Home again

The bus pulls into Toma late, around 10pm. I'm greeted perhaps the only streetlight in town, lighting up the intersection where I'm to jump off. 'Jumping off' is a highly technical maneuver that requires grabbing ones baggage, yelling at the driver to stop and clambering over people, bags, and animals toward the exit at the same time. Failure to do one of any of these three holds up the process significantly, much to the consternation of the other passengers.

I get off next to one of three 'bars' in town that I frequent and there are a few people that watch me awkwardly grab all my bags and boxes and start the walk up the hill to CAFT. During the day there would be much yelling of “Nasaarha!” by kids playing in the street but apparently they've gone to sleep or are otherwise occupied. My counter part, Frere Prosper, meets me about half way with his moto and relieves me of some of the heavier luggage. I'm forbidden from riding a moto by Peace Corps so I have to continue the last few minutes on foot, happy that I'm carrying less!

I walk into CAFT and am overwhelmed by the absolute mass of foliage outlined by the moonlight. There seems to be plants everywhere! Tall grasses spring out from the road around me as leaves blot out the light overhead. For a minute my home of the past year seems foreign to me, until I round the corner into our compound. And there it is! I'm taken back to the first time I pulled up to my house, almost exactly a year ago. I'm glad to be home.

I dump my backs on the veranda and start searching for my keys. I know they are in here somewhere... emerging triumphantly from my backpack I dust away the cobwebs over my door and turn the key. The door opens and I flick on the light. I'm not sure what to expect. After being gone for 2 months would there be inches of dust everywhere? Insects?

After preparing myself for the worst I look around and am pleasantly surprised. There is a fine layer of dirt, grime, dust and lizard poop everywhere, but besides that the place seems relatively clean! I grab the broom and get to work, I want to get the worst of it out of here and then go to sleep. I can deal with the rest in the morning.

I make my away around the room, making small piles of mess everywhere I go. I've got about half the room done when I round the corner of my bed and AH! LIZARD SATAN SPAWN FROM HELL!!! I almost jump out of my skin as I see what appears to be a giant lizard starting at me from the floor. I pull up the broom defensively, readying myself for a fight. The lizard doesn't seem to be moving at all though. In fact it doesn't seem to be alive. A couple seconds later I realize that this poor soul must have slipped into my room under the door, then died. The heat in my room had long since dehydrated him into a larger, crispier, bone-dry version of his former self. I shudder.

I put him, along with the other unwelcome guest (a scorpion, which I dispatch of with the broom) out onto the porch. The small jump I get out of Prosper when he seems them is worth it. Even after I poke it with the broom and explain to him that it's dead he eyes it somewhat wearily.

The next days are spent sweeping, dusting, mopping (by hand) and washing my room and (almost) everything in it. I feel really good when I'm done. Time to start year two!

The Tiberi Times: West African Edition - Headlines

Lightning Strikes Computer Lab, Students Scared but Unhurt
Tiberi guesses that the fuse is blown
Tuesday April 27th, 2010

After foolishly attempting to hold a computer class during a heavy downpour a bolt of lightning struck the computer building Tuesday…[more]

Administration Confirms: The Fuse is Blown
Officials say fuse should be replaced ‘soon’
Thursday April 29th, 2010

School officials confirmed reports Thursday that a fuse had been blown during Tuesday’s rainstorm and say it will be replaced ‘soon.’ Tiberi says he’s worried that the computers won’t be back online in time for finals, the 10th and 11th of May… [more]

Biking by ‘le Claire de Lune’
Tiberi allegedly bikes to neighbor’s village by moonlight
Friday April 30th, 2010

Allegedly describing the alleged journey as ‘scary’ at times and ‘beautiful’ at others, sources allege that Tiberi boasts of eating ‘the best chicken of his life’ in a late night trip to Yaba… [more]

No Power
Electricity not restored to computer lab
Tuesday May 4th, 2010

So far this week students have had to spend their time reviewing written notes in lieu of typing practice for the final. Students are beginning to wonder if there even will be a final, asking “are we going to have a final?” School administrators repeated their claims that the fuse will be replaced ‘soon’ but admitted to setbacks because they ‘forgot to call the repair guy’… [more]

Rain on the Bus: Better or Worse than Dust?
Tiberi’s travels to nearby Tougon during a rainstorm
Friday May 7th, 2010

Mr. Tiberi maybe a trip up to Tougon on Friday, despite rain-storm like conditions. He describes the trip as being ‘okay’ but added that he didn’t like ‘dirty water’ dripping from the ceiling. Upon arriving in Tougon Tiberi says he was ‘dismayed’ to see so much ‘dirty water’ on the ground. Luckily Tougon residents Tyler and Jessi came to the rescue with bikes… [more]

8th Annual West African Wrestling Competition Held in Tougon: Hailed a Success
Tiberi attends event with neighbors Jessi and Tyler
Saturday May 8th, 2010

