I got some more pictures of my trip in early September to Djibo. The first two pictures are from the ride up to Djibo. The rainy season was just ending, but the roads were still flooded in a few places. Luckily, we were in a truck so we didn't have any problems.

We stopped by this village on our way up. I think I finally figured out why the ponds up there were like this. The main detergent that people use for cleaning clothes is called Omo, and it contains lots of phosphates... perfect for algal blooms. and yes, that is a sandal stuck to the top of the pond.

These pictures were taken from another village close to Djibo. Something I remember vividly was that when we first got there, the people from the village were very nice and hospitable. They put out mats for us under the shade and gave us water to drink....except the water was very murky. Galen just told us to press our lips very hard on the cups and pretend to take a few gulps. I heard it was called the Friendship Drink, also known to my director as instant diarrhea :P We sat there for about half an hour to an hour, and it seemed like the whole village just stopped what they were doing and just stared at us the whole time. I'm not really sure, it might have been their way of being polite... or maybe they just wanted to stare at the white people :)

Last picture. A lady invited us into her hut to sit and talk. After 30-45 min, it started to get really hot in there... so hot that sweat was dripping off my chin and forearms. A few of us had to leave, and I went to go sit in the truck. Soon, a couple kids came up and started to point and laugh at something in the distance. For the longest time, I couldn't figure out what they were so amused at. Finally, I figured out that they were just laughing at their reflections in the side mirror of the truck. That was a big reminder of how little these people have, as well as how much we take for granted at home.