Only in Burkina Faso

November’s been an exciting, but busy month. It’s flown by! I can’t believe I’ve been here for 17 months already! Wow, and just thinking about the fact that next Thanksgiving I’ll be at home celebrating with my family, crazy.

At the beginning of November, we celebrated a Muslim holiday called Tabaski.  On Tabaski, Muslims sacrifice a sheep. It’s a big party in my village. I was on my way back to village that day – I was on transport in the morning, but got to celebrate with my family in the evening. The day before, I was in the capital city. It was really funny to see sheep and chickens invading the streets. Because of the upcoming holiday, people were selling sheep and chickens everywhere, and I mean everywhere. The sides of the road were lined with them. Here, it goes without saying that they’re live animals. People rode their motos, even bikes, with a sheep attached to the back or between their knees. I was in a cab on my way downtown to run errands. The guys in the cab happened to be Bissa, so we chatted as much as my Bissa would allow me to. All of a sudden, I heard a noise and pounding from the trunk. It seemed as if someone was trapped there and trying to get out. All I could think was “what sort of cab did I get into?” Then I heard what sounded like a baby screaming when I realized it was a sheep. Sheep’s “bah” sounds exactly like a baby. I could feel the sheep kicking in the trunk on my back against the seat. The weird part – none of this seemed unusual to me. When I realized it was a sheep, I was like, “Oh yeah. Tomorrow’s Tabaski.”

We also had a fantastic Thanksgiving celebration here in Burkina Faso. I went into my district capital and celebrated with my neighbors. It was a legit Thanksgiving. We bought a turkey, and when I say we bought a turkey, I mean we bought a live turkey, had a neighborhood kid kill it and clean it, and then we cooked it. It was so delicious! This was all accompanied by mashed potatoes, garlic cheese biscuits, green bean casserole, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. It was a great way to celebrate and I know I have a lot to be thankful for this year – I’m so thankful for the opportunity to be here, experience a place I never would have known otherwise, live in a fantastic community with a great host family, be inspired and encouraged almost daily, and most importantly, have all the love and support I need back home from my family and friends. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving too with lots to be thankful for!