hello and happy holidays. i am in ouagadougou and will be welcoming the new year here with friends.

happy to have missed the chance to partake in the insane consumerism that christmas can turn into, i would still like to be able to share a gift. on a wall in my house, i have a few poems up from the prophet by kahlil gibran. this collection is powerful and profound - two words i don't like to use too much unless i really mean it. i think everyone should read the prophet. different poems have resonated with me in various ways thoughout my life.

here is "on giving". while i might not love every word of this poem, i value the overall sentiment. enjoy. i hope that 2007 brings all the best of what you deserve and desire.


On Giving
Then said a rich man, "Speak to us of Giving."
And he answered:
You give but little when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow?
And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the overprudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city?
And what is fear of need but need itself?
Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, thirst that is unquenchable?
There are those who give little of the much which they have - and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.
And there are those who have little and give it all.
These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.
There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.
And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.
And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;
They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.
Through the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth.
It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding;
And to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving
And is there aught you would withhold?
All you have shall some day be given;
Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors'.
You often say, "I would give, but only to the deserving."
The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.
They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.
Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is worthy of all else from you.
And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream.
And what desert greater shall there be than that which lies in the courage and the confidence, nay the charity, of receiving?
And who are you that men should rend their bosom and unveil their pride, that you may see their worth naked and their pride unabashed?
See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving.
For in truth it is life that gives unto life - while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.
And you receivers - and you are all receivers - assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.
Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings;
For to be overmindful of your debt, is to doubt his generosity who has the free-hearted earth for mother, and God for father.



Christmas decorations made by kiddies in Kantchari

So, after looking over past entries of this blog, I realized that I've been pretty mum about what it is I actually do in Burkina Faso. I've shared some pretty pictures and few little anecdotes and that is all. Since my affectation to Gorgadji, I've been stingy with the info, huh? Time for some details, n'est-ce pas?

Well, let's talk about my living situation a bit. During training, I was living in a tiny, tiny village, which consisted of about 10 families. There was one primary school with three classrooms in which all six grades were taught. Rather than a regular market, there was only a little shop that sold bread, fried dough, sugar and non-perishable items. (but no toilet paper!) There were two ethnic groups in the village and it was clear who was who and who spoke what language - overall, everyone understood Moore. I was trained in assessing the needs of a very small community and I got used to be able to just ask around to find anything or anyone.

Before coming to Gorgadji, I heard that the Sahel is rough, villages are small and the people are extremely difficult to work with and resistant to change, especially when it comes to their young girls. I had the impression that I would be working with just a handful of people and getting to know about them indepthly. I was told that life in the North is very difficult, with constant problems in securing lasting sources for water and that my village would have nothing to offer me in terms of resources and amenities.

When I got to Gorgadji, I was a bit overwhelmed. It took me some readjusting to the fact that Gorgadji is not at all as small as I imagined. There is a primary school with all six classrooms, a high school with three of the six grade levels, a clinic (CSPS - Centre de Sante and Progres Sociale), three mosques, a Catholic church, a Protestant church and a bank. There are several Quranic schools (madrasas) and apparently, after most agricultural work is done, there are literacy classes. Wow! Plus, there are several little shops that are open all week long and the market which comes to town every three days with goods from neighboring villages. There are several ethnicities and languages represented: Peuhls (who speak Fulfulde), Fulses (Kurunfe), Mossis (Moore), Gourmas (Gourmantchema) and a few Hausas. Whoa! The fabric of Gorgadji is so much thicker and richer than I was expecting to face.

Now, this scenario poses many challenges and offers several resources. Because there are two large educational centers, I can work with students in a more long-term way, since they do not need to leave the village to pursue their educations. There is a health clinic which can provide (and has already been providing) me with a wealth of knowledge and support that would have been near impossible to find. The presence of a bank means that I can use their help and guidance to educate people (and women, most importantly) on managing money and financially planning ahead. The mix of ethnicities and religions suggests that the people of Gorgadji have experienced and absorbed elements of foreign culture before. The first inhabitants of the village were Fulse and then, absorbed Peuhls who were no longer nomadic herders. The Mossis and other ethnicities are either sent to Gorgadji by the government because of their occupations (teachers, health works and other state-sponsored employees) or have opened businesses here.

