Welcome! This blog is a compilation of personal tales of everyday happenings in our lives while living in Burkina Faso. We are a family of four; Me, my husband Barry, our son Soren, and our daughter Anya. Our kids are toddlers…so our lives are filled with all the adventures that entails. I love many things about family life (like discovering the world through a 3 year old’s eyes) and dread others (like insanely long bedtime routines). Symbols of culture and tradition fascinate me. I think a lot about them in a broad sense now that I live in a culture foreign to my own and also in a very personal context when I think about raising kids. Barry and I both grew up in rural Pennsylvania, where most of our extended family still live. We love mountains and forests and pretty much all things outdoors. I also enjoy cooking….but mostly just eating good food.
We moved to Burkina Faso in 2015 to work in community development. In university I studied international development with a focus in human rights and public policy. In the past I worked in community mental health. Barry studied applied economics with a focus in international development. He previously worked on a research project in Uganda and also for an international microfinance organization. In Burkina Barry is working with an organization that focuses on agricultural development primarily with women in rural communities. The organization I am working with focuses on projects related to HIV, orphaned children, social justice, and education. We don’t take for granted the complexity of community development and try to tread carefully in all we do. We both feel very privileged to work in jobs we truly enjoy.
When we aren’t too tired from the demands of semi-responsible adulthood we still feel a sense of adventure in life. And we try every day to remind each other and help each other to cultivate that sense of adventure that makes life fun. 
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