Saturday, August 11, 2012

Happy Birthday to Me!


(A post dedicated to what one year in Burkina Faso does to ya)



Another year has come and past… and unlike past years… a lot has changed in 365 days. In the past year I have aged , what feels like the equivalent of, 5 years mentally, emotionally, and physically. I am definitely not the same person that I was one year ago.



Hanging out with other volunteers from my stage class, we took the time to talk about how much we have all changed since we first arrived in Burkina Faso 10 months ago. Unfortunately, our superficiality shown through and we began with physical characteristics. Starting with he guys; most of us have lost a of weight, mostly muscle. A protein deficient diet has destroyed what we once had and has turned us into skeletons of what we once were. Long, hot, and dry days &nights have caused our faces to resemble the dry, cracked, and dusty land that we live off of. With women volunteers, a lot of them gain unwanted weight and unwanted places. A diet heavy in carbs is proving to not be overly flattering for the majority of volunteers (their words, not my own). The protein deficiency causes hair to fall out and reduces the speed that our bodies heal from simple cuts and bruises. Most of our legs and feet are covered in bug bites and scars. Personally, both my feet and arms are heavily scarred from a bike accident. I fear that Burkina has left permanent physical marks on most of us….. 10 months in.


Although I feel that Burkina has physically weakened us, it has definitely made us stronger mentally. My stage in particular has had to say goodbye to roughly 28% of the people that we started off with and never got the chance to say good bye in most cases. (Burkina Faso, ce n’est pas facile de) But further than losing friends/brothers, Burkina has made is tough in other ways. Waiting hours for a taxi or bus has pushed us to new levels of patience. Getting rid of Faux Types (Scam artist) has pushed us to new levels of assertiveness…and in some cases aggressiveness. And finally, eating and “digesting” the food has pulled us down to lower than previously thought possible standards. (Just yesterday I ate an omelet sandwich made from guinea fowl eggs, covered in flies. Just last night, I spent a sizable amount of my time “digesting” that sandwich into my hole in the ground).


Yes, life is tough, but we always have to maintain a positive attitude and try to laugh about as much as possible (including ourselves).



Emotionally, I can only speak for myself, but I have definitely become a stronger…I also think better, person in general. Dealing with a long distance relationship, losing that relationship, maintaining ties to home, and also creating new ties here has been a part of a non-stop series of trials. I definitely feel that I have grown a lot in self-knowledge as well as understanding of others. Further, I feel that I have become more self-reliant and less dependent on others as sources of happiness.




In the days/weeks elading up to this day, I have had a hard time remembering how old I was turning. 22? 23? 24? 25? I even found myself double checking with my passport. Times likes these make me realize how lucky and BLESSED I have been. Although my experiences are that of a 30y/o I think I am younger. Travelling to close to 15 countries, working on capitol hill, playing soccer in Europe, and now living & working in a developing country; I have been blessed.


Its tough to take any credit for any of these things because they have only been possible through blessings from GOD and sacrifices made by my family and friends. THANK YOU! Although I may feel like a 30 y/o at times, I am far younger and hopefully have quite a number of years & experiences ahead of me.







Happy Birthday To ME!!







PS.



A status update :



Two friends came to visit so we spent the past two days exploring the waterfalls and cliffs of my site. Its been AMAZING!! I’m happy that I got the chance to share a part of my site with them. Another good friends comes in tomorrow, and I hope to be repeating that experience with them.



Health: Not toooo good. Ive been pretty sick for the past 3 weeks off and on. I suspect dengue fever or malaria… but no proof… yet.



I had dead foot that spread up my calf for a while…



And now I just found out I have a fungus growing on my face… so yess…. White marks all over my face.



BUT ON THE BRIGHT SIDE!!! I love the work and love everything that we are doing here. A friend and brother from home is coming out here to visit, so that should be awesome too. SHOUT OUT TO TERRY. LFS brother

Monday, August 6, 2012

Camp G2LOW





Back by popular demand (coughcoughTIARA,SAM,&MOMcoughcough)

Its been about a month since the last post…and not much has changed. I still libe in a small village in Burkina Faso… I still “digest” food into a hole in the ground... still have no electricity…. And STILL LOVE EVERY SECOND OF IT.



I just got back from Camp G2LOW last night and am more than happy to be home. The trees in my court are doing well and although the wild flowers that I planted failed, the sunflowers are doing wonderfully. The little kids in my village welcomed be back with songs and dance as I biked in. I could not help but to smile and feel giddy. I spent the majority of my time today cleaning and relaxing; Camp G2LOW and the past 2 weeks were EXHAUSTING.



First things first, its been exhausting saying goodbye to everyone. As I mentioned in a previous post, about half of the volunteers in country are in the process COSing or have already left. Those volunteers that I have become friends with, looked up to, and sought guidance from are finally getting to go home. The past month has been full of saying goodbye and “least nights out”. Best wishes to everyone!