Bringing competitors from across francophone west Africa, the event was ‘really cool’ says Tiberi but soon moved into praises of Tougon residents Jessi and Tyler LeClear Vachta, ‘they saved Oreos for me,’ he says, ‘OREOS!’ then stared dreamily at a dark colored rock on the ground… [more]


No Computers for Computer Literacy Final
Mixed Reactions from Students
Monday May 10th, 2010

Officials confirmed that finals given today were ‘written’ finals on ‘paper.’ Students generally had mixed reactions though Mr. Tiberi could not be reached for comment as he is reportedly proctoring tests all day. When asked when the fuse would be replaced officials set the timeframe to ‘soon’… [more]

Finals Are Over
Student celebrate as teachers left to correct mountains of tests
Tuesday Math 11th, 2010

CAFT students left school Tuesday with a collective sigh of relieve which was perhaps rivaled in magnitude by the collective groan of the professors. “I have a lot of tests to grade,” exclaims one professor while another adds, “It’s not easy.” … [more]

Seeing Red Again

I wake up to an eerily soft light filtering into my room. Something isn’t right. I reach for my cell phone sitting on the desk next to my bed and as I start to push aside the mosquito net a shower of dust cascades down, covering my hand. Well that’s not good.

After very carefully squeezing my way out of my dust trap of a mosquito net I take a look out the window at another world. A strange red glow has replaced the usual bright blue of the sky. The familiar trees and buildings around me were obscured by a reddish fog. And everywhere, small pieces of dust are precipitating down like small, red snowflakes. I close the window. I close all the windows. I’m really hoping they cancel class today but by the muffled sounds coming in the direction of the school it sounds like they haven’t.

After finding and dusting off a dust mask I that had laid dormant in my closet every since its first journey with me from Ouagadougou I stepped outside. The first thing I noticed was one set of footprints across our concrete patio tracked through the thin layer of dust gathered there. On the way over to the school I saw more - the solid tracks of motos and the thin ribbon of passing bicycles as well as two python tire treads. I want rain.

My students have taken on a variety of defenses against the dust. Most are covering their noses and mouth but some also insist on wearing a hat. One is wearing her winter coat. Whatever works. As we set off toward the computer lab several things are running through my mind. First I’m glad that I remembered to close all blind-like window coverings last night. Second I’m really glad that I had won my first battle to get equipment for the lab – sheets to cover all the computers and keyboards. Finally I was wondering how bad this is going to be for my dilapidated fleet of ancient computers. They’ve seen worse – I’m almost sure of it.

The room holds surprisingly little dust waiting for us – no more so than would accumulate in a couple weeks of inactivity. Class is over just as the students are starting to get a grasp on what I’m talking about as par usual. I spent the rest of the day shut up in my room trying not to breath.

Who’s to blame for this? I think Iceland. Asking around the jury is pretty split. I’ve gotten responses ranging from this is definitely the volcano to this is the Sahel and it happens every year to I don’t know but it hasn’t been this bad for twenty years! Whatever is the case, I’m relieved it only lasted a day and I’m really hoping we don’t see a day like that again here for twenty years.

My Spring Break 2010 – With selected highlights

Toma -> Pô -> Ouagadougou -> Bobo -> Sindou -> Ouagadougou -> Togo -> Ouagadougou -> Yako -> Toma

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Pô

“Hey kid, what are you doing?”

“Nothing.”

“Good well then come help me.”

Suddenly the task of cleaning the computer lab seemed a lot less daunting with six student helpers. The place was so full of dust and so poorly organized that I had really wanted to just clean everything out of it right away but I didn’t think I could do it alone and Neal was in a meeting for the next several hours. I knew that the students at my school would leap at the chance to work in our computer lab and evidently it was the same here.

The lab had all of the essentials of a lab, computers, fans, electricity, as well as some perks, windowed glass and an air conditioner. Unfortunately the air conditioner hadn’t been working for some time and the glass windows were pinned open by some computers, resulting in a nice pile-up of dust. I put my small army to work, taking first chairs and tables, followed by cables, monitors and towers. Then came the least fun part – sweeping.

The room was covered in almost a centimeter of dust in some places. Being in the room while it is being swept out is like getting a really bad seat on transport on a really dusty part of the road – you don’t quite end up as red as you do after transport but you feel like you do. I send three unhappy kids in armed with ‘village’ brooms – a bunch of grass or straw tied at the bottom with a cord. Sweeping the household is traditionally part of girls’ daily chores so I had chosen three boys to do the first round. I opened the windows and turned up the fans, hoping to get them some clean airflow and let them go to work. A giant dust-cloud and a few minutes later and the lab looked much better. One more thorough sweep and it almost looked like new.

By the next morning everything was back in the lab, sorted according to operability and I was madly dashing from computer to computer starting installs, entering details, testing CD drives and swapping hardware. Somehow the two days I had allotted myself to finish with the lab had slipped away under the mountain of small tasks and now I was working all out – something I really hadn’t done much of since my last big programming assignment was turned in two weeks before graduation. It was exhilarating and the teacher who came in and out the lab didn’t really know what to think of Neal and me running around crazily. And then it was time to go – I had a bus to catch.

