Retrospective 08: Electricity & Running Water are Overrated

Right now I am procrastinating. Instead of doing one of the many things on my to-do list prior to May 15! It has also been a while since a post for me, despite many promises otherwise. I don't have much to say about the current situation in Burkina Faso. There are many news articles out there. You can read them, but also do some research, too. The commentary around the actual fact is exactly that.

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My romance with the simple life

So, people often make a big deal about how I lived without electricity and running water for over 3.5 years. I worried myself, considering I don't camp and do enjoy cushy modern conveniences. I even found an essay I wrote in middle school about how I wouldn't enjoy living without them at all. In reality, this much simpler lifestyle, while physically stressful, wasn't terrible at all. I enjoyed it, and still miss it (except maybe washing sheets and towels by hand). As I rediscover these modern conveniences slowly but surely, I realize more and more how much the dearth of said conveniences impedes the productivity of nations like Burkina Faso. At the same time, great strides have been made during my short time there.

Peace Corps, even in Burkina Faso, is not camping. I had walls and a roof over my head and owned furniture and multiple matresses. I had a deep pre-dug hole to use as a toilet. My camping gear: my giant backpack, a sleeping bag, and a screened tent (Bug Hut II). My giant backpack traveled all around Burkina with me. My sleeping bag kept me warm during the cold season (anything <80° requires long-sleeves and <70° a blanket or many layers of clothing). My screened tent protected me from mosquitos. If I had to recommend one thing, it would be a screened tent to keep the mosquitos out, but let air in.

Water and Fire

I lived a few courtyards (read: lots/parcels of land) away from one of several pumps in my village. I woke up early each morning to beat the rush, and was usually the first one there... I often had to wake up the guy with the key to unlock it several times. I would pump the 40L of water that I might use over the course of the day and bring it back home (on my bicycle, I'm not that hard core). (I often used only about 20L, unless there was laundry, many dirty dishes, or I took a couple extra bucket baths that day due to the hot season). Pumping water each morning as the sun rose, was one of many physical activities that kept me fit.

I used this water for everything. The Peace Corps provided a filter to prevent the many diseases communicable by water. I took at least one bucket bath a day, as many as five during the hot season. My first bucket bath in Burkina Faso was at Yaneth's house in Komsilga during our Stage. We had biked out about five miles, and I bathed under the stars for the first time in my life. It was at this moment that I knew village life would be good for me. I heated the water for my bath during the cold season by leaving one of my giant jugs of water in the sun. Nothing compares to the stars in a country with virtually no light pollution.

It might surprise people to find out that our filtration/purification process did not incorporate boiling the water. Yes, this is a great option, if you have a good hot stove readily available. In Burkina Faso, the cost of propane has increased dramatically. In 2007, there were exorbitant rate hikes in food staples (e.g. rice, bread), fuel (e.g. gasoline, propane, wood coals, wood, etc.) as well. The majority uses wood or wood coals to cook. More inefficient in time and energy.

Electricity

Candles and kerosene lamps lit my home my first year, and my headlamp was my best friend for quick jaunts to the latrine. I paid twenty cents to have my phone charged at a little place down the way from me. It didn't matter much anyway. I had so little cell phone reception, that I had to hang my phone in a tree to send and receive text messages... most of which didn't go through. I kept it off mostly to conserve energy. At one point, my family called Peace Corps worried that they hadn't heard from me in several months. I guess my text messages had been lost, and back then it cost over two dollars per minute to call back home to America. Now, it's only thirty cents (half the cost of a domestic phone call in 2007)!

Afterwards, I bought a car battery to run a small flourescent light bulb (which they often called néons or reglettes). This increased my ability to work at night astronomically. As romantic as it is to read by candle/lamp light, the amount of light generated is actually very little compared to the amount of heat. My headlamp ran off of several AA/AAA batteries, which don't last long in heat. (This is due to science. I haven't charged my camera batteries since I left Burkina Faso, but they work without any problem. In Burkina, they would last a few weeks at best before draining.) My battery was not powerful enough to run a fan. Unfortunate, since the oppressive temperatures of the hot season leave you listless and on the verge of dehydration. The sweat dries so quickly that all that is found are traces of salt on your skin and clothes. At night the temperature drops siginificantly. While it is still hot (often >100°), the temperature is bearable and the power of light, increases productivity!

Charging my battery was an ordeal, and after two years, I succumbed and bought a solar panel. This actually allowed me to be much more productive my third year. I could even run a laptop off the battery if I wanted, and ended up charging many people's phones and batteries for free. Battery maintenance overall was necessary as well. The acid from the battery quickly evaporated. I had to regularly add filtered water into the system to maintain the acid levels, and on occasion, new battery acid. It's amazing how easy it is to buy a couple litres of H₂SO₄ in Burkina Faso.

Glass Windows

These conveniences, nonetheless, should not be the only consideration when one looks at "modern" cushiness. Windows are amazing. Especially, soundproofed and tripleglazed! Why are windows amazing? They keep out dust. I'm sure you've seen the pictures of our homes and seen the shuttered windows of the majority of BFPCV homes. They are not really shuttered windows, they are shuttered holes in the walls. There is no glass on the other side. Granted, Peace Corps regulations required screens to be installed over the shutters to prevent death by mosquito. However, there are no requirements for actual glass windows because of a combination of cost and also, the fact that it sets you apart from the rest of the community. The screens and shutters don't do much to keep out the dust.

