Roommates, Creatures, and Vermin

Life with furniture is pretty incredible. I won't be in to Tenkodogo to use real internet to post pictures for a few more days, but for now I thought I'd tell y'all about the creatures in my life over here!

On the periphery, there are the chickens that sometimes wander into my courtyard, my neighbors' goats who graze in the fields around my house, and the cows that sometimes block the road.

HOWEVER! Here are the four that are really part of my life (in order from my feelings of amicable coexistence to utter loathing):

1. Lizards

(Status: Roommate)

One of the first things we noticed after we landed in Ouaga was that THERE ARE SO MANY LIZARDS EVERYWHERE. 

They come in a variety of sizes (I feel like I'm trying to sell lizards here, but it's true) but I'm not sure if they're different ages of the same type of lizard or different types altogether. 

The smallest ones are super cute, probably two inches long - and sometimes they're spotted!

Medium ones are most similar in size to geckos at home (or maybe just a touch bigger), although they're a bit wider and flatter (and brown), so not nearly as adorable.

The big guys are freaking huge - their bodies are usually a solid five inches long (and then plus tails) and about an inch wide. One volunteer has seen one of these eat a mouse!!!!

I generally feel very favorable towards the lizards because even though they hang out on the walls inside my house a lot, they pretty much stay out of my way. Also they eat bugs and have no interest in human food.

And they're just amusing!! They chase each other around my courtyard walls, and once, I opened my front door and the one on the screen door got so terrified that it kept falling off the wall in its attempt to run away. Maybe I should feel bad for finding that funny, but I really don't.

2. Ants

(Status: Roommate)

Several different types of ants, some bite and some don't, but ALL of them are super cool in that if I kill a cricket in my house, or drop a tiny speck of food, within minutes a little troop of ants will have arrived and removed it (and then disappeared again). It's really quite cool to see!

3. Bats

(Status: Creature)

There is a family of bats living in my latrine. Also the trees right outside my courtyard walls seem to be a popular neighborhood, because come dusk, there are tons swooping around.

They don't bother me much, but considering they could give me rabies if they ever chose to turn on me AND that they could fly out any time I'm doing my business in the latrine, I do regard them with a certain amount of wariness.

I have dubbed the latrine bats "the Addams Family" because they're a bit dark, but you know, not entirely unpleasant!

I like to think we've come to a bit of an understanding - I clack the latrine door shut a few times before going in, so they know I'm there and won't be tempted to fly out*. My initial thinking was that maybe the sound would hurt their delicate little ears, and then they would learn to associate the sound with a human presence. I'm not sure if it actually works, but there's been no wing-butt contact**, so it doesn't NOT work.

*I don't think Burkinabe bats know that they're supposed to be nocturnal.

**I have a volunteer friend who cannot say the same.

4. Mice

(Status: Vermin)

I despise mice. I had a constant visitor at my host families house, and it was awful. Needless to say, the first time I saw one at site I was not happy, but also not entirely surprised because there is a little hole in the corner of my extra room.

Silver lining: at least in my own house I can kill them.

So, yes, I've now killed two mice. Both were disgusting experiences. At first I couldn't find poison, so I had to use this weird sticky trap about the size of a piece of paper. It didn't even seem that sticky, so I was sure it would never work. 

Fortunately (or not, I still haven't really decided), it did work, and one morning I woke up and saw the mouse stuck to the cardboard. The image of a mouse trying to pull its skin from gluey cardboard will forever be burned in my memory.

A couple weeks later: another mouse. Found some poison this time, thank God. Not much better though - I was making my coffee and I hear a noise behind me. Mouse crawls slowly into my main room, pauses and stares at me, twitches a bit, and dies. YES, I LITERALLY WATCHED IT DIE OF POISON. 

Disturbing, but I really can't bring myself to feel bad because I HATE mice. Mostly I just want a cat to take care of any future intruders.

Note: As if mice eating your food and papers and just generally being disgusting wasn't enough, the mice here CLIMB WALLS. Literally climb up vertical walls. No, I don't know of any other type of walls, but seeing one in action (in my shed/storage building thing) was a truly terrifying sight. Nowhere is safe.

