New Year's Day 2000 in Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso

The year 2000 arrived in Ouahigouya peacefully and joyfully. All the Peace Corps volunteers in the Yatenga region of Burkina Faso (other than me) were traveling to the US, Cote d'Ivoire, or Mali (Timbuktu!). So I enjoyed the holiday with several Burkinabé friends.

After a quick trip to Bobo-Dioulasso with my friend Marla following Christmas, I wished her well at the Ouagadougou airport on December 30. She was eager to return to the U.S. before the turn of the century/millennium, but less than eager to end our wonderful visit. We were very happy that we had chosen not to go to Cote d'Ivoire on the day before their coup d’état. My friends who went there finally arrived safely at the beach after several days of curfews and a short forced stay at the Peace Corps hostel in Abidjan.

I spent New Year's eve with friends at church amidst MANY firecrackers ("dynamite" en français). The program consisted of  lots of lively music and theatre. New Year's day was much like it might have been at my house in Texas--I invited friends to stop by for a Burkinabè adaptation of my famous (?) black-eyed pea dip. It is more like a Mexican bean dip, and a great way to follow the Texas tradition of black-eyed peas to kick off a year of good luck. Marla brought me a wonderful present of some crushed tortilla chips to combine with several goodies sent from friends in the U.S. Our menu for "snacks" consisted of the black-eyed pea dip, tortilla chipettes, jalapenos, jello, Burkina Faso Peace Corps Key Lime Pie, Marla's oyster cracker snack mix, watermelon, and iced tea (click for recipes of underlined dishes).

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