Contrary to popular belief, and other musings

Hello friends, family! Its me! I am in fact alive and more or less kicking here in Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso, or as i like to call it, the OHG.

Its almost been a whole month since I said my final goodbyes to everyone in Montrose. It is funny, at times, it feels as though I have been here in BF for months, as if time is passing by exceptionally slow, but at the same time (if one could fathom), time is also moving by lightning fast.

I apologize for not posting any pictures yet. I have taken over 150 photos, but the internet here is so depressingly slow, it would be impossible for me to upload photos at this cyber café. My hope is that when i head to Ouaga in a few weeks, i'll be able to post a few photos.

Things here are going well! And by well, i mean very difficult most of the time and finding myself challenged in many different ways :) In reality, every day brings a new challenge. The most overt of challenges clearly is the language barrier. Anybody can pass through a country with a bare minimum knowledge of the language and "survive", but i am discovering that conducting meetings and engaging in discussions that involve many social issues is somewhat difficult without a good understanding of the French (or Mooré/Fulfuldé/Gumulcéma) language. So there's that. But my French studies ARE coming along. My language facilitator (i.e. teacher) has been wonderful and he is exceptionally patient. The language instruction model here is based primarily on conversation. My LCF speaks no english, inside or outside of class. Only perfectly articulated french, which is in fact quite easy to understand.

My job description is falling into greater focus as well. We have participated in many different community meetings in our villages, in an attempt to practice and apply our acquired knowledge of the stuff they cram into our heads during class.

I haven't much time remaining, but i dont want to leave without providing what i forsee to be my very own, world famous "Cultural Observations"

When i was told that the people here in BF were nice, i had no real idea of HOW nice they really are. When leaving the Cyber Café a few weeks ago, my colleague Theo realized he had a flat tire. Not a problem, as we were all supplied with a bike repair kit, complete with all the goodies you might need in the case of a bicycular disaster. Not 2 seconds after Theo, Chrissy and I started staring at the front tire, a gentleman approached us and asked if we needed help. In our broken french, we explained that we didnt need help. He understood and began watching us try to change the tire. Later on, another gentleman approached and asked if we needed help. At some point, i'm not entirely sure, the two guys managed to merge their assistance into the equation and the next thing we knew, the Nassaras (Mooré for White Person) were standing there drinking water and the two men had patched and reassembled the tire, all within 3 minutes.
Long story short, the hospitality, the kindness of the Burkinabé is not only ever-present, but also, to a degree, it is subconcious. If you aren't on the lookout, the goodwill could take you by surprise.

Thats all the time i have for now. Back to my village, Sananga, where I get to eat more Rice, Rice and Rice. Things could be worse. Thank goodness for the overabundance of mangoes here!

Oh yeah, and if anyone wants to you know, send me a letter or a pack of gum or skittles or something else i have no chance of getting here......send it to the address at the right! Things are only taking 11 yes 11 days to get here!!!!

I hope all is well with everyone. Be good, live well.