The little things you miss...

Just under one month. Long enough to understand what life will be like here. Every once and a while I am surprised again by something new, but basically I know now what to expect.

I was reflecting today on some small things that I miss about life back in Canada. With that, I also thought of some things I was content with being rid of.

The little things...
The first thing I miss is not little at all, in fact it is the biggest part of my life. Leaving family and friends behind is never a pleasant decision, but I needed to do just that in order to find this experience. I have a  family here, but I of course think of those back home, and I miss them.

I never knew of my addiction to internet, but a reliable and fast connection is something I need my fix of from time to time. I like the fact that I have reduced the things I do online to some basics (e-mail, banking, facebook and this blog), because it leaves more time for other things (catching chickens, for example). But it would be nice to do my online banking in less than 30 minutes.

Warm showers. Who knew that showers would be so cold when the temperature outside is peaking over 30 degrees Celsius? I look forward to a heated shower upon my return in April.

The other things...
Because it is the African Cup of Nations soccer tournament, I have watched a few games on the television. Other than that, it has been untouched. It is something I have found easy to live without.

In Yako, I can walk wherever I need to go. I don't miss the dependency to cars and busses I have in Canada. My legs and my bike (which I am actually borrowing from my roommate Liz - thanks Liz ;) work just fine.

The Burkinabé in Yako do not exude stress, and that it something I can live with. People are often 'go-go-go' back in Canada, but it's nice to be in a more relaxed atmosphere. Things still get done here, just at a more human pace.

I should apologize for the lack of pictures. I am not very good at remembering my camera, and even if I do, I prefer to experience the moment than capture it. I will try to have some for next week though. I know that pictures will help paint a fuller picture of the story I am trying to tell.

Winging It

Me, Ali and the notorious chicken.

Adama after capturing the chicken.

Yesterday, my roommates and I were given a chicken. I find that normalizing to a new culture is quite the experience. I must admit it's not always easy, but moments like this make it worth the adventure.

Let me explain the chicken. At work, Eric, Liz and Marie are involved in doing an impact assessment of a project that finished in December. Thus, this week we visited four villages to see if the project was in fact successful and to gather feedback. I tagged along as an observer. The village we visited yesterday presented us with this chicken in appreciation and so that we may have the vitamins and energy to help them. And if you were wondering: yes, it was still alive.



It seems like its been more than 16 days. I am starting to get used to life in Yako. I have adapted to the weather; it now feels chilly when the temperature hits 20°C (sorry to all those in the midst of winter elsewhere). I have adapted to the food. In fact, I am slightly addicted to the restaurant beside our work that serves an excellent and filling plate of rice and tomato sauce ($400 fCFA or $0.80 CAD). Finally, being watched by people, mainly children, is not as uncomfortable. I am an outsider, there is no use in trying to hide that, but the longer I stay, the less detached I think I will feel. 



One of mothers with her children.

Making the sauce. Adama was the
photographer for the evening.

I spent yesterday evening with the women and child from the compound. As you can see, we had a photo shoot for about an hour. I then asked the women if we could prepare the chicken together. Step 1: An entertaining run around our compound with the kids ended with the picture above of Adama who caught the chicken. I was told it is the man’s job to catch the animal and finish the next step. Step 2: My vegetarian friends would not approve of what happened next, thus a description will not be provided. Step 3: The ladies prepared a sauce with the chicken in it to accompany the Tô (a staple diet for the locals made of corn flour and water). It was an excellent meal in taste and sentiment. The chicken was a generous gift from the Zougoungou village and these women not only prepare the meal, but also kindly explained each step to me along the way. An insightful evening. 

Group Shot. Still not everyone in
the compound though.

Work is advancing along as well. I will be attending a training session all next week for the project that I will be working on. I am quite excited about it. It’s a type of micro-finance with adaptations for rural villages and is made up of women’s groups. I look forward to seeing how it works in the real world, because on paper it sounds fantastic. I also visited the local orphanage earlier this week. The lovely woman that runs the place said that they could use some help with study sessions on weeknights. I will try to make it there a few times a week. I miss working with kids; they truly have a contagious and uplifting spirit. 




Life will continue to be eventful, I’m sure, and I will let you know what happens next. For now, I will direct you to a blog post that I revisit from time to time. It talks of the importance of encouraging others, and I think it’s a lesson we all need to be reminded of from time to time: http://zenhabits.net/why-you-should-think-about-encouraging-others-to-be-brilliant/



Until next time. Stay kind. Stay sharp. Stay classy.

So this is culture shock...

I wrote four different posts last week, but hesitated to share each because it has been such a roller costar of emotion and experience. I decided to take these thoughts and condense them into one. This was a week of new beginnings, harsh realities, quiet escapes and guilty pleasures. This one week shook the foundation of nearly everything I thought I knew. I was an idealist - but that ideology clashed with reality. I was an optimist - but this week, my guilt overshadowed the flower of hope. I was confident in my beliefs - but now I’m not sure what I stand for. 

New beginnings: This was my first week in Yako; the first of 52. For those who don’t know, I am here for the next four months because I had a free semester at school. Afterwards, I will be back to Canada for 4 months to finish my last academic term at Waterloo this summer, then I will likely be returning to Yako for another 8-month placement (this second placement will not be confirmed till the end of the month). All of this to say, this is just the beginning. This will be my lifestyle for the next 365 days - 31 536 000 seconds... 31 535 999... 31 535 998...

