 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Daily life in Burkina Faso
This page contains daily life snippets which were originally in the section This Week but have become "old news". I choose to keep them here since these stories really reflect our experience of living and working as a volunteer in Burkina Faso. Hopefully, some of you will find these interesting in some ways and perhaps even relate to them...
December 14, 2007
Asking for help...
It has been awhile now that I've felt overwhelmed with life. It seems here that it takes so much more energy to "manage life" and do the cooking, errands, repairs and cleaning. And it has been too much for me. I finally decided to act on this and hired a full-time house help named Daniel whose tasks are to do everything - daily cleaning of the house, cooking, preparing of food, shopping, repairs. And this has been a huge relief for me and now I feel truly like a new man, happy and smiling. I use all this new free time to spend with Remi and begin once again to do activities, writing, alphabet. I bought some nice books and so some reading to him, trying to stimulate his language ability which is improving very slowly. So for lunch every day, I get a nice fruit salad waiting for me, and I showed Daniel how to make a killer quiche with a nice crust. Hoorray again for recognizing my limits and doing something about it to improve my life. Very cool indeed.
December 22, 2007
Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année 2008!
Wow, already the year 2007 almost over, and yes, what a year it has been! Learning to be a dad, leaving Nepal, crossing the world to discover a new continent with Burkina Faso, a new adoption project, exciting work, many new great friends, heat-heat-heat, and a general sense of inner satisfaction. Not bad, hein? Today we went to Rémi's school for the Xmas celebration with songs from each class, a "mise- en-scène" of the nativity story by very cute children and the coming, of course, of the African Santa with toys for all the kids - planes for the boys and dolls for the gals (they were all good this year!). I love these school events and I am one of those over-eager parents with the camera on at all times (I got mine repaired for 50$!), trying desperately to get a good shot of my little guy. Yesterday, he surprised me when he said: "Je m'appelle Rémi Tudel (can't yet say the "r")". The school must have taught him his last name because I hadn't yet. In hearing him say it, the sense of pride I felt was huge.
My house helper Daniel has been a gift from Heaven. It has taken such a huge load off my shoulders that I have been exhausted as the stress comes down a few notches. He comes at 6:30 in the morning, washes dishes, prepares our breakfast, cleans the house, makes a nice fruit salad for lunch every day, etc. Except that once this week he put cucumber in the fruit salad!? When I asked him why, he answered that he had wanted to put apple (and the 2 look alike?). I showed him how to make and roll a nice pie crust, and today I was ready to coach him into making a nice apple pie and a chicken/vegetable pie. We went through all the steps in great details, showed him how to do some, then went out. When I came back, the pies were in the oven and looked fantastic. I don't know why but I asked him if he had made an apple and a chicken/vege pie. He looked puzzled, then got nervous, babbled incoherent words and it took 10 minutes to finally understand that he had put the chicken with the apple pie, and the vegetables in the other! So we took it out, threw out the apple/chicken pie (tho a creative effort) and started over again. Ripped the top crust of the other to add the chicken before making a new crust, then back in the oven. All this effort, and it was worth it! The best chicken pot pie and the most stupendous apple pie for miles around, not doubt.
On Xmas Eve's day all volunteers are invited to our director's house, Angèle, from 3 pm onward. I made the invitation and am the events coordinator for this sought-after event of the capital. I have planned a treasure hunt for the kids, a dard tournament for the adults, Xmas singing, Santa Claus visit, food and more food. I am responsible for making 2 tourtières (meat pies) and will make sure to supervise Daniel closely on Monday so as not to find peanut butter in it! Then probably Xmas dinner on the 25 with the volunteers. On the 26, I leave for Senegal for 6 days to visit my dear friend Marie-Annick who has been there as a volunteer for over 6 months. It will be nice to see the ocean, change the scenery and catch up on gossip and life woes and thralls. I will usher the new year in Senegal, and will be thinking of each one of you. Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to ya all!
December 25, 2007
A very jolly Xmas indeed!
