I managed to take a quick trip up north to visit some Peace Corps friends . . . Adventure:   Taking public transportation long distance in Burkina Faso.  It was necessary to take the bus up to Dori, about a 260 kilometer trip, so roughly four hours.  If you are on the bus and the person next to you needs you to hold something you hold it, goats, food, glasses, babies, whatever.  Bus babies tend to pee on you, and no they don't wear diapers, so I was on my guard for bus babies.  What I ended up with was some one's shopping, so just glasses for me this trip.  The buses I took were pretty nice.  It is however one of those things where the "service engine" light is constantly on but, naw, forget it, no reason to check on that it will just be back on next week.  Every time the bus stops loads of folks run up to sell products like fried dough, eggs, veggies, fruit, you know whatever. Good times . . .
In the dry season the area is very desert like with little vegetation . . . It's in a geographical area called the Sahel.   Pretty much the Sahara expands and contracts with the dry and wet seasons, the areas that change (going green, then very brown/red) are the Sahel.   So right now, for my trip, it was very pretty.
With horizons of green hills and fields full of tall millet you would never know that in the next few months that area is going to look like Mars.  Anyway, there was loads to learn on this trip.  Most notably the local language (pronounced “fa-ful-day”)  . . .  So here's your lesson for this installment:  "fo-fo" is hey and thanks, very useful phrase.
Ben Roberts
Teacher, English Language Institute, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso