Day 1 in Ougadougou

 

I have really enjoyed my first full day here in Burkina. This morning I was able to spend two hours of quiet time alone in prayer and journaling. After the hectic pace that came with traveling all over Kenya I feel so refreshed spiritually and physically living at the slower pace here.

We went to a restaurant that serves American food and had a great lunch and I had a mango smoothie for dessert. It is mango season here! After lunch we headed over to the grocery store. And I mean THE grocery store. Lynn said it is the biggest grocery store in the country and there is only one other in Ouaga that is even comparable. It was a nice store and had most things we needed but was pretty small by American standards. I can’t wrap my mind around the things that I take for granted in America every day. There is a grocery store with everything I could ever possibly want just 1 mile from my house. Here, we had to buy almost everything that I want to eat for the next 2 months because it cannot be found in most places unless it is fresh produce.

I thought that Kenya was poor, but they have so so so much more than Burkina. There was a grocery store in almost every relatively large city we stopped in. And it takes not time to realize how much America has compared to here. I’m almost scared to walk into a Super Wal-Mart and face the never-ending cereal isle when I get home. There were 6 choices of cereal at the store today-and 3 were variations of cornflakes. We have so much in America…too much.

I had a moment today that was a notable example of odd cultural quirks here. I was standing in the grocery store picking out imported French cookies near an isle decorated with Christmas wreaths for whatever reason and Bruno Mars came on the radio. There is Africa for you.

My brain is on overload with language. In Kenya I was caught saying “lo siento” several times. I don’t know where that is coming from! Here I find myself standing awkwardly and stuttering when I want to thank someone. First I think “thank you” then my brain switches to the Swahili “asante” and by the time it turns over to the French “merci” they have already walked away. I even caught myself starting to say hello in hindi and tagalog (Filipino). Despite the challenge French poses I have quite enjoyed walking right past the many barterers putting their product in front my face and telling them “I don’t speak French” and not feeling bad for completely ignoring them.

Lynn is quite the lady. I’m telling you. I have been with her for just over 24 hours and I can already see her huge love for Christ. The stories she tells, the advice she gives, and the wisdom in her well-thought out words are priceless. I’m hoping to soak up as much of her knowledge and love and wisdom as I can. We pray before every meal and every outing and she makes sure Jesus is the center of everything we do. I can only imagine how great her reward will be in Heaven!