2009 Wrap-up (part 2)

December (cont.): After the parade on the 11th life started getting back to normal. Classes were supposed to start again on the 14th, but there were strikes on both the 14th and 15th in recognition of the murder of a journalist several years ago. I was ready to teach on the 16th, however, the students continued the strike. Everyone was finally at school on the 17th. At this point though, I had given up. So in then end, hardly any teaching was achieved the whole month of December.

On the positive side, one of the teachers I work with took great initiative in converting our grading system to a Microsoft Access program. Now instead of filling out carbon copy report cards and calculating averages by hand, the computer handles everything. Starting up was a little rough. We found several problems and bugs along the way that we managed to iron out with help from the program's author. Yamwaya is now the first lycée in Ouahigouya to have electronic reports cards.

After struggling to try to teach I decided to take a "break" by going to another volunteer's village to watch her group of women tie dye. It wasn't hippy tie dying for sure! The women dye sheets of fabric known as bazin (I'm not sure on spelling), which is a very nice cotton fabric with ornamental designs woven in, but they do their most business dying the old clothes of villagers so that they look new.

getting ready

folding the fabric

 

dying the fabric

 

finished product - so pretty!

Vacation: The last week of December, I went to Orodara (in the southwest) for Christmas. A group of us then biked to Banfora. The first night we stopped in Bérégadougou where we were able to take a tour of the SOSUCO sugar factory. This was also my first time trying sugar cane. Wow! It was fantastic. Too bad we only have sugar beets in the lower 48. To be fair, I haven't tried sugar beets; guess I should do that.

Christmas pizza!

road to Banfora

 

 

we passed a fire that was very close to the road

 

sugar cane

 

sugar factory

 

trucks loaded with sugar cane

 

washing the sugar cane

 

sugar cane field

After Bérégadougou, we biked to Banfora Falls and the Domes, two of the "must see" tourist attractions in Burkina. At the falls we discovered giant mango trees, Rastas selling artwork and of course a series of waterfalls. Then we hiked over to the Domes, rock formations that look a lot like bee hives. Amusingly a group of Burkinabè tourists were there and the ladies of the group (2 of them in fancy dresses) climbed a dome for a photo shoot.

unbelievable mango trees

 

the falls

 

the Domes (see the beehive resemblance?)

 

photo-op

 

all the lovely ladies

We then biked to another volunteer's village a couple kilometers away. Her village loves her so much, they through a 1 year anniversary party! It was a lot of fun and non-stop dancing was involved. Unfortunately that night I froze sleeping in a tent directly on the ground. I traveled light for this trip which meant no sleeping pad or warm clothes (I did bring socks).

party

 

dancing

 

balafon music

 

I loved the face of the girl in the middle

 

women do EVERYTHING with babies on their backs - even dancing

 

cows eating mango trees - So this is why the trees look like mushrooms!

The next morning we completed the bike ride to Banfora, but not before stopping a Lake Tengrela. There we all got into a rickety wooden boat with two guides and went to the far side of the lake to see hippopotami (or hippopotamuses – both are acceptable). Our guide keep knocking the side of the boat with his oar to inform the hippos that we were there and to get them to surface. We saw 5 of them! It was really nerve racking being in a boat just 20 - 30 feet from them and having them look straight at us. Did you know that hippo ears are really, really adorable? There was a woman washing clothes not far away, but the guide said that she was safe. He also mentioned that hippos and cattle are friends, but definitely not hippos and horses. Something about a horse breaking a hippo's heart...

Hippos