Carepackages Galore

This blog might be boring for some people but not for me. I also want to express my undying thanks to the people that put together these packages and spent all the money of postage. THANK YOU. Care packages make my week and I can sometimes spend hours unwrapping the boxes and going through everything. I eat better during weeks that I get care packages. Due to the lack of regulation and food standards care packages are the only way I get protein and meat while I am at site. I really do not want to get a tape worm or other disease from eating the meat here.

Tape worms aside care packages are my link to the outside world, allowing me a piece of Americana here in Burkina Faso. THANK YOU

December 27, 2009: The first thing I did when I was alone in my house was to open this care package from my Aunt Dee and Uncle Mike. It was my first Christmas package and I was through the roof with all of the fun things they sent me. I have watched the film Out of Africa twice since then. Man Robert Redford was a fox when he was younger, haha.

January 20,2009: Christmas did come a month later. This is me in the transit house in Ouagadougou after I picked up the three packages that were waiting for me at Peace Corps headquaters. It was a task carrying these things for over a mile.

WARNING: The next 5 packages you see are the packages that were robbed from my house at the end of January. Luckily only the food was stolen!!

January 20,2009: My Best Friend Toby knows me too well. Since he now lives in Tennessee he sent me over some corn bread mixes, a little bit of the American south all the way over here in Africa. The Fig Newtons had no chance and I had to restrain myself after polishing off 15 fig newtons in one day. Toby was also worried I was becoming stinky over here hence the soap, haha. I don’t think I smell that bad and they do have soap over here in Burkina Faso, in fact many women sell soap as income generating activities. All of the tuna and salmon were wonderful. Sadly I was never able to enjoy any of the food.

January 20,2009: Jen, my sister sent over this random assortment of goodies. Yes that is an entire box of granola bars and candy. Tons of hankerchiefs, I now have enough for each day of the week. A gift from Jen is not complete without a wooden fish that is now on display in my house. I have also put up all the Christmas decorations, there is no shame in having Christmas decorations up year round here in Burkina. Love the tabloid, some light entertainment.

January 20, 2009: Jen pulled my name this year in our Family lottery and she sent me over a care package with wrapped goodies. I waited till I was back at site to open up my presents. But I can already see some yummy goodies: Homemade Beef Jerky (yes Jen it was salty but I did not mind) and Tasty Cakes. The photos of my family’s house at Christmas this year are on display in my house now.

January 20, 2009: The unveiling of Jennifer’s Christmas present for me. I of course set up my Christmas tree so all of the gifts could be laid out underneath. Jen knows me well Taco seasoning, crystal light drink mixes and Tuna/Chicken packets. But the icing on the cake was Season 3 of How I Met Your Mother. I was ecstatic and so happy it was not stolen. The dresses were a hit and since wearing them I have had 4 separate women ask me to give them the dress. I normally just laugh and say that after my two years they can have the dresses. They smile and continue to ask the next time they see me. Thanks Jen, SMILE!!!

January 26, 2009: This package had it all, thank you Mom, Dad, and Jen. The photo collages I made prior to coming to BF so I could hang them on my wall. Some fun markers which have been so much fun playing with. Dried fruit galore and yes that is some shrink wrapped meat in the bottom left. They one thing I regret not eating the most is the fun yogurt cranberry high fiber cereal from Target. Ohh I lament over the pad thai and all those lovely drink mixes. The most ingenious product is the ziplock bag of ketchup packets. They did not cost my family a cent and they are so encential to add flavor to bland dishes here in Burkina Faso. Also I dare you find some good Heinz ketchup anywhere on this continent, which is killing the Pittsburgh girl in me.

January 26, 2009: I snap a photo of my final Christmas package before I tear everything open and go wild. After opening these last two packages on the 26th I sat down and wrote a letter home for over three hours.

January 26, 2009: Complete Joy. I could not help myself so I dug right in to the Ghirardelli Peppermint chocolate. I know what you are think, Gwen you don’t like chocolate. Well I love PEPPERMINT and you would be surprised what you eat when you have no variety. I find myself eating chocolate and liking it because it is something different. Ohhh this was good. I would kill for a candy cane right now.

January 26, 2009: The previous package unfolded and beautiful on my petit bois “coffee” table. Ohh the guilt and regret wash over me as I see that real cheese, Italian bread crumbs, and fig newtons in this photo. The Burt Bee’s lotion and pumice is amazing and allow me to pamper myself every so often. I laughed at the 2 bottles of anti-diharria pills, Nice Touch!! Hopefully I will not have to use them.

