MUSINGS FROM AUSTEN ( THE TALL ONE ) IN AFRICA   18th August 2009
Dirty water and beans keep our man going

Hey team.  Just wanted to say "hi" for the last time before I sees y'all. Hi!

Burkina has been pretty good these days. Just to give you a little update, a month ago, I left a good, small family in the city of Koudougou for a great, big family in the village of Ramongo, 15 cliks away. I now live with the oldest son in the family. He took over the responsibility of the family after his father died. Now he is in charge of his mother and must make sure she is comfortable in her later years.

 
Every few days,  the whole family heads out to the 3 acre farm, which is located about 3 kilometres from the house. When it's the day to head out to the fields and work, I head out with all the kids. The eldest is around 16 and the youngest around 4. The four year old doesn't help on the farm; she gets to play. Kids today!

So when people farm in Canada it's a little different than farming in Burkina. There aren't too many labor-saving machines here, and most people with large families just use hand tools to farm. It's tough work.

To start, everyone lines up and we plough ahead for about 30 ft. Then we turn around, line up beside the part we just did, and plough ahead until we reach the line where we started. We do the same thing until there's no more terrain to plough, and then we move up to conquer another 30 ft. of dirt. It's really tough work.

But the one thing that keeps me going, is the seven year old girl beside me, who seems to be regularly beating me to the 30 ft mark. I sneak a quick look at her technique and give it a try, but it doesn't seem to be helping me gain any ground. I can't give up, let alone have a 7 year old finish the 30 feet before me.

Every time I look over at her, she gives me a big ole smile; like isn't this fun? I try to give the same smile back, but I have doubts about whether my grimace can even be considered a smile.
 

Lunch obviously didn't come soon enough,  but when it did, I devoured the aricot that was prepared. Even though it's only cooked beans, prepared with oil and salt, it was probably the best meal I've ever had. The water I drank was well-water. It looked like diluted, dirty milk (as you can see in the photo), but it tasted like liquid gold!

We continued again in the afternoon until it was time to head home. Even after working all day in the sun, the kids laugh and play as they walk the 3 kms home.
I took the ambulance.
 
Apart from working in the fields, I sit in an office,  writing reports and this sucks! But since we have the internet, I love looking up the stats and seeing what a great season all the SABRFC teams are having ... oh no, I get it now! Fine! Maybe I will stay away! I'll do whatever's good for the Club.

 
Barnesy, excellent job on organizing the Pub Night! I heard it was a huge success.

 
Leroux, I realize I missed a couple of practices, but I should be available for the 29th. By the way, it's Robbie, just in case you were wondering .. .Robbie Austen from down the road.
 
Here we go white! Good luck on the weekend, ladies! Just do what you've always done ... win!
 
I dream about many things out here, including oreo-mint blizzards, cottages and lakes in the summertime, but I really look forward to grabbing some banter, burgers and a beer in the shed after a game at ESG.
 
Till the sun comes up ... See you soon.
 
Love, Bobbie from Burkina Faso
(Ex-srcum half)  (Ex-fullback) (Ex-flyhalf)