kangeiko

I'm here! Ouagadougou is inhumanly hot (we landed at 6pm in 38C heat, I nearly combusted), I am sequestered in the hotel sipping... water. OK, that's a lot less glamorous than cocktails, but probably better for me overall! I am working (vaguely), but have also managed to fit in a visit to the national museum, a visit to an artisans' market, traditional Burkinabe dancing, a walk down the centre of Ouaga, and lots of lounging about in bars, talking to an increasingly inebriated selection of ex-pats from around the world. Who knew Ouaga was such a cosmopolitan city! Everyone is very excited about the upcoming pan-african film festival, we're all determined to get tickets and go see movies every night. Also on the agenda is a visit to Nazinga game park (I was determined to go, and so our hosts thought it would be nice to do a group thing) where elephant-gazing and antelope-eating are likely to be on the menu. Given that mosquitos have been feasting on me the entire time I've been here, I think it only fair.

The Burkinabe women are so staggeringly beautiful, it's amazing. They are all tall, with glorious posture and elegant curves and fantastic cheekbones. Some wear more traditional clothes, others dress in mini-skirts and boob-tubes, and all ride motobikes or mopeds across the city at break-neck speed, from the young girls to the old women. All the men, too. One of the best sights I wish I'd managed to capture on camera was of a serious-looking young man on the back of his moped, careening across several lanes of traffic, his very large grandmother perched on the seat behind him. He was dressed in trousers and t-shirt, she was dressed in bright red traditional dress, complete with headscarf. They pulled up next to another moped, where a mum had her three little schoolkids lined up like ducklings behind her on the seat. GENIUS.

Going to sign off now, and post this before my internet connection gives out - hope everyone is doing well, email me if you need to contact me, lj will probably strain the bandwidth!

ETA: I decided to risk it... and