However, the drawbacks of these aspects are many. Though Gorgadji seems to have a thriving market, because there is no large water source nearby, there aren't vegetables or fruits grown in the area. And, this isn't even the hot, dry season yet. The harvest is coming in now. What will be available later? This means that it is hard for the people to maintain well-balanced, nutritious diets. Also, growing vegetables and fruits or using them to prepare other foods is a great way for women to earn extra money. Without money and in poor health, education is not a priority. And, if education is not a priority, it is the education of little girls, who can help their mommies with the housework and will eventually get married, that gets sacrificed first.

Additionally, the wealth and education is pretty much split along religious and ethnic lines. The people who are sent to Gorgadji due to government work are better educated, have more money and, to a certain extent, look down on the villagers who do not speak French and whose lives and well-being are tied to their crops and the Earth. Because of this, I do a lot of gear-shifting. There are different ways to address these varied groups and to gain their trust and confidence. I have to maintain many faces within one community. Walking from one part of town to the other, I conduct conversations and greetings in up to three languages and on a range of different topics, as concern the varied groups of people I connect with.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am learning and absorbing so much. Everyday, I think to myself, "well, damn... where else would I have had this experience? How else would I be seeing all this? When in my life would I have the time to give to this oportunity? ". I grow so much everyday - God, sometimes, I think my bones ache. Life can be so overwhelming sometimes I just have to sit in my little courtyard and stare at the interweaving pattern of my thatch hangar. I think of all the things I've left behind: family, friends, weight (hahaha...) and oh, yummy food and glamorous things! I've asked everyone in my life, everyone who loves to take a deep breath, suspend their disbelief and send me care packages.

Right now, it's a little difficult to see what it's worth... The first three months, we are expected just to observe. Take notes, assess needs and gain some sort of orientation. To the American work ethic, this feels like I'm accomplishing nothing. rien. nada. grr... I have nothing to look over at the end of the day and feel accomplished about. I feel like the community must think that their American does nothing but chat with people, sit in on classes and consultations at the clinic and eat. I can't help feeling like I should be doing something for these people already!

But, if I look back over several weeks, I can see smalls steps emerging. When I walk down the street, people - villagers and other parts of the community - call out to me, to greet me, to chat. The women around my house who don't speak French know me by my Burkinabe name, so as I walk back to my house from the market, I hear "Reina! Reinatou!" and my whole being lights up to try a conversation with them in Fulfulde, as we go through the long pattern of salutations. I chat with government workers as we eat and exchange vocabulary in French, English and Moore. I've had informative and open conversations with people on sensitive topics such as HIV/AIDS, condom use, excision, etc... I would not be privilege to these discussions if my everyday greetings, conversations and mere presence didn't slowly build their trust. And, it goes both ways, there are people who genuinely lift my spirit when I am having a bad day, friends I can confide in and collegues I can chat with about my work and ask for feedback on my ideas.

It's all about baby steps. I am learning so much about myself... about patience, new ways of measuring success, friendship and wisdom. So, I also have to take a few deep breaths and wait. I have yet to meet my darkest day here in Burkina or to give life to something that actually resembles an accomplishment. But, after six months, I am still feeling solid and brave enough to continue... Now that my observation period is over, I am really looking forward to implementing some ideas and try out a few projects. We'll see.

I guess in my next entry, I'll try to let you all know a little bit more about what it is that I actually do, from day-to-day and in the larger scheme of things. I am slowly understanding what "Girls Education & Empowerment" means and what kind of work such a goal attempts. Also, another interesting topic I must share with you is diversity. Diversity in the Peace Corps and Burkina Faso. Also, my own special experience with identity in this country. Never would I have imagined that I would come to Sub-Saharan Africa and continue to play the racial/ethnic guessing game that people like to engage in with me in the US... So, those are future entries to look forward. Keep sending your emails and love!

