Welcome to the world of Pô and to the little courtyard in which I live. Come. Join me on a tour, won't you?

On the very, very rare occasions when a vehicle drops me at my courtyard, I tell the driver that we've arrived when we see the little round hut that forms the southeast corner of the courtyard wall. It's a cute round hut, don't you think? Naturally, everyone wants to peep inside the courtyard. Let's go inside and have a look.

As you enter the courtyard, you're likely to be greeted by Rex. Here's Rex with his sister, Dora (aka Dori). Rex is still favoring his right front paw, but I suspect it's merely a ploy to get another rawhide treat. When I arrived in September 2010, Rex and Dora were mere pups. Rex and Dora bark a lot. It's hard to hear what's happening on South Park with so much barking; but I've discovered that a rawhide treat will keep 'em quiet for a few minutes. Yes, those are leaves in this photo. This means that it's afternoon and Martine hasn't returned from repose to perform her afternoon sweeping of the courtyard.

Immediately upon entering the courtyard you'll again see the charming thatch hut, which is currently full from the autumn corn harvest. Those are secco rolls leaning against the wall of the courtyard.Look closely . . . secco woven with patterns like this is generally used for walls. It's possible that this secco will be used to replace the burned roof of Leon's hangar, but I doubt it. I suspect that someone's getting a new wall somewhere in the courtyard. This is fine secco, true enough. But I know a blind man who weaves beautiful secco. That's no joke . . . he's blind and it's beautiful! Evidently, his people don't know Leon's people. Perhaps you're thinking that the charming thatched hut looks a tad lonely and isolated, but it's not. My bedroom wall is just outside this image on the left. If I had a water pistol, I could shoot right through my bedroom shutters and easily hit any mark on the hut. It's that close. And yes, this is the area where Martine sweeps every morning at 05h00.

Ah, so we've arrived inside the courtyard, looking back toward the blue metal entrance gate. What's that? Why, it's the Barbie bike, parked just below my hut. The dust from the Harmattan has masked the bright purple and the flowers. I suppose I could wash it. Note that stunning helmet dangling from the handlebar. The mandatory helmet . . . the very helmet that ruins the occasional good-hair-day.

That's my hut wall on the left, and if you look closely you'll see my kitchen window. What a lovely flower bed, non? Even though it's dry season, Leon still waters it. Imagine the bed filled with colorful flowers in the summer. Not too shabby, eh? Hens live in this bed, or at least they do a great deal of their pecking-work in it. I've given-up growing flowers in the bed. Yes, I realize that it appears lush now, but you should see it during rainy season. Stunning! Look, someone is hanging some corn to dry; and no, it's not me. What's that about?

Let's tarry a  moment at the Barbie bike and catch a glimpse of the hut, itself. You can see that I'm on an elevated terrace. In fact, I'm several feet above all the other homes in the courtyard; and the courtyard is on one of the highest hills in Pô. So I've really got a sweet spot; and being at the top means that I get a nice breeze when there's even a hint of wind. Unfortunately, a hint of wind brings mountains of dust. So you don't think that I've got real windows, do you? You've not imagined any glass windows, surely. No glass . . . only screen on the outside of metal-slatted shutters. Blue metal shutters . . . just like that blue metal door. Cute bird cage, huh? Never seen a bird inside.

Now as we approach the hut you'll see the full glory of my tin-roof hangar. Note the rough-hewn steps that lead up to my private terrace. And that's the safe way up and down. Had this photo been taken yesterday, you'd have glimpsed my round plastic table. I've moved it inside until Harmattan season ends. The table accumulated about a half-inch of dust daily. No kidding . . . daily!

Look closely. There's presently a mat on my terrace, but it's never left unrolled and unattended. Remember the goat. And Rex. And the hens. Don't need any gifts atop the mat. This mat is so old and full of sand that no amount of shaking and beating will remove the dirt. Thus, it's now an outdoor mat used for seating for me and the children when we play Uno. That tree on the left is the same tree you can see from the Google Earth image. It's odd to me that trees in this climate lose their leaves, but they do. In rainy season, my entire terrace is in deep shade. Look to the left and you'll see the path to my latrine and shower. Well, it's actually not a path, merely a little side-yard with a few immature Moringa trees, the fire pit, the beginning of a compost pit, and my clothes line. It's sometimes an obstacle course after Rex and Dora have visited; but obstacles don't last long . . . not with Martine's sweeping. On the right you'll see the grand home of Leon & Elizabeth. Wonder who is visiting, because that's not Elizabeth's moto.

