National Culture Week

A trip to south-west Burkina Faso
Just two more days before I will go back to the Netherlands! Therefore, this is my last report from my ‘adventures’ in West Africa!
Last week I have finally left Ouahigouya and visited the National Culture Week (Semaine Nationale de la Culture). This is a festival held in the south-west of the country, where the ‘Bobo’ live, who speak Dioulla: their main city is called: Bobo-Dioullassou (or short: Bobo).
I got a lift to the capital Ouagadouguo from where I took the bus to Bobo. The environment between Ouaga and Bobo has the same red colour as in the north, but here there are more hills, trees and even lakes! I arrived early in the evening. Salif Sodré (my contact person in Ouahigouya) was already there for a few weeks, because his uncle is in a hospital there.
After 3 months living in the ‘brousse’, Bobo seemed like a big city to me: there are motorways, streetlights, people everywhere (even some ‘white’ ones!) and there is no dust in the air. The hotel room also was one big party: for the first time in three months I have used a toilet! There is glass in the windows, so I do not hear the traffic outside, and the bed… it is soft and I do not feel the bottom!
At night we have been to a open-air theatre where there was a performance of traditional music, dance and singing. It was terrific!
The next day I spent all my time ánd my money in a fair just across the street from the hotel. Entrance fee is 100 CFA (about 30 cents). There are markets, bars, music and cooking matches. Lunch (a big plate of rice) costs 350 CFA (50 cents). Everybody in West Africa seems to have come visit here: there are politicians, famous people, all hotels are full, and on the market sometimes people even speak English. During the night we have visited the open-air theatre again to watch a show.

Going ‘home’
On Friday we left Bobo at 5 o’clock in the morning to return to Ouahigouya. Salif mainly drove in the middle of the road to avoid the holes. It was very cloudy that day, and we even had a bit of rain! First we drove to Ouagadougou. (There is a road from Bobo to Ouahigouya, but it is hardly used by cars, because the road is very bad). After the capital, we drove to the north: there were clouds here as well, but instead of rain, they only brought a lot of dust and sand. The more north we got, the hotter, dryer and emptier it got. Here we needed to look out for cows, sheep, donkeys or pigs that cross the road.
When we arrived in Ouahigouya, I realised that everything here has become so familiar to me: and it felt like coming ‘home’ when I saw the sandy streets and clay houses.
The next day I was ill: probably from a salad that I ate in Bobo, so I took some medicines and stayed in bed. I wonder whether those medicines are still working in this hot climate!

Preparing to REALLY go home!
The last three months I have learned a lot of rural Burkinese and West African culture and the daily live of a Mossi family. My research in the villages did not go exactly as I wanted it to, but maybe there would simply not have been an other way. I took decisions that at that moment seemed the best. Besides, life here is quite hard, especially for a ‘white woman’ and in this time of the year!
However, in a short time I have become familiar with the local life, food, climate, customs, music, the Islamic lifestyle, the street sounds and sights… There are cows and sheep in the streets and on every corner there is a small mosque or a water point. The men walk around in long robes (especially on Fridays) and the women wear colourful long skirts and head cloth. The people around me have become like my family and I am certainly going to miss them!
Of course, there are also things that I still cannot get used to: for example that everybody throws his litter on the streets, people burn their house litter during the night on small fires in the streets (which stinks horribly!), people make noises while eating and drinking, they spit on the floor and empty their noses in the sand….I will be so happy to go back ‘to normal’ again!
I will be leaving Burkina with mixed feelings: it is absolutely NOT a beautiful country. However, it is an impressive country and its people are very interesting. Honestly, for the next coming months I will probably not have the feeling of going back to Burkina Faso, but I know from my experience in 2001 that I will start to miss Africa sooner or later. It has truly been an adventure, a unique and unforgettable experience.
So for the last time I send you all ‘greetings from Africa’ with in mind that on April 4th at 8:30 am I will arrive safely on Dutch ground again!

Love, Rosie