February 17, 2009: Annie’s care package came just in time and look at all of the lovely protein. Yes, that is Chicken, YIPPEE. Ann also sent much needed drink mixes to make the hot water bariable to drink and a World Map to decorate my house. It has already been nailed into the wall. It is great for teaching!! There are so many Cds I do not know where to begin and tons of new artists to be introduced to. A little bit of everything even some Burt’s Bees pampering packs. I felt like a princess going to bed every night for a week as I gave myself facials and wore socks and gloves to bed to lock in the lotion, oh la la. The package was not complete with out the two bags full of sauces and restaurant/fast food condiments. Not a single Chick Fille Polynesian Sauce made it though across the pond. Over 6 containers exploded and got over everything. I spent a good 30 minutes cleaning all of the condiment packages, SOO WORTH IT!!

February 19, 2009: Now this was a pleasant surprise on my 2nd month anniversary of being a PCV. A surprise package from my good friend Sami and James. As you can see I ripped open the fig newtons right away and scarfed some down. The big shock of the package was the incredibly good dried cherries from Target. I have never had dried cherries before and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you go out and try them. The easy mac has been getting me through lunches especially when some nice tuna is added for extra protein. Ohhh how I miss asian food/pad thai, which is non-exsistant here in Burkina Faso. The pumice on a robe is used every night during my bucket bath helping remove dirt and dead skin daily. Ohhh the lovely magazines, I loved the Entertainment Weekly, THANK YOU SAMI AND JAMES. So incredibly thoughtful.

February 19, 2009: What a smorgesbord of fun things to keep me busy. My family sent me out this care package of entertaining goodies. The best thing in this package though was the DVD Ann and Jen made me of our house in PA with all of the ice and snow. I laughed and laughed as I watched them take me around. It felt like I was back home and cold for a hot second. Jen was also so nice to send over one pack of gushers and a really great smelling candle that comes in handy when the electricity goes out. Yummy summer sausage and beef jerky and more condiments. The magazines (even a British magazine I bet from Gig) and book will distract me and keep me busy. The one thing that still perplexes me is the plastic sporks, haha.

February 26, 2009: As a PCV you kinda assume the only care package you will get will be from family therefore when a care package comes from a friend back in the states it makes that packages so much more special. It means that as a volunteer you are really reaching a broader audience. I also find that you can find out who your friends are because they take interest in your life and try to stay in contact while you are away either studying abroad or working abroad. This massive care package is from a former colleague and friend of mine Andrew Hardgrove. He himself a former PCV in Uzbekistan, he was one of my mentors during my application process and it was so thoughtful of him to send me a package. It was filled with wonderful imaginative goodies though the letter was my favorite part because he told me about his surprise plans to purpose to his girl friend in Taiwan. By now they should be engaged!!! YEAH. He sent things that I had never thought about before and had funny reasons for sending them i.e. he was craving the same things when we went shopping himself. I am amazed the most by the queso and tortilla chips. I cannot believe they made it over here. Chips let alone Tortilla chips are nonexistent here. Ohhhh Queso. Some other wonderful orginal things like wasabi green peas, Milano cookies, amazing granola, and some Kashmir spinach from tasty bites capped off this package. Thank you Andrew!!

February Etude

Written February 26, 2009

This is the life. I can understand why former Peace Corps Volunteers are jealous and think fondly of the life as a Peace Corps Volunteer. The reason is that you are kinda your own boss, and you set your own hours. Starting in April I will actually begin projects and from what I understand I will be making my own schedule. I will embrace this freedom and revel in all my free time. Unlike my fellow volunteers that come right out of college I have worked for the past couple years. Therefore, I am embracing all this free time with no ramifications or deadlines to worry about. It is like college but with nothing due and no tests to study for.

This past month my host NGO ASUDEC actually allowed me to live my etude. For the entire month I have been in Diebougou and have only gone out to village once. I also only have meetings for 1-2 hours two times a week. The rest of the time is mine.

What does a normal day entail? I normally get up with the sun or the animals depending on which one wakes me first. I then get ready for the day and depending on what time it is I head out for my daily walk around town. During my walk I normally pick up what I might need to eat for the day. Since there is no refrigeration or way to preserve food I normally have to buy everything that day. I head to center ville first where most of the alimentations are and stop in and say hi to all the boutique owners. I then wind my way back through the marche were I pick up my vegetables and bread for the day. My tour of the village normally takes about an hour sometimes more. I only head to the post office once a week.

