Brandi à l'étranger: Movin on out

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September 28, 2008

Movin on out

After 28 months of being in Africa, it's finally time to move on. While it's true that I'm much more ready to move on than I was at COS two months ago, a huge part of me is still reluctant to leave this, my second home, behind. Especially after visiting other west African countries and realizing how lucky I was to serve in Burkina Faso. Sure it's the third poorest country in the world, sure I can get much better food in Ghana or Togo or Benin, sure I have to fight my way through the tasks of everyday life even after more than two years of being here; but I love this place. The charm of Burkina is in the people here, in the everyday glimpses of genuine contentment with one's surroundings and relationships. In every single Burkinabé not 'sweating the small stuff.'

In short, this is by no means goodbye to Burkina Faso for me. This is merely "à plus." See you later!

03:24 PM | Permalink

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contact info. & package wish list

wanna send me something? or call me?

COS trip: Aug-Sept 2008

There are a lot of photos to wade through here, but I hope it's at least somewhat entertaining. I've seen a lot in the past month or so! Am in the process of writing descriptions for all the photos, so bear with me.

Burkina Faso: jul-aug 2008

Dori girls' camp Jun 2008

The three GEE volunteers in my province (Jenni, Yaneth, and myself) planned a girls' camp in Dori during the school vacation this year. After much discussion, we decided to invite girls who had just finished primary school, but were at high risk for not continuing on to secondary school. We asked the principals of the 6 primary schools in Dori to choose the girls for us based on this criteria. The camp was five days long, and the themes for each day were as follows: environment, Life Skills (focusing on self esteem and role models), health, and careers. The fifth day consisted of wrap-up and a closing ceremony, where the participating girls were given certificates and T-shirts. Our provincial director of girls' education was an immense help in the logistics of our camp, and she participated as a role model speaker for the girls as well.