Monday, January 02, 2006

Bonne Annee

Crazy that it is 2006!

Things are much better here as have finally gotten over my illness (after 9 days) and am feeling better.

Christmas was great fun. We prepared all day on Christmas Eve for a huge dance party that night at my courtyard. I felt the need to pay back my second family who invited me to their Ramadan celebration. The immediate family alone consits of 13 people! I couldn't, then, prepare food for them and not the family that I live with. Not to mention the fact that my counterparts and theater troop members also just had to be invited. In the end the guest list was well over 100 people. Meanwhile, the kids in my courtuard made paper stockings which the decorated and sewed shut with string. We hung the stocking on the wall of my house.

My daughter and I prepare rice with tomato sauce and beans and rice for everyone. We actually had enough for everyone to eat and some people even ate three times! I borrowed a stereo from my neighbor as well. Everyone danced, drank tea, and talked until 4:30 a.m. I spent most of my time dancing with me three moms. They got the biggest kick out of it.

The next morning I woke up to the sound of little voices whispering outside my door. I had saved some candy and small toys for them from a care package I had recieved from mom. They were so excited and really loved the bubble wands. We still had some food leftover from the night before so everyone came over for breakfast and hung out until about noon. Unfortunately I was sick and had to cancel the party at the midwives for Christmas day. I had my fare share of visitors that day as well though which kept me busy.

The day after Christmas was a marchee day. I was sitting in my courtyard reading when all the women in my courtyard came back from the market wasted. The were all singing and dancing in the traditional style. Eventually they made their way to my house and came in tapping a drum. They proceeded to dance (and forced me to dance) and sing a song which I realized they had made up about me. I don't know what the song means because it is in Leile but I definately heard my name in the lyrics. It was actually a really cool moment.

On the 29th I traveled into Koudougou to pick up a VCR for a sensibilization we were planning in villages. I had already asked a friend at an NGO their if it would be okay to borrow a VCR and he had consented. However, that day his kids was sick in the hospitol and I had to talk to his boss who was apparently pissed that I didn't follow protocol and that he didn't get asked. He made me wait around all that day and the next morning coming up with one bogus excuse after another. Finally it became clear to me that he was going to continue to flex his muscles and not give me the VCR. I was SO frustrated and angry. If he had told me from the beginning that he definately was not going to give it to me, I could have searched elsewhere. That's Africa for you.

Because I was so upset and my sickness had gotten worse I changed my plans completely and came to Ouaga for treatment. I spent a few days in the medical unit at the pc but made it out for a News Years BBQ feast at the pc hostel. It was a lot of fun but I do feel very guilty for missing the two sensibilizations in Tiogo.

I hope all of you had a good New Years too.