When I get back to my house I open all my windows and doors and try to get the breeze to come into my house. There are number of activities that I can keep myself busy with:

1) Write Letters to Friends or Family (I normally send 3-4 letters out every week).
2) Write in my journal (This takes anywhere from 1-2 hours a day)
3) Read a Book
4) Watch Movies/TV Shows (My closest neighbor Linda (23 KM away) left her external hard drive with me since she cannot use it at her house, she has no electricity. It has been my saving grace this past month after the robbery. Slumdog Millionaire is an amazing film by the way).
5) Teach myself French
6) Write a blog entry or respond to emails that I have copied onto a junk drive
7) Have text conversations with friends in Burkina Faso on my cell phone
8) Take a nap
9) Wash my laundry and do my dishes by hand. (This normally takes about 3-4 hours. Makes me very thankful for machines now).

Those are the 7 things I do to pass the time here at my site. I vary it up daily. One day I might do one activity all day the next day I will do another. I normally always spend 1-2 hours writing in my journal everyday. The main point of these activities is to stay still and not sweat too much. I normally do everything on the floor because it is the coolest spot. I lay out a mat on the concrete and write, read, or take a nap. When a care package comes with magazines, I will devote hours reading the “latest” news in The Economist, People, or Entertainment Weekly from cover to cover. Normally, the “latest” is a month late, but it is better then nothing. Another ingenious thing that I do is listen to Podcasts. When I was last in Ouaga I downloaded the latest podcasts for NPR so I could listen to them back here at my house. As I am preparing lunch or dinner I normally put on Wait … Wait Don’t Tell Me.. . and listen as I prepare my food.

I really need to purchase a radio so I can listen to the BBC every night at 6pm. That is what a lot of my fellow volunteers do. I am putting it on my shopping list for this weekend. That will create something new to do in my daily routine.

When it reaches 5pm I normally go outside and relax on a mat or take another tour of village. If I feel like treating myself I head into center ville and buy myself some ice cold Fanta Apple Soda and Sparkling Water and then walk back to my house. I mix the two beverages at home and enjoy the crisp sparkling sensation in my mouth as it cools me down.

I have had to move my nightly exercise routine from 5pm to later when it is pitch dark outside. I was attracting peeping toms while the sun was still out. Either children or women would look through my straw fence while I did my pilates/excercises. It really upset me so I moved inside for a week but it is a lot hotter indoors with no air circulation. So this week I turn off all the lights in my house and go out and exercise in the dark around 7pm each night and no longer worry about people spying on me; everything is dark.

With all of this free time I do feel guilty every once in a while because I feel so inefficient. But then I look out my back window and all my neighbors are laying on mats under their mango trees taking naps or listening to the radio. Life is just different over here, and they embrace their repose time. Therefore, I would say 90% of me has given into this life style, 10% feels the guilt. I need to embrace it now because I know in 5 years when I have that 8am-6pm job again I will be jealous of all this repose time I have now. In the United States I would be considered lazy but here with the heat and the lack of amenities personal reading/writing is an efficient use of my time.

February Highlights:

A) The first week in February I felt like I ran a hotel, I had a different Peace Corps volunteer come through and stay at my house every night. Strangers become good friends in a matter of minutes over the common bond that we are all PCVs in Burkina Faso. My house is like the transit house of my area of Burkina Faso. It is nice to have company but makes me enjoy my privacy and alone time even more. Having company also lets me go out into Diebougou at night. I normally do not leave my house after 6pm because I do not feel safe. There are no street lamps and I am a women so I stay close to home. Therefore, it was great to go out at night when PCV Clay came and visited me. Diebougou looks completely different at night and has a different vibe, I am definitely glad I stay indoors when alone.

B) My counterpart Lagou and his wife came over on February 14th for dinner. Valentine’s Day is just another day over here, nothing special but it was nice to make spaghetti and banana bread for my guests. We talked in French about life here in Burkina Faso compared to the United States late into the night.

C) As I tried to sleep during the early morning hours of February 17th the wind picked up and it sounded and felt like a hurricane was ripping through my house. I felt like my roof, which is just a bunch of corrugated steel, was going to be blown off my house. Then the rain came and it poured down on my house, which is deafening but I was so happy because it cooled the air. I even did not mind that some rain came in through the window. Windows here are metal slats and there is no glass so when it rains, water just comes inside your house. It was overcast for the next couple days and cooler than it had been. I was so happy and wore my gore tex mountain shoes because it was muddy everywhere. There is no irrigation or drainpipes here, mud everywhere, horrible roads. The Burkinabe were so surprised because it normally does not rain till June, people acted like it was the worst thing ever. Imagine if Florida got 5 feet of snow. Kids actually thought they would not have school because it rained. Quite funny but I enjoyed a couple more days of reasonable temperatures and looked forward to the rainy season (actually monsoon season), though I will have to get used to the noise in my house.

