Long time no blog is an under statement!
It's been a long time and I have no good excuses other then I never felt like sitting down and actually writting something out. It's easy for me to put a bunch of pictures up with fabulous captions and count that as a blog but a while back my camera got stolen : ( and then replaced by my lovely mommy : ), so there was a bit of lag time in between where I didn't take any pictures.
However, now that I have a camera again I still haven't taken that many pictures. I going to blame it on hot season and not wanting to look sweaty in every photo but you all know that it's pure laziness on my part. But come on hot season is the worst. I'm lucky if I am active at all from the hours of 10 am - 5 pm.
But anyways, Not much new stuff has been happening lately. I had my Close of Service conference a couple of weeks ago. It helps to ready all the volunteers that are leaving this summer to reintegrate into America and hopefully find a job or get into the college program they want. Since I'm doing a third year, this con. was full of information that I will need but won't use until next year so it was a wee bit boring to me but still great because I got to see all my stage (group 22!!!) and hang out in ac with a pool for three days. Always a great break from village.
Got to go, but promise pictures that next time and a longer read. Later!
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Ghana for Christmas
These pictures are an assortment of photos from my vacation to Ghana over my Christmas break from school. They are in no particular order because I don't have time for chronological stuff just PICTURES galore!
View from the top of a place we went in Cape Coast called the Money Sanctuary. Run by a awesome Dutch couple.
Me on the Canopy Walkway in Cape Coast. It's a rope walkway through the canopy : ) Very High up and very cool.
This was the first place we stayed at. Hans Cottage Botel in Cape Coast. That is their lagoon type area and dinner area.
Funny enough, we too this photo once we had left Ghana and were back in the BF.
A walkway shot. It really is that skinny and up that high.
Christmas at the Desert Rose included a pig roast. Really delicious. This place is run by a Swedish couple who are so great.
This is the beach at the Desert Rose. Very shelly and with a current you could swim in without to much fear of getting pulled out to sea.
This is Diana and me at Christmas dinner, waiting for the piggy.
This is me and Diana again, we are attempting to take a cute shot and I think it turned out good
This is my traveling group on X-mas morning at the Desert Rose after we did our gift exchange. Left to Right: Jade has on a necklace, Diana as well, Trent a bracelet, and me a rosary.
This is the view from the castle in Cape Coast. Just enjoy it. It was even better in person.
Me in Busua with a beer and a kitten. Pretty good day!
View from Busua
Our cabin in Busau at the Alaska Beach Resort. Pretty adorable. My favorite beach area.
I hope you enjoyed the ramdon mix of vacation photos. It should be mentioned that I too maybe one of these, the rest come from the lovely Jade and Diana. Thanks for a great trip!
View from the top of a place we went in Cape Coast called the Money Sanctuary. Run by a awesome Dutch couple.
Me on the Canopy Walkway in Cape Coast. It's a rope walkway through the canopy : ) Very High up and very cool.
This was the first place we stayed at. Hans Cottage Botel in Cape Coast. That is their lagoon type area and dinner area.
Funny enough, we too this photo once we had left Ghana and were back in the BF.
A walkway shot. It really is that skinny and up that high.
Christmas at the Desert Rose included a pig roast. Really delicious. This place is run by a Swedish couple who are so great.
This is the beach at the Desert Rose. Very shelly and with a current you could swim in without to much fear of getting pulled out to sea.
This is Diana and me at Christmas dinner, waiting for the piggy.
This is me and Diana again, we are attempting to take a cute shot and I think it turned out good
This is my traveling group on X-mas morning at the Desert Rose after we did our gift exchange. Left to Right: Jade has on a necklace, Diana as well, Trent a bracelet, and me a rosary.
This is the view from the castle in Cape Coast. Just enjoy it. It was even better in person.
Me in Busua with a beer and a kitten. Pretty good day!
View from Busua
Our cabin in Busau at the Alaska Beach Resort. Pretty adorable. My favorite beach area.I hope you enjoyed the ramdon mix of vacation photos. It should be mentioned that I too maybe one of these, the rest come from the lovely Jade and Diana. Thanks for a great trip!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Greetings, Pictures!!!!!
