Some of the few things I did buy from SIAO. Its just so hard to decide and all the things I want to buy are large and require shipping. Some future SIAO.
12 years ago
Sunday, November 7, 2010
SIAO
Some of the few things I did buy from SIAO. Its just so hard to decide and all the things I want to buy are large and require shipping. Some future SIAO.
Questions
Why did I do a third year?
This question has so many answers. I strongly believe now that all Volunteers should do a third year. In reality, the first year of service is on-the-job training since each site is different on so many levels (ethnicity, culture, size of town or village, local politics that PCVs cannot be involved in but need to navigate carefully in order to get any work done). I feel like I accomplished more in my third year than I did in my first two years combined. In addition, communities benefit from an experienced Volunteer instead of being replaced by a completely new Volunteer.
What have I been doing?
Since my last long post, I've been to Gaoua, Bobo/Banfora, Ghana, Sabou. I finally have seen many of the tourist sites that PCVs regularly visit during their service. It is so green everywhere that I went! The strange thing was the lack of mosquitoes in Ghana. Or maybe there were and I've forgotten.
Also, I planted peanuts, harvested them and washed them. Unfortunately no pictures of that.
I also finished my service on September 21st. Which means now I'm officially an RPCV (in theory).
I am waiting for my papayas to ripen (old picture, the biggest ones are now as large or larger than my head). Also, I will be starting a garden soon. I don't expect to eat the fruits of my labor, but it keeps me busy and I can finally do it after three years of wanting a garden because I am no longer living with a lot of people (especially children) or chickens (but hopefully, soon, a kitten(s? and maybe a puppy) who will replace my "lost" cat Misha, originally Bryan's cat).
What am I doing right now?
Yesterday, was an eventful day, most important of which was giving our condolences on behalf of (R)PCVs to Seb's family. Patrice, the main organizer on the RPCV front, will be here in January to bring the donations that have been collected for the family. Seb was so young (just shy of his 40th birthday) and had great ambitions for his country and provided so much support to his colleagues and all of the PCVs. It was difficult to be the spokesperson for the group, which is probably why I could barely speak above a whisper (well there was a ceiling fan making lots of noise, too). I think his wife is still in shock and it can be seen just in the way she carries. His children are very young and were a little scared to say hi to all the Nassaras. In addition, it was Kait's (un)official going away party and she will definitely be missed!
SIAO is in its last day. It is basically a large biannual trade show with art, textiles, jewelry, shoes, clothes, furniture, food products, and other products/services provided by vendors from all over Africa. While the majority of the booths were from West Africa, there were also representatives from Northern Africa, etc. I bought a necklace from Burkina (well the booth was Burkina and it was unique), a T-shirt for my special friend, and a few decorative pieces from Benin. It was a very tiring day since you can bargain, walk and eat and go back and forth between pavilions trying to decide what you want. They also had some traditional housing from different ethnic groups on display which was pretty cool. The last time SIAO (and SNC, cultural week in Bobo which is coming up in December) happened in 2008, I missed it because I was teaching and I didn't want to miss school. It's kind of sad that at the end/after my service I finally doing the touristy things that a lot of PCVs do in their first year. Of course I took pictures!
I have been living between village, Koudougou and the surrounding area, visiting friends, mourning the loss of my boss, and just relaxing in my village. My daily life there is not much different than my former life, except different house and not teaching. So, I'm not very busy, but it gives me time to think and relax for the first time in a while. I'm working on my CV right now which will eventually be abbreviated into my resume. It is unfortunately very difficult to describe Peace Corps and all of the different responsibilities I've had and tasks/projects I've completed in just a few bullet points.
Right now I am waiting for my Mom to come to Burkina Faso. The trip has been canceled so many times in the past few years. It would be her first time in Africa. And while English isn't necessarily that great here... there are people in my village who speak English and, of course, in Ouagadougou (which has inexpensive and expensive hotels with wifi, like the one I'm writing to you from) as well. They just fixed the road to my village because of politicking for the upcoming elections. So, we can make the trip in approximately three hours. The car company also has "new" used buses which are fairly comfortable and not packed like sardines in a can. So, we might take public transportation either the whole way there or part way (and then get picked up by motorcycle!).
Unfortunately, my mother doesn't like to camp that much, or hunt/fish (me too on both counts actually). Otherwise, we could go hunting/fishing or see giraffes and lions and hippopotamuses in the national forests and take lots of pictures! Outside of seeing my village, I want to take her to Koudougou, Kindi and possibly Sabou which has sacred crocodiles which you can pet and feed chickens. Maybe even the hippopotamuses at Toma Island (not to be confused with Toma my provincial capital).
The trip to Banfora/Karfiguela Cascades and Sindou Peaks is very long. So, if she wants to go there, we will need to hire a private chauffeur. Public transportation to the area is good (air-conditioned and clean), but the drive is very long and the car doesn't stop often enough, long enough and in nice enough places to go to the bathroom/latrines (the important part of any trip). Also, there are no public transportation options to the tourist sites. So, the options are having a driver OR renting a motorcycle.
What will I be doing in the near/far future?
Right now, I am not sure because unfortunately, I cannot force somebody else to hire me even if I strongly believe I am the best candidate for the job in terms of skill set.
One of the many benefits of being an RPCV is the PC Fellows program which partially covers tuition at a wide-range of graduate schools in many different options that cover the scope of development work done by PCVs worldwide. The other benefit is our one year of Non-Competitive Eligibility status for US government jobs. Of course, with the current job market continuing to spiral downward, I won't complain if I find a job anywhere in the world that meets my interests (education/training and business/administration, amongst many other things).
