Quick Post!
So, I have a few spare moments here for a quick blog- we're on a little shopping extraviganza in Niamey (capital- which they abreviate NY- a bit confusing.. ANYWAY) and we stopped by the peace corps office for a little computer time... so, forgive the fact that there are also no pictures attached to this blog- there will be plenty later on... someday..
So, just to update- I now know the official location in Niger in which I will be living the next 2 years! I won't write the exact village name (you know, for security..) But I will be living in the Tahoua region of Niger in a village of about 1500 people. I love my spot and the villagers are all so nice and friendly; and to top it off, I have some amazing PC neighbors in neighboring villages... So, not to brag, but I'm pretty sure I've got a couple awesome years comming up- only small glitch is that I have a close to 3 hour "bush" walk to the paved road (but if I get that camel...).
This last week we actually spent the week at our new location and then Thanksgiving at our regional hostels (there are 5 regions of Niger peace corps is in, each has a regional hostel). My new home: I have (pretty amazing) a TWO room mud (adobe/mud) house with TWO windows, TWO tables, TWO trunks, THREE mats, and get this... I have a CHAIR, as well as some other things, but thats what got me most excited. I know what you're thinking.. luxury? Thats what I thought too. Also I have a fairly large concession area, big enough to put in a small garden. My neighbors are really nice I live in a very large family consession with 3-4 families in it (not entirely sure yet..) Three are Hausa families and one is a Fulani family (a little homework is to look up those ethnicities, I dont have time for detail now :) )
My first week in village was a great experience in which I learned I speak basically no Hausa, and the bit I did know had a different dialect... Its kinda like studying Chinease and then realizing youre actually in Japan (ok, I'm exagerating it wasnt that bad- towards the end of the week I was starting to carry small simple conversations) I did learn that you don't need to know much for small talk in Hausa-land, my typical conversation: first step (greeting) Good morning! Hows the work , Hows your family, hows your health, did you sleep well, hows the tiredness, hows the cold (wich is probably 80 degrees F.) second step (state the obvious) Youre pounding. what are you pounding? youre pounding millet. Greeting on your effort, greetings on your work... third step (goodbye) ok, bye.. So- about three days, nothing but that. It was actually kinda fun I think they think I'm either crazy or just stupid but I had a blast- I even got to go to a wedding one day with some A-MAZING dancing, I took video, so I'll do some work on getting that on here.
Thanksgiving at the hostel was absolutely fabulous. One may wonder what you could possibly feast on for thanksgiving in one of the hottest third-world countries in Africa, so let me describe:
the team had baught a turkey a few weeks prior and had spent a while fattening him up pretty good (and he was when I saw him) also we had at least 6 guinie-fowl, also delicious, and the I cant even begin to describe the amounts and varieties of food different people had put together, we had all the traditional mashed potoatos and stuffing, as well as some different dishes with eggplant, peppers, etc- all of which, AMAZING. So for those of you who may have been concerned that I sat on a mat eating Millet thanksgiving dinner, don't be too worried. I far from went hungry.
So much more to write, but so little time, so I'll just finish with a little schedule of events- we have exactily two weeks of training left, next week we have our highly-important language exam in which we have to rank at least intermediate-med or we get to stay behind for two weeks of remedial lang class.. and at the end of two weeks, if all goes well, we have a swearing in ceremony in which we become "official" volunteers (even at the US ambassador's- ooh la la) So, hopefully Ill post begore then, but if not, in two weeks!
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Month #1: New Country, New Culture, New Language...
So, with a little more than one month in, I have to apologize for my lack of correspondence… I had thought (or hoped) that we would have a bit more access to “the outside world”, but I was wrong. So to cram a months worth of information into a few measly paragraphs, forgive me if this blog is both long and random.
On October 9th we (my training group, or ‘stage’ in PC lingo, with 26 of us) stepped off the plane into 49 degree Celsius heat. This was, of course, after having spent close to 24 (quality) hours in various airports and with Air France. All in this stage are in one of two sectors: Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (PC lingo: Ag’s and NRM’s), out of about 13 Ag’s, there are three of us Animal Husbandry specialists, but more on that later. Keep in mind, though our group had only met on the 7th, I feel like we got to know each other fast (a lot of time to kill in layovers) or maybe it was the whole moving half way around the world thing, I don’t know.
Since our first day in country, we have been split up in several ways; after an initial interview, we discovered which language we would be speaking for the next two years and also the general area in which we would most likely be placed (I am learning Hausa, which is mostly spoken further east in Tauha, Maradi, and Zinder regions) also we were divided (according to language) into three villages which we met our new host families we would be living with for the duration of training.
Host family life is both wonderful and challenging on several levels… It is really great to see and experience how a Nigerien family (not a Nigerian family- that would be in Nigeria) is structured and works, while at the same time it’s been a struggle both in lack of language and independence. My family consists of our Baba (father), his two wives, and several children at various ages. I really enjoy and appreciate their definition of ‘family’ as it can include immediate brothers and sisters, far distant relatives, or even someone living with them while studying at school. This, at the same time, makes figuring out who’s who in the family near impossible. Also interesting, is that they really don’t celebrate birthdays, and while some keep track of their age, my host-sister’s age seems to change each time I ask.