I think it was the best Xmas in many years! Last year, Rémi and I spent it on our own on a beach in Thailand. I was fun then, but this year we were surrounded by friends and other kids. So more fun for him and more of a Xmas spirit. We all went to our director's house for Xmas Eve - about 20 people and 7 kids. There was lots of food and I made a killer meat pie (tourtière). Some people and kids dared to swim in the pool, tho the water was quite chilly and Rémi kept shivering. We all had fun with the treasure hunt game and singing Xmas carols (I had printed lyrics of course!). Then later in the evening, the "men" debated who was going to be Santa Claus and in the end, it was me who got the honour. I was thrilled and enjoyed it immensely, and I don't think Rémi recognized me tho some of the older kids did. A really fun evening for all. The next day, many of us went to Antoine's for Xmas night dinner and had a great time yet again.
January 11, 2008
And a new year has begun...
I feel so blessed that each year is richer and better then the previous one! I manage to go after my dreams and this fills me with happiness. I can only wish you the same, and a year rich in experiences and satisfaction! At our end things are going well. The weather is actually cooler now with the nights that can go down to 10-15 C and the days climb to 30-40 C. People here find it very cold, and I must agree that the huge variation does feel drastic. I even started to wear warm pyjamas when I get up and sometimes, even long sleeves in the morning. Then as the day progresses, I peel off layers and find myself at the end of the day in shorts and a tank top. Rémi's fetish is wearing socks which he loves...
January 21, 2008
Goodbye Daniel!
Dear oh dear... I had to let Daniel go this morning. He was a big help with the house chores but he was really nervous/anxious and kept screwing up: opening a jar of tomato sauce, using a bit and putting the jar in the cupboard instead of the fridge, leaving the gaz stove on all day, making heavy-heavy cake, burning what he cooked, etc. So today I said enough and thank you, goodbye. Now I need to find a replacement since this kind of help has made my life here so much easier.
I just came back from 2 days in Léo for work. There I helped the women of the shea butter association (beurre de karité) to improve their soap. We tried two new recipes - lavender and green apple.... it went really well and my experience with Carmen Kisito has really served me. These women work so hard and are very open to improving their products and trying new things. I always come back from there energized! It's a 3 hour bus ride and it stops many times along the way either to let passengers get on or off, along with their luggage, chickens, bicycle and huge bags - so it takes awhile...
I am thrilled to report that we now have locally grown strawberries and they are delicious. So I buy them almost everyday and have been eating tons of them. They now cost about 4$ per kg but it should eventually go down to 2$. When it does, I will buy 10 kg to make jam and pies. Yummmmy! And we have just started getting broccoli which I love eating raw with mayonnaise. These things we take for granted back home since we have them all year around, but not here!
Next weekend we will go to Nazinga wildlife reserve not too far from Ouaga - they mainly have wild elephants and it should be nice to go there with Rémi. Some friends who just returned said it was wonderful and they saw many elephants up close. Pictures and a story to follow next week!
February 3, 2008
Volunteer posting hunting in full swing!
Now is time to look for my next posting so as to make sure that I can start in mid-June. I cannot afford to be without allowance in Canada for a long period of time. My first choice now would be Senegal, but at this point there is not much in my field - there is a posting as Specialist in Commercialization for dairy industries but this seems out of my league. There is another one for Specialist in peanut commercialization in a fair-size town out in the boonies. Again, not much enthusiasm on my part (I want to be on the coast near water!). And now a new posting has opened in Guinea Conakry as Communication Advisor working with 4 NGOs to develop tools like news bulletin, web site, pamphlets. This seems more up my alley and still a nice challenge, tho I have heard many horror stories about that country (violence, security problems, frequent electricity and water shortages, etc.) BUT, it is by the sea. So I am off to Guinea next week for 8 days to check it out and meet with the CECI director. If I like it enough and can see myself there for one year, then I will try to push my application. Otherwise, I will shift my focus towards Vietnam or Nepal. So stay tuned to find out where the wonderful Trudel duo will end up next!
February 22, 2008
Appreciating Burkina Faso !