Why is this a big deal? To maintain a spic and span home, one must sweep morning, noon and night and also mop daily. Dishes must be washed not only after use, but immediately before use as well to remove layers of dust. Clothes draped casually over a chair become dirty within a day. Sheets and mosquito nets and other linens become horribly disgusting as well. A casual shake of the sheets reveals more dust than critters. If you had windows, then your home would naturally have fewer of these critters anyway. Dust storms would be something to scoff at, instead of one of two other options: cover your face (optional) and go about your business OR hide under a sheet and hope the thread-count is high enough to keep out the majority of the dust.

You can read the Wikipedia article on windows to discover more about this fantastic modern convenience that saves people from many additional human hours of cleaning each day!

Conclusion

I wouldn't mind living without electricity and running water again, but only if I were guaranteed some glass windows and solid doors that kept dust and critters out of my home. Kudos to the Romans and all of Europe for their development of this modern convenience. I'm pretty sure that it is with this development that they soared ahead in development in the latter half of the second milennium, leaving Asia (where paper windows were popular) and Africa, quite literally in the dust.

Retrospective 07: Bizarro Burkina... or Not?

In brief, the normally complacent country of Burkina Faso is now three weeks into its own social crisis. While there have been brief mentions in US newspapers like the New York Times about universities being shut down. Most of the anglophone coverage is brief, not exceeding two paragraphs. You can read more in English here about the situation as it develops (since I am no longer there).

Now, let us wander into hypothesis land where I may or may not sound like I make sense, but this is how I interpret the situation, how it's developed, and how it may or may not progress. Please note, that I might be grossly off base, but this is what I have put together with the things I do know from the dark recesses of my mind and some speculation. Please don't take any of the following as absolute fact.
---< speculation >---
The student named Justin Zongo passed away in late February, police claim the cause of death to be meningitis. Witnesses, family, friends and his peers suspect foul play, corruption and a cover up. Chaos ensues.

Oversimplification and exaggeration of series of events:
• Girl and Guy 1 don't generally get along (for unknown reasons, but I suspect unrequited love).
  
• Girl says something to annoy Teacher.
  
• Guy 1, class president, says to Girl that that was inappropriate.
  
• Girl says something that annoys Guy 1.
  
• Guy 1 slaps Girl.
  
• Girl complains to Guy 2, her boyfriend, and a formal complaint is filed with the police.
  
• Guy 2 happens to be a police officer and uses his police officer powers to incarcerate Guy 1, keeping him away from girl and also paying him back for the slap.
  
• Guy 1 is fined 10000 CFA which he has no money to pay, each time he goes to the police station to ask for more time, he pays off his interest by being slapped around and being arrested.
  
• Guy 2 accidentally kills Guy 1 in his rage.
  
• Guy 2 claims that Guy 1 died of meningitis.
  
• Country calls BS. Guy 2's bosses say it's true, deh! Country calls double BS.
  
• Country implodes in protest.
  
• Guy 2 and other people are fired/thrown into jail.
  
• Girl is mortified by how stupid guys are.
  

This is not the first time someone has died in police custody in recent years. Last June, another youth died in police custody. This youth was a gold miner who was reputed for selling confiscated drugs on behalf of the police. Unlike the incident in Koudougou with Justin Zongo, this incident in Gaoua with Arnaud Somé only resulted in localized protests. Both cases involve police corruption and violence leading to death. However, the difference is social function (miner vs. student), timing (summer vacation vs. middle of school year) and also reason for arrest (drug possession vs. student fight). Also, Justin's last name is Zongo, which reminds many people of the journalist Norbert Zongo, an influential investigative journalist whose suspicious death (many believe assassination) occurred while researching the presidential family's ties to a murder.

Protests for the Gaoua incident were localized and pertained to the community. However, the Koudougou incident touched the country as a whole regarding student rights. A disciplinary issue that should have been dealt with by the school was blown out of proportion due to the girl's connections. Nationwide rioting by students led to destruction of government buildings, especially police stations. This combined with the overall frustration with government corruption and the potential for future government corruption by the same people has led many of the unions to support the protesting and to protest themselves this week.

To really understand where this is coming from, one has to go back to the rise of the current president Blaise Compaoré and take a look at his government. Prior to being president, he was a close friend of his predecessor Thomas Sankara who he helped become president in a somewhat bloodless coup d'état in 1983 (i.e., the deposed president is still alive). Many Burkinabè revere Sankara's philosophy (making the country self-reliant as opposed to relying on foreign aid for things that Burkinabè could resolve on their own through austerity); however, some of his policies were controversial (stripping traditional privileges from tribal leaders, tribunal courts, etc.) and led to his assassination in 1987. Compaoré placed himself in power after this coup and reversed the majority of the policies that Sankara had in place (most notably, lifting limits on government employee salaries and benefits and inviting foreign aid back into the country).

Compaoré ruled the country under a military regime until its first election in many years in 1991. In Burkinabè fashion, the election was boycotted by the majority of the people who opposed the bloody coup that Compaoré used to seize power. Thus, he won his first and second elections in 1991 and 1998. In 2000, the constitution was amended to reduce the terms to 5 years. Note that the term limits set in 1991 was two terms, and the term limits set in 2000 was two terms. The judiciary system decided that the amendment could not retroactively count Compaoré's terms despite the fact that under prior to and following the amendment, he should not be eligible to run (if one follows normal logic and reasoning, though the argument on Compaoré's behalf was that he had never served two five-year terms). Bizarrely grandfathered in as an incumbent, Compaoré was deemed eligible to run in the 2005 and 2010 elections, both of which he won.

Everyone knows that there exists corruption within the government, especially embezzlement, bribery and abuse of political status and privileges. Not everyone is corrupt, but many are. At the very top of this corruption pyramid is the president. Whether or not he is corrupt has yet to be proven in a court of law. However, one could argue that by turning a blind eye, he is not proving himself to be a responsible leader, and thus some may consider him just as culpable of corruption.