Before I forget I have to give a special thank you. I really appreciate all the letters and packages I've been receiving. Your postal love reminds me of the hilarious, brilliant, interesting and creative people that I've left behind and miss so much! But, I must say that two people get a extra-special shout out for sending me packages: my Peace Corps recruiter and my dentist (yes, my dentist!). I was the envy of my friends for getting a package from my recruiter because some of them could barely get info out of theirs during the application process - what about M&Ms and magazines during service?! Caroline, you rock! Because of Dr. Miah, my dentist, my friends are pretty sure that I must have some sort of bewitching power over people to get them to send me things internationally. I'm just lucky to know such generous people! (well, I guess, maybe, that does make me a pretty cool cat... hehehe)

Ok, kiddies, it's very late here now and I have to catch a 7am bus back to Dori, so I will conclude here. Thanks so much for all your love and support. I miss you all terribly and think of you so often. Keep emailing/mailing/sending your love telepathically. Your encouragement and love are the shoes I walk in. And, believe me, I've very far from home...

Be it French, Moore, Fulfulde or any other language in Burkina, conversation is punctuated by very specific non-verbal, vocalized expressions. These sounds are used as reactions to convey a range of emotions and statements. Here are a few Burkinabe-isms:

• "ah!", quick, slightly aspirated breath to signify shock: "you're planning to stay here, in Burkina for how long? two years? ah!"
• "tch! tch!", two-beat kissing of the teeth coupled with an emphatic side-to-side shaking of the head to convey lack of or lack of accordance with (vigorous wagging of the index finger can be added to indicate severity): "we have no french fries. tch! tch! potatoes aren't in season."
• "uh-huh!", deeply intoned, coupled with head nod on the downbeat, to demonstrate agreement with or arrival at comprehension (often followed by "voila!", drawn out to sounds more like "wallaaah!"): usually occurs mid-sentence,

Me: "So, you think I need a husband in Burkina..."

X: "Uh-huh!"

Me: "...because you want to go to America with me."

X: "Wallaaah!"

• "waaaaay", Oui (yes in French), stretched out to resemble "waaaaaaaay", rather than anything of French origin, simultaneously delivered with a forward gesture of the head, displays shock or disbelief and maybe mild amusement: "no, really? two years? here? in burkina? waaaaay!"
• "pooo-pooo-pooo", a crescendo inflection, which communicates disatisfation or disappointment (also accompaigned by the side-to-side shaking of the head and can be punctuated by two-beat click of the tongue): "you already have a fiancee in the US? poooo-poo-pooooo"

So, if you talk to me on the phone and you hear some strange noises coming from the other end of the line, have no fear, it's still me - just a little Burkina-fied. Practice them at home and you too can be "bien integré".

A few weeks ago, I assisted the Ministry of Education and an association for the promotion of education in Burkina with a workshop colloboration. Basically, we went to specific villages, which the association had already established a rapport with, and emphasized the importance of primary school education. It was a bit difficult for us Volunteers because the workshop was in Fulfulde, but ca va aller... it was definitely a learning experience.


Here are the three teachers at this specific primary school. Normally, primary school is 6 years, but this school had only three classrooms, therefore, three teachers and only three grade levels...


Tamboura, dressed in white, leading the sensibilisation. The audience is on the edge of their seats!


Nearby one of the villages where we worked. The houses are made of clay/earthen walls and straw roofs. The use of straw to build the roof poses no problem against rain, considering we won't see rain again until June.

a concert i went to in Ouaga. the singer, Yelli Nooma, performed Francophone African kind of jazz. it was fun...


a street in Dori, my regional capital. Yes, the streets are covered in sand! you see?

Dorothy, a fellow volunteer in the Sahel, and a neighbor named Aziz, who I also call "mon petit marie"/ my little husband

can anyone help me out?

i am looking for a website where i can easily and quickly post up lots of pictures, but doesn't require viewers to sign in. I don't have time to really browse the internet too much, so, anyone willing to suggest a site?

Merci beacoup!

the view out of my front door



























































who left the fridge door open?


these are a few pictures for now. i will definitely try to upload some more as soon as i can and also add a little more info about what's going on with me. and by the way, you can now post comments without having to sign in or anything like that, so it is easier. i don't know how that option got selected, but whatever.

i'll be in ouaga until sunday, so, ifyou send me an email, i'll be try to respond before then. and if there are things you want to know or would like me to write about, ask me! :)

allah hollu jaango e jam!
wend na kond beogo!
(Fulfulde and Moore benedictions for "see you tomorrow" or better yet, more naturally for me sometimes: `a demain!)

