Auto-sustainability

  In the picture you can see the little plants.

They are on the right hand side from the

door that enters my courtyard.

  I don't know the name of them in English

but I remember what they called them in 

El Salvador (chula).

  The great thing about these flowers are that

the animals leave them alone, they self seed

and are without maintenance.

  In the world of development a big buzzword

is sustainability. It is actually a difficult thing 

to achieve. There are several variables that

factor in. One big factor is the people themselves

buying in to it.

  But with the chula it is virtually automatic. It will self seed

and move around the grounds and bring some color

to the health clinic.

  It is kind of a hands off project to brighten the joint

and no participation needed after the initial

planting.

  Aesthetic auto sustainability ... voila.

Working my way back ...

  Yesterday was a bouging (moving) day from Koudougou

to Ouagadougou. 

  In Burkina it is pretty easy to bike around. The highways

or main roads aren't congested with cars. The space is

mostly taken up with motor-scooters. Also, there is always

a little breakdown lane on the side of the road that keeps

a cyclists out of harm's way. The fact that many people use

bicycles also keeps the respect for bicyclists relevant.

  Last week in Ivory Coast, we noticed that there weren't many

scooters or bicycles. We were mainly in the big city (Abidjan)

and maybe that is a factor. But it does seem that Ivory Coast

is more developed and it looks like development brings the 

'one driver one car' phenomenon. 

  It was the first time that I traveled from Koudougou (in the 

north) to Ougadougou. It wasn't raining and that was all I 

was hoping for. It is about 87 km and starting at 5:30 and 

arriving at 12:30, was no world record. It was sunny and 

hot until arriving in Ouaga (as us Burkina veterans call it).

That was also a taking into account stopping to have a 

coffee and bread. Plus other stops along the way for water.

With the ability to speak the major local language here, it 

also takes a little more time at the stores. There isn't a 

lot of white people who can speak the local language.

The people are always entertained by it and they try and 

keep the conversations going. On my side, it's usually fun

and I leave there feeling good about connecting, albeit for 

a short time, with someone in Africa and in their own language.

  Now, I am in Ouaga and maybe tomorrow or the next day 

will return to the village. It will be riding my bike again. 

It is about another 85 km from here to the village.

  I prefer the bicycle as it gives me the chance to meet

people along the way in villages with different names. 

Yesterday the name that stuck out to me was 'Kokologho'.

A village about half way from Koudougou and Ouagadougou.

  Today it is chilling out and working on a few reports we must

submit before our departure. Oh yeah, it's also a way to prolong

the feeding frenzy undertaken since leaving the village for 

vacation. But soon, it is back to rice and sauce as one option,

beans and rice the second and sardine sandwiches the third.

No more hamburgers, fries, fresh fish, pastries and the rest

of the stuff. I actually may live longer on the village diet, 

probably shouldn't complain.

  

The magnum

 
  In the movie Zoolander the pinacle of looks

was 'the magnum'. It was not easily achieved

and took years to perfect. In the picture above it is

Bethany and me or I taking a dual selfie. I didn't

realize that we hit the magnum ... it just came 

natural on this night in Burkina Faso.

  Tonight was our Peace Corps Burkina Faso's 

group celebration. As mentioned in yesterday's

blog post, we are together to attend our close

of service conference aka COS. 

  It was a nice ceremony with speeches, certificates

and pins. While sitting and reflecting, it is just

incredible realizing from the first day in Philadelphia

till now, were two years apart. It just 

seems like yesterday, truly. 

  We have two more days left then we will go

to our villages, or seperate ways. It is the last

time we will be all together as there are a 

variety of end of service dates with group

mates beginning to trickle back home bit

by bit.

  But forever we will be group 29, Peace Corps

Burkina Faso.

The bouging continues

 
  In the French language 'bouge' means to move

and is used mostly to say ... moving around.

  This morning we continued to bouge as we 

took the 8:00 am bus from Bobo-Dioulasso

(Burkina's second biggest city) to Koudougou

(Burkina's third largest city). We have a close

of service (COS) 3 day get together. It is 

standard procedure and it is to help prepare

us for the transition back to the USA.

  We are staying at a pretty nice hotel complex

and the picture is the view outside of my hut.

They tastefully built some replica village huts

but done real well. The shape mimics a 

traditional village hut but the inside has the

amenities to include air conditioning.

  The last two years have passed incredibly 

fast. It probably means that despite the 

hardships, there were more good experiences

than bad.

  It is also the time to look to the future and

to new horizons and dream of new paths

to follow.

  After the COS meeting it is bouging back to

Ouagadougou for a day or two then it's bouge

back to the village for the last four months in

Burkina.

  

Back in Burkina

  So from 10:30 Thursday morning until 3:30 Friday
afternoon we were on the train and sitting in the seats
(picture in the prior blogpost).

  There was an area in the back of the first class car
where one could get coffee or tea. If you wanted to
eat spaghetti, you just had to place your order in a
few hours ahead of time.