Everyone also knows that there is a high likelihood of Compaoré pushing through an amendment to abolish term limits or changing the term limits to two N-year terms (where the natural number N ∈ (1,4] ∪ [6] ∪ [8,∞), or more simply, N ≠ {5,7}).

Back to the current situation... These protests are no longer about one student's death and its subsequent cover-up. These protests are about the corruption that is prevalent in the government of Burkina Faso. These protests are a not-so-subtle warning to the president of what will happen if he tries to change the constitution in order to run for office again. Recognizing this, schools have been shut down at all levels, not just the university level as some U.S. news sources might have you believe. That means students will spend less than three days in March in the classroom... if and only if the protesting ends.

Either way, it's the students that lose.

---< /speculation >---
No morals of the story today, just thoughts:
• Justin Zongo hit someone. Regardless of the situation, he should not have hit someone.
• If you have been following me, then you know that in December, all students had the opportunity to receive free meningitis vaccinations. If he did receive this vaccination, which I suppose would be easy to verify with eye witnesses, then something clearly doesn't add up.
• Three lefts might make a right, but many wrongs don't make things right.
• I wonder when (if ever) the Ibrahim Prize will be awarded to a Burkinabè leader.

Retrospective 06: Health & Education Working Together

Burkina News:
A lot of Burkina is still in a lot of outrage over death of student in police custody due to police-claims of meningitis and the subsequent loss of life in initial riots following his death. Major cities still have striking and rioting, including burning down police buildings and allowing prisoners to escape. Some pro-CDP areas (supporters of the President) have had little public reaction and students have started going back to schools.

I'd rather not get into opinions about politics because it just ends up making me angry. So, let's talk about what sparked this whole problem: the alleged meningitis.

Some people join the Peace Corps because they believe they can save lives. I was more realistic upon arrival (I hope). I believed that I could maybe change some people's lives. I would love to claim that I saved lives in Peace Corps, but as a Secondary Education Volunteer, I don't think I saved any lives because my students learned some math. I might have saved some lives in the long term because my students learned to think a little bit more critically and creatively and also the importance and proper use of using condoms.

Upon reflection, though, I might have saved some lives from meningitis and other diseases by just being there... emphasis on might. The advantage to being the Nasara is that people want to see you and want to be taught by you. The disadvantage is of course you are basically a celebrity. Some people want to use and abuse you. Also, when you're not actually white but considered white it can lead to an identity crisis... more about that later I promise (as I have for the last couple of posts, I know).

Why is the Nasara effect important in the classroom? It brings people in to events (including school) and people pay attention to you. Once they get over the initial glamor of being near you (imagine yourself in the presence of your all-time favorite celebrity in the known universe), they still hang on to every word you say and hold it close to their hearts to be repeated over and over again. Even the troublemakers who normally don't show up to other classes, will come just to be in your presence. If they cause trouble, as they are often bound to do, and are kicked out of class they do everything possible to stay in the classroom and be in the presence of the Nasara. As a good educator though, you must look beyond the promises of "I won't do it again" and be stern in the beginning. With time, the Nasara effect will fade, but if you have used it to your advantage, it will be replaced with awe-tinged respect (especially if you can kick any of the other teacher's behinds in logic).

You can use your powers as a Nasara to discuss health issues (including sex!), something that the majority of teachers are unwilling to do. (I was lucky and had multiple teachers that were unashamed of talking sex, discrimination and other sensitive subjects at my school. Some were actually bashful in the beginning but transformed as they realized the only way to solve a problem is to talk about the problem and possible solutions. I would love to claim credit for their awesome, but the reality is that they are just awesome open-minded individuals.)

Back to meningitis and neglected diseases... if you play your cards right you can twist the arms of these adoring children into coming to class on Vaccination Day. Sure all students love to hear talk about sex, but who really enjoys being stabbed by a needle? (Masochists and drug users aside.) These vaccines and also chemotherapy (read: medication) against neglected diseases save the lives of people every day. This is important because few people use the health clinics, especially in rural areas. The tendency towards self-treatment and suspicion of "modern" medicine (I really hate this term) is still prevalent with the majority of births happening at home. However, as the enrollment rates increase, the ability for organizations like the World Health Organization (Organisation Mondiale pour la Santé) to turn schools into key disease prevention sites has also increased. Campaigns going door-to-door are also effective (especially for Polio which is nearing eradication, but that's the hardest part), but time-consuming and difficult if there is not enough humanpower. The key role of the educator at this point is not to do the actual vaccinating or the medicating, but to help the students understand why they are being vaccinated, and why it's important. And also, to make sure that each and every student is vaccinated and swallows their medication.

The exciting thing about meningitis is that it used to be an extremely expensive vaccine, but now it isn't and was distributed for free in December! Schools were used as vaccination sites, with priority to students and personnel first, but then people in the general community also lined up to be vaccinated. You can read more about it here.

Now, if we could only get a malaria vaccine, people would expect to live beyond the age of 60. The median age of Burkinabè would be over the age of 17. People would have less kids and at a later age because they wouldn't fear the early deaths of themselves or their children.

In the mean time though, any incoming PCT should know that you will find yourself in the face of death, especially those who will be working in Health. Sometimes, the life of someone very close to you will be taken unexpectedly. There is nothing that can really prepare you for the death of anyone in your life, but you should know that it is very unlikely for a PCV to leave the country without knowing someone who died.

May they all rest in peace and continue to be our inspiration to live and to serve.