D) This month I also had my first whole evening without electricity. I lived like a true villager. The electricity goes out normally 5-7 times a week, most of the time during the day. It even turned off once during the writing of this blog. It really does not bother me, because I try not to use my electricity that much, and most of the electricity outages are during the day when it is light out. In January when the electricity would go out at night it would be just for a couple minutes and then come back on. Well on February 24th the electricity went out at 7pm and never came back on. I was so thankful my family sent me a nice smelling candle from the States (Thanks!). I just lit the candle and wrote in my journal, with my face inches from the page squinting at my writing. I also took my mat outside and laid on the ground looking up at the stairs. With no electricity to veil the sky with light, the stars here held undisputed dominion over the night. The amount of stars is breathtaking and a great advantage of village life without electricity. I took my bucket bath in pitch black and went to bed early. I read my book by flashlight and enjoyed the quietness.

Many of my PCV counterparts live like this everyday and it makes me VERY VERY THANKFUL that I have electricity. Some village PCVs do buy car batteries or solar panels to use at night to power lights but most PCVs use candles or kerosene lamps and go to bed very early.

This past week I have conducted meetings with the other NGOs and associations here in DBG for potential opportunities to collaborate during the next two years. For example I met with Women groups, Organizations for AIDS/HIV.

I think the organization I will most likely work with will be the Handicap Association, they are my neighbors and I really liked the lady working there. Since they are right next door I can easily visit the association and help any way I can. I was shocked that they did not even have a ramp for wheel chairs, a project I can hopefully work on. I will say that this issue has affected me the most since I arrived in Burkina four months ago. I cannot believe how many Burkinabe are handicapped. I found out that 1 in 5 people in developing countries are handicapped and it is heartbreaking because it makes their lives that much more difficult. I am so excited to make a difference even if it is just getting some cement to make a ramp for their building!

As February comes to a close I am amazed at how fast it went by and that I never left my site once. Now that I am settled I can see how these two years will just fly by.

Please excuse me now as I go dunk my head in a bucket of water!!

Flat Rate Boxes

I want to make sure people use flat rate boxes if they are sending me a care package. It is SOOOO much cheaper!! Make sure you also tape up the box so it is not ripped into. Thank you to those that have sent packages they mean the world!!

January Etude

Entry Written February 2, 2008, (Sorry there are no photos at present I have to wait for a better connection, be patient).

So due to my procrastination I have been putting off writing my first blog about my new home and community. That was a bad idea and now I really hope that my memories will due the first month at site justice. I say this as being the author after the incident that has clouded my view. You will need to read the blog entry “How to Catch a Thief” to understand why my thoughts about the first month might be tainted in such a way. But for now lets hope I can over look this event and talk about my first month in Diebougou (DBG) . . .

Our first three months in village we are supposed to be getting to know our community. Meet neighbors, authorities, and find resources for our basic needs. It is also a time to sit back and relax after all of the grueling months of training.

I arrived in Diebougou on Saturday December 27^th and my first impressions were overwhelming because it is a lot smaller than what I was used to in OHG. I live in the south west of Burkina Faso but not in the densely populated Bobo and Banfora region. The area around DBG is very hilly in relation to a lot of the other areas of Burkina and there are a lot more trees but still not enough as I am used to in the great state of Pennsylvania.

Upon pulling up to my new house I was surprised to see that my courtyard was constructed with straw, which was very discouraging. So there was a barrier of straw separating me from the road, which does not help with much privacy. That was the only disappointment though, because the house itself was beautiful (for Burkina Faso). I have three rooms and a bathing room. My toilet is outside and there is nothing really to say about the toilet other than it is a hole in the ground. The volunteer before me was amazing and I could want for nothing because she had furnished and made the house so welcoming. Thank you Bianka.

My counterpart, Lagou, was there and he oversaw my settling in. Within 20 minutes of my arriving he had be washing all of the basins and buckets out so I could get water from the fountain. My house was THANKFULLY only about 100 feet away from the fountain (a manned ville pump where you get water for your house). Two neighbor girls were very helpful and went to get me buckets of water and then watched me as I cleaned all of my things. I could only laugh because I had not been in DBG but 20 minutes and already I am sweating and cleaning. There were all these people there watching me and all I really wanted to do after 24 hours of traveling was just to be left alone in my new house.

Eventually, Lagou felt content that I would be fine alone. He is very sweet and I am so thankful for him because he has taken a lot of the brunt of my frustrations this past month. I felt so relieved when he finally left and I was alone. I was soooo excited to open the package Peace Corps brought with my luggage; a care package from my aunt Dee and uncle Mike. I sat there alone and opened all of my gifts, which was practically all food, THANK YOU. Only Peace Corps volunteers can understand the joy and happiness that a package of tuna/mac’n’cheese, a DVD, and a People magazine can bring to our lives. It seriously took me two hours to go through the care package, take pictures, and carefully place all of the items into my metal canteen. Thank Aunt Dee and Uncle Mike.

