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I started my girls' club!! It's made up of the girls from my 4eme (8th grade) class, and since there are only twelve (out of almost seventy kids, which is a ridiculous proportion) it's a really good size for a club. And these girls are awesome. The club itself is nothing special- every Saturday morning we drink tea and hang out and draw and paint our nails and maybe practice some english, and I lead an activity on self-esteem or gender roles or whatever else I think they might be interested in. Basically what I love is just talking to them and learning about their lives, what they think about school, what they want to do in the future (I've got several nurses and doctors, a journalist, and a government minister) and it's very illuminating. Last week they got to sharing war stories from the beatings they received in elementary school (it was apparently worst on days when the teacher was drunk.) I told them that in the US a teacher would be put in prison for that, and they thought that was pretty cool. [I know I don't normally write negative things about Burkina on this blog, but that was one of those conversations where I stopped feeling at home here and started feeling a little overwhelmed and depressed about the state of things. Those conversations happen occasionally, and I don't want to dwell on them too much when I'm sharing my experiences with you all, but it is a part of my life.]
But these girls are wonderful and I love spending time with them, and Saturday mornings are quickly becoming the best time of my week.