Morals of the story:
• Always use a condom.
• Get vaccinated.
• I saved lives by glaring.
• You can't save everyone.
• Create a malaria vaccine and you will be a hero.

Retrospective 05: International Women's Day, Holidays & Unrest

A wonderful (and at times frustrating) aspect of Burkinabè culture are the holidays. Especially for religious holidays and also International Women's Day, the whole country shuts down. People spend the day(s around the event) preparing, cooking, eating, visiting, and wishing the best to everyone. I was lucky, and my colleagues in my village potluck for every holiday! In most other villages, people will go around to everybody else's homes to wish them a happy holiday and also eat food and drink beverages. People celebrate within their income. The wealthy often go all out, grilling lots of meat and providing high-end drinks. However, it doesn't actually matter what you serve, but who comes and that you have something for them (something as simple as popcorn works). The more people who come to visit, the more you are loved by the community! For bigger holidays, some people wish happy holidays preemptively or after the fact, saving the closest friends for the actual holiday.

Tomorrow (technically today in some parts of the world already) is International Women's Day. Each village has their own way of celebrating Women's Day, or as it is affectionately known in Burkina, Le Huit (pronounced "le wee"). Often there are bike riding competitions, soccer matches, and people give speeches about women's rights, etc. Some people are skeptical, others are gung-ho about the holiday. What's important to know, though is that Burkinabè love a reason to celebrate. Everyone is decked out their best usually in matching pagnes (same pattern on a light-weight cotton fabric, but with variations of color theme) with this year's Women's Day logo. Some scoff and say that it has become commercialized. In part, it is. However, some women's groups do use the sale of these (and other) pagnes as an income-generating activity to fund other projects throughout the year.

What frustrates me as that it is not a recognized holiday in America. In fact, some states celebrate International Men's Day on November 19, but none officially recognize International Women's Day (according to Wikipedia). This is very disappointing and is a reflection of the lack of equality that still persists in American society. Granted has never been the best role model in many sectors pertaining to equality. I'm still looking for the country that is metaphorically blind to color, race, age, gender, sex, religion, etc. If someone finds it or founds it, please let me know, I will be more than happy to join you.

I miss my Women's Day outfit from last year... a lot. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of this outfit, but rest-assured it has been described as simple, conservative, yet sexy. Liz may have to pick it up for me while she is in Burkina.

Aside from emergency services, the official holidays recognized by government officials (meaning non-emergency services are non-functional) and by many people even in the smallest of small villages are:

Date	Holiday	Popular Name	French Greeting
January 1	New Year's Day	Le Premier	Bonne Année
January 3	People's Uprising	Soulèvement Populaire	NA
March 8	Women's Day	Le Huit ("le wee")	Bonne Fête (to women)
Spring	Easter Sunday/Monday	(Lundi de)Pacques	Bonne Fête (to Christians)
May 1	Labor Day	Fête du Travail	Bonne Fête (to fonctionnaires)
August 5	Independence Day	le 5 août	Bonne Fête d'Independence
August 15	Assumption	Assomption	Bonne Fête (to Catholics)
November 1	All Saints' Day Veteran's Day	Toussaint	Bonne Fête (to Christians)
December 11	Proclamation of the Repulic	le Onze la Fête Nationale	Bonne Fête
December 25	Christmas	Noël	Joyeux Noël (to Christians)
variable	Eid Al-Fitr	Fin de Ramadan	Bonne Fête (to Muslims)
~2 months after Eid Al-Fitr	Eid Al-Adha	Tabaski	Bonne Fête (to Muslims)
variable	Birth of Mohammed	Mouloud	Bonne Fête (to Muslims)

Note: If the holiday falls on a Sunday, then it is observed on the following Monday. If a holiday falls on a Saturday, it is NOT observed on a different day.

Some other notable holidays/dates (though not officially national holidays) include:

• Lent & Ascension
• le 1 avril - April Fool's Day
• le 1 septembre - massive rainstorm in 2009 that led to infrastructure failure and flooding, leaving many homeless or dead throughout the country
• le 13 decembre - assassination/death of Norbert Zongo a popular journalist in 1998, school is usually shut down during this time due to student/teacher protests (some peaceful)

Political unrest common in surrounding countries (e.g. Côte d'Ivoire, Niger and Mali lately) does occasionally find its way to Burkina Faso. However, it is not as frequent. It is necessary to apply common sense. Paying attention to news and staying away from politically charged areas during those times are essential. Don't take pictures of riots and people using weapons out of context (actually don't even take pictures of people without their permission, that's just impolite IMHO). If you see people rioting or using weapons for non-animal hunting/butchering purposes, don't go towards them. If you can't get away from the area stealthily, remain calm and don't provoke the people with weapons. Not talking about local politics is a good general practice (besides the fact that it is against Peace Corps policy) for your own safety.

The more stressful situations that I went through were actually dealt with the very capable and quick-thinking staff of the Peace Corps. Training regarding security situations is covered by Peace Corps and is wonderful. Please take it seriously as some new PCTs don't, and it can be frustrating for PCVs who have been through stressful situations.

The country is generally safe, mind you and I never felt threatened by any of the political situations because most of my time was spent in my community, where I had built friendships and working relationships. I usually heard about strikes before they occurred. Also, blending in helped, wearing traditional clothing and headscarfs, having my hair braided, etc. I have been told by PCTs and PCVs they didn't even register me as a foreigner or thought I was a guest speaker because of my dress (combined with tan, making me look like a light-skinned Burkinabè... sort of).

