Beach vacation? (Just add water)

I sometimes forget how sandy the soil is here, until it doesn’t rain for awhile and it suddenly looks like we’re in a giant, overgrown sandbox. Sometimes you see kids playing in the sand like they’re at the beach – why not?

Now that Amadou has taught me how to ask 'what's your name' I have been out convincing the neighborhood army of children that I'm really not that scary. Also, that my name isn't "white." Today I was hanging out with a group of 15 or so, playing hand clapping games (hat tip to my elementary/middle school self for pulling through on that one), and playing other little games. Some of the older kids told me they're learning English in school, but they didn't want to prove it :) The younger ones take longer to convince, but slowly I think I'm nearing triumph (it's harder because they haven't learned French at school yet). The neighbor's two-year old shakes my hand when he tells her to, but she throws me a mean stink eye in the process. She's a tough cookie ... I like her.

It's funny, because now that school is over, the kids roam in packs, playing. It reminds me a bit of my neighborhood in a weird parallel way. Nobody is worried about constantly keeping an eye on their kids, nobody is on their case if they hit each other, and they work it out on their own. And they range from probably 8 months to 14 years old. Doing their own thing, watching out for each other. I feel like a parenting book should be written by Burkinabè parents, not some expat who thinks they've seen the light (I'm looking at you Pamela Druckerman).