Tuesday, January 8, 2013

N tie biga


                Hello friends and family back home. Our team is finishing up our 3rd day in Ouaga. Tomorrow at 6:30 AM, Burkina time, we will be headed to Mahadaga, where will be starting this next phase of our journey. So far this trip has been quite an African experience. Since most my work is with tricycles I have been helping out wherever it has been needed. Yesterday I helped Darin with his HFM system in various capacities. I got to sweep off a Burkinabe roof compound with Lindsey and John Meyer. Sounds simple, but when you have to walk on boards and can’t step on the roof, because you may fall through roof and you have sweep leaves and the piles and piles of red dirt and put them in a basket. After basket after basket and red dirt getting covered on everything we finished the roof.
                After I finished with the roof, Lindsey, Kate and I went on a shopping trip. John gave me a list of bike parts that we needed. He gave me a list with some of the French names with them. I had to figure out a few French words and the estimated price for each. With the list in hand and a French-English dictionary we were off on our adventure. We walked down the street and stopped in at one place that looked like a bicycle place, but were told that it was a motorcycle shop. We continued down a few shops and found another place that looked like they had bicycle parts. We entered this little street. Keep in mind that this shop was not like anything that we have in the US. The shop was more like a stand with bike parts filling shelves. I struggled to say/ show the shop employee the parts that we needed. She didn’t understand at first, but after a lot of awkward standing there not knowing what she was saying we started to get somewhere. But after 45 minutes to an hour of asking do you have this and she would search and search, send someone to look in another shop or place she would finally say she didn’t have it. She said come back tomorrow and she would have everything. We left her with the list worried she would have the items tomorrow morning. We walked back toward the SIM compound and past a bike shop we missed. We decided to try it. I told him the first part we needed and he had it! We were finally in business. Similar to the previous shop he had to keep going around to get a few parts since he didn’t always have the quantity that we needed. But I was able to convey what we needed and was able to pick up everything we needed. It took a long time, with him going to get the parts and other customers jumping in to buy parts, but we were successful. We headed back carrying rims, flywheels and an assortment of other things we needed. It was a strenuous experience, but definitely something I will remember from this trip.
                Today we had the opportunity to have culture and language lessons with John Tandamba. It was great to learn more French and Gourma and about Burkinabe culture. We also saw construction site John has for starting a school, Teen Challenge and garden along with a few other things.
                Also we have a praise that the HFM water system is all ready to go and is working smoothly. As I said we will be on the road tomorrow so please pray for safe travels and that our bus and trailer make it without a hitch.

Love you all at home,
Seth








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