In going through all my old papers, deciding what to burn and what to keep, I came across a list detailing the reasons why I came to Burkina Faso--the goals I wanted to achieve during my two years here.  Here is that list, along with my successes, failures, and thoughts on each:

Learn languages.

When I last took language placement tests (for U.S. government-determined language placement levels...I forget the official name of the certification) in August 2006, I placed advanced-mid in french and inter-mid in Fulfulde.  So, in my estimation I am currently advanced-mid or advanced-high in French and inter-high in Fulfulde.  I can have an intelligent conversation about anything in French, in any tense.  West African French comes completely naturally to me now.  Much of the time, French words enter my thoughts and speech much more easily than their English counterparts.  As for Fulfulde...I did not become as knowledgeable as I had once hoped.  The only reason I understand people as well as I do is because I listen for recognizable key words and just assume the rest of what was said.  Eight times out of ten that works for me.  In most situations I can convey concrete information and ideas without feeling the need for a translator.

Live modestly and like much of the non-western world.

Lack of electricity has almost never bothered me, except those nights when the outside temperature at 10pm is still 99.7 degrees F and I can't but help dream of an electric fan.  When it comes to water...well, I basically have water conservation down to a science (mainly because of my lack of motivation to haul it from the pump more than once a day).  I use about 5 quarts to wash dishes every 3 or 4 days; 4 quarts or fewer to take a bucket bath once a day; 12 to 15 quarts to wash all my clothes, once every week and a half or 2 weeks.  Ha!  Now that I think about it, during the hot season I actually drink more water in a day that I use to wash myself!

One thing that took a long time to be more conservative with is packaging waste.  During my first year in Burkina, I craved Pringles (something you can get here, surprisingly) all the time.  I still crave oatmeal all the time, and eat it almost every morning.  As a result, hordes of empty Pringles and oatmeal cans have threatened to stage a hostile take-over of my house.  What will I do with them?  Well, I could have given them away to any kid and he/she would have amused him/herself for the next five years.  But unfortunately, I am still ashamed of the fact that I had so rapaciously consumed all these cans of expensive food (and as is the case with Pringles, junk food) when one can of Pringles or oatmeal costs the same as it would to feed three meals to a family of six.  So, as much as I hate to do it, I will probably end up cutting off the metal bottoms and burning the cardboard body of each can.  Waste is constantly on my mind here; in the US one can easily ignore waste, even convince oneself that the waste will just disappear when the garbage man picks it up.  But here, your trash comes back to haunt you.  If a wrapper blows out of my hand and I don't chase it down, I sometimes assume that it will just blow away...until the next day when I'm watering my plants and discover the same wrapper cuddling up next to my papaya tree!  Another waste predicament:  how does one dispose of tin can lids?  They are too sharp for kids to play with, and they won't burn.  If I "throw it out" (of my courtyard), even if in a seemingly inconspicuous place, the probability of a child finding it is 100%.  So, I throw them into my latrine.  Now for the biggest waste problem:  plastic.  Everything comes in plastic...peanuts, pastries, dates, coconut, sesame cakes, sugar, even yogurt, juice and water.  Plastic won't disintegrate, so if one throws it on the ground it makes the village ugly and (perhaps) the animals sick.  My two choices are to bury it or burn it.  I choose to burn it, even though that's terrible.  But anything one does with plastic is terrible!  And, whenever possible, I insist on not being given a plastic sachet in which to put my plastic-encased peanuts.

Ascertain what I want to do with the rest of my life.

Yep!  For those of you I haven't spoken with about this, I hope to work helping to resolve international conflicts which are based on climate change and global warming.  Much more on that later, but for now I'll just say that in June 2006 when I compiled this list, I wrote this item off as a pipe dream.  Actually I thought that up until about three months ago.  The graduate programs in which I am most interested in are an MA in Global Environmental Policy at American University (in DC), and an MA in International Relations and Environmental Policy at Boston University.

Learn about the Burkinabe culture.

