The Amazing Power of People

I have been thinking about what to title this blog for hours. So many titles seemed to fit what has happened to me and my family in the last week, but most were sad and depressing, not hopeful and inspiring. But after seeing my mother tear up in front of her doctor 5 minutes before being medically evacuated to Paris, I saw the power of people firsthand, and why we should never stop believing in the human soul. No photos of beautiful scenery or elephants this week. No stories about travels in exotic places this week. Just an experience, and one that I do not wish upon anyone.

On the last night of my parent's voyage, my mother came down with a violent stomach ache. 12 hours later, mom was in a private medical clinic in Ouagadougou, unable to catch her flight to Paris. She was diagnosed with two tropical deadly diseases at the same time, malaria and typhoid. But those actually, as we found out later, were not the cause of this stomach ache, nor did they actually ever happen. Two days after we took her to the clinic, the doctors brought in a surgeon (one of the best in the world I might add), who told us some of the most intense news I have ever received: a piece of her intestine had died and became infected with gangrene.

We were told that she had no choice but to have an operation done to remove that piece of her intestine. I have never been so scared. And I could understand what was being said. I can't imagine what was going on in the head of my dad as I translated this information to my him, or my mom, the true hero in all of this. It's not everyday one is told that they must have an operation to save one's life--especially in Burkina Faso.

It was the most intense moment of my entire life, and I had to do all the translating. 15 minutes before surgery I had to translate a conversation between an American surgeon in the USA and the surgeon here in Burkina. That kind of pressure is not something that I signed up for when joining the Peace Corps.

And then, as if doing emergency surgery in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso wasn't hard enough on us, the power cut out in the middle of surgery. I swear at that very moment I thought I would lose not only my mom that night, but my dad to a heart attack. At least that was one thing I could handle. If there is one thing a surgeon here understands, it's to have a backup plan for the inevitable rainy season power outage in Ouagadougou.

As it turned out, the surgery was a complete success and mom is safely back recuperating in the USA. My parents were both Medivaced (thank medical insurance) 5 days after the operation to the American Hospital of Paris before getting back Saturday night. Turns out that this particular surgeon is one of the best on the planet operating in some of the most extreme conditions in the world. The best doctors on Earth are on this continent, and never has that rang more true than after all of this. If he had not done what he did that night, my mom may not have made it through the night. I still shudder as to that thought. This doctor deserves praise, he saved my mom's life. Nothing I can do can repay someone for that.

I can tell you know though, two weeks after the fact, that it was almost surreal. You hear of horror stories in medicine, but none have ever affected me personally. Yet my family has grown closer than ever through all of this. I was worried that my parents would leave hating Burkina Faso, but the result is the opposite. What happened to my mom could have happened anywhere at any moment. The quick response from friends, family, and doctors--Burkinabé and American--showed me the power of people in its truest form. When somebody's life is on the line, people will drop everything to see to it that that one person is ok. I saw a different side of Burkina, one that makes me love this place even more. From all walks of like, people will do whatever is in their power to help.

-I want to thank my sister Hannah for her courage. She held strong despite being half a world removed.
-The two doctors, Dr. Baro for originally taking mom in, and of course Dr. Sanou for doing the obvious, saving mom's life.
-Dan, Jeff, Aicha, Dr. Pierre, Dr. Jean-Luc, and the rest of the Peace Corps staff for helping. You guys are amazing and there is nobody else I would rather have in an emergency situation helping me than you.
-Aunt Judy and Uncle Mark for doing countless hours of research stateside and informing everyone of the situation, you guys were tremendous.
-*Phil! I forgot you like we were forgotten at MSC. Thanks my Guinea brother for helping with us that first night, you were awewome.
-Kirstin, I can't thank you enough. No words I can type on this page will do justice for how much you helped my family during that week.
-Dad, I don't know how you put up with all of that. No French, yet trying everything to understand the situation. Without your relentess 24/7 watch of the situation and partnering me, who knows what may have passed.
-Mom, you I thank most of all. I cannot imagine how you coped with it all internally, but you stayed strong and defiant. You never shed one tear through all of it until the goodbye to Dr. Sanou. I hope you passed me down some of that strength.

I love you mom.

Burkina Faso Peace Corps Bike Tour

Hey guys check this out. Us Volunteers in Burkina are riding in a giant bike tour around Burkina Faso--I'm riding about 300km, just a piece of the whole thing. The cause: We are riding to raise money for gender equality projects here in Burkina Faso.

