Throughout the past couple of weeks, I asked for the road from my family and church in Niakara. Essentially this means that I thanked them for the time we shared together from December through June, and I informed them that I would be leaving Niakara.
This process of saying good-bye wasn’t easy, because I’ve really put down roots there. My sisters have become dear friends, and I’ve grown to genuinely care for many others in the community. But, the sorrow of good-byes was lessened because of future opportunities to visit.
Here are a few highlights from the last month:
My Ivorian sisters. Rachel, Kinafou, Affou, Suzanne, and Assetou.
Gonna miss these girls.
This is Kinafou at the sugar cane fields near her home village. It was fascinating to see the difficult process of cultivating, harvesting, and fabricating sugar.
The photo is dark, but perhaps you can catch a glimpse of the traditional Niarafolo dancing here. Imagine a steady drum beat and quick feet, dancing around a fire from 2 AM until sunrise. These young men in traditional clothing and masques only do this traditional dance 1x a year.
This is me "working" at the fields with some friends in Niakara. Let me tell you, it's tough work! I gave it my shot for about 20 minutes and then rested under the shade of a tree. The other girls worked on and on for hours. Not only that, we walked 8 km there, and 8 km back again.
Sammy, Alfonce and I spent some time watercoloring together. It was their first time doing anything like it. Sammy, on the right, painted birds, but then held his artwork upside-down for the photo. Alfonce did some modern art.
Baby, learning to walk! And mom, "mothering" Alfonce in the background. :)
They are just sooo cute. I have a hard time choosing just 1 picture of them to post.
