Waggadoogoo

Hello from two new Peace Corps Volunteers. That's right, we are moving up the PC acronym hierarchy from PCTs to PCVs. OMG! Our time in Ouaga was great- it could probably be summed up in one word: food. We ate so much delicious food: Chinese, Indian, pizza, ice cream...it was amazing. For our wedding anniversary we went to a yummy French restaurant and ate way too much.

I have discovered some universal truths about PC volunteers here in Burkina (and maybe everywhere), we are all obsessed with food. And it seems to be an obsession that has developed while we've been here. Anytime someone came back from the hotel in Ouaga, the first question asked was always "what did you eat?". And that is almost always followed by "how much did that cost?" which is the second universal truth of volunteers: we are incredibly cheap.
We did do more than just eat in Ouaga, though. We did a tour of the PC office and the US Embassey (where we had delicious fajitas, burgers, and milkshakes) and met the ambassador. On Friday, we had our swearing-in ceremony which was fun. Lots of nassaras in Burkinabé clothes. The ambassador and the minister of education were there and some of the volunteers from our group gave speeches in French, Mooré, Jula, Gulmancema, Fulfuldé, and Lobiri. That was probably my favorite part and it also helped establish some equity in the crowd because I know that everyone present got to experience a few moments (some more than others) where they had no idea what was being said.

We also did lots of grocery shopping. The PC gives us money to buy supplies for our new house and since we didn't need a whole lot (thanks Jill and Markus) we bought lots of food that we cannot find in village. Speaking of food we can't find in village, some people have been asking for what they should send us so we made a wish list and posted it conveniently close to our mailing address. If you think the list is boring and would prefer to blow our minds with something we didn't even know we needed, feel free.

In other news, Aaron is better. They found his amoebas, gave him some meds and he is all fixed. He's actually been better for a while, I just didn't get the chance to tell anyone. Thanks for caring, and sorry for those who were worried.

Tomorrow we are moving to our village. We have a month before school starts to meet people and get comfortable. It sounds like the first month or so consists of a lot confusing miscommunications and staring at the wall out of boredom (anyone ready to visit yet?). And while there are goats and chickens a plenty, they don't have their wi-fi connection yet so it might be a while before we get online again: we are hoping to come to town once a month. So feel free to call or write letters. Also, our blog will be picture-free for a while until we get a new camera or our current one stops acting like an idiot. Right now, Aaron and the camera aren't speaking and he refuses to take it anywhere just in case because "what is the ****ing point, the ****ing thing waits until we get to ****ing Africa where we have to way to ****ing fix it and it ****ing quits working!" (He hasn't said that exactly, but the emotions are there.) So for pictures from swear-in, you may want to check out other blogs.

And if anyone finds themselves in Iowa thinking "man, that river is cool but I wish there was some way I could learn about the history, geology, ecology, etc. along the river while aboard some sort of floating craft..." I hear Stephanie gives awesome boat tours, just watch out for the mean driver.