Salut

Sorry all =

Just wanted to let you know that I am living it up wonderfully in BEAUTIFUL Leo, Burkina Faso and really doin wonderful.

I haven't been able to make my USB key with entries to work so this is just a breif note saying hi hi hi and there is lots to come so stay in touch!!!

Much love

Em

Whoa =)

HERE!
I am in Burkina Faso. Like, that’s in Africa.

As our luxurious plane prepared to land, I searched frantically out the window to see lights; there were low hanging clouds obstructing my view and I was excited as we the run way came into view. Kristina and I were seated 2 people apart, and we exchanged looks that were full of excitement, anticipation, fear, and uncertainty – together, I’m sure we just looked overwhelmed.

As we exited the plane, the heat hit us like a tonne of bricks. . . The pilot had told us that it was about 97 degrees F, but I found myself desperately hoping that the heat was coming from the huge plane engines I was passing. It wasn’t – it was 100% real. And it was dark. Though it was only 7:30 BF time (which is 3 hours ahead of Atlantic Standard time by the way) it was pitch dark. I don’t know whether that is due to no Daylight Savings Time, or whether there is just a screw up with their time zone . . . but it seemed about an hour and a half too early for it to be that dark!

We entered the packed airport, and it just seemed like a calm chaos. There were people everywhere, waiting in a number of lines, but no one seemed to be in any kind of rush. Kristina and I certainly weren’t. We waited calmly at the back of the line, to have our passport, visas and identification cards examined. Mine was accepted without problem, but Kristina was given a harder time, as she was asked to rewrite information in pen. In the meantime, I met one of Daniel’s brothers who was there to pick us up – he eventually helped Kristina explain where she was staying in the Capital. We grabbed our luggage and exited through the ‘nothing to claim’ door – honesty, it seems, is a trusted virtue, because while there were men there to search our things, we were waved by. We entered more chaos outside, where Tatiana met us. She wasn’t the only one – there were many, many cab drivers, and men who struggled to help us carry things, but Kristina and I, being warned of this, held our own. We climbed into a Land Rover and drove out, with Daniel’s brother (whose name I fail to remember) and Tatiana in the front seat.

As we drove through the streets, I stared out the windows in awe. There were people EVERYwhere. Not an overpopulated type of crowded, but just scattered around. We were one of a few vehicles on the road, which was shared with many cyclists and even more motorcyclists. We passed shop after shop, selling all kinds of goods, all of the shops looking somewhat run down, but selling very familiar sounding items. I can’t really effectively describe all of those sights. . . we just arrived to our home for the next few days, a little awestruck.

Entering the Bridges of Hope office and guest house, I felt like a spoiled queen. . . it was walled, with a gate, had two small buildings, one being the office, and the larger one in the center, which was the guest house. With beautiful gold long curtains, and a tv, I knew that life was going to be a lot simpler with time, and that was reaffirmed when Daniels brother said that it would be a lot different in Leo, and then Boura. I have taken some videos to give you folks at home a tour of what it is like, and I encourage you to check ‘em out.

There was a huge feast of cheese covered spaghetti and meat sauce, papaya and a huge salad tray. . . . we couldn’t even begin to eat it all and left much of it. Today we really had to explain our reasons for leaving it, and we made more of an effort to eat what was set in front of us, though it is near impossible! There is so much food, and with this heat, it is hard to find an appetite. However, we have discovered a taste for the incredibly fresh, sweet and juicy papaya and melon that is set in front of us. . . . friends, I wish I could share the deliciousness of that kind of freshness for tropical fruit with you all, but I can’t, so I will just enjoy on my own ;)

We have changed over a bit of money, have our cell phones almost running and will be visiting the Canadian Embassy and the market later today. David, another one of Daniels brothers will be here in the morning and apparently we can head to Leo on Monday, though nothing is written in stone – they are being wonderful and helping us to acclimatize ourselves to the environment. Too much enthusiasm I have been told, will tire me out . . . but that’s hard!

Home and Away

Nearly in Ireland a week and I haven’t said very much. I just can’t believe I made it here. . . . parts of it doesn’t feel any different – just parts of home I haven’t seen before. Rocks, hills, flat stucco buildings – kinda the same kind of arctecture that I had seen in Montreal, only everywhere - cobblestone streets. . . Irish stew, I have discovered, is always worth ordering and I still don’t like Guniess. The people are generally like at home – easy to talk to and laugh with if the girls aren’t a little bit high maintenance looking – I’m not yet able to 100% understand the accent but 100% of the men who speak with the Irish twang are sexy.

