Why the world revolves around text messages and other unsolved mysteries
Rain has finally hit Burkina. Only twice now but it is a blessed thing all the same. It means the weather cooling to bearable temperatures. It means impossibly bright orange puddles. It means that my clothes are going to be perpetually mud splattered until November or so instead of dust caked. It means Im not going to the elephant park with Elizabeth, stacked among the other scheduling conflicts. I really should have gone in March on one of those days I was twiddling my thumbs.
Work stuff:
I finished my talks about Malaria this week. So all in all I think I tried to convince 550 people or so to buy mosquito nets. The only problem is that the ministry of health hasnt stocked them to the district yet. Thats how it works in Burkina. When the community semi has it together the infrastructure fails and vice versa.
I talked to about 500 primary school kids about washing their hands with soap on Monday. We did an experiment where I had them put their hands on chili peppers so that they could see that washing their hands with soap removes germs as well as the stuff that makes their eyes sting. Watching the surprise of one of the hot shot boys when he realized there wasnt the stuff on his hands anymore that would make his eyes sting, that made the whole thing worth it for me I think. I think I changed that one kid.
Today I had a meeting with this man that does extensive work with the Moringa tree. Eating two of the trees leaves a day is the equivalent of taking a multi-vitamin and it grows here locally. You can also purify water with the seeds. Crazy crazy stuff in a country where kids are dieing of malnutrition and bacteria infested water. Elizabeth, Kelly and I are going to a whole hit and run deal from village to village this month talking about the awesomeness of this tree. I have to say Im really exited about it.
That gives me a project for June anyway. July and August are going to be completely dead and theres not a whole lot I can do about it. People start going to the fields when the rains come. The rains govern their lives in a way that took me a very long time to understand. They walk out into the middle of nowhere, maybe an hour, to farm their millet without anything that could be construed as modern equipment. And they're going to be doing that from July until October which means I can pretty much count on getting nothing done.
The impending idleness of it makes me nervous, because the thing that keeps me here is the work. Over time Ive come to realize a number of other things that are also very important to me, and different principles on how Id like to live my life, but none and few of them of them are here in Burkina. A lot of moments only my stubbornness remains, though I have more of that than I ever could have dreamed of. There are moments when I burn my stubbornness like fuel, like gasoline. And I am afraid of the moments when I cant find a gas station. Seeing as Im out in the middle of nowhere most of the time.
But then I dont own a car here. ha. You know what, Id like to get around owning a car for as long as possible. Thats one thing I think I know about myself.
I was going to post pictures on here of my house but got tired of fiddling with it. Maybe tomorrow my patience will be renewed but for tonight, Im hoping theres a piece of pineaple upside down cake still there with my name on it.
Or, not literally with my name on it, just there.
Work stuff:
I finished my talks about Malaria this week. So all in all I think I tried to convince 550 people or so to buy mosquito nets. The only problem is that the ministry of health hasnt stocked them to the district yet. Thats how it works in Burkina. When the community semi has it together the infrastructure fails and vice versa.
I talked to about 500 primary school kids about washing their hands with soap on Monday. We did an experiment where I had them put their hands on chili peppers so that they could see that washing their hands with soap removes germs as well as the stuff that makes their eyes sting. Watching the surprise of one of the hot shot boys when he realized there wasnt the stuff on his hands anymore that would make his eyes sting, that made the whole thing worth it for me I think. I think I changed that one kid.
Today I had a meeting with this man that does extensive work with the Moringa tree. Eating two of the trees leaves a day is the equivalent of taking a multi-vitamin and it grows here locally. You can also purify water with the seeds. Crazy crazy stuff in a country where kids are dieing of malnutrition and bacteria infested water. Elizabeth, Kelly and I are going to a whole hit and run deal from village to village this month talking about the awesomeness of this tree. I have to say Im really exited about it.
That gives me a project for June anyway. July and August are going to be completely dead and theres not a whole lot I can do about it. People start going to the fields when the rains come. The rains govern their lives in a way that took me a very long time to understand. They walk out into the middle of nowhere, maybe an hour, to farm their millet without anything that could be construed as modern equipment. And they're going to be doing that from July until October which means I can pretty much count on getting nothing done.
The impending idleness of it makes me nervous, because the thing that keeps me here is the work. Over time Ive come to realize a number of other things that are also very important to me, and different principles on how Id like to live my life, but none and few of them of them are here in Burkina. A lot of moments only my stubbornness remains, though I have more of that than I ever could have dreamed of. There are moments when I burn my stubbornness like fuel, like gasoline. And I am afraid of the moments when I cant find a gas station. Seeing as Im out in the middle of nowhere most of the time.
But then I dont own a car here. ha. You know what, Id like to get around owning a car for as long as possible. Thats one thing I think I know about myself.
I was going to post pictures on here of my house but got tired of fiddling with it. Maybe tomorrow my patience will be renewed but for tonight, Im hoping theres a piece of pineaple upside down cake still there with my name on it.
Or, not literally with my name on it, just there.