While Evance and Ascension went to go pick up Ange, they left us sitting in Ascension’s courtyard with his family for about an hour and a half. Miriah started braiding one of the older girls’ hair which then got ALL of the little girls interested and we were soon surrounded with five little girls pulling on our hair and braiding. Finally the older girl shoved them all out of her way and said she actually knew how and worked on my head. :) First time I’ve gotten it braided since being here. We weren’t sure how much time we had though so I just got a little done. And WOW they must have tough heads to do that all the time- it hurts!
We went into town and hung out a bit. We then went to a movie!! It was a film from Ghana and was real interesting- interesting meaning a bit odd. It was called “Her Excellency” or “Son Excellence.” The funniest part I think to Miriah and I was that through the whole movie, right in the middle of everything, were big block letters that said “PREVIEW,” which to us meant that the movie hadn’t actually been purchased and we were watching a pirated version. Haha. The theatre was real neat- as with Fespaco, there was no roof so we sat under the stars. You could pay 300cfa (about 60cents) to sit on cement block benches with no back or 500cfa ($1) to sit on benches with backs.
Once back at Ascension’s, his cousin asked if we wanted to have tea. The men here all make a tea similar to chai that’s really good. It also takes an hour to make. We didn’t get to bed until real late. Slept in a room three of Ascension’s little cousins- one of which talks in her sleep in Mooré. I actually understood a little! The next morning we hung out in the courtyard and had more tea. Ascension’s aunt made us a traditional breakfast which is sort of like the toh with a very spicy sauce. Definitely not something I’d think of for breakfast. It wasn’t bad but was a bit of a shock to my morning senses (especially seeing half a fish in the bowl when we opened it). 
(Got in a taxi with all five of us and another woman... A bit crowded!)We went into Ouaga again after breakfast and on the way, stopped at a boutique and bought water. To our surprise there was cake in the cooler in the boutique. We bought a piece (convenient!) for Ascension’s birthday. We sang to him on the public bus (not many people there) while waiting for a new bus to arrive because the first was broken. He was surprised! Once in Ouaga we went to the American Embassy for lunch and Ange and Ascension had hamburgers for the first time! We then wandered a bit in Ouaga and found a fabric to thank Ascension’s mom. We sat there and let the boys argue over the design for probably 10 minutes- they know her (and African mothers) better! We then turned to the woman sitting next to us on the bench and asked her what one she’d choose. She picked the one I liked!
Just hung out until it was time for our bus to come and then headed back to Yako. It’s really sad to think this was probably the last time I saw them before I head home… What a great thing though, to bed able to visit them and spend two great days in Ouaga!
It was HOT! Standing in the sun, bent over at the waist, and pounding the ground with a little hoe-like object gave me a totally new appreciation for the people of Burkina Faso. During the rainy season they work day in and day out like this when most at home would throw the daba and go find a machine to do the back-breaking work. I worked on and off for the morning- Tebnoma seemed to see the sun affecting me and me getting tired. She showed me another area of the field (so much land to cultivate!) and we went for a walk once or twice. Just before lunch I was feeling good and there were big clouds so the temp cooled way down. I was ready to work more and wanted to stay all day as they do, but with the clouds came huge winds and we thought rain, plus Tebnoma was planning on eating at home, so we headed back. Unfortunately no rain came and I was kind of sad my cultivating experience was done. I hope to go back with them again and do more though!
Tuesday afternoon we rested a bit- yes, I was pretty tired and sore from the little work I did. Tuesday night after dinner finishing around 9pm, Tebnoma and I made a cake! She has asked Ruth a few times to learn to bake and Ruth has taught her some. When Ruth got her small gas oven in the house she gave Tebnoma her toaster oven. We, after being creative and fixing a few of the little quirks with the oven (a rock propped against the door with a daba and tray), made cake for her family. It was real fun and her family appreciated it- even at 11pm when it was done.
