A Very Bizarre Two Weeks

Peace Corps is known for being an experience where no day is like any other, and Burkina Faso is certainly a country that has the ability to give the gift of surprise each and every day. Given my interesting experiences in the weeks passing since the infamous softball tournament (which I am now known for as being the coach who led his team to an 0-3 record!), I can certainly verify the truth in each day being different from the last.

Even the desert has flowers

It all started actually 2 months ago in the USA after a soccer match with my buddy Chris and his family. After returning home from the friendly match I began to complain of abdominal pain. Various people can attest to this fact. I simply figured the pain was sport induced so I did nothing about it. It continued to bother me for a few days, than I decided it was time to do some of my own research online. I discovered that the only problem most related to what I was feeling was a failure to pass gas...

During the last two weeks I visited a family that makes ceramic pots for a living

Sure enough, the pain went away. And then it came back. But then it went away again. And then it returned. Can you see the pattern? Every time I thought it was time to see the doc, the pain went away and I decided against it. Then came the softball tournament.

When I last blogged, I had done so in the state of good health-about two hours before my body began to fall apart. I went to bed that night with intense abdominal pain centered in the oblique section of my body. This was it, I was already in Ouaga, and it was time to go see the doctors. At first the answer seemed simple. It was ruled an oblique muscular strain, an injury often sustained in baseball or softball. Treatment was easy, I needed to do something that frankly I am simply not good at-rest and no physical activity. In order to force me into a regime of no sports, I had to stay in Ouaga for 3 more days after the softball tourney.

Finally Thursday rolled around, doctors gave me the OK, and I went to site. I was not happy that I had already missed a week of school, but health always comes first. That's when Burkina decided to give a surprise.

I went back to site only to find all doors to school locked tight. No students have been allowed in the school grounds since Friday, February 25^th. So I have been sitting around twiddling my thumbs, watching Dexter and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and reading The Help, among others.

That's when my stomach concluded that is was time to say hello again, and this time it decided to bring with him an ankle injury. Taking advantage of the no-school situation (every cloud has a silver lining right?), I went to Ouagadougou again for further examination on both injuries. Turns out that by neglecting to treat my stomach early I allowed an infection manifest. Treatment is simple, just some antibiotics, but it's quite a relief to no longer feel the cramping that accompanied my stomach for months. I suffered a rolled ankle, whose treatment requires that I wear an Ace Bandage for several weeks. But what kind of story would this be if I didn't have something else go wrong? I had to get a mole removed and as I type this I have 3 stitches in my back where a mole used to be.

My body is finally recovering, and I believe that Burkina is returning back to normal-all good things. This past weekend, Ouagadougou played host to the biannual FESPACO film festival. I had the privilege to see two films, one from Egypt and another about Chinese business in Africa, and specifically Zambia. The preceding was very entertaining, and the latter was extremely interesting. Though I wish I had seen more (apparently the winner was a Burkina made kung fu movie), I was very happy that I was able to be a part of the moment.

Look at all those ceramic pots, afterwards they gave me one

But best of all, last night I saw the legendary Malienne singer Salif Kaeta in concert. The set was horribly done, acoustics were worse than my high school dances, and the opening act lip-sang. Thank goodness Mr. Kaeta is such an excellent musician. Despite all the negatives, Mr. Kaeta delivered a beautiful performance and I encourage anyone interested in music from West Africa to listen to Mr. Kaeta.

After a very bizarre two weeks (or maybe this is normal now?), I am back in Tenkodogo preparing for a return to school tomorrow. I remain highly skeptical, especially considering that Tuesday is International Women's Day, a federally observed holiday here in Burkina. Nevertheless, I will be there, hopefully giving my first math lesson in over two weeks to a group of students that I hope will be excited to have class again. Best of all, my health seems to be returning too!