Sissamba

This past weekend I went out to the village of Sissamba to see how village people live. Sissamba is about 10 km outside of OHG and Brittany and I left around 5pm on Saturday Nov. 22^nd. We headed west, watching the setting sun disappear below the horizon.

What Gwen looks like before a bike ride out to village. My pack and thermarest are strapped onto the back of my bike and I am sporting the beautiful bandana around the face to shield from the dust. It is an unpaved “good” road in front of me.

There were 6 people heading out to Sissamba, Brittany and I hit the road first. I was ever prepared and took some action shot from my bike as I was biking. Brittany, the Sun, and the scenery around us.

My pack was falling off the back of my bike so I stopped and I am so glad I did. This site is beautiful and quintessential Burkina. There was a group of ladies heading in from the fields with products strategically placed upon their heads. They loved it when I stopped and spoke Moore to them.

A midway break to grab some water and get a photo of course. It is incredibly dusty and you can taste the dust particles between your teeth while you bike.

We have reached Sissamba!!! Brittany, Sara (lives in Sissamba), and I pose with the Sissamba sign while we wait for the others to arrive.

This is the bain of bikers and normal transport for Burkinabe. The next photo will show all the dust it kicks up after it drives by.

THE DUST!!!

Brittany and I stayed at Amanda’s compound and ate with her dad, rice with peanut sauce. After dinner all of the kids where yelling and demanding that we head to the disco-tech. It was only 7:30pm and we were not going to meet our other PCTs till 9pm. There were probably 30 kids waiting for us and shouting our names. Yasaman, Brittany, Amanda. Here is a photo of some of the kids (our entourage) accompanying us to the disco-tech. They loved the photo taking and then kept shouting photo, photo, during the 1 km to the disco.

At the disco tech. In village there is no electricity and so the music and the one or two “blue” lights run off of a car battery. When we showed up, it was only us 3 girls. We dance and what happens is a circle of 40-50 people circle around us. They all just STARE at us. It is quite amusing. Eventually I text all the other groups and they make it to the disco-tech a little before 9pm. At 9pm they begin charging people, all of the kids have to leave because they cannot pay to stay. Since there were so many American’s there Sissamba was going crazy and climbing up on the walls just to watch the “nassaros” dance. It was a lot less people once they started charging and a the village people began dancing too. (L-R: Brekk, Dan, Brittany, Amanda, Colin, and Audrey)

Colin dancing with all of his family. The girl is the pick could really dance. Kids were soo cute and loving the opportunity to dance.

Around 10pm it was really late for us, since it was like 2 hours past our normal bed time. We headed outside and it was alive with villagers selling food and drinks. The PCTs of Sissamba said they had never seen it like this before. Here is a line of ladies selling fried gateaus.

I tried to capture what it looked like without flash since there is no electricity. A lady selling gateaus. YUMMY, like binets/dougnuts of the south.

The next morning the kids of Amanda’s compound were yelling for photos to be taken. The children of the village are so different from the children I live with in the city. The kids of my courtyard are a lot more respectful and understanding of my camera and act normal. These kids kept jumping into every photo I tried to take. It was really frustrating and they kept up throwing up fingers. They were still cute but my heart never wavers from Dodo and Adissa my host brother and sister.

Amanda getting her bike ready for our ride into village. Of course her kids run to get into the picture and stick up their thumbs.

The ladies in Amanda’s courtyard preparing food. You can spot the kids encroaching on the photo. The ladies had to yell at them in Moore to get out of the shot because the ladies knew I only wanted them in the photo. This was taken at 7am Sunday morning.

The photo from Amanda’s courtyard; beautiful. The joys of living in village: the wide expanse of land and the beautiful view of the night sky and all of the stars. I have never seen so many stars in my life!! It was incredible to take my bucket bath outside under the stars and be able to look up at them.

On our bike ride to the rural health clinic in Sissamba, I took a photo while biking; what we normally see while biking. Amanda is out ahead on her bike.

Everyone chilling enjoying village life in Sissamba. This is how they pass every Sunday, I am jealous!! (L to R: Karla, Amanda, Dan, Kat, Matthew, Sara, Colin, Brekk, and Brittany.)

The Harmattan was really blowing on our bike ride back into OHG. A photo of the road we biked on. It was really dry making me really parched so we stopped a couple times for water. It was great feeling the wind though because we were biking around 10am. I highly looked forward to the frozen citron I would get when I got back to the “city.”

Brittany moving around a herd of goats as they crossed our path on the way back into OHG.

A PERFECT WEEKEND!!!