Alienation @ hartelinie.mil

Staying at the best place of the second largest city of the second poorest country, L'Auberge in Bobo. While the air-con is on max sweat is dripping on my notes and its not only the notes that blur and melt but also my thoughts. Whatever the reason may be that our 50€ room is the hottest place in Bobo: reasons are way beyond thought.

Like in Kayes and Bamako smoking seems the best way to keep your lungs from collapsing. The reason therefor is well known even though theese Chinese mopeds can only rarely be seen through the thick clouds of smog they produce together with the open campfires and stoves on the cities main road. The mix of modern Audio and stoneage Vision does have some appealing beauty ... if you see it on youtube, not once you put your nose in it.
At first one thinks that people are extremly laid back strawling like zombies, sleeping on the sidewalk. Mosquitos outnumbered by hustlers that stick to you like ticks, not saying much but attaching themselves to you, gazing eyes staring at you with the empty expression of poverty. I'de even say their eyes expressions are poorer than themselves. Same as for ticks they are not to blame for doing that - its a matter of survival.
Talking of stone age you need to go back in time to figure the villages, compounds of round mud huts. Looks romantic - true. But its not the place where you would wanna stay more than a day. Malnourished, Malaria sucking away the only life you have.
Poverty does have the appearence of a simple life that we admire after having had a three course dinner but it is boring to death. The guy downstairs in the armchair didnt move a slightest bit since we have moved into our hotel. Walking Ouagadougou after 10pm you see these armchair people all over, not a word leaving their lips, apathetic. They die before they are dead. Poverty hurts even just standing by and in the end it kills before you get thirty. Finished !

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Punctuality in Burkina and other unafrican behaviour.

Just when we thought we'de understand the "system africaine" we entered Burkina Faso and things came different.
There is something special about this country. It feels like being back 50 years in East Germany. Rakieta bus from Bobo to Banfora was kind of a culture shock to us.
Luggage properly and fast, nothing on the roof or in the aisle, no sheeps packed in bags or chickens in boxes loaded. Everybody had a seat and the bus left by the minute ... even by the second. No broken windows, no ripped upholstery. The bus to Ouagadougou was an even greater shock: airconditioned, everyone had a seatnumber, dust bins in the aisle and again: it left by the second showing African videos, same thing for arrival.
We have to rethink what we have seen so far, but I think one thing is for sure: Africa has always got a little surprise waiting especially when you dont expect it.

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