It's a good time to be me, my friends. I have no idea what I'll do with any of them but it's new! It's exciting. Wow. Last night I was totes cadaeuxed an avocado so I made some salsa with it, garlic, lime, peppers, cumin, tomatoes and onions, fried up some garic bread and ate that ensemble. Not too shabby. The other day I made crepes with homemade syrup and onion rings. That was even less shabby. Seriously, I'm eating pretty darn well for Burkina standards. This week I'm trying tamale pie. And maybe a quiche. Why? BECAUSE I CAN!

Ok, ok, you're right. I shouldn't yell at you. It's just, after three months of eating only rice, it does the body good to mix it up a bit; cook on one's own, burn a pot of alfredo sauce... you know how it is. Mind you, the ingredients here aren't States quality but they do the trick. Cheese is expensive and unobtainable for me outside of Laughing Cow wedges. But enough about food!

New developments... let's see... I'm a member of the ICT committee which tracks and documents data and procedures for all the different pojects being done around the country; maintains a website, and produces media to help with our work here amongst some other stuff as well. Thus, I'll be making a quarterly trek to Ouaga for a weekend for these meetings and trainings. I'm especially excited and pumped and insert-your-own-adjective-here for working with monitoring and evaluating the success of our work here. I'm a numbers guy, in case my math major wasn't red-flag enough for you. Thus, we're going to be working hard to implement some new systems here to put a beurocratic spin on our work for the boys back home.

But let's talk ville. My site is not quite a town and not quite a village either. It's fairly small but we have a ton of merchandice and food that comes out of Cote D'Ivoire. A lot of houses have electricity (like mine) and even running water for taking showers (quite unlike mine)! However, there are many many folks without such luxuries. I'm living in a nice area which is not effectively reflective of the general life in town. As I explore the town more and more and become better integrated, I may develop a clearer idea of what I can do to assist the communal development.

Each day, I venture out and try to have a meangingful conversation with three new people/groups. It's tough. It's awkward. But I manage it. The marché is becoming much more intuitive now, and I can finally recognize
places to buy meals. Hey, street food involves a pot and a bench and that's it. It's very easy to overlook. This one lady has been hooking me up with free sweet potato fries every time I buy attieke from her. With some fish and onions... mmm mmm good. I talked for four hours once with a group of men at a little buvette (where you buy drinks), took tea with a group of students at the lycée I'll be teaching at, and talked development with some professionals in the town. I've started making a point of stopping to talk with and introduce myself to anyone who waves at me basically. It's not normal. But it's worth it. The people here are very nice and the culture dictates a person-first attitude to life. Most of my work in Burkina Faso really entails getting to know the people and helping them get to know the American way of life as well. Thus, I try to steal myself away from my house each day. (Although there's always another table to fix or exercise bench to build or cookbooks to peruse.)

I wake up at 5:30 and go to sleep at 10:30 generally. Not so bad. Although, last night I could hear yells and honking and craziness really late. When I came into town to catch the bus to Banfora, I noticed a soccer arena was constructed out of wood and wire and spotlights in the town square. I guess I missed that memo. Sigh. I guess I'll just have to take that guy up on his offer to play soccer with his crew and maybe break into that scene a little bit.

Oh. My. Goodness. I wrote so much. Sorry! I'll close out by saying I'll learn what classes I'll teach and my weekly schedule tomorrow and I'll update you all eventually on that! Good ol Conseil des Professeurs tomorrow... Donc, in short; things are good, I'm eating well finally, I keep thinking goats are saying my name. Maaaaaa is basically Matt.

A plus!
-Matt

Foodstuffs

I promised a post about food and I am a man of my word. So! Let's get into it, shall we?

In a small village there is not a lot of variety for meals. Pretty much the chief dishes are:

Riz gras (Rice mixed with tomato paste and maybe some okra)
Riz sauce (Rice with vegetables and tomato sauce or peanut sauce)
Benga (Red beans and stewed onions)
Atteke (THE BEST. Shredded casava root with a vinegar sauce and fresh tomatoes and onions on top.)
Spaghetti (... not great. With tomato paste.)

Basically, people here like tomato paste. It's also possible to buy brochettes of beef, sheep, or goat and have them cooked on rubber mats. Those can be awesome, or full of bones, or make you sick. Careful. Also, certain restaurants can be convinced to make up new dishes or items. However, this is only possible during certain times of the year. Some sites only have two types of vegetables at any given time, IF that. But Sapone is a slightly bigger town and there's a supersized outdoors marche every third day and more things are available. For example, my main go-to for lunch offers a potato soup, or sandwiches with cucumbers, tomatoes, and avocados, among other things (fries too!). It's really boss but the place is so crowded no one goes there anymore. I'm looking forward to having more variety at my site and the chance to cook for myself.

