Long Overdue Africa Update

Hello family and friends!

I'm sorry it's been so long since you last heard from me- The Internet
in my training village has been out for the last month, and, in any
case, the Peace Corps had been keeping us pretty busy. This last
month of training was a combination of language classes and practice
school- I actually got to go into a real class room and teach an hour
or two every day. While I'm probably going to have to wait a few
years before I can be competitive for that Teacher of the Year Award,
my classes went fairly well, and I had fun up there in front of the
kids. I'm really looking forward to continuing my French studies
after training so I can go into my first school year with a bit more
confidence in my language skills. But what I've got is serving me OK
for right now. As they say here (all the time, I might add), "Ca va
aller," or, basically, "Everything's gonna work out OK."

On Friday, June 3, training came to a close as the 13 remaining
trainees (out of an original 15) swore in at the US Ambassador's house
in the capital, Ouagadougou. Don't ask me how exactly, as a Peace
Corps volunteer, I'm supposed to "defend the Constitution from all
enemies, foreign and domestic," but apparently, that's what I agreed
to as I raised my right hand and officially became a member of the
Peace Corps. Good stuff.


Also, not that you had any doubt about this, but I was looking pretty
sharp at that Swear-In Ceremony. Before I left my training village, I
went to the market and picked out some fancy African fabric, and I
visited a tailor who made me a nice looking boubou (sp?) and pants.
But I never ended up wearing that outfit. My last day with my host
family, my host dad went on and on about how he and his family will
always keep me in their prayers and in their hearts. After that, he
and my host mom presented me with an African outfit made out of
traditional African cloth. "So you can remember us every time you put
it on," my dad explained to me. Now, I don't know when I'm ever going
to get a chance to wear my fancy-schmancy outfit, but I was sure that,
come my Swear-In Ceremony, I'd be wearing something that means a
heck of a lot more to me. And, I have to say, I looked pretty good.


Alright, enough of my ego. This past month has also humbled me at
times. My fellow trainees were getting quite tired hearing about how
glad I was that I hadn't gotten sick yet even though everyone else
had. I don't know how many of you played the computer game "Oregon
Trail" back when Apple IIE's were in style, but this next trivia is
for you folks:

Which affliction featured in the game "Oregon Trail" did I suffer
from at some point during the last month?

(a) Typhoid Fever
(b) Amoebic Dysentery
(c) Cholera
(d) I almost drowned trying to ford the river

Ok, make your guesses, because here comes the answer...

I experienced an unfortunate case of (b) Amoebic Dysentery. So, I'm
not going to go into the details of exactly what is involved with this
particular ailment, but I will tell you that I had parasitic,
invasive, single-celled critters making a meal of my insides. But
don't worry, I showed those little guys who's boss. A couple of doses
of some magic medication cleared up the problem almost immediately.

Also, I would be remiss if I did not share with you a couple of
corrections of past trivia responses that have been brought to my
attention. Thank you to my Burkinabe host father for pointing out
that the "birds" that flew out of my latrine were not actually birds,
but bats. Sorry about that; my bad. Also, thanks to Mr. Beale for
pointing out the real reason African men grow their pinky fingernails
long- It's so they can show they don't do manual labor. It's utility
in nose-picking is just a side benefit.

So, for about the past week, I have been living in Bomborokuy, my
place of residence for the next two years. I will be there for about
four months "integrating into the community" before I actually start
teaching. There's not a whole lot to do in Bomborokuy (besides of
course "integrating"), so every once in a while, I'll be making small
trips to the "big city" down the road where I can use email and get
cell phone reception. (That's right; it took me coming all the way to
West Africa to cave in and get a cell phone.) Thank you all so much
for the letters and pictures- Please keep sending them. You have no
idea how much they help. Especially during these next few months
when I'll be by myself in village for the first time with a whole lot of
downtime- letters will be incredibly appreciated. And keep those
prayers coming, too. You are all in mine.

Regards,
josh