Ouaga

The first day of training was easy and laid back.  I had an interview with my new boss, Dr. Claude.  Dr.  Claude is a pediatrician and seems and sounds fantastic.  I also had a language interview as well as a health review.   Language is going to be difficult.  I could talk about my family and foods I like but when I was given the potential scenario, I was lost.  My teacher, JZ, asked me to pretend that he is the mayor of my community and I needed to present to him my project and plans.   “Eh, euh, uuuuhhh…Je veux aider les enfant avec laver les mains?” That means I want to help children to wash their hands, I nailed it, right? 

Right now, all of the Burkina Faso volunteers are staying at this sort of compound.  I live in a dorm with a mosquito net and a bathroom.  The toilet, however, is outside, but it does flush and toilet paper is available.  I would not, however, recommend sitting.  The water in the shower is mildly warm but I think that I wish they were colder.  It is hard stop sweating at anytime of the day although nights and mornings are cooler.  Yes, that does mean there is running water at this location; however we are not allowed to drink it.  I accidentally started brushing my teeth with it last night and managed not to become violently ill, at least not yet.  I am told, however, to expect explosive diarrhea sooner or later. 

Today, I was also sized for a bicycle, exchanged my money, got a “walk around allowance”, and even got a cell phone.  Go ahead and contact my mom if you would like my number.  For security purposes I am not going to post the number directly on this public website.  It is free for me to receive text messages and phone calls from you.  Just be aware that it can get pretty expensive on your side.  I think that land lines are cheaper and so are calling cards just in case you are interested.  Also +226 is the country code so you would dial that followed by my eight digit phone number.  For a text message you must dial 011 to get out of America and then 226 for my country and then my eight digit phone number.  The phones here are pretty funny.  They are all pay as you go and everyone and their mother (literally) is selling minutes on the streets.  Many current volunteers had their smart phones sent from home and switched out the sim card.  You can buy a data plan month to month which is also pretty cheap (1000 CFA).  Just to give you an idea of the exchange rate, I received 68 USD for my allowance and that was 29,000 CFA.  For me, the value of money is extremely hard to grasp.

Tomorrow the more intense training starts and on Friday we move in and are adopted by our host families.   I am hopeful that I will get some alone time in the evening to digest it all and get out my electronics; otherwise, it is going to be a long 2 months.  Jet lag was not a big issue.  Those crazy long overnight flights mess you up so much anyway that I had no trouble sleeping.  Getting up to pee in the middle of the night is a little creepy.  Geckos are everywhere and that’s fine.  It’s the giant ones the size of my face the hide near the toilet and run faster than the speed of light. 

The food here so far has been pretty amazing except for the occasional bone or piece of plastic.  Lots of carbs and sauces.  Meat is good here in the city but I am told not to eat it once in your village.  Lack of refrigeration makes meat and dairy questionable.   Apparently I could have continued my vegetarianism if I had wished.   The employees here were shocked many of the trainees were told to start eating meat.  However, the chickens and goats run free here and I feel like I need the protein.