Working For Peanuts/Praying For Gold

I know I have been slacking on blog posts lately, but in actuality not much is happening currently. My village is still nowhere to be found, with most people off in the fields harvesting their millet, corn, peanuts, and beans. As no one is around, it is near impossible to plan anything of real significance. But I do have a few activities I am hoping to do once my village repopulates including health funtivities with my primary school and hopefully a malnutrition program as well. This past Tuesday and Wednesday, I went out with one of the nurses on our monthly vaccination campaigns in our satellite villages. In one of our villages, someone gave us a small plot of land for peanuts, so after we finished up, we checked on our crop and did a little harvesting. I had never really known how peanuts were harvested , but it is fairly simple. You just pull them out of the ground, comme ça:

People have given me so many peanuts lately, I don't know what to do with them all. Maybe I should give Planters a call. Anyways, after we checked on our field, we took a hike to see the gold mine nearby. They have discovered a lot of gold throughout our region, which has prompted many people to head to the mines in hopes of getting rich. Unfortunately, the mines are not the safest place to be. Falling into the mines, cave-ins, and mercury poisoning are all plausible dangers while working, and rape and STDs including AIDS are also elevated at these sites as well. Most of the work is done at nighttime when you can more easily see the gold glitter from the lanterns' light, but there were a couple people working when we showed up around 11am. We found this boy from my village sluicing for gold dust that may have been overlooked.

He told us he hadn't found any gold yet.

Our Assistant Nurse, Madame Zongo, is stricken with gold fever.

I feel like the rest of the year is going to be much busier, which will definitely be a nice change. In November I will be going on a mini-vacation to Mali for 4 days, hiking around what is known as Dogon Country (be on the lookout for more pictures). Then just before Thanksgiving, we have a Mid-Service Conference to discuss successes/failures and strategies for the coming year, as well as a medical and dental checkup. I have between then and mid-December to try to realize my 12-day malnutitrion program before leaving on Christmas vacation to America! That's right - I will be home from December 16th through January 6th to see family, friends, and eat some really awesome food. It looks like a busy two months ahead. Until then enjoy these random photos from village:

Isn't there something heavenly about light breaking through the clouds? C'mon, you know there is.

At 6am, while waiting for our nurse to head out for vaccination campaign, I caught these vultures chillin on my major's roof.

One of the last storms of the season

Panorama of the countryside near my village, what we call the brousse (the bush)

End of Rains

The rainy season has come to an end here in Burkina (at least up north) and we have moved into what is often described as the mini hot season. The green grass has gradually reverted to the dry amber that I remember when we first arrived. Last week was, in fact, our one-year anniversary. It is hard to believe that I have been living here that long and that I only have a little longer than a year remaining to make the strongest impact I can. I am actually ready for the rainy season to be over. While the rainfall was a nice change, I have grown tired of the humidity, mud, flies, mosquitos, and other critters (I woke up this morning to find a praying mantis in my house) that come with it. Just the other day, I almost ran over a two-foot long lizard in the middle of the road.

For the past week or so, my village has been basically empty, as everyone is out in the fields harvesting their crops. So I have had little opportunity to do substantial work lately but I am hoping to begin activities with my primary school soon. The most exciting thing that has happened lately is a celebration in my neighboring village of Youba known as Rasandaaga. I asked several people the meaning of the festivities but everyone said there is no significance and that it is just for fun. Anyway, it is the closest thing to a Burkinabe parade, with several groups of men, women, and children dressing up in traditional clothing and marching around the market while people dance, sing, and just have fun. It was really cool to see, as the market fills with people packed shoulder to shoulder to watch and partake. The following photos are from the fete:

The men leading the parade

A group of men walking and bobbing their heads in unison

People would come and slip money in their hats. That's Burkina's highest note 10,000CFA, equivalent to about $20 (i.e. a lot of money).

Men playing traditional percussion instruments for the women to dance to

The evening winding down. One thing about a parade in the desert - a lot of dust