The Things I'll Miss

 

After leaving Kossouka and Burkina Faso in December, the inevitable question "so...how was it??" gets pitched a lot. Usually I respond with some balance of hard but rewarding... I got what I had hoped for but also a lot more challenges from areas I wasn't expecting.. to difficult but no regrets and I recommend it. 

I rarely talk about the day to day moments that made my experience in Kossouka really so positive. Despite the challenges, frustrations, loneliness, which I know must be touched on in order to portray a realistic experience of my time in the Peace Corps, there were so many moments that sustained me and made me genuinely happy. I want to share the aspects of life that I'll miss to better depict what were my favorite parts of being a volunteer in Burkina Faso and to give insight to future PCVs about what to expect. 

The little moments like...

Finding O´s Magic around Kossouka






Feeling the rush and excitement as storm clouds roll in

When in rains in Burkina, everything shuts down. Waking up for a meeting and seeing storm clouds coming in from the east sent a surge of contentment through me, knowing I had hours ahead of me to read books and watch movies, that all work would be rescheduled for after the storm, and that I could (free from all guilt!) take it easy and hole up in my house for a couple hours. 

Getting clothing made! 

One of my favorite parts about life in Burkina was picking out pagne (fabric) and getting clothes custom made. 

Going to the market and picking out pagne from the fabric stalls

Rasmane and Madi are the pagne merchants at Kossouka´s market

Roger! My friend and neighbor who lived behind my house and made surprisingly great Western style women´s clothing. Printing out photos from online stores and showing it to tailors is how a lot of PCVs would get clothing made. 

Seeing the change in seasons 

My courtyard during hot season....

and what I came back to after a week away during rainy season. 

                                          

Watching the "trash garden" outside my house... 

be stunningly transformed after a few rain storms. 

. 

Fresh Baked Bread

It was my saving grace to have fresh baked bread made literally right behind my house but also so dangerous because I could smell it baking and Awa, my best friend and coffee stand neighbor who knew how much I loved it, would enable my carb overload by always giving me double what I ordered and often bringing it directly to my house, hot out of the oven, without me asking for it just because she knew how much I loved it. 

The dough is placed on corrugated metal
pieces to help keep shape

Then cooked in these dome stoves
 scattered all around Kossouka

Combating homesickness by bringing familiar holiday traditions to Kossouka 

Since I was the third volunteer in Kossouka, I inherited SO many things, including an Easter egg dying kit. It was really fun to do this activity with my friend's kids but was also another realization, like trying to explain Halloween, how strange our traditions are. 

 

Making my mom's Easter rabbit cake for my friend, Rosalie, and decorating my Christmas tree (another inherited item) with Risnata. 

My Job

Peace Corps' key term is "capacity building," and it was absolutely one of the most rewarding parts of the experience.  

Rasmane and Abdoulaye are two high school students that we trained to run the community's library, which had been closed for years since no adult was able to run it. After training them how to use a computer, they then wrote a manual for other high schools and communities about how to start a student run library. 

Risnata was one of my best friends and one of the most motivated, curious individuals I met in Kossouka. We attended a "Women as Leaders" conference together, and afterwards she helped me lead 12 education lessons about malaria prevention, malnutrition, and how to make tofu. 

Another highlight of my job was the freedom to think of fun activities, like creating these posters and diagrams with students that will be used by their teachers to improve their visual aids. 

 

Risnata and Awa 

Were my best friends in Kossouka. They showed empathy and initiative, and were there for me throughout my service, there to help me when I was bewildered, sick, or confused, and there to create my favorite memories and to make me feel like Kossouka was truly a home. Here are some of my favorite photos of the two women who helped me more than anyone else: Awa and Risnata. They were an essential part of my life while in Kossouka, right up to coming to the airport to send me off. I am forever so grateful for them. 

Making tofu together. I love this photo because Burkinabe tend to be really serious in photos, getting even a smile can be challenging, but here it is so easy to see their personalities 

My last night in Kossouka. We watched Elf and did face masks :D 

When I would crave American food, Risnata was always down to try and recreate it with me. From making tortillas and tacos, french toast, peanut butter cookies, to village style pizza, she went through my cookbook with me. Awa was my constant, consistently present, kind and fun. Sharing a courtyard wall, she would come running when I couldn't stop over reacting (screaming) about mice in my house and filled so much of my free time talking at her cooking stand and playing pick up sticks. 

. 

 

Before I left, we made a friendship uniform together as a thank you gift for helping me so much. 

And so many others that were there for me during my service in Burkina 

My friends, host family and community partners

I left the Sunday after Thanksgiving, so I invited all the people who helped during my two years to a Kossouka style Thanksgiving/going away party. 

To the other volunteers, especially G27ers. Before joining, I had repeatedly heard one of the best perks of being a PCV was the friendships made with other volunteers. And, despite hearing it multiple times, the friends I made in Burkina far exceeded anything I was anticipating.