Burkina Faso?

Dear Friends and Family, Neywindaga (that would be “Hello” in More, one of more than 60 languages spoken in Burkina Faso). I know what is going through most of your heads right now: “Why on earth is Krista saying Hi to us in a language from Burkina Faso? And where is Burkina Faso?” Did I guess right? Since all of you have heard from me at different times, some this morning, some a couple years ago (sorry about that) let me give you a quick recap of my life and why I am talking about Burkina Faso.

On October 6, 1982, I (Krista Lee Kay, great name isn’t it?) was born at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz, California to the proud parents Randy and Linda Kay. Randy and Linda had always wanted a beautiful little girl and Krista was just perfect. (Okay, okay, so Trinity came first, but hey, this is my story, right?)* Now fast forward 22 years (this is the time period I met all of you) and we end somewhere around September/October 2004.

In September of 2004, as I was going into my final (yippie!) year at the Academy of Art University, my roommate and best friend Jessica and I applied to join the Peace Corps. In our very first meeting we were told that they would not send us to the same location, most likely not even the same continent, but that didn’t deter us. What’s a vast ocean between friends anyway? And so began the very long, very grueling process of applying and being accepted to the Peace Corps. There were some hurdles along the way, but God was always in control and we both made it in! Jess is off to the Dominican Republic as of September 2, 2005 to work with Small Businesses. And me I am off to the wonderful country of Burkina Faso at the beginning of March 2006 to work with a Girls Empowerment and Education Program.

So, that’s where life stands. Jess in the DR and me in Walnut Creek, CA until next March when it will be off to the lovely country of Burkina Faso.

Now let’s be honest here. How many of you have ever heard of Burkina Faso before? How many of you know where it is? I can honestly say that up until a little while ago I hadn’t the foggiest idea that there was even a country called Burkina Faso. Yes, it is a country. So here are a few facts for all you curious people (all you others simply scroll down to the bottom where it says “Wend na tasse, Krista” and I’ll talk to you later)

Burkina Faso (Land of the Upright People) is a land locked country in West Africa. It is surrounded by Togo, Ghana, Côte D’Ivoire, Mail, Niger and Benin.
-There are about 12 million people in BF
-BF is about the size of Colorado…which is slightly larger than Great Britain
-The capital is Ouagadougou (pronounced “Wagadougou”) try saying that 5 times fast.
-BF became a country in 1960.
-There are three main rivers in Burkina Faso: the Red Volta, the White Volta and the Black Volta…creative isn’t it?
-BF is home to FESPACO and SIAO two huge festivals, for film and art respectively, which are some of the biggest in all of Africa. FESPACO is the African version of Cannes.
-The average temperature in March is 104ºF, which is usually the hottest month.
-There are spiders in BF that when they fall off the wall actually make a thump went they hit the ground (hearsay, I know, but I’ll let you know if this is actually true).

So that’s a quick look at Burkina Faso, don’t you feel more educated now?

I am going to try and keep a blog while I prepare to leave and while I am there (although once I am there it may be few and far between) and try to send out some emails to keep everyone up to date. If you got this email you are on my list so if you don’t want any updates just let me know. I am in the middle of playing with two blogs right now so the links to both of them are below.

http://kristascribles.blogspot.com/
http://spaces.msn.com/members/kkay1982/

I would love to hear from any and all of you!

Wend na tasse,

Krista

*Trinity you know I love you, but just have to tease.

Krista Kay
1449 Treat Blvd #825
Walnut Creek, CA 94597
831.295.1006
kkay1982 at gmail dot com