Burkina Faso

Yesterday we decided to squeeze in another African country, and this time we went with Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in Western Africa just to the north of Benin. But honestly, I found Burkina Faso kind of boring. I mean, there isn't a ton of information beyond a history of military coups and famine. 

So far they do hold my favorite spot for what their citizens are called: Burkinabes! Now, I read it and thought 'Bur-keen-A-bees! How cute'. 

But, it's actually Bur-keen-A-bays. 

Eh, not as cool. 

But, we are doing a meal and a lesson for every country in the world, even if they don't make a huge impact on the world stage. 

There's not much in any of my books about Burkina Faso, and even googling doesn't turn up a whole lot. I had to tell my mom the name of the country like three times when she called today and I told her what we've been up to. 

But it was a good opportunity to discuss the Berlin Conference, aka Congo Conference, aka West Africa Conference of 1884, when the Europeans got together to decide how they were going to divide up the continent of Africa, who was pretty much just 10,000 different states, each with their own customs, traditions, and languages. The Europeans basically drew lines on a map to decide the fate of the African people.

Burkina Faso ended up with the French, which explains why their language is French, although the Moore dialect is also prominent, as evident by the capital Ouagadougou (We-GA-doo-goo), which translates to 'you are welcome here with us'. Burkina Faso itself translates to 'Land of the Honorable People'. Basically, the people are the country's greatest asset. They are welcoming and hospitable. 

Besides that we talked about the country's largest ethnic group, the Mossi. The Mossi make up about 40% of Burkina Faso's 17 million people. Wooden masks are considered sacred to the Mossi people, especially the one's carved like antelopes. 

Burkino Faso doesn't have much in the way of landmarks or tourist attracts, besides the typical African animals you will find in this flat, dry country. 

But, the country does have the Sindou peaks, a sandy rock formation that sticks out from the savannah. Locals consider the rocks to be sacred. 

There's also some cool mud and straw houses that get painted with elaborate geometric murals by the Kassena people. 

The boys worked with that they had here. 

Calib made some mud houses. 

Peyton made a little stick guy wearing an antelope mask. 

And Hayden noted the hot temperatures (and the proximity of Burkina Faso to the equator) by adding some red into his background. 

For dinner we had French Green Beans and Bananas, along with the national dish, Riz Gras (aka Fat Rice), Krakro (sweet potato fritters), and Banfora Welshcakes for desert. 

This one earned three spoons up. 

We all ate it, but we weren't terrible impressed. I might try and stop with the sweet potato recipes. I am the only one that likes them, but I keep hoping having them different ways will change people's minds. (I wasn't terribly impressed with the Krako though, it was fine, just plain). 

The chicken and rice need less oil, even though we cut it down. But, I mean, it is called fat rice. 

But the Welshcakes we all agreed were on point. Ours didn't look like they were supposed to, and kind of fell apart, but they were still awesome. 

We picked up a few more colors the other day, and the boys picked a plain brownish color for the country they weren't all that impressed with. 

53 Down, 140 to go! 

Next Up: WWII week, Mussolini, and Italy!