Lagou came back that evening and it was the first of many awkward gatherings where we sit and do nothing, say nothing, and just stare at my living room walls. I have found out this is normal occurrence when Burkinabe visit. It is perfectly fine to sit in silence and do nothing but stare at the walls surrounding you. I recently asked other PCVs if this was normal and they said yes. I have found over the last month that my neighbors and my counterpart just come over to my house without invitation and just come and sit for a little bit and then leave. The neighbors sadly do not speak French so it is even harder with them; luckily they are women and bring their kids, which can entertain for a little while.

I arrived in DBG of a Saturday so the next day I got to experience Marche Day, which happens every Sunday. It is when all the village people come into DBG to sell and buy their goods. I live right behind the market so it is an easy walk to the marche for me. In OHG there is a huge marche everyday so I was shocked when I came in on Saturday and saw the huge central market here in DBG empty. I later found out that there is a very small marche in DBG everyday but it is nothing compared to Sunday and nothing compared to OHG. Even the Sunday marche is nothing compared to OHG. I only now realize the differences in ville size here in Burkina Faso.

My first week at site consisted of me adjusting to all of the alone time. It took about a week to get used to it but now I treasure all of my time alone. I know I read about Peace Corps and heard about it from friends but to actually live it is a different story. I am really lucky though in my situation. I have electricity and live in a beautiful Burkinabe house that was set up by the wonderful volunteer before me. Peace Corps is about solitude and being fine with living completely alone for 2 years. Yes it is about development and working with different cultures but in its true essence it is a test of wills, whether you can be independent and be fine with being alone with yourself.

In my first week at site I made a pack with myself that I would get out of my house everyday and walk around town and say bonjour or bonsoir to everyone I could. I made this pack to myself in the hope that it will get me out of my house and allows me to be seen by everyone in my village, a great way to integrate.

I spent a lot of time writing in my journal, reading, and watching DVDs. I have learned since that first week to conserve my entertainment. Some times I can sit for minutes that turn into hours at a time and just stare off into space. In my second week at my site I began another routine for myself. Every night at 5pm I move my mat and my brother’s thermarest outside and do an hour to an hour and a half of pilates, yoga, exercise, and meditation. It is so cool and the setting sun makes the sky into an orange sorbet of colors. It is also so relaxing and I just pray that one of the neighbors is not looking in through my straw barrier. Ohh they would see so much of my white legs, haha.

I also think about food a lot and what I will eat for my next meal. I think up meals that I can make with my lack of resources. Luckily things are still available; however as January progresses things start disappearing and prices begin to increase. It is amazing soon I might be only able to find onions, yikes! There is presently no fruit available and I am counting down the days till mango season.

Mango trees are all around and it is so cool to see the mangos hanging off the trees defying gravity. Ohh I cannot wait to have mango juice roll down my chin, haha. Anyways, I have taken photos of my food creations and will share them in a future blog entry.

Over this past month Diebougou has grown on me and I have begun to enjoy it here. I went up to Ouaga for a “break” and to watch the inauguration and after 2 days I was done with the big city and actually could not wait to get back to site. I really like being alone and I enjoy not spending money and saving it for vacations and enjoy the quite pace of life in Diebougou.

Now for a normal Peace Corps volunteer the first three months you are supposed to do NOTHING. I however wanted structure therefore my etude will sadly not be me doing nothing for 3 months, no I was put to work, and a schedule was planned out. In my second week of my etude I went around and met with all of the major authorities here in Diebougou: Police, Chief de Terre, Haut Commissionaire, Mayor, etc. Mainly this entailed me sitting and smiling and spending half of the time pronouncing my name. These meetings normally took up the morning hours so I savored my afternoons alone.

During my third week at site the director of ASUDEC came down from Ouaga and I was regulated to sit through meetings for hours. When we did not have a meeting (in French) here in DBG we would go out to a different village each day and listen to 2-3 hours of meetings in local language. I would sit in the front of the room and everyone would stare at me every so once in a while. I passed my time writing in my journal because I had no idea what they were saying in local language. Plus I heard the same presentation over six times in French and then translated into the specific local language for that village. I would be gone from my house some days for 8-10hours.

