So much of my life is transition. In Rambo, the people here are as settled as is possible. Ouedraogos have been here for as long as anyone can remember. Nothing much changes beyond seasons. It is the opposite of my life. This little settled piece is another station on my ever-changing track.
Here, people bond to me as if I was going to stay but it is well known I am leaving in a year. The idea of my departure has little bearing on how open they are to relate to me. Am I deceiving them or are they deceiving themselves? Really, I think neither. For if there is one thing we share, it is the sentiment of now.
In Rambo, life is taken as it comes and the now is what matters most. Seasons will change and nobody can predict the weather (the all important force in their lives) so why try to view beyond today? In a wandering life, the future is always uncertain, the past is your haven but the present is the essence of life. It is the crossing of their now with mine that allows us to exchange a greater sense of community and relationship than might otherwise not be possible. Somehow we both prioritize what exists in front of us, though for those far different reasons.
Our views on what to build for the future and where to place our work varies significantly. Yet, as the sun sets, Husseini and I reflect on the day and the coming evening as if it was just another piece of a continuous cycle, as if we will always be standing there at that hour. It is a sort of liberty that defies ideas of preparation. Though such ideas still haunt me a bit.
After all, are we not suppose to gather sentient pieces around us? Friendships and relationships should exist to support and nourish our future, right? We should build houses in neighborhoods filled with our friends and family, n'est pas? It seems so often I hear that voice (speaking from my former life in small town Midland, Texas) echoing along, making me wonder if I should not be trying to build something more for tomorrow.
Remember the story of the ant and the grasshopper? The grasshopper spent his time playing and the ant working. Grasshopper starves. Ant survives winter. Is it really so cut and dry? Work or play? Is it all about tomorrow or all today? Of course not. Like all things, it is a matter of degrees. My degree of now is higher but that suits the temperature here in Burkina. When things exist at 100F without much shade, it overwhelms your ideas of tomorrow. It supplants you directly into the sweat and stickiness of the present moment.
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a little about burkina faso
Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) achieved independence from France in 1960. Repeated military coups during the 1970s and 1980s were followed by multiparty elections in the early 1990s. Current President Blaise COMPAORE came to power in a 1987 military coup and has won every election since then.
Burkina Faso's high population density and limited natural resources result in poor economic prospects for the majority of its citizens. Recent unrest in Cote d'Ivoire and northern Ghana has hindered the ability of several hundred thousand seasonal Burkinabe farm workers to find employment in neighboring countries.
Location:
Western Africa, north of Ghana
Geographic coordinates:
13 00 N, 2 00 W
Area:
total: 274,200 sq km land: 273,800 sq km water: 400 sq km
Burkina Faso's high population density and limited natural resources result in poor economic prospects for the majority of its citizens. Recent unrest in Cote d'Ivoire and northern Ghana has hindered the ability of several hundred thousand seasonal Burkinabe farm workers to find employment in neighboring countries.
Location:
Western Africa, north of Ghana
Geographic coordinates:
13 00 N, 2 00 W
Area:
total: 274,200 sq km land: 273,800 sq km water: 400 sq km
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