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!

FAMILY. Thanksgiving. Tabaski. And damn, it’s getting cold in Africa!

I feel like everyone has a few words and/or phrases they use all the time. They’re words that actually mean something to them, that elicit feelings of comfort or are just ingrained into their brains and are used incessantly whenever they talk. I read an article in the October 2009 GQ about a speechwriter from the Bush Administration. He talked about how President Bush liked using the words “bold” and “resilient” in his speeches and it got me thinking about the words/phrases I use a lot in my life.

Family. In high school at Saint Mary’s (SMCHS), I think I used the word “community” a lot but when I went to LMU, it transformed into “family.” It defined not only my blood relatives (the de Leons and the Berinos who I love to death!) but also the people I met in life that I consider my close friends or people I just felt connected to on multiple levels. Another sense of family. At LMU, I had my IB (Isang Bansa Filipino-American student organization) family; my Magis Service Organization family; my Doheny (freshman year dorm) family; my McCarthy Hall RA (Resident Advisor) family…the list is truly endless, but it was a word that was so deeply rooted in my daily vocabulary that I would use it so often and didn’t even think about it.

Coming to Burkina Faso and doing the Peace Corps, I think I’ve gained another family with my fellow volunteers. They really are your support base when things get rough, when things are going well, or when things get so boring that you want to text someone!

Not so surprisingly, that same sense of family is something I’m slowly finding here at my site. Because of the Ouattara family, I’m starting to feel genuinely comfortable and at home at site. For example, the other day, I whipped out my old Dioula/Jula notes from training and the girls (Aïcha and Farida – they kind of remind me of my two younger cousins back home, Ianne and Isa) helped me with some pronunciation so I could at least greet many of the women that pass by my house to get to the pump or the women that work at the market. Or maybe it’s when I came back home one day and wasn’t feeling so well and Madame Ouattara told me, like a good aunt, that I shouldn’t joke around with the sudden change in weather even if I am used to it being cold in the U.S. She pointed to the fact that I was wearing a tank top and it was “cold” (mind you, it was probably 80 ºF which isn’t quite cold to me…but still). Or when Clémence and I joke around and laugh whenever we see each other, simply because we both love laughing! Or maybe that one time when Ali and Rachid asked me to help them carry something that was ridiculously heavy and jokingly said that if I was truly a part of the family, I’d do it without hesitation (which, for the record, I did, haha). Or because on Thursdays, the Ouattara family does their laundry and subconsciously, I’ve been doing my laundry the same time, too – and how Madame Ouattara said that since I pretty much follow their schedule, I’m a part of their family and should now be called “Michael Ouattara.”

I’m beyond glad that this idea of family transcends all cultural barriers. A universal concept, really. Particularly here in Burkina Faso, the idea of everyone being a part of your extended family is so essential to the Burkinabè’s daily way of living.

Lately I’ve been missing my family and friends more than usual. I’ll have dreams of family and friends, have random memories come to mind throughout the day, or think a little more pensively when songs that remind me of certain people come up on my iPod. Perhaps it’s the holiday season coming up? I don’t know. Really though, it’s this sense of family that I’ve found here in Africa that resonates so deeply with me and in a way, keeps me sane and strong when things get a little tough at site.

Like this past Thursday was Thanksgiving. I told the Ouattaras about this a month ago and said that we’d celebrate it together = eating lots of good food at lunch. I cooked a simple pasta dish with chicken and tomato sauce, plus had salad (yes, I discovered a little garden that sells lettuce! I love it!!).

Farida with the food I cooked for our Thanksgiving lunch feast. Opened up the can of chicken breast that I got from Dad. Mmmmmm!

Cleaning and washing the lettuce the night before.

Ali really showing me how it's done!

The next day was a Muslim holiday called Tabaski or the “Fête des Moutons” (Feast/Celebration of the Sheep). Here in Burkina Faso, they celebrate everything – government holidays, Muslim holidays, Christian holidays, etc. I’m sure as hell not complaining! And for Tabaski, regardless of whether you’re Muslim or not, you’re celebrating with lots of food and causeries with your neighbors, family and friends! So I was invited to Bakari’s house (chef du village) since he’s Muslim and there was lots of food, including meat! Having meat at a Burkinabè celebration is a big deal because it’s relatively expensive here and is bought during special occasions only – also since the average Burkinabè eats a carb-filled diet on a regular basis without meat and many times, without vegetables, having meat is quite the luxury. I came back home and Madame Ouattara said they were looking for me during lunch to fête (celebrate) with them and invited me over for dinner – and I had such a good time chatting it up with the family! My first time celebrating Tabaski!

On a completely different but equally important note: the weather! Holy moly, the change in temperature and atmosphere has been dramatic for the past 2 weeks and counting already. It’s dustier outside and I’m starting to get a little sick with a sore throat and coughing. And my nostrils are always so damn dry that I have to apply Vaseline a couple of times each day. It gets noticeably cooler once the sun starts to go down and I actually have to heat up my water before taking my bucket bath in the late afternoon/early evening! It’s kind of a funny site to see everyone bundled up in parka gear as if they’re heading to the snow. In the morning when I wake up, I check my thermostat and it says 65ºF which is freaking cold over here! I hear in December and January, it can get as cold as 55ºF which I don’t even know what to think. Haha!