The trip to Guinea and Mali have definitely put Burkina Faso into a much more positive light. True, we don't get hassled here by cops, and we are lucky to have electricity and water. And comparing with other postings, boy is it nice being able to work in French and communicate directly with our partners. No such thing in Vietnam. We had to always have translators with us, and it made working sessions and conferences so hard to follow. Well, after considering my options carefully between Senegal, Guinea, Vietnam and Nepal - I have decided to go for a posting in Central Vietnam, Danang. Now I wait to hear from the partner to see if he can wait for me until June. So this is not confirmed yet. Still, I have done all my homework, and at this point I truly trust that I am in a position to make a sound decision and that something will work out. Tomorrow I am off with Rémi to visit the folks in Leo, 3 hours away. This is where the René family lives, and this Saturday will be the Yam Festival (wish you were there, hein?). This is THE event of the year for this little town, and our shea butter (karité) partner there has been making soap like crazy for sale at this event. And yours truly has made a small promo poster for the occasion. So just a couple of days to get out of town and boogy down with the folks of Leo. Full report on this on Monday !
February 25, 2008
The Yam festival of Léo!
On Friday, we picked up Rémi at school early and headed for Léo, where the René family lives. I was going to help out for the yam festival for the sale of the new soaps Numana. I had to bring 20 L of palm oil plus kitchenware which was to be given as prizes for a cooking contest. Thank God, CECI had arranged for a car to take us there...
We arrived in the evening and headed for the René household. Rémi was happy to see the kids and soon they were running around the house and having a good time. That evening, there was a theatre production with local kids of dance and improv The next day, I had to get to work early to prepare all the presents for the officials and for the winners of the shea butter quiz. At the Maison des Jeunes, we had a booth set up for sale of the soaps. The rest of the area had booths with piles of huge yams for sale. At the ceremony, there were 200 guests with officials sitting on chair in the shade while the local population was kept at bay to watch in the scorching sun. There was a bit of dance with men dressed in feathers and masks. And then all the usual speeches. Finally the guests were escorted to the booths and for refreshments, again as the locals were kept away. Once they had gone around, they exited and got into their large SUV and were driven to a large banquet. Only then was the population "allowed" to enter the festival grounds. The soaps were quite popular and we sold large quantities. People were interested to hear about our 5 varieties and the different active ingredients - honey, milk, lavender, apple. Rémi stayed home with the kids and played all day while I helped out at the booth. In the afternoon, the festival was already coming to an end and we got a ride back to Ouagadougou.
March 3, 2008
Party and goodbyes!
On Friday we had a get together to say goodbye to a few short term volunteers and our friend Jean-François. So we all met at Antoine for a cock-e-tail and chatted for awhile before they all headed out to a restaurant and then to the bars for some dancing and partying. For Rémi and I, we called it a night early and let the young ones paint the town red. The next day, another volunteer had planned a party at his house with local musicians, food and a camp fire on the street (something we could not do in downtown Montreal!). Thank God there were all the neighbourhood kids over so Rémi had plenty of friends to play with. Particularly, there was a 3 year old kid who really took to Rémi and followed him around for the whole evening. Rémi held his hand and it was nice to see him play the "big brother" role! Sunday night we went to town to the Vietnamese restaurant for dinner. We are still waiting to hear whether I have the posting in Vietnam or not. So stay tuned for more news on this....
March 7, 2008
Vietnam is a no-go...
Ouff, the search for the next posting is getting a bit tough and I am starting to loose sleep over it. First the high hopes on Senegal didn't turn out, and now it seems like Vietnam is getting the same result. The posting in Danang would have to be 10 months which would mean that CECI would not be able to recognize Rémi is my dependant (minimum one year contract). This would result in a lower allowance, plus no benefit for him such as plane fare, medical insurance, vaccination, etc. This is not even an option that we could afford. So third in line now is Nepal, and I hope that this works out otherwise we will find ourselves without an income very soon. Each year, this is a nerve racking period for me and tho I do my best to trust that the best thing will come along, it is not easy not knowing what our future holds, especially now with family responsibilities. So keep your fingers crossed for us !