this one's from the beginning of training
















and this was when we were sworn-in as new volunteers, three months later... all 33 of us made it through (though, this picture is just the 17 new Girls Education and Empowerment volunteers)

now, onto current interests, a few scenes from my new house:



















quatre carreaux

more oldies...

these pictures are old - they're from training. i dont have any yet from my new site...









though my life might be lacking some luxuries that are essential to American life, substitutions are not too far for the truly innovative.

skin exfoliation: biking during a sandstorm

digestive system detox regime: gastrointestinal "issues" (for example, some popular regimes have included bacteria, amoebas, e. Coli and giardia)

mud bath pedicure: walking around in flip-flops after the rains

pore/skin detox: sweating profusely, which can be achieved by doing anything, even breathing, during the hours of 11am to 3pm

air conditioning: i can't take credit for this invention. i'll just have to recount what i saw... after finishing his lunch, a fellow volunteer leaned forward in his chair, hung his head over the ground in front of him and pour the rest of his glass of water all over his neck and head. when we laughed at him, he said "what? it's village air conditioning. you just have to wait for the wind." thus, village air conditioning. viola!

vegetables: (didn't know that vegetable could make it on to a list of luxuries, huh?) seriously, folks, I live in the desert. so, when i go to the market and ask around for veggies, people point to onions. bah! i can't wait for the harvest to come in!

brain teasers: learning, in French, how to count money in Fufulde, which is by a system of five. for example, to communicate the price of something that is 50 CFA, one says "sappo", which is 10 in Fulfulde.

exercise: doing laundry (which is by hand, by the way) *added bonus if you do it between the hours of 11am - 3pm!

hello hello. it's been awhile and there is so much to report. i knew that i would regret having let over a whole month pass with out updating my blog.

the last time i updated, i was about to leave for my site visit. in the end, i wasn't able to actually visit my specific village site due to transportation issues, but i did get to visit the regional/provincial capital which will be a constant stop-in point for me. the fact that i didn't get to visit my village is a good lesson to learn early about the trials of transportantion in Burkina.

i will be living in the Sahel region and my capital is Dori, which you can find on most maps of Burkina. the Sahel is mostly populated by the Peuhl people, which is why i have been studying Fulfulde. the Sahel is very different from the area where i was living with my host family, the Mossi plateau. ladies and gentlemen, it is indeed the desert. there was sand in the streets! apparently, because it is the rainy season, this was nothing compared to the amount that is usually there. Dori had a nice vibe - big enough to have stores stocked with luxury items, like cornflakes, but small enough to be manageable and have a community that i was able to tap into within a few days. i am also excited because there were quite a few foreign business owners, from senegal, nigeria and mali, so i was able to speak some arabic and english with those people.

after site visit, we returned to our villages, with the clock ticking down. site visit was the halfway point of our training, so we were soaking up all the language and technical training that we could, as well as spending time with our families. i was so amazed at how sad i was feeling about leaving my host family. i had gotten really attached to these people who, just weeks before, were strangers i could barely communicate with. the day before we left, i was riding my bike to class, fretting at how mad i was that i had just said good-bye to my own family just weeks ago and now, here i am, again, having to leave a group of people who have come to be so familiar to me. then, i realized how lucky i am - to be experiencing all of this, to be able to be upset about the fact that i have connected so well and so closely to this community, whom, months ago, didn't even exist for me. just a few months ago, Burkina Faso didn't even exist to me and now here i am so emotional to be leaving the family that I have made here.

now, we are in Ouaga (the capital) for our closing ceremony tomorrow. we have been here a week preparing to become volunteers and i can't believe that the ceremony is tomorrow. speeches are given in all the languages that our training group has studied (which are: Fulfulde, Gulmanchelma, Jula, Moore and French, in case you were wondering) and i will be giving the Fulfulde speech. i am excited! i also had a Burkinabe outfit made, so I will be sure to post some photos of that when i get the chance! then, a few days after that, we will be dispatched to our assignment sites. we have a three month lock-down, during which we are not allowed to leave our region because we are expected to immerse ourselves in our new communities. well, i'll finish here so i can try and post some photos, too. wish me luck and send me your love!

during one of the baptisms...











this is the view of my coutryard from my door. that's my snazzy Peace Corps-issued bike, too. the other buildings nearby are houses and other living spaces. all of this is part of my family's compound.


