“Tonight, I am not mom”

March 6, 2011 at 6:39 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

For New years’s Sara and I went to visit our host family. At the end
of stage they promised they threw a mean party on the 31st. And after
living with them for a month, we believed them.

I arrived in town after a day of travelling. Bike, bush taxi and bus.
Never said it was easy. I walk into their house and our host mom is
wearing her dress she made with our family pagne. There was a big sign
that had Welcome home Katryn and Sara on brown butchers paper. Yea
that’s how a lot of people think my name is spelled.

I watched CNN. Monday night football NO and Atl I think it was. Having
somebody calling the game in french is almost as silly sounding as John Madden doing
it.

The next day we were in our favorite marché city with our pagne man.
During stage he had my number and would call if he saw pagnes that fit
the specifications I gave him. We had a blast. Rumaging through a pile
of weird westarn scarves and squares of fabric, we discovered some
pretty neat fulards for ourselves and gifts. I found one with ducks. I
kept that one.

The next day was new years eve. In the morning all the girls in the
house were trying to get their hair done along with everybody else in
the city. So Sara and I were alone with our host brother Brice and a
West African travel book. Which you’d think would make this situation
great. Except some man showed up with 15 guinea fowl rigged onto his
moto. Have you ever seen 15 guinea fowl clucking on moto handlebars?
On top of that there was he matter of dealing with them. Host dad was
at work, ladies getting prettied up, all that was left was an 8 year
old boy and two whites. Which is exactly what guinea fowl man said
when he called our dad. There’s only an 8 year old boy and two whites.

Thankfully our host dad came home to pay the man. The guinea fowl
spent their last afternoon tied in groups of five under a shade tree.
As the shade moved, they scooched ensemble to stay away from the sun.
Call it a team building exercise. It was like the human knot. The
guinea fowl scooch. I doubt it will catch on.

We prepared food for lots of people, and ten o’clock rolled around and
the house was still prety empty. Our host dad had just arrived from
Ouagadougou. Our host mom had got home after probably a sum of fifteen
hours waiting to get her hair done but still wasn’t dressed. We were
confused. Shouldn’t people be getting ready to ring in the new year??

A bit before eleven, some of the extended family came over and mom
finally walked out, bottle of champagne in one hand and three fluted
glasses in the other. In tight red pants and a shiny red top. We had a
cheers, taught her how to open the bottle (Sara got some good distance
and got it way out of the courtyard) and after a glass she switched to
her favorite, her Johnny.

“Tonight, I am not mom.”

So the furniture was cleared out of the living room, the music on, and
the house filled up a bit after eleven. Some of the neighbors got a
little over the top with a whistle, but it was terrific. I learned the
warba (the Mossi dance), danced with a few of the little girls in our
courtyard, and as a whole had a terrific time.

Our host sister Melody was sneaking little sips of drinks throughout
the night, and she was exhausted by two. Being she sleeps in the lving
room and a neighbor was too busy yelling “jah is one” for her to
sleep. She passed out in Sara’s bed still in her party dress and her
fancy hair pinned and oiled. She is going to be just as sassy as her
tantie when she grows up.

New years day we slept into near ten. Lots of people came over to say
happy new year to the family. And all the time Melody was still
sleeping. The day was pretty relaxed like that and later that evening
the host family gave us paintings to thank us for our service and we
took some family photos.

It was a great new years. I feel like we really lucked out on host family.

Cheers!!