Notably absent:

1. Mosquitos:

Really don't notice them much. I pretty much stay inside once it starts getting dark, and the screen door/screens on windows make my house a safe haven. Sometimes one gets in but it never lasts long... :)

2. Flies:

Y'all know my opinions on the flies already (see my September post), and while those opinions have not changed, the flies have headed for greener pastures. No literally, I got some kids from my 5eme class to come dig up all the weedy grass that popped up in my courtyard at the end of rainy season and since then, the fly problem has been much better! 

Also I'm really glad I didn't try to do it all myself (as I had planned to do) because it took five kids almost an hour. More on children as minions in another post, because it really is amusing.

The end :)

xo, chlo

My Life on the Floor

Tried to post this last week, but it didn't go through. I think it was fate, because my furniture is ready and coming home with me TODAY!!! In honor of that wonderful news, here are pictures of my life on the floor, as promised (to my parents, at least):

Two views of my big main room. And no, you're not crazy, I took one picture during the day and the other at night. :)

Peace Corps Burkina Faso Packing List

Apologies to friends and family: this post is mostly for future PCBF volunteers...

A packing list is kind of a requirement for peace corps blogs, so here's mine! I hope someone finds it useful.

CLOTHING

Shirts - I brought about 5-7 t-shirts, and then I got here and found out they wanted our shoulders completely covered for training sessions (i.e., not even sleeveless), so I had my sister send me a few more. There will be some weekends where you can't do laundry, so I'd suggest enough t shirts for 2 weeks of training days (12 days).

Then again, that's mostly because I'm both lazy and a creature of habit, and had no desire to wash clothes on a weeknight after getting home at 5. Some people did that when necessary, but I preferred to wait until the weekend to do it in the morning.

Not sure why, but I didn't rewear shirts all that often during stage. At site, I find myself wearing the same couple shirts over and over again.

Tank Tops - I brought 3 tank tops (with straps that cover bra straps) and 3 nicer sleeveless shirts. Good move/amount for me. I mostly wear tank tops at site.

Pants - I like pants. I also figured (correctly) that it's easier to get skirts made here than pants. I brought 2 long pants and 3 that roll to just below my knees. This was a lot, but they were all linen-y and after two years, only two pairs remain un-ripped.

Jeans

Leggings - you'll want leggings to wear under shorts if you want to run, and (my favorite) you can also get longer tunics made here to wear with leggings

Skirts - I only brought 1 jersey maxi skirt and at first I thought I should have brought more (and fewer pants), but I've since changed my mind. I rarely wear it now (it's not the easiest to bike in) but it was nice to have at first.

Shorts - 2 nike shorts, 2 Patagonia. During stage, I would wear shorts under my pagne skirts and then take off the pagne skirt during the 1.5hr lunch breaks just to remember what air felt like on my legs. It was awesome.

Now I can also do that in my own courtyard! :)

Socks - I brought 3 pairs thinking I might go for runs or something. I don't, really, but it's still nice to have socks. I keep a pair in my bed in case it gets cold at night (yes, it DOES get cold sometimes!!)

Underwear - If you're into underwear, bring enough for 2 weeks. If you're not, 5ish is probably good. I would recommend bringing some just in case.

Bras - I brought 2 sports bras and 3 regular. Works for me.

MISC CLOTHING

Belt - haven't needed it, but hey why not? Some people (especially guys) lose a lot of weight.

Swim suit - I brought both a 1 piece and a 2. Oddly enough, Burkinabe modesty does not extend to the swimming pool, so besides the first time we went swimming, I always wore my normal go-to bikini.

Rain Jacket

Scarf/shawl thing - I mostly just use a pagne, but that's just me.

Sweatshirt - As I said, it DOES get cold here! Only wore it one morning during stage, but I'm pretty sure I'd freeze at night during cold season if I didn't have it.

Hat - I never wear hats in the states so I'm not really sure why I thought I'd wear one here.

Sunglasses

Chacos - only bring if you wear chacos at home!! I wore them all the time at home but don't really wear them here

Birkenstocks - My go-to shoes. At the beginning of stage, they said they wanted us to wear shoes with straps at the back and to look professional, etc., but I figured my Birks looked a whole lot more professional than my chacos, so I wore them. No one seemed to mind.

Tennis Shoes - Again, thought I might run sometimes. Nice to have just in case, and hey, not ruling out the possibility of "faire du sport."

