Ok, well maybe the only American tourist. Don't get me wrong- there are Americans. Military, contractors, NGO workers, ex-pats, missionaries and, of course, Peace Corps Volunteers. I think I might be the only American here just for funsies though.
I'm going to try to write about how I feel here but I think I should admit upfront that I don't think it's possible to accurately convey any of what I'm talking about in words. You should probably just visit Burkina and see for yourself. For starters, it is beautiful here. I spent probably several hours in Chev's village just staring at the sky in amazement, be it at clouds or sunsets or lightening storms or stars. The people are incredibly kind as well- people are slow to offense or anger and welcome me (even though I can't speak French or Moore) enthusiastically.
I think I'm happier here than I've been in a long time. I feel calmer, I feel more like myself, I feel joyful about everything from benga (basically rice and beans with salt and palm oil) to the prospect of biking 60-70km a day for the first couple of legs of the PCV bike tour. I find myself saying and thinking the Arabic expression "laisa mushkela" (not a problem) all the time. Something goes wrong? NBD. Something changes at the last minute or takes a million times longer than expected? Whatever.
I think I've arrived at one conclusion: I'm applying to peace corps. I still want to go to law school and I still have reservations about my age, but I don't think that I'm too old to spend a couple of years doing the kind of work that I've seen here before I start getting serious about a career. I know it isn't all fun and sleeping 11 hours because nothing actually opens during a rainstorm (true story)- it IS incredibly challenging- but I think it is the kind of challenging that brings out the best in me. So when I get home I'm going to apply to both peace corps and law school and see how I can make it work.
So since I last blogged, Chev and I spent way too much money in Paris, escaped (barely), and made it to Burkina Faso in the middle of the night. Her awesome friends and fellow PCVs picked us up at 3 am and let us spend the night at Rob's house in Ouagadougou. We went to Sapouy the next day to join in a going away party/chicken-cook off for another volunteer. I've been a vegetarian since I was 3, but one team was short on cooks so I joined in and helped spice, stuff and grill a chicken. (Photo proof will follow.) I didn't actually eat any but the people who did said it was pretty good. We stayed that night in Sapouy and went to the market the next day. After that we traveled about 20km to Chev's village, where we spent the last few days. Chev lives in village without running water or electricity. It was a pretty relaxed experience overall, but I can imagine without her to show me the ropes it would be incredibly overwhelming. (Needless to say, my already-high respect for Chev has gone up considerably.) We're back in Ouaga for now, relaxing in the relative luxury of a big city until the bike tour starts on Sunday.
I'll try to post some pictures or another update before I'm back in Seattle.
I'm going to try to write about how I feel here but I think I should admit upfront that I don't think it's possible to accurately convey any of what I'm talking about in words. You should probably just visit Burkina and see for yourself. For starters, it is beautiful here. I spent probably several hours in Chev's village just staring at the sky in amazement, be it at clouds or sunsets or lightening storms or stars. The people are incredibly kind as well- people are slow to offense or anger and welcome me (even though I can't speak French or Moore) enthusiastically.
I think I'm happier here than I've been in a long time. I feel calmer, I feel more like myself, I feel joyful about everything from benga (basically rice and beans with salt and palm oil) to the prospect of biking 60-70km a day for the first couple of legs of the PCV bike tour. I find myself saying and thinking the Arabic expression "laisa mushkela" (not a problem) all the time. Something goes wrong? NBD. Something changes at the last minute or takes a million times longer than expected? Whatever.
I think I've arrived at one conclusion: I'm applying to peace corps. I still want to go to law school and I still have reservations about my age, but I don't think that I'm too old to spend a couple of years doing the kind of work that I've seen here before I start getting serious about a career. I know it isn't all fun and sleeping 11 hours because nothing actually opens during a rainstorm (true story)- it IS incredibly challenging- but I think it is the kind of challenging that brings out the best in me. So when I get home I'm going to apply to both peace corps and law school and see how I can make it work.
So since I last blogged, Chev and I spent way too much money in Paris, escaped (barely), and made it to Burkina Faso in the middle of the night. Her awesome friends and fellow PCVs picked us up at 3 am and let us spend the night at Rob's house in Ouagadougou. We went to Sapouy the next day to join in a going away party/chicken-cook off for another volunteer. I've been a vegetarian since I was 3, but one team was short on cooks so I joined in and helped spice, stuff and grill a chicken. (Photo proof will follow.) I didn't actually eat any but the people who did said it was pretty good. We stayed that night in Sapouy and went to the market the next day. After that we traveled about 20km to Chev's village, where we spent the last few days. Chev lives in village without running water or electricity. It was a pretty relaxed experience overall, but I can imagine without her to show me the ropes it would be incredibly overwhelming. (Needless to say, my already-high respect for Chev has gone up considerably.) We're back in Ouaga for now, relaxing in the relative luxury of a big city until the bike tour starts on Sunday.
I'll try to post some pictures or another update before I'm back in Seattle.
No comments:
Post a Comment