Katie's African adventures continued...

The day after Christmas I chased down a large, open-backed truck headed in my direction, climbed aboard, perched myself precariously on my back pack and set off for a 50 mile journey west to the paved road. With the wind in my hair, dust in my eyes, a sheep's horns poking at my sides, its wet nose nuzzling my arm, I watched the axles spinning through the loose boards on which I sat, breathed in through the bandanna covering my mouth, and thought, 'Ah, This is Africa.'
Why am I still here? Sometimes I think I really love it here. But only sometimes.
Greetings from adventure in progress. I am having a wonderful time, full of exhaustion, fascination, frustration, learning and understanding, and moments of freedom and happiness I'm so afraid of loosing once I return to the US.
In the past 5 weeks I have made a circle through south-eastern West Africa (does that make sense), I dodged mopeds in Ouagadougou, got sick in Fada, recovered in Natitingou, explored ruined palaces and voodoo shrines in Abomey, roamed streets of crumbling Portuguese buildings in Porto Novo, analyzed life after peace corps with my Fulbright scholar/RPCV friend Natalie in Cotonou, enjoyed a giant, beautiful stretch of beach and unswimmable ocean in Ouidah, walked in a circle around Lome, chased butterflies and waterfalls in Kpalimé, hiked up mountains, found waterfalls, played with monkeys and dodged snakes in Ho, restocked my book supply in Accra, wandered through the slave holds of European trading forts and tried to understand more about the legacy of the slave trade in Cape Coast, wobbled 30 meters above the forest floor on the only canopy walk in Africa in the rain forest of Kakum, immersed myself in urban Ghanaian life and Ashanti history in Kumasi, tracked elephants, baboons, antelopes, and warthogs on Christmas in Mole, spied hippos in Wechiau, and endured an endless day of transport to arrive here, where I am now, in Bobo Dialoasso, Burkina Faso. You still with me?
Just now, after about an hour in the cyber cafe, I got up to go to the bathroom, and for the first time, really forgot where I was.
I have had an amazing time. I\'m learning so much about the world right next door to Senegal and it\'s helping put the past 2 years in a broader context. I\'ve realized how much Peace Corps and Senegal has come to define who I am, at least right now, in my life. I live in Senegal still, and can\'t yet bring myself to call America home. Senegal is comfort and familiarity, and I have never felt more Senegalese than when I try to relate to people in these other countries. There was not a day that passed in the past 2 years where I did not feel American, but in the past 5 weeks, each day I see a bit of Senegal in me. I read recently a line that hit very close to home: "It is a bittersweet thing, knowing to cultures. It\'s a curse\n to love two countries." This trip and all its journeys, is giving me the time I need to reflect and understand the past 2 years. So, I love Bobo Dialasso and Burkina Faso. After 3 weeks in the anglophone, christian, green jungle, mountainous world of Ghana, I was happy to return to the francophone, Muslim, flat, dry, Savannah landscape I\'ve come to feel at home in. I\'m relaxing for a few days and enjoying this laid back, easy town before I head north to Mali to meet my friend Marielsie and trek through Dogon country. I\'m so excited! I\'m wishing everyone a very wonderful and happy new year. I\'m sending lots of love and to all corners of the world for 2006. May you all be safe where you are. I\'ll finally land in Washington, DC on Jan. 22nd and hope to see as many many people as possible. I may be afraid to leave the house for a few days, for fear of\n freezing to death . . . bear with me. I have dreams of hot showers and watching movies on a couch while eating pizza and Chinese food that has been delivered to my door. Oh, and I really need to find a job! I have no phone (my 21st century mother seems to be against fixed line telephones these days, so I need a cell phone. but first, see above . . . I need a job), so email, email, email and I\'ll try to steal my mother\'s phone to call you back :)",1]
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I have had an amazing time. I'm learning so much about the world right next door to Senegal and it's helping put the past 2 years in a broader context. I've realized how much Peace Corps and Senegal has come to define who I am, at least right now, in my life. I live in Senegal still, and can't yet bring myself to call America home. Senegal is comfort and familiarity, and I have never felt more Senegalese than when I try to relate to people in these other countries. There was not a day that passed in the past 2 years where I did not feel American, but in the past 5 weeks, each day I see a bit of Senegal in me. I read recently a line that hit very close to home: "It is a bittersweet thing, knowing to cultures. It's a curse to love two countries."
This trip and all its journeys, is giving me the time I need to reflect and understand the past 2 years.

So, I love Bobo Dialasso and Burkina Faso. After 3 weeks in the anglophone, christian, green jungle, mountainous world of Ghana, I was happy to return to the francophone, Muslim, flat, dry, Savannah landscape I've come to feel at home in. I'm relaxing for a few days and enjoying this laid back, easy town before I head north to Mali to meet my friend Marielsie and trek through Dogon country. I'm so excited!

I'm wishing everyone a very wonderful and happy new year. I'm sending lots of love and to all corners of the world for 2006. May you all be safe where you are.

I'll finally land in Washington, DC on Jan. 22nd and hope to see as many many people as possible. I may be afraid to leave the house for a few days, for fear of freezing to death . . . bear with me. I have dreams of hot showers and watching movies on a couch while eating pizza and Chinese food that has been delivered to my door.