Home stay in a village

Home stay in a village (April 11– 14)

I spent this weekend with a family in a village near Bobo-Dioulasso.

My host father

the family's kids

It was a nice experience to have even though I had small difficulties. It was crazy hot. After sunset, it was a bit better but still the heat is always inside of house and it was very hard to sleep because I was sweating just being in a room without doing anything. Besides, no fresh cool water in villages. So I realized how much I am rich and how much water and electricity to keep cool drinks are important... Although, local people were very kind and I was treated very well : eating with other male family members which means treated well in a family, this made me a bit uncomfortable but well what I could do ? I am very stranger here.

Also I realized the importance of family relationships and greetings in burkinabè culture. On the way to somewhere or on the way back to home, people pass by at relatives houses and have some chat. We need to think 1-3 hours more before arriving at the final destination.

I was lucky to see an annual traditional ceremony: Masque. It is a funeral ceremony when people who are initiated to put traditional masks dance with them to honor some well known ancestors’ death. It is a tradition of people Bobo. It lasts 3 days and poeple drink local beer (dolo) made with red sorghum. Passing by at each house, all most all families offered the beer and « tô » which the daily meal for people in village (during my stay, except 1st two morning, all meals were tô while some other volunteers got rice, spaghetti, juice etc…). That is the normal village family’s food.

Pot de make dolo

I liked the tô although certain volunteers couldn’t eat it because of its strong smell or its taste. I guess the taste is different at each family and I was maybe lucky. The tô is made with maïz (corn) or millet flour. Put it in boiled water and mix them until it get sticky like mochi (Japanese) or pudding. Eat it with okra and green veggies sauce and sometimes with porc or chiken.

making of Tô

Tô that we had at training center

My Birthday

April 6th : my 24th birthday.

It was already that day in Japan and here in Burkina, it was still 5th at 8 p.m.

My volunteers friends organized a surprising party for me !

I was going to have some beers or something with them on 6th but I didn’t expect something one day before so I was so surprised and also so happy !

Plus, they gave me a very cute message card and a summer hat that they had bought at market with negotiating the price ! It will be so practical for me because I am going to use bicycle all the time wherever I go when I start working in Bobo. And to avoid strong sunshine, I will need a hat with its wide brim ! Plus, the hat has a string not o loose it with wind while biking so it is a perfect one ! Besides, they made a video greeting message for me. It was very funny as well !

By the way, there is a couple (Danish-Norwegian) with their 6 month cute, cute baby (Maika) at this training center till April 13th. The Danish guy studies Dioula for his PhD research in Côte d’Ivoire and his girl friend studies French. Then even they gave me a very cute necklace with beads.

Marlin, Jasper and Maika

I don’t remember when I had last time such birthday party with so many people. It was exceptional and I was so much happy to have all of them for my birthday. I will never forget this night.

－My 24th year resolutions－
1. To master Dioula (local language of this area)
2. Not to get sick
3. To make many, many friends！

Well, I will do my best. This year is my year, the Year of Moust in Chinese astrology so this is already something special !
And also I’d like to thank you all who gave me birthday greetings in various ways !

Training in Bobo-Dioulasso

10 days have passed already since I came to Burkina Faso. I was in the capital till March 31st with taking many orientations at JICA office everyday. It was very tiring but at JOCV dorm, there are AC and even a swimming pool! So I used already my swimsuits I brought from Japan.

However, temperature raises everyday till 40-45℃, with red sand dust and polluted air(by cars and bikes) outside so it doesn’t seem comfortable, does it ? Also, as it is so hot, rich people use AC like us and probably the electricity consumption in this city surpasses its capacity. As result, we have so often blackouts everyday.
　

Guys putting sands on a truck in front of our dorm

In April 1st, the Burkina group (12 volunteers) traveled from Ouaga to Bobo-Dioulasso where local language training center is located and actually I am going to work for 2 years. It took 5 hours by bus. I was worried about “bus” in Burkina because usually no reserved seats and people get on it as many as possible (of course more than the number of seats) but the bus was luxurious ! Seats are all reserved under AC well actually, we were not supposed to open windows.

What is great at the training center is that I have my own room with own washroom, fan on the ceilings and a double bed!
　　

This week I had French classes with a teacher 1 to 1, discussing about modern Islamic marriage process, African traditional societies, Bobo surroundings history, politics and economy. 5 hours everyday. From next week, I’m going to learn this region’s local (commercial) language (among Cote-d’Ivoire, Mali and Burkina), Dioula which people with how I will work probably speak as well. I am very looking forward to it !
　

My classroom

First dinner at the center: Salad・Spaghetti・Banana

Many mango trees at the center’s yard！Can’t wait till they get ready☆ although I eat everyday a mango because it is the time, the happiest time!

Arrival in Burkina

March 25th, I arrived in Burkina Faso, in the capital, Ouagadougou (Ouaga in short)！！！　

But！！！

An accident happened！！！

This is the third time to come to this country but I don’t know really, maybe I was so excited or something to get out of the plane as soon as possible when I arrived at the airport… I did a so stupid thing yes very unexpected thing.

I FORGOT MY CAMERA ON MY SEAT IN THR PLANE… !!!

