Attention: LONG blog ahead. Sorry for the length, I did the best I could to keep it short and still say everything--not easy! I'm not inserting the pictures at the appropriate moments because that takes ages and I don't have the time, so all the pictures come at the end. :)
~
Hello again world! Where to start? The last two weeks I and the rest of the students of the Koutiala DTS went to Burkina Faso (neighbouring country to Mali) to join up with a DTS there for two weeks. It was a very intense time and both good and bad. Because there's so much to say, I'll just give some general areas of life:
FOOD:
This is always one of the first questions people ask. The food in both Mali and Burkina has been very similar. Since the schools are African they are quite strapped for cash, and so we eat African and not Western: that is to say, a lot of starch and carbs, and not much fruits and vegetables! I've had an attitude since I got here that if it's edible I'll eat it, and so far God has blessed me with perfect health, and with much enjoyment in the food as well! The meal is always a starch such as rice or pasta or yams, plus a sauce on top, plus a piece of fish or meat. The two meals I like the best are rice and beans, and macaroni with tomato sauce (à la African, of course). The strangest meal I've eaten is tô, which is sort of like really thick cream of wheat, with gumbo and tomato sauce. Gumbo is pretty nasty to look at (and very slimy) so I tend to take just the tomato sauce. Breakfast is a piece of bread and tea or coffee. Part of our 'practical work' is to prepare the food in the evening, a process that takes 2-3 hours and several people. I had to learn quickly how things are done on this continent--and the Africans have very definite ideas about 'right' and 'wrong' ways to do things--even cutting vegetables! (For the first time in my life I grated--not carrots--but TOMATOES! It's a method they have of removing the skin; essentially the same thing as buying a can of diced tomatoes.)
TRAVEL and WEATHER:
To get to BF we rented a mini-bus and driver, and drove for 13 hours. It was pretty cramped and hot, but not too bad. The way back was more uncomfortable because we had an extra 5 people or so to cram in, so very squishy. On the plus side, winter's on its way and it's much cooler out than when I arrived! The last two nights I've been cold without a blanket, but I'll have one tonight. During mid-day it's still quite warm, but in the evenings and mornings it gets cold enough that I want socks, shoes, and a sweater. I'm told it will get quite a bit colder before it gets warmer again.
YWAM and CLASSES:
The classes so far have been difficult for me. The first week (in Koutiala) was a random mixture of subjects and a random mix of teachers, so I didn't get very much out of it. The second week (in Burkina) was on the Holy Spirit, and I found it very difficult. YWAM is quite charismatic as an organization, and Africa is charismatic as a continent! For the first time in my life I was surrounded by people speaking in tongues and prophesying. Both Irene (the Belgian girl here) and I disagreed with different aspects of the theology the speaker presented. I found it a challenging and growing experience to have to weigh everything I know and read for myself with what I was hearing and what was being accepted all around me. It wasn't an easy week!
This last week in Burkina was better. It was a course called "Adopted by the Father", and the speaker was a Quebecois! He came with his wife, and the two of them were just lovely. Combined with the theme, it made for a much more relaxing week. However, I found that while the theme was excellent and spoke deeply to many students, it didn't hold very much that was new for me, and so I was somewhat disappointed.
PEOPLE:
The people everywhere have been mostly fantastic. The students from Koutiala are a mature group, with several pastors among us. Irene is the youngest at 22 and I'm the second-youngest at 26! The staff from Koutiala are also very nice. I'm adjusting to cultural differences when I interact with Africans, the most drastic I find being the way that they order instead of ask. In Canadian culture politeness is a strong virtue and we are taught from a young age to say 'please' and 'thank you'. Here I've found that not only are those words not often used, but the tone used is much more demanding. It took me a while to realize that it is not actually personal, just their manner of speaking!
I appreciated two things most about my time in Burkina, and both had to do with people. For the whole two weeks I was in a tiny room with Irene, Martiale (an Ivoirian who we share a room with in Koutiala as well) and Claudine, a Beninoise who is married but whose husband is on staff in Koutiala so he wasn't with us. To be crammed into that room with three other girls, two of them from very different cultures, was a huge learning ground! The first three days were very difficult, but after that, we developed a bond that I'm incredibly grateful for. They are sweet sweet people.
The second thing that I appreciated was that there was a young French couple doing the DTS in Burkina, and I was able to really relate with them and become friends. They had been there a month before we got there, and were quite homesick to talk about things from home. I had a great time getting to know them.
