Out and About

Well, I can at least say i am very busy. where there is a will - i will find a way to get around.

Car news - none really. still stuck in Abidjan where the situation worsens daily. on the verge of civil war. so, i am looking into my options - hire a regular driver, buy a local cheap car, beg rides off of everyone else once they get their cars. 

Last week was event filled.  There was the 50th Anniversary of Peace Corp celebration downtown. Peace Corp is huge here (nearly 160 volunteers). they are well liked by the Burkinabe.  the event was filled with loud music, a serenade in English, formal speeches, lots of microphone feedback (seems inherent to an African event) and good food/bad beer.

Classic formal event setup. The Ambassador (a wonderful person) is speaking on the far right.  At the beginning of every speech here, you address each important person individually, then the different groups and then the general crowd.  This is a throw back from colonial days. the intro to the speech can take up to 5 minutes.

The next night, i ditched Otto with a toddler and her nanny (he is such a good sport if he has his DVD player and PSP) to go catch a movies as part of FESPACO.  this is a huge event that draws an international crowd. it the an every other year international film festival, highlighting African filmmakers.  I think the only reason i have never heard of it is because it is Francophone. every hotel room in Ouaga was booked. there were a few entries from the US. 

I saw a film called 'Coton Noir" about the cotton industry here in Burkina (it was by French filmmakers) and it's effect on the economy, land, farmers. I think it was good - it was all in French, so I understood less than 1/4 of what was said. But the evening was heavenly. i felt like a normal person. The evening started off at a reception (more food and bad beer) for some film magazine - we got to chit-chat with the movie making crowd. then to the movie which was at the French Cultural Center. unfortunately i forgot my camera - it was an amazing space. it is quite open and modern, we at at this fantastic outdoor restaurant in the compound - really good food and fast for local standards (most meals take about 45 minutes from ordering to being served). There was an art exhibit of a local artist - displayed were these huge oil portraits of all types of Africans and these cut out books; almost like pop up, but with strings of people and street scenes. Then we watched the movie in the outdoor theater with the stars above our heads. after that evening, i can see why people love it here so much.

The following night i gave a lecture at the American Language Institute on hypertension. the class was packed and people were quite engaged. High blood pressure is a huge health problem here - even with young people. we did drivers physicals for all of our drivers (about 45) and 1/4 of them had hypertension - and most are younger than 45.  I think will likely go back to lecture more (it is in English so that is fine with me) - next topic - Head injuries and the importance of wearing helmuts. everyone here rides bikes and vespa type scooters (called motos) - nobody protects their head.  We had an Embassy employee die a few weeks ago driving to work on his moto - no helmut.

Friday it was off to one of the nicest restaurants with our very kind neighbors (the ones that let us tag along everywhere). Godwana. it is an art gallery and restaurant. wonderful setting - outdoor and indoor seating. very relaxed, very African. and good food. i will try to get photos next time i go.

Saturday i met up with the Swimming group that meets every week at a hotel near our house. it is a great - and long - pool. it is now about 10 minutes away since we have our bikes. Otto came and we spend a couple of hours there doing laps and splashing around. 

Sunday i hooked up with the weekly bike group. i made the mistake of taking Otto with me (it was unclear if it was a family friendly event and they encouraged me to bring him). but ended up being a bunch of serious adult bikers. so we all rode together for a short time, which helped me to learn some back roads. i couldnt deal with Otto's complaining any longer and he refused to bike home alone (we were close and it was a direct route home), so i split from the group, dropped O at home and took off for another 45 minutes. It was really fun. lots of back and side roads. one of the advantages to where we live is that there is not a lot of traffic.

Good week all in all. We have an advocate for the Embassy community (referred to as the CLO - community liason officer) who is doing a great job pushing the 'get out of the house' agenda with the powers that be in the Embassy. the vehicle situation is still very strict and rigid, but we are at least getting transport on occas and she is pushing for more.  this will likely continue to improve as more people arrive at post (we have a new family and a couple more heads of offices that are now posted here, putting our numbers well over 100). with more people car-less, that is more voices to push the morale issue.  i have to say for myself, i am feeling so much better about life/work and being here just being able to get out and experience what is going on around me.

the only other BIG change is the weather. about a week ago all of a sudden 'winter' is over. the temps went from pleasant 90's to the high 100's almost overnight. at night it is only cooling to the 80's. it is HOT. and i am told this is nothing.  ugghhh. but Otto an i have acclimated enough that we can get outside for activities in the early morning. still seems really hot in the late evening after the sun has gone down.  we are spending much more time in the pool, and i am glad i invested in the volleyball net/ball for the pool and other various pool 'toys'.

once again, sorry for the lack of photos. i am getting a real camera, but probably wont have it for a few months.  so, here are some random photos for your viewing pleasure.

Random back yard. the ever present bicycle

Flower from our last safari. these pop up straight out of the ground and were generally most noticeable on the side and middle of the road

The flower blooms from this. of course the picture doesnt do justice, but beautiful, bright color in an otherwise dry, reddish brown landscape

The courtyard of my friend/colleagues hotel (Hotel Ricardo). it is very homey, full of plants and animals (and now 10 dogs because she took in Tusker so he wouldnt have to be put down).