Havaianas or other shower shoes - you can easily get these here. I didn't bring any, and within a week my host dad insisted on buying me some.

TOILETRIES

They say to bring a three month supply of toiletries. For me, the only things for which that meant "bring 2," was deodorant and body wash. Although you can easily get soap here, too.

Med unit supplies everything you need, including:

Sunscreen, bug spray, floss, diva cup, basic OTC meds

**if you have any weird prescriptions, definitely bring enough to get you through stage. The med unit will provide it, but if it's not something they normally keep in stock, they'll have to order it, which obviously takes time.

Face Wash

Moisturizer

Make up - bringing/wearing make up when you want to does not make you a diva. you're not camping for two years.

Deodorant

Toothbrush

Toothpaste (Colgate is easily found here)

Floss

Mirror

Shampoo/Conditioner - I have always believed that 2 in 1 is where it's at, and bucket baths convinced me further of this fact

Soap holder/container

Loofa

Razor

Razor blades

Fingernail clippers

Tweezers

Contacts (yeah, yeah, not supposed to wear them...I wore them all through stage and switched to glasses for site)

Contact solution

Glasses (2 pair but one is an old prescription, so if my first pair breaks, I think I'm going to let PC buy me new ones...)

Rubber bands

Bobby pins

Hair clips

Nail polish - my host sisters (and mom!) loved painting our toe nails, and so do my neighbors! :)

Q-tips - you can buy more here

Towel - I didn't bring one and I don't miss it. Got a cheap pagne the first day in Ouaga to use as a towel

GENERAL

Cards, phase 10

Water bottle - I brought a Tulane nalgene, hoping it might foster a bit of heretofore absent school spirit. I think it's worked!

Flashlight - I had a mini mag light (the one that's like 6 inches long), and I used it around village all the time but when the batteries died and I found that the battery compartment was stuck shut w battery acid, I wasn't too concerned. The cheap phones you use here all have flash lights on them.

Black Diamond Apollo Lantern

Headlamp - I have the Petzl Tikka something and it's pretty awesome

Leatherman Wave - I don't use it that often but when I do, I'm very glad that I have it

Leatherman field knife - highly recommend. Makes things like avocado sandwiches and mangoes on the go a reality.

Thermarest - I used mine during site visit (when I was sleeping on the ground in an empty house), but I did appreciate it then. Now I roll it out when I have more than one guest. A lot of people bring them whenever they visit other volunteers, but by now I don't really mind just sleeping on a concrete floor.

Bug hut - I sleep in mine every night. Recommend, although you can easily buy one when you get here from someone who's COSing.

Duct tape

Watch

Pillow - It's true, the pillows here are awful. I brought a little travel pillow but some people brought their normal pillows from home. I'm happy with my choice but that may be because I'm not really a pillow person. Completely up to you.

REI Flex Lite Chair - I didn't think to bring this, but my sister and brother-in-law gave it to me as a going-away gift and IT IS AWESOME. I think it might be my most highly prized possession in this country. I sit in it for hours every day. (I'm sitting in it right now!)

Is it required? Of course not.

Do most volunteers have one? Not sure but I don't think so.

I didn't use it during stage, but I have a new site (i.e., I'm not replacing a volunteer) and moved into an empty house. When I had no furniture, it was literally my only chair. Even though I have furniture now, I still use this chair during the day, because it's so light and easy to move around to follow the shade in my courtyard.

Hammock - I brought one but have no posts in my courtyard yet to put it up. I've tried other people's though, and it's awesome. Nice to have but certainly not strictly necessary

Scissors

Pens, pencils, highlighters

Spiral notebooks - Most notepads here are graph paper, so these aren't really necessary unless you despise graph paper. I love graph paper, but I also do like having separate, sturdy notebooks for lesson plans.

KITCHEN/FOOD

Ziplocs - I brought one box each of quart and gallon size, and I don't think I'll ever need more, but I appreciate having them

Tupperware - Highly recommend. I brought one pack each of a small/medium and a bit bigger. Definitely recommend, might even recommend one more pack. Maybe that's just because so I use the smaller size as bowls...

