Club d'Anglais and a US/BF letter exchange.

Club d'Anglais. An English Club. It's funny how I've been wanting to do this since the beginning of my service at the end of 2009, but it's only during the last few months at site that I've finally got one up and running...even for a little bit.

So the idea for me was to get it up and running, then have the volunteer that replaces me continue the work in collaboration with the elected officers of the English Club. So far, so good! I'm working with the new middle school at my site, and their grade level is 5eme (equivalent in the US is around 8th/9th grade).

We've had a few meetings and our first activity was to start a United States/Burkina Faso letter exchange with my high school French teacher's French 5-6 class that I've been corresponding with since the beginning of my service. Exciting! Subsequent activities were getting the students to practice their oral skills in English since they aren't given that opportunity as much. I've tried to ask questions to the class and have them respond with different answers, writing them on the board and hopefully expanding their English vocabulary at the same time.

Our last meeting, we elected President, Vice-President and Secretary to continue the club and hopefully help my replacement volunteer with starting it up again for the next school year. Exciting stuff as well!

Me with the new elected officers of the English Club (Bernadette [Secretary], Abdoulaye [Vice-President], Sylvain [President]) and a guest appearance by Hercules! Yeah, he followed me all the way to the school.

A snapshot of the chalkboard.

As I was leaving the school, this was the view of the clouds and such. Rainy season is upon us!

US Visit: Third Goal presentations at schools!

Coming back home, one of the things I wanted to do most were these Third Goal presentations. What is the Third Goal, you ask?

Peace Corps has three basic goals:

1. Helping the people of Burkina Faso in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the Burkinabè.
3. Helping promote a better understanding of the Burkinabè on the part of Americans.

I correspond with my old high school French teacher's (Ms. Mahoney) French 5-6 class and definitely wanted to meet them in person. I also connected with Ms. Bayer via Facebook and decided to do a presentation for her 8th grade class.

I used the template of a PowerPoint presentation one of my friends here used when she went back home. Talked about what the Peace Corps is, about Burkina Faso and my life here thus far. I also brought in things to show the students (currency from BF, a traditional outfit, a balafon--essentially, an African xylophone, etc.).

I had so much fun doing this and really am considering going into education after the Peace Corps. A little teaching and then who knows where life will lead me!

At my old high school. I used the picture of my training group's Swear-In Ceremony to show the different types of attire here in Burkina Faso.

Lunch break on Solano. High school memory relived, many years later!

With Ms. Mahoney and her French 5-6 class that I've been corresponding with. Great group of students!

Ms.Mahoney, one of my most favorite teachers of all time! I thank her for making me love learning the French language so much.

At my former elementary/middle school.

Bringing money from Burkina Faso was a big hit! Too bad you can't even exchange it in the US.

Teaching the kids a little French. On a side note, you can't even compare a classroom in the US with a classroom in Burkina!

The 8th grade class and I. Hilarious group of kids!

With Ms. Bayer (another one of those all-time favorite teachers) and Mr. Seishas, the principal.

I feel like one of the greatest things I'm gaining from my Peace Corps experience is this reciprocal cultural exchange that is very hard to find elsewhere. This'll sound really corny, but I really feel fulfilled when this happens.


=)

Alphabet project, baby weighings and such...

To quickly recap the past couple of weeks:

The beginning of January was pretty difficult. In some respects, it felt like September all over again – feelings of loneliness, sadness with tinge of depression and homesickness. I guess the transition from vacation back to the “real world” at site was harder than I thought. A lack of structure and loneliness are two things that I’ve been struggling with most in the Peace Corps and boy, did I feel it!

But two weeks ago, things changed for the better (I’m not trying to scare anyone but I swear, sometimes, Peace Corps service can be such an emotional rollercoaster. I mean, I expected this when I applied but man, when you’re living the day-to-day life, it’s completely different!). I observed CM2 (the U.S. equivalent is 5^th Grade) and they are the oldest students at the Ecole Primaire (Primary School). There are only 27 students but it’s interesting to note that the girls outnumber the boys. In any case, Madame Bambara, the Director of the school, is also the CM2 teacher and I could tell she was little pressured to teach as much information as possible to prepare her students for the CEP Exam (what you take after completing primary school to continue to middle school). I presented her my Action Plan in French and she seemed really excited that I’d be doing all of these projects as way to make sure the kids succeed in school – a really motivating factor for me!! Fortunately, I live next to the Office of the Inspecteur (person in charge of all of the primary schools within a district) and a couple of days later, I presented it to him as well and he seemed excited as well!

One thing to note about Burkina Faso is that being in authority positions is considered very important to Burkinabè. For Peace Corps Volunteers, when starting projects, protocol dictates that you need to notify authority figures in your community of any project you start, most especially as a sign of respect.

Some of the younger kids on my porch. Through the Worldwise Schools Program (WWS), I'm doing a letter exchange with Ms. Mahoney, my French teacher from high school, and one of her French classes. They recently sent me letters and included a comic project they did in French. The kids love the drawings!

The past week, though, has been full of good stuff – especially with me finally starting some work!

Last Sunday, Kyle and I went with Jalila, our Belgian Ph.D friend who’s doing research with women’s groups in Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal, to a theatre sensibilisation (awareness session) on malaria and female genital mutilation (FGM or excision). It was put on by the women’s association here in Gaoua in a village about 15km away. While everything was in Lobiri (a language I barely understand with the exception of the most basic greetings), it made me realize again how useful theatre/plays are to raise awareness about important social issues. Hopefully I can replicate some of these things within my two years here!

Kyle dancing away au village. This lady had a special thing for him, haha!

Jalila and I with some of the women in her women's association. Note the calabash in my hand filled with dolo (millet beer...the Burkinabè's drink of choice). Mmmmm.

The part on female genital mutilation (FGM)...a very touchy subject but important to raise awareness on because it happens all too often here.

And on malaria prevention and the importance of using a mosquito net when going to bed. The women were excellent actresses!

I also got to start my alphabet and numbers project with the students of CP1 and CP2. I thought it would be too easy for CP2 but it turns out it’s right at their grade level. Surprisingly, this project is very difficult for CP1 students so I had to simplify my activity significantly. It starts with me coming into the classroom and introducing a couple of letters each session. I have them copy it as seen from my drawing onto their little chalkboard slates, then I have a basket full of items the either begin with the letter or have the letter within the word’s spelling. They identify the objects, I write them on the board, and ask students to individually come up and show me where the said letter is in the word. And, thanks to friends and family that have sent me little prizes, I’ve given out little stickers as rewards, which they love!

Seems simple enough, right? Well, not so much. Like we learned in PST, things don’t go as planned so you just have to roll with the punches and see where it takes you. I’m glad I’m starting small and I have something consistent to do for a couple of days every week!

Starting this past Thursday morning, from 8:00 to 12:00, I go to the CSPS (village medical center) and help with baby weighings! Women come in monthly to weigh their babies and get the appropriate vaccinations, all for free. The day before, I met the Majeur (head nurse/doctor at the CSPS) thanks to Jon’s counterpart, Papa, and seemed on board to me helping every Thursday. A great secondary project for me and something’s that’s consistent every week. While it was pretty chaotic, I helped weigh more than 90 babies! Malnutrition is a big problem down here and they do many sensibilisations to combat this in the neighboring satellite villages…so I’m hoping I’ll get involved in those too, perhaps introducing Moringa? Ahhh, we’ll see! I love that the ideas are constantly flowing and are slowly manifesting into actual work. Excellent!

Jon with a little kid named Seuss, one of my favorite kids at Jon's site!