Check out the link! Peace Corps Burkina Faso Bike Tour

Hippos, Elephants, and the Pics

Hey folks,

I know it's been awhile since I've written anything. Having visitors has taken me away from blog time, but neverfear, Dylan is back again with some interesting photos (not so much stories) from his latest adventures with my family and friend Chris. I'll be sure to get a real story next week when I have time. For now, enjoy the photos!

Elephants in Ghana

Termite Mound and Dad



Warthogs

We used this boat to go hippo watching in Ghana. Probably a good thing that we didn't find any



Mom, Dad, and I at the Pics of Sindou



Another Pic

One Year in Peace Corps

That's right, it's my one year anniversary today! Pretty cool huh?

Vacation

Remember that cool picture of Dogon Country from my last post? Well unfortunately, we have to cancel. Unfortunate for vacation plans, yes, worst thing to ever happen to me personally, no.

What this means for me? Well we are not exactly sure. Chris, my parents (who arrive the 11th), and I are discussing an alternative back up plan to the now cancelled Dogon trip. Sorry dad, that $120 visa to Mali I told you not to get may end up going void. Options on the table: Ruins of Lorepini in Gaoua and Nazinga Elephant Park in Pô, Bamako in Mali (you may have a shot yet dad), Giraffes in Niger, or an extremely fast trip through Ghana. I am trying the best I can to work within this new situation, but it sucks having to cancel a trip to a place some Volunteers have said as the only must-see attraction in this part of Africa (Even Ghana has not earned that title).

Well we will see, and I am confident that no matter what we do we will have fun. Chris and I, along with 3 other PCV friends potentially, are heading to Bobo in the Southwest next week to hike the domes, play in water falls, and see the Sindou Peaks hopefully for the first time. Of course this is assuming that the standfast order is lifted by weekend's end...

Onto to other sorts of business. Below you will see some photos of the fun activities that I have been participating in/running. You can click on my Picasa link to see more, or simply watch the ever-growing slideshow. Photos come from the boys club, Les Hommes de Force, as promised and the tree planting in Ouaga to benefit a neighborhood destroyed by flooding last September. While we had the honor of helping with the event, the real credit goes to Catholic Relief Services and the Peace Corps Response Volunteer serving with them.

PCV Kirstin discussing HIV/AIDS and proper condom usage with my boys group.

Communication drill. One player is blindfolded while four others tell him exactly where to kick the soccer ball. Idea is to promote communication on the soccer pitch. Communication was an important lesson with this group, on and off the field.

Passing drills

PCV Audrey and I, one awesome tree planting force.


Audrey making sure that tree is good and buried in the ground.

The participating PCVs, all gathered under a tent for a ceremony with the Mayor of Ouagadougou.

The Americans Are Coming!!! And Boys Camp

So we will do things in reverse order than what I actually typed in a the title. Why? Because in order to learn about the Americans, you have to read about boys camp (Les Hommes de Force) first.

I started my boys camp last week and so far I personally feel that it has been a big success. We started the first session with a lesson on what the roles of men are, continuing the next day with the roles of woemn. My goal was not to press my cultural views onto them (though I may have done it once or twice) but rather get them to think about what is the difference between sex and gender. I defined sex for them as the difference between men and women naturally, and gender as what society and culture makes them to be. For example, I asked when I asked them about roles, it was generally agreed upon that men make the money and women take care of the house. When I later asked them if the roles could be switched, they all agreed yes, of course, why not. It got them thinking about why things are as they are, which is what I wanted.

The third day my PCV neighbor Kirstin did a condom demonstration and a discussion about HIV/AIDS. The 4th day we discussed diets and nutrition and how to eat well with what we have here in Burkina Faso. After the hour talks we play a few games and then I lead them outside to play soccer for an hour and a half (which they love). So I feel mission accomplished, I used soccer as a way to draw 9-10 boys into discussions about health and society. Photos to come next time!

Next week we are changing the mode to education. The first day we will be discussing how and what to study, second day will be computers and why they are important, third day is undecided, and the fourth day we will do a review of everything that we learned. For the second half we will be doing basketball assuming I can find a ball.

