Burkina livin'

Cows in Burkina don't look like the cows we had in Nebraska. They all have that unsightly hump, which is most unattractive in my opinion. If there were a cute contest between cows, the Nebraska ones would totally win.

Makin' mud bricks.....

the ground here is really hard, because it's the Sahel and this region of Africa goes without rainfall for 8 months out of the year, so in order to break up the ground to make bricks for homes they go out there with a pickaxe and break it up. Factor in 100+ degree heat and the relentlessly smoldering African sun and you have some serious hard labor.

The men in this country are super buff too. They may be skinny, but they're strong! I've seen muscles on guys I only thought possible in photoshop! I guess that's a byproduct of working in the fields with a pickaxe and making and stacking bricks all day! 

The women here are no slouch either! It takes some serious strength and stamina to haul around heaps of sticks and carry huge bowls on your head for miles and miles and miles.

...and despite the abundance of cars and motos in the capital city of Ouagadougou, the main mode of transportation for the other 15 million people in the country is bikes...and feet!

 For those having to travel exceptionally long distances they will ride a bus or "bush taxi".

And they load those suckers up!! Those buses are packed to the max-both inside and out.

And if there's no room left to ride on the inside, they ride on top!
 
As cars and buses drive through little towns, the women from the villages stand off to the side of the road and rush the cars with hopes of selling things like bread and fruit. It's the closest thing we have to a McDonald's drive thru! You can get lunch for your trip without having to leave your car...it's pretty sweet!

Just some parts of life from our neck of the woods across the Atlantic...a little slice of Burkina livin'.