I went “downtown” today for the first time since this political turmoil started last week. And I came back thinking about how much I love and appreciate this country. You see . . .
– The country isn’t stable yet. There are talks going on today between the interim president and the leader of the opposition. However, in town today you wouldn’t have known that anything was going on. People were out and about, life was normal, everyone was as calm and happy as normal.
– I bought something on the side of the road. I didn’t have change, so, like normal, I asked if he had change. Like normal, he didn’t, so I gave him more than twice as much as I owed him and he took off, going to find change among the other merchants in the area. In some countries that wouldn’t work and he’d run off with your money. But here I wasn’t even worried that he’d run off with my money. I knew he’d come back when he had change, and he did. It is the “land of upright people” (which is what “Burkina Faso” means).
– Later on, on my way home, I passed someone I know from church, so we stopped and said hi before continuing on.
Yes, all countries and cultures have their faults, but it makes them so much easier to put up with when you remember the good points as well. And when you got chocolate cookies at the grocery store. 🙂