We are not sure what is really going on, but this week we have had major power cuts of up to 8 hours per day! So the refrigerator gets pretty warm and we have to eat dinner by candlelight. Some say it is due to the hot season which has begun, others say this is quite unusual even for this time of year. It has become pretty hot already tho the mercury will keep climbing to reach its climax in April. For now it is a mere 42 C in the shade! We have now stopped heating water for our morning bath and have resumed taking a cold shower twice a day. Rémi loves to draw, so this week I bought him a nice drawing board and he is enjoying it quite a bit... We have nothing special planned for the weekend, except returning to the swimming pool for the first time since the fall.
March 18, 2008
Keeping our chin up and fingers crossed...
Nepal is busy these days so I am still waiting to hear whether there is a posting there for me. In the meantime, I noticed a very interesting one in Sri Lanka as Livelihood Development Advisor, right up my alley supporting small businesses' development. Only hic is - the volatile situation there, ethnic violence, security issues, possibility of evacuation. So now what ? I haven't got a clue and hoping that the Universe brings along the right thing for us.
On that positive note, I met a woman from Québec who is here with her 4 year old son. We met at the American Club and hit it off, as did our 2 boys. So the next day we had them over for dinner, and it was nice to have so much in common and share. So now we have 6 more weeks and I hope that we get to see each other a lot. Remi has been saying his new friend's name over and over, asking when we'll see him again...
I just returned from 4 days out west in Bobo where I worked with one of my partner organisations. We had to look over a pamphlet I am working on, plus a publicity poster and the web site. A lot of work which seems to be coming along slowly but surely. I hope to finish all my projects by the time my mandate is over. But that is not only in my hands and depends a lot on my partners and their availability to work with me...
March 23, 2008
Rémi's little brother
Angèle is working out very well as full-time cook and household helper. I have been training her now for over one month, showing her all the recipes I know. This way, she is developing her skills and it will be easier for her to find a job by the time I leave. I am even making an ad for her that I will post at the supermarkets listing her skills and dishes she can make. So after the 2 cooks I had to fire, this turned out to be the right decision. She also does the cleaning and the shopping so it is a big help. Plus, she comes on Saturday for half a day and on Sunday with her son Anise. The 2 of them have so much fun together that they are like brothers...
It has been strawberry season here now for 2 months and I have never eaten so many in my life. I buy about half a kilo per day and eat them in fruit salad, freeze them to eat in the evening like sorbet balls, make strawberry cake, pies and jam. They now cost only 1,50$ per kg so that at least is a real bargain here. We also have nice papaya, pineapple, banana (tho this is not the season), grapefruit, oranges (not so good tho) and imported apples from South Africa. We also have nice avocadoes which Rémi loves, so we have one every day with a papa's special dressing (soya sauce, oil, vinegar and spices).
March 31, 2008
The heat is on !
Yep, the mercury keeps climbing with 42 C in the shade ! Thank God most days we have electricity so we can have fans on or if we're lucky, air con. Otherwise this would be pretty close to Hell's gates. But we manage. We're back at the pool every weekend and having cock-e-tails with friends to chill (no pun intended!). We are still anxiously waiting re my next mandate - it seems a toss now between a return to Nepal (mandate still to be created) or Sri Lanka (we need to find a French home tutor for Rémi). I am winding down my work here tho I am extremely busy trying to finish all the marketing tools that I started. One of these is a promotional poster for shea butter. I am also preparing for a training on web design which I will deliver next week. And of course, we have started the count-down to departure with 5 weeks to go to May 3rd. See ya all soon sweet baboons !
April 6, 2008
Saving Roxy!
