ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Ah yes, another fine 120 degree day in Burkina. Well, they say April is the hottest month and I believe them. WOW, so much to share that I dont even know where to start.... Lets take the title. Good ol Mr. Bowie has been on everyones mind because our medical officer (MO) called diarrhea the "changes". So now if someone has a stomachache, everyone bursts into song.

Well, it seems the question on everyones mind in your WONDERFUL emails to me (which i appreciate to no end, though it may take me a long time to reply to) is what my new family is like. Well, they are incredibly nice people. I have a grandfather and two grandmothers (polygamy is commonplace here). I have a father and a brother, two sisters, a bijillion little kids and other people I havent really met. We have a lot of really stinky pigs, one donkey, one horse, five dogs, a million chickens, a million goats (one who was just born last week!) and some guinea hens. Its a noisy place. They treat me like a princess. I have a special chair that theyll follow me around with. I get special meals (and yes, they have mostly involved meat) and my brother does everything for me. They do my laundry too. My dad and brother speak French and everyone else only speaks Mooré. My French is coming along, but I still get really frustrated by my capability boundaries.

Life here has certainly made me appreciate the little things like: cold drinks, pop, fans, shade, vegetables, toilets and so on. And that reminds me of an amusing anectdote from here. One night, while at the bar with my friends, my friend Adam went to use the latrine. After a little time, he comes back and announces to the group, "OK, I am done with this country!" Apparently, while he was urinating into the latrine hole, a bird flew out of the hole! I am soooo glad that happened to a male and not a female!

Well, thats about it for me for now. I have gotten some requests for possible care packages ideas. So here you go: a stargazing book (the night sky here is breathtaking), a shadow puppetetry book (my cultural contribution to my family), dried fruit, sugar free koolaid packets and newspaper clippings (I hear NO news here). Thanks so much for all your support! Oh and one more thing to add to the carepackage business: Burkina has NO trash system whatsoever, so please remove any excess packaging. What I throw away simply ends up on the ground somewhere. I will try to update this when I can, but the main village I live in does not have internet, so please bear with me.