A free weekend

My first free weekend has passed and was full of activities. On Saturday, my work colleagues took me to the Arts & Crafts Village to show Burkina’s trade. Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos since we arrived late afternoon (avoiding the heat of the day) and photography was restricted.
On the subject of photography in this country…In the past, those who wanted to photograph were required to fill out a form and pay a fee for a photography license. The government has since changed their policy and we’re free to do as we please, except photographing government buildings is illegal. Some people are reticent of their pictures being taken. Often the reason is their beliefs (stealing souls via camera), privacy or plain discomfort. I’ve been asked once for money and most people like to pose, especially the children.
Getting back to my arts & crafts, Ouaga hosts a fair every two years where all African countries exhibit their wares. At the village, independent artists displayed their wares including: silver, gold and beaded jewellery; horns; ebony, wood and bronze sculptures, masks; batik; scarves; leather shoes, purses and accessories; toys; etc. I ended up buying batik cards to mail, but first I must find stamps! Other things that interested me was a sling à la Denis the Menace, a game, jewellery, batik and ebony sculptures. In good time, I say. No rush to buy.
Afterwards, they brought me to “La Ouagalaise” which is “maquis resto”, but resembles more like a restaurant club. I ordered a garlic chicken and fries, forgetting that when you order a chicken here, it’s an entire chicken. It was interesting to see where they go on the weekends to have a beer, chat and dance a bit. The selection of tunes had much to be desired, it was a mix of reggae, jump up, r&b and some remixes. I wonder how the DJs get their music? Apparently from the same place, because I was brought to another club later on that night by the expats, where they played the same tracks (sometimes orginal vs remix)!
The night continued by meeting the German and friends at an Italian restaurant, where there were people from everywhere! Mostly NGO people and some government types. Burkinabès, Germans, Italians, Danish, Swiss, Dutch, the list continues! It seemed a requirement to be bilingual. Conversation could begin in French then switch to German with brief spurts of English. It was great to meet people from other organizations and sectors, outside of my circle of work and home.
The next day on Sunday, I lazed about and went to a hotel’s pool to suntan and bathe in warm water. Also, got bitten by a ton of mosquitos!
Must itch now and take more blue pills.

This entry was posted on 8. October 2007 at 16:08 and is filed under People, Culture, Ouagadougou, General. 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.