  During the trip we went up to get a few coffees. Also,
we did get a chance to peek in and see what first
class was about. It has about 40 seats with foam padding
plus outlets to plug in any electronics.

  In comparison our car had 96 people, fiberglass seats
without padding and a bunch of kids.

  I am probably trying to make more out of it than what it
was. Really, the second class experience was an adventure.
It was good to go through and know about.

  I was lucky and met a pretty cool few people around
where I was sitting. Truth be told ... I loved the adventure.

  When we arrived in Bobo-Dioulasso we were able to find
a nice little auberge for a reasonable price. It has small rooms
but all the amenities. We chilled out a little then went to a
decent restaurant and after eating and while in the process of
leaving, we met a French man who is one world traveler.
He invited us to sit with him for a bit and he was personable
and interesting. We were challenged with our French but
we kept up and I also learned a few words and phrases.

  It was just a great way to end our week's vacation. There
was a bit of adventure, resting and learning. Now it is off to
the COS (close of service) conference and then the winding down
till December.

Mind over matter

second class seats

  So we are sitting on a train in the

Abidjan, Treichville station.

  We arrived yesterday from the beaches

of Grand Bassam to the big city Abidjan.

Immediately we headed to the train station

and found that first class was sold out.

  In the picture you can see the second class

seats our rearends will be challenged with

for the next 24 hours. It makes the trains

we took in Romania look like first class.

  It is a mind over matter (our derrieres) 

exercise. We will persevere only because

there aren't other options. Pray

for our glutes.

Yesterday Tuareg ... today

looking at you from Ivory Coast

  Ex-Pat Burkinabe ... we are with the

girls at the kiosk (mini diner) where we

have been frequenting during our stay

here on the coast of Ivory Coast. Their

ethnicity is Mossi which is the majority

ethnic group in Burkina Faso.

  Yesterday was the Tuareg and his 

story ... today we have the story of the 

ex-pat Burkinabe in the picture. The father

and mother moved to Ivory Coast in

1993 and the girls are all sisters and were

born here. But they can all speak Moore, their

mother tongue.

  We started going there from the first moment

we arrived and it took a little time to break the

ice and be more than just tourists clients. 

  Like I mentioned in yesterday's blog one of

the skills us Peace Corps volunteers acquire

is an openess to other peoples. So with my 

other three colleagues not being a weak link

we endeared ourselves to them. More or less

that is.

  It's only like 10:30 in the morning and we are

just sitting at the beach in contemplative 

silence. Watching the waves go in and out
is hypnotic. 

  Yeah, another day with our feet on the brakes

in our little roller coaster ride of life.

Another day at the beach

Tuareg from Mali

  After having a restful night sleep with

the sounds of the ocean streaming through

the window, we got up and just had a day of

talking, eating and not much else.

  Except as you can see in the picture ... a Tuareg

guy was selling jewelery. As people know the Tuareg

are from Mali. This guy goes back and forth from

Mali to Ivory Coast. Mali to collect the jewelery

and Ivory Coast to sell it to the tourists in this

beach town.

  One of bonuses of being in the Peace Corps 

is that we become accustomed and comfortable

with meeting other peoples.

  So this Tuareg man stops to sell me some things

and we sat for an hour or so and he's the first

Tuareg that I've had a discussion with.

  Everyone has a story and his is with the trouble

near to his village. He moved his children here

for safety and to be able to continue in school.

  I bought a few things and probably paid more

than I should have but it still wasn't expensive

and I hope the money will help him out.

  Now we are sitting and looking and listening

to the ocean on a cool evening. Day two is 

winding down with one more day left.

The coast of Ivory Coast

beach at Grand Bassam

  We made it to the ocean as you can

see in the picture. From where I'm sitting

the camera was turned a little to the right

and that would be looking towards the US.

I believe straight would lead us to Brazil.

   Burkina Faso is a landlocked country 

so coming to the coast is definitely a change.

As vacations should be, it is a change of 

scenery. The waves, the sound of the surf

and the smell of the ocean air is the current

that can recharge the soul.

  After going for an upscale breakfast and 

flagging down a taxi, negotiating and having

a great conversation with the young Ivorian

driver we arrived at Grand-Bassam. The taxi

driver mentioned that it was the original 

capital of Ivory Coast.

  Seeing as we are poor Peace Corps Volunteers

we looked for frugal lodging. After going to 

several hotels and smaller hostels/auberges

we came across a low cost one. But you get

what you pay for and it does have the basics.

A nice beach makes up for the lack of some

higher amenities.

  We are planning on three days here then it's

working our way back to Abidjan for a few 

days then the big bus ride back to Burkina.

  The room is spartan but about forty feet from

the ocean. Tonight ought to be an incredible

night to sleep. With the cool ocean air and 

the sounds of the waves as they curl and 

wash up on the shore, we'll be meditating 

in our sleep.