Maternity, Tabaski & Dogs

For the most part I’ve established a routine.  Class, English club, and the normal social aspects of life. I’ve gotten used to sitting under a tree for a couple hours everyday and saying close to nothing. I watch the way the children interact with the other children, adults with other adults, children with adults, women with men, the lobi people and the others. To say the least…I find it incredibly interesting. Silence is something I’ve learned to enjoy and something that’s growing inside me. A good silence, a comfortable silence that makes me feel full of life. I’m learning new phrases in the local language everyday and find that every time I greet old women in lobiri or dioula they scream with joy. I can say all the greetings  now and am learning to ask for things, for example, I would like some rice. I find myself much more interested in the local languages than I am in French because of the tonal sounds they make.

I recently started working at the Maternity every Tuesday and feel communication challenged, until Anges—the aid—translates it into French for me.  At the maternity my duties include weighing women in kilos, measure their height in meters, and am learning to take their blood pressure. The women all think I’m a doctor and it makes me think maybe I should become one. After I finish with the easy stuff Anges, gives them  a physical exam and the other women take blood.  They send the blood to Gaoua for testing of all sorts of diseases, most importantly AIDS.  Down here in the south we have a larger HIV/AIDS population than in the north but its very hush hush. No one speaks of it,  but I keep pressing. I will begin a sensiblization with some students from the school on World’s AIDS Day and after we will paint a mural to help sensiblize (raise awareness) in the community. My first day at the Maternity was one of those fascinating days I will never forget… I showed up early around 6:45 and the only person there was the cleaning lady. We chatted a bit, just small talk, and then I sat down to wait on the concrete bench just inside the door. All government  buildings here are constructed out of concrete with open ‘windows’, they always seem cold—not temperature cold but cold. I could see the sun shining through the trees outside and it was a mystical feeling. All of a sudden two women approached the entrance hunched over something, (I later found out it was her baby she delivered aside the road) They walk past me to the back without saying a word, in America that would have been acceptable but here salutations are imbedded in their culture,  after them, a man follows, he looks like he’s seen a ghost but he stops and  says good morning, how are you, your family, your health all in lobiri,  with his hands moving from his head to his hips and back again. There was a young woman who was paced up and down the halls waiting to give birth, I recognized her from the market and I offered my support and assistance as best I could.  Many times during the day I went to check on them.  Mothers and babies are all well.  It was a great day, a special day, one that will stay with me for the rest of my life!

A couple weeks ago was Tabaski, a Muslim holiday but enjoyed by all. I went to a friend’s house, we took tea and chatted for hours. I went to masque for the second time and found it just as thrilling. Not understanding a word of Arabic it feels more like yoga or meditation

than a religion. I then helped the women prepare the very large meal of rice with peanut sauce. As I went to stir the sauce I  didn’t realize the men had brought over a very large corpse of the lamb (sacrifice for Allah) and hung it from the tree.  I ran directly into it…boy what a surprise!

Dogs: If you get a chance to look at  the  picture you’ll see I have two dogs. Taco and Fajita, they are a handful but will be good protectors of my home and me.

I Love the Holm Family newsletter from the reunion, I would like one of those each week. 

Thanks for all the love and support--Ash

...Life is but a dream.

Not necessarily one of those amazing fairy tale types of dream nor the kind that leave you haunted but a dream nonetheless. Swear-in was fantastic and to be able to call myself a Peace Corps Volunteer feels great. The ceremony was filled with speeches by volunteers, the U.S. Ambassador, our Country Director, the Prime Minister of Burkina followed by tribal dances and gift giving. Of course the part I enjoyed the most was taking the oath, the same oath each of our Presidents take. I teared up with a feeling of pride, excitement, and purpose. The ceremony kicked off a fair given by Peace Corps to show the community what exactly Peace Corps volunteers do. There were booths dedicated to heath aspects like Moringa—a tree used for malnutrition, Neem cream—cream made from leaves of a tree for mosquito protection, and our own PSDN—Peer Support Diversity Network for volunteers. There were countless booths selling their artisit specialty from bags made out of recycled plastic to beautiful hand-made fabrics. If you want to know more about the fair there’s a wonderful video on pcburkin.org.

