Hi all,
I just returned from a petit sjour/little trip to Ougadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. My friend Alice (the other Niger Fulbrighter) and I went to explore the city and also to witness a momentous occasion in Burkina's history: the 20th anniversary of President Blaise Compaore's reign (I think that is the appropriate term), which is also the 20th anniversary of the beloved, Socialist ex-President Thomas Sankara's murder. We were lucky enough to attend a symposium about Sankara's legacy, watch a caravan of Sankara supporters (mostly idealistic hippy Socialist foreigners) who had begun their journey in Mexico drive through town, and watch a march to Sankara's grave. We also attended the parade for President Compaore; unfortunately the Pres. was at the airport for his own festivities, welcoming Brazilian President Lula to town for a film festival. I learned a lot from these events, and it was especially fun to talk to people about their impressions of the two leaders.
Here is a photo from one of the Sankara marches, as the crowd sang the Burkinabe national anthem:
And here is one from President Compaore's parade, some people wearing shirts with the President's face on them:
The other central element of our trip was eating lots of ice cream and tasty things we couldn't get in Niamey. Here is Alice with our two Tuareg friends, Muktab and Amoumin, they are from Niamey but they happened to be in town, eating some watermelon (the season just started, great news!). Watermelon is more pricey in Niamey b/c they import it from Burkina, but I am becoming friends with my neighborhood fruit dude, so I think I am getting a decent price.
We also went to an awesome artisanal center where I bought a djembe, which is a super cool drum, it has my name on it and a carving of a baobab tree! This instrument is called a Boni, it is kind of like a guitar, and it sounds beautiful when played correctly (aka not by me):
Finally, this is Alice and me on the bus on the way home from Ouga, it is 6 am and of course we are already sweating! We arrived back in Niamey at 5 pm, after numerous stops, custom checks, border crossings, and only ONE breakdown, yippee!
7 comments:
What Fun, Maggie! you and Alice are so courageous, going off by yourselves to a new town and Festival. Getting pictures of events few others will be able to ever see. I keep saying, "Fantastic!" and "BEAUTIFUL". You and your friends just look great! What a bus ride. 'guess you'll be riding those a LOT, huh?
Love you,
Grandma Jeannine
Mags you are so getting the blog thing down. And how cool is that drum?! First dibs on playing it when you get back!
How can people wear jeans in that heat?? These pictures are fabulous.
I'm headed out to the Husky -Oregon game- GO DAWGS!
Love ya!
I applied for an internship this coming summer in Ouaga... glad to hear it's nice there! And I love your pics!
fickwick my love, i am so glad to hear that you are loving your time in nigeria, and that you are sharing it with us. I love hearing about your escapades and the manner you share your stories. Of course, i am less than suprised by your enthousiam and positivitity towards everything. Keep it up kid! i miss you and wish you the best. lots of love, Bruno. ps.. kai... waddatacco! on est ensemble.
That sounds like so much fun!! I love looking at your pics - I still can't believe it's been so long since I've seen you!! I hope you continue to have a good time... I miss you loads and can't wait to see you sometime!!
xoxo
Claire
Oh how I miss my Maggie!!!! I'm just finishing up work for the day at the Foundation. Off to meet some GF people for drinks. Such a strange expat life we are both living right now.
lots of hugs and kisses!
I LOVE reading about your adventures. We still need to do some adventuring together.
P.S. Your grandma rocks!
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