Journeys and Homecomings

As most of you probably know, I was home a couple weeks ago for my sister's wedding!!! It was a pretty packed week, but so so wonderful!!

Here are some highlights/observations from the trip there and the trip back.

The journey (yes, I quite like calling it a journey):

30 min bike ride

3.5 hr bus ride

6 hr flight

11 hr flight

3 hr flight

1 hr car ride

JOURNEY 1

1. I knew I was off to a good start when all the teachers at my school stopped by my house after their morning classes on Friday to wish me a bon voyage and to give me a gift to pass on to the happy couple!! They are too sweet.

Also my homologue and my director took me out for dinner in Tenkodogo, again just to wish me a bon voyage. It was really fun and too nice of them.

2. Both in Ouaga and JFK people asked me to help them with their customs forms. Apparently I have "yes I would love to help you" written all over my face.

3. It wasn't until I arrived at the Istanbul airport and saw the standard airport architecture (i.e., lots of glass) that I realized how little glass there is in my life...literally only when I'm having lunch at a nice hotel or doing work in the Peace Corps office do I see glass windows. Weird.

4. So to leave the Istanbul airport, obviously I needed a visa - $30 cash at the desk with a person, or $20 with a credit card at an automated kiosk. Apparently their kiosks only take credit cards with a chip in them, and my bank missed the memo and so denied my attempt to withdraw cash. At this point I had no working cell phone (only Burkina phones with no service), so I took turns with a couple other people on a courtesy phone, and spent over an hour trying to fix the problem. Luckily for me, when the bank's customer service was closed for the weekend, my parents came through and saved the day!!! (At 2am their time, no less!)

5. I'm officially obsessed with Istanbul. I will spare you the details but it's beautiful and the people are really nice and if you're lucky a 50 year old man will invite you to drink tea with him and his friends outside their rug store.

HOMECOMING 1

1. Pretty sure anyone on my flight into New Orleans thought it was my first time on a plane. We landed right before sunset and took the loop around the city, so my face was smushed to the window for a solid twenty minutes.

2. After a joyous welcome and a delicious sushi dinner, I was home and found out my parents had left Christmas up for me!!!! I'm sure postponing the job was a nice silver lining of that ;)

JOURNEY 2

1. It was a bit crazy, but my first attempt to head back on Monday was foiled by a cancelled flight, so the next chance I had wasn't until Wednesday. On Wednesday, between a delayed first flight and a problem finding me in Turkish Air's system, I wasn't sure I'd make my flight from JFK. ll I could think was, "if I don't make this flight, peace corps is going to start thinking I'm doing it on purpose..." But I made it!!! Last person on the plane, but made it!

2. The Turkish Airlines flight attendants chose to greet me in Turkish, while I heard them greeting other people in English. Apparently my "sure, I totally understand you face," usually reserved for conversations in French and Mooré (a) works a little too well, and (b) is now just how my face looks. Either that or I just look Turkish, I guess.

3. Stayed in Ouaga to do my quarterly report, but after an absurd amount of computer problems, ended up having to stay an extra night there to get it done. Went to the bus station Sunday for the 10:30 bus, but it was full so I had to wait until the 1:30... I was afraid it would be dark by the time I got to Tenkodogo (we're not allowed to travel at night, and I still had the bike ride ahead of me), but I had class Monday at 7am so I didn't have much of a choice. I figured I could stay in Tenkodogo if I had to, and bike reeeeally early Monday morning, but as it turns out it wasn't necessary! 

HOMECOMING 2

1. Did my standard waves and greetings on the way to my village and everyone seemed so excited to see me!!! And THEN as I got close, some of my neighbor kids (3 boys, ages 8-15) came and met me and we made a cute little parade back to my house!!!

2. Not five minutes after they left, I heard Claude and Claudine shouting my name from the walkway and running to see me! And then Nadez and Isa came too!!

So to sum it all up:

1. It was an epic journey (both ways)

2. I love Istanbul

3. It was so unbelievably good to be home

4. I need to keep taking vacations if only to enjoy the adorable and heartwarming welcome back committee

The end! More village updates soon!

xo, chlo