Review of week 1

It rained the other day, the second time since my arrival last Wednesday. While I was in a meeting with Suzanne from the DED (German Development), the trees began to sway and doors slammed as the wind blew vigurously.
The temperature hits almost 40˚ celsius on a clear day. giving the sun full access to us until about 6pm when the sun begins to set. Jonathan and I were suprised with the humidity that hit us when we debarked the plane last week. The rainy season generally ends sometime in September and we thought dry, hot weather was in store for us. It isn’t as bad as in Asia, but it adds to my feeling of melting. So everyday, I hope it’ll be cloudy and a bit windy like it is today for fresh air…Or in Ouaga’s case, dusty air.
The only paved roads are the main ones. Everything else is dirt. A brown-red dirt that kicks up whenever a vehicle passes, gets into your shoes and rests on everything. Often things are left in their packages here, covered or dusted daily. For example, the surface of the computers here at the office are wiped daily, leaving the once-white towel rust-coloured. And the box of tissues I bought at the grocery store was left in it’s plastic wrap until it is sold.
The bad air is compounded by the emissions from the numerous “mobylettes”, cars and especially trucks! The public transporation exists here, like local buses, however they’re not on time and usually packed. The taxis can be hailed on larger roads and a fare will bring you straight down the route that it’s already taking. Negotiations are needed if you want door-to-door service. Cyclists are common, but share the same lanes as motorcycles. So without contributing to the emissions they are breathing them in direct from the source.
My first impressions were that Burkina reminded me of Southeast Asia with the weather, activity, transportation, haggling, etc…But there are some differences. Even though Ouaga is the capital, they have ways to go before escalating it to the pockets of wealth and relative comfort of the poorer Southeast Asian larger cities have.
All in all, I want to do rest! It’s been non-stop since I arrived with training, meetings, socializing, working, etc. My only day off was this past Sunday, when I settled into my new home. My things are still in my luggage since I don’t have a armoir. Hopefully the carpenter will finish and install it soon.
Tomorrow, a couple of my co-workers are taking me to the Arts & Crafts village and it’s dinner with some a mix of Italians and Germans.

This entry was posted on 5. October 2007 at 11:10 and is filed under Thoughts, Ouagadougou. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.