Unrest incidents from the last five years in Burkina Faso:
• 2006 - Police and army fight each other in Ouagadougou over misunderstanding and quick tempers
• 2008 - Rising costs of living led to rioting, most notably in Bobo-Dioulasso
• 2010 - Threat from AQIM to kidnap foreigners in Ouahigouya (determined to be bogus a few months later)
• 2010 - Death of a criminal led to localized riots in Gaoua
• 2011 - Death of a student in police custody leads to localized riots and more deaths in Koudougou resulting in nation-wide shutdown of schools

Only one of these events directly affected my Service and it was because I was participating in Volunteer activities outside of my village.

Morals of the story:
• Training rocks, pay attention and don't be rude!
• Holidays rock, visit everyone and invite people over, too!
• Staying in your site (village) is good for a lot of reasons!
• Stay calm, panicking in public won't get you anywhere.
• HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY!

Retrospective 04: Laafi Bala

One of the first things that Burkinabe will ask you about in the daily 10-minute greeting routine (this is well documented in many other blogs, I don't feel the need to cover it) is your health (laafi in Moore). The philosophy is simple: if you have your health, then what you perceive to be problems will eventually work themselves out (ça va aller or ça ira).

In Americaland, what would you pay to have total coverage, i.e. doctor on-call "24 on 24" (the French equivalent of 24 hours a day/7 days a week/365 days a year)? If you watch Royal Pains at all, apparently you would pay a lot for the services of your concierge doctor for each call. If you are a Peace Corps Volunteer, you pay nothing. That's right nothing. PCVs only get a monthly allowance that is adjusted based upon the standard of living, and after two years of service a readjustment allowance of less than USD$10000, but we get total health coverage. It was quite wonderful if you ask me.

Granted, our PCMOs (doctors) are not there to be abused. We are given basic survival health training, and encouraged to call during business hours for non-emergencies. Nonetheless, all of my medical tests (blood work, stool and urine samples), medication, dental and even vision were completely covered. In the event that I had to buy my own medication, I could apply for reimbursement. During my service, I had a couple of dental emergencies that were resolved within a week, regardless of where I found myself in the world.

PoopIn the beginning, almost all new PCT/Vs have to readjust their definition of emergency. The most constant problem for most of us are gastrointestinal issues. Many new PCT/Vs are disappointed that explosive diarrhea once is not just cause to freak out. When it's repeated and frequent, then there is a bigger issue at hand. Some people get parasites, bacteria, viruses or amoebas through the water, food, or poor personal hygiene of the food preparer/server/self. Others have issues just because of stress or change in diet. My frequent enemy was Giardia (aka Beaver Fever which can lead to Vitamin B deficiency and Anemia and lactose intolerance and destruction of the body's ability to absorb nutrients). Luckily, there are drugs that destroy it and also to help your body absorb nutrients.

Food
(the source of Poop)Many PCTs find that the food in Burkina is much more oily, salty and starchy than what they are used to in America. However, when one considers the lack of preservatives, fillers and other things that go into American engineered food. Food in Burkina is actually healthier... provided it is prepared correctly and that you make an effort to balance your diet. A lot of food in Burkina can be overcooked, and bouillon cubes (MSG + other things that make me want to pass out) and non-iodized salt are often used.

Balancing your diet can be tricky in Burkina, but that is mainly because most new PCVs don't learn Burkina's agricultural cycle during PST. Certain fruits and vegetables are only available at certain points of the year (with the exception of the major cities). This combined with local traditions in small villages (e.g. my village cancels the market day for a month every year) can lead to malnutrition problems such as anemia. My second and third years, I was prepared for this magical month of no fruits and vegetables (recognized by Americans), and avoided the drastic weight loss I suffered my first year. If you are open-minded, and try the local foods (like various tree leaves, and dried versions of fruits and vegetables), then you will be able to provide your body with all of the necessary vitamins and minerals.

Traditionally, female PCVs gain weight and male PCVs lose weight. However, I've found this is directly related to the activity level and the diet of each individual (as can be expected and appears to be an international conclusion). So, in theory, if I maintain my preference for a bland diet (since most engineered foods here make me feel miserable) and start exercising again now that I'm in Americaland (after a six month hiatus... riding a motorcycle is so much more fun than a non-existent (read: returned to Peace Corps) bicycle), I should be down to fashion model size in about a year.

Wild SpeculationSo, there is still hope for me to become America's Next Next Top Model (I might be watching too much terrible TV)... except I'm too old and blind. At least, being healthy will more than make up for it (maybe).

Of course, certain bridezillas may disagree and want me to be all plump for their October wedding.

Morals of the story: There is a 99% (made up statistic, but close enough) chance that a PCV in Burkina Faso will have debilitating gastrointestinal issues. A balanced diet is possible and exercise is good for you.

Retrospective 03: Language

This is a fun (primarily for (R)PCVs) video that encompasses the two extremes of Peace Corps Training and Service. Each Volunteer's experience is different because of many factors; however, the most important of which are the PCV's coping mechanisms and open-mindness as well as the preparation of the community by Peace Corps Staff and Volunteers prior to the new PCV's arrival. The first step into integrating of course is being able to speak (a little bit of) the language.

*Just a warning that this particular blog entry will be boring for most people and is really intended for future PCVs so they know what they are getting themselves into.*

I've already stated in my blog previously that it takes about 18 months to begin to understand in your community. Stage is a 8-12 week experience that only touches upon the surface of life in Burkina Faso. Each community is unique and while Stage tries to cover the basics, it takes a full 18 months to begin to understand your community (hence, my argument that everyone should commit themselves to a minimum of 3 years of service). The core component of Stage is language training. There is no avoiding language training. Upon arrival stagiaires are evaluated for their oral expression (and incidentally, comprehension) in French. Throughout training, they are evaluated several more times until they pass the minimum language level in order to "Swear-In" as a full-fledged Volunteer. Those who have the minimum French level begin local language training earlier. The majority of non-Secondary Education (SE) Volunteers use more local language than French.

