We managed to swing a free trip to town this weekend because Aaron is doing bike training with the PC drivers (so maybe it is just me who got the free trip), so that means it's a big weekend in the big city for the Roses. Things are going well. This November weather has been great. We are still sleeping outside, but now we actually use covers...covers! I even wore long sleeves the other morning because I felt a little chilly.
SIAO was lots of fun, we saw some really neat stuff and had fun getting our discuté on. The part we weren't ready for was the vendors from Ghana who can speak English. This proves to be problematic when you are in the middle of a good bargain and Aaron walks up to say "man, I thought we'd be paying twice that!" Oh well, it was still lots of fun.
The trip home from Ouaga was a little less fun. The first bus was broken so we had to sit around for a new one, then comes the epic battle to get on the bus and claim a seat. I was hanging onto the bus door with one arm and holding off an old lady who was trying to pummel me to the ground with the other. Once we managed to get on the bus and get to Ouahigouya, we discovered that one of the girls with us was missing her bag with all of the stuff she had bought in Ouaga. We're guessing the guys at the bus station took it off the bus at some point, but needless to say, that was really frustrating and sad. Our second bus home was also broken so they roll up an hour late with this bus half the size of the normal one. Madness ensues once again; this time we are fighting for a place to stand because hoping for a seat is a lost cause. After everyone gets on sardine-style and they spend a good half hour loading the bags on the roof, the regular bus rolls up. The best imagery I have to describe the scene comes from Emilie, another volunteer with us. She says that the girl running next to her between buses got stuck behind people and Emilie looked back at her and started to slow down but the girl just waved vigorously and said "Allez, allez." It was madness. So within another hour we were on the road finally heading home until our bus broke 5km down the road. I knew it would be a while when I saw the guys starting to make new parts with a machete and a piece of wood. We finally made it home later that night, so I would say we did okay.
We have some new pets. One of my students brought over two pigeons and helped us pluck the wings so they wouldn't fly away and made a home for them. (I tried to take pictures but our idiot camera didn't work.) After a while when the pigeons have made some babies we'll eat the adults. We still have a rat problem and our attempts to kill them are getting more desperate. We used to strategize and plan, now we run around at 2 am trying to smash it with a shovel or drown it in a hole. They are supposed to make great cadeaux for the neighbors if we can ever kill one. We now have a slingshot, a shovel, and a new trap so either that rat is going to get it or one of us is going to be calling our PC doctor to explain how we got hit by a slingshot at 2am.
Other than the rats, things are great. School is going well. We only have about three week left until our break. I am currently reading Ulysses, which leaves me between states of literary bliss and wanted to be hit in the face with a slingshot. This book is nuts, but I am determined to get through it.
We're really excited about Thanksgiving next week having people over. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you back home.
The male half here. How are you folk? And the family? And the health? And the spouse? And the [period of day]? And the work? But seriously, I hope everyone is doing well. Also, that's an example of a greeting Burkinabe style. Not sure if we've really mentioned this aspect of our everyday life, but you greet everyone you see no matter what. Unlike in America where someone may run by with a quick 'hullo' and strangers say nothing at all and that's just fine, here that kind of, um, let's say efficiency, is taken personally. Of course, it's rather nice even if it just a formality. I liken it to the forced-smile effect. They say that if you're feeling down, even a fake smile can trigger something in your brain to make you feel a little better. Therefore, even formal greetings can make you feel welcome. Which leads to another important point: these formal greetings are surprisingly consistently genuine which makes one feel even better.
In Burkina Faso if you want to have a good day, all you have to do is turn to the nearest person and say 'Ca va?'
Of course sometimes, as an American, I forget that being late isn't taboo and walking into a room full of professors and immediately shaking all their hands and exchanging greetings isn't odd. The other morning, for example, I approached the Salle de Prof and, running a bit behind schedule but trying to be Burkinabe, paused at the door, got into the greeting zone, practiced my finger-snap handshake (a must to be cool), and effulgently burst through the door with a smile, a handshake, and a 'Bonjour' for the first person I saw. After the I-just-walked-into-a-dark-room-from-the-bright-outdoors-blindness wore off and I was on my second or third greeting, I simultaneously saw Amy surreptiously flagging me to shut up and heard the Proviseur (read Big Dog, my boss) addressing a committee for some meeting. Oops.
That's about all the excitement I have. I'm looking forward to the bike training this weekend. I'll be teaching the new trainees some basics and answering some questions of the staff who have received some training. If all goes well I may get to go to Ouaga sometime and do more in depth training and help out with the loaner bike situation there. I've been practicing my French bike lingo, so hopefully I can limit the amount of simian hand gestures.
Thanksgiving. Yeah, it's going to be bonafide. We have a local guy, the grillier, or meat-cooker, who has experience throwing Thanksgiving parties. He took care of business last year for Jill and Markus. We're going to finally have an entire pig cooked with pineapple (I wanted one for the wedding), chickens, beef brochettes (shish-kabobs), veggie soup, turkey, mashed potatoes, cold beer and sodas, cafe au laits (that's nescafe and sweetened condensed milk), sandwiches, the whole nine yards. You've still got a week to buy your plane tickets. Vous etes invites!
Really, that's all I have to say. Have a great Thanksgiving and we'll write to you later.
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