Halloween and birthday festivities continued...

So I'm back in Gaoua for the day with Jon...just to buy a couple of things and check the poste (post office) for anything. Last weekend, several of us met up in Gaoua for Halloween/23rd Birthday festivities! Marita and Julie came first and we ate at one of our normal hang-outs...then Leslie came and it was really like a mini-reunion for all of us. Headed to Kyle's and because he has electricity and his laptop, we watched movies like no other (plus it was starting to rain so it was perfect for being indoors)...movies like one of my all-time favorites: Mean Girls!! Headed back en ville (downtown/in the city centre) to grab some dinner and Emily eventually made it! It was my first time experiencing the nightlife in Gaoua and I have to say...it was pretty good. Some cold beers + PC friends + music/dancing + really chilly night weather = a good time! Whenever we go out, there are always Burkinabè guys flirting/hitting on female volunteers so us male volunteers play the role of boyfriends/husbands...which is always lots of fun! Turns out those 4 years of acting/theatre really helped in high school.  =)

The next day, all 6 of us took a bus to Jon's site because there was a huge fête (party). He lives in more of a village so it was a big deal. One of the highlights was archery which is big in Lobi culture. Toward the end of the day, we biked back to my site (about 17km south of Jon's) and I made village tacos & mixed veggies for dinner plus canned peaches & pears for dessert. Basically, I opened up a lot of my canned food but it was totally worth it!

Believe it or not, we somehow found a pumpkin leaving Jon's site, so when we got to my site, we did a little pumpkin carving to truly celebrate our Halloween celebration in BF. Ignore the Pert shampoo bottle...inside joke...

The following day, we biked the 19km to the Loropeni Ruins...since I'm too lazy to explain what it is, here's a brief explanation from Wikipedia:

• Loropéni is a market town in southern Burkina Faso, lying west of Gaoua. Local features include pre-European stone ruins, about which little is known. One theory is that they formed the enclosure of the courtyard of a Kaan Iya (king or paramount ruler of the Kaan people) from antiquity. There is a similar, though much-degraded ruin around the current royal courtyard in Obiré. Another theory is that the ruins may have been a slave holding site for slave raids in the area.


• The Loropéni ruins were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2009. The ruins are the country's first World Heritage inscription. Surrounded by mystery, the 11,130m2 property is made up of an array of stone walls. Loropéni is the best preserved example of a type of fortified settlement in a wide part of West Africa, linked to the tradition of gold mining, which seems to have persisted through at least seven centuries. Loropéni, given its size and scope reflects a type of structure quite different from the walled towns of what is now Nigeria, or the cities of the upper reaches of the river Niger which flourished as part of the Empires of Ghana, Mali and Songhai. It thus can be seen as an exceptional testimony to the settlement response generated by the gold trade.

It was quite a bike ride but I think it's amazing that I don't live that far away from a World Heritage site! I'll let the pictures and little captions tell of our adventure over there...other people took better pictures of our adventures this weekend but these are the ones I had on my camera:

Outside the Loropeni Ruins. The first and only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Burkina Faso (just got accepted to the list this year). AND I live only 19km away!

Yours truly outside the Loropeni Ruins. According to Leslie (she read this somewhere), these rocks were put together with honey and shea butter.

Marita and Julie inside the Ruins.

Emily and I looking off into the distance...wearing our Obama gear. Gotta represent Obama in Africa!

Biking back was harder than I thought but I was able to show everyone my site's centre-ville and for dinner, I made something that I've crafted as my specialty: Mikey's Minestrone Soup (noodles, tomatoes, onions, garlic, a little bit of powdered milk to thicken it, tomato paste, lots of spices/salt) and Grilled Vache Qui Rit Cheese Sandwiches...delicious!

Everyone left to head back to their sites on Tuesday and it meant back to work for me = continuing class observations at the Ecole Primaire. It's been no doubt an interesting experience and as I said in my last entry, I'm getting more and more ideas for projects. I realized that many students have trouble reading aloud and I think starting some type of Reading/Book Club would be a good idea. Observing classes really forces me to think of creative ways to make school more interesting for kids here so that they're more likely to continue their studies until high school and beyond. I'm observing classes Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday all the way way up until December when I have VAC and IST...so I'm keeping myself busy.