The learning process during PST is experiential, including language. This can be frustrating for those who have never experienced full-immersion language learning. Now, PCTs (except for SE where the focus is on French first) begin learning the local language of their community from the start with a smattering of survival Moore (the language of the dominant Mossi ethnicity in the PST area). Since there are over 65 local ethnicities, there are an equal number of local languages. The PCTs who will eventually in serve in the same ethnic regions oftentimes find themselves spending almost all of their time together. Even within local languages, different regions may have different vocabulary (e.g. English in Texas vs. English in England, different pronunciation and expressions/idioms, but overall the same language). Since I was an SE PCV, I primarily learned French, but was also exposed to Moore, Dioula (Bambara), and Southern San (the language of the primary ethnicity in my village) during and after my training.

One of my regrets from service is not learning a local language well. I can fumble my way through greetings, buy things, tell children to go put on their shoes and even understand the gist of most gossip. However, I can't have conversations. The trade off, though, is that my French oral expression improved greatly. Part of the reason it is harder for some Volunteers than others to learn a local language is too many local languages at once. My village bordered villages of different ethnicities. As a result, many people in the village may not be multilingual, but they can understand the basics in another language. A typical conversation in the morning may involve four people speaking entirely different languages (French, San, Moore, Dioula) to each other, but they still understand what is going on. Each group of people I socialized with had their own language and during each day I was exposed to at least four languages: French with my students/teachers, San with my neighbors, Moore with my colleagues/other civil servants after school, Dioula with the wives and children of civil servants. So, at the end of my service, I could follow a conversation and understand the main ideas in a couple of local languages, but I couldn't contribute much to the conversation in local language.

No matter what your local language level, locals are often surprised and delighted that you can speak a little bit of the local language. If you are a replacement PCV, you will often be compared to previous PCVs. In comparison, even native French speakers in West Africa are criticized for their French because their accent is different from the more guttural Burkinabe French. Many rural Burkinabe who are not exposed to a French accent (via radio, or otherwise) have a difficult time understanding a French accent.

What's fun about the video is it presents the two extremes of how some people become practically fluent in their local language, and others never go beyond expressing themselves as young children do. What it doesn't mention is sometimes these young children (2 or 3 year olds) become some of your best friends and can actually teach you the local language. Two of the kids I played with who were born right around when I arrived in Burkina Faso, helped me to learn some fun vocabulary and they understood I was learning their language along with them. Yes, a lot of the small children will stare and/or run away from "white people" (more about being a minority later) in total fear, but if you make the effort, the kids (and adults) become used to you and try to help you out (some for personal gain, others just because you are kind of a celebrity for being different in your village and they want to spend time with you to learn more about you).

Now that I have been back for just over three weeks, I find myself thinking (and accidentally) speaking less in French, but I don't think my Frenchisms will be disappearing completely from my English/Mandarin anytime soon.

Some of the phrases that I have picked up (and you may hear when conversing with me) and still run through my head; local languages are transliterated so an English speaker pronounces it correctly (in theory):

• Ou bien? - French, origin Switzerland (so I've been told), equivalent to N'est-ce pas?
• French conjuctions - mais, et, si, ou, etc.
• Yaa bwen? - Moore, literally - "There is what?"; figuratively - "What is it?/What's going on?"
• Bee bwen? - Moore equivalent to Ou bien?
• Mana wana? - Moore equivalent of "What's up?"
• Yeel ki bay - Moore equivalent of "Nothing much." (literally: there is nothing)
• Kweg ki bay - Moore equivalent of "Not much to say."
• Yaa seed ah - Moore equivalent of "It's true"
• Tah nay - San equivalent of "It's true"
• ... Tah - San equivalent of "There is ..."
• Ko fo Ko fo! - San for "Hey everyone listen up!"
• Bwenay - San for "See you soon"
• Keh/deh/ooo - Syllables added to the end of sentences to emphasize the importance of it to you.

I will try for a more fun post later.

Retrospective 02: Whether or not to Weather the Weather

When you fly to Burkina Faso for the very first time from Europe, America, Asia, and some parts of Africa, the first thing you will notice as you step out of the plane and walk down the stair cart (there are no jet bridges or airstairs) is the wave of heat that welcomes you regardless of the time of year. Burkina Faso is a landlocked tropical country, while technically classified as savanna, the northern part of the country is suffering from desertification. The temperatures range from 5 to 45+ Celsius (about 40 to 110+ Fahrenheit) in the Sahel (northern desert region), with a milder temperature range in the tropical south.

Technically, Burkina is considered to have two seasons: rainy and dry. However, the dry season is often divided into two or three sub-seasons. The south of Burkina receives more rain than the north, with light rains starting as early as February and running through December. However, the majority of the heavy rains fall between May and September. In comparison, the north typically has a shorter season from June through August (with a few light rains in April or May). The rain is essential for the subsistence farmers of Burkina Faso. However, like all things, one wants neither too much or too little. No rain = No grains = No food. Excess rain = Drowned-dead plants = No food. With the advent of global warming, the rainy season has gradually been shortening and shifting and the rains have changed from almost daily light rainfall during the rainy season (l'hivernage ou la saison pluvieuse) to extended rain-free periods broken up by torrential downpours.

