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