Fatty Matty

I have concluded that certain members of the Agrarian Effort household would love this country based on three key facts:
1. All food is eaten with your hands
2. Picking your nose is as normal as scratching your nose.
3. Okra is abundant (though usually dried).

In other news, I finally received my official African name: Fatimata. Yes kids, that's right, my name is "Fati". It wasn't really up to my choosing, but I'll take it. If nothing else, it'll keep me humble to be called that a bijillion times a day. But actually, here, being fat means that you eat well. Or at least that is what my new adopted mom says. She whines at me every meal that I don't eat enough. I need to put on weight. I contend that this is not the case, but there is no convincing this woman.

Oh yes, I have a new adopted family. Last week was site visit week where I saw for the first time where I will be living for the next two years. The week went swimmingly, despite a brief encounter with "the changes". My village is called Bourzanga and is located directly north of Ouaga. If you check out a map of BF, you can see a good sized lake (15 km long) and that is where I am, on the the southeast shore. And that means... year round veggies and fish!

The headmaster of my school resembles an African version of Gandhi and his hospitality befits his appearance. I am very lucky because he speaks excellent English, although we mostly communicate in French for my benefit. My new adopted family is wonderful, as well. Abdulaye and Mariam have 5 children of their own and take care of a niece and nephew who were sent to them from Cote d'Ivoire at the beginning of the war there. Both have big gaps between their front teeth which give them a cartoonish look. They both speak French as well as Mooré and they are incredibly nice and fun. My new house is great. (It amazes me how my standards of living have changed.) It has THREE rooms (which make it the Taj Majal for me) and a very porch area. The latrine is nice, but there are huge cockroaches at night, so I am scared to pee after dark.

This past week was really energizing. I can definitely do this for the next 2 years. My training village was getting me down, but the situation in my new village is a lot better, and my attitude has turned around. Despite the great things in my village, there is no means of communication. There is not even a single telephone in the whole village. So that means that my posts here will be sparse. So I have the feeling that snail mail will be my primary source of communication, despite the price (almost 2 bucks per letter home).

Well thats about it. Thanks to everyone for the birthday emails. They certainly made my day. I wont have any internet access for over a month now, so I am really sorry if I didnt reply.