Oh my, what to write.
Well, first of all, I saw my sister off as far as I could through security last night and now she is safely on the first of a few planes that will eventually take her back home to grad school, work, and "real life" in DC. I made sure she has plenty of snacks, so no worries.
As to the last two weeks? Only Kate and I will ever really know every detail of that journey...
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| In village with the kids |
It's impossible to explain it all or even to get it all down. It is enough to say, we both made a lot of effort to make it happen and I'm glad we did, because in the end it was awesome. I got to show my sister a little bit of my world as we experienced the hectic, pushy pace of Ouaga, and the hot, slow comfort of my village's market and kids. Then we explored the south together, swimming in waterfalls, climbing big rocks, seeing ancient hill dwellings and old mud mosques. We also got to see some amazing live traditional music and I learned how to make dinner "like a backpacker" (fresh bakery bread, chicken off the street, food I bought a week earlier and fresh fruit from a vender nearby). So many pictures I didn't get! Money, laundry, and time all go too fast on vacations. The laundry problem leading one of us to exclaim the title of this post.
And just when I was getting used to having someone there again, it was over.
Now I am on my way back to village to try once again to get some projects started, maybe with the new perspective that traveling with someone as fearless as my big sister lends. Until next time.
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| Our rickety canoe ride to hippos was lead by this man |
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| I don't care if this picture is good enough for you, the hippos were RIGHT there! |
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| She's gonna kill me |
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| We stayed in a hut at this place. Beautiful, right? |
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Kate and the guides on our way up the mountain to see ancient stuff
(Adding to the legend that is Kate K, she climbed it barefoot, the only nassara ever to have done so.) |
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| Ancient cliff dwellings and food storage (was awesome) |
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| Kate amongst the ruins |
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| Over-looking the forbidden to foreigners sacred part |
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| Mud mosque in Bobo |
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| Kate on the roof where imams used to give calls to prayer |
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| In the oldest part of Bobo, the elders room, where only the chief used to sit |