I know how stupid I was…

But I don’t know why I did this… Now that none of other 11 volunteers rely on me even though I know this country more than them… which is very normal I guess !

So no photos with me that I took at the airport and at Sheraton Hotel in Paris where we stayed one night. Probably by now some Burkinabé have seen my photos or even deleted them and sold the camera… When I arrived at JOCV dormitory, I realized it and I asked JICA stuff to call Air France to look for it but it was too late. Next morning the company called and they found nothing.

I was going to take many cool photos with it next 2 years during my work and life in general! I was very shocked but nothing I can do now. In fact, it was completely my fault so I can’t complain about it. So now, I try not to think about it anymore and to manage with my video camera although its photo quality is not so great.

Memory of KTC

March 13th, 65 day training has been done.

Yes, it was done... I'm very sad because it was so much fun. Before leaving from the center by bus, everyone all cried. This training was something very important and precious in my 23 year life and I learned so many things.

I introduce some of my close friends here :

Very funny but intelligent nurse, going to PNG as HIV/AIDS worker

Very good pianist who has strategic theories : going to Benin as community rural worker

I could have very serious/frank discussions with him going to Bangladesh

Latino who really wanted to go to Mexico, going to Cameroon actually

Very cute but funny nurse going to Senegal

Jazz mania and world trip folie, going to Benin

　　　

Very calm but sweet boy going to Senegal

Class 13's master, Simone living in Japan for more than 10 years

Class 13 mates

4th year at university who missed graduation ceremony on departure's day like me, going to Tonga

My sencond dad going to Costa Rica

Spanish teacher who said "hola" to me every morning with a big smile

Lunch break chat partner : English

I miss everyone of them and even others who are not here but there is goodbye to go forward.

I expect to output well in Burkina what I have learned at KTC.

Honored meeting

On March 10, we, JOCV candidates had Tokyo day trip to meet "very close" our emperor son, prince Naruhito.

In the bus, we look nervous, don't we ???

It was very 1st time to even see the emperor's family house (Togu Gosho) with my eyes besides, I set foot in it !

Since I'm the leader of Burkina volunteer group, I stood at the front row with other country leaders. My 1st task was to say "we are 12 volunteers who are going to Burkina Faso" to him when he came in front of me... Can you guess how many times I practiced this very short phrase not to falter out !

Yes, I made it !

Then he asked me where I was going in the country and what I would do there concretely. It was already too much for me to be in the same room with him so I could not answer to these...

Well, well, it's not true. I was so relieved after saying the perfect phrase :) Plus, the prince's very elegant and calm atmosphere relaxed me. So I had a brief but very nice chat with him, I was gazing at him though. The house servants offered us very frech juice&western cookies while our chat as well.

It was very strange, oh no, precious experience, I should say.

You expect his photo, don't you ? Well, of course not, even the house photo. It was alsolutely impossible well banned to bring anything with us to enter there. Even if I had and I posted them here, I would have no more normal life...

Instead, some photos outside of a hotel where we had break before the visit...

There is something !

Vending machine !?

all cans of regular juice here were 10yen more expensive than usual (130yen) !

Because this area is close to the emperor's house !?

:)

My best souvenir of this visit was to get known that the prince is as small as me !

Experience at farmer

On February 14&21, we had activities, working at a farmer, nursing home or preschool to meet Komagane local people and get some different work experience from usual.

Me, I went to a flower farmer's house with 2 other JOCV and 1 senior volunteer.

◆1st day◆

In the morning, we cleaned up wastes (old materials of green house mainly).

At 9, we started working and at 10, already we got a break with lots of sweet in a warm room.

At noon, it's lunch time. Although we brought our lunch box, the family prepared a great meal for us. I hesitated their too warm welcome but I couldn't defeat my appetite...

From 1 to 3:45 pm, we worked in a green house of Alstroemeria, picking off dead plants.

Then again, a break with plenty of sweets, coffee and tea till a bus comes to pick us up at 4:35.

In the green house of Alstroemeria

A bouquet of Alstroemeria that the family gave us as souvenior at the end of the day

◆2nd day◆
In the morning, we planted a flower bulb and two green vegetables' seedings

Make a hole of the depth of the first 2 knuckles

Put a bulb. The farmer repeated us to plant it with the sharpen part above. (if not, it won't bud)

Cover the buld with soil with its head a bit seen

Planting the veggies seedings

Water the filed with sprinkler !

At lunch, I had expected there would be something again but it was more than I thought... a big rice ball with fried porc and cabbages which is a famous local food in Komagane with homemade delicious sauce. And salad, homemade pickles (Nozawana), just gathered spinach etc... I was more than satisfied...

Afternoon, we went out to the field to remove the plastic covers on Trumpet lily bulbs.

This winter, there is much more snow than usual so there was always snow left and the soil over the cover was frozen and heavy... It was a hard work but as we ate more than enough, it was worth it.

As same as on the 1st day, we finished work at3:45 and got wonderful sweet time : very soft mochi just made that morning with walnuts sauce and homemade pudding !!!

It was a very very precious time and experience for me although it was only 2 days. I learned word work and life of farmers, the importance of nature, and great natural food.

I appreciate the family, Sakama-san's kindness and warm welcome !