No Regrets

Whenever PCVs get together, the conversations always gravitate towards a long list of complaints and frustrations about life in Burkina. This obviously stems from the fact that we spend most of our time in our villages dealing with little annoyances surrounded by people who don’t see them as annoying. What was great about our COS conference this month was that for the first time, the conversations began to shift toward the little things we will inevitably miss about our life in Burkina.

Yes, it has been difficult and those stories of transportation breakdowns, promiscuous pets (did I mention we just had our fourth generation of kittens), and digestive gymnastics always make for good entertainment but they don’t tell the whole story. We have been robbed, frustrated, angry, homesick, and just plain sick during our time here but the more honest description is that we have been happy. Despite all the difficulties and frustrations, we have been happy and have never regretted our decision to join the Peace Corps and our decision to serve in what is considered one of the more difficult PC countries because of the living conditions.

How could we regret such a decision? We don’t regret learning a new language and learning the power of communication when there is no common language. We don’t regret making tô with Bernard and Clarice, eating rat with Coach, and making American food for Mariam and her kids. We don’t regret rocking out to the Celion Dion, Beyonce, 50 Cent, and (the untouchable) Phil Collins in the teachers lounge at school. We don’t regret eating a dinner of mangos and peanuts when it was too hot to cook. I don’t regret Bingo, the Hokey Pokey, the Happy Song and all the other games and songs we did in class that pulled in even the most determined “cool kids”.

I don’t regret my failed girls club. It taught me that youth development work is not my strength (a.k.a. I’m awkward and don’t know what to do with teenagers). I don’t regret the sameness of available food. It forced us to get creative and start eating food we wouldn’t touch in America (hello canned tuna and potted meat product). I don’t even regret our favorite nemesis: the Titao bus that breaks down every other day. I learned how much better if feels to pig out in the big city after biking the 47k to get there. Even if, after our departure, corruption wins out and our computer lab doesn’t get a chance to impact many students, we don’t regret bringing such a powerful resource into our community to people who would otherwise never have a chance to work on a computer.

Every faux type has forced us to get creative in blowing them off (my favorite: I’m from Antartica and only speak Antartican). Every late meeting has honed our waiting skills until we can easily sit for 2 hours without getting restless. Every laughing crowd has taught us to be self-confident. Every challenging class has taught us patience and a sense of humor. Every old woman offers us the best of her garden vegetables as a gift has humbled us. And every toothless old man or woman who has defied their age by singing, dancing, and laughing with or without us has made us smile.