Spatula

Can opener - heard you can't find them here but to be honest, I didn't even look bc I brought this one

Veg Peeler - same as can opener

Good non-stick pan - I'm almost positive that I could have gotten a comparable one in Ouaga, so probably not really necessary

Kitchen knives - knives here, not so good. I brought two Kuhn Rikon knives (one serrated) that I already had, and I'm glad I did. I appreciated the little covers that come with KR's. Also they're so pretty! :)

Knife sharpener - I didn't bring one and I've never felt like I needed one. Both of my knives are still doing just fine.

Spices - Tony Chachere's, Taco Seasoning (old El Paso makes a shaker container!), and Zoe's Kitchen "Spice of Life" << a very much appreciated gift :)

You can get most spices in Ouaga, but mixes certainly make things easier

Barbecue sauce - holy moly do I love having BBQ sauce or WHAT. It's also really fun to make the Burkinabe try it. At first they're very suspicious but then they taste it and they're like OMG THATS SO GOOD hahahah

If you're picky about food, go ahead and bring a box or two of granola/power bars.

Tô is not great, but your host family will make it for you. If you're the kind of person who will only be able to eat a bit to be polite, bring some bars to supplement dinner on tô nights.

I also brought peanut m&ms, goldfish, and a box of Oreos, and I very much enjoyed the taste of American junk food every once in a while. :)

ELECTRONIC

Kindle

Computer - I have not met someone who brought a computer who regrets it. I have met people who didn't, who regret THAT. Be aware that PC will give you a flash drive with lots of valuable documents on it. Also, the cell phone companies make these cool things called internet keys, which plug into a USB port and give you phone-ternet on your computer. Do with that information what you will.

Smartphone - I brought my iPhone 5c, and I'm very glad that I did. Even before I got phone-ternet, I liked being able to check my email at wifi spots without carrying my computer around all day.

Flash drives - I brought an 8 gb and a 16 gb, and haven't really needed them, but I like knowing I have them in case I do need them. There are computers in Ouaga that we can use, so I leave my computer at site and bring work back and forth via flash drive.

External Hard Drive - I brought a 1TB, loaded with a bunch of movies and shows and music that I had. Between that, media trades with other volunteers, and more downloads, it was full after a year. I'm a media hoarder, so instead of deleting anything, I bought a 2TB and sold the 1TB to another volunteer. At 5 months left, my 2TB is about 2/3 - 3/4 full.

Anker battery - this thing is the only way I survived 5 weeks at site with no solar panel.

Rechargeable batteries (eneloop) - I have never once used these but I hear they're the only rechargeables that hold their charge.

Converter/adapter (FR)

Shortwave radio - not necessary

Camera

Memory cards

Speakers - not strictly necessary, but I like being able to play music when I'm cooking or doing laundry. I splurged on a small Braven speaker. It's a bit water resistant, feels really sturdy, and can be really loud if I want. They're Bluetooth but also come with a cord, and you can get them half off through the pro deals website.

BAGS

I like being able to manage my bags by myself. If you do too, here's what I would recommend:

1 rolling duffel

1 big backpack

1 small/medium duffel (used as my carry on)

1 small day-to-day bag/backpack (used as my "personal item")

-- I didn't bring any kind of purse, but got a little bag made here out of pagne. Didn't miss having a purse in the meantime.

Eagle Creek offers a 50% discount for peace corps volunteers, so I took the opportunity to stock up on good luggage. I was a walking eagle creek advertisement in the airport, and that was just fine by me. Here were my choices, in case they help you at all:

- Gear Warrior Wheeled Duffel 32

- Rincon Vita 75L

- Medium classic duffel (I think I should have gotten the small)

If I were doing it again, I would choose a different big backpack. The one I got was great, but even empty, it feels big. I think the padded waist straps contribute a lot to that impression. A couple people in my stage had Ospreys, and they seemed lighter. 

Note: I did appreciate the waist straps while waiting in line at the airport for an hour to check bags with it on my back.

My big eagle creek backpack came with a small backpack, but I got a Timbuk2 bag (Medium, Classic Messenger, in case you were wondering) my first Christmas here and I love it.

Looking back, I would have preferred the lighter big backpack + Timbuk2 bag combination from the start.

OTHER

Gifts for host family: 

If possible, I would recommend waiting until you actually know them (also knowing how many host siblings you have and how old they are), and then having your kind family include a few things for them in a package before you finish stage.

