more field experiences...

This week I've been out the field, visiting our nearly finished health center rehabs. We've been going to the villages, doing the formalities with the chiefs and village leaders, and then touring the rehabs with ministry of health workers who check to see if the buildings meet country standards (one of which is that the building is painted blue and white to a specific height).
These are my first sur terrain missions that actually feel sur terrain, as I'm getting to meet the nurses and midwives and the beneficiaries, like these kids:
As part of the formalities, we sit in front of the village elders, give introductions and les nouvelles, thank you's all around. In the villages, most of the people don't speak French, so there's always some translation going on. For one of the traditional greetings in this area, the elders stand in front of us and repeat something in Baoulé while showing their palms to us, every time they repeat the greeting we respond by saying "yo". I have to figure out what it is they're saying, but the yo's kind of crack me up.

After our first visit we were offered palm wine. You can't really say no to any offer and it was my first opportunity to drink some so I was excited. I got a lot of laughs for taking this picture:
After our second day of visits, we were given a goat:
I'm excited to see what we'll get tomorrow!