Harsh realities: Unless you have experienced it, I don’t think you can understand what it is like here. I say this because I thought I had an idea coming in. I read websites, blog posts, Lonely Planet; any piece of information to prepare me for life in Burkina. Nothing could have prepared me for this. Nothing could have prepared me for the first time I encountered a beggar along the dusty streets of Ouaga, or for the donkeys and roosters who call out to greet the morning. Nothing could have prepared me for the fact that my skin colour is the first thing people see here, and along with that colour comes preconceived notions. It has been a harsh reality because I wasn’t exactly prepared for this, but more so because when I look outside my front door, I encounter the poverty that I have read so many statistics about and I don’t yet know what to do about it.

Quiet escapes: Those places I go to forget about the harsh realities. I find solace within the walls of our house. We live in a bubble here, and with my roommates I can forget, at least temporarily, about what is outside. Music is becoming a closer friend here also. Either I listen to a beautiful song and I feel at peace, or I am inspired to express this experience in lyrical proses myself. The greatest escape that I have though, is where I rest my head at night. Dreams transport me to a place where I don’t feel in the wrong for eating vegetables at every meal.

Guilty pleasures: I have been comparing many things this past week. Not only the currency exchange rates and time differences, but also lifestyles and standards of living. I compare the life of the locals here (which is just my observation at this point) against the life I live here and the life I lived back in Canada. Here, I am so privileged - consistent electricity, running water, nutritious food, and Miriam, who cleans and does the laundry for us. Then I move to the lifestyle I lived back in Canada, even more lavish, and try to compare that to the locals. It’s a futile task. It’s incomparable.

This has sounded like a pretty negative post I suppose. I do not mean to present the idea that this place is unpleasant - not at all. The people are incredibly welcoming and kind. A simple example: every morning it is very important to greet everyone you know with a salutation, a shake of the hand, and an inquiry to how they are doing. This action shows great courtesy; more so than I often see back in Canada. This post has not been about the locals, it has been about me. It was a reflection on the differences between here and the world I am used to. Culture shock, I guess. But for me, it feels like only half of the picture of the real world was painted during the past two years of study, and now it's up to me to finish. The statistics have come to life and are drowning my conscience. What I need to do is funnel that haunting guilt into something productive. 

Bonne arrivée!

My First Plane (Toronto - Brussels with Jet Airways)
They had a great Indian dish for dinner!

It is currently 23h29 on Sunday January 8th as I write this post. The temperature is 25 degrees Celsius, 80 degrees Fahrenheit - perfect. It seems crazy that just over 48 hours ago I was breathing in cold Canadian air, and now, here I sit feeling the warm breeze blow in the window in Yako, Burkina Faso.

The flights to get here were not as bad as imagined. I only thought about dying a handful of times, and the turbulence wasn't bad until we started landing in Ouagadogou (From now on, I will refer to the capital as Ouaga). I landed and waited for just over an hour to get through customs and get my baggage, where I then met up with Eric.

The view from my second flight (Brussels - Ouagadougou
with Brussels Airlines)
Emergency exit seat with lots of leg room!

We stayed at a nice hotel in Ouaga: "Pavillon en vert", I think it was called, that costs $17 CAD a night. We ate brunch, with two lizard friends scampering around, which consisted of guava juice (amazing stuff) and an omelet that had tomatoes, pieces of potato and french fries in it. Looked strange - tasted great.

We took a bus up to Yako - a coach bus that had TVs in it. We lucked out. It got a bit cramped as we picked up more and more people along the way, but nothing to much crazier than a plane seat. We arrived at around 15h30 and made our way to my new home. We went out for dinner tonight (we were the only folks there) and surrounded by 3 cats, ready to eat out meat discards, we had spaghetti and chicken. It was a good meal by my standards, but my roommates tell me it gets better - Yako is known for their chicken.

The hotel in Ouaga.

I now have a cell phone, courtesy of Eric's friend and our landlord. I will pick up some credit soon and be up and running. In Africa though, Eric tells me, you can always receive texts and calls, even if you don't have any credit on the phone. Beat that Canadian phone companies that start with a 'R' and a 'B'.

It has been a great start to this new life. Warm climate, great roommates and soon to be a good job (hopefully).

For now, that's all I have. I will talk a little bit later about the poverty that I have encountered thus far and the small things to get used to in regards to being a white man in Burkina Faso.

À la prochaine!

We ask that you please fasten your seatbelts at this time and secure all baggage underneath your seat or in the overhead compartments for take-off...

Departure day is here.

1st flight (Toronto - Brussels): 7h20m
+
3h40m layover
+
2nd flight (Brussels - Ouagadougou): 6h
= 15h20m of flying + 3h40m of waiting + 5h are lost due to time zone changes                            
24 hours stands between me and this new life. 

I unthinkingly booked a flight that leaves at 18h25, meaning I have all day to get excited and anticipate the rush of take off. The rush and the fear. I detest flying. Every bump, every turn, every second in that pressurized tube makes my heart skip a beat. I am counting on those in-cabin movies to distract me.

I will be meeting my friend Eric at the Airport in Ouagadougou at 16h25 tomorrow.  We will either stay in the capital for the night, or grab a bus back to Yako. From there... je n'ai aucune idée. It will only feel like 11h25 my current time when I arrive - I will let you know how the jet leg goes.

As the sun sets on this chapter of my life, I am comforted by the thought of my time spent with family and friends these past 4 months. I am also comforted knowing I will be returning to this life in 4 months to see you all again.

That's all for now. See you on the other side.