One Year

I have officially been living in Burkina Faso for a whole year as of June 11^th. It has been a year filled with making new friends (American and Burkinabe), learning how to thrive in a new culture both personally and professionally, and saying yes to every new experience. There have been ups and downs as with anything in life, but every moment has been vivid and intensely felt. It is a time for reflection as well as anticipation. I’m confident now that I can navigate in this culture and I think that I will be much more effective during my second year because of everything I’ve learned so far.

The fact that I was chosen as a Peace Corps Volunteer Facilitator (PCVF) for the new group of education volunteers that just arrived in country only highlights this landmark in my Peace Corps service. I’ve already helped out with one week of their technical and cross-cultural sessions and will be coming back in August for a week to visit them again. They truly are a great group and they all seem very excited to be here. 

I also have three camps coming up- one for 32 5^th grade girls from my region focusing on health and positive lifestyles taking place this week, one for 120 boys and girls in 6^th and 7^th grade which focuses on sexual education and goal-setting taking place in July (Camp G2LOW), and a 6^th-8^th grade science camp in September which will feature hands-on experiments that are very rarely done in science classes here due to a lack of resources. All of these camps will be in part led by Burkinabe teachers and health workers- the idea being that they will gain the skills necessary to continue these activities in the future. I will post a blog for each of these events once they happen!

There was some drama in my host family but it has settled down now. Moussa recently engaged a second woman who is now living in the courtyard full time. I was awkward and angry at first, but even his first wife, Alima, who is one of my best friends in village, has adjusted to the situation and everyone seems to be pretty happy. One of my good friends in village is 8 months pregnant so I’m excited to be there when the baby is born!

I made a list of some of the cool things I’ve done this year!...

Seen elephants and warthogs on safari

Watched ritual animal sacrifices at animist funerals

Worn a baby on my back

Harvested rice, corn and cotton

Danced to balafons

Pumped my own water

Seen a woman giving birth

Learned 3 local languages

Celebrated the Muslim holiday Tabaski

Prayed at mosque

Washed my clothes by hand

Made soap

Celebrated international women’s day

Tried (and failed) to carry water on my head

Been 50 feet away from a family of hippos while in a canoe

Swam in the waterfalls

Drank palm wine and millet beer

Thank you for all of your support so far- your letters, packages, and calls mean so much! I'll keep you updated!

Peace,

Marlow