The came ‘affectation’ and by that I mean a Peace Corps van picked me up in Gauoa to take me to my new home in Bouroum-Bouroum. It was a rocky start to say the least.. no one had a key to the house—mine had been in my wallet that was stolen in Ouaga—and therefore we had to pay someone to come break in. My latrine wasn’t finished with only one wall to go, of course it was the wall that faces the road. When we did get in my screen door was completely eaten by terminates and crumbing to the ground. There was ‘snake grass’ consuming my courtyard, which is dangerous so while we were waiting for the guy to break into my house the Peace Corps driver was so kind and started helping clean up my yard. By the time I was finally able to get all my stuff in it was pitch black out except for the fires of grass burning in my courtyard and the only noises are animals/insects in my filthy house.  My only thought was, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’

The good thing about a rough beginning is it can only get better or as my very wise mother told me ‘this too shall pass..’. The next day was filled with a cleaning of my house, ceiling to floor, with the help of my water girl Pelagie. Her husband and some neighbor kids came over and helped with all of the folage and outdoor cleaning, Finally it was starting to feel like I could live there. The first week I just roamed around meeting people and introducing myself. I met a dear friend Fati who sells Attceike in the marche and I’ve spent a lot of time just hanging and chatting with her,

The past week was the first week of school and I’m teaching 5eme Math and 4eme Physique-Chemie. My 4eme class is only about 50 but my 5eme is aournd 80. They were incredibly timid but hopefully I can get them talking more. Each class is two hours and it’s tiring but I’m sure after a month or so I will get used to it. I’m starting an English club for the 3eme students and hope to have the first session this week. 

My health is back to normal after a nasty case of E. Coli and am trying my best to adjust to the food. The lack of English is sometimes trying but it gives me a reason to keep working on my French. Life is much different than Sapone but I know it will just take time to figure it out. I have a new mailing address down here and would love to hear from everyone! If letters aren’t your thing emails work too! Please don’t leave me hanging over here in the dark—literally because I don’t have electricity—and keep me updated not only on new things that happen but just daily things! I’ll try to put new pictures up soon. Until next time..

What lies ahead.

In just a few days I will finally be an official Peace Corps volunteer. I swear-in on Thursday 22^nd and leave for my site on Monday.  My head is spinning and it’s not because of the dolo. This week has been one of those ‘this will pass’ kind of weeks. I got bit by a cat and therefore had to go to ouaga for rabies shots. My phone was stolen which really just made me sad more than make me angry, mostly because the people are here are such good people but they are just doing what they need to survive. The kicker though was that I had to leave my absolutely wonderful host family this week. These three months went faster than I could have ever imagined and they have raised me in a sense. They taught me how to wash my clothes by hand, how to poop in a hold in the ground, and most of all they showed me first hand the hospitality of this culture. I cried like a baby and am so grateful to them for showing me the ropes.

These past few weeks have been filled with IGA(income generating activity) training, TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) training, and latrine building. Peace Corps has really given us an incredible amount of some really useful tools and I’m so thrilled I’m finally going to be able to get to work. I start teaching in a few weeks and am filled wih excitement. And in all honesty I am scared out of my pants!

Congratulations to my beloved brother and now sister! :) Couldn't be happier for you guys.. xoxo

I never think of the future--it comes soon enough.
Albert Einstein

True life: I speak french.

Sitting here at the center where we have training at. This is the last week of model school and we only have one more month of training. Model school has been really helpful in acquiring more confidence in my French. My class is only 27 students but they are incredibly motivated and have adapted well with my accent. I taught chemistry for the first two weeks and now am teaching physics at about 9^th grade level to students who range in age from fourteen to twenty-one. There is a mighty problem with students failing and retaking which is why the age range is so large.

Life is pretty much the same other than model school. This is supposed to be the most rainy month of the year but it’s been slow to come. The fields are sprouting up but because of the lack of rain I’ve been told this up-coming year will be a hard one for the people of Burkina. The funny thing about rainy days here though is that it’s like a snow day back at home. People don’t leave their houses and students don’t come to school. This is probably because the roads are made of red clay and when it rains it becomes like quick sand.

My host family is doing well.. Things have only gotten better and I even eat out of the same bowl as them sometimes. My baby brother, Vive- pronounced Evay, is starting to really love me. He’s only 1 year old so I am the first white person he has ever seen. He can only say a few words but now one of them is Ashley. A couple weeks ago he picked up my spoon and was trying to eat with it and my dad scolded him, all I could do was laugh. Everyone eats everything with their hands here and they are so good at it. Sometimes my sisters will try to feed me with their hands it’s so cute but at the same time I have some sanitary issues with it. That will probably go away. My family is small for Burkinabe families with only three children. We have four separate one-room houses in our courtyard. Mama Cecil sleeps with all the kids in one, Papa Jacob- pronounced Zacorb and I have our own, and Yabba (Grandma Pascaline) sleeps with my aunt Adeline.

  Last night I shared a box of Don Garcia red wine-which ran me approximately $1.11 with my host cousin Sam. Going to site will be a huge change from living in relatively close proximity to 30 other Americans. I’m looking forward to some privacy and having more free time.   

