updatesssss

1. i am in ouagadougou on an unplanned visit with shenda. i have an intestinal infection and i needed some antibiotics like yesterday.

2. i love working at the orphanage. i fell in love with a little girl named Bakissa. she is one, has four teeth, and contains more joy than any child i have ever seen.

3. i live in Boura, a small town in Southern BF with the Nadié family. they are very nice and treat me very well.

4. i travel to work everyday on a bicycle. i sucked at it at first, but am improving everyday.

5. mangoes in canada suck. african mangoes are where it is at.

6. i found ,y husband. he works at a zain mobile booth and calls me christina.

7. i have a badass tan. and my hair is almost blonde now from the sun.

8. i have climbed dunes, splashed in waterfalls, gone to dances and seen hippos.

9. i am famous in Boura. :D people know me and i do not know them. they yell for me all the time.

10. i have mastered the latrine squat, sleeping in 40 degree weather, showering with a bucket, battling beetles the size of my fist.

11. i miss you all. so much.

love to the power of infinity.

Day One: Montreal

So I’m here, in Montreal, on the first leg of my travel. I was anxious about flying by myself to meet Shenda, but everything went pretty smoothly. Everyone came to see me off – Mom, Betty, Dave, Nan, Grampy, Luke, Nicola, Katherine. Our wait at the airport ended in a family group hug, which garnered many stares, I am sure. When I went through security and into the lounge to wait for my plane to board, me entire family waited by the window, waving and blowing kisses and making generally obscene gestures. Thanks, Luke.

I was a little worried once I got to Montreal because my luggage took ages to come in, but eventually the baggage claim started rolling and out came by bag. It was soaked from the snow – Montreal is having some on-crack weather. It was snowing really hard when we landed – so hard that we were delayed from taking off for half an hour. I was surprised to see Joe on my flight, we talked a bit about Burkina Faso and he gave me a hug. It was good to see a familiar face before I left – it made me see that sometimes, the world is as small as I imagine it can be.

Shenda and I met up just outside baggage claim, where we took a shuttle to our hotel. So far, we’ve settled in, put on some pyjamas and talked about the last 4 days. These last few days have been crazy, trying to get everything together. It’s almost a relief just to get out of Fredericton so that I know there’s nothing more left that I can do. My last days in Fredericton were some of the best, most stressful days so far, and I know that the next eleven weeks will be an even more amazing adventure.

We travel to Paris tomorrow. I’m excited but scared to board the seven-hour flight. I’ve never been on a flight of that length, never been outside of Canada, never been to a country whose first language isn’t English. It’s a big step, on the road to even bigger. Shenda and I are off to eat some pizza.. and then tuck in for our early start tomorrow. We’re off to breakfast with her grandparents before meeting Dustin at the airport for 2 pm.

Keep care of my Canada, guys. I’ll be missing it almost as much as you.

Kristen