We had a real scare this week when Roxy started throwing up her food and water, then stopped eating and drinking altogether. I waited a couple of days to see if it would pass, but it didn't. Then came the task of finding a vet here which I was dreading, with reason. I finally found one, a little shack with a couple of shelves and a rusted metal table. 20 chickens tied at their feet passed before Roxy and the prognosis was that we had to de-worm her. Trust, trust that that woman is a vet even tho she does not look like she knows anything. No, screw that, second opinion needed here - we can't take chances on Roxy's health. So she tells me there is a big vet clinic where they can do more tests so off I go, never finding this elusive place once the cab takes me to the address. I get another cab and he tells me about another place so off we go. They give Roxy a couple of shots, confirm that the anti-worm is a good thing to do and we return home. She does not eat or drink for 2 days and each morning, we return to the clinic for more shots. At least she has stopped vomiting and seems to drink. Plus I manage to give her chicken soup with a syringe to keep her from getting weaker. She no longer moves or barks and the house is suddenly so quiet. She is limp and I keep worrying that she will die. I tell her that Remi and I have plenty of adventures ahead and we want her to come along with us. Day 5, today, Roxy finally starts eating again and I feel a huge relief. I think she's out of danger...To celebrate this, Rémi has drawn a superbly nice elephant...
April 15, 2008
Preparing to leave...
Yes, finally after one year of taking it all in, making the most of it, testing my limits beyond where I have before, it is almost time to call it a day. And not too soon. I am thrilled that I came here to Burkina Faso so I will leave with rich experiences that have profoundly affected me. For now, I am wrapping up projects at work, giving away things from home, and collecting money for sold items. I am taking advantage of fun moments with friends, and we have now made it almost a tradition to go to Chez Simon restaurant every weekend - it has the best pizza in all of Ouaga. Last weekend we also went to a potlock party where there were lotsa kids, so time is going by nicely. Roxy started to throw up again and the vets have no idea what the problem is. And we cannot do any blood tests here. So yet again, I am taking this into my own hands and testing foods, having a hunch that it might be the beef we were giving her that is either too high on protein or contaminated. Since I stopped giving it to her and switched to imported ham (nothing but the best, hein?), she has stopped being sick. Crossing my fingers for now because I am exhausted and I want us 3 to make it to the end and then home in one piece...
April 21, 2008
Going to the zoo of the President..
Last Saturday, we had managed to make a reservation to go visit the zoo of the President of Burkina Faso which requires a special permission from the Maire's office and money of course. The René with the 3 kids were coming from Léo by bus and were supposed to arrive at 9 am. But their bus broke down on the way, and they had to wait for another one to pass by, pay again and finally make it to Ouaga at 11 am. We hit the road at 11:30 and got to Ziniaré 35 km away by 12:30, at which time the heat was at its peak hovering around 50 C in the sun ! At the zoo, the guards made us pay extra since we were late and we strolled thru the hot sun to see a few animals here and there - 2 giraffes, one zebra, 2 hippos, lions, monkeys. All of them in a very barren environment. Still, Rémi got to see these animals for the first time so for that it was well worth it. But I was happy to leave and anxious to get home, pick up our bag and head for the pool. Only when I was refreshed in cool water did a smile start to creep on my face again. Really, in such heat the only sensible thing to do is to either hit the pool or bask in air con, which I did for 2 hours when I got home to chill down to the bone.
On Sunday I went swimming again in the morning, then came home and started packing for our big trip. Just going through our stuff and deciding what to keep and what to give away. Some of the furniture has started to go like the desk and chairs, Rémi's bed and one bookshelf. So Rémi now sleep with the mattress on the floor, and slowly the place is starting to look like we are leaving, which feels good.
April 28, 2008
Farewell party !
Today I prepared a feast with chicken fried nuggets, fried zucchini sticks, Nachos with guacamole et salsa, cheeses, pâté, snacks et a killer fruit punch with tequila, beer, wine and porto ! And I invited other volunteers to come to my place and celebrate our departure. I had decided to make it a no-kids party so that we could chat and enjoy the evening in peace. I had planned 2 activities - a Burkina Faso trivia with men against women and a pillow-case-throw-the-water-balloon contest. We all had a great time till midnight, eating, drinking, chatting and playing. All in all, a great way to go out with a a bang in the company of some amazing folks who have made the past year memorable with their friendship. I will miss them dearly and look forward to seeing them again. 5 more days to go and we'll be on a plane home !