I said goodbye to my second host family today. I have been there adopted son for the last five weeks. Saying goodbye this time around was more difficult considering I didn’t even have a chance to say any goodbyes to my first host family in Ouiagouya during the evacuation. The family was very hospitable to me, and I learned much about Burkinabe family life from my time with them.
My host sister, Audette, age 25, is a very talented tailor. She made a v-neck embroidered mint-chocolate chip dress-shirt, a Burkinabe and American themed short sleeved button-down shirt, and a rainbow suit. The suit is made from left over fabric patched together like a quilt. I have matching set of rainbow quilt pants and shirt! I guarantee I will wear both of them upon my return to America.
Hoping to use Americans models to advertise her clothing, my sister hired a photographer and asked me to don my rainbow suit. Tim, my roommate, and I took advantage of the opportunity to take a family picture. (These pictures are posted to facebook) An hour later the 30+ person family was assembled for the group photo as everyone needed extra time to change into their best clothes. The photographer got more than he bargained for but I tipped him well for his efforts. When I say well, I mean I gave him an extra dollar. But that really is a big tip here.
Anyways, I gave my family various goodbye presents like kitchens sets, bright orange Rockford Rams t-shirts, and candy that my mom sent me in a care package. Thanks mom! I will post my new address if anyone else is so inclined to make a young man very very happy. I received more candy than I could handle, so I made it my business to give away the candy to my family. This is a tiring business considering the large number of hungry children roaming my court yard. To illustrate my point, if I want to share a normal package of skittles, I can only give one skittle to each person if I want to ensure that there is enough for everyone in my family. One night, after I gave starburst and skittles to the little ones, I retired to bavarder (chit chat) with the older girls of the family. They of course quickly asked me for candy as well. Thinking to be generous, I gave them both combos and skittles at the same time. As it turns out, the mixture of cheesy combos with fruity skittles is disgusting to both American and African taste buds. They initially said that American snacks are disgusting, but I had to explain that combos and skittles are delicious by themselves, but the two don’t make a good mixture (or mélange in French). I got a good laugh.
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