Africa: 5 Countries in 4 Weeks

I know most Americans know nothing about Africa and I never even know where to start when trying to share my experiences, but if you have read this far I hope you will read some more and learn about the tremendous variety between regions, nations and cultures. I went to five countries and each one is different. Here are a few things I will miss about them?

Senegal

The class of the beautiful set of people who have melded the French cultural swish with the great African dignity.

The strong sea breeze.

Mini omelet stands all over and Nescafe carts plying the streets.

Benin

The colorful men in traditional dress keeping culture alive. Women often wear traditional dress but seeing men in bright colored patterns was amazing.

Photos from My Trip

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Photos from my trip

Sorry that there are a lot of them. There just was so much to see!

Road Trip to Gorum Gorum in Northern Burkina Faso

While I was visiting, I packed up three Princeton in Africa Fellows, the two who live in Ouaga and the one I had been travelling with from Benin and we journeyed 6 hours up North to the edge of the Sahara desert to Gorum Gorum, where a huge weekly market takes place. It is attended by many of the nomads in the region. Here the faces of Tuaregs and Fulani’s brightened up the view. It was a feast of color and tradition. The livestock market was packed with men pocking and prodding goats and cattle since these nomads are herders. On all my drives in Burkina Faso the roads were lined with beautiful sprawling dry desert lands that were dotted with heads of goats, donkeys and cattle across the red clay soil.

I am a people watcher and experiences like Gorum Gorum are my candy. Seeing such a diverse sets of faces and meeting people from all over is why I travel.

Here are a few photos:

Photos from Northern Burkina Faso

Ouagadougou, the capitol of Burkina Faso

My multi-day road trip filled with long bus rides led me to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, the capitol city. Here two Princeton in Africa Fellows work at 2iE, an engineering graduate school dedicated to sustainable solutions for Africa’s problems. I was able to visit the school and also explore the city.

Ouaga, doesn’t have a lot of big sites to see, but Burkina Faso does have a vibrant culture and is often referred to as the friendliest place in Africa. My free time was spent walking around the markets of downtown people watching as I dodged hundreds of motos and bicycles that ply the streets.