Visiting the host family one last time in Komsilga!

Because I was in Ouahigouya for the MAP Conference already, I decided to take a trip to visit my host family in Komsilga one last time. Coincidentally, all of us that lived in Komsilga (our host village) during training two years ago (Marita, Coleman, Charley and I) were all in Ouahigouya at the same time and decided it would be best if we all biked together!

We headed out the day after the MAP Conference in the morning, buying little gifts for our host families in town (mangoes, bread, coffee, etc.) and took the less-than-an-hour-but-always-seems-longer-because-of-the-heat bike ride to Komsilga. Biking there was just like I remembered it -- but I felt like I completely different person biking there. Like I was truly coming full circle with my Peace Corps service.

Coming down the hill when you first arrive in Komsilga, it looks like this. Literally, in the middle of (seemingly) nowhere. Here's a good shot of Coleman and Marita biking in, with the Komsilga sign in the foreground and the new mosque in the background.

In Burkinabè culture, protocol is absolutely essential to follow. So we first said hi to the chief of the village, giving him kola nuts as is tradition, before visiting our host families. The chief said it meant a lot that all four of us returned, and he continued to give us benedictions of good health, that our families back home are doing well and that we continue to make this world a better place. I think when he said the last thing, I started to tear up...and it's funny because he was speaking in local language. And while I don't understand much Mooré or Jula, his facial and body expressions said it all. Powerful stuff!

We first went to visit Charley's host family because he had to leave a little earlier. Afterward, we visited Marita's and I swear, her host mom is so freakin' amazing!

Charley and his host family.

Marita with her host family.

Then it was my turn to visit 'home'...weird, because I was there almost a year ago when I was working PST as a PCVF/P. But to think I'm coming back for the last time to say goodbye to them was utterly surreal.

The great thing about my host family is that their compound is a little isolated from everyone elses. When you think stereotypical African village of huts and animals everywhere, this is it! And it's on its own little hill which makes it that much more picturesque.

My host family's compound. The hut I lived in during training in 2009 is the second from the left.

Marita and I chilling on my porch with my host dad, Mamadou, in the background.

Giving the host family some gifts -- mangoes, bread, coffee, etc.

My ever-growing host family and I!

With Charley, as this would be our last picture together in Burkina Faso before he heads off back to the U.S.

After Charley left and Coleman was still at his host family's place, Marita and I just relaxed at my host family's compound, taking a nap as if it were typical Sunday afternoon in Komsilga with no worries in the world.

We had been at my host family's for some time now, realized that the sun was setting quickly and needed to head back to Ouahigouya. So Marita and I dropped by Coleman's host family to say a quick hello before leaving.

Coleman and his multilingual host dad. Funny, funny man!

As we were biking up the little hill and heading down it to where we would no longer see Komsilga, it became bittersweet. Very bittersweet.

But I came to the realization that while it may be goodbye as a Peace Corps Volunteer, only God (or whatever greater being/force you believe in!) knows whether or not I'll return to West Africa, specifically Burkina Faso, in the future.

I'll leave you with this last photo of me in Komsilga with my host family's compound in the background...

PST is in full swing again!

It's been a year since I've been in Ouahigouya but damn, does it feel good to be back. There's something to be said about spending your first three months in a foreign country and calling it "home" -- and coming back after a year elsewhere, it feels like...well, it feels like home. Like going back to the US. I guess it's that sense of nostalgia that's tied to Ouahigouya that's made me feel so comfortable.

Anyway, PST (Pre-Service Training) for the new group of Trainees is finally here and I got here a week before their arrival (around the middle of June) to help prepare with our Technical Trainers, Diallo and Awa. They are absolutely amazing and it's bizarre being on the other side of the training realm. Hectic, exhausting but enjoyable all at the same time!

Before really getting in the full swing of things, Gwen, Marita, Ilana and I headed to my host family's village (Komsilga) to visit the host family!! I was so excited and anxious at the same time -- it's been a year since being there. Fortunately, Ilana was with us and her Moore is really good. Long story short, what I thought would be a quick "hello-bonjour" visit for no more than 30 minutes turned into a three-hour ordeal of greeting everyone. I almost forgot how long greetings were in the north of BF! Greeting the chef (village chief) and the rest of the village community was exhausting but something that I really, really miss, especially since the people in the south where I live are less keen to greet. When I went to visit my host family, it was just as I had left it, except my host grandfather was there. Man, talk about feeling like I was at home for a bit.

My host dad, Mamadou and I, next to the new mosque built at Komsilga, my old host village. My my, how things have changed! But my host dad is still the same -- laughing all the time!

Me with my host family's compound in the distance. Second home!

Fast-forward to June 23, I was lucky enough to go meet the new Trainees (Peace Corps Trainees = PCTs) at the airport in Ouaga. It was overwhelming seeing 57 Americans walk out of the airport and start their two years of Peace Corps service. Fielding all of their questions was quite the experience -- I forgot how many questions I asked as a PCT! We headed up to Ouahigouya, had a great welcome ceremony and started the nine-weeks of training. I don't even know where to begin in describing the hecticness of PST but what I do know is that I love it. In total, there are 79 PCTs here in Burkina Faso and it's the first time that all four sectors (Secondary Education, Girls' Education and Empowerment, Small Enterprise Development and Community Health) are coming together at the same time. Love being busy, meeting new people and getting PCTs acclimated to their new life. Sure, there were a few unfortunate glitches in our training but for the most part, things have been going well! The idea of the Peace Corps family is what keeps me (and everyone else) going.