Of course, I have learned plenty on this front.  So much so that I fear I will commit American taboos when I return to the US.  Such as...violating the sacrosanct no-no of answering my phone during a meeting, in a regular voice; asking for a free gift in the supermarket because I bought four apples instead of one and am therefore entitled; picking up random people's babies while declaring I'm taking the baby home with me; disciplining other people's kids; ordering, rather than asking, people to do things for/with me; inviting everyone within hearing distance to eat off my plate with me; arguing with the supermarket cashier about the price of an item, insisting I'm being given the "white price;" asking a complete stranger how her husband and kids are; getting upset at people for answering the phone so quickly when I just wanted to "beep" them to say hi; giving a six-year-old kid money and telling him to go find me tissues or a beer; purposely making other people's kids cry (yes, that actually happens here, all the time).  These are all things that every Burkinabe, and therefore Burkina PCV, does on a normal day.

Teach Burkinabe about Americans.

I'd like to think I came a long way with this.  Although, villagers in Amsia don't see me as an American so much as they see me as a white person.  Functionaries (i.e., teachers, police, other government workers) do make the distinction between Americans, Europeans, etc., as they understand French and tend to listen to more world news.  There is one common belief about white people in my village that I really hope will abate after my having lived here for two years, and that belief is that all white people have guns and will use them.  My students never used to come to my house at night, and I always wondered why until Moussa (a student who was raised in a much bigger village and has therefore been exposed to more information from the rest of the world) told me that everyone was afraid I'd shoot them.  Wow.  Slowly, though, he started bringing other students over at night to read or chat.  I think their fear has diminished, but I know some older people are still quite leery.

Help girls get to school.

Just looking at this goal discourages me.  Whether I helped girls "get to school is so difficult to quantify--mostly because my work has been indirectly related to this goal.  My field trip with CM2 students (boys and girls) assuaged many of the students' fears about continuing to secondary school.  I worked with students who can barely read, augmenting their reading skills and in turn their self-confidence (7 out of 11 of these students are girls, most of whom never volunteer to speak in class).  My school director, my counterpart and I walked around to every courtyard in Amsia, spending four hours recruiting each and every kid of the appropriate age to start kindergarten.  A prominent local woman and I spent time with several middle school girls, stressing how important and influential their education will be on their futures.  Most importantly, the one telling them was a local woman.  They need a role model who's been through the hardships these girls will go through--not a middle class American white woman who has never had to worry about funding school, avoiding predatory male teachers, or going hungry.  In working with Amsia's 4th and 5th grade classes, I insisted on equal participation of girls and boys, and praised any girl who got high marks on an assignment or exam.  Finally, I worked with my school director in ascertaining ways to make our school more child-friendly (and therefore more girl-friendly).

Another problem with measuring the success of this goal is that it needs to be qualified over time.  Maybe the girls I worked with will insist on sending their own daughters to school because of something instilled in them during my time here.  Maybe some of the boys I spoke with will take to heart my professions to them about the importance of educating girls and send their daughters to school.  Hence why I would really like to return to Amsia five or ten years from now.

Try to combine ideas cross-culturally.

Ah, yes.  This was an endless frustration for me.  Whether it was trying to integrate critical and creative thinking in to students' learning, or proposing the raffling off of a goat to raise money for the school, many of my "cross-cultural" ideas were received by incredulous scoffs or words of advice that things don't work here as they do in America.  Yes, thank you, I realize that this isn't America.  So I mainly altered my way of doing things to their own.  The people in my village said themselves that their minds are closed.  New ideas will take a long time to gain acceptance here--as indeed with any community.  But the point is that I tried, and people were exposed to my crazy way of thinking.

Grow and learn.

I don't even know how to express how much I've grown and learned.  Burkina Faso and its citizens have given me so much more to take home with me than I could ever have given them.  Delving too deep into my thoughts on this goal would take hours and I am not sure this is the right forum to do so,therefore I will make it short.  Being in Burkina has made me more confident, committed, perserverant, creative, open-minded, tolerant, and self-driven.  Heck, I now know what I want to do with the rest of my life!  I knew that coming here would help me grow and learn, but I could never have guessed how much.  I only wish I could have given something equivalent to Amsia.

Comments

[Andrea]

As I think I've said before, these people will remember you forever. You have made an imprint on their lives whether they recognize it or not. I bet you'll never know how much you did give to Amsia.

I'm very proud of you.