Hello from Camp Ouagadougou

Hello from Burkina Faso! We have been here for nearly five days and have been welcomed into the local team's office. One of our first project-related opportunities involved observing the 'training the interviewers' session, where a local professor explained the surveys to the group of interviewers and addressed any questions or concerns. It was quite reassuring to hear the conversations (rather, what I could understand of the conversations...they were conducted soley in French)! The group asked great questions and we found out that the interviewers will be conducting household surveys and focus group sessions in the local languages...whew!!! This was one of the biggest questions I hoped to address during this trip.

My classmate and I have been staying in a convent on Rue de la Cathedrale. Breakfast and dinner are available on-site, which has been convienient. Additionally, one of the local team members has been incredibly helpful and generous with his time, picking us up on his way to the office and offering to drive us to restaurants for lunch (the only options in walking distance are side-of-the-road type stands and the corner store that we buy water and juice from at least once a day!) We plan to spend tomorrow morning with this co-worker and his daughter, going around the Central Market in downtown Ouagadougou.

And then there is the heat factor. I did not know it was possible to sweat this much! Today is the coolest it has been so far, with a high of 95, humidity over 40%, and a UV rating of 9. The first couple days topped out over 104 degrees, with comparable humidity. Although our room at the convent has many wonderful features (meals, an incredible diversity of fellow travelers, mosquito nets, no rolling blackouts, a "shower" and sink in the room, etc.) it does not have the luxury of air conditioning. Needless to say, my classmate and I are looking forward to the third team member's arrival (Saturday!), which will allow us to afford a nicer hotel room (air conditioning included!). I've loved staying at the convent, but won't complain about a good night's sleep and a little less sweat.

Overall, things are going quite well. I'll post later about the Niger situation. Until then, enjoy the photos! The top one is a picture of the corner store that we walk to from the office (if you look carefully on the right side of the page, you can see the bike lane and road. Yes, you read correctly. Bike lane, complete with stop lights. They've had it figured out here for years! More to come on the incredible Burkina transportation systems.) The other picture is of the room at the convent. The white drapery over the bed is my mosquito net.

Random quote/information from trip:
My classmate and I now refer to our room at the convent as "Camp Ouagadougou," as the small beds, concrete floors, shared toilets, and excessive use of bug spray/sunscreen/Gatorade/water consumption reminds us of our summer camp experiences. When joking about our linguistic challenges, and the optimism that comes with enjoying the safety and amenities of our current location, we decided on the following motto:
"At Camp Ouagadougou, we always stay in the present!"