Site Placement

July 9th, 2009

The excitement in the air is palpable. This is the day we’ve all been waiting for. I look around the room at the thirty-one other faces. It’s hard to imagine that just one month ago all these faces were unknown to me. Time here is a funny thing. I feel as though I have been in Burkina forever, yet at the same time it feels as though I just arrived yesterday. During the day, the US seems like a distant memory yet a glance at a letter from home brings the memories rushing back as though I just left.

After some pomp and circumstance we are told to go outside where our fates await us. On the ground is a giant outline of Burkina Faso with thirty cities marked out. One of those cities is soon to be mine. The SE volunteers are going to go first. As a blindfold is tied over my eyes I take one last glance at the map. I am overwhelmed by a sea of unfamiliar names.

Once we are all blindfolded we are lead to our locations by our language teacher. Awa grabs me by the arm and I step forward, paper crinkling under my feet. After a few steps I come to a stop, waiting, listening. Everyone is in place, take off your blindfolds. I look down, Toma. It means absolutely nothing to me. Much the same as Burkina Faso meant nothing to me three months ago when I opened my invitation, but this time I can’t turn to Google for information, not that I’d be likely to find much.

Looking around, I notice that one of the married couples, Tyler and Jessi are my closest neighbors. They seem to have the same look of excitement and bewilderment that I must have on my face. I smile at them, they smile back. Someone takes a picture and we step off of the map. Awa gives me a map of Burkina and an envelope. In it, my site description:

“Congratulations, you are on your way to Toma, the capital of the province of Nayala! The Center d’Animation et Formation de Toma, or more simply the CAFT is a private school with two fully equipped computer labs and a dynamic staff. Tired from a hard day at work? You are just a two-minute stroll away from your cozy studio with private tied bathroom and scenic view. You can cool off with a shower, or you can take a nap with your ceiling fan running. There is internet (in your lab), a post office (just down the hill), and a couple well-stocked supermarkets (in the center of town). Telecel, Telmob and Zain are available in Toma, so you can easily keep up on all the PC gossip. Need a break from site? There is daily direct transoport to Dedougou (your regional capital), Koudougou, Ouagadougou, Tougan, and Bobo-Dioulasso, but watch out! It’s a bumpy ride no matter which way you are going.
San is the local language, but you might be able to get by with Djola or Mooré.”

I smile. It sounds wonderful.