just another goat on the back of a bike

so the other day i was driving to work and i kept passing chickens and pigeons and goats on peoples bicycles. now this isnt such a strange thing except for the sheer number of them and then i realized...ahh it must be market day! so then i got thinking about how normalized so many things have become. and seeing how at is precisely the halfway mark of our time here, i find myself having to remind myself of where i am. i guess thats the thing when you are truly living some where else and get used to the lifestyle. like as i am walking down the streets, trying to dodge the mounds of garbage and mudpuddles from the rain, i remember that i am living amongst poverty here. everywhere.

before arriving here, i read somwhere that the majority of burkinabé live on less than 2 dollars a day. that seemed absolutley incomprehenisble. but now being here, i can understand how people live. with the combination of the heat and lack of selection, you can get by with less food. a little bit of rice goes a long way. and because everything is just a lot more basic, they dont have to pay the same kinds of taxes, ie the same daily expeneses that we are used to. theres simply not the choice or resources. but then again just because people are getting by does not mean that is sufficient. one of our village friends has an eye infection and has absolutely no means of seeking medical attention. it really makes you realize how much is simply available to us in Canada.

last night we went swimming in our moroccain friends pool. it was pretty strange how the tall walls surrounding their house were able to divide that physical line between the poverty just around the corner and the lush garden within and allowing us to truly forget where we are. enjoyable none the less.

6 more weeks to go!

special gunpowder

ok so last night we had this ritualistic tea ceremony during a thunderstorm. it was amazing. our friends that we live with in ouaga showed us how to make this green tea . we made tea from about 8 to 2 in the morning.the tea is chinese and called special gunpowder and it involves putting a lot of sugar and time. once the tea is steeped and mixed long enough, we poor it into shotglasses and add peanuts. i know- who would have thought that roasted peanuts would be so good in tea. the best part is the smell. its like steamy sweetness. yum. furthermore, it was storming. it hasnt rained in over 2 weeks so we were all pretty happy about a little cool air. for at least 3 hours it was just lightning sans thunder or rain and it was illuminating the entire sky. and then it just started pouring. so we finished our tea session inside. it reminded me of being at the cabin because there were like 10 of us all huddled in this little room listening to the drops. haha it was pretty sweet. and then i stood out in the rain for a while and got some goosebumps. it was so great to be cold for a little bit.

friday night we went back to the cultural centre for some more live music. not as good as last week but still pretty enjoyable.

i did an inventory of papaya, lemon, orange, mandarine, grapefruit, mango, and apple cinnamon trees at the centre where i work. so that was cool. other than that my project is still somewhat challenging in a frustrating way.

anyway thats it for this week. tonight were going to a bbq with our morrocain friends which should include some good food. yay.

mangos and music

another week gone by. last night we went to the french cultural centre to see a burkinabe music concert. definately this weeks highlight. the music was absolutely incredible and it was in this outdoor theatre under the stars. the musicians were dressed in traditional clothing, playing some crazy guitars, bongos, keyboard, bass, and calabasses. i feel like i havent heard quality music in a while so it was especially enjoyable. probs best 2.50 ive ever spent. we might make that a weekend event. also wierd to be surrounded by other white people.

after writing so much about cultural experiences, some of you might be thinking- wait didnt katie go there to do an agricultural development project. so let me explain a bit. this week i finally acquired a bit more information about my work. as i said things move frustratingly slow and in general everything is more difficult to execute. but anyway im working at a school that teaches students agriculture in a practical format. so the kids all look after the cows, grow fruits, and harvest natural oils, etc. my role is to do some research on citrus tree, fruit production, and inventory as well as working with the children cultivating, composting, and pruning. its a really lovely setting.

anthony and kats project is going really well, working with at risk youth in ouaga, so kristen and i might try to do some similar work at the same centre in sapone in order to spice up our work a bit.

just thought you should know that my heart will go on is blasting repeatedly in this internet cafe right now, which is quite typical as most people are obsessed with celine dion.

i dont think it will ever be possible for me to eat too many mangos. honestly they are the best things ive ever tasted. im going to be heartbroken as that season is slowly coming to and end.

ps. sorry if some of my blogs dont make so much sense and are totally random but as you know, internet is not so disponible chez moi. hope youre enjoying none the less.

love.

caffas et l'huile

so another has passed by. this week a local village woman taught me how to weave aka literally make material which is really cool. she spends her entire day weaving on this rickety old machine with dozens of kids swarming around here. the women are absolutely incredible.

favourite experience this week: friday night, we came into ouaga and went to the youth centre. the rainy season has started. it will only rain for like 20 mins but its a terenchal (sp) down poor. so the kids and i went running on the mud field, under the sheet lightning, absolutely soaked, and yet incredible warm. it was pretty funny.

yesterday was really cultural because we walked around downtown all day. went to some cultural centres, went to our favourite restaurant: jardin de l'amitie. went into our first grocery store with air conditioning which felt completely bizarre. its funny because we couldnt even believe that it was only 35 degrees. i guess we're beginning to get aclimatized. actually everything feels pretty comfortable now. as in getting around, the scenery, the starring, etc.

unfortunately i dont have extremely exciting stories to post about my work yet but they will come soon. all i can say is that things move very slowly here.

this weeks's title explanation: at night time, there are these lovely cocroaches that like hanging out in the out houses. they are called caffas. haha never thought id get used to that. and secondly, as i mentioned the food is quite interesting here. anyway everything is cooked in about half a bottle of oil. regardless. its still so amazing here.

much love and its great hearing your comments!