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Ouagadougou

The next morning I was most definitely not catching the bus I promised myself I would wake up for. In fact I wasn’t doing much of anything besides feeling the effects of last night. Besides a massive hangover I had some scrapes from a late-night run in with the pavement on the way back. I struggled out of bed and forced down a liter of water before plopping right back down. I repeated this a couple times before I felt I up to the eight-hour bus ride to the other side of the country. By this time it was lunch, and after learning the next bus out of town left at 2pm, I decided to stay for delivery. After a delicious BLT and equally good grilled cheese with bacon and tomatoes I had my stuff packed out and was heading out the door. I had thirty minutes to get across town but I wasn’t too worried – buses down make a habit of leaving earlier than five minutes to five hours after they are supposed to.

Still I was quite happy to see the taxi pull up that was dropping off some other volunteers. After explaining that I was a little short for time the taxi driver was off on a shortcut to the station, only stopping once to pick up someone headed the same direction. We pulled at 2:00 on the nose. The bus was doing the ritual last minute get-on-the-bus-we’re-leaving honking and I jumped out the taxi waving them down.

Up until this point I’d never met someone running any sort of transport in Burkina that wouldn’t at least try and squeeze one more passenger on. As the bus pulled out of the station after some yelling for me to get out of the way I was shocked. Despite the two-hour wait for the next bus I was overall very impressed by the bus company, Rakieta. They stick to their schedules like clock-work, their buses were cleaner than most I’ve taken in the states, they were comfortable and best off all had air conditioning! These were all firsts for me.

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More to come later but I wanted to get this first part up because it’s been forever and a day since I posted something!

In which I do battle…

Warning: The following post may contain strong nerd language which may be unintelligible to the average reader.

There is a lot of dust in Burkina Faso and it seems a lot of it tries very hard to make a home in my apartment. There is constantly a layer of dust on every surface in my house except maybe my bed. And even there after a couple days you can shake the mosquito net hanging over my bed and a shower of fine dust particles go showering down. I’m sure that’s healthy for my respiration system.

To counter this I do my best to dust and sweep my apartment whenever I can, which varies in frequency from a couple times a day to a couple times a week depending on the week. Luckily I don’t have too much floor space and do my best to make sure I keep things off of the floor. When it’s all said and done I have a nice collection of dust in my dustpan which I throw outside, just begging the wind to blow it back in my house over the course of the next couple days.

I was planning to dumb the dust in one of the small gardens at the base of my porch. As I emptied the pan over the small wall I jumped back as a fury of brown and red shot straight up in the air from below with a loud “BAACAAAACK!” A mother hen with feathers puffed out to the max, wings locked in attack position and a crazy look in her eyes came straight at me.

Luckily from my many days spent collecting Crushbone Orc Belts in gfay (Greater Faydark) and crush the shock of aggoing a mob quickly wore off and I assumed battle stance. I was a little bit worried because I was only wearing cloth, was OOM, and my Fine Plastic Dustpan and Brush weren’t exactly fear-inspiring but I didn’t have too much time to worry about it as she attacked.

I blocked the first attack, using the dustpan as a sort of shield and in combination with the brush tried to push her back gently. I felt that she was one of those stupid mobs that if you actually killed would cause you to lose a lot of hard earned faction, in this case probably with the Frères. As she attacked again my mind began to try and think of the nearest place to zone. I guess I usually did stop in place for a while when entering the compound, but that was too far away and I didn’t have SoW. I decided to try walking into my house and closing the screen door.

I quickly realized the folly of my action as she banged head first into the screen door, which I felt probably wasn’t able to hold up to much punishment. Opening the door again and staving off another attack I prayed that she was more like a WoW mob – limited aggro range – and ran toward the kitchen. Looking back I was relieved to see that she wasn’t following me.

I waited a while, watching from out of aggro range as she moved away from the house, taking with her 12 peeping little chicks. If a mother hen gets this defensive about her chicks I would hate to get between a mama bear and her cubs!

I copied my chat log here for your enjoyment.

Bovard has dropped 8 ounces of dust.
Mother Hen becomes enraged.
Mother Hen uses Battle Cry! Mother Hen’s Attack Power is increased!
Bovard blocks Mother Hen’s attack!
/w Bubs Dude I aggroed one of the stupid chickens, you want to send me a port?
Player ‘Bubs’ not found.
Bovard blocks Mother Hen’s attack!
/who friend
0 player(s) found.
Bovard blocks Mother Hen’s attack!
/y “Where is the nearest zone?”
No one hears you.
Bovard blocks Mother Hen’s attack!
/con
Looks like a reasonably safe opponent.
Bovard blocks Mother Hen’s attack!
Bovard tries to use Hide. It fails!
Mother Hen attacks a screen door for 2 dmg!
Bovard blocks Mother Hen’s attack!
Bovard uses sprint.
Battle Cry fades from Mother Hen.
Mother Hen is no longer enraged.