Camel Riding in Bani

Last weekend I went up north to my friend Kait Brown's site in Bani Burkina Faso. Kait had organized an overnight trip out into the "desert" on camels. We would go out and then camp by a gold mine. As per usual we got off to a really late start so late in fact that we were riding camels in the pitch black. That was NOT FUN at all because your entire life was in the hoofs of these camels that were not happy to be carrying 2 people on their backs. The ride was so hard of my knees sitting up front that I had to get off the camel about 3 km from our camp site. I rode with Mikey, he was behind me on the camel. We were both hanging on for dear life as we swayed side to side 10 feet up in the air. There was a lot of swearing and OMGs shouted back and forth amongst the four camels carrying 6 people.

We did not get into came till after 9pm and we were all hurting. You get a WORK OUT when you ride a camel, not only your thighs but your stomach feels like you just did 3000 sit ups. We were in the middle of no where (or so we thought) with only flashlights. We would go a couple meters away from camp to go change cloths and go to the toilet, no trees or bushes there. It is interesting to be going to the WC with no enclosure looking up at the stars. Stars from horizon to horizon.

I was not feeling well after our 2 hour camel ride and was very somber and not entirely looking froward to the next days ride back to Bani. We ate plan pasta with our hands and made some egg and tuna sandwiches and shared the food with our Burkinabe guides. We were exhausted and just wanted to set up our little tents and go to sleep, the Burkinabe were kind of sad because they wanted to tell jokes and stories. Ohhh well. Despite not feeling 100% I actually slept REALLY WELL and woke up around 4:30am.

In the morning we found out that we were rather near a family compound so all of the kids came out to stare at us. Some of us wanted to leave ASAP before the sun came to it zenith but the Burkinabe insisted that we check out the gold mines. Mining in Burkina is like the mining in the USA 150 years ago, I am talking Deadwood (TV). It is a hard life and there is a lot of illegal use of child labor and it is very dangerous. It is also not very lucrative but then again it could be, it is all really a crap shoot. While we check out the mine the men put the harnesses on the camels. We then insisted that they re-tighten the seats because a couple were lopsided. I insisted on sitting in the back for the ride back to Bani due to my horrible knees.

Mikey and I mounting our camel about 7 km from the town of Bani Burkina Faso.

We finally got on the "road" around 8am and I fell in love with camel riding. It was so pleasant on the back. The sun was really hot but we were moving and it was windy. It was so nice I was even able to close my eyes. Since it was daylight we were able to see where we were going, so it was not as nerve-wraking. Mikey also preferred the front. After an 1 1/2 of riding we made our way to Kait's house.

I uploaded photos to facebook since it is so much easier and faster to do it with my iPhoto on my computer. Therefore, check out photos there. I tried to upload 2 films here. I was successful I think with the one of Mikey, I, and the camel (Rajat) standing. I then spent 2 hours trying to upload the one of us dismounting and it timed out, bummer. We named the four camels after characters from Aladdin.

It was a load of fun and I think I will definitely do it again when I head up north to goroum goroum in November!!

It's Been a Long Time, Hot Season

I know it has been a LONG freaking time since I wrote in my blog. I look at is as a good thing, since that means I have been too busy and in village working on projects!!! March and April have been very productive for me. I have also had a lot of visitors to my site, so I am entertaining a lot. Now that I have been here a year and a half, I find myself a veteran PCV, scary. A new stage will be getting here next month, June and I will be working 1-2 weeks this summer back up in OHG. It has been over a year since I have seen my host family and been in OHG, it will be very nostalgic to go back.

As I am nearing the end of my service I have to start winding down projects and finalizing my activities here at site. The pressure has set in and I find my thoughts drifting towards what the HELL I am going to be doing come January 2011 when I get back to Americaland. Many of my fellow volunteers are either going to graduate school (done that) or staying on in Burkina Faso for another year (no thank you).

Needless to say, come the beginning of April I was feeling stressed out beyond belief, I had a little meltdown in Ouaga and decided when I got back to DBG I needed to take action so I would not physically become sick. My sanity came the second week in April when I finally gave up the ghost that my NGO would ever get internet and I went in with 2 other PCVs in my region and we got internet for my house.

The stress and the pressure have just melted away. Yes, the internet is VERY SLOW for how much it costs; but it allows me to check my email everyday and download the most important thing in my life right now, GLEE. Yes, I am a MAGOR GLEEK. I now feel so much better about the availability to be able to search for jobs come August and September. I will not have to go the 6 hours to Ouagadougou or Bobo for internet to get my future life in order, I can do it all in DBG. Big sigh of relief. Therefore, please email or facebook me more because I do have the time to respond now!!

