Swear-In... Its official!

We made it through training and have officially sworn in as Peace Corps Volunteers! The last two weeks have been very exciting for us, full of changes and transition. We left our training city of Ouahigouya on August 23rd for the capital city of Ouagadougou. In Ouaga, Tyler and I enjoyed ourselves immensely with Chinese food, hamburgers, pizza, burritos, and even fried calamari (all the sort of things you can’t readily find outside of the capital)! Our swear-in ceremony was on August 25th and was held at the U.S. ambassador’s residence, which is right next to the U.S. embassy. There were nearly 200 people at the ceremony, including Burkina’s Minister of Primary Education. It was, in my opinion, a very successful event that really pumped us up for the next two years of service. The day after the ceremony, Tyler and I headed for our new home, Tougan.

Since our visit to Tougan last month, our opinion of the small city has remained positive and optimistic. We have had an extraordinary time in Tougan so far with visits to the marché (market), friendly conversations with neighbors, and meals eaten with my homologue Alice and our tutor Yaro. Almost everyone we interact with is incredibly kind and good humored. Tyler and I have found ourselves at one of the local cafés, Vis-à-vis, several times to partake in what we believe is the best yogurt in Burkina. We have also discovered a very scrumptious chicken soup (which is more like a big piece of chicken in broth than the noodles, meat, and veggies that people in the US usually consume) at Hotel Nerwaya, and a very acceptable ground beef sandwich, again, at Vis-à-vis. (Yes, we recognize that we have talked about food several times already in this blog, but it’s always a treat to enjoy something here that is not just rice! – yes Tom, I admit it, rice can be quite a bore J)

Life in Tougan, more than it has afforded us with good food options, has finally allowed us some of the independence we lacked during training. We have had a blast cooking for ourselves again (tuna melts have never tasted so good), organizing our new house, and having significantly more control over our daily schedule. Tyler has done a fantastic job searching our plants for our courtyard – lemon grass/citronella (which mosquitoes don’t like) and mint (which flies don’t like – both of which will make an exceptional tea). We are also looking forward to planting numerous flowers and trees, most of which produce fruit, but of course not before we leave Burkina. Perhaps some of the familial green thumb has finally rubbed off on Tyler (though he is skeptical to see if anything he has planted will survive). We also painted the inside of our house with a turquoise-like color, all with the help of our new friend Salam, the son of our landlord.

Salam has been a great help to us in our first few days here, fixing broken lights, painting, negotiating difficult rope for our clothesline, and dealing with our still broken French. All of it he has done with great enthusiasm, never asking for anything in return, except to practice some of his English. Salam, like many Muslims here right now, is also fasting for Ramadan. Fasting meaning no food or water during day-light hours. It is an amazing feat considering that those observing the fast still work all day in the fields, often in the scorching heat!

Fortunately, it has cooled down the last few days with a sudden downpour of rain. Unfortunately, however, that has meant major flooding for Ouagadougou and other parts of Burkina. The damage is significant, including impassable roads, falling bridges, and destroyed homes. Alice, who is originally from the Ouaga area, says she has never seen a flood like it. No flooding has occurred in Tougan, but we are worried about our Peace Corps comrades in and around Ouaga. We hope to hear more updates soon.

Other than that, Tyler and I have been spending most of our time getting comfortable in our house, having furniture made, doing two weeks worth of laundry, and all in all relishing in the time spent “making home” in our first home together.

Jessi