SIAO!

I remember telling myself this almost a year and a half ago when I was a trainee up in Ouahigouya: that I know that I've reached the beginning of the end of my service when two of the biggest events in Burkina Faso happen - FESPACO (the film festival) and SIAO (the artisan festival)!

SIAO is the first of the two, meaning 'Salon International de l'Artisanat de Ouagadougou.' It's probably one of the biggest, if not THE biggest, display of African art and culture in the entire continent of Africa. And it's happening right here in Burkina Faso! People from all over Africa and even some from around the world come to display and sell what they have to offer.

It's literally a feast for the eyes (and the wallet)...Ghana fabrics, bronze sculptures, fruit jams from the Congo...the list is truly endless and they have just about everything. I only wish I could've spent more than one afternoon there to truly enjoy everything. Sadly, I didn't take many pictures except of the cotton candy machine they had there. A cotton candy machine! For those of you that don't understand the magnitude of how amazingly awesome this is, I haven't had cotton candy in a fair since I was...well, really, really little. SO this is great! In the middle of West Africa!

At the end of it all, I got some cool Ghana fabric, a couple of nifty tee shirts and some Touraeg silver jewelry. Overall, a great experience!

Leslie and I waiting for cotton candy. In Burkina Faso. Whaaat?! Still blows my mind.

So amazing. Seriously, haha!

Gwen got us matching fabric/shirts. Imagine that, a country where wearing the same outfit is actually a good thing!

US Visit: The rest of my time home/in the Bay

I want to first preface this entry and mention it took me multiple, multiple trips to the Internet cafe in a span of a couple of months to get this damn entry posted. So the following pictures pretty much round out my trip back home! Enjoy! Again...food...

California Pizza Kitchen...where oddly I don't get pizza but small side dishes instead. Go figure.

Rooobbbbeerrrrtttt....copying my hair style!

With some of the LMU fam at the Castro, SF.

BOILING CRAB. mmmmm. Shrimp in the whole sha-bang sauce (spices, lemon pepper, etc.) with lemon juice/salt & pepper dip, sweet potato fries and root beer. I'm in heaven. Seriously.

Bubba! We've had here since I was in 8th grade. haha! I figured if I put in 20 pictures of Benji, I need to put in at least one of Bubba.

At Santana Row in San Jose for Mom's birthday.

Eating some of my favorite Chinese food: Westlake beef egg drop soup and Hong Kong pan-fried combination noodles from China House. Mmmmm!

Oh Benji! The best driving companion ever.

Taking Benji to the dog park!

Japanese bento box. Yum!

With Megan. This picture pretty much describes our friendship! <3

With my other cousin Joanna in downtown Davis. She's all grown up!

Hey, Golden Gate Bridge, Hey!!

Playing tourist with Sable in SF. I love home!

Getting Thai food in Hercules with Mom and Sable. Soooo good!

Mimosas in the Castro!

With Sable and Kristi a.k.a. Ma in SF. These two are some amazing women who are off to do great things in this world!

With David and Tin-Tin a.k.a. Joanna, my cousin. I'm so blessed to have such a beautiful family!

The family having dinner at Emeryville. <3

David sporting the gift I gave him: a Burkina Faso soccer jersey!

My Dad playing the balafon (African xylophone) that I brought back home.

With my ading, Felicia. <3

Dad in front of his new house with Daisy, his dog. She's so nice!

PaGiMa and I at a Thai restaurant in Berkeley. Man, friends since high school. I feel old just thinking about it!

Benji Boy and Mom. I really love this picture!

Much needed dinner/talk with Rubes at Platano's in Berkeley. A fellow world traveler/random adventure-seeker. <3>

Some of the things that I brought back with me. Take note of all the food!

Evidence of how much I've shopped during my short stay home. And these aren't even all the bags! Oyyy...some old habits never die.

The immediate family saying farewell to me at SFO. See you in a year!

The little bro and I. Probably the coolest person I know. True story!

FIN.

US Visit: Trip to SF and staying at Dad's new place

My first week at home is when Maria came to visit. First stop: typical tourist trip to San Francisco! Shopping, good food, good company...then we stayed at my Dad's new house for a couple of nights.

Shopping for clothes that I will never use in Burkina but will use when I come back home in 2011. Haha!

In front of H&M in SF with my two best friends.

Manhattan clam chowder, spicy buffalo wings and a salad. All with a SF bay view!

I love chocolate. mmmmm...

Dad's delicious home cooking!

Krispy Kreme's original donut while driving...

Thai food in SF.

Aren't my friends just beautiful? =)

At my Dad's new place, he grows many of his vegetables in his backyard. So good! It reminds me of when my brother and I were little and had this huge backyard with all these different vegetables and fruits.

Getting boba with Gina. We've been doing this since high school!

...and so my US trip continues...

US Visit: "In Newwww Yoooorrkkk..."

Warning: most of my pictures consist of me eating FOOD. Because next to my family, friends and traveling, I love love love food. Enjoy!

*cue Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' "Empire State of Mind" song*...

Thus begins my epic adventure back home to the US. September was the best time for me to visit -- my Grandma and Mom's birthdays, the school year here in BF hasn't started yet, the weather isn't too cold back home, I just finished working PST, etc. etc.

So I flew out of Ouaga on September 6 and Kyle was on the same flight as me. Air France is seriously amazing -- unlimited wine and champagne! So the flight was Ouaga to Paris to New York.

Getting into New York was such a trip. I took the subway to our hotel on the West Side and eventually met up with Devin!! Long story short, we chatted it up like no other, walked around New York, shopped at H&M (!!), ate everywhere and just enjoyed each other's company in one of the greatest cities in the world (seriously, I wanna go to grad school in NYC). We even met these West Africans from Cote d'Ivoire at Times Square. They were speaking French and we couldn't resist talking to them!

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

First meal back home: chicken mcnuggets with sweet & sour sauce + fries + orange soda. Don't judge!

New York style pizza. It was great -- we'd just walk around, go with our gut and just eat.

Toasted plain bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon. *drool*

Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Chinese soup in NYC Chinatown. Check out the lady hella mugging in the back! haha

New York MUST: frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity's!

=)

NYC Subway. So efficient!

Overall, a very great transition back to the US. The first couple of hours were overwhelming because I was so fatigued from travel but after a while, I immediately acclimated to life back in the US. In short, I love the US. <3