At the beginning of l'hivernage, the temperatures are still high since it's the tail-end of the dry season. Even without a meteorologist though, the arrival of rain can be anticipated. The humidity combined with the heat makes the temperatures nearly unbearable (especially for a first timer living without air conditioning). It appears to settle down upon you oppressively and gives you wonderful things like prickly heat (heat rash) and leaves you changing your clothes, especially underwear for women, a few times a day. Then from a distance, you can feel a cool breeze and see the forming of dark, ominous clouds (the best kind). In a country with few modern buildings (mostly one-story houses made of mud bricks), these clouds are actually very far away. Anywhere between one to six hours later, the winds pick up, bring dust and rattling your tin roof (if you're lucky; if you're not, thatched and/or mud depending upon the ethnicity in your region), and the smell of rain is in the air. Finally, the much anticipated rain arrives. The next day, greenery may carpet the countryside, and you think to yourself Burkina is like a Chia pet! This rain can be or it can last for over 24 hours! Though, as I said, neither too little nor too much is appreciated. In addition to drowning plants and flooding fields, heavy winds and rains can tear off roofs and collapse buildings. As the season progresses, the overall heat diminishes and the temperatures are milder, with the rains happening frequently (daily in some areas). If you are a Trainee, you begin to think to yourself it only rains on Sundays (your only full day off from formal sessions during Training).

Before you know it, the season tapers off in about September or October. This is the beginning of the dry season, and what I find to be one of its three sub-seasons: the mini-hot season. The first dry winds start circulating, and within a few weeks, what you thought were ponds or lakes in your village disappear completely, leaving behind dried out shallow depressions covered in hoofprints. The air is hot once more, but no longer humid. The plants begin to ripen and the HCNs prepare to harvest (recolte) from October to as late as December. Quickly, the greenery of Burkina disappears, and if it is your first time in a desert, it can appear barren, dusty and dreary. Though the savanna vistas become lovely and quite fantastic in retrospect and as your service progresses. One can almost imagine and wish that Dr. Seuss had been inspired by the West African scenery.

The temperatures start to drop in November, and by December at the latest, the Harmattan winds are in full effect, bring on the cold season. Carrying dust throughout the area. The dust storms can be fantastic and arrive quickly, or they can creep in slowly and diminish visibility to less than 20 meters. The air cools off and at night, the wind can bring temperatures into single digit Celsius (40-50 Farenheit). In your first year as a Volunteer, you might find this as a wonderful relief. If you are not a member of Posh Corps, then during your second (and third) years, this becomes a terrible time of coldness and dust, where you find yourself dressed like the host country nationals in your site, wearing a sweater, sweatshirt and/or winter coat. The cold typically leaves in February, though this year, it started to heat up in late January. This usually results in a light drizzle in February or March somewhere in the country (no guarantee it will be where you live) and signifies the end of the cold season.

The hot season is quite frankly unbearable at times. The nighttime temperatures outdoors can be over 40 Celsius (110+ Fahrenheit)! Very few people sleep indoors during this time of year. Nighttime becomes a time of activity since it's actually cool enough (yes, 100+ weather is cool... cooler than 120+ weather) to move around. People often stay up until the wee hours of the morning chatting and hanging out, before catching a few hours of sleep. During the day, the noon to three pm siesta is a mandatory part of survival, and also, the pre and post siesta bucket baths. The average person rinses themselves off at least four times a day to keep themselves relatively cool and clean. Once you think you can't survive this heat anymore (luckily its dry), the humidity settles in and you know that the rains are about to start. Bringing us back to the rainy season!

So, I survived this for four years, and you can too! That is living without modern conveniences like plumbing and air-conditioning. The key to the hot season is to remember that evaporation is a cooling process, and even wet laundry air drying around you will cool off your surroundings a little bit. So now, I hope you understand why I find it ridiculously cold in all of America and will be wearing long-sleeved shirts and sweaters if it's under 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

The downside to all this extreme weather, is of course the different illnesses. The rainy season promotes malaria and schistosomiasis. The dry season promotes meningitis and tuberculosis. More in-depth information about health issues in Burkina Faso later...

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In other news... I thought I was done with preparing stool samples. Darn you, schistosomiasis!

There are two parts of the Peace Corps experience spectrum:

Posh Corps = Peace Corps experience of Peace Corps Volunteers who have access to electricity and/or running water. Some people also install DSL lines or even have air-conditioning!
Hard Corps = Peace Corps experience of Peace Corps Volunteers with neither electricity nor running running water, and/or have to travel (long) distances by bicycle to catch transport or find (cold, if they're lucky) water.

Peace Corps/Burkina Faso is moving away from Hard Corps and towards Posh Corps (though it's not as posh as some other countries) because of security issues. More information about Burkina travel warnings and restrictions can be found at the Ouagadougou US Embassy website. While fewer Volunteers are being placed in sites without electricity/cell phone coverage/running water, the majority of Volunteers are found somewhere in the middle of this spectrum, with one of the three modern conveniences. I find this unfortunate because these convenience-lacking locations are often those suffering from the most need. The communities don't have the political sway to get these conveniences installed. This keeps governmental and non-governmental organizations from trying to stay in the areas as well. Either way, if you are an incoming Trainee, be mentally prepared to have nothing: no running water, no electricity, no cell phone coverage. These modern conveniences actually take you away from the majority of Burkina Faso's population living conditions and set you even further apart from them, making integration and exchange more difficult. While I struggled my first year, having to bike about ten miles to make a phone call, and standing in certain spots of my village on top of a chair just to send a text message, it gave me a chance to bond more closely with people in my village and learn more about the surrounding area as well. I missed out on having some great memories with my stagemates, but made some fantastic ones with people in my area. I know it helped with the success of many of my projects, as well as helped people better understand the United States (goal two).

