Ivory Coast vs Burkino Faso

[Sunbird]

Anyone know anything about these schools? One has not been reviewed. How is life in the city? the school? the Admin? anything? thanks

[chilagringa]

I have spent a lot of time in Ouaga, although when I was younger and reckless and long before I ever considered teaching. I love Ouaga, but it's sort of a dump. A really charming, fun, dusty dump. There has been some unrest recently, but not to the point that I wouldn't take a position there. There aren't a lot of English-speaking expats. Most of the expats I met were French or French-Canadian. I love the countryside in Burkina: it's absolutely beautiful in a desolate, scraggly kind of way. It's also really, really hot.

[PsyGuy]

@chilagringa

So basically its a dump; A dump that you have fond memories of, but still a dump?

[chilagringa]

Well, perhaps "more than just a dump" would be the best descriptor.

Because, really, I have never seen so much garbage anywhere. (This was a few years ago but I wouldn't think it's changed all that much in less than a decade.)

But, on TOP of being a dump, it's got:

-Fun music and nightlife
-A great vibe
-Friendly and Interesting people (need to pick up some French though, because very few people speak English.)
-Cheap beer!
-Western amenities if you are looking for them
-Shopping for textiles, crafts
-A fascinating country at your fingertips that is pretty easy to explore but sees very few tourists (if that's your thing)

Really, I would take a job at the IS in Burkina in a heartbeat.

[PsyGuy]

@chilagringa

Are all those things literally on top of the dump? Did they build a city on top of the dump as some environmental project, then excavate a cavern so that they could continue dumping trash in it? Im really impressed that you still had somewhere to go after starting with "dump" as a description, that didnt just get more trashy.