Africa Update

Just call me "Wend Panga"...

That is the African name given to me by my host family here in Yako,
Burkina Faso. In Moore (the most common of the many local languages
of BF), "Wend Panga" means "The Force of God." In my awful (but
improving) French, I managed to tell my family how honored I was to
be given such a name. It seems appropriate given how good God has
been to me, especially for the past couple of weeks. I've seen plenty of
God's forces at work through the people of this country as well as
through those of the Peace Corps.


There have been very few times in my life (if any at all) when I have
been, demographically, in the minority. Along with the desperate
poverty and the substancial language barrier, being so physically
different from everyone has taken some getting used to. I can't walk
down the street without at least five or ten kids shouting "Nasara!"
(Foreigner!) or "Nasara, Bon Bon!" (Foreigner, Give me candy!).
Bartering at the market is quite the challenge- Despite my best
efforts, I don't think I've yet paid the "vrai prix" (real price) for
an item. It's not difficult for vendors to tell that I'm not from
around here and give me the "Nasara prix."

Ok, it's time for some "Josh in Africa" trivia. One of the following
statements is false. Which one is it?

(a) My host father's brother (my uncle) is buried in our
courtyard.

(b) I received a marriage proposal from a girl in the
neighboring courtyard on my third day in Yako.

(c) One morning, while I was peeing in the latrine, two birds
flew up out of the hole.

(d) A goat walked into a high school statistics class I was
observing and started drinking the water used to wash the
blackboard.

(e) Last week, I went to a restaurant that had the show '24'
playing on the TV. (This is the same restaurant where they
had to kill the chickens right when you order them.)

I will give you the correct answer at the end of the email. Remember,
four of these are true!

I got my first letters a couple days ago, and I can't tell you how
excited I was. I know I already gave you all my address, but here it
is again, just in case:

Joshua Yardley, PCT
S/c Corps de la Paix
01 B.P. 6031
Ouagadougou 01, Burkina Faso

I'd love to hear from you. Also, please continue to keep me in your
prayers. They've been working great so far.

love,
josh 'wend panga' yardley


P.S.: (b) is not true. Though marriage proposals to American guys
are not uncommon, I have yet to receive one. Maybe I need to start
shaving more often...