Aaaaand I'm starting to really love my site. I think it really has to do with the fact that I chat it up a lot with my neighbors (Ali's family -- the Ouattara's) everyday and kind of see them as my own family here. I was reading on my porch one afternoon and it was getting really dark. Madame Ouattara (Ali's aunt) comes by and tells me not to read in the dark because I'll ruin my eyes...something my Mom would tell me back home, haha! They even make the most delicious peanut brittle and toffee hard candies I've ever had. Jon and I are addicted! I even invited the Ouattaras over at the end of the month to celebrate Thanksgiving with me so we're going to have American and Burkinabè dishes! Now if I can only think of a way to cook a Filipino dish, too...

Turning 23 in another country...and other updates on life.

So I'm back in Gaoua (provincial capital) and I'm here for a little reunion/celebration for Halloween and September/October birthdays.

Life at site has been going really well so far...adjusting is always a difficult and challenging process but I feel like I'm really making this place my home. Work-wise, around the second week of October, I met with the director of the Lycée (high school) and asked if I could observe English classes to see how they work, how the students and teachers interact with one another, what their English levels are like, etc. Eventually I met the English teacher at the Lycée and for about a week and a half, have been observing his classes, introducing myself to his classes, and taking notes. It's interesting to note how the class size drops dramatically as they get older. And the ratio of male-to-female students is huge as you move up a grade level. For example, in Terminale (equivalent is senior year of high school/12th grade), out of 25-30 students, there are only 3-4 female students!

They don't have a Club d'Anglais (English Club) at their school and my hope is come this January 2010, I can start one to help students out with English (tutoring) but also make it a little more interesting by introducing American songs, pop culture, theatre/plays, fun games, etc. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! On Monday, I presented an Action Plan and Tentative Schedule (handwritten, of course, since I don't have a computer access/a printer) that details what I'd like to do, a schedule, objectives, potential problems and solutions, activities, etc. I want to show him that I'm really serious about creating an English Club but also it's a great way for me to organize my thoughts into one document. A couple of days ago, some 3eme students (equivalent is freshman year of high school/9th grade) were at the Primary School across my house and asked for some help with their English homework (which they wrote on the chalkboards outside of the classrooms). So it's giving me a little hope that this will get off the ground once we get all the logistics squared away!

I recently met with the Director of the École Primaire (Primary School) right across from my house and just started observing classes there...and will be doing so until December when I have another VAC meeting and In-Service Training (IST) in Ouaga. I've only observed one class so far and it's been interesting, to say the least. The kids here are much like the kids in the U.S. but clearly, they face issues much different from those in the U.S. The student-teacher dynamic is completely different here but since I've only observed for 2 days so far, I'll save my overall observations for another day. Even within those 2 days, I've made little notes of things I can potentially start and noticed kids need lots of help with math and reading aloud. Reading clubs? Fun math exercises after-school? The list is endless!

In other news, I've been integrating well and am always meeting new people but really feel like I'm solidifying some good relationships with people. I go into town not feeling so much of an outsider anymore which is nice. I've really made my house comfortable but am holding off on the dog until next year when I have a more solid schedule in place. Jon and I see each other every once in a while, and either discover something new at my site or his, or decide to take day bike trips in our area (there is SO much to explore).

Me during one of our day bike trips through southwestern Burkina Faso. Don't these hills look like the fake hills at Toontown in Disneyland?! Oh, and I looked like a hot mess. I know. The weather was nice because it was a little overcast.

One day, we biked down several kilometers south of my site to see what was down there and found some lush greenery. Like the photo above!

Aaaand for my 23rd Birthday, I decided to invite my neighbors over (Ali and family) for some American grub for lunch. I 'grilled' village bread to make Spam/tomato sandwiches (thanks, Dad!) and also made tuna (thanks again. Dad!) macaroni salad, and we had a really good time! I didn't take any pictures (sadly) except for the food.....mmmmm....

23rd Birthday lunch chez moi.

Later that day, Jon came over and we prepared some banana bread to bake at Ali's house (they have a stove they got in Bobo a while ago but didn't know how to use it with their propane gas tank. So I helped them out one day and now it works!). Success! I was able to introduce something new/American to my Burkinabè neighbors! Jon biked over and we had beers at a little maquis (bar) in town and it was all good! So a bunch of us are meeting in Gaoua and we're going to do a little more celebrating before heading back to our sites. Good times!

**Also, check the sidebar for: What Nationality Is Mikey?