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!