Site Visit (With Chickens)!

So this weekend, I went with a few other PCT to a PCV's house about 10km from Ouahigouya. This PCV, Christina, just happens to be my future neighbor, less than 2km away from Aorema, my home for the next two years. I biked into Ouahigouya Saturday afternoon with Ilana (also my future neighbor - about 7km away), and we met up with Christina at the cyber café and biked to her village Youba, where we then met up with three other PCTs from an nearby village. We intended to visit my site that evening, but unfortunately Christina forgot her key in Ouahigouya, so we had to change our plans a bit. We hung out in Youba while a neighbor went by moto back into town to retrieve her key. By the time he came back, it was already dark, so we decided to go the next day.

Sunday morning, we biked the short distance to my future village of Aorema. There we met my counterpart, the head nurse of the CSPS (health clinic). He seems like a cool guy, so it should be fun working with him, though he does speak French at a rather quick pace for my tastes. We also met the other CSPS workers and got a brief tour of the clinic. From there we walked maybe 50 yards or so to my house! It is located right next to CSPS grounds, in a walled-in compound that also includes the homes of the head nurse and another CSPS worker. It is not complete yet, but they were working on it while we were there. One man was preparing my hanger (similar to a porch) to be cemented as you can see in the photo here, and another man was digging my latrine behind my house. After this is taken care of, they want to build a fence around my courtyard to give me some added privacy. I think once it is all done, it will definitely look great, and I can definitely picture myself here for the next two years. My friends said the little bumps on the roof make it look like a castle. I have to agree.

It has never been more real than now. I have seen the men who have spent months (since April) building a house specifically for me. I have heard the women in the maternity building at the CSPS thank me for coming. I really felt welcomed into Aorema, and now I've seen the people I am here to help. I am more excited than ever to move into my new home. The inside of my house is just as nice as the outside. It's all completely new, so I shouldn't have to worry about too many bugs or mice. There are two rooms: one large blue room, and another yellow room about half its size. There is even a door to seperate the two (I don't know why that is exciting but it is). The big blue room will mostly like be the kitchen/living room, and the yellow one will be my bedroom. It has an actual wood ceiling that I am thrilled about because it definitely will keep the house cooler than a tin roof would. Overall, it's not a big home, but for me it's the pefect size. Plus my nearest water source appears to be a faucet (i.e. not a pump or well) on the CSPS grounds, which means a lot less work getting water. I couldn't be happier with my little home.


When we were about to get on our way, the important members of the village (including the chief) presented me with two chickens. I was really honored, but may I give a word of caution. Riding 20km on a dirt road with two chickens tied together by their feet, hanging upside down from the handlebars of your bike in the midday sun for two hours is not the most pleasurable experience (for me or the chickens). Fortunately, I had Ilana there (see photo), so we switched half way through. Unfortunately, one little birdie was a bit sick and died shortly after arriving into town. But the other made it back in one piece, just to play the title role in my chicken spaghetti dinner I had last night. It was definitely an interesting weekend, with ups and down like the bumps in the dirt road we carried the chickens on that day. And while the death of my feathered friend was quite the Debbie Downer (insert sad trombone tune here), the trip only made me more excited to finish training and actually start my work as a Peace Corps Volunteer.


On a completely unrelated note, since Thanksgiving is this week, and today I am thankful that the cyber café computers are uploading photos relatively fast, I've decided to share a couple other pics from around my current village of Somyaga. Enjoy!

This is one of my best little buds in village, little Sayouba. You may recognize him from my last set of photos from village. Whenever I pick him up in the air as I often have to do, he just laughs and laughs. He's such a funny kid!

And this is one of the village elders in my quartier. He is always sitting on the ground making something - rope or calabash bowls or the like. Whenever I visit him, he shows me what he is working on, but because he is only speaks Mooré, he just keeps saying ¨Yaa soma¨ (It's good) and ¨Barka¨ (Thank you) to me. We started actual Mooré classes today, so maybe I will be able to talk with him some more after awhile. He is such a nice man though. He asked me to take a picture of him and his family, and when I should this to him, I don't think I've ever heard so many ¨Barkas¨ from one person. I think it turned out pretty good too.