welcome home

I really don't know how to react to my site. It's...unlike anything I would have expected, and unlike anything that Peace Corps training has prepared me for.

For the next two years I am going to be working within an all-girls Catholic boarding school situated in a ridiculously beautiful part of Kongoussi. The girls who live there are between the ages of 11 and 18. They come from all over the province, from the main town as well as the smaller villages. A lot of them come from very poor families and have been recruited by the sisters who run the school. I met a few of the students during my site visit this past weekend and wow...they seem great. I also talked a tiny little bit in my tiny little bit of Moore to a few of the girls who live and work there as cooks who have fleed forced marriages back at their homes.

...I can't even start talking about my housing sitch. It's ridiculous. For real. I have more than electricity. I have a fully functioning bathroom with a shower and a toilet that flushes and has a seat. My sink has a mirror. I have ceiling fans. Down the outdoor-hall from my room I have a kitchen with a stove and a FRIDGE and a FREEZER. A dining room. I have indoor sinks for washing my clothing. A second bathroom, just in case. It's unreal. It's kind of...communial seeming, the kitchen/dining room/laundry area. Which, you know, is cool. Unlike anything the Peace Corps prepared me to expect. But...cool. I've been told that the kitchen and all of that is just for me...which seems excessive and ridiculous. You know, I really wouldn't mind having a little propane stove set up in my actual house. Autonomy. This is overwhelming.

The sister that took care of me during my visit showed me around and cooked for me, ate with me and laughed with me, told me stories and watched French news with me on TV (!). She's a riot, she's quite jolly and laughing and lovely. My counterpart is on the ball...he's professional, down to earth, friendly, knowledgeable about the Peace Corps, just really into it. He took me around town, introduced me to all of the head haunchos, took me to lunch at his house to meet his wife and kids. I spent the evening hanging out with my super wonderful site mate Justin and we hit it off like no other, drinking beer and laughing late well past sun down.

I don't know what to think! Working to promote and develop life skills at an all girls boarding school that reaches out in particular to impovershed families and also serves as a haven for girls who have found the courage to flee forced marriage...could I have found a better place to be, a better way to bring my itshe camp counselor safe passage love and skills into Burkina? Also, here is a lil' photo of the view that one can enjoy from the school grounds where I will be living:

Mountains. :) Look at those mountains.

Ahh...so that's a tiny little what-my-life'll-be-like update. I've been out of my host village for a little over a week now. It'll be really nice to get back, to spend some more evenings eating dinner with my momma. It'll be weird to get back into training. That starts Monday. I've got a whole lot of sleeping to do between now and then.

I'll try to think of a good story or anecdote to throw your way sometime soon. I'm sure I've got some good things kickin' around.

Up next...a guest writes in. Stay tuned.