Ouaga and rain

  The name of the capital of Burkina Faso is Ouagadougou.
For us here we use 'Ouaga' for short and you can see that
it would make sense.

  As I am here in Ouaga on a Saturday morning in the midst
of rainy season ... it did rain.

  I went out early to get an omelet sandwich and as I was finishing
I could see that the rain was on it's way. I went to a kiosk
(little basic food place) that was about a mile and a half away
from where I was staying.

  Seeing as rain was imminent I cut the usual socializing short and
tried to get back before the possible deluge. History seems to repeat
itself and I pulled into another kiosk which I got stranded in the
last time I was caught in the rain in Ouaga. Same kiosk,
same people and occasional bouts of deja vu.

  At this point in my Peace Corps service I try and get around
the country I am in a little more. Up to this point I've spent
almost all the time in the village. So with time running down,
I am taking the opportunity to see a bit of Burkina.

  A few days ago I convinced one of my colleagues to ride
along with me (87km) to visit another colleague. She is in
the northern section and we left Ouaga and took our time.
It took us about 9 hours but that was with stops of an hour
here and there. It was a lot of fun and after taking the time and
enjoying the day, it returns to the debate about things and
the rat race vs less and the turtle race.

  Yesterday I left by myself and did the same 87km in 5 hours.
No record (not trying to imply) but it was moving smartly. Just
one of those days that one cup of coffee really jazzed me up.
I live in the south where the terrain is virtually flat. In the north
there were some good sized hills and it broke up the
vista. Plus with rainy season, a lot of green, and it was nice.
Sorry, didn't take any photos due to a dead battery on the cell
phone.

  If it is true that you are what you eat, then, I am Burkina Faso
today. On a stretch of about 2 miles just before entering Ouaga
there is some road construction. With the trucks spurring up
dust, it was lunch time.

  I am just chilling out today in Ouaga and recouping a little force
for the ride back to the village tomorrow.

  It was a fun trip, good colleagues and good exercise. Just taking
time in the last days to enjoy the life in Burkina Faso.

Moringa in a bidon

I am in the capital (Ouagadougou) for a couple of days.
Partly for work and partly for a few days of R&R and
discovering.

The work was in the form of our quarterly report and
I've been able to tackle it and that's out of the way.

I haven't really spent much time in Ouagadougou
so I am taking a few days to chill out and discover some
of the sights and food joints.

The discovery will also continue tomorrow as a colleague
and me (or I) are planning to pedal our bicycles to
another colleague's village. It is about 87 km (or about
54 and a half miles) on a road I've never taken. The main
roads here in Burkina Faso are actually very good with
a decent little breakdown (or shoulder) lane that makes it
a pretty safe trip.

Also, before I arrived I was having a bit of technical
problems with my bicycle. From going through the bush
roads I actually wore down the gears on the bike. The bike
is used but the gears were like new. In the bush trails
there is a lot of sand and after all the miles ... it just plain
got worn to the point that the chain was jumping over the gears.

But all that is resolved with the gears being replaced,
a new chain and man, I am feeling ... giddy. One aspect of Peace
Corps life I am appreciative of ... is that living with little makes
even having the gears on your used bicycle changed ... a great
source of happiness. I am happy for the little things. Helps
cut down my cost of living, which gives me a
sense of freedom. I like feeling free.

In the picture you can see a 'bidon' cut in half with three
Moringa tree seedlings in it.

Moringa trees about 1 meter tall

It is nothing of great significance but it looks colorful
and it's in my courtyard. With the animals really liking
it it is difficult to plant without solid protection.
The leaves of the Moringa are added to sauces and they
are almost like vitamins as there are some good solid
nutrients in it. In the past I've raised them to about the
height they are and the neighbors prepare the protection
and then we divide it up and they are planted. It is a
bit of work but in the end ... it is worth it.

So tomorrow it is on the road for some discovery and
hopefully adventure. Could be some blogging in the
near future.

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.