We drove a lot! Out into the bush to some of these villages. I felt like I was in a bumper car that was being hit over and over again and sometimes the car would be completely diagonal. Quite hairy experiences especially when you have 4 grown-ups sharing the back seat of a car. Towards the end of the week I just gave in to the whole experience and actually began having fun just sitting and smiling.

My fourth and fifth week of my etude was spent going back out to villages and taking photos for ASUDEC’s year-end report. My job was actually to take photos, anyone who knows me knows that I was in cloud 9 for this assignment. I went to over 15 different family compounds and some of the places I visited where out en brosse. We would drive out as far as a car could take us with no road and then we would get out and walk the rest of the way. It is hard to believe how some of these people live. Many times we would show up and all the children would be naked out working with the animals. I took so many photos but I was not sure what they wanted. I was very happy that I was actually allowed to take photos, my favorite ones were the ones I took of children and elder women.

I realize I am breezing through January and I have not even said anything about ASUDEC or what I will be doing for them while I am a volunteer here. I need to ease myself back into writing my blog because I have not written in so long. I need to promise to write a little each week and not get backed up like I did this past month. This past month went by slow at some points and really fast in others. I have gotten over the fact that I do not have internet and I am thankful for the things that I do have, like: electricity, a place to get yogurt, a good tailor, and a place to get cold beverages. I am still on the look out for a cannery to make myself a desert fridge. I hear they will be for sell when it starts getting hot which seems like right now.

I was actually shocked that there were a couple “cold” days in January, nights that I wore long sleeves and wrapped myself in covers. Even last week I was warming my water for my bucket baths because it was a little cold. That wave of cool weather, mind you cool weather is at it lowest 65-70 degrees, has past.

I realize I breezed through January and I promise to be more detailed in the future but right now I really want to just write about this past week. I will leave this blog entry though with a funny story that only happens here . . .:

The greatest thing I fear is that I have to get up in the middle of the night and go to the bathroom. The reason is that I have to get up, unlock my front door, find a flashlight and make my way out to the dreaded toilet, which is just a hole in the floor. Normally at night there are little critters all around. Well a couple weeks ago I had to make this dreaded walk and I was half asleep. I get out there, move the cover from the hole and flash my flashlight like it is a light saber to scare away all the cockroaches. So I am going about my business and what should come out of the hole but a little lizard that scared me half to death and I found myself peeing all over myself and my clothes. I think I even tried to use my pee as a weapon against the lizard that disappeared the second I saw him. This of course wakes me up and I am NOT HAPPY and waddle back to my house to take a shower and wash my clothes at 2am. Gotta love having pee-wars with the animals that live in your latrine!!!

A Little Preview Diebougou

December 28, 2008: This photo was taken from my porch out onto my courtyard. There is no weekly garbage guy who comes by and takes my garbage. Burkinabe people normally just throw their trash anywhere. Peace Corps tells us that we should burn all our trash because if we just put outside our house everyone will just go through it. If it is not burnable I have to throw it down my latrine hole so children don’t try to use things like razors, batteries, or tin cans as play things. So once a month I have a bonfire. This photo was taken before the wall was built therefore you can see how “private” my courtyard is. To the left of the fire is the doorway to my latrine and to the right is the straw door/ entry way to my courtyard. Even after I burn my trash my neighbors/children come in and still look through the debris.

December 31, 2008: Look at that sunset. This is the street I live on my house is up on the right. The sunsets are truly amazing here. Breath-taking.

December 31, 2008: My counterpart insisted that I go out for New Years Eve. I only stayed out till 10pm. We went to a maquis and had a whole chicken in a bag. Yes there was heads and feet but it was good. It was a good thing I had my flashlight so I coul see what I was eating. Lagou and his wife Marie are on the right, Lagou is so un-Burkinabe with that smile. Haha. My other ASUDEC colleagues Moudis and Gladis round out our party. I bit overwhelming since I had only been in DBG for 3 days. I called it an early night and went to bed around 10:30pm and tried to sleep as the Burkinabe kept singing “My Heart Will Go On,” by Celin Dion all night long. Lovely!

January 1, 2009: I tried to start a compost to eventually have a garden in my courtyard, but that will never work. Pigs sneak into my courtyard ruining my straw wall and eating all of my compost. Annoying but super cute.

January 10, 2009: After a night of laundry I try to capture the beautiful moon from my courtyard. This one is taken with my front porch light on.

January 10, 2009: I turned my front porch light off and tried to stay still to take this photo. I like that you can see the outline of the clothes hanging up.

January 16, 2009: On the road out visiting the villages next to DBG. We are invited to partake in the celebrations of this women’s group that was founded by Bianca the PCV I replaced. The women were celebrating the new year and their many successes with their savings and credit club. No matter how poor people are here in Burkina they always invite you to their “table” to eat and celebrate. I am holding some calabashes of Dolo, the local beverage. A great end to a long day en brousse.

