Thursday, December 22, 2005

Joyeaux Noel

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.

Things have been going well here although I currently feel as though I am on the verge of death as have been ill for the last few days. It is my own fault, though, for not drinking enough water.

I have been in Koudougou for a meeting and for gathering materials for the next performance my theater troop is putting on January 1st. The last performance went really well (the members were even on time, a first!). My nearest p.c. neighbors came to watch and spend the night. We had a Mexican feast of homemade tortillas, queso, guacamole and chili. It was wonderful.

We also just got finished doing the final rounds of polio vaccinations for this year. We go around to everyone's house and give the children the oral vaccine. It isn't exactly scientific but I guess it works. I am always on a team with the pharmacist who is always the last to show up. We are supposed to be giving the vaccine from 6 a.m. until 11 a.m. Our team usually heads out at 7:30 or 8 and at 9:30 the pharmacist starts asking me if I am tired, which means that he is ready to start heading back. Needless to say we are always the first team back. Everyday he seems shocked too that no one else is back yet. That's African time for you.

I am also trying to finish up my etude. I am going to all the satellite villages and meeting the important people there. I think I will work a lot in the satellite villages because Tiogo is pretty well developed. I met with am man in town who runs the Centre d'alphabetisation. That is a place where adults go to become literate in their native language. I was really impressed and think it is a wonderful, needed place here.

Sadly, in Tiogo we had many deaths this week. Two adults died which was a big deal. Also the baby in my second family here died. It was a hard week in village because of this. The way people deal with death here is very different than in America and sometimes I felt like I was making a bigger deal out of it than they were.

I will be in village for Christmas and New Years but will be in Ouaga on the 2nd for the big game. I will be cheering very loudly for Texas to beat USC and then will be rubbing it in to everyone I know from California (many volunteers here are from California). I plan on being very obnoxious

Friday, December 09, 2005

Jum Wylie (good day in fulfuldi)

Have entered a new phase in my Peace Corp experience, I think. I just got into Koudougou and I have realized that I actually prefer my tiny village to the big city even despite the attractions of a pool and pasteries! Yes I am more than a little alarmed at this epiphany.

In the two weeks since Thanksgiving I have learned how to make tô, given a sensibilization at the school for world AIDS day, and traveled once again en brousse.

Tiogo has come to life recently because the farmers have all finished the fall recolt. I have asked them what they are up to now and they always reply, "Rein." So, it seems that the entire village has nothing to do for the next three months. That makes me feel a lot less lonely.

I am in koudougou today preparing for a sensibilization that the threater troop is doing this Sunday. It is the big monthly market this Sunday so the troop has decided to put on a play regarding condom negotiation and AIDS prevention. I am really excited about it.

Everyone is also preparing for Christmas. My village is mainly Catholic so it promises to be a big event. It is hard to think of it as Christmas, however, with such hot weather. Yesterday the two village midwives, in a drunken stupor, cornered me at our market and invited me to celebrate Christmas with them. I was actually pretty excited about it. Also, the theater troop is preparing a big New Years Party. I am glad there is stuff going on in my village and think both events are going to be really fun but sad at the same time because this means I will not be celebrating with the other Peace Corp volunteers. I do plan to go to Ouaga on the 2nd, however, in order to watch all the big college football games.

I guess that is about it for now. Enjoy your holiday preparations and drink some eggnog for me.