With that said, let's try to do some major catching up.
1) Benin & Togo Vacation: I had an amazing 16-day trip down through Benin and then up through Togo. We had some great days on the beach, some really cool hiking experiences, several trips to amazing supermarkets, and enough funny (and often awkward) moments to last for years. If I ever get motivated enough, I'll try to type up a more detailed trip report, but until that moment arrives, enjoy these few vacation snapshots:
Christy and me, spending the day swimming around a beautiful waterfall in Benin
Our beach in Benin
It takes a village...to move a boat...
...and pull in the fishing nets
Beautiful church in a voodoo town, visited by Pope John Paul II on his visit
On one of our hikes in the mountains, our guide showed us how to find traditional paints from different plants, like the yellow pigment under the bark of this tree.
He also showed us lots of creepy crawlies, like this brightly colored grasshopper.
Our beautiful pool with a swim-up bar in Kpalimé, Togo
We built a sand-whale on our last beach day in Lomé. Passers-by were literally in awe of us. One guy actually told us, ¨Je vous adore.¨
2) During our vacances, the new group of trainees arrived in country, something like 78 of them. It is the largest training group ever in Burkina to date. I actually went down to their training site, a town called Koudougou, for most of July to help facilitate. It was quite the overwhelming experience but was also a lot of fun. It really made me think about what it was like when I was in their place. Overall, I think the training went really well, albeit exhausting, but it gave me the chance to meet a lot of cool new people and connect closer with old friends. Their swear-in was two weeks ago in Ouagadougou at the US Embassy and greatly surpassed any swear-in ceremony in the past in terms of swank. All of us facilitators were given jobs to do during the event; mine was as an invitee checker, which was cool because I got to see everyone who came in. The First Lady of Burkina, Chantal Compaore actually attended the event, gave a speech, and mingled among us volunteers at the reception. And talk about a reception - the embassy generously provided, out of their own budget, free wine (from bottles not boxes) and beer (on tap). It was a lot of fun and a great way to celebrate 76 new volunteers. Way to go everyone!
3) Since coming back to village, things have been slow. Its rainy season still, so people are out in the fields working most days, which makes it feel like a ghost town most of the time. I have taken advantage of this and gone into the fields to help, which always gets the funniest looks from everyone around, but you can tell people are really impressed that I am actually out there at all.
Yesterday, we partied hard as Ramadan, the month when devote Muslims fast from sunrise till sunset came to an end. On this final day, known to Muslims around the world as Eid al-Fitr, everyone congregated to the center of the village for a huge prayer at 9am. Even though I am not Muslim, I really enjoy going to these kinds of events, if not solely for the integration aspect; everyone in the village goes and it is a great social gathering. After prayer ends, the rest of the day is spent relaxing and eating 5and eating and eating). You basically go from one house to the next, wishing people a bonne fete, and you are expected to sit down each time and eat. This can get pretty crazy after you have stopped by four or five friends' houses. I went to see my good friend Ynoussa, who gave me a huge bag full of raw beef to cook up for myself later, and then he took me to say hello to the vieux, a respected old man in their family compound who then fed me macaroni and liver (yum!). I then went and ate with another friend Haoua and then with my major. I had bought a bottle of sparkling wine that my major, my friend Ynoussa, and I shared as well (Ynoussa, although the only Muslim in the trio, is not so strict a Muslim as to pass up a free drink). All in all, it was a really nice celebration, despite eating way too much. Hope everyone else had a wonderful Ramadan!
3) Since coming back to village, things have been slow. Its rainy season still, so people are out in the fields working most days, which makes it feel like a ghost town most of the time. I have taken advantage of this and gone into the fields to help, which always gets the funniest looks from everyone around, but you can tell people are really impressed that I am actually out there at all.
Yesterday, we partied hard as Ramadan, the month when devote Muslims fast from sunrise till sunset came to an end. On this final day, known to Muslims around the world as Eid al-Fitr, everyone congregated to the center of the village for a huge prayer at 9am. Even though I am not Muslim, I really enjoy going to these kinds of events, if not solely for the integration aspect; everyone in the village goes and it is a great social gathering. After prayer ends, the rest of the day is spent relaxing and eating 5and eating and eating). You basically go from one house to the next, wishing people a bonne fete, and you are expected to sit down each time and eat. This can get pretty crazy after you have stopped by four or five friends' houses. I went to see my good friend Ynoussa, who gave me a huge bag full of raw beef to cook up for myself later, and then he took me to say hello to the vieux, a respected old man in their family compound who then fed me macaroni and liver (yum!). I then went and ate with another friend Haoua and then with my major. I had bought a bottle of sparkling wine that my major, my friend Ynoussa, and I shared as well (Ynoussa, although the only Muslim in the trio, is not so strict a Muslim as to pass up a free drink). All in all, it was a really nice celebration, despite eating way too much. Hope everyone else had a wonderful Ramadan!