On the minus side, the proposals have been coming thick and fast. When it's a stranger, such as my first proposal at 9:52 am the first morning I was in Africa, it's not a big deal--but when it's a student or staff, it becomes more difficult. Technically relationships are NOT allowed during the DTS, but there were several people in Burkina (including one staff member) who thought that I was worth the risk, and pressured me to 'become profound friends... and if God wills, something more'. It's a tricky situation trying to deal nicely with this but at the same time not promise anything!
LIFE IN BURKINA and AFRICA:
For us, it was a very slow, relaxed time. There is no electricity or running water on that base, so we had no classes at night. Sometimes I was bored out of my skull (didn't bring enough reading material!), but sometimes the slower pace was fantastic--such as at night when we would gather on mats outside and sing, or have multiple rounds of tea, or just talk.
I'm slowly learning a new rule here: take nothing for granted. They hadn't told us there wouldn't be electricity, and I took for granted there would. Another thing that I have taken for granted my whole life is toilet paper, which here has become a VERY precious commodity since they keep forgetting to supply it for us! The first couple weeks were quite stressful until finally I was able to get a staff member to buy me my own package (it's way more expensive than back home, one reason they keep forgetting to provide it!).
Because we were way out in the bush, the compound is quite spread out and requires a lot of walking to get from one building to another. Because there is no wall around the compound, the local villagers are constantly wandering through, taking the shortest path to the other side, complete with donkeys, carts, pigs, goats, bicycles, and any and everything else that may accompany them! And speaking of animals, there are a multitude of animals out there: donkeys, pigs, goats, cattle, chickens, etc etc. The noise they make is incredible, even at night. I never realized that the braying of a donkey could be so loud and obnoxious--or funny, depending on the time of day!
Also because we were in the bush without electricity, the stars were incredible almost every night. There were usually only two constellations that I knew, but occasionally I would be up late enough to see Orion rise. When we left to come back here we got up at 3 am for a 4 am departure (2 hours of sleep!), and I was delighted to see the Big Dipper to the north, and the Southern Cross to the south! Unfortunately there was no one who either knew or cared about the stars enough for me to point it out to, so I was left alone in my rejoicing.
One of the most difficult things for me has been the style of worship here. I thought since I lived in France and know a fair number of songs in French I'd be okay, but in fact the songs are usually different and either in French or any local language, so I usually don't know (and can't figure out) the words. This plus the very different method of worship has made it hard for me to enter into the spirit of things. At first I thought this was just a problem of attitude, but I've realized that it actually is the extremely different style that's inhibiting me, and that I just need to give myself time!
An interesting thing Irene and I have both remarked on is that the simplest explanations for schoolwork and rules get repeated many, many times. We received a welcome folder complete with rules and explanations on how to do weekly assignments, and we have gone over this in class at least four or five times. At first both of us were quite astonished--back home we'd go over it once and be done with it--but we've realized that it is in fact necessary for most of the students to have it repeated that often. Why, I'm not sure, except that maybe we are more used to studying and doing assignments from our upbringing.
~~
So that's a bit of my life here so far. Sorry for the length--but that's just a fraction of what I've experienced, and a few of my thoughts! Now that I'm back in the world of electricity and internet, I'll post more often and with shorter posts!
À bientôt !
~
Hello again world! Where to start? The last two weeks I and the rest of the students of the Koutiala DTS went to Burkina Faso (neighbouring country to Mali) to join up with a DTS there for two weeks. It was a very intense time and both good and bad. Because there's so much to say, I'll just give some general areas of life:
FOOD:
This is always one of the first questions people ask. The food in both Mali and Burkina has been very similar. Since the schools are African they are quite strapped for cash, and so we eat African and not Western: that is to say, a lot of starch and carbs, and not much fruits and vegetables! I've had an attitude since I got here that if it's edible I'll eat it, and so far God has blessed me with perfect health, and with much enjoyment in the food as well! The meal is always a starch such as rice or pasta or yams, plus a sauce on top, plus a piece of fish or meat. The two meals I like the best are rice and beans, and macaroni with tomato sauce (à la African, of course). The strangest meal I've eaten is tô, which is sort of like really thick cream of wheat, with gumbo and tomato sauce. Gumbo is pretty nasty to look at (and very slimy) so I tend to take just the tomato sauce. Breakfast is a piece of bread and tea or coffee. Part of our 'practical work' is to prepare the food in the evening, a process that takes 2-3 hours and several people. I had to learn quickly how things are done on this continent--and the Africans have very definite ideas about 'right' and 'wrong' ways to do things--even cutting vegetables! (For the first time in my life I grated--not carrots--but TOMATOES! It's a method they have of removing the skin; essentially the same thing as buying a can of diced tomatoes.)