I am forever forgeting to post anything on here so I am putting more pictures up with one of me!!!
This one and the next are pictures of the new pagnes I have outfits made out of.
This one and the next are pictures of the new pagnes I have outfits made out of.
This is Me!!! in another new outfit
This is bissap juice that was frozen when I bought it and thus delicious and really nice when it s hot.
This is a new wall hanging I got during the Peace Corps fair in September. One of my fellow volunteer's counter part made it.
This is the lone plant that rainy season grew in my yard that wasn't deemed a weed and thus left alone to grow. It is Sorgho, I think, which is used here to mae lots of stuff.
Ths is the gate that totally repaired and made perfect after it went through raniy season it was super busted but now...Perfect.
My neighbors use my cort yard to dry stuff and in this picture they are using it to dry corn.
Friday, August 26, 2011
August Activity plus Pics
I find that it is hard to think of things to put up on this blog when every day is pretty much the same thing over and over again. However I have recently had a change of scenery and feel like it could become an interesting or at least readable blog post. So here goes…
Once school ended in late May/early June, I knew I would be bored out of my mind because class was all that I had going for me at the moment. There were a number of failed side projects and plans in the works for the next school year, but no current plans to see me through the summer. So with that in mind I signed up for a “summer job.” This summer job was/is for the month of August. It is basically an English summer course camp type thing.
How about some background! The American embassy runs an American Language Center in Ouagadougou (the capital) that offers English courses during the regular school year, both for children and for adults. They also offer summer courses/camps, which are from 8 to 12:30, Monday through Friday, with make-up days on Saturdays. Every summer there is one camp session in July and one in August. The American Language Center has a relationship with the Peace Corps and asks for 7 to 8 volunteers to help out each month.
Thus I found myself in Ouaga for the month of August planning and doing summer English classes/camps. We spent one week planning everything into a four week schedule and gathering all the materials and media that we needed. We had to create a theme for the month and then sub themes for each week. Our theme this month is “The Hero in Me: Tomorrow’s Leaders.” So along those lines the first week was about leadership, the second week was about citizenship, the third week is about life planning and the four and final week will be a sort of “putting it all together” type deal.
There are 7 different classes with varying levels of English skills, from beginners to advance. The advance kids (by the way) speak better English then I speak French. So each class is run by a Burkinabe English teacher. The students have regular class from 8-10, a break from 10-10:30 and then the “camp” portion, which is run by the volunteer, from 10:30-12:30. We decided that we would switch classes every week so the kids would meet a variety of people.
It should be noted that the kids that are in these classes are so very different from the village kids that I teach back in Legmoin. They wear jeans and fancy shirt with nice sandals as compared to in village where girls wear pagnes and old shirts and flip flops. The amount of money these kids have is amazing compared to village. For example, one of the girls in my class this week had her birthday today and she brought in soda for everyone and had juice and cups and snack for her whole class (11 people, which is tiny). That would never happen in village. Most of the kids in village know what year they were born and that is it. Children in Ouaga, who can afford to go to summer classes, come from very wealthy families and have a lot more opportunity and resources available to them.
As a side note you probably read, I am done at or around 12:30 or 13:00. So I have lots of free time to do a number of pointless activities and watch lots of TV and movies. I have been eating lots of delicious food from many a different ethnic groups. The other day, for example, I had Ethiopian, which was very spicy and so full of flavor. I have had the opportunity to meet a lot of different volunteers from other parts of the country, who I would never have had a chance to talk with. I got to see a number of people off as they go home after their service was finished. I lost a few friends to the lovely arms of America land but there was promises of great packages, so I may be able to recover the loss of good friends with food… very emotionally healthy ; p
Donc, for picture, I went to a wedding of a fellow volunteer and here are a few shots of me and other assorted folks. : ) YAY weddings!!!!!
We bought some shoes the day of the wedding, so the three girl feet are new shoes ( mine are the red toes).