I have been planning things month by month and not even thinking about the month ahead of me because I am so busy with activities and have no major plans for vacation in the near future. I also do not know what weeks I will be working training this summer. All I know is that I want to not be in Burkina Faso for my 29th birthday in August. I want to go with a group of other August birthday PCVs and head to the coast, GHANA, for a week or so, fingers crossed. It will be my last “vacation” before my close of service (COS) trip.

Now let me get to all these Activities I have been talking about for March in April.

March:

Dental Hygiene Sensibilizations with my Neighbors: In my courtyard I conducted small information sessions with my neighbors about the importance of brushing their teeth. With toothbrushes and toothpaste I showed them how to care for their teeth by brushing 1-2 times a day. I showed them the techniques of brushing in a circular motion and each of the kids demonstrated brushing their teeth in front of me. I instilled in them the importance of covering their toothbrush up after use so dirt and germs would not get caught in the bristles. I gave each neighbor a covered toothbrush and toothpaste at the end of the information session.

Individual One on One Technical Computer Training with the Employees of ASUDEC: When I got back from the ASHOKA conference the second week in March I began one on one trainings with my ASUDEC colleagues. These are time consuming and mind numbing sessions were I become so frustrated and impatient but I stick in there because they are so thankful. This takes up 5-7 hours out of my week. Internet has sadly not been set up like I said before so I am instructing them on Word and Excel. I give them exercises like retyping a paragraph in Word, and then sit back and help them find the period and fix how many spaces are between words. Very basic computer skills like even how to use a mouse, I normally bring a magazine to read while I am “teaching” them. It is hot and with the heat I sometimes have a short fuse especially is the computer is not working properly. This will be an activity I continue for the rest of my service.

English Club continues every week with an increased intensity as June nears and all of my students will be taking exams to continue on with their schooling. We have been doing mini exams each week, improving their vocabulary and ability to answer questions in complete sentences.

April:

Three Agricultural Formations: My entire month of April was taken over by agricultural formations I conducted with my counterpart Lagou in three villages surrounding DBG. I went out and lived the village life each week in the villages of Bapla, Navielgane, and Tiankoura. To conduct each formation I received a small grant from Peace Corps, which allowed me to fund the sessions. In each village we discussed different agricultural techniques depended on the needs of the village. Topics included composting, soil quality, seed dissemination, seed quality, and plant information for corn and black eyed peas. Lagou and I had about 25 men and women in each village come to our 3-day formations, very pleased. At the end of each week I bought the village metal shovels, pitch forks, and hoes to share within the village. These formations were done before the raining season so the farmers would take what they learned and make changes to their fields.


Besides my work activities I have been hosting a lot more volunteers at my house, as they realize the awesomeness of DBG. I have also become really close to a couple new volunteers from the training stage from this past summer, one of them, Mikey Berino and I talk practically everyday. He has been kind to keep me company in DBG a couple times a month and we rock out to GLEE and Lady Gaga. He makes me not feel so alone in Burkina. I also want to throw a shout out to his dad, Manny Berino, whom I hear reads my blog!! Happy belated birthday to Manny (April 30th) and my mom (May 1st)!!!

On the weekend of April 16-18th I hosted 6 fellow volunteers at my house for the annual Dagara fete. It was overwhelming to have all those white people in my village and have to worrying about getting water (manually) and cooking food (in 110+ degrees). We had a ton of fun and converted my porch into a movie theatre. It was great to have so many people see where I live, work, and play. When Sunday came though, I was happy to see them go because I needed my privacy back, haha. Us PCVs, we are loners.

And now to the HEAT!!! I believe it has been a hotter HOT season than last year. I have not slept in my bed since mid February and have been sleeping every night on a cot or on the hard cement floor because it is so unbelievably hot. I tried sleeping outside with my neighbors but that lasted 3 nights because there was no wind, at least inside I could have the hot circulation from my fan. Most night I have to drug myself or get up in the middle of the night and shower to cool off. I have also been the great recipient of a really bad case of heat rash that turned into “cute” boils. What fun, NOT! That made it even harder to sleep. Ohh what I do for this job, haha.

All is well now, I got some medical help with my heat rash, it got so bad because it was on my back and I could not reach it. Another downfall with living alone, no one to spread crème on your back, no way would I ask a Burkinabè.

May is really busy and Mikey and I have planned a lot of trips before the new volunteers come in June! Camel rides up North and a trip around the Ghana border of Burkina to Leo. If you are wanting photos check out my facebook page because I found a REALLY FAST way to upload my photos using iPhoto on my new MacBook Pro!!!

Au revoir!