I’ve somehow been omitted from the “cc” portion of the memo list. Either that, or I’m just plain stupid. It was laundry day. We stagaires were to bring laundry downstairs. I did just that. Left it on the table that I saw with many other parcels of laundry. Yo, heads-up, Kathy . . . evidently everyone else got the memo that said to pick-up their parcels after breakfast and take them on to the ISO. Hmm. The follow day at the ISO, everyone received nicely laundered clothing. Where was mine? Back on the table at the hotel. Yep, still on the table. Helloooo . . . earth to Kathy! Oh well. Who needs clean clothing to work in a compost heap?


I think that I saw bats. It was well after sundown . . . just a faint glimmer of orange light on the horizon, illuminating the dust that perpetually hangs in the air. There they were. Dozens, possibly hundreds. Flapping, flying animals. I don’t think that birds flap that much. Not continually, anyway. And what birds fly in such huge groups, after sundown? A flock of owls? I don’t think so. Bats? Could be. Perhaps some research is in order.

Just when I’m almost malnourished to the point of withering-away (well, maybe not so much) . . . but just when I cannot and will not continue without good food, in a sufficient amount with enough time and the proper cool setting to enjoy it . . . just when I’m at that point, we’re invited to the ACPD’s home for a luncheon prepared by our PCVFs. I know, that’s a lot of acronyms; but what it mean is (wait for it, Becky): eggplant parmesan, and mounds of green salad. Did you get that? Green salad, and egglant parmesan! Yes, another day of hardship conditions here in PST. And the cost of this fine dining experience? 500CFA. That’s about one dollar.

Someone told me that goats have tails that go up, while sheep tails go down. Say that with me: sheep tails. Cute, isn’t it? So, I never thought about it, but I believe that this tail tale is indeed true. As far as I know (being a Texan) there are many ways to distinguish sheep from goats; but this is a useful tool, especially if the animal is running directly away from you. Now come on – that’s a fun fascinating fact. Happy tail up? Goat. Tail down about-to-be-dinner? Sheep.

Back to the laundry issue. I returned from demyst, dirty but happy. Then I was sick. Then I returned to school sans laundry. On Tuesday, however, I finally got the memo about getting laundry done. It’s a miraculous thing. One problem: my laundry is now lost. OK, it cannot truly be lost, but it’s certainly MIA. Now the amazing thing is that I’ve got laundry that can go missing. Yes, this means that some very thoughtful Burkinabe woman has washed my clothing. She did her part . . . even returned it to the ISO on Wednesday, whereupon it went missing. The cost of laundry? 500CFA, including ironing. Is there anything in Burkina Faso that doesn’t cost 500CFA?

What is a CFA? Well, it’s a common West African unit of money that (similar to the Euro) crosses borders for ease of commerce. That’s common as in in common, not common as in ubiquitous. But here’s a better question: how is it pronounced? Some say: say-fa. Others say: sah-eff-ah or sah-eff-ay (but say it quickly).

Where’s my laundry? Will I have something to wear tomorrow for the field trip? Did I miss another memo, or is it true that the field trip involves the petting of tail-down-sheep and tails-up-goats? Could I be any more excited about farm animals? How is CFA truly pronounced? Am I really just plain stupid? We can only speculate.