This is an attractive shot of me. I personally think this represents me in a very positive light : )
This is just after the wedding and we wanted a volunteer family shot , which equals other volunteers.
Here is a lovely lady shot. Me with three third year volunteers!
Me with two other volunteers at the reception.
Once school ended in late May/early June, I knew I would be bored out of my mind because class was all that I had going for me at the moment. There were a number of failed side projects and plans in the works for the next school year, but no current plans to see me through the summer. So with that in mind I signed up for a “summer job.” This summer job was/is for the month of August. It is basically an English summer course camp type thing.
How about some background! The American embassy runs an American Language Center in Ouagadougou (the capital) that offers English courses during the regular school year, both for children and for adults. They also offer summer courses/camps, which are from 8 to 12:30, Monday through Friday, with make-up days on Saturdays. Every summer there is one camp session in July and one in August. The American Language Center has a relationship with the Peace Corps and asks for 7 to 8 volunteers to help out each month.
Thus I found myself in Ouaga for the month of August planning and doing summer English classes/camps. We spent one week planning everything into a four week schedule and gathering all the materials and media that we needed. We had to create a theme for the month and then sub themes for each week. Our theme this month is “The Hero in Me: Tomorrow’s Leaders.” So along those lines the first week was about leadership, the second week was about citizenship, the third week is about life planning and the four and final week will be a sort of “putting it all together” type deal.
There are 7 different classes with varying levels of English skills, from beginners to advance. The advance kids (by the way) speak better English then I speak French. So each class is run by a Burkinabe English teacher. The students have regular class from 8-10, a break from 10-10:30 and then the “camp” portion, which is run by the volunteer, from 10:30-12:30. We decided that we would switch classes every week so the kids would meet a variety of people.
It should be noted that the kids that are in these classes are so very different from the village kids that I teach back in Legmoin. They wear jeans and fancy shirt with nice sandals as compared to in village where girls wear pagnes and old shirts and flip flops. The amount of money these kids have is amazing compared to village. For example, one of the girls in my class this week had her birthday today and she brought in soda for everyone and had juice and cups and snack for her whole class (11 people, which is tiny). That would never happen in village. Most of the kids in village know what year they were born and that is it. Children in Ouaga, who can afford to go to summer classes, come from very wealthy families and have a lot more opportunity and resources available to them.
As a side note you probably read, I am done at or around 12:30 or 13:00. So I have lots of free time to do a number of pointless activities and watch lots of TV and movies. I have been eating lots of delicious food from many a different ethnic groups. The other day, for example, I had Ethiopian, which was very spicy and so full of flavor. I have had the opportunity to meet a lot of different volunteers from other parts of the country, who I would never have had a chance to talk with. I got to see a number of people off as they go home after their service was finished. I lost a few friends to the lovely arms of America land but there was promises of great packages, so I may be able to recover the loss of good friends with food… very emotionally healthy ; p
Donc, for picture, I went to a wedding of a fellow volunteer and here are a few shots of me and other assorted folks. : ) YAY weddings!!!!!
We bought some shoes the day of the wedding, so the three girl feet are new shoes ( mine are the red toes).
This is an attractive shot of me. I personally think this represents me in a very positive light : )
This is just after the wedding and we wanted a volunteer family shot , which equals other volunteers.
Here is a lovely lady shot. Me with three third year volunteers!
Me with two other volunteers at the reception.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Long time no...pictures!!!!
So only a few pictures this time. I honestly dont know what has kept me from getting on the internet since May but alas it is true.
Anyways, I went on a little trip to Ghana in the last week or so and here are four photos from that trip.
First photo is me at an old castle in Cape Coast, Ghana. It was used for slaving in the past and now houses a museum.
This photo is the view from our "hotel" in Busua, Ghana. We were here for two nights and it was pretty awesome. I ate a burrito the size of my face. so yummy.
This is a photo of the food you could by at the rest stops on the bus rides down and back. Fried rice and a huge chicken leg. So amazing. So not even possible in Burkina. It was so good so so so so so ( one more so) so great.