Phone: 

As I said, I'm glad I brought my smartphone, but it's completely optional. For calls/texts in country, I use a little brick phone that I got the first day here.

If you do bring a smartphone, make sure it's unlocked and can take a SIM card!

Money:

PC will give you some money at stage for dinner that night before you leave, and airport snacks and such. I also brought a couple hundred USD, which I was glad to have for the following things:

- the symbolic last Bud Light in America ($10 at JFK. Insane, but it was fun.)

- pagne and tailoring - could have saved up for this, but it was nice not to have to

- general extra cushion for food/swimming during stage

- extra money for affectation (i.e., moving to site). PC does give you a "settling-in allowance," but big purchases (like solar panels and furniture) add up quickly, so I was glad to have a bit extra

The first day in Ouaga, PC will have a guy there to exchange money, and you can put credit/debit cards into the PC safe. Once you remove your items though (say, before you travel internationally), you can't put them back.

Packing:

We had about 5 days in Ouaga before going to our host families in Leo. Luggage was stored in a separate (locked) room, so make things easier on yourself and make your toiletries and clothes easily accessible in your bags.

Keep in mind that you won't need cooking things until site, so if you're running out of room in your bags, you can get that stuff sent to you.

And on that note - don't freak out! Anything you forget that you NEED, you can get here.

Anything you forget that you WANT, you can ask friends/family at home and if they like you enough, they'll send it. :)

Food I eat in Village

...in case you were wondering, which admittedly, you probably were not:

SOMETIMES:

- tô (if I eat with anyone)

- grilled corn (sometimes given to me by my neighbors)

- gateau (I often get a plate at the marché and share it with Rosalie, my neighbor and usual marché shopping buddy)

- potatoes (someone once gave me a cooked potato at the marché. Obviously I took it home and made mashed potatoes. It was awesome.)

- peanuts (if someone gives them to me)

MORE OFTEN

- taco lentils (lentils, tomatoes, onions, taco seasoning, and a couple wedges of laughing cow on top -- so so good, I'm serious)

- tuna salad (tuna, mayo, onion, tomato, and a generous shake of my Zoe's kitchen "spice of life," kindly gifted to me before my departure)

- omelet (if I happen to have bought eggs in Tenko recently, and they haven't gone bad yet)

- jambalaya (I have a couple boxes of zatarains that I've been carefully rationing)

- rice (when I really just want a vehicle for Tony's)

- spaghetti

- oatmeal (the magic is in the spice mix I found in Ouaga called "quatre epices," which is basically just cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Sometimes I even get bananas in Tenkodogo. And peanut butter, of course)

- chocolate milk (well, it tastes like chocolate milk but actually it's a chocolate protein powder drink thing)

- laughing cow by itself

- PB&J (yes, just mixed together. It's delicious)

- peanut butter by itself (or with some added sugar and salt to make it taste more like JIF)

- a little something I like to call village pudding (it tastes like brownie batter, I'm not even kidding. How did I happen upon this? Where there's a will, there's a way. How do you make such a thing? I'm so glad you asked!

A couple/few big spoonfuls of powdered milk, a couple normal/small spoonfuls each of cocoa powder and sugar, a bit of salt, a scoop of peanut butter, and some water until it's the right consistency. The peanut butter is not strictly necessary, but does help add a - admittedly very small - sense of legitimacy to the snack. Sometimes I like a little peanut butter flavor, but sometimes not, so adjust cocoa/sugar amount accordingly.)

---

So basically, I eat a lot of oatmeal, lentils, tuna, tomatoes, onions, and peanut butter. 

Perhaps it's not the most balanced/healthful diet, and I don't eat many vegetables besides tomatoes and onions, but what can you do?

I mean, I guess I coooould buy eggplant the next time I see it at the marché, but nothing else really appeals much to me. 

Okay, okay, I'll be honest, I could also get ready made salad at the marché, but the one time I had salad here (in Ouaga), there was a good amount dirt on the leaves, and I'm just not a big fan of that texture in a salad so I'm kind of afraid to get it again.

All told, you can very rightly assume that I've gotten very good about taking my multivitamin every day. :)

xo, chlo

A day in the life, addendum 1

So I'll admit that I was mostly worthless on Tuesday (besides an hour of class), but I promise I'm not like that every day!!!

