Saturday, August 14, 2010

“Americaland” and Getting Back into the Swing of Things

I got pulled into stage and couldn't come out to give an update until now after working four weeks of stage after a week of TDE (training development evaluation) and a week of TOT (training of trainers) and 5 weeks home in the US.

Those six to seven weeks before my visit back to the US were insane. I definitely earned my vacation. I started as a member of a new committee: Peer Support and Diversity Network (PSDN), gave my input during preparation stages for the new trainees, and guided our 22 new secondary education trainees during their first three weeks in Burkina Faso. They're a fun group, one of the best. Each person bring something to the table and they've had quite a range of personal and life experiences ranging from teaching in Peru, living on a boat for a total of five years, and working in Kuwait to just graduating from college a week or two before and finishing high school and college in six years and already having three to four years of work experience despite being the same age as many recent college graduates. They have good attitudes and are fun to be around. It was sad to leave them after our time together, but I knew we would be reunited after my time home.

My time home was amazing. It was tough getting back into the swing of things with my partner what with being apart for over a year, but we managed to figure it out and still have fun in the process. I spent time with my parents, brother, friends, grandparents, and my beau-famille. I went sailing in Chesapeake Bay with family and friends, bringing my partner, who loved it, for the first time; went to the beach in Michigan; had dinner with my parents and with my grandparents; enjoyed the luxury of a US hotel; visited our local zoo; went on a wine tour and did a brewery tasting; ate a lot of delicious food I had been missing; went to the Cottage; rode in a power boat and went tubing after not seeing and real body of water for a year; went on two picnics; I even ran a few times. The best part about being home was seeing those I love and had missed all year. Time sped by and my 22 hour trip back to Burkina was difficult. The most difficult part besides leaving my family was leaving my partner, again. I knew it would be.

I've taken my days and hours at times slowly since I've been back while trying to ease back into a life that now seems so familiar to me. I've done it once already, so I know I'm capable of another year. And while it was tough coming back, I'm happy to be back and I do like it here.

I got back just in time for our second official PSDN meeting followed by our Mid-Service Conference (MSC). [In case I haven't told you already, Peace Corps is doused with acronyms, they can NEVER get enough!] During said conference, we had one day of conferencing and two involving TB tests, physicals, and a trip to the dentist.

The dentist was an interesting experience. I thought it was cool to go to one in another country and also where we spoke a different language. It was fairly routine and comparable to the states until the cleaning part. He, the dentist, checked my teeth to make sure I had no cavities, and cleaned them after taking new pictures of each one. The pictures were taken with the same type of cylinder and instead of using disposable lead strips coated in plastic, a rectangular prism wrapped in a plastic bag was used to isolate my teeth. The cleaning was interesting. Instead of a spinning plastic tool to put on toothpaste and rub off the plaque, a tool that shot a speeding saline solution was used seemingly to use water pressure as a de-plaquing technique. Interesting. Thankfully, I had enough paper wrapped around my neck to keep my clothes dry for the most part, other than that which dripped down the middle of my neck. It did not taste good, but that meant I was not dehydrated, so I had that going for me at least!

The conference part went well. I did not feel like being there at the start but things improved when we were given two hours to chat with each other about what went well, what didn't go so well, and how we can make it better. It was great because we were able to pick each other's brains and share advice and ideas.

Next I went north to Dori to do some tree-planting. We planted 20,000 trees with several other groups of volunteers from all over, including Burkinabè volunteers, too, of course. We spent the night, enjoyed good food, speeches, and a looong bus ride. Other than actually planting trees, I think I liked the kick-off bonfire the night before best. There was dancing and cheering and presentations – I enjoyed it a lot.

I spent the night in our capital before heading out early back to the training city to be reunited with SE stagiaires and to also meet the newbies whom I was only fortunate enough to welcome and not get formally introduced before I left.

I got back in time to watch two classes taught by two different trainees and watch a small group try their hand at PACA (Participatory Analysis for Community Participation). I enjoyed lunch with stagiaire D to catch up on everything I missed and attended the social relationships cross-cultural session which GEE also attended.

Today, Saturday, our SE stagiaires had a field trip language session 24 K away. I biked with two other PCV's since there weren't enough spaces on the bus. We got to see crocodiles, get pictures with them, sit on them, and pull them back by their tails – there are just some things you don't get to do in the states!

Tomorrow's plans involve biking nearby to go hiking on a beautiful hill L. spotted on our bike ride today. Another day. Another adventure.

Until next time.