Visit to Tougan

Whatever doubts Tyler and I had about forming a vision of the next two years in Burkina were pleasantly dwindled after our visit to Tougan, our future post.

Fortunately, our journey to Tougan via public transportation was relatively easy-going. Tougan is only a two-hour bus ride from our training city – and while the road was bumpy, it was easy to pass the time with a book in hand ;)

After arriving to Tougan, it didn’t take long for Tyler and I to fall in love with the small city. Quite a bit smaller then our training city of Ouahigouya, Tougan is more easy-going, the streets have less traffic, the air is fresher, and everyone we met was very laid-back and friendly. Our favorite part – the trees! Hundreds of trees of different sizes and shapes shading our path as we traversed through the city.

Our new house, currently uninhabited, is a simple two-bedroom home placed in the corner of a fairly large courtyard. While the house does not have running water, we will have electricity by the time we move in at the end of August (a privilege only some volunteers have here in Burkina). There is a small out-door building we can use as our kitchen or a storage area, and a walled-in area for a latrine and bathing spot. Because Tyler and I will be the first people living in the house, we will have the freedom to "make it our own" by painting the inside, planting trees and flowers, adding a hangar to our porch, and more. (Tyler and I find it increasingly amusing that our first home together will be in Africa – we absolutely can’t wait to move in!)

As far as our schedule in Tougan went, Tyler and I spent a lot of time "hanging out" with people and meeting local leaders, authorities, and others in the community. Our counterparts (i.e. individuals trained by Peace Corps to help us integrate into the community) were very helpful. Tyler’s counterpart, Yaya, is a teacher at the same high school where Tyler will be working. My counterpart, Alice, is a teacher at the primary school where I will be doing some of my work. Two individuals that should also be mentioned are Solange and Yaro. Solange works with a branch of the Education Department in Tougan and will be assisting Alice and myself. Yaro, as far as Tyler and I can tell, has been assigned as our "tutor" (though we are still unclear if that means he’ll be showing us the ropes or providing us with local language instruction?) Yaya and Yaro were very hospitable during our 3-day visit and were constantly inviting us to eat meals and spend time with them and their families.

Yaro’s nephew Arnaud was also very generous with his time and gave us two separate tours of Tougan. During our tours, we discovered that Tyler and I will have the great privilege of having access to an array of restaurants with cold drinks and "good eatin’," limited internet use at the local cyber café, an outdoor movie theater (usually playing action and karate films from what we can tell), and a large market every Sunday. We will also have a seasonal lake (which is absolutely beautiful) during the rainy season.

As you can see, our visit to Tougan has energized us tremendously. We are finally able to envision in greater detail what our next two years in Burkina will look like. We look forward to moving in at the end of August, making new friends, and getting to know our new friends even better.

- Jessi