TRAVEL and WEATHER:
To get to BF we rented a mini-bus and driver, and drove for 13 hours. It was pretty cramped and hot, but not too bad. The way back was more uncomfortable because we had an extra 5 people or so to cram in, so very squishy. On the plus side, winter's on its way and it's much cooler out than when I arrived! The last two nights I've been cold without a blanket, but I'll have one tonight. During mid-day it's still quite warm, but in the evenings and mornings it gets cold enough that I want socks, shoes, and a sweater. I'm told it will get quite a bit colder before it gets warmer again.
YWAM and CLASSES:
The classes so far have been difficult for me. The first week (in Koutiala) was a random mixture of subjects and a random mix of teachers, so I didn't get very much out of it. The second week (in Burkina) was on the Holy Spirit, and I found it very difficult. YWAM is quite charismatic as an organization, and Africa is charismatic as a continent! For the first time in my life I was surrounded by people speaking in tongues and prophesying. Both Irene (the Belgian girl here) and I disagreed with different aspects of the theology the speaker presented. I found it a challenging and growing experience to have to weigh everything I know and read for myself with what I was hearing and what was being accepted all around me. It wasn't an easy week!
This last week in Burkina was better. It was a course called "Adopted by the Father", and the speaker was a Quebecois! He came with his wife, and the two of them were just lovely. Combined with the theme, it made for a much more relaxing week. However, I found that while the theme was excellent and spoke deeply to many students, it didn't hold very much that was new for me, and so I was somewhat disappointed.
PEOPLE:
The people everywhere have been mostly fantastic. The students from Koutiala are a mature group, with several pastors among us. Irene is the youngest at 22 and I'm the second-youngest at 26! The staff from Koutiala are also very nice. I'm adjusting to cultural differences when I interact with Africans, the most drastic I find being the way that they order instead of ask. In Canadian culture politeness is a strong virtue and we are taught from a young age to say 'please' and 'thank you'. Here I've found that not only are those words not often used, but the tone used is much more demanding. It took me a while to realize that it is not actually personal, just their manner of speaking!
I appreciated two things most about my time in Burkina, and both had to do with people. For the whole two weeks I was in a tiny room with Irene, Martiale (an Ivoirian who we share a room with in Koutiala as well) and Claudine, a Beninoise who is married but whose husband is on staff in Koutiala so he wasn't with us. To be crammed into that room with three other girls, two of them from very different cultures, was a huge learning ground! The first three days were very difficult, but after that, we developed a bond that I'm incredibly grateful for. They are sweet sweet people.
The second thing that I appreciated was that there was a young French couple doing the DTS in Burkina, and I was able to really relate with them and become friends. They had been there a month before we got there, and were quite homesick to talk about things from home. I had a great time getting to know them.
On the minus side, the proposals have been coming thick and fast. When it's a stranger, such as my first proposal at 9:52 am the first morning I was in Africa, it's not a big deal--but when it's a student or staff, it becomes more difficult. Technically relationships are NOT allowed during the DTS, but there were several people in Burkina (including one staff member) who thought that I was worth the risk, and pressured me to 'become profound friends... and if God wills, something more'. It's a tricky situation trying to deal nicely with this but at the same time not promise anything!
LIFE IN BURKINA and AFRICA:
For us, it was a very slow, relaxed time. There is no electricity or running water on that base, so we had no classes at night. Sometimes I was bored out of my skull (didn't bring enough reading material!), but sometimes the slower pace was fantastic--such as at night when we would gather on mats outside and sing, or have multiple rounds of tea, or just talk.
I'm slowly learning a new rule here: take nothing for granted. They hadn't told us there wouldn't be electricity, and I took for granted there would. Another thing that I have taken for granted my whole life is toilet paper, which here has become a VERY precious commodity since they keep forgetting to supply it for us! The first couple weeks were quite stressful until finally I was able to get a staff member to buy me my own package (it's way more expensive than back home, one reason they keep forgetting to provide it!).
Because we were way out in the bush, the compound is quite spread out and requires a lot of walking to get from one building to another. Because there is no wall around the compound, the local villagers are constantly wandering through, taking the shortest path to the other side, complete with donkeys, carts, pigs, goats, bicycles, and any and everything else that may accompany them! And speaking of animals, there are a multitude of animals out there: donkeys, pigs, goats, cattle, chickens, etc etc. The noise they make is incredible, even at night. I never realized that the braying of a donkey could be so loud and obnoxious--or funny, depending on the time of day!