And that is when the Americans come!!! Chris, my neighbor and great friend from DC, will be flying in Thursday night for a month long visit, later shared with my parents for three and a half weeks. We will be touring all of Burkina, as well as making a trip to Dogon Country in Mali. I am very excited!!!

Dogon Country in Mali, Going Soon!!

Land of the Black Stars

The biggest question plaguing Ghana right now is not who can match Ghana in the World Cup, but rather who will they play in the Finals. While they are completely delusional in the idea that Ghana stands a chance against a powerhouse like Germany, the country's energy right now is palpable.

And I thought people were excited in Burkina.

Ghana is an Africa powerhouse but still behind other formidable foes like Nigeria and Cameroon. The kids play ball all day in whatever limited open space they can find. The power of football here in Africa is just amazing and being a part of the enthusiam is even better. During our trip we were sure to remind everyone that Australia is not a pushover in world football. Of course the Ghanains were proud to immediatly counter with "Do you remember 2006 when Ghana beat the USA 2-0?" Errrr.........

Well it's fun, and the time to be in Africa is now. It does not matter where you are, the World Cup in South Africa is every African's World Cup, and nowhere else in the world can match the energy that this event has brought to this continent. I am of course thrilled for the games to start in 6 days and besides the USA, I'm cheering for an African team to win the cup. With the exception of Algeria, because we, USA, need to beat them to go to the next round.

But enough about the greatest event known to man, it's time to talk about a Ghana vacation. And well, why not start with a little photo highlighting the super challenging trip.



My oh my, how life can be difficult sometimes. Beer, hammock, beach, ocean, but damn, no food in this particular photo. What gives?

Our trip started with the bus ride from hell (as much as I love being here, I cannot stand the transport). It took us 24 hours to get to Takoradi, the third largest city in Ghana, including an overnight stay at the Kumasi bus station. Sleeping on benches, wow what a blast!

But finally, we arrived, and it was straight to Busua, a small beach resort town in Western Ghana. OHHHHHHH MY was my first reaction. This beach was incredible complete with even the stereotypical island resting adrift in the ocean. Best bodysurfing I've ever had the pleasure to experience, plus incredible food, excellent live music, and plenty of nature and castles to explore. One day we walked 3k to the neighboring fishing village, where the ruins of an old German castle still oversee the ocean cove.

Freshly cooked Lobster

Ruins of a German Castle, it's my Indiana Jones shot.

After 3 nights in Busua, we were off to the Green Turtle Lodge, a staple travel destination for all West African PCVs. While I personally was not as crazy about the place as others, it certainly was well worth the visit. It is absolutely gorgeous, a small hotel 12k from any major town and 2k from a tiny fishing village. Palm trees line the beach as far as the eye can see and a Mangrove forest protects the inland jungle from the encroaching salt water.

Stunning place. My only problem was lack of food selection (you were stuck with what they had, not expensive but not cheap either). And Green Turtle was where the fun began--Dylan ran out of cash!

Now some backstory to this is important. Before I left for Guinea I closed my ATM card to all except three cities in the world, Conakry, Dakar, and Johannesburg. Now with me out of Guinea and the World Cup 3000 dollars away, my ATM Card is essentially useless. So I could not even contact the bank to open the card because, HAHA, I have no money on my Skype account. (I'm still hoping for a trip to Senegal, fingers crossed)

So that's the backstory. While I would never admit it at the time to my travelling mates, I was seriously worried about returning to Burkina and how I would eat for 5 days.

But of course that's why we have friends right? My companions, Josh and Rob, were perfectly comfortable in loaning me money for the rest of the trip. So yay, Ghana was no disaster after all.

When all was said and done we left the beach for Ghana's second largest city, Kumasi. Kumasi is notably famous for having the largest open air market in Africa (largest in the world coincedentally is in Bangkok, Thailand, and yes I have been there too). You can find whatever you want in the Kumasi market, and we had quite a day getting lost and immersed in the Kumasi beast.

Kumasi market, with a mega church in the background

The other thing in Kumasi: food. We had the pleasure of eating pizza comparable to pizza in the USA. Of course nothing will beat US delivery, but after not eating good pizza for 11 months, I was very happy.

So that's that. 12 day vacation in the books and now three weeks until my buddy Chris will be joining me in Burkina Faso.

The Three Amigos, Joshua Gwinn, Dylan Butler, and Robert Fournier (left to right)