I want to post more pics, but it's a delicate balance between my camera's compatibilty with computer and the internet speed, so no promises!

I have been renamed by my village. I am now Renatou Kindo. Kindo is the name of my host family. My host sister started calling me Renatou - i'm not really sure why because she still calls me Jenni (or Jini or Djini as many other people here say).

Things are going great and I am genuinely enjoying myself. In the beginning, there were a few moments when I had to remind myself that I have only been here for days and that everything is new and I need to give myself a break. I was really pushing myself to do everything - learn local language, work on my French, hang out with my host family, write letters and remember to breathe and rest from time to time. We have an ridiculously structured schedule and I am rarely alone when I am at home in village, so getting time to relax and decompress is a bit difficult to come by. I let my mind relax on my 10 km bile ride home, which is beautiful. Also, my host family has evolved into a group of people that I am happy to see and I am comforted to see the hill that leads to my house when I get to our village. My host mom speaks Moore, but we still have wonderful conversations about random things conducted through grand theatrics. She is so smart and cool, she reminds me of my own mom. My host brother has become my French tutor and village counterpart as he translates and preps me for anything I need to ask of him.

Nothing much to report this week. My mind is a little tired and I am just glad to feel comfortable and at home in my life here. Though if anyone wants to send me some of the following, I'd be even happier!

- Kool Aid/drink mix with and without sugar (the little packets of stuff are probably more mail-able)
- granola or energy bars
- cds (anything, but country)
- news paper articles or magazines, like the Economist (i have no idea what is going on in the world)
- photos
- or anything really...!

a letter with even one or none of these things would rock my world! Letters have taken from 9 to 15 days to get here.

Lastly, you can catch me on Yahoo messenger sometimes. oh, and, I'll post pics as soon as I can... but the internet is so slow here. As soon as I get a chance, I will!

ahhhhh.... internet after two weeks. the two week hiatus was not by choice, believe me. but i do think it is good for me to get used to more infrequent internet access because i dont know what the situation will be like when i get to my site. the city we're in for training is relatively big (i think!). all the same, keep sending those emails! they really brighten my day, even if it might be weeks before i get to reply to all of them.

it's the rainy season now, which means more flies, cultivation and beautiful thunderstorms. the other day, my host mom appeared at the gate of my courtyard waving her hoe and making cultivating gestures in order to convey to me that she wouldn't be around during the day because she was going out to the fields. normally, someone appearing at my door, brandishing a dangerous, blunt farming tool and speaking a language i cant understand would seem alarming, but here it's the only way to communicate!

the storms are beautiful and amazing. my host family probably thinks i'm insane because i stand outside during the rainstorms and sandstorms. i get sand in my teeth and eyes regularly but it's more than worth it to witness the sky slowly turn from blue to brown to doom. the wind picks up and i suddenly feel so lost and so small. the other day, two friends and i got stuck in a sandstorm that turned into a rainstorm near our village and it was amazing. i really can't explain it so i dont know why im even trying...

i know i had a lot more to say before i got to the internet cafe... but now, i can't really remember...

I have been to two baptisms, both were children from my family. the naming ceremony lasts about a half hour and takes place early in the morning. honestly, i walked by and missed the whole thing this last time - that is how fast the religious component of the naming is. the focus of the day is the celebrating, eating and hanging out which lasts all day. nobody does any work. at night, there is an all-night party and, let me tell you, my family can get down. the next day is spent napping and recovering from the shindig the night before. there is no alcohol (at least that i can detect), as my village is Muslim. (that isn't to say that the people probably don't drink, but this is what goes on publicly...) it's really fun to see how people dance. they like Burkinabe, Ivorian and other kinds of African music. the music and dancing reminds me a bit of soca and calypso, but that's not really a surprise.

anyways, again this was really scattered, but there's my little bit of the Peace Corps for this week. please forgive the spelling errors and excuse me if i havent been able to reply to your emails yet. keep sending them, though!!!

hellooooo from Burkina Faso!!!

there are so many things for me to say, yet i don't have much time at this cyber cafe and the French-style keyboard is not facilitating speedy typing!

first of all, it is soooo hot here. i knew that before i came, but only until you really experience it do you fully comprehend what 95F degrees means at 10pm. on the plus side, i get to sleep outside under a beautiful, starry sky and my mosquito net catches every breeze.

training takes up the first three months of the Peace Corps. we are in villages near Ouahigouya, which is a small city in the north. my village is very very small. it isn't even on the map! it is an hour's bike ride from Ouahigouya. the bike ride is definitely whooping my butt, but i just focus on how fit i'll be when i get back to NY. I live with a very large family: 4 wives and 30 children in a compound arrangement. i have not figured out everyone in the family and i only know a handful of names. i have my own living space, which is really great.

