Not too much has happened since Demystification. I am now situated here in Koudougou and my routine has made time pass by so quickly. I am in charge of planning Thanksgiving for our group of trainees and we’re all really excited! We get a night off from our host families and we’re spending the night together. Everyone is divided into different groups for cooking and we get part of the day off from class. We’re going to have a great Thanksgiving feast followed by a movie and a dance party! I’m going to miss my family at home and my mom’s delicious cooking, but I get to be with the rest of my training group so we will celebrate together.
We had site announcements this week, which was really exciting! Our LCF’s drew a gigantic map of Burkina Faso and made little stick figurines for each of us with our pictures as the faces. We read aloud a description of a location, then the group guessed who was going there, then that person put their figurine on the map at their site! We aren’t allowed to publish the name of our villages for safety and security purposes. But, I can give you my site’s description that they gave me:
This village is located just 25km from your health district of Kaya, 125km from Ouagadougou! The road is paved from Ouaga to Kaya. Even though this village is near Kaya, it has a great, rustic feeling. You have daily transport from your village, so no need to bike very much. Your village has an active market where you can find what you need.
You are the third PCV in this site. The first PCV has extended her service for a third year in Kaya with Plan International. She really liked your village. The second PCV also enjoyed the village. We think you will too!
Your house stands alone. It is made of a tin-roof house (the bedroom, a thatched hut, the kitchen) and a separate WC/douche, all enclosed in its own courtyard. It is right in the middle of the village surrounded by family compounds so no worry! You will be approachable to your villagers. Enjoy your stay!
There are a couple of trainees who had their Demyst at my site and they said it’s a great village! The women of the village told them they were looking forward to having a female volunteer who can work with women’s groups. I’m looking forward to starting some income generating activities for them like soap making and to starting a credit and savings club for them. It sounds like my village is very welcoming to Peace Corps volunteers and I’m excited to work with them J I will be continuing my Moore lessons because the majority of the village does not speak French.
Today, my mom and sisters showed me how to cook a traditional dish, riz gras. It’s rice with a tomato base with chicken in it. The recipe is simple; however, it’s more challenging cooking over a fire than with a stove top at home. My mom told me to put the pieces of chicken into the pot to begin. I was reaching into a bowl, throwing the pieces into the marmite (the big pot) and I looked down and I had grabbed the chicken’s head. I was startled, so I screamed and threw it back into the bowl. My mom thought this was hilarious and she and my sisters kept saying “Hayley a peur de la tete” (Hayley’s afraid of the head). Then, she said she had to cover it for me since I was scared. So, my mom put a bowl over the chickens head and said they weren’t going to cook with it today…just for me. It was pretty funny.
I also found out that being the baby of the family is called being the Benjamin. So today, my mom was introducing me to someone and telling them how old I am. Then she said “Hayley est le Benjamin de sa maman” (Hayley’s is her mother’s youngest). I wonder where this term originates from because it’s strange!
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