I’ve begun to find immense joy in the small things like a cold drink now and then or a cookie. Letters from home are empowering and keep me in the loop. Thank you so much for all of the support. Keeping mailing me!!

I know that some very dear people to my heart are going through some tough times.. Just know you are in my thoughts and prayers.

Congratulations to Allison Gilmore and Joseph Ross! I heard the wedding was gorgeous and too much fun! Also I wanted to congratulate Kimber and Caleb on their recent engagement!!!! I couldn’t be more excited !

Site Visit.. varoom varoom

Bouroum Bouroum was wonderful. The trip from Ouaga is not bad, five hours of paved roads. Every stop we made, women ran up to the bus with goodies like peanuts, seasame crackers, sandwiches, and other treats. Bouroum Bouroum or Bouroum^2 really consists of one main road, which conviently the bus stops on. The road had little huts up and down offering different services and goods. The marche [market] day was Thursday so we were able to go check it out. It had much more for fruits and vegetables to offer than where I’m at now. I was really surprised at the variety of language I heard, there are three predominately-spoken languages: Moore, Djula, and Lobiri. Since my host family speaks Moore I feel the most comfortable with the salutations but we got a crash course in Lobiri before we went down and it’s kind of a fun language! 

This week we have been preparing for model school and my first lesson is Monday 8 a.m. I’m terrified.. but hey ca va aller- which means it’ll all work out! I’ve gotten a few letter and packages. Man is it comforting having just a little bit of home. It’s also really nice to hear what everyone is up to :) so please keep writing! I'm still trying to post pictures so just bare with me!

Just a quick update!

After a little over a month I’m finally able to get on the Internet and I’m at loss for words.  Let's start by saying how amazing the Burkinabe people have been to me!  Secondly, I miss everyone and many things about the U.S. Since my last post was about my adoption from my family I will begin there. The ceremony was terrifying, we were all suddenly ‘abandoned’ or at least that’s what it felt like. My host family has welcomed me with open arms and I could not have wished for a better family. I live in a human oven with brick walls and a tin roof. There are four separate rooms that share the courtyard and I have my own. We also have a chicken coup and a cage for the goats, the pigs and donkeys are just free to roam. I wake up every morning at 3:30 to the rooster and other random animal noises. The funny part is the feeling of normalcy after living here for a month. Everyone morning starts off with a bucket bath followed by a glass—or plastic cup—of Nescafé (instant coffee-never something I thought I would choke down) with some powdered milk and a banana. A few weeks ago after using the hole in the ground to do my business I stood up and there was my family on the other side of the wall plowing the field with the donkey walking towards me. They greeted me with all smiles like every morning in local language—Moore—and French.  Salutations are very important in this culture, there is always a series of greetings that happens before any type of conversation whether it’s between friends, acquaintances, or for business reasons.

            During these three months of training we have ‘school’ six days a week and then spend the other time with each other or our families. The training can be tiring but my French is improving more than I ever thought was possible. I just found out I went up three levels on our last language proficiency exam, which was actually just a conversation with one of our Burkinabe instructors. Last week we also were given an opportunity to teach 15 minutes of a lesson in French to a class of students. It really gave me a good perspective of what I will be doing.

            As far as my family I am just constant entertainment for them and our neighborhood. A few weeks back Gabe was calling me on my way back from school and it’s a good 20 minutes bike ride so I thought, hey this would be a great time to chat! As I got closer to my house and I started slowing down I just tipped over onto the ground. Laughing hysterically my family saw everything of course and ran out to help me. I was laughing just as much and rolled off of the bike trying to explain what happened to Gabe and my family at the same time. Of course a few days later one of my fellow stagiere and neighbor came up to me and asked how I was after falling off my bike. Word travels fast here. A week or two after that I was teaching my sisters and a few neighborhood girls some ballet. As I went down for a grande plie the butt of my linen pants completely ripped. The crowd of African children behind me just couldn’t laugh hard enough. Oh man it was funny.. I ran in to show my mom and she just about fell of her stool laughing. That one thing to keep near by here.. You’re sense of humor. I’ve been pretty sick a few times since being in country, adjusting to climate, culture, and the food has proven to be tougher than I thought. Thank you so much everyone for keeping me in your prayers.

            A couple weeks ago my language group and language instructor (LCF) went on a trip to visit a current PCV down in the southeast. It was great to be eased into the mass transportation here with the help of a Burkinabe. We took a large bus to Fada and then a bush taxi the rest of the way. I was blown away by the chaos around the bush taxi. There were several venders yelling at me to buy things, they were throwing our bikes—five full sized mountain bikes—onto a van about the size of my mother’s euro van that was already completely full of people. The bikes were stacked up along with large sac of rice, other bags, and what I think was some sort of livestock. I commented to my friend that it was full and she just looked at me and said, “Just wait.. Just wait.” Well she was right, we fit 29 people in a van that had seats for 10. We were like a bunch of puzzles pieces all trying to fit together to make it the most comfortable. We ended up having a great trip and it was really nice to see what an actual site looks like.

