Moto Lessons

This sojourn in Burkina is a bit different from my last. I am living in a city, Fada N'Gourma, not a village. My house this time is equipped with electricity and running water (sure beats pumping and carrying water and using a latrine). And this time around I have said good-bye to the bike and hello to a moto.


Along with the moto has come many lessons...luckily I have learned most of these the easy way.

1. Even though a moto looks pretty it does not mean it's a good moto.
2. Front is to shift up, back is to down-shift. It is not a good idea to mix these up.
3. Whatever is smaller than you SHOULD move out of the way.
4. Even on your moto a cow is still bigger than you.
5. Toads who don't obey lesson 3 make a gratifyingly squishy sound when you run over them.
6. Rocks don't obey lesson 3 and they don't make a squishy sound when you run over them.
7. Mud and motos don't mix well together
8. Sand and motos don't like to be in the same place at the same time.
9. When riding remember that unlike a car your face is the windsheild and that is where bugs will hit.
10. Wearing a helmet helps protect against those bugs and a few other things.
11. Just because every other moto in the country has a reserve gas tank does not mean that yours does.
12. Some places mix petrol (lamp gas) with their car/moto gas. This will kill your moto.
13. When smoke starts coming from your moto you should go see a mechanic.
14. When smoke starts coming from your moto the next day you should change your mechanic.
15. Motos make life a lot nicer than bikes do in 100 degree weather.

That's what I have learned so far, but I am sure there is more to come.

The first month

Dear Friends and Family,

I apologize that I have been here almost a month and a half and haven't updated my blog.

Coming back to Burkina and Fada has been a good experience so far. I spent my first few days in Ouaga and then moved to Fada in order to dive into work. Found a house my first day in Fada and was really happy that I was going to have electricity this time around. Due to a few different things (mostly sharing a latrine with lots of little kids) I found a new house a few weeks later where I now not only have electricity but running water with a toilet and a shower. The move has made adjusting and feeling at home a lot easier.

Work is going really well and the harvest is well underway. We'll probably start buying within the next and then my job will be non-stop. In the meantime I have been doing a lot of asking questions, organizing, meeting contacts and find more sesame producers. It's taking being more social than I normally am but it is probably a good thing.

(For those of you who don't know what I am doing in Burkina here is a quick explanation: I am the Regional Coordinator of the Eastern Region of Burkina Faso for a company called Expandia International Traders that was started by some of my ex-Peace Corps friends. Currently the company is solely exporting sesame but will be branching out into cashews and dried mangoes in the near future. My job is to cover the whole eastern quarter of the country, working with associations and groups of farmers that are growing sesame. This varies from working along side well organized associations to program how and when we are buying, to working with smaller groups who are asking for advice on how to better grow their sesame.)

I am finding the job frustrating at times but also very interesting and educational. Instead of just showing up at the end of the harvest Expandia has decided to be with the farmers from the start and gave out seed on credit and has been working hand in hand with groups to see how things can be done better. Although I am working for a commercial business and not an NGO/save Africa program I believe we can actual make a difference in the lives of a lot of people on the very simple level of giving them a market to sell what they have produced.

Outside of work I have been adjusting fairly well. I did get pretty sick for a week or two but am doing fine now. I have been reconnecting with a lot of old friends and making a lot of new ones. I also just went and visited my old village and it was really great to see everyone and slip back into their lives a little. On a side note for those of you who helped out with donations for the library at the school in Bilamperga, I am very pleased to say that the library is still in use and that a few books have been added since my departure. If any of you still are interested in the library please let me know.

One more project that I am starting to get involved in and am very excited is a home for 10 jr. high and high school girls that will allow them to continue with their education. This project was started by former PC volunteer Tracey and our mutual friend Hassan. Once I got here both Tracey and Hassan asked if I would be willing to be involved in the project and also be an additional go between for Tracey and Hassan. The project started out well and the house is mostly complete but due to lack of funding for the moment the project was not able to start housing girls this year. It is our hope that we'll be able to raise enough money to get this up and running soon. Once the house is complete the 10 girls selected will be able to come live there along with a few women to run the house and be guardians for the girls, and at that point we will also be able to get some government and NGO funding to keep everything running. So far I have mostly been an observer with the project but hope to be more involved as time permits. (Sorry this is getting long, if you are interested in this and want to know more just let me know)

So, that has been most of my life for the past few weeks. Oh wait am I missing something, ah the boyfriend update. Yes, I am still dating Tankoano Soantieba Didier (Di) and things are going well. We have both decided to take everything very slow upon my return (no rings or wedding bells for those of you who thought that was why I was coming back). Whenever we get to see each we hang out and talk about life and all that good stuff and are enjoying each others company. Due to our jobs we only get to see each other for a day or two every month, which seems like a long time but after a year apart it's not that bad.