The best feeling is definitely that of comfort. I’m a tourist – in every single sense – but I almost feel like an educated tourist. Having Whitney helps with that of course, as I don’t know where things are or places, but I find myself easily able to identify with the culture. Stuff like bilingual signs (while I don’t know Gaelic, I recognize it), drinking, rugby . . . I love knowing all the words to the songs sung at the traditional pubs and merrily dancing to the reels.

If there’s anything to really love about Ireland, it’s the scenery – it’s breathtaking. I’ve said it once or twice now, but it has the greenery of PEI and the rockiness of NFLD – very similar to Cape Breton. I’ve been to the far North in N. Ireland, the East (Dublin, Belfast) and the west (Galway) . . . though I didn’t quite see NFLD.

The Giants Causeway in the North was unexplicable. . . . the weather didn’t even mar it’s magnificence. Each pillar rose out of the ground like unkept blades of grass growing uncontrollably, the outer rocks more flattened and trampled on – only a few bothered to scale the high up pillars. Waves violently attacked the formations, but unlike the grass and clay of PEI that would wash away, the pillars stood tall and proud looking back to Scotland.

There is an election taking place on Thursday, actually, and while I haven’t really done any reading on it, I have enjoyed the realization that they have a successful multi-party system with active independents. There are several more parties than in Canada but I don’t know who is typically in power. Signs are everywhere, and the most interesting election ploy I observed was when this marching band complete with signs and rallyers, marched down one of the pedestrian streets on Suinday.

The weather has been miserable, but apparently it always is. Whitney calls it moody. Apperently it is always overcast with the potential of rain, somewhere between 5 and 15 degrees Celsius. Unfortunately I only had the clothing for far warmer temperatures, being off to someplace far warmer, so thank God for whitney’s winter jacket.

Some of the policies here are not at all inherent. There is some brilliant public transit – inexpensive, frequent, utilized and best of all it reaches many many places, with city buses traveling between villiages and towns into rural Ireland. However they recycle only cans and cardboard – no glass, despite EVERYTHING coming in glass bottles. At the same time, there is an interesting garbage tage system which is not perfect as is, but has potential.

The boys – way more forward than those from home. It could have something to do with being drunker. I don’t know. However, many of them are a charming kinda confident forward which I find to be somewhat attractive . . .

Today was actually spent in Galway at the Cliffs of Moure. Whitney didn’t love the rockiness of the landscape but I found it to be quite romantic – looking over it, you would see a green pasture, lucsh with grass and shrubs for the livesstocks palates, surrounded by intricately set up stonehedges. Outside of the stone was either another pasture, or land littered with rocks and stones. You just knew that the pastures only blossomed with growth because of the hard work of many generations of farmers and labourers. They mastered the art of stacking stones to fit perfectly, withstanding angry bulls, winds and rains over the years without the aid of cement or mortar. Soil was then brought in, being carefully laid for the benefit of the animals. . . . Communities likely worked together so as to ensure one another’s prosperity, adding to the bueaty of the landscape.

Ruins of castles, lookouts, abbey’s and churches litter the landscape. I was awestruck, trying to figure out how these, 12^th, 13^th and 14^th century structures lasted, much less were initially built, to be so magnificent without todays technology. The determination of people to show their reverence to God or to demonstrate pride in their family is something I almost envy.

The cliffs themselves rate amongst the most spectacular things I have ever seen in all of my life. Nothing in any city can compare. It is hard, once seeing such new-to-me beauty, to understand how anyone can be hindered by negativity in the world. Ireland is unmarred and unexploited in such a way that I am constantly reminded of other wonderful places I have been – not just home on PEI, but out west and in Montreal. It just inspires an appreciation for all of the homes I have been lucky to know, and the world in general. It is hard to be jaded about – and I emphasize – ‘stuff’ when seeing, remembering and reflecting on such beauty, natural or constructed. I guess, while on the bus back to Dublin from Galway, all I can do is really thank everyone who has supported this opportunity. Cheers. . . .