January 18, 2009: Here is my house from across the street. It is to the left of the trees and this was taken before the wall was build. I will take a different photo in the future with the wall built.

January 18, 2009: This photo shows how far I have to walk to the marche to buy my veggies every day. My house is situated perfectly.

January 18, 2009: My house head on. I took this photo right across the street. You can see my courtyard entrance and the cement on the right shows where my toilet is located.

January 18, 2009: Another view of my street in the direction of the central market.

January 18, 2009: This photo shows how far I walk to get my water. You see the straw roof, the fountain is under there. I carry my water in an open bucket on top of my head like a true Burkinabe. If there is no line for water it can take me about 30 mins to get 5 buckets of water.

January 18, 2009: It is Sunday, market day in DBG. The day when all the villages right next to DBG come in and sell their goods. This is before 7am and they are unloading rice bags filled of grains.

January 18, 2009: The next two photos are different angles of the marche.

In the distance the paved road ends. My house is behind the marche on the left.

January 19, 2009: I hitched a ride up to Ouaga with my NGO ASUDEC. They were transporting a bunch of chickens. I sat in the front cab with the other ASUDEC employees. It was a very interesting ride being about to see EVERYTHING from that high vantage point.

February 14, 2009: Here is my valentine this year, his name is Herman and I made sure I got a photo of him before I killed him with my shoe. It looks mutant and it was huge. I think it was a scorpion carrier. Delightful!! My valentine was about as big as my fist.

How to Catch a Thief

Entry Written February 13, 2009, (Sorry for no photos, unable to upload. Please read January Etude blog before this blog entry, thank you).

Well it has been twelve days and still no news. You are probably wondering what news I am waiting for. I am still waiting to hear anything from the gendarmerie (police) on whether they have any leads or any information on the persons that robbed my house.

“Robbed my house?!?”, you say. Well the last weekend in January I headed up to Ouaga for the warden meeting and I was away from my house four nights. I returned to my house and upon entering my house I found my huge metal canteen was stolen. When I say metal canteen think huge metal trunk with latches. The monster canteen had to have weighed over 100 lbs, because right before I left DBG I had received all of my Christmas packages. This blog was going to be about “Christmas in January” and I would have showed you all of my care packages with a tree and everything.

Sadly, I will be showing pictures to illustrate all of the food that went missing. Peace Corps volunteers have canteens to store food items so mice, rats, and insects do not eat their food. Within the canteen I put all the drink mixes/granola bars into zip lock bags or containers for added security because animals/insects are exploratory and insects and mice still get in.

I left on January 28^th, and this was the second time I had left my house, the week before I had gone to Ouaga for the inauguration. The night before I left I could not get my pouch of money to stick to the top of my underwear drawer. The duck tape was not keeping the money hidden. So on the day that I left I put my pouch of money ($400 US Dollars and 200 CFA (roughly $400) plus US credit cards) into my canteen. On good measure I also threw my album of DVDs that I had on my “coffee table” into my LOCKED CANTEEN. I felt fine leaving my house, safe, secure, and trusting that my locked door would keep anyone out.

I returned around noon of Sunday February 1^st and all my neighbors came out to welcome me back. All the children came up and took my bags to carry them to my house. I was so excited to finally get to dig into all of my American food. I had been dreaming about homemade salmon cakes, fig newtons, cereal with yogurt, and meat and cheese sandwiches. As I am talking to all the children, I am looking forward to give them some candies to thank them for carrying my bags . . . Looking back it is all a haze now.

As I unlock my door and push back the screen door my eyes falls on the petite bois table my canteen had been and there was nothing there. My mind goes blank and I think this has to be a joke. I become speechless and enter my house with all these children surrounding me. I begin breathing deeply and try to calm down yet all I can speak is French in clipped phrases. I go right to my French/English dictionary and I am trying to find the word for stolen. I am mumbling in French and pacing my living room back and forth as these kids have crazy expressions on their face. I probably looked like a crazy person to them. As I skim the pages of the dictionary I cannot remember how to spell stolen and I find myself among U-words.

Eventually I find the word for stolen, “steal” in French, and I ask these kids if they understand me. I think they just shook their head to appease me. I was starting to unravel and asked them to leave me be for a couple minutes. The children left and I found my phone and called the emergency duty phone for Peace Corps and the second the voice came on the other line I lost it and burst into tears for the first time since I came to Burkina Faso.