Proof: it's only 1pm right now and I've already...

- planned most of Monday's 2 hour 6eme class

- taught 2.5 hrs of classes

- gone with my director, my homologue, and another teacher to visit my chief (which is why I only had 2.5, and not 3 hours of classes - I was literally summoned in the middle of one)

- discussed the new-baby gift to be given to my director and his wife by me, my homologue, and the English/French teacher

- chatted with my neighbor and agreed to charge her phone on my solar panel AND to go to church tonight

- added air to both bike tires

- moved my little bike bell to the right side of the handle bars so I can make it "ding a ling" with just my thumb

- FIXED my little bike bell, which included taking it apart and cleaning the tiny gears and rigging the whole thing with a bit of rubber (from the strap that holds things on the bac)k so it can be "ding-ed" without scraping along the handlebar

A day in the life

The other day, I was talking to one of my fellow volunteers, and she goes, "So....what do you do all day??"

As it turns out, she was feeling a bit worthless, so we chatted about how we'd just gotten here, and right now, getting to know people IS doing something, etc etc.

But then I figured people on the home front might also wonder what I do all day, so here's what I did yesterday!

I apologize in advance for the level of detail...as you'll see, I literally had nothing better to do. (Or at least, nothing that I wanted to do)

6:05 - snooze once, wake up, make first cup of coffee, check email/viber, realize I'm out of internet credit, transfer some and consider going into Tenko this weekend to get more

6:30 - second cup of coffee, start this log, turn on podcast ("how animal domestication works," by Stuff You Should Know)

6:50 - pause podcast to move chair into the shade.

Upon standing, look over courtyard wall and notice kids going to school (I live near the primary school); realize that I didn't go get water before school time as I had intended. Alas. Move chair, play podcast. Watch lizards eat ants while listening.

7:45 - brush teeth, get dressed, fill water bottle.

7:55 - wonder what I'm going to do until my class at 10. Enjoy breeze, look off into the distance for any hint of rain clouds. (No such luck)

8:00 - decide to read, but find myself wishing I hadn't finished The Count of Monte Cristo yesterday because I enjoyed it more than I'm enjoying book 2 of The Magicians.

8:05 - Set alarm so I don't end up being late for class. Listen to all ringtones and wonder who at apple makes up ringtones? Do they outsource that to a ringtone specialist? Whoever made the most recent ones is much better at it than whoever made the "classic" ones. Decide on "Uplift." Return to book.

9:20 - Alarm. Pack backpack, remove bike from shed (more on this upon the official presentation of my house), and realize I gave myself entirely too much time for this. Refill water bottle, put out solar panel, and have a little snack of PB&J (not a sandwich, just PB&J mixed together in a bowl).

9:40 - Depart for my school; notice that my back tire is a little low, decide to deal with it when I get back home. Immediately regret this decision when the bike ride there feels like it requires more effort than usual. Grudgingly admit to myself that if I hadn't seen that the tire was low, I probably wouldn't have noticed a difference. 

9:50 - Arrive; see my homologue!!! This is only the second time I've seen him since the day I arrived at site, so this is exciting! Chat with him, the English/French teacher, and the director for a while. Both other teachers have class at 10 too, so I figure at least I won't be the only one who's late.

10:?? - finally start class. Today is 5eme (about the equivalent of 7th grade)

11:00 - end class even though we haven't finished, because I'm nice like that. 

11:10 - almost home but see an SUV at the primary school. Oh look, it's the older French couple that I met last night at the Chief's fete for Tabaski! They (and whatever group they're with) are the people responsible for building the library in my village, but (as I have noticed) the library isn't getting much use. SO they came to do a training with the primary school teachers on how they can use it more. They shared with me some frustrations about the obstacles they face working with Burkinabe, who just don't do things the way we're used to.

11:15 - back home, change into my home clothes (tank top and shorts) and in light of how sweaty I am, add some oral rehydration salts (ORS) to my water bottle. 

11:30 - my homologue arrives to visit! A bit earlier than expected...he had said that he had class from 10-12. Hmm. Whatever. Throw on a skirt over my shorts. I show him my solar panel and we discuss furniture. He's very impressed by my calendar.

