Saturday, July 25, 2009

MTV Cribs: Peace Corps Burkina Faso (trainee edition).

Okay, so I know the subject line is really cheesy but I've been waiting for FOREVER to post these pictures! Since I'm at the Peace Corps Burkina Faso main office in Ouaga and am able to use computers with relatively fast Internet connection, it's about time I posted these bad boys up.

So welcome to my crib a.k.a. host family compound a.k.a. what I've called home for the past (almost) 2 months and will continue to call home until training ends at the end of August!

As I mentioned before, I took these pictures a long time ago...about a month and some days ago when I did laundry for the first time in Burkina Faso. So take a good look and enjoy! And when I finally move to site, I'll be sure to post another entry on my actual house in the Southwest. =)

View of my host family's compound from a short distance. So pretty!

View of my host family's compound when you first walk in (notice some of my clothes hanging to dry). From left to right: where the animals sleep; my host dad's house; his meeting quarters; my host grandfather's hut; and the small place where they store the millet to make food.

A view of my latrine (left) and my bathing area (right).

In short, where I pee and poop.

A picture of two of the many, many goats that make noise all the damn time!

A side view of my hut and hangar/courtyard (again, note my boxer briefs hanging on the side, lol).

Entrance to my hut via my courtyard/hangar. It's so cute!

Inside my courtyard/hangar. It's a safe haven when it gets really hot outside. It's where I read books, write in my journal, take naps, and eat breakfast and dinner. And talk with people...a lot!

My main mode of transportation. My bike. Pretty much my savior (next to Jesus, haha). But in all seriousness, this gets me everywhere! Notice my rubber strap at the end of my bike that attaches/holds anything I need to carry around with me. It's actually quite durable and holds whatever I put there pretty well. The moto behind my bike is my host dad's.

My handy bucket bath essentials -- bucket, water cup, shampoo, wash cloth and my huge plastic water jug to the left.

My bed and mosquito netting. It gets hot under there sometimes but you gotta do what you gotta do to get the bugs out!

Don't mind the walls...they came out weird in the pictures. Anyway, one part of my hut. You can see my huge world map, some books to the bottom left, my water filter, my med kit, and the trunk where I store my clothes.

My self-inflate mat where I take naps outside + some bags.

My water filter. Okay, this is getting a little redundant now.

The door leading out of my hut. Notice the Burkina Faso soccer jersey hanging and my shoes down below. Yay!

5 comments:

Tara Gallagher said...

Michael, this is really interesting! Thank you for taking the time to post all of this. I will definitly be following your travels! I look forward to more pics! I hope all is well!

Maria Montero said...

Best!! your hut is so cute! I miss you so much! Sorry i haven't been able to call. I've been so busy. But i will call you soon. love you!

cecilia said...

nice pictures son. now i can actually picture where you are whenever i talk to you on the phone.

your hut looks cool it's like a tent. so you probably spend most of your time in your courtyard since it's always hot there. your bike looks cool too, it's huge.
love the 2 baby goats. funny how you described their noises and even their pee! hahaha

Sweet n Low said...

omg ur courtyard really is so cuute!!!! lol i love all the pictures! sorry i havent visited ur blog in like a month. wow. time really flies! its been a crazy busy "summer" for me. the whole month of august i finally finished summer school so began my 8-16 hour work days, 6 days a week. im tired but i love it! maybe we could swap journals when u come back. im gonna write u tmrw! :) love u and miss u every day!

Kimberly said...

MIKEY, The pictures of your former hut are awesome! LOVE your hut, it's really, really adorable. My favorite part of the post were the pics of your latrine. HAHAHA I can online image the adjustment it took to get using the hole.

Please post pics of your newest home, I'd love to see a photographic tour! Your blog is awesome, I really love reading it.