Welcoming the new Trainees at the airport.

Marita, Jessi and I in our wonderfully awesome and decorative GEE cubicle!

Come July 4, the Peace Corps helped organized our celebration in Ouaga. Cake, cold sodas and beers, burgers, potato salad and chilling by the pool = the perfect July 4th celebration! I also came to the realization that this is my second time celebrating July 4th out of the US. Crazy!

Audrey and I chilling at the pool during the July 4th celebration. Second one for me outside the US!

I'm heading back to site after being gone for almost a month. I'll be having a few GEE PCTs come to my site next weekend for demystification. Demystification (or demyst, for short) is where PCTs visit a current PCVs' site and see how their life is like for a couple days. I'm a little nervous for that seeing as how I haven't been to site for a while due to PST, plus no one will be there since the school year's over and everyone either heads back to the big cities or visits their family in Cote d'Ivoire and elsewhere. Wish me luck!

Note: All pictures are taken courtesy of Gwen, the picture queen. Seriously, she takes pictures all the time and I love it.

"Sunday morning rain is falling..."

“Good ol’ K------- (my village). You never let me down!” That’s what my journal entry started with and boy, how true is that. It was technically my first full day in village (without training) and I wanted to make the most of it. After breakfast, I went to the pump with my host brother, Abdulaziz, to get some water. Holy crap, that was so far! After, Abdulaziz and my host cousin helped me with laundry for the first time…and it was actually a lot of fun!

Doing laundry!

My host brother, Abdulaziz, helping me out. Out of everyone in my family, he’s the only one that can speak French fluently -- in large part because he's currently enrolled in high school. 

It was such a relief to see all the dirt and sweat wash away but also kinda gross. We left them to dry around my courtyard straw gate and hut and I ended up whipping out the camera to take pictures of my hut and my compound (check another blog entry for these pics!).

I decided it would also be an amazing day to clean the inside of my hut and my courtyard since I can never find the time to do it. I did lots of sweeping and rearranging until Marita and her host sister, Miriam, came over. Marita helped me re-use the blue tape my friends back home used to make sure nothing leaked in my bags. We binged on wafer cookies, Cheez-Its and Kool Aid…it’s the simple things in life, I tell you! We also talked about getting a class for French instead of Mooré (one of the local languages) to improve my conversational skills…so I’m going to talk to a PC staff member when we get back to Ouahigouya…good times!

My host mom brought Marita and I some rice for lunch but she eventually had to head back home. Abdulaziz came to my courtyard to practice some English. He also told me about his family…how his mom passed away last year from sickness and how his little sister passed away the day before his mom passed away. I didn’t know what to say. We also talked about past volunteers that have stayed with them during training and he mentioned I was the first male volunteer they’ve housed! Because it was getting so hot, I needed to take a nap. So I whipped out my self-inflate mat, put on some Kanye, and took a long, 2.5 hour nap. A-mazing!

Waking up from that nap, I was dripping in sweat because it was in the middle of the day. But I ended up chilling outside with my host dad and watched him etch Quran verses from memory onto wooden tablets (think 10 Commandments except it’s the Quran). He’s a Quran teacher but it’s still impressive to me that he knows the Quran by memory.

I ended up playing Frisbee with Marita and about 20 other kids at the school’s field. It’s a good thing Marita knew some games to play…it was encouraging because boys were playing with girls but we eventually had to leave because the sun was setting. In the end, we did a cheer which almost resulted in all of them breaking my one and only Frisbee! Whew!! Seeing boys interspersed with girls brought me new hope for our club we need to start in our village for the female students!

I headed back to my compound and took a much-needed bucket bath…pretty much what I look forward to at the end of the day! While I was bathing, I remembered Marita telling me to come out to the small boutique (read: insanely small store with a gated window in the front) where they show a movie in the courtyard behind it…

I asked Abdulaziz to come with me and of course, the movie starts on WAIT (West African International Time), very similar to Filipino time. We paid 50 CFA to watch the movie which consisted of an enclosed courtyard with benches, mat in the front, and a regular-sized TV being powered by a car battery. Nothing too fancy here! After 3 Indian films that didn’t work, they put on a ‘Chinois’ film which actually turned out to be Thai. It was about this villager who avenges a sacred village object by going into Bangkok. Essentially, it was your stereotypical Asian film filed with Muy Thai and amazing tricks. I could feel the eyes stare at me since I look similar to the people on the screen...but I was getting a kick at how excited the villagers were whenever the main character did some crazy move. Even my other little host brother, Hassan, looked back at me from time to time in amazement. I’m all about dispelling stereotypes but this movie made me want to learn Muy Thai and show off (hahaha).

Overall, a very simple but extraordinary day in village!!