For example! My family asked me to cook them American food and I freaked out. It's tough to cook having limited resources and no stove. However, I settled on making mac and cheese with bruschetta on garlic bread. Or, at least, the closest thing to it. I took Laughing Cow cheese wedges, powdered milk, oatmeal, salt, and water and made the cheese sauce to pour over macaroni. (The oatmeal made the sauce thicken.) I made 600g of macaroni to go with it and when it was done it was the greatest thing I have eaten here. I was able to cook over two small things with charcoal in them. I then took a frying pan and put that over some charcoal, dipped halved bread in oil, pressed some garlic into it, and roasted the bread a bit to make it crispy. My friend whipped up a batch of diced tomatoes, peppers, onions, and scallions with some lime juice for the bruschetta/salsa stuff. Thus, we put this on the garlic bread and ate it alongside the mac & cheese. Amazing. Incredible. The best.

I can make cookies and all sorts of stuff at site. I'm looking forward to that. Oh man, yes. But! I'm really hungry right now and Chez Val's is calling my name. Potato soup and half avocado sandwich, you're mine.

Model School

Model school has started! Basically, it's student teaching en Francais. For one hour each day, I teach geometry (again) to the troisieme class which is the equivalent of 9th grade in the US system but more like 11th/12th age-wise. I feel that I should have paid more attention in physics because I will be teaching vecteurs (vectors for you Americans out there) for about two and a half weeks. It's really hard to get excited about vectors but being enthusiastic in the classroom is basically what I have going for me right now. Donc, game on.

I'm actually really satisfied with my progress with French currently. I can teach an hour class without reading from my notes and have the vocabulary and ability to convey my meaning, at least for now. What I need to work on is getting the kids to talk more in the class. Despite my production of French, my comprehension is severely lacking. I find it really really tough to understand what people are saying back to me. Thus, in my real class in a few months, it will be so hard to understand and respond to questions. We'll see.

Today's lesson is on the definition of colinear, vector wise. I should probably be psyching myself up for teaching and not writing a blog post. Hmmm. Maybe. Peut-etre. Je ne sais pas. Meh. Ca va aller, am I right?

(Oh, and training is referred to as Stage here [pronounced stahhje] and there's a prom coming up. But I'm taking a break from committeeing this time after the July 4th blowout. Sooo there's that.)

Sick Pt. 2

So you might be wondering what a typical day is like for me right now. (Let you remind you that I still have five more weeks of training until I'm at my true site to work.)

Well! I wake up at 6 each morning well after the rest of my host family. This morning, my mother has been roasting peanuts outside my little apartment room for an hour already. I exercise a bit in my room and then head out to get water in my bucket from the giant pots in the courtyard. We always try to keep these full by using the pump, a five minute walk. I take a bucket bath and my sister brings me tea and bread and butter when I have changed. I brush my teeth, lock up my room, and I ride the 20 minutes to the FDC training center for classes. One day I did it during a torrential downpour. Rainy season!

At the center the 33 Education volunteers and sometimes the 10 daba peeps will sit in on a security lecture or other topic. There are also a ton of language classes. I was in Inter-low and have just moved up to Inter-mid in my French. Inter-high is passing for the peace corps by the end of training and frankly I'm impressed with myself about my progress. In these classes, we basically talk non-stop about various topics or play a game. We've done truth or dare and debated capital punishment. En Francais.

After 4 2 hr classes, we're free! Sometimes we'll hang out at a local restaurante, swap media, read, or go home to our host families. When we've done that, we bucket bath again, eat our riz sauce or riz gras and talk with our families until we pass out. I sometimes break out the harmonica. Yeah.

And that's a typical day! Next week I think I'll focus on the foods.                                                                          

Sick....

Well, I'm sick for the first time really since I've gotten here. It's... not pleasant. But others have it much worse than me. (Someone told me once, "Never trust a fart.") Anywho, enough toilet talk.

I have had to borrow an internet key every other week or so and thus updates have been scarce. When I move to my new site in the Cascades region, I will have electricity in-house and, thus, my priority is to pay for internet. And for a fridge. And for a blender. But that's it. Everything else I could possibly want is already at my house. I've got a large living room/ kitchen, a rec room, a study, my bedroom, and a shower room. (No running water though.) Also, when I say there's a rec room, I mean that I'm planning on building a ping pong table there. For rec. Comprends-tu?

Guys, (and girls), I am so utterly psyched for my site. I got the sweet hook-up fo' sho'. Although, it actually made me feel somewhat bad. Did the Peace Corps not think I could rough it? Cause I had resigned myself to a lot of struggles which I will NOT have now at site. I have a faucet and a water barrel just outside my house. I have the equivalent of a convenience store next door. There's a one-screen movie theatre in town. It's really impressive. I'm hoping I can really play this hand I've been dealt and do some amazing work.

