Oh the wonders of traveling in the BF.

What have I been up to!?!? Well I have been doing a little cooking hosting visitors and making visits, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Peace Corps and surviving a HELLISH ride into Ouagadougou.

Well lets start with my new culinary expertise:

Here are a few pictures of me in action with the help of my friend! Monique. You might ask yourself... is that grass... well no, it's not. It is actually leaves from bean plants.

The steps:

1. Send children to pick bean leaves

2. Remove stems and wash and dry leaves

3. Crush leaves

4. Wash about 1/2kg of rice pick out rocks and back pieces of rice.

5. Crush rice

6. Mix potassium and water together

7. Mix all together and form into balls

8. Steam

Here I used a Marmite (a large cooking pot). Monique put sticks onthe bottom so that there was a free space where water would be put. After adding the water we added large thick grass strips. The balls were placed on the grass and put on the stove and steamed VOLIA !!

I also made peanut butter SO EASY!! and NATURAL!!

Next, I had another visiter. Her name is Erika Marshall and is also a health volunteer. She got to know my site and we had a good time. She has a training so she had to leave the day before me. Which leads me to my next topic the HELLISH ride into Ouaga.

It starts off as a beatiful day in my village I go out to where I can normally catch a bush taxi none come... I am feeling a bit discouraged BUT I have to go to Ouaga because we are putting on a fair for the 50th Annersary of Peace Corps and all Volunteers have to be there. I then see this large truck... Everyone is like sure you can use that... so well I did because I have to get to Ouaga. They asked if I am pressed I said NO as long as I can get to Ouaga by 13... well that didn't happen.



We were picking up the seeds used to make shea butter... and that took FOREVER! Then when we finally got going 2 tires go flat... we only have one spare... we have to wait for another tire to come from Ouaga. Well after hours of waiting... I arrive in Ouaga at 18.... I left my village at 9:30... do the Math.

I was tired but at this point I can no longer get mad... It is just so rediculous that all I can do is laugh about it.

THE FAIR: Was long and the people who organized it did a rediculous amount of work but I think lots of people in Burkina Faso know about the Peace Corps and the goals of the Peace Corps so I think it was a success.

I then continuted on to the BOBO with Erika and Marina and went to her site... SHE loves her site and her site love her.

It was my first time visiting someone NOT close to me. The landscape and everything is just so different and it was interesting to someone else in their community in their element. It was intimidating, inspiring, and great.

PS this lady was REALLY drunk.