So Many Colors in the Rainbow

Oh so many colors...

Negativity and selfishness have defined my life in the past few weeks. A combination of heat and events outside my control have limited much of my ability to do work. I have tried, with little success, to create activities and opportunities to occupy the extraordinary amount of time recently made available to me. A library project and a youth conference discussing public health and water sanitation have both been delayed until further notice (effectively canceled). I've been trying, but with situations as they are it is proving to be a very difficult time.

Some of the basketball team painting and participating in the Rainbow Project.

The problem with all of this is that I have allowed the boredom and lack of motivation to take over. So many activities, so many cancellations, what am I to do? Frankly, I have not been occupying the time as well as I could be doing, no fault can be blamed on anyone but me for that. Yes things are difficult right now, but I need to stay motivated or all of this becomes a dull existence.

Today, as I am wallowing in a state of purgatory, I see a blind child with the largest smile on his face. He is singing along to the radio, and singing loud for all to hear. Other children and adults giggle to themselves, but I am inspired. Here is a child, blind perhaps since birth, taking pride in the spirit of music. He does not notice those around cracking jokes at his expense, the child is simply enjoying himself.

My Japanese friend Akiko instructing us on what to do. The Rainbow Project is an art project using paint as a platform for discussing diversity created by JICA.

How can I be so selfish and negative? How can I think life is so awful because I have not been allowed to work lately? I am an able bodied 24 year old male, in terrific overall shape and with an education not afforded to those that I work with to no fault of their own. Yet, I whine and moan that my life is so terrible.

This child, pending unforeseen medical advances, will never be able to distinguish the beautiful colors of the rainbow. If he is one day to have children of his own he will never be able to see them with his own eyes. I can't imagine such a fate.

I live in a land where my problems are laughable. My petty needs, seeming so grave to me, would be problems desired by most of the world. I have a job. I have healthcare. I can pay for myself to eat, to drink a cold beer, to travel and see friends whenever I feel.

The finished project, before connecting them to form "the rainbow."

I pay for medicine with my own money knowing that I will be reimbursed. That is not the case for most of the world. Burkinabe health clinics do not have the money for sterile latex gloves, it is the people that must buy them for the doctors. Why would you pay for a pair of gloves knowing that if you do there will be no food for your family that evening? I certainly would rather risk unsanitary treatment over not feeding my family.

Then we see the devastation of Japan. An astronomical earthquake of 9.0 wipes out an entire part of a country leaving thousands of people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced. I received an email from my dear friend Yoshie telling me about the situation. She cannot find some of her friends. I know that fear, all of us Americans do. It's a fear that nobody ever wants-remember September 11^th 2001, and then Hurricane Katrina, August 2005. Man made disaster or natural, both are equally devastating. My buddy Kaego is returning to Japan Sunday after finishing two years of JICA volunteer service in Burkina Faso only to return to the most horrible natural disaster to ever hit Japan. I cannot imagine the fear and anxiety that is plaguing my Japanese friends here in Burkina, the feeling of helplessness that I know so many of them feel.

After finishing the first assingment the kids started painting whatever they felt. Students are very creative, they just need encouragement and the means.

Then there is Cote d'Ivoire. The devastation of a failed government on the verge of war has preyed on the mind of many of my friends here in Burkina Faso. Almost every Burkinabe has a friend or a family member in what was once the most successful and stable country in West Africa. Many of my friends live in fear that everyday one of their own will fall victim to the deteriorating situation in Cote d'Ivoire.

Nevertheless, these people are surviving. I am truly inspired by the spirit of those around me, and disgusted with my own attitude. My friend Akiko asked me to organize a group of students to participate in the Rainbow Project. While I did not know the project, I agreed to help when she explained it as an art project designed to discuss diversity and acceptance. Here is a Japanese woman, not directly affected by the earthquake but certainly still affected, moving on and trying to do what she can despite tragedy. Boys and girls who came to participate are still in high spirits despite difficult situations outside of their control throughout West Africa.

Still unsure how writing in Japanese encouraged this student to write in English. On the left is "I love you," on the right is his name in Japanese.

The idea of the project is to mix colors in ways to demonstrate that while each color is distinct, each one is also a mix, a platform to discuss the topic of diversity. Even though Burkinabe, Japanese, and Americans are all from different backgrounds, religions, and cultures, it's amazing the things that we share in common. We must embrace our differences and celebrate our similarities, it's the only way people will make it in this world.

I have family and friends that love me, a wonderful girlfriend who reminds everyday that this world is a beautiful place, an African community that has welcomed me and taken care of me, and of course my health. I try to take none of it for granted.

Things that Go Bump in the Night

This "little" guy is the real reason why I use a mosquito net at night. Heard him hit my screen door with a large *thud* last night while I was getting ready for bed.

Malaria is a scary thing, but there is no way I want to be waking up with that guy in my bed (I've already woken up to a bat flapping around inside my mosquito net). This beetle thing happens to be the same size as a medium sized bar of soap. Scary huh?

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!