Also because we were in the bush without electricity, the stars were incredible almost every night. There were usually only two constellations that I knew, but occasionally I would be up late enough to see Orion rise. When we left to come back here we got up at 3 am for a 4 am departure (2 hours of sleep!), and I was delighted to see the Big Dipper to the north, and the Southern Cross to the south! Unfortunately there was no one who either knew or cared about the stars enough for me to point it out to, so I was left alone in my rejoicing.
One of the most difficult things for me has been the style of worship here. I thought since I lived in France and know a fair number of songs in French I'd be okay, but in fact the songs are usually different and either in French or any local language, so I usually don't know (and can't figure out) the words. This plus the very different method of worship has made it hard for me to enter into the spirit of things. At first I thought this was just a problem of attitude, but I've realized that it actually is the extremely different style that's inhibiting me, and that I just need to give myself time!
An interesting thing Irene and I have both remarked on is that the simplest explanations for schoolwork and rules get repeated many, many times. We received a welcome folder complete with rules and explanations on how to do weekly assignments, and we have gone over this in class at least four or five times. At first both of us were quite astonished--back home we'd go over it once and be done with it--but we've realized that it is in fact necessary for most of the students to have it repeated that often. Why, I'm not sure, except that maybe we are more used to studying and doing assignments from our upbringing.
~~
So that's a bit of my life here so far. Sorry for the length--but that's just a fraction of what I've experienced, and a few of my thoughts! Now that I'm back in the world of electricity and internet, I'll post more often and with shorter posts!
À bientôt !
Donkey who lived on the compound. I saw at least a gazillion donkeys while I was there (there are lots here in Koutiala too).
Baptiste, one of the French students who's doing the DTS in Burkina with his wife, Ophelie (picture below). 
Ophélie.
Putting the roof on this structure. Funny to watch because they didn't plan ahead; they lifted the mat up and then had to figure out what to do with it! Typical here I'm finding.
My girls: My roommates in Burkina (all from the school here in Koutiala). Left to right: Irene (Belgium), Martiale (Côte d'Ivoire), me (new outfit-yay!), Claudine (Benin).
Dancing at night during praise and worship. Note the dust particles in the air from all the foot stomping!
One day we got to tour Ouagadougou--capital of Burkina Faso. Here's the presidential palace.
Irene looooooves kids. And is very good with them!
Claudine and me.
Denis, from Niger... a great guy and one of the students here in Koutiala.
A sign that made me laugh. Maggi is the seasoning that they use here in West Africa. The slogan: "With Maggi, every woman is a star!"
Ophélie preparing supper. I got kitchen duty almost every night, a process that takes 2-3 hours and often involves chopping with a broken knife into a plate on my lap. This picture was taken as we were preparing for the feast on the last night: we ate pork!!!!! It was yummy too, although not very appetising to look at beforehand. They even chopped up and cooked the snout.
The whole group of both DTS's, Burkina Faso and Mali, along with staff members, and the Canadian speaker and his wife.
The Malian group: these are the students and staff here with me in Koutiala.
Worship in the classroom in Burkina, before the class started.
Yabré, a Burkinabe, preparing tea one evening. It is green tea served in demi-tasses and is very hot, sweet, and strong. It takes about half an hour to 45 minutes to prepare one round, which serves all the people, and then we sit back and wait for the next round. On one of the last nights we had 3 rounds of tea and at least 2 hours of conversation.
Gentille pounding peanuts for the evening meal. Not sure what made her laugh like this! She is from Togo and is attending the school in Burkina. She's exactly like her name: sooo nice. Beside her is Paul, a Nigerian-born missionary from Tombouktu who is on staff for the DTS in Koutiala. He's fun, and it's great to have someone who speaks English around!
Noel and Abraham. Noel is staff in Koutiala, Abraham is on staff in Burkina. We had many hours just to sit and listen to them playing guitars in Burkina--without electricity, there's not much else to do!
The countryside where we were. So beautiful!
Some pigs wandering through the compound.
Martiale and Claudine doing homework in our room. 
The mini-bus on the way there. On the way back it was much more crowded. I was where Irene is in the picture, but we were 5 across instead of 4. Happy to arrive at the destination after a good 12-13 hours of this!
