Tabaski

This has been an amazing weekend. It started off rather rocky, when the car that I was taking into Leo got a flat tire and we were waiting on the side of the road for 2.5 hours. Finally Leah’s husband called and he came to pick us up in his work truck. They took me over to their house, I met her 2 boys and we had a great lunch. Leah took me to get my hair braided after lunch but there were a lot of people so we went back to her house and took a little nap. I got to meet my puppy! He’s just a tiny guy, his little eyes haven’t opened yet. I get to pick him up in a few weeks on my way back from Ouaga. After the nap we went back to the salon. We got there at around 3 p.m. and I didn’t leave there until around 9p.m. and my hair still wasn’t done, everyone was just tired. I met Sam and Hugo for a bit before calling it a night and heading to Sam’s house to sleep.

Yesterday was Tabaski. Tabaski is a Muslim holiday that feels like a cross between Halloween and Christmas. Tasbaski is celebrated after Ramadan and is known at the “mutton” holiday. God told Abraham to go up to the mountain and sacrifice his beloved son. Abraham loved his son very much, but he trusted in God, so he went up to the mountain with his son. Just as Abraham was about to sacrifice his son, God said that because Abraham had trusted in him and was going to go what he was told God sent a mutton and told Abraham that he could sacrifice it instead of his son. So Muslims celebrate that by killing a mutton and sharing it with their friends and family. It’s the biggest holiday of the year for them, the festival of sacrifice. A little bit of history on the holiday haha. Children get new clothes and toys and everyone dresses their best. There is lots of eating and each family makes food to share with their neighbors. Children of your courtyard take pots of food over to the neighbors, and the neighbor’s kids bring food to your house. After the meal is done, kids wash up and put their best clothes on and go to their neighbor’s house to greet them. It’s tradition for the parents of the house to give each of the kids who comes 25F or 50F depending on the age of the kid. It’s all so much fun. I was invited to spend Tabaski with my counterpart Yago and his family. I put on my Muslim outfit, and Sam and I met up with Yago. We went over to his house and met his wife, twin daughters and son. He has such a beautiful family. Then we ate. We literally ate for like 4 hours haha. We had chicken, gateaux, and shrimp chips when we got there. Then about an hour or so later we were fed the actual meal which was chicken, fried plantains, fries, vegetable salad, and pasta. Needless to say, we ate really well. We spent about 5 hours at Yago’s house. I cannot thank him enough for inviting us to his home and for allowing us to celebrate with him.

After the fete, I had to leave to meet up with Leah to finish my hair. Apparently 6 hours wasn’t enough time to finish the day before. I met up with her and spent another 4 hours there, but alas it’s finished. Sam and I went back to his house for a bit because I had washed some clothes and he was worried about them getting stolen of f the line after dark. We went to visit his neighbor Mr. Karim. He gave us a coke and some popcorn and gateaux. We sat down and talked with him for a while to wish him a “bon fete” We got into a wonderful discussion on religion and life. We talked about religious tolerance and how any person could go to any place of worship in this country without any problems. He said “we are all just human. If you see a man on the side of the road because his moto broke down are you going to say ‘oh that’s a Muslim and I’m Catholic’ and just move on? No, you will stay and help because that is your brother and you one day might find yourself broken on the side of the road needing someone’s help.” It was really wonderful to hear him say those things because he is 100% correct. Every person that I have met so far in this country has had the same response. I wish that everywhere in the world could live as tolerantly as the people of Burkina. Sam and I talked about celebrating Tabaski when we go back to America, but just a little bit different. Seeing as though neither of us is actually Muslim, we decided that we should get together on the same day as Tabaski and just invite people over to eat and be together. The holiday will be for no other purpose but to celebrate being with each other. I think that’s a great idea.

Then Sam, Hugo, Bill and I went to Cosmo’s to have a beer and hang out for a while. That was a lot of fun, just sitting and talking with them for a couple hours. Finally we were so tired that we headed back to Sam’s house and I fell asleep in no time. It was such a wonderful day. I am already looking forward to Tabaski next year!

Today, I’m just hanging on the internet for a while, uploading pictures, facebooking, and emailing. I’m going to buy some paint so that I can work on my house this week. Leah wants me and Sam to come over before I go, so I will do that before I catch the afternoon car to head home. My birthday is coming up! Since Leah and I have the same birthday we are going to celebrate together on the 22^nd, so that will probably be the next time I come in to Leo. Then I’ll head in to Ouaga for the food security meeting and on the way back pick up my puppy!