Gobblé, gobblé, gobblé (Thats what french turkey's say)

Happy belated Thanksgiving! We did celebrate, Burkina style, with a shmorgasbord of food, and never enough silverware. We had all the usuals, green beans, two kinds of mashed potatos, carrots, salad, to, and even turkey! Yes, someone brought 'to', pronounced 'Toe', which is the most common local dish you can find. It is basically millet that has been boiled and mashed until it is a gelatin ilke consistency. You break off a piece, dip it in a sauce and I think your required to make a loud sucking noise as you put half your hand in your mouth to eat. Its really cute to watch.
But yaay, I got turkey and we all stuffed ourselves silly and then enjoyed a local beer or two and hit the hay. It was a joyous holiday and even some of our teachers participated in the festivities. When the time came for a speech one of the volunteers shared what he was thankful for, and it really came down to the other volunteers that we have been training with. They have all proven to be really enthusiastic, down to earth, and funny people. When dealing with stress, three different languages and a whole lot of cultural customs it is great to be able to sit back and laugh about just how absurd it really is. So I concur, and am truly thankful for the my biggest support network in Burkina, and what I consider to be 40 instant new friends, whether they like it or not!
Unfortunately not everyone was able to join in the fun, as Andrea was restricted to her bed which was thankfully the closest to the bathroom. This week Amy, Andrea and I basically played tag team with a virus and she was the last and got stuck with it. On Monday and Teusday I felt like I too was on my deathbed with a fever and with little sympathy from the Peace Corps nurse was told to take 4 IB Profen and go to bed. The next day after sending out a test, it turns out that I had some bacteria known as E Coli. Yeah, that was fun. I spent the next day bed ridden with the worst stomach cramps of my life and counted how many lizards I could spot in my room at one time. They like to crawl along the walls and I really don't mind until they get onto my ceiling. The only problem is my ceiling was made out of large black tarps streched to cover it and I could see and hear their little feet scurry across. I made a game of predicting which way they would go, I lost a lot. So that was how I got to spend my last two days in our host villages. When I could walk again I set about packing up my life. As I was saying goodbye to everyone my grandmother called me over and I assumed she would give me some benediction and send me on my way. Instead she told me my skirt was dirty and I didn't wash my clothes right. Gosh, I sure am going to miss them. But honestly I will, and I do plan on going back to visit at some point.
We went back to have a small ceremony at our villages and to formally say goodbye. I made a speech in Moore representing the other trainees and how we felt. I'm pretty sure they understood me, but I could be wrong. We presented out host families with a certificate of appreciation from the Peace Corps which was appropriately written in english, and in return my host Dad gave me a bouquet of fake flowers and a shopping bag full of peanuts, they are delicious but if you eat to many you can get vertigo so watch out. We learned that one the hard way and I have the bruises to show for it.
Well that's all the time I have for now. This is a pretty busy week with buying everything we need for our future houses, meeting our counterparts (the head nurse of the health center where we will be working), and having our 'swear-in' ceremony on Thursday. Phew, I better get crackalackin'. You all have a good week, and take care, I'll write when I can.
Love and hugs, Caitlin