So of course, I don't know what's going to happen next, but I will let you know once I've got some idea of what I will be doing next.
This question has so many answers. I strongly believe now that all Volunteers should do a third year. In reality, the first year of service is on-the-job training since each site is different on so many levels (ethnicity, culture, size of town or village, local politics that PCVs cannot be involved in but need to navigate carefully in order to get any work done). I feel like I accomplished more in my third year than I did in my first two years combined. In addition, communities benefit from an experienced Volunteer instead of being replaced by a completely new Volunteer.
What have I been doing?
Since my last long post, I've been to Gaoua, Bobo/Banfora, Ghana, Sabou. I finally have seen many of the tourist sites that PCVs regularly visit during their service. It is so green everywhere that I went! The strange thing was the lack of mosquitoes in Ghana. Or maybe there were and I've forgotten.
Also, I planted peanuts, harvested them and washed them. Unfortunately no pictures of that.
I also finished my service on September 21st. Which means now I'm officially an RPCV (in theory).
I am waiting for my papayas to ripen (old picture, the biggest ones are now as large or larger than my head). Also, I will be starting a garden soon. I don't expect to eat the fruits of my labor, but it keeps me busy and I can finally do it after three years of wanting a garden because I am no longer living with a lot of people (especially children) or chickens (but hopefully, soon, a kitten(s? and maybe a puppy) who will replace my "lost" cat Misha, originally Bryan's cat).
What am I doing right now?
Yesterday, was an eventful day, most important of which was giving our condolences on behalf of (R)PCVs to Seb's family. Patrice, the main organizer on the RPCV front, will be here in January to bring the donations that have been collected for the family. Seb was so young (just shy of his 40th birthday) and had great ambitions for his country and provided so much support to his colleagues and all of the PCVs. It was difficult to be the spokesperson for the group, which is probably why I could barely speak above a whisper (well there was a ceiling fan making lots of noise, too). I think his wife is still in shock and it can be seen just in the way she carries. His children are very young and were a little scared to say hi to all the Nassaras. In addition, it was Kait's (un)official going away party and she will definitely be missed!
SIAO is in its last day. It is basically a large biannual trade show with art, textiles, jewelry, shoes, clothes, furniture, food products, and other products/services provided by vendors from all over Africa. While the majority of the booths were from West Africa, there were also representatives from Northern Africa, etc. I bought a necklace from Burkina (well the booth was Burkina and it was unique), a T-shirt for my special friend, and a few decorative pieces from Benin. It was a very tiring day since you can bargain, walk and eat and go back and forth between pavilions trying to decide what you want. They also had some traditional housing from different ethnic groups on display which was pretty cool. The last time SIAO (and SNC, cultural week in Bobo which is coming up in December) happened in 2008, I missed it because I was teaching and I didn't want to miss school. It's kind of sad that at the end/after my service I finally doing the touristy things that a lot of PCVs do in their first year. Of course I took pictures!
I have been living between village, Koudougou and the surrounding area, visiting friends, mourning the loss of my boss, and just relaxing in my village. My daily life there is not much different than my former life, except different house and not teaching. So, I'm not very busy, but it gives me time to think and relax for the first time in a while. I'm working on my CV right now which will eventually be abbreviated into my resume. It is unfortunately very difficult to describe Peace Corps and all of the different responsibilities I've had and tasks/projects I've completed in just a few bullet points.
Right now I am waiting for my Mom to come to Burkina Faso. The trip has been canceled so many times in the past few years. It would be her first time in Africa. And while English isn't necessarily that great here... there are people in my village who speak English and, of course, in Ouagadougou (which has inexpensive and expensive hotels with wifi, like the one I'm writing to you from) as well. They just fixed the road to my village because of politicking for the upcoming elections. So, we can make the trip in approximately three hours. The car company also has "new" used buses which are fairly comfortable and not packed like sardines in a can. So, we might take public transportation either the whole way there or part way (and then get picked up by motorcycle!).
Unfortunately, my mother doesn't like to camp that much, or hunt/fish (me too on both counts actually). Otherwise, we could go hunting/fishing or see giraffes and lions and hippopotamuses in the national forests and take lots of pictures! Outside of seeing my village, I want to take her to Koudougou, Kindi and possibly Sabou which has sacred crocodiles which you can pet and feed chickens. Maybe even the hippopotamuses at Toma Island (not to be confused with Toma my provincial capital).
The trip to Banfora/Karfiguela Cascades and Sindou Peaks is very long. So, if she wants to go there, we will need to hire a private chauffeur. Public transportation to the area is good (air-conditioned and clean), but the drive is very long and the car doesn't stop often enough, long enough and in nice enough places to go to the bathroom/latrines (the important part of any trip). Also, there are no public transportation options to the tourist sites. So, the options are having a driver OR renting a motorcycle.
What will I be doing in the near/far future?
Right now, I am not sure because unfortunately, I cannot force somebody else to hire me even if I strongly believe I am the best candidate for the job in terms of skill set.
One of the many benefits of being an RPCV is the PC Fellows program which partially covers tuition at a wide-range of graduate schools in many different options that cover the scope of development work done by PCVs worldwide. The other benefit is our one year of Non-Competitive Eligibility status for US government jobs. Of course, with the current job market continuing to spiral downward, I won't complain if I find a job anywhere in the world that meets my interests (education/training and business/administration, amongst many other things).
So of course, I don't know what's going to happen next, but I will let you know once I've got some idea of what I will be doing next.
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