Okay, time to wrap this up. Thank you to all of you for your well wishes and I will try to remember to keep you all updated on life here.

Krista

(Sorry no pictures due to camera issues. :o( )

My address:
Krista Kay
s/c Expandia International Traders
09 BP 1415 Ouagadougou 09
Burkina Faso, West Africa

Most of the way there

The last week has been pretty crazy. I finished up my job at Equity, moved out of my apartment and to my parents for the weekend, and then on Monday night hopped on a plane to NYC that would be the first leg of my long trip back to Burkina. I made it to NYC without any problems...just with out much sleep. Was very happy to discover that JFK does have luggage storage and grabbed the A-train into the city. Spent a great day with Oreila and a bit of time with Brooks too. Made it back to the airport and onto my flight to Casablanca, which is where I am currently sitting while waiting another 8 or so hours until my flight to Burkina.

Sorry to any of you who I was not able to talk to before I left. I will hopefully be updating this blog on a regular basis once I get settled.

Step 1: Buy Ticket

Sounds easy, right? Go online, search flights, select flight, purchase flight, and you're done. Well, not so much.

For starters since I am flying to Ouagadougou via Royal Air Morroc getting my ticket online was not a option. No biggie, I'll call. Ring-ring. Press 1 for English. And then low and behold someone whose first language is not English picks up the phone. Oh well, we'll get through this. Pick the flight, give the credit card number and my vitals and then right as I am starting to say "Thank you" I get the email confirmation. Oh no. My name is now Kay/Crista Lee. I tell the nice man on the phone that he spelled my name wrong and his response is that I told him to spell it that way, this is what came to pass:

"My name is spelled with a K, as in kite"
"Right, K as in charlie"
"No, not C, K like in kite, not charlie"
"Ok, so it is K-C-R-I.."
"No, just K, no C"
"Right, K as in charlie"
"No, K as in kite, same as my last name. Both are spelled with K not C"
"Mame, you are being very difficult"

Low and behold ten minutes later I had a ticket in the name of Kay/Krista Lee. Yea!
End of story....

Not so much.
Day 2. The next morning I open my email to find a nice message saying that me card had been declined. Call the bank. Find out they but a hold on my account because it was a large amount. They didn't think it was necessary to let me know they put a hold on my account, but at least after going through and verifying my last 20 transactions they lifted the hold. Hang up. call airlines. Press 1 for English. Tell them to run the card again and we'll be good. Before I hang up I am informed I will receive an email in the next 30 minutes confirming everything went through. Wait 30 minutes, no email. 1 hour, no email. 2 hours, no email. Decide to check my bank account online. And guess what, the are 2, yes 2 not 1, charges listed as pending in my account and yes when this goes through my account will be in the hole by over $500. Time to start worrying. Call the airlines, press 1, all representatives are currently busy, and after 5 minutes the line goes dead. Call the airlines again, press 1, all representatives are currently busy, 5 minutes, and dead. Wait an hour. Call the airlines, same thing. Another hour, call the airlines, and wait I finally get through. Unfortunately the very nice lady on the phone proved she really didn't know too much when she got to the point of agreeing with me that yes Royal Air Morroc would pay all my bank overdraft fees. I hung up.

Day 3. Decide to call the bank and tell them to only let one of the charges go through. So I open my online account to get the phone number, and am shocked to see that both of the charges have disappeared. Yea, no overdraft fee, but wait, do I still have a ticket? Check online with the the airlines and yes there's my ticket number and my seat reservations. So free ticket? Do I call the airlines? Do I call the bank? Decide to wait.

Day 4. Check my bank account. My ticket has been charged and has gone through. Well, no free ticket but at least it's all taken care. On to Burkina.

Lesson learned: Just because you press 1 for English, it doesn't mean the person on the other line actually speaks it.