Back again in Ouaga

My trip to Ouaga was longer than planned.  There was an apparent computer problem on the plane and at least twice computers were replaced and systems rebooted so that 4 hours were added to my travel time.  All passengers waited the entire time on the tarmac in Paris in front the terminal we had just departed, but, fortunately or unfortunately, we never had to change planes.  As a result, with no wifi available on the plane, I was unable to communicate with my ride in Ouagadougou, Don Guizzetti.  Don had spent enough time in Africa to know to check with the airport first before venturing out, so he was there to pick me up.  I was soooooooo relieved.

Upon my arrival, I noticed a few improvements to the SIL Center.  The security had been beefed up at the gate, with a new entrance and guard house installed.  Concrete and brick steps and patios had been added here and there to provide better walkways in places where water tended to pool up in the rainy season.

I've never been around for the true rainy season, since I am always here at this time of year, but you can imagine with the earth being as bone-dry as it is right now how easily any amount of water will accumulate and flood.

All the staff have been greeting me with broad smiles and handshakes and the peculiarly West-African "bonne arrivée!"  I had been assigned a small room, but they have now seen to it that I have gotten a larger end unit, so I am very pleased. It's like my townhouse back home--the few extra inches make all the difference... And two of the cleaning staff, Brigitte and Monique, who like to make a few CFA when they can, have let me know that they have some lovey pagnes [pre-cut fabric measuring around 6 yards] to sell. It looks like another African outfit may be in my future...

some fabrics of interest--the narrow one to the left was made on a loom

There also have been several ateliers lined up at the SIL Center, which is good, because it means I can take my meals here and not have to forage for food and cook for myself. I don't normally eat out unless I'm with others, which is normally on weekends or special occasions, so I love week-long workshops!

Early Sunday morning I arose early to glimpse the blood wolf moon eclipse, with the moon totally immersed in the earth's shadow.  Viewed from here it appeared an orange-y red, with a bit more color than the palish photo which one of my sisters posted from Chicago on Facebook. I understand the shade of color visible in any particular location is dependent upon the atmospheric conditions, and I thought the rusty red I witnessed was the perfect color for viewing it here, given the incredibly reddish orange soil found in Ouagadougou. I wanted to take a decent photo, but I only had my cell phone with me. This amazing orange globe was best visible here from about 5:12 am, and lasted more than an hour.

blood wolf moon eclipse

the back steps to the library

 Meanwhile, in the SIL Library, Ezéchiel is making good progress in his library school courses.  He is currently enrolled in a database management course and created a small database using a free museum collection management software called Winisis, or CDS/ISIS for Windows, a special database software developed for UNESCO, using Nvu to create a website.  Too bad he wasn't taking this course a year ago--I could have used him and the Winisis software for the library in Bénin because it is somewhat adaptable and might have worked well. On the other hand, there are still many of the same issues I have had in the past--an unreliable Internet connection, and outdated equipment and software.  Right now I am currently working on trying to get our data uploaded to the ResourceMate site so that my Koha contacts can better examine it, but the connection has been slow and I have been dropped many, many times. It can be very discouraging.

And Thursday JeDene and I helped Ezéchiel in a project he has been involved with, the distribution of pastoral aids to local pastors.  These were in the form of a library of 25 useful titles for their church ministries which they had bought at a special reduced price through a Canadian sponsor, the Ministère Multilingue International in Quebec.  There was a half-day ceremony, acknowledging the partners and participants in the project, brief reviews of all of the books contained in the collection and their usefulness, and then the actual distribution. The two of us (JeDene and I) had the job of identity verification for those that had paid independently (and not through an institution). It was a crazy experience because, of course, the lists of people who had paid, or partially paid, were incomplete.  As a result we had to try to figure out, from what evidence there was, who had paid for what and when, with crowds of other impatient people awaiting verification...

One of the sponsors gets his box of materials

Here the cartons of books await distribution