Living in villages is part of our language and cultural immersion. i am learning Moore and Fulfulde - in French! So, technically, i am learning three languages because my French is operatinal (at best). Moore is the language of the Mossi people, who are the dominant group of Burkina Faso. Fulfulde is spoken by the Fulani (or Puel) people, who are a nomadic group of the northern and eastern parts of Burkina. Fulfulde is more widely spoken in West Africa than Moore. The two are not at all related and have nothing in common with French or English.

My village is made of both Moore and Fulani people. Apparently, i look like the Peul people because they are tall and thin and seem to have high cheekbones, so people ask me if i am Peul. Honestly, I see no similarities, but, when i can speak more fulfulde, I'll work the resemblance if I can!

we also have technical training for the Girls Education and Empowerment program. So far, we went to observe class at the local school and also had a discussion with a few teachers about the obstacles girls face in school and in their communities. Mostly, it seems that pressures outside of school are what keeps girls from continuing their education, such as poverty, early pregnancy and forced marriage. Our program director is amazing. She is focused and intelligent and is really excited about this program. the downside of the GEE program is that it is very vague and new. we are only the second group of volunteers to work on this project. in contrast, the secondary education volunteers know that they will be standing in front of a classroom teaching. we have to figure out the needs of the community and what are the resources. still, it's exciting!

this post is probably really scattered, but it is my first report of Peace Corps in Burkina Faso. hopefully, i'll get better with practice. keep writing me emails!!!!

wow, it's been a crazy month. a lot has happened and there's more to come before the week is out.

here's the update: i leave on Sunday and not a goddamn thing is packed yet. mind you, it's all laid out and there. I just need to buy a few more things and I'll be all ready to start packing for real. Right now, spread out across the living room, it doesn't look like much, but we'll see how quickly it turns to 80 lbs.

I've schooled myself on shortwave radios, camping mattress pads, Tevas, cotton clothes and many other things. I'm sure when I get there, though, half of all this worry won't even matter and everything will work out fine. What I should be doing is working on my French. Yikes. A dear friend of mine was kind enough to record some stuff in French for me because my ear for French has deteriorated (and actually never really existed in the first place). Oh well, it's gonna have to ressurect itself in a few days!

I gotta keep up with this hectic week, so I'll end this post here.


P.S. have you seen Akeelah and the Bee? Awesome.

So, here I am, preparing for a trip I've dreamed about for the last five years. I found out about the Peace Corps at a career fair for "post-high school alternatives". I picked up info about the Peace Corps and about a theatre group offering one-year stints to travel the world. I was really excited about the theatre group back then, but somehow my enthusiam dissolved, unnoticed. I really just wanted to get on with college - get out of NYC and my life there.

The Peace Corps wasn't yet a clear part of my future, but it seemed like a great idea. In the end, I went straight to college and I am glad that I did. How useless I would have been if I had gone to the Peace Corps as only a high school graduate? All of the qualifications I have that make me eligible for this assignment are from opportunities I sought out during college. I probably wouldn't have been selected or I would've gotten the crappiest assignment. Either way, it doesn't matter, because I've come to this adventure now.

I am so excited to go. This experience means so much to me (and I'm not even there yet!). I know I'll be leaving so much behind and, only now, five weeks before I leave, has that thought struck a nervous chord. There is so much to sort out here and hold on to for when I'm gone. But, on the other hand, I know that I am going to grow, learn and absorb so much in the next two years.

I just have to pace myself and enjoy my fleeting time here at home. Remeber to breathe and take it all in, because when I get to Burkina Faso, it's gonna be a long time before I have my feet on the ground again. A long time with a lot of learning and patience.

Baby steps.