            Well, speaking about sites, last Thursday we had our official site announcement and I am going to be living in the southwest near the regional capital Gauoa. From what I’ve heard it’s a whole different Burkina in the south with a much greener scenery. The school I will be teaching at has around 800 students with 12 teachers, which I heard is actually a decent amount of teachers. Well as for my assumptions I’m going to leave it at that because tomorrow morning I’m leaving with my community counterpart to my village. After I get back I can more thoroughly fill you in!

Oh bless the rains down in Africa..

Wednesday night was a whirlwind.. was woken up by a crazy storm which ended up flooding a couple of our rooms. We just took everything out and tried to salvage as much as we could. All of my books inflated by as least an inch but are still readable. Last night after a stressful day of trying to dry everything out we, my roomie Alaina and neighbor Amanda, thought we'd treat ourselves to a face mask. Of course as girls do, we were like, "Lets get a picture!!" but when I went to find my camera it was an unfortunate discovery... it was soaking wet. So then Alaina went to find hers and discovered the same thing. Pretty bummed but hopefully it will make it! Cross your fingers for me :)

Other than that we've had full days of training and nights filled roaming the streets of Ouaga.. this has been quite the week. Feels like we've been here much longer than just five days and cannot believe we already leave tomorrow. Training has just touched a little on many different areas from medical issues to the cultural changes were about to face in our host families. Tomorrow night is the adoption ceremony and I'm really excited! Worried about my french/moore and the latrines but I think I'm ready to really dive in! We were told we don't have internet in our next location, therefore this is probably the last post for awhile. Happy Father's Day and I will write next time I can!

'The purpose of this life is to live a life with purpose

So don’t get trapped inside your safety net

So fill you well and light your flame

But go on seeking service

Life with out a cause is life with out effect'

Wookiefoot

Hi Ya'll

Made it here safe and sound yesterday! Traveling was long but well worth it :) Can't believe I'm in Africa! People have been so wonderful and helpful so far.. we had an american meal last night that the burkinabe (burkina-bay) people cooked for us. Lasagna, salad, bread and butter. I have been drinking gallons of water and still feeling light headed. Started on doxi (my malaria meds) yesterday and slept under a mosquito net for the first time. My African friend from back home, Habtom, told me it was fun and I can agree with that.  There are lizards everywhere but they are harmless. Missed church this morning which is kind of a bummer but it was either that OR a shower and I didn't smell the best this morning. We are in the captiol for this week it a really nice hotelish place. It's like dorm rooms with a roomate and shared bathroom. We have a/c though and showers which it pretty much living the dream here. I think they are trying to make an easy transition for all of us. I've met some great friends already,at least five volunteers from texas and I think I might be picking up their accent, ya'll this ya'll that. When we arrived yesterday it was about 100 degrees and humid but on our way to the hotel in the van it started raining. Supposedly rain means good luck and therefore we brought the good luck :) We have lunch today at our Country Directors house so I better go get ready. Hope all is well in the states.. keep me up to date with whats going on!

Holy Cow, June eighth came fast!

Went home this weekend and managed to fit my life in two bags and a carry on with the help of my mother. Can't believe I'm already leaving tomorrow but I'm both parts excited and scared! I was thinking about how much of a thrill traveling is... feels scarier this time though. It's crazy to think about people I see on a regular basis now that I won't see for two years or ever again. It's also crazy to think about the people I will meet and the lifetime friends I will possibly make. "Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver the other is gold."

The never ending list

Peace Corps emailed to set up the staging event. My flight officially leaves at 1:35 pm on June 8th for Philly for a 2-day orientation and then off to Burkina! Three weeks until I leave these familiar surroundings for two years and the only thing on my mind lately is, "What am I forgetting?" While there are countless packing lists online and in my Peace Corps materials I've found that the lists from volunteers over there right now are the best resource I have. I'm sure I'll forget something, and I'm sure I'll be fine without it.

A long time comin'...

After approximately 20 months of my Peace Corps application process, I have received and accepted my invitation to serve in Burkina Faso. While this might be the longest application process EVER, it has been completely worth it. Getting my beautiful blue invitation packet was an absolutely amazing day, making me feel like all of the hoops I've had to jump through thus far are more like small stepping stones leading me up to an obscure unfamiliar exciting unknown.