11:45 - He leaves, and as enjoyable as the visit was, I'm not entirely sure that he understood what I want as far as furniture...so I guess I'll find out at some point. Drink ORS/water while updating this log

11:55 - Wait impatiently for the kids at the primary school to go home for lunch/break time so I won't have an audience at the pump. Consider going before everyone is gone so that they'll pump for me. Organize things in my house to kill time.

12:10 - I hear a moto! It's my director, seeing if my homologue was still here. Alas, he is not. Director continues his running joke about me cooking for him by asking what I've cooked. He leaves and I listen to a class at the primary school singing something. Super cute. Note some dark clouds but I don't think it's going to rain any time soon. In case you were wondering, I have become a pretty good rain predictor. Not as good as a Burkinabe, but maybe I'll get there someday.

12:20 - excitement at the primary school is dying down, so I decide that I'll go at 12:30 to get water. Generally just sit in my chair, drink water and think about random things for a bit.

Look over and see that my vitamin and doxy blister packs (both come in sheets of ten) are off by two. That will never do; I resolve to fix that today and tomorrow.

Survey my "pantry" area and decide on tuna salad for lunch.

12:30 - put skirt on, lock door, and go get water. It takes a bit longer than usual bc some of my neighbors were there at the same time.

12:55 - get back, see a missed call from Chris, so I call him back - he was in Ouaga getting an MRI of his knee but nothing is torn! So he's very excited to be going back to site tomorrow.

1:00 - make lunch -- "make lunch" implies that I did something beyond cutting up an onion and a tomato and opening a can of tuna and a jar of mayo and mixing things together with some spices; I did not.

Fill water bottle, grab chair, phones, and kindle, and move outside.

1:10 - eat lunch

1:16 - finish lunch and realize that I eat way too quickly. Considering how slowly I do other things simply because there's no reason to rush, one would think I would take my time to eat. Maybe I'm just too good of a cook, and the food I make is too delicious not to scarf down. HA. I'm sure that's it.

1:18 - turn on data to check the news. Wait for it to load. While waiting, move solar panel to its afternoon position and then sit and look at the lizards and think about things.

Decide to burn some trash this afternoon.

Swat some flies away from my person.

Wonder if my arm jiggles when I write on the chalkboard. Decide to do start doing some tricep dips to mitigate, just in case - but not today. Maybe tomorrow.

Again notice a dead branch currently caught by other branches in the tree. Remind myself not to sit in the shade under that part of the tree until it falls.

1:30 - news still hasn't loaded so I decide to give up for now and read a bit.

1:40 - news has loaded!!!! Take this intermission to refill water bottle before going back to the book

2:30 - kindle battery dies, so I bring solar panel inside and switch the set up from charging the battery via the sun to charging devices via the battery. 

Decide to be somewhat productive, and continue the task of cleaning my nasty walls, which I started this weekend.

2:35 - put on some muzak for the project and get to scrubbin

3:30 - I'm about 2/3 done with my big room, and I decide that's enough for today.

Wash dishes from lunch and determine that it's sufficiently hot/still to burn trash easily.

Fill up bath bucket and the second bucket that I'll use to refill my water filter before I go to bed.

3:40 - burn trash

4:15 - clouds are starting to look more legit, so maybe there's hope for rain yet!! I've finished burning my trash and even tore up half of the giant box that my solar panel came in to use as future kindling - not a bad thirty minutes. Back to the book.

4:20 - the ants are persistent today!! They keep crawling onto my feet and making me crazy, but luckily I find a way to curl up in my little chair so my feet don't touch the ground. Always feels good to outsmart insects.

5:05 - the kiddos have been released from school and are joyfully expressing their approval of the hour.    The clouds haven't brought rain yet but they did bring cooler air and nice breezes, so I'm not complaining. And  I see more in the direction from which the rain likes to come, so I'm hopeful.

Refill water bottle and consider a snack. Since it'll be dark and mosquito-y soon regardless of any potential rain, I decide to postpone the snack until I'm in the house for the evening.

5:20 - CHECK ME OUT!!!! It's getting all nice and blustery!! New prediction: if it doesn't blow right past, it's gonna raaaaaain!!!!!

5:30 - the wind keeps blowing my door shut, so I'm taking that as a sign to move inside. And hey, since I'm here now, it may as well be snack time.

Make a little something I like to call village pudding. Will explain more another time, but basically it's chocolate and that's all that matters.