Yes, I know you're anixous to peer inside. But before we step into Burkina's best PCV hut, let's venture off to the back wall of the courtyard and check out the view in the opposite direction. Voila! The fire pit. And what do we know about a fire pit? Never build your fire pit directly under your living room window. Now you get it, right? Smoke goes up and right into that window. Note how the screening is stretched on a wooden frame attached to the mud hut. And there's that tree again -- the Google Earth tree. Note the lush landscaping beneath the tree. Kidding! Got the hens to thank for that. Across the way . . . there's the home of Leon & Elizabeth. That's probably their laundry. I realize that it's difficult to detect the scale, but perhaps you can tell from the number of doors and windows that Leon's home is considerably larger than mine. Considerably!

So here's what you've been waiting for, right? Where I spend my time indoors. Here is the Kathy Davis living room. What do you see, and what don't you see? See the flat-screen plasma TV? No? Hmm. But you do see the new draperies that I brought back from my recent trip to Texas, along with the fabric covering the sofa and the pink saree scarf draped over the lit pico. Look closely between the windows and you see an African mask, left to me by Daniel; and under the mask is the beautifully-colored drawing made for me by Miss Abbey. It's Barbie, and she's trying to decide what to wear today . . . the skimpy mid-drift or the spaghetti-strapped T . . . none of which we're allowed to wear in this culture. Thus, I find the image hilarious. Plus, it's girly pink and goes well in the newly transformed living area. Note those pricey plastic golden chairs. Actually, what color is that? Curry? See all the furniture that I've painted black. Tip to you future BF PCVs: don't paint anything black or white. Should have painted everything curry. That's a Burkina map over the sofa, which is soon to be replaced by some fabulous miniature, retro, B-movie posters provided by Michael. Thanks, Michael. I've selected a dozen images with lots of pink and orange, and they will be fabulous in this room. The kite that my kids fly down in the valley is hanging over my bookcase.

Step to the back of the living room with me, please. Now you see it, don't you. Dust! Harmattan dust everywhere . . . and I dusted about 20 mintues before taking this photo. In some ways I get a kick out of the dust. After all, it travelled all the way from Libya to land in my living room. OK, so let's look at the door, also foolishly painted black by yours truly. Gray ring-around-the-door, you say? Yep, someone probably cut that door hole as an after-thought; then the mason smeared concrete around the crumbly opening. Abbey, your framed lion cub painting is hanging just to the left of the door. Incidentally, I never, never-ever sit on that sofa. It's only a sofa in the loosest sense of the word.

A quick peek in the bedroom and we'll be concluding our tour, folks. Perhaps I should have removed the newly installed curtains before the photo session. You're missing that prison-chic-look with the blue metal shutters covered by a curtain (again, a saree scarf). Yes, I realize that the walls are in dire need of decoration. I'm thinking of painting a globe above the bed and a chalkboard on the left wall above that little black truck on which the pith helmet sits. If you'll look closely at the shoes of the floor, you may get an idea of the scale of the mat, and thus the scale of the room. It's tiny. That's a queen-size bed (God love you, Daniel!), and it leaves no room to walk around. No complaints, however. I'm convinced that it's the most cushy bed in all Burkina.

What? OK, I know. You're not leaving until you've seen the latrine. Of course you want to see the luxurious bath area. And it's only natural to be curious about the only outdoor porcelain toilet south of the Volta Rouge. Well here you go. Note the built-in shelving aside the toilet . . . perfect for . . . for . . OK, I've not figured out what it's perfect for. It's in no way level, and shampoo bottles roll right off. It's also gritty, thus inappropriate for a bar of soap. Raise your hand if you see a door on the shower/toilet combo? The small black sachet directly under the shower head contains a papaya tree, recently ravaged by a hen. But it will survive to grow again . . . it always does. And soon it will be transported to the school garden for planting. The blue and yellow bucket leaks, but it's fine for catching run-off shower water, which I use to water the Moringa trees. OK, now imagine this shower pre-toilet-install and you'll see why I refer to it as the group shower. Six people, easily. Yes, sometimes I climb up on the shelves and peek over the courtyard wall to see what's going on down the hill.

I'd like to thank you for joining us on today's tour. I hope you've enjoyed my little corner of the world. Anyone feeling sorry for me for living under such sad circumstances? Or . . . anyone out there sarcastically saying "Oh, poor you . . . girly curtains, queen-size bed, porcelain toilet, artwork by Abbey" ?

How long do you think the Barbie bike would stay clean in Harmattan season? Can you click on these photos and see a larger version? When will you get a glimpse of the gourmet kitchen . . . and more of Pô?  We can only speculate.