This is a road in Ghana, not even one of the bigger cities and it is paved and there are car and no motos, well one. But crazy, there are so many motos in Burkina and it just shocked me to see no motos at all, well like five the whole trip.
Final thought... Ghana was awesome and the trip was so needed : )
Anyways, I went on a little trip to Ghana in the last week or so and here are four photos from that trip.
First photo is me at an old castle in Cape Coast, Ghana. It was used for slaving in the past and now houses a museum.
This photo is the view from our "hotel" in Busua, Ghana. We were here for two nights and it was pretty awesome. I ate a burrito the size of my face. so yummy.
This is a photo of the food you could by at the rest stops on the bus rides down and back. Fried rice and a huge chicken leg. So amazing. So not even possible in Burkina. It was so good so so so so so ( one more so) so great.
This is a road in Ghana, not even one of the bigger cities and it is paved and there are car and no motos, well one. But crazy, there are so many motos in Burkina and it just shocked me to see no motos at all, well like five the whole trip.
Final thought... Ghana was awesome and the trip was so needed : )
Friday, May 27, 2011
Pictures!!!!!!
YAY!!!!
I did it be impressed...three blogs in one day and this one has pictures
These following photos are assorted pictures of my two classes plus a shot of a couple of the boys and a picture of one of the girls in her amazing uniform.
This is a great photo of Mikey fixing his bike and I wanted to have at least one photo up here of one of my bffs from my area.
This is a photo of me, Brenda, and Mikey. I love these fools and thus needed everyone to know how amazing they are. Also I changed glasses. Please be amazed and tell me how awesome they are....Thanks : )
I did it be impressed...three blogs in one day and this one has pictures
These following photos are assorted pictures of my two classes plus a shot of a couple of the boys and a picture of one of the girls in her amazing uniform.
This is a great photo of Mikey fixing his bike and I wanted to have at least one photo up here of one of my bffs from my area.
This is a photo of me, Brenda, and Mikey. I love these fools and thus needed everyone to know how amazing they are. Also I changed glasses. Please be amazed and tell me how awesome they are....Thanks : )
JK Here is a huge Blog
I just finished writing a huge letter to my world wide match teacher and answering lots of question so I thought I would post that list of questions... SO enjoy...
Do you have regular toilets? There are regular toilets here. In a majority of the bigger cities, you can find flash toilets. They are different from American toilets. Instead of pushing a handle you pull up on a knob on the top of the tank. Apparently the system is German. However, that is just in big cities like the capital and some of the regional capitals. I have a latrine, which is what a vast majority of the volunteers here have. It is a hole in the ground of varying shapes.
What kind of animals? Do people have pets? There are pigs, goats, sheep, cattle (a few different breeds), donkeys, chickens, guinea fowl, lizards, pigeons, ducks (way different from the US), rats, mice, dogs, cats, rabbits (randomly saw one in village, it was huge and white, weird). People here really own animals for food and work and protection. Dogs and cats are treated with a wee bit of fear because of diseases. And in general kicking and hitting of animals is normal.
Interesting species of birds and if so a photo please? There are some pretty interesting birds. Mostly little quick ones that I have found are almost impossible to take photos of. There are some different bigger birds and buzzard type birds. I will try to get some photos of them and put them up on my blog.
How old are girls who get pregnant? Girls can get pregnant here as soon as they hit puberty. And it is super common and a big problem.
Do they eat Guinea Pigs? I have not seen any guinea pigs here but if they are here then they are eaten. Everything is eaten here.
Where do the kids go to socialize? What do the kids do? other than hanging out at the water pump. They wander around, hang out under trees, do each other hair (girls), go to market and hang out there, hang out at school.
What they have for dinner and food in general. Lots of carbs (rice, To, pasta) with some sort of sauce, seasonal fruit (mangos, bananas, and watermelon), and gateau (fried dough)
Are the kids all in one class like you said you teach them form 10-25. The kids can be in school at many different ages and they are divided into classes based on skills and tests. They stay in the same room and the teachers move for each different class of the day.