Hear rain start as I'm mixing. WOOHOO!

5:35 - eat village pudding and relish in the sounds of rain upon my tin roof

5:45 - return to book (which, by the way, has recently gotten more interesting)

7:05 - it stopped raining at some unknown point and I go outside to go to the latrine and notice that the full moon overhead looks positively werewolfian.

7:15 - chat w Chris a bit on his way from happy hour back to the transit house** for delivery pizza** and cards against humanity. My stomach calls out for pizza, even though I'm not actually hungry at all, so I keep reading to distract myself.

**NOTE: yes, there is in fact delivery pizza in Ouaga!!!!

And the transit house is a dorm-like house in Ouaga (property of Peace Corps Burkina Faso) that we can stay at for cheaper than a hotel - and for free if we're there for Peace Corps business!

8:45 - sad but true: about to fall asleep reading. Decide to turn off the alarm for the morning.**

Muster up the energy to take a bath and get to bed.

Fill a pot with water from bath bucket, and while it's heating up a bit, fill water filter.

Take a nice little bucket bath

**NOTE: apparently my internal clock is too good - even without the alarm, I only slept ten extra minutes.

9:00 - unplug light, and hop in bed with absolutely zero shame that I'm going to bed at 9pm

Money Matters

I figured I'd share some average (Non-Ouaga) prices with y'all because I think it's really interesting!! 

525 F CFA = $1 (last I checked)

10 cfa - text messages within Burkina

100 cfa - international text messages

1,500-2,500 cfa - 1 pagne (colorful fabric to get clothes made)

1500 cfa - tailoring for a shirt

2000 cfa - tailoring for a skirt

2500 cfa - tailoring for a dress

500 cfa - Coke/Fanta (glass bottle)

650 cfa - Brakina (one of the cheapest beers)

1000 cfa - 1L box of wine -- bottles of wine are more like 3000+

1200 cfa - 1L box of sangria

**these are those weird coated paper /cardboard boxes that you see of soy/almond milk

50 cfa - sachet of water (about 16oz)

150-300 cfa - cafe au lait

FOOD

750 cfa - package of laughing cow cheese (aka "la vache qui rit," literally "the cow who laughs" hahahahah - as you can see or may already know, French doesn't use present participles/gerunds/gerundives the way English does, so I often find literal translations hilarious)

800 cfa - can of tuna

100 cfa - 1 egg

350-500 cfa - omelet

400-500 cfa - rice with sauce

500-600 cfa - couscous with sauce

700-1000 cfa - plate of fries

1300 cfa - 200g can of oatmeal (lasts me about 2-3 weeks)

5750 cfa - 900g of powdered milk (also lasts me about 2-3 weeks)

1000 cfa - enough peanut butter to fill a JIF container

FRUIT - I think this very much depends on where you're doing the buying, but in Tenkodogo:

100 cfa - 1 banana

200 cfa - 1 red apple

250 cfa - 1 green apple

VEGETABLES - I think this is where prices vary the most depending on your negotiation skills. Vendors will make little piles of items, and usually each pile will be the same price.

For example, each little pyramid of 3-5 small tomatoes may be 50 cfa, but you can exchange tomatoes to make your own pile if you think another tomato is better/more ripe/not mushy. And you can also be like, okay I want three piles for 125 cfa and kind of demand a deal that way.

I often go to my village marché with my neighbor, Rosalie, who has turned out to be an incredible negotiator. Clearly she knows exactly how much things should cost, and what she can get away with in terms of adding more items for the same cost.

For example: the last time I went with her, I got 10 (small) onions and 14 (small-med) tomatoes for 225 cfa!!! That's about 43 cents!!! Hoping to include a picture of that purchase with this post because it absolutely blew my mind.

HOUSEHOLD ITEMS

100 cfa - one fork/knife/spoon

200 cfa - Brillo-type sponge

750 cfa - 18L bucket

50 cfa - single use packet of powder laundry detergent

250 cfa - bar of laundry/multi use soap

250 cfa - roll of toilet paper

12,500 cfa - my gas stove

18,000 cfa - the cot that is serving as my temporary bed (woven plastic-y cords on a metal frame)

77,500 cfa - solar panel, battery, cord, inverter, 1m fluoro light (awesome deal)