Ouagadougou

Saw a little of the capital, Ouagadougou today. It is very flat, with very few buildings over 1 story, even in the center of town. And much hotter and drier here than in Bobo - 35C today here. Besides venturing to the bus yards to look at a charter bus for bringing us and all our stuff to Bobo (between the 5 that are arriving, they have at least 25 pieces of checked luggage, including 3 bicycles, their carryone and a cat), we ended up seeing quite a bit of the city as we drove from the artisanat center.

The Artisans Village is a tourist place where artists can sell their stuff, and they pay a percentage to the center. I suspect the prices are overblown, but some of the stuff is nice, including paintings, woodwork, iron, etc. I found this great women's project, from Bobo Dioulasso where the women make stuff - rugs, purses, dolls, even clothing - out of recycled plastic bags. Its SO cool! So I got their information and I'm going to find them next week. I bought a 12" ceramic vase, decorated with leather and snakeskin that was really unique. And got furniture ideas for my house. But I think there will be much better deals to be had in Bobo, away from a tourist market.

Its interesting dealing with the ministry; when we arrived, they assured us that they would help with transport. And then 2 days ago, via the driver the story changed, several times, and suddenly they need us to pay for the gas, then for a rental bus, etc, in order to help us with the transport... So, we are arranging our own transport; as their story keeps changing and they keep wanting more and more money from us. I wonder what that portends for other stuff in the future...
Anyhow, its all very interesting. Its good for me to see how David copes with these things (he is our administrator who I am here helping, and who has lived and been organizing projects in Africa for 5 years). I keep thinking if we have more discussions we can work out these details, but he just moves forward on things.

Its nice to have good internet access here; hopefully it will be the same once we are set up in Bobo, with ADSL. I hope everyone is well at home.