Our first week staying in Ouagadougou

Being here in the big capitol city of Burkina Faso allows me to experience many aspects of the life I left behind in the states:
We have a backyard with a small patch of grass, flowers, and even a swing set.
We have electricity 24/7.
The house is equipped with a hot water heater, not that we use it…but it’s comforting to know it is available.
The furniture is American in style, which means we have chairs which are not only upholstered, but also a couple feet off of the floor, not a few inches as most African chairs. Plus, we actually have a table and chairs.
Talking about lavish: the house has curtains, decorations, ceiling fans, and, yahoo! an air conditioner in the bedroom.
We have use of their stereo, American magazines and books, and also a television, complete with DVDs of recorded television shows from last year. We have seen most of them, but that’s okay.
Because of gifts from the states, I am enjoying the finest of coffees and Dove chocolates. I even made tortellini one night!

The only major problem in our stay here, I discovered about 9 pm on our first night. I walked into the kitchen to discover hundreds, I mean hundreds, of roaches and ants! The woman had left me a note, saying that they had a “little bug problem.” YUCK! It freaked me out and I went crazy with the can of bug spray.

Of course, that first night of sleep was hardly that. If I wasn’t dreaming about the creepy crawly things, I was up and in the kitchen on the prowl for anything that moved. I left the carcasses on the counters and floor to be a sign to other invaders of their demise should they choose to stay.

The following day I emptied every cupboard and sprayed every nook and cranny, closing the room off for 24 hours. This produced another 60 deaths. Then I washed and bleached every dish and every surface before restocking. Word apparently has gotten out: I hear that I am being called “Dr. Murder” by the insect world. So be it. I stay on the alert, and shoot the insecticide at any sign of movement. (Mark stays out of my way when I get That Look in my eyes.) As of today, one week later, one roach has had the nerve to show up, but several ants. Ants think they are being courageous, I think they’re suicidal.

Oh, by the way, the French language classes are going well. ;)

Have a great week, full of unexpected blessings!
Connie