Seven Days Left!

So this has been a interesting week in training. We got to cook in groups this week which was a lot of fun and a great change in the diet because everything the Burkinabé cook is similar. Meaning that they cook some form of starch (rice, couscous, or pasta) and either tomato or peanut sauce with oil. They don't really believe in variety here.

Becky made banana bread that didn't quite get cooked all the way but was delicious anyway. We had planned to make a double batch of bread but there was time so we made a type of banana syrup that was pretty amazing. We used it to fill the crepes that we made. We had a salad, that was pretty good, from spinach, tomatoes, onions, and a dressing of honey, oil, garlic, and vinegar. We also made mashed potatoes with garlic and onions which were amazing. Then Becky and I cooked mashed potatoes and grilled cheese for our host family. They were pretty excited by that. I thought that it tasted pretty good as well.

Model school has been going OK.. For me, I am amazed by some of the things that these kids are able to do. One girl had opened 19 new documents during class and somehow did not crash the computer or get the exercise correct. She also hadn't erased any of her mistakes. Trying to get them understand that it is possible to fix a mistake without restarting from the beginning or try new things by themselves is very difficult. Becky changed from 6th grade algebra to geometry. The kids know how to draw a square and a rectangle, but anything with angles other than 90 degrees they just don't understand. One day a kid made fun of Becky on her pronunciation of a word, so she named that kid mon amis and every time that she asked a question mon amis was the one who had to answer. The class thought that it was hilarious and laughed at him every time Becky called him mon amis. Next week shouldn't be to bad for Becky, she is doing a review then giving a test for the class. I am going to get to teach about the Internet for a couple of days then am going to spend the last day going over how to play solitaire and freecell. That is going to be NO fun :)

Last weekend and this weekend we have had to ride out to village for our classes on Saturday, which isn't bad in and of itself, but why wait till the last two weeks of stage to do it. We are tired and even less motivated than usual on Saturdays. I would understand if we had done it at the beginning of stage when things were completely new, but now the only difference that I between village and city was the availability of distractions. There aren't any in village. That and the trainers forget that we need more than one water filter for 32 of us.

The Peace Corps giving me a bike probably wasn't the best idea on their part. I like to go fast and bikes aren't really made to carry a guy as big as me. Thus far I have bent one rim so badly that it could be fixed and have another rim that now needs to be replaced. It is also not the best for my health. On the way back from village I took a tumble after hitting a bump a little too fast. I had to ask Becky to patch me up after washing the most of the dirt off. I'm fine just a little road rash. Becky isn't really good for her bike either. She has gone through two sets of pedals and one kickstand. Plus she's had a couple of flats.

We got to go to the tailor this week too. That was kinda fun. Becky is getting a dress and two skirts made. I am getting a shirt and a mini boubou made for swearing in. My shirt and Becky's dress are from the same material. One of Becky's skirts and my mini boubou are going to be of the same material. Aren't we cute. The tailor is charging us about 13,000 cfa, which is about $30. Yeah the tailor is ripping us off a little but can't complain to much since she is making a dress from the Victoria's Secret catalog. :)