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Amazing in Americaland: beverages (except those with (high-fructose) corn syrup or added sugars), bacon, meat
Undesirable in USA: customer service, preservatives, healthcare system
Still Missing Faso: friends, warmth, sunrises, sunsets, stars, tailors

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This is one of my favorite songs from Burkina. It basically is saying that Burkina is a great place and that their proud of their country and love it! It's one of the few songs that uses traditional rhythms in the music. Long before I understood this song, I loved it!

Retrospective 01 - Getting to and from Burkina Faso

So, the first step in your Peace Corps Service (presuming you went through the whole application process and got invited) is leaving the magical land of America (Americaland fbfpcvs). This process involves a "Staging" where you meet your training group (stagemates fbfpcvs), with whom you spend the next 2-3 months during Pre-Service Training (PST or Stage fbfpcvs).

After a few days of formalities, my stagemates and I found ourselves being shipped in the lap of luxury (AirFrance) to Burkina Faso by way of an extended layover in Paris. While other Stages have been more adventurous, we spent the entire layover in the airport, spending our walk-around money, nervous and excited for the training to come.

Peace Corps pays for your trip to your country of service and your return trip home. Many people opt to take the cash equivalent of the plane ticket home. If you extend for at least another 13 months, the Peace Corps provides a free 30-day trip home (plus 2 days considered travel days) with walk-around money. As far as I know, you can't take cash in lieu of the extension trip. All other personal trips out of the country of service are your responsibility. Some go home at the end of their first year. Others prefer to travel in the surrounding area.

To get to/from Burkina Faso on your own, there are many options. However, the cheapest (especially one-way) is Royal Air Maroc. While many have gripes with this airline, myself included at first, let us keep in mind that this is a self-advertised 3-star airline. This means that you shouldn't expect the best food, our customer service. You should definitely have sturdy bags and not put (electronic, etc.) valuables in them if possible. Though they try their best to provide what they think is quality customer service. I think they do more than some airlines as long as your flying from RAM to RAM. If you have an extended layover (more than three hours), you will be brought to the Transit Lounge, which has nice toilets (compared to the regular terminals), comfy couches, outlets and free food and water. Of course, if you don't know this, you will be confused, and will complain until you leave this safe place, like many a disgruntled American to go to the terminal shops where you won't buy anything that you couldn't buy when you are finally bused the 50 m to the other side of the building with the terminal. If you have a really long layover (like the 19-hour ones on the way back from America), they will bring you to a hotel room and you will also be fed. The staff has also improved its customer service and was really great with kids this last time through. Sure, people's bags disappears or get destroyed. Sure, the airport is confusing and they don't explain their reasoning behind their policies. Sure, some flights they don't assign seats and if you board towards the end you don't get to sit in the best seat (it's like a taxi brousse fbfpcvs, but at most there is one person per seat). However, you get what you pay for, and what you pay for is a lot less than what is provided.

Other options, of course, include traveling to Ghana and then flying out from Accra on one of many American carriers. Traveling by AirFrance, though expensive one-way, only costs slightly more than Royal Air Maroc and other alternatives for round-trip tickets. There are also other inexpensive airlines like AirBurkina and Ethiopia Airways, but they may be more unreliable than Royal Air Maroc. Flying to America, Europe and Africa are relatively easy. Asia and Australia are slightly more complicated on a budget; its much cheaper to avoid Europe and fly through Ethiopia or Qatar (Doha).

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In other news... I thought I was done hand-washing my clothes (other than delicates and on occasional vacations). Alas! The washing machine broke... so I did laundry by hand in America. At least we have a bathtub!

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fbfpcvs = for Burkina Faso Peace Corps Volunteers

Amazing in Americaland: 3-ply toilet paper, snow, internet accessibility, domestic appliances

Undesirable in USA: cold, amount of trash produced and water wasted, laundry by hand

Better off without Burkina: dust, laundry by hand, littering

Fancying for Faso: friends, warmth, sunrises, sunsets, stars

my second-to-last sunrise - on a moto ride to koudougou

Retrospective 00 - Back in America

As we descended through the fluffy ether, a fantastic and wonderful winter land presented itself. One could have imagined that she was at Santa's North Pole (neither magnetic nor true north). However, when we finally landed, the coldness became apparent beyond the physical level, which is significant since I was wearing 6 pounds of clothing and still feeling the chill. As much as I detest the dirt and dust, I miss the gritty warmth of Africa, particularly Burkina. New York City itself used to be able to claim some grit to it, but it's seemingly sterile. It might just be the excessive snow, though.

So, akia-blog was supposed to stand for AK In Africa. Luckily, this can be easily adjusted to AK In America. Apparently, I can live anywhere in the world except for Europe. Since I have ample time on my hands, I will be composing a multi-part blog post on my perspective (in retrospect) about the different aspects of being a PCV, particularly in Burkina Faso. I want to cover not only the general life cycle of a PCV (from PST to Swear-In to IST to MSC to COS to really COS'ing), but particularities about PCV life in Burkina Faso and travel in West Africa. I am self-absorbed enough to believe that this may be of particular interest to the recently invited Trainees leaving in May and June of 2011 and maybe my friends who want to know more about my service and other random tidbits about Burkina Faso and Africa.


Royal Air Maroc had a mildly long layover. They treated me well and all of my not-really-that-important worldly possessions apparently made it. More on overall travel to Africa in the first installment of my retrospective blog series, which may or may not include ranting, though not necessarily directed at RAM...

Anyway, you have been forewarned. I am currently exhausted from way too many good-byes, but once I catch on my sleep. Be ready for way too many blogs about things that may not interest you.

Freezing in America,

AK