Site Announcement!

AHHHHHH. We find out our sites tomorrow! There's a ridiculous diversity in site options here, with elephants to the south, desert to the north, and waterfalls out west. Then, it's two months left until I move out to my site and begin teaching Math. (I don't know what grade or anything like that either yet.)

But here's some tidbits on how life is different here in the Faso, just in case you were interested.
1. I take bucket baths under the stars.
2. Lightning here is pink.
3. I've seen a cow head split open and butchered.
4. Rain here is always accompanied by a MASSIVE dust storm immediately before.
5. I ride my bike maybe 4km each day?
6. No English when I'm at home. French and Moore only.
7. I pump water each day with my host sisters.
8. It's HOT.

Oh! And I taught my sisters how to say "Ain't nuthin' but a thang." Let's hear it for Peace Corps goal #2!

Touchdown

So Matt, (I'm assuming you're asking), what is the process like to apply to the Peace Corps? Well, I won't tell you. Yet. I'm much too tired and it's a loooong process. What I will tell you is that I'm here, in country, and life is swell. La vie est belle. At this hotel compound, they feed us, there's showers, we got free bug spray. Seriously, the good life. I got fitted for my bike which is replacing my trusty 95 Jeep Cherokee steed. No thoughts on a name yet though. I'll take suggestions.

I'm learning French slowly. I need to develop the ear for it and then I'll take off. I trust. I KNOW. Definitely one of the great trials. At least I could say that the curtains were grey in my language evaluation. Well, I think they were asking what color they were... Doesn't matter!

La vie est belle.

Goodbye my Dowry, goodbye my friend.

I got my tent and my 220V converter and it's on. It's on, it's on, and I'm home. And I'm waiting to go. Seriously  though, it has been a one month long waiting room here in NY. Although, there always seems to be a new loose end which pops up every time I think I've finished all of my work.

Speaking of! I only have two weeks to sell my car. Anyone want a cheap Jeep? You only need to water her once a month and she's ever so loyal. Usually. Shh.

Accountablity

Hello and welcome to my blog! The real introduction is coming; however, felt moved to include this as my first post. When I was first accepted into the Peace Corps, I was asked to send an aspiration statement to my host country. You can find the first section from this statement blow. These are my preliminary thoughts about the challenges facing me and a brief history of how I came to apply for this job as well as my preparations for it. By revealing this to you, I can be held accountability for my goals and attitude while overseas. Please enjoy.

At the beginning of 2011, I resolved to be bold and take chances. I never would have dreamed, at the time, how my life would change so dramatically as a result. After spending a month with my college in Costa Rica, I decided to pursue service in the Peace Corps. Once I graduated in May, I worked with Habitat for Humanity and at a factory, gaining valuable experience riveting, hammering, and drilling. This led me to an opportunity to help manage flood relief for a small town in the Catskill Mountains. Here, I was thrust into a chaotic environment, knowing no one, with destruction all around me. I planned on staying for five days and ended up committing to three months of work. Although the town will not recover fully for years, I was able to see it begin to stabilize before I left. Of course, during this time I was also taking French classes and completing my Peace Corps requirements. I am currently teaching Math at a high school in Pennsylvania and will do so until I leave for Burkina Faso.

Looking back at this year, I realize that I have already begun my pre-service training (in a way). In Costa Rica, I became more comfortable attempting a second language, even when I was not proficient, and improved greatly as a result. In the factory, I learned skills that will help me deal with any problems I may face when living on my own. Through working with flood relief, I gained experience with dealing with loss, taking initiative for projects, working with organizations and seeking funding, and working as a team. Finally, I am developing my own teaching abilities for when I have classes in Burkina Faso. Overall, I feel that I have truly been pushed and pulled in many different directions, allowing me to become more flexible and ready for the challenges that service abroad will present me.

I plan on using my organizational skills, creativity, responsibility, and willingness to go the extra mile to serve others throughout my assignment. I have a strong work ethic and do not give up easily. However, I just cannot foresee what my service in Burkina Faso will require of me. I understand that it will be a unique challenge to determine what my role will be and what I can undertake on my own to better my local community. At the very least, I know I will be using my past experiences as a template for how to continue serving and interacting with others abroad. I trust my ability to adapt to any situation will allow me to be an effective member of the community at which I will be stationed.

Also, I recognize that sometimes the fruit of one’s labor is not immediately visible. I seek to make a difference in at least one person’s life during my service. Ideally, I hope to bring relief to my area in Burkina Faso by supplying education for its children. Nonetheless, I aspire to excel in all I do and to learn just as much from the Burkinabe (if not much, much more so!) as they will hopefully learn from me.