I stopped crying after 30 minutes and mainly sat and stared as my neighbors and colleagues from ASUDEC marched in and out of my house. My counterpart Lagou was so distraught by the entire experience and could not believe that I was robbed. He got me food to eat because I now had nothing in my house. All my food had been in my canteen.

All I wanted to do was sleep because I was exhausted from the 6-hour ride from Ouaga and only having 4 hours of sleep the night before. It was hard to sleep because people kept coming to say how sorry they were. In my mind all I could do was go over everything and be upset with myself. At no time during the entire experience did I want to go back to the United States or blame Burkina Faso. I would not let one/two people’s actions dictate or overpower the reason why I was here. I also do not want anyone who is reading my blog to feel resentment for the Burkinabe, robbery can happen anywhere in the world. The scary part was that there was no forced entry and they came in through my front door.

Last year another PCV’s house was broken into, the thief had come in through the front door by using a bunch of keys until they found one to turn the lock. I believe this is what happened at my house too. They found that guy because he had stolen 200 Euros and had tried to exchange them and the police had called all the banks to be on the look out for the exchange. I am still hoping that this will be how they catch my thief. Fingers Crossed!

First thing Monday morning I went with my counterpart and the regional director of ASUDEC to the gendarmerie to file my report. With all my years of reading Nancy Drew I told the commandant my suspicions and gave a detailed report of everything that had been taken. I sat there and laughed to myself as I wrote the list of food and tried to explain to these older men what tuna packets, Worchester sauce, and pad Thai were. There is no French word or Burkinabe equivalent because the only thing these men eat is Tô for every meal. I was also shocked with myself because I was more upset over the food being stolen then I was for the money (which when converted to US dollars totaled over $800). It is shocking how the situation you are in dictates your basic needs. Due to the fact that I was here in West Africa it was a lot harder to get American creature comforts. I could always make more money by being frugal but I could not so easily replace the American food. I also felt extremely guilty because it takes so much time and money to send over a care package to Burkina. Such guilt.

My Nancy Drew Suspicions: Three days before I left, my neighbors hired masons to construct a wall around our houses. These masons were there when I got my packages and one of them even asked if they could help carry them into my house. Another day I was having trouble with unlocking my front door and that same mason took my key and opened the door for me. I also found graffiti on my window screen done in cement on my return home from Ouaga. Since I was only gone 4 days it had to have been someone who knows me and knew I had left my house. Since my return I have not seen the one mason return to my house to work. Curious!

Now a Week and a Half later: Since my return to my house after the robbery I have been able to spend most of my days at my house. I was actually afraid to be gone for long periods of time. ASUDEC has been very nice and told me to do nothing but to stay at my house. Since I was so busy in January and never at my house I have enjoyed all of the free time though I am missing my DVDs, blast you thief. (Another funny thing is that all my DVDs were Lady films, so I hope the thief likes Jane Austen, British Romantic Comedies, and Friends) Two days ago my lock to my door was changed and yesterday I had my door reinforced with more external locks. I did not realize that I was afraid to leave my house but I was. I feel a weight lifted now that I have a little more security. It is scary to think that someone was here in my house among my things. Thank goodness I was not here.

What I Have Learned: Whenever I go to my post box I will take a bag to hide packages for the commute back to my house. I do not need to advertise that I got something from the United States. Because I am white they already assume that I am “rich” and when they see me carrying packages that advertises that I have “things.” I will also no longer have so much money in my house, I sadly could not do anything with my American dollars but I should not have had so much CFA. I was lucky that I had most of my electronics with me and the robber did not go through my other rooms and find my passports and jewelry.

In some ways I am glad that this happened so early in my service because it has made me more on guard. It has also alerted my neighbors to watch my house more closely when I leave. I am also so very thankful for being placed with an NGO because they were so responsive and have taken such great care of me. Peace Corps is headquartered in Ouaga 6 hours away so it was nice to have someone vouching for me here in DBG. I am also thankful that I live in a ville because the gendarmerie (police station) and hospital is right here only 1 km from my house. Now when I say hospital and police station please do not compare their services to something you might find in the United States. The efficiency is also not the same. It has been almost 2 weeks and I have not seen or talked to the gendarmerie since Feb. 2^nd. Here in Burkina, the police do not talk to the victim until they catch the thief. Therefore, I have no idea what is going on with the investigation. It is very frustrating, but now that I have more locks on my door and my windows are also being reinforced I feel better about my security. I have also come to grips with the possibility that I will not get my things back.

I am mentally fine and I do not take the thief personally and it has pushed me to integrate even more in my community. As my sister Jen advises, “Gwen, this will make you stronger!”

Thank everyone for their thoughtful emails and posts on my facebook wall, your encouragement was so great for my self-esteem and determination.