Pictures!

Pictures first, paragraphs later.

Caterpillar who fell from my tree (I found it, he ate it):


Some unwelcome roommates (he found them, I killed them):


The only welcome roommate:


A view of the courtyard:


Inside my house:


Tree (and hammock) in my courtyard:


Soccer field outside my house:


A class at model school (can you find me?):


With the host parents in Ouahigouya:



Life in Thyou, Burkina Faso, West Africa—you wonder—is like what? Well, it’s 3:45 in the morning. I’m in that country’s capital (Ouagadougou), at the volunteer house for my first visit as a tried-and-true volunteer. I’ve almost forgotten how to work this keyboard. I felt a vague, childish sense of discovery upon entering the bathroom and observing the strange, metal contraption from which water effortlessly falls to aid in my cleanliness. I saw my whole torso in the mirror (month-long beard and all), and said to the man inside, “You should probably change your underwear today.” It’s in the re-exposure to these conveniences that I notice the differences…

But, life ain’t bad in Thyou. For a month now, I’ve been doing essentially nothing but trying to meet some people, find some balance, stay positive, and pressure my school’s director into giving me something to prepare my courses with. I’ve taught the new dog a few tricks, had a few good conversations on the phone with those of you generous (and wealthy) enough to call, and figured out that if I don’t buy all my vegetables from the same lady at market, everybody competes for my business—donating extra onions, tomatoes, eggplants, or hot peppers to my cause.

There were certainly a few days of unrest. A few days of sickness. A day or two that I read, and re-read the symptoms and manifestations of malaria, thermometer in mouth. But with the first month over with, it’s feeling like this wont be so bad. I can live this way for a year or two. The occasional care package certainly helps. Last week, somebody from the Peace Corps was passing by my house in a jeep, so brought me SIX large boxes with my name on them, literally. After tearing into them, I was able to cook up a phenomenal tuna, tomato, onion and hot pepper pasta. Safe to say I’m eating just fine.

The problem now is, I’ve been on vacation—not that getting to know a place so removed from my own culture is an easy task, but I haven’t been given any due dates. School starts next week. That means I now have lessons to plan, more names to learn, technical french to understand. After a month, I finally feel calm, controlled, comfortable, and now it will change all over again. Much work to be done. And while a little work is a good thing, it doesn’t come without it stresses.

For now, I’m enjoying the few days in the capital, stuffing the gut on comfort foods, and taking a few cleansing showers—essentially gearing up to go back into hibernation. There is a town with an internet cafe and electricity 13 km from me. The man working there said the internet will be up and running in November. In Africa, a promise like this means close to nothing, but let’s hope he’s right! In the meantime, I’ll need to come out to the capital at least once more before November for professional reasons. So this just might work out…

Wish me luck in the coming school year. Miss you all very much. Thyou, while lovely, is a little lonely as an American. We’ll chat again soon.

-Jon