my bed is a pool and the walls are on fire

 Today, I would like to complain about the heat.

I recognize that I am a third year volunteer. Thus, firstly, I should be used to this by now. But Bagre was much farther south and next to a huge lake, which kept things pretty cool. And secondly, it's not like I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I thought I was signing up for terribleness with my eyes wide open, ready to tackle another hot season. I thought.

Tema is a whole different story. It's much farther north, in sort of triangular valley that doesn't get rain. We have a pretty severe drought issue right now, and even though some early rains have been falling to the south, west, and east of us, we've only gotten a few drops. And a huge part of the problem is that with adding the 10 hours of english classes a week, I teach three afternoons in a row. I cannot express how dreadful that is in hot season.

And now, terrible examples of how hot it is. I don't know what the actual temperature is- maybe 110 degrees? 120? But I can express my extreme suffering. (Okay, it's not that extreme. But I can still hate it.)

•  My cat looks like he's about to die. He wheezes as he pants, his tongue sticking out and his sides moving so fast I can't even count. Needless to say, it is highly discouraging.
• When I get back from class, I burn my hand on my metal front door. I have to use a rag as a potholder, but for my door handle.
• You know how in movies, you see heat waves over the desert? I see them when I look out my schoolroom window, and it's maybe even a little worse because they are visibly blowing across the plain.
• My bucket bath in the evening feels like I've heated water. It would qualify as a hot bath, which would be delightful if I started out cold. What is worse is that my drinking water is the same temperature.
• It doesn't matter if I sleep inside with a fan ten inches from me or outside in the night air- either way I wake up in a pool of sweat.
• Two words: Heat rash. Three more words: On my scalp. Too bad I'm a hundred percent sure I can't pull off the shaved head look. (Actually, that's probably a good thing. I would be far too tempted otherwise.)
• The most frequent phrase I have been using lately in Moore is windg zabdame: the sun is burning.

oh hey

Evidently I no longer blog. There are a few reasons: I went home for a month over Christmas, I lost my digital camera charger and got a manual film camera over vacation (thus no pictures to post), and I've been generally pretty boring lately. Teaching, coming to Ouaga, teaching some more... not too much to write about. ALTHOUGH, there was one incredible thing I went to a couple of weeks ago: the Dedougou mask festival. It takes place every two years and is almost definitely the coolest thing I've seen in Burkina.

This is me, standing in front of a bush taxi being loaded with masks. And by mask, I mean full-body costume made of crazy materials and inhabited by a spirit. Sweet, right?


Again, I've been using film (not very successfully thus far - operator error, with tragic consequences) so I have no pictures of my own to share, but you should absolutely look at my friend's pictures. Seriously. Coolest experience ever; amazing pictures.
http://sworthy10.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/mask-festival-festima-2012/

In other news, I've started teaching english classes at my school. Our english teacher is moving to another school for the rest of the year, so my principal asked me if I could add ten hours a week. It's pretty fun so far, but completely different from math and requiring all new classroom management strategies. We'll see how having 20 hours of teaching a week goes, especially during hot season.


Lastly, some of my friends have been linking to this article. It's a pretty good overview of all the chaos that happened last spring and the current situation in Burkina, if you're interested.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95060/Analysis-Burkina-Faso-s-uneasy-peace