Camp G2LOW (Girls and Guys Leading Our World) was awesome! (I will try to get pictures up on FB) Although we planned for and invited 120 7th grade students, the 100 that did come were absolutely fantastic. The students attended sessions on HIV/AIDS, family planning, goal setting, hygiene, nutrition, plans of action, goal setting, and active listening (just to name a few). We also had mock Olympics, eating contests, songs, games, and a camp fire complete with story time and a comedy show. The week-long camp brought together students and Burkinabe volunteers from all over the eastern region of Burkina Faso. Volunteers worked with PCVs as session facilitators, night chaperones, and mentors to the students. We had a BLAST! I was charged with a group of 8 boys (GO BLUE TEAM); facilitated sessions on active listening, HIV/AIDS, and plans of action; and got the chance to learn some new songs and make new friends. All 15 PCVS involved felt that the week was a success. But don’t just take our word for it, check out some of these testimonials from campers!




Aichatou, 13 ans


Le Camp G2LOW est tres bien et tres interessant. Nous avons appris beaucoup de choses qu’on aurait jamais appris dans notre communautee. Je promet de partager cela avec ceux de Diapaga.





Donatienne, 15 ans


G2LOW m’a apportee beaucoup de connaissances. J’ai appreciee les cours dans les classes, les jeux. Je mes partager toutes ces connaissances avec mes camarages.





Malata, 14 ans


Selon moi, Camp G2LOW est tres interessant. Les Volontaires sont tres gentils avec nous. Avec eux, nous apprenons la discipline. Nous demandons toujours la permissions avant de faire toute chose. Nous avons appris la politesse,l’amitiee, et beaucoup d’autres choses. Je vais partager ces connaissances avec mes camarades.





Pascal, 14 ans


Avec Camp G2LOW, j’ai appris qu’il faut travailler a l’ecole afin de donner des bons resultats pour encourager les parents a toujours payer nos scolarites. Je sais maintenant comment me preserver contre les grossessses et le VIH/SIDA.





Ahanad


J’ai suivi avec interet les cours sur le système reproductif, la violence et le VIH/ SIDA, la tolerance dans la religion et l’acceptation des autres religions, la capacite d’ecouter et l’hygiene. Ce que j’ai appris m’a rendu plus intelligent par rapport a l’avenir.





Fatima, 13 ans


J’ai été marquee par une etude de cas de Sally, cette fille qui était oujours harcelee sur son chemin de l’ecole. Elle a eu le courage de se confier a un ancien du village qui l’a aidee. Cette histoire m,a marquee parce qu’il ya des filles qui n’ont pas le courage de partager leur probleme ou de se confier pour avoir une solution a leur probleme. Cette histoire nous montre comment soutenir nos camarades dans une situation de violence ou de harcellement. Avec Camp G2LOW, j’ai appris des choses que nous n’apprenons pas a l’ecole.





Pascal 15 ans


Camp G2LOW m’a appris beaucoup de choses. J’ai été marquee par les cours sur le système reproductif. Je vais passer l’information a mes amis.





Djalinou, 21 ans


Mes parents ont refusee de m’inscrire a l’ecole. A 11 ans, je suis allee voir une personne de confiance. Cette personne de confiance est allee voir mes parent et il les a sensibilisee sur l’importance d’aller a l’ecole. Suite a cela, mes parents m’ont inscrit a l’ecole. Cette annee, j’ai 21 ans et je suis en classe de 5eme. J’ai 18/20 de moyenne en classe. Je continuerais toujours mes etudes jusqu’à l’universite. Pendant les vacances, je cultive au champ et je vend les produits de mon champs pour payer mes etudes. Avec Camp G2LOW, j’ai appris beaucoup de choses qui vont m’aider dans ma vie de tous les jours.





Fatimata, 12 ans


Le Camp G2LOW est une bonne chose, ca s’est tres bien passee, c’était bien organisee et j’ai appris beaucoup de choses. J’ai aussi fait la connaissance de beaucoup de personnes. Grace a camp G2LOW je vais essayee d’etre un modele pour mes camarades.





Sawadogo, 16 ans


Avec Camp G2LOW, on a appris des choses qu’on ne savait pas. Par exemple, je pensais que l’exision était un abus de pouvoir par l’Etat. Je pensais que l’etat utilisait son pouvoir pour nous empecher d’exiser les filles. Avec Camp G2LOW, j’ai eu la bonne information. La formation recue me permettra de sensibiliser les gens dans l’ignorance.



Overall, CAMP WAS A SUCCESS!!



PS. Another success story! A student that I have been working with has been sharing the resources with other village youths and has even started leading informal classes on the material I gave him. This youth and I worked together during the Youth development conference in May. I can’t take credit for him sharing the resources but I am definitely excited to see him sharing the resources and working towards the development of his village



PPS.

I Just got back from a sensibiliation put on by 6 French girls visiting my village. Honestly, it was almost comical. They had no idea what they were doing and I almost felt bad for them. They chose a time and date where nobody is in village, as they are in the fields, and they were poorly prepared. Maybe this is me being a Peace Corps snob, but that is not the way development should be done.