What kinds of jobs do people have> Do the kids work? A lot of people are farmers; there are a few people who run small stores or places to buy gas. Kids sell little things like tissues and gun and matches. Or leave school and work in the gold mines.
Do they have radio? Yes, there are a number of Burkina Faso stations. Governmental news and important things are communicated through the radio. Almost everyone has a radio.
What do the kids know about America? Media things, beautiful women, everyone is rich, if they go there they will be rich, popular music (Akon, Celine Dion), MTV.
What is the language they use in your town? The main language is French, but the local language is Dagara. I also hear Jula, lobiri.
What languages do the kids speak? The same as used in town.
Why are kids going to school when they are 25? Because of difficulties that prevent them from continuing their education (planting, work, pregnancy, learning in French (their second language), family issues.)
Do they go to college? Rarely from village but people do go to college. People with advantages and people who are naturally smart and moving through the schools at a normal rate.
How long does the school year. All together, how many years are they in school. They are in school for 14 years and the school year is normally October to May, but all kinds of things can delay school (strikes, government stuff, and weather)
Electricity? Sometimes in some places. Not in my village but in my regional capital
What do kids do to have fun? Sling shots, make up games with discarded items, ride bikes
Recess breaks? and after school...what do they do? There is a small recess and a 3 hour lunch break. The kids walk home for food and/or showers (it's hot here) and come back for afternoon classes. As for after class, the kids play soccer a lot or the girls collect water.
Do the kids do drugs? Yes sometimes, I have not seen it but it happens, Drugs are illegal here but easy to find. But for the most part they drink dolo (locally brewed beer, very cheap)
Typical clothing? Second hand and clothing made out of local fabric
With mixed aged students learn same stuff. If they are in the same grade then they learn the same stuff.
Do they speak diff lang... how deal? They speak French and local languages, which is hard for a native English speaker. I came to the BF with almost zero French so that was really difficult.
Whats up with the crocodile in the photo on your blog? Wasn’t the guy afraid of the croc? It was a scared pond and the crocs are feed a steady diet of chicken and kept in line with hitting and whatnot. And that man was one of the men who works there, so he is use to the crocs.
How do they keep cool when it’s dry? They sit under trees, sleep outside, never go into house (it's hot), don’t do things from 12 to 3, keep body covered from sun.
More girls or boys in classes now. There are much more boys than girls.
How far to walk for water. It is different. Anywhere from next to your house to miles away. For me I can see two pumps from my house.
What sports do they play? Soccer, volleyball, track and field things, gymnastics.
why did you want to go into the PC? I had nothing else to do after college and I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and try something really different.
do they normally wear shoes? Little kids don’t and really old traditional folk. But most people wear some sort of shoes, flip flops are very popular.
How is their health? Malaria is a huge problem here, as is HIV and AIDS. Malnutrition is also a big problem. The average death age is around 45. There is a high infant mortality rate. Fecal oral disease are a big problem. Meningitis is a big problem as well. There is also Polio but there has been a big push to vaccinate everyone.
what do people do if they have bad eyesight? Access to glasses? There is really one access to eye glasses unless you have money and access to eye doctors in the capital. Anyone else just deals with the bad eye sight.
Do you have regular toilets? There are regular toilets here. In a majority of the bigger cities, you can find flash toilets. They are different from American toilets. Instead of pushing a handle you pull up on a knob on the top of the tank. Apparently the system is German. However, that is just in big cities like the capital and some of the regional capitals. I have a latrine, which is what a vast majority of the volunteers here have. It is a hole in the ground of varying shapes.
What kind of animals? Do people have pets? There are pigs, goats, sheep, cattle (a few different breeds), donkeys, chickens, guinea fowl, lizards, pigeons, ducks (way different from the US), rats, mice, dogs, cats, rabbits (randomly saw one in village, it was huge and white, weird). People here really own animals for food and work and protection. Dogs and cats are treated with a wee bit of fear because of diseases. And in general kicking and hitting of animals is normal.
Interesting species of birds and if so a photo please? There are some pretty interesting birds. Mostly little quick ones that I have found are almost impossible to take photos of. There are some different bigger birds and buzzard type birds. I will try to get some photos of them and put them up on my blog.