Irish Eyes are Smilin’

And for the record, those are my eyes, and though they are not biologically Irish, it has been confirmed – I am Irish at heart.

I arrived to my almost-fully-Irish-best-friend Whitney, on Wednesday morning after nearly 24 hours of travel, and over many more without a good night’s sleep. Needless to say, we took it pretty easy Wednesday, cleaning up, takin a nap and getting myself situated at Whitney’s in Dublin. She lives right off of one of the shopping districts right in downtown Dublin, down an ally called Jervis Lane. It’s a two bedroom with four roommates, all from Canada, and massively high ceilings.

Early, early the next day, Whitney and I took off for Belfast. So I had barely been in the Republic of Ireland for a day, before I was in Northern Ireland. As we took the bus through the country side, I couldn’t help but look in awe at how GREEN the country is . . . first hint that I belong. The funny thing is, I didn’t notice much for crop land, it all just seemed to be grazing for the cattle and sheep. Cattle didn’t seem to be in specifically bred herds either, with Holsteins, Angus’ and other breeds all munchin away side by side.

We arrived into Belfast starving at noon so went in search of someplace to eat. Right outside the Europa Hotel and the Grand Opera House, where the bus brought us, was the Crown Bar, this magnificent looking Victorian Saloon. Whitney and I quickly agreed that this would do for lunch. We step into a beautiful dining room, with stall like booths, and are directed upstairs. We ordered some delicious Irish Stew and coffee. Well delicious Irish Stew anyhow – the coffee must have had 4 shots of whiskey in it, and at noon, I couldn’t quite stomach it all. We left in search of some sterling and information.

After exchanging our money, and visiting an info center, we both came to realize that the Crown Bar is actually the best bar to visit in Dublin – it was clear why, but the two of us figured that our taste is pretty good to have figured it out without being told.

We spent the day milling around, visiting some Botanical Gardens at the university, different memorials around town and what not. We left our stuff at our hostel for the evening and found a good supper at the Deers Head, from which we were directed to Irish music at the Robinson Arms institution – a series of 6 connected pubs which also connects to the Crown. So we go and enjoy – I tested several Irish beers, and though I still cannot finish a Guinness for my life (and I have been practicing!), I did find a good lager to enjoy. We made our way back to the music, of which we knew most of the words to most of the songs, a fact I found to be both ironic and hilarious. Whitney eventually convinced me that the 50+ crowd wasn’t our style and we found a bar to sit down and wind down our night. We left for home, but not before extended conversations with security (friendly, no worries) and strangers on the street.

The next day, again, found us awake and getting ready for the day before 7am. The weather was ominous for the trek to the north we were about to make, and downpour started while we were having our MacDonald’s breakfast. We purchased a rambler ticket, which allowed us limitless access to all Northern Ireland's transit options for the day, including buses, city buses, trains and even touring vehicles at various spots.

So we make our way up to Coulraine, N. Ireland, where we caught a bus to Portrush. However, the bus driver told us that what we should have done was take the train, so we spent our time on the bus just enjoying the country side. Then we caught the train, only to find out that we were brought to the same place as before. We caught a cab and went to the Giant's Causeway, one of the 7 Natural World Wonders of the world. As you can tell by some of the included picutres - it was spectacular. . . the water was wild, the wind was strong and it hailed for a few minutes, but the scenery was unexplicably beautiful, with strange stone pillars naturally forming a series of hexogonial shapes in the ground, with more than 37,000 of them. The causeway was formed 60 million years ago by molten lava cooling and shrinking as it came in contact with the atmosphere. Legend has it, however, that the Giant’s Causeway was constructed by the great Irish giant, Finn MacCool, to be used as stepping stones to Scotland. It was just mind boggling. . .

From there, Whitney and I were lucky to catch a train back to Belfast, and a bus back to Dublin. I am an absolute sucker for all things Irish - I definitely own my own flag already. . . it's just been a pity that rugby isn't played all year around.

I will be here until Tuesday night, when I am catching a flight to London, and Wednsday will be heading to Burkina Faso! I promise you keep you posted. For those of you with facebook, I will be posting pictures of the next few days in Ireland.

(PS I am having difficulty posting the pictures, so they will be up asap! Thanks for checkin it out friends!)