So sad news; i had two thoughtful and interesting blog posts all written out and ready to go, and i forget my usb key at home... So you are stuck with my last minute thoughts.
Well, one good story that happened after i wrote the other entries: Toby followed me to school the other day! it was pretty damn cute :) Every morning, i am usually in a hurry to get out the door and to school by 7. I usually let toby out of the courtyard before then because he gets restless and starts scratching at the door. well, that day, for whatever reason, he made it to 7 before he started to bug me. So he followed me out the door and when i took off on my bike, he followed. School is about a km away, and he kept up the whole time! admittedly, i did go a little slower at the end for him, just because i didn't want him to get lost halfway between home and school. At school he explored all around the grounds, walking in and out of my classroom and even following me up and down the aisles! Finally, he curled up and took a nap until it was time to go home.
Like i said, pretty adorable!
So there are a quite a few events coming up; international volunteer day the weekend of dec 4th, Burkina's independence day Dec 11, and my In-service training starting Dec 13th. And the end of the trimester around the 10th. So, i'll finally have some work to do around here, haha! But also, i'll have lots to write about coming up, so check back around then! Miss you all, happy holidays coming up!!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Toubabou!
So, I have to admit, that I had a little bit of trouble thinking of what to write for this entry. You’d think that after two weeks of not really talking to anyone back home, I’d be bursting with new and exciting stories of my adventures in Africa. Well, sorry to disappoint, but just like in America, when you start to get into the routine of things, they stop being new and exciting.
I do have a couple stories for you though, so hopefully they will tide you over until something really fun and exciting happens here :)
First, I need to explain that here (and most other non-Western countries) it is perfectly acceptable and normal to refer to people by the color of their skin. Say what you want about political correctness, this simply isn’t done in the States. It is considered rude at best, and in most instances it is much more serious than that. But here, it’s any everyday occurrence. Daily, I’m greeted as Toubabu (the Jula word for white/foreigner), Nasanu (Bwamu), Nasarah (Moore), or simply La Blanche (French). And both people I’ve never met, as well as my friends and co-workers will call me such. My friends and co-workers don’t call me those names directly, but I have heard them refer to me as such to other Burkinabe. Some days I decide it’s worth it to try and ask that people call me by name instead of by the color of my skin, where as other days it simply isn’t worth the effort.
This past week I was sitting and reading at the coffee kiosk outside my house when this man comes up to me and greets me as “Madame Toubabu, Bonjour!” As I knew that I would never see this guy again and because there were other people around who always get a kick out of it when I ask people to use my name and not Toubabu; today was one of those days where I decided it just wasn’t worth it. So I simply responded with my Bonjour and start to open my book again (a little rude not to run to full gambit of salutations, asking about their family, work, health, etc, but I was annoyed). As I do so, the little kid working at the shop says, “her name’s not toubabu, it’s Danielle.” And suddenly, it was the best day ever! This little kid, who laughed along with his parents when I’d said that same thing in the past, was now sticking up for me! It was adorable and really made my week :)
A couple days later, I was at school for the study hall I host for the 3e class. I brought my water jug for the students to fill up and bring to my house after, and asked a group of girls to fill it up for me. As I’m walking away I hear one of the say, “La blanche…” and I yell after them that they can call me Madame, not La Blanche. Students here are expected to show a lot more respect to their teachers than we expect in the states, so that I really did consider unacceptable. The girls laughed and ran away, but I hope that my point was made. The next day, I had study hall with 4e and we were going over English words. One of the girls from the day before asks, “How do you call someone La Blanche in English?” “You don’t,” was my response to that. We then had a discussion about it, and how I understand that it is somewhat acceptable here, it is considered very rude in the US, so hopefully I’ll run into it less in the future. I had the same discussion with some of the functionaire women in the that weekend, so hopefully I will get to the point where at least my friends don't call me Toubabou any longer. But we'll see...
I do have a couple stories for you though, so hopefully they will tide you over until something really fun and exciting happens here :)
First, I need to explain that here (and most other non-Western countries) it is perfectly acceptable and normal to refer to people by the color of their skin. Say what you want about political correctness, this simply isn’t done in the States. It is considered rude at best, and in most instances it is much more serious than that. But here, it’s any everyday occurrence. Daily, I’m greeted as Toubabu (the Jula word for white/foreigner), Nasanu (Bwamu), Nasarah (Moore), or simply La Blanche (French). And both people I’ve never met, as well as my friends and co-workers will call me such. My friends and co-workers don’t call me those names directly, but I have heard them refer to me as such to other Burkinabe. Some days I decide it’s worth it to try and ask that people call me by name instead of by the color of my skin, where as other days it simply isn’t worth the effort.
This past week I was sitting and reading at the coffee kiosk outside my house when this man comes up to me and greets me as “Madame Toubabu, Bonjour!” As I knew that I would never see this guy again and because there were other people around who always get a kick out of it when I ask people to use my name and not Toubabu; today was one of those days where I decided it just wasn’t worth it. So I simply responded with my Bonjour and start to open my book again (a little rude not to run to full gambit of salutations, asking about their family, work, health, etc, but I was annoyed). As I do so, the little kid working at the shop says, “her name’s not toubabu, it’s Danielle.” And suddenly, it was the best day ever! This little kid, who laughed along with his parents when I’d said that same thing in the past, was now sticking up for me! It was adorable and really made my week :)
A couple days later, I was at school for the study hall I host for the 3e class. I brought my water jug for the students to fill up and bring to my house after, and asked a group of girls to fill it up for me. As I’m walking away I hear one of the say, “La blanche…” and I yell after them that they can call me Madame, not La Blanche. Students here are expected to show a lot more respect to their teachers than we expect in the states, so that I really did consider unacceptable. The girls laughed and ran away, but I hope that my point was made. The next day, I had study hall with 4e and we were going over English words. One of the girls from the day before asks, “How do you call someone La Blanche in English?” “You don’t,” was my response to that. We then had a discussion about it, and how I understand that it is somewhat acceptable here, it is considered very rude in the US, so hopefully I’ll run into it less in the future. I had the same discussion with some of the functionaire women in the that weekend, so hopefully I will get to the point where at least my friends don't call me Toubabou any longer. But we'll see...
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