How old are girls who get pregnant? Girls can get pregnant here as soon as they hit puberty. And it is super common and a big problem.
Do they eat Guinea Pigs? I have not seen any guinea pigs here but if they are here then they are eaten. Everything is eaten here.
Where do the kids go to socialize? What do the kids do? other than hanging out at the water pump. They wander around, hang out under trees, do each other hair (girls), go to market and hang out there, hang out at school.
What they have for dinner and food in general. Lots of carbs (rice, To, pasta) with some sort of sauce, seasonal fruit (mangos, bananas, and watermelon), and gateau (fried dough)
Are the kids all in one class like you said you teach them form 10-25. The kids can be in school at many different ages and they are divided into classes based on skills and tests. They stay in the same room and the teachers move for each different class of the day.
What kinds of jobs do people have> Do the kids work? A lot of people are farmers; there are a few people who run small stores or places to buy gas. Kids sell little things like tissues and gun and matches. Or leave school and work in the gold mines.
Do they have radio? Yes, there are a number of Burkina Faso stations. Governmental news and important things are communicated through the radio. Almost everyone has a radio.
What do the kids know about America? Media things, beautiful women, everyone is rich, if they go there they will be rich, popular music (Akon, Celine Dion), MTV.
What is the language they use in your town? The main language is French, but the local language is Dagara. I also hear Jula, lobiri.
What languages do the kids speak? The same as used in town.
Why are kids going to school when they are 25? Because of difficulties that prevent them from continuing their education (planting, work, pregnancy, learning in French (their second language), family issues.)
Do they go to college? Rarely from village but people do go to college. People with advantages and people who are naturally smart and moving through the schools at a normal rate.
How long does the school year. All together, how many years are they in school. They are in school for 14 years and the school year is normally October to May, but all kinds of things can delay school (strikes, government stuff, and weather)
Electricity? Sometimes in some places. Not in my village but in my regional capital
What do kids do to have fun? Sling shots, make up games with discarded items, ride bikes
Recess breaks? and after school...what do they do? There is a small recess and a 3 hour lunch break. The kids walk home for food and/or showers (it's hot here) and come back for afternoon classes. As for after class, the kids play soccer a lot or the girls collect water.
Do the kids do drugs? Yes sometimes, I have not seen it but it happens, Drugs are illegal here but easy to find. But for the most part they drink dolo (locally brewed beer, very cheap)
Typical clothing? Second hand and clothing made out of local fabric
With mixed aged students learn same stuff. If they are in the same grade then they learn the same stuff.
Do they speak diff lang... how deal? They speak French and local languages, which is hard for a native English speaker. I came to the BF with almost zero French so that was really difficult.
Whats up with the crocodile in the photo on your blog? Wasn’t the guy afraid of the croc? It was a scared pond and the crocs are feed a steady diet of chicken and kept in line with hitting and whatnot. And that man was one of the men who works there, so he is use to the crocs.
How do they keep cool when it’s dry? They sit under trees, sleep outside, never go into house (it's hot), don’t do things from 12 to 3, keep body covered from sun.
More girls or boys in classes now. There are much more boys than girls.
How far to walk for water. It is different. Anywhere from next to your house to miles away. For me I can see two pumps from my house.
What sports do they play? Soccer, volleyball, track and field things, gymnastics.
why did you want to go into the PC? I had nothing else to do after college and I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and try something really different.
do they normally wear shoes? Little kids don’t and really old traditional folk. But most people wear some sort of shoes, flip flops are very popular.
How is their health? Malaria is a huge problem here, as is HIV and AIDS. Malnutrition is also a big problem. The average death age is around 45. There is a high infant mortality rate. Fecal oral disease are a big problem. Meningitis is a big problem as well. There is also Polio but there has been a big push to vaccinate everyone.
what do people do if they have bad eyesight? Access to glasses? There is really one access to eye glasses unless you have money and access to eye doctors in the capital. Anyone else just deals with the bad eye sight.
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