The standards of living here are obviously simplistic in every sense of the word. My host family has a large adobe/mud-brick wall around their concession with a large metal door to the road. Inside the concession or compound, my roommate and I have our own smaller concession made of a woven grass wall surrounding our grass hut. No, no electricity, no running water. At night we sleep under the stars in our small concession under mosquito nets, which is on of my favorite parts of Niger so far- well, until morning… around 5 o’clock, the first call to prayer begins over a loud speaker, which starts off the roosters, which starts off the chickens, which starts of the donkeys- which may be the most obnoxious sound in all of Niger, but despite the rambunctious wakeup call, I love sleeping outside every night.
I thought about adding a paragraph in here about the use of the squat-latrine, or bucket bathing, but I feel those two phrases bring about some pretty accurate images, so I’ll leave that out (unless anyone is DYING for more info).
Basically since day one, the typical schedule has been filled with near 4 hours of Language class a day, an hour or two of technical training, and twice a week we get medical and cultural training (and SHOTS- I’m pretty sure I’ve been vaccinated for just about EVERYTHING by now). The Peace Corps Niger staff are pretty much amazing and do a pretty impressive job of getting us to the point of competency in which we can move out to the bush alone.
Just so you know, the idea of me getting a horse, donkey, or camel is NOT out of the question and I am still considering the possibility (or more so which one), but there are volunteers currently that own each of the above animals- I just need to wait until I actually move to my post and get settled in.
There is so much more to add, like I said, this post ended up both long and random, and while I have other things to write, I feel that most deserve their own blog (things like the election, bush taxis, the Hausa language, etc…) But now that we have progressed in our training to the point in which we are allowed to travel by ourselves, I’m hoping to get to the internet at least once every couple weeks and adding a couple blogs each time. That said, feel free to write me all the letters you want!!!! Letters from anyone are key (ask any volunteer) and can make or break a day!
Sai Angima!
On October 9th we (my training group, or ‘stage’ in PC lingo, with 26 of us) stepped off the plane into 49 degree Celsius heat. This was, of course, after having spent close to 24 (quality) hours in various airports and with Air France. All in this stage are in one of two sectors: Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (PC lingo: Ag’s and NRM’s), out of about 13 Ag’s, there are three of us Animal Husbandry specialists, but more on that later. Keep in mind, though our group had only met on the 7th, I feel like we got to know each other fast (a lot of time to kill in layovers) or maybe it was the whole moving half way around the world thing, I don’t know.
Since our first day in country, we have been split up in several ways; after an initial interview, we discovered which language we would be speaking for the next two years and also the general area in which we would most likely be placed (I am learning Hausa, which is mostly spoken further east in Tauha, Maradi, and Zinder regions) also we were divided (according to language) into three villages which we met our new host families we would be living with for the duration of training.
Host family life is both wonderful and challenging on several levels… It is really great to see and experience how a Nigerien family (not a Nigerian family- that would be in Nigeria) is structured and works, while at the same time it’s been a struggle both in lack of language and independence. My family consists of our Baba (father), his two wives, and several children at various ages. I really enjoy and appreciate their definition of ‘family’ as it can include immediate brothers and sisters, far distant relatives, or even someone living with them while studying at school. This, at the same time, makes figuring out who’s who in the family near impossible. Also interesting, is that they really don’t celebrate birthdays, and while some keep track of their age, my host-sister’s age seems to change each time I ask.
The standards of living here are obviously simplistic in every sense of the word. My host family has a large adobe/mud-brick wall around their concession with a large metal door to the road. Inside the concession or compound, my roommate and I have our own smaller concession made of a woven grass wall surrounding our grass hut. No, no electricity, no running water. At night we sleep under the stars in our small concession under mosquito nets, which is on of my favorite parts of Niger so far- well, until morning… around 5 o’clock, the first call to prayer begins over a loud speaker, which starts off the roosters, which starts off the chickens, which starts of the donkeys- which may be the most obnoxious sound in all of Niger, but despite the rambunctious wakeup call, I love sleeping outside every night.
I thought about adding a paragraph in here about the use of the squat-latrine, or bucket bathing, but I feel those two phrases bring about some pretty accurate images, so I’ll leave that out (unless anyone is DYING for more info).
Basically since day one, the typical schedule has been filled with near 4 hours of Language class a day, an hour or two of technical training, and twice a week we get medical and cultural training (and SHOTS- I’m pretty sure I’ve been vaccinated for just about EVERYTHING by now). The Peace Corps Niger staff are pretty much amazing and do a pretty impressive job of getting us to the point of competency in which we can move out to the bush alone.
Just so you know, the idea of me getting a horse, donkey, or camel is NOT out of the question and I am still considering the possibility (or more so which one), but there are volunteers currently that own each of the above animals- I just need to wait until I actually move to my post and get settled in.
There is so much more to add, like I said, this post ended up both long and random, and while I have other things to write, I feel that most deserve their own blog (things like the election, bush taxis, the Hausa language, etc…) But now that we have progressed in our training to the point in which we are allowed to travel by ourselves, I’m hoping to get to the internet at least once every couple weeks and adding a couple blogs each time. That said, feel free to write me all the letters you want!!!! Letters from anyone are key (ask any volunteer) and can make or break a day!
Sai Angima!
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