from Tofu with love

about the US While at site--saving lives and doing a plethora of selfless activities-- I made a list of the things that I miss about the states. Please humor me. Things that I miss about the US list Googling my wildest question on demand inappropriately imitating sensitive quotes from the Color Purple at random times with my friends Easy access to new music Tofu Driving while blasting music Wearing make up and looking good Dressing for winter (Boots) Movies + movie nights with Sassafras Family gatherings Understanding the language/ being able to express myself completely Trashy reality TV Easy access to any kind of food Full body mirrors 24hr stores (wawa, fast food, etc) Being cold Not being sick all of the time Homemade vegan pizza w/ Daiya "cheese" Facebook stalking Good beer Snacks Good customer service Men who are discreet about their creepiness Family gatherings Clothes shopping not having to sleep under a mosquito net Burkina is grea...

I love when select individuals here talk about me in from of my face like I don't understand most of what they are saying. Usually they are mocking me or repeating something that I've said in the past. Sometimes they even say my name or use nassara when they talk about me. I guess it's not much different than me talking about people in english in front of their faces. I need to stop doing that. The other day I was at the pool with some other volunteers and these people (who I assumed were Burkinabe bc they were speaking french) were learning how to swim. Their instructor was teaching them this weird jelly roll stroke that literally involved a lot of paddling and no progress. This woman was flailing around for a good 30 seconds and moved about 2 inches forward. Of course I found this hilarious so me and another volunteer started cracking jokes to one another. I don't know if they heard us but about 15 minutes later they come up to us and start speaking to us in english. ...

2 weeks ago, the other African American/Black volunteers and I had a 3 day get together in one of the bigger cities in Burkina. Out of 170ish volunteers there are only 12 black volunteers; therefore me and another volunteer decided to have a weekend to celebrate our culture by sharing our different backgrounds and experiences. Although only half of the invitees showed up I had a very good time. We discussed politics/current events, swam, and shared fun personal stories. I want to have another one later in the year. Hopefully the attendance will be greater next time. After a long day, I am on my taxi brusse heading back to my site. At about 4pm and 1hour away from my site we enter this town and we see hundreds of people running towards our moving vehicle. There are also other trucks and buses pulled to the side of the road. The driver pulls over with all of the other stopped cars. Apparently in that town a woman was killed in a car accident and the people decided to express their grie...