Greetings from Burkina

Nassara nassara nassara!!!
(White guy! Three times.)

The kids are greeting us as we walk along the streets of Ouagadougou. Their amused looks and huge smiles help getting adjusted to the bustling city, the heat, and the legendary friendliness. Yes, the Nassara has to learn to become friendly here. This is the biggest adjustment I’ve had to make so far. Learning the traditional greetings (3 km long), learning to count, and a few key words have proven an immense reward already… and big savings too! Because prices are not stuck on each object here…

I really love bargaining. It is such a respectful game. He who hasn’t spent the time to learn the culture rudiments doesn’t deserve a local price. And even then, it is quite a bit of work to get to reasonable amounts, we’re Nassara nonetheless… Everyone smiles:
“C’mon, you have to make an effort, lower it more”
– But my friend, I have to make a profit!”

Negotiating is an art. Yet, it feels strange to be perceived as a big money handout machines. I sometimes wonder how much it takes to build such a reputation, and how much to take it apart.

I barely had time to get used to busy Ouagadougou that already I must travel west, to Bobo Dioulasso – the host city for my year placement with PAMER and BAME (more on that in a future post!). The afternoon trip, on a remarkably well paved road, is plain amazing. I’m traveling in a giant postcard. Baobabs, green birds following our bus, cattle (with a hump on the back), goats, mud hut villages, red earth, mango trees, eucalyptus… The whole way I can see fields of tall corn or millet, intercropped with peanuts, cabbage or green beans… It looks like a new-age-agronomist’s-manual illustration or something! Enough to remind me that we’re pretty close to the road (precisely, we’re on it!); those villages are likely not the worst off. I mostly saw women working in them, although it’s hard to tell in a distance. At this stage of the rainy season, they must be weeding.

Toubabou, toubabou, toubabou!!!
(White guy! Three times.)

The bus has arrived in Bobo. People speak Dioula here. Alanna teaches me the greetings in the cab, so I can buy fresh oranges for my host family tonight.