Merry Christmas from Niger!

Whew- with daily internet access, you'd think I'd write so much more- I guess I've started taking the internet for granted, always figuring 'I'll write tomorrow'...

First off, Merry Christmas to everyone and Happy New Year! I can't believe 2009 went by so fast, and even more, I can't believe I only have a year left of Peace Corps! (aughh! what am I going to do??!! Still havent really figured out what I want to 'be' when I grow up!)

Anyway, Christmas in Niamey, I've gotta say, I was a little worried about. I'm the only one from my old region here right now, plus the only one in this region from my stage, so I don't know many of my new region. I was expecting it might be a bit of a lonely Christmas, but I was wrong- as much as I really really loved my last region, the people in this region are pretty awesome and Christmas was great. I'm really glad to be a part of this region now. Not only did we have DELICIOUS food (turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, apple pie...), but being only 9 of us, it was a cozy christmas with christmas movies, board games, and 'santa', who brought each of us a stocking full of treats :).

Moving on- working at the zoo is going great and I love the daily interaction with the animals. Being my first zoo experience I'm learning a lot and even those less-exciting tasks, aka, scrubbing hippo tanks, or cleaning out the baboons water is fun (seriously) and I love having a little more structure in my job again. So, now that I've done about three weeks, heres what my workload has looked like:

Monday through friday, get there about 8 or 9 am, shadow/assist in one of the areas (5 total), doing things like cleaning out/hosing down the cages of wharthogs, hyenas, baboons, jackals, monkeys, or chimps, filling up waterers, sweeping out the bird cages, mule, ram, goat, crocadile pens, and feeding the livestock, including the ostriches and elan. So after the morning, usually around noon, Rose, the current volunteer (we're going to work together until she leaves sometime around march or april), and I head over to the nearby hotel for the food donation they give (veggie peelings, old bread, old fruit, etc) and then spend a couple hours hand feeding it out to the chimps, monkeys, baboons, civit, etc. To finish our day, we usually spend about 30 to 45 minutes working with the mule (Barry)- whom we hope to get saddled and bridled and 'pony'-ride in a few months. Other random jobs have included chopping wood and giving tours, and yelling at kids... the later, more often than anyother job. One thing I really love about this job is that it makes me so excited to research everything that I'm working with and I'm learning a lot. Anyway, thats usually the end of my typical day, around 3 or 4 ish, often we come back in the evening if something's going on, oh and we take the weekends off.

One thing I'm not to keen on in this job is that EVERYONE stops and stares ('look! it's an anisara doing WORK!') and then watches you for about 30 minutes.. (I mean, seriously, is it really that entertaining to watch me roll up the hose?!) Sometimes I wonder if I'm more part of the exibit that working for the exibit..

Anyway, thats all the news for now- I really really am going to try to write once a week (new years resolution!... that and learn french!) The longer I'm here in the city the more I miss the bush. I loved how simple and peaceful everything was, and ok, I'll admit, I loved being that one foreigner for miles; I loved being that voice for the women in my village, 'cool' and important because I have an education, and a celebrity (seriously, 15 minutes of fame?.. I got a year!) I even miss the kids, who all they want is to sit a half inch from your face and pull out your arm hair.. Don't get me wrong, I love my new post and wouldn't trade it for any other job, but I do miss my village!

Well, thats it for now- I hope everyone had a wonderful christmas and I'll write again next year!

Sunset over the Niger river!

Little Village, Big City!

Finally I have news! After a few weeks shuffling our feet around the city, most of us now have options and have made our decisions.

First the good news- I've been waiting anxiously to hear about a job here working at the zoo, and, as of this morning, I officially have the position! Which means I'm not going to have to leave yet!

The zoo position will be night and day compared to my past experience in this country- there is such a huge gap between lifestyles of Nigeriens in the bush and Nigeriens in the city that it's like jumping a few hundred years forward (I'm using WIRELESS internet right now... I didn't even know that existed here). I am really lucky to have experienced the bush life and will miss it.. However, I think I'm also very fortunate for the oportunity to experience the city life too (and work in a ZOO!?! Who gets to do that every day??!!) I feel I'll leave this country with a better understanding of the country and the people.

So, as far as daily routine, I couldn't tell you for sure until I start (anywhere from 2 weeks to a month) but I think it'll be around a 6 day a week job, mostling feeding hippos, hosing down hyenas, cleaning out the lion cage, you know... typical stuff :). On a side portion, I'm hoping to continue the past volunteers work is working towards developing a website for the zoo (maybe a sponsor-an-animal type program) and working to find funding to build a chimpanzee habitat. (She- the previous volunteer- is woring right now to build a lion habitat) The problem with the zoo is lack of funding- which results in poor housing, lack of food, too small cages- which leads to poor health, etc. etc... Another problem, I guess related to housing, is that kids, or anyone, has easy access to any of the animals. If a kid wanted to hop into the hippo cage, its literally a matter of stepping over the fence. The hyena cage is close enough to stick your hand in. Anyway, the point is, kinda dangerous for both the people and the animals.

Basically, it may just be my dream job and I am so excited! I guess all these security problems/evacuation all worked out in the end :).

Now, the bad news... Because of all this going on, a lot of Peace Corps Volunteers are choosing to take an interupted service and head home. Especially those in my region and other parts of other reagions who were evacuated, starting all over again in a new village is a pretty daunting and overwelming idea, so I really can't blame them for saying their goodbyes and heading back. I think from my stage, at the moment, there are somewhere between 6 and 8 choosing to go home. A few (5 maybe?) from the stage after us chose to leave, and a couple more from the stage right before us are thinking about it. To make it even harder, the Oldest stage, who was about a month away from completion of service were asked to leave early, and the newest stage, who were still in training, are now being relocated to another country in the continent. So through and through, our numbers fell drastically..

More 'good' news (gotta end on a good note!), yesterday, myself, Heidi and Lindsey all got our hair done.. Heidi and I with 2 bags of extention hair and rasta braids... it only took 7 hours (no seriously)... We look pretty cool if I may say so...

Right, Left, and bottom left: Just a few zoo pictures!

Below right: Lindsey and I at our Halloween party in Tahoua (wasnt big on costumes- unless the Niger-outfit counts!) Very bottom- Colin and I donned our fancy tradition wear for Tabaski celebration at a friends house

abrupt changes

This'll be short, but it's overdue for an update.. I've got news..
First, to start out with something a little more light and fluffy, I BAUGHT GRAIN FOR THE GRAIN BANK!!! It felt like a huge milestone and I was so proud of everyones work when it was finally stored and set.
I was still working on my womens garden plans, but still unsucessfully searching for someone to fix the well- other than that, we were ready to go.. (water's kinda important, I guess...)
Anyway. SO.. there was a securty incident in the Tahoua region- I know I'm being a bit vague, but I'm not sure just what is appropriate to mention right now.. I think you might be able to find some sort of news update on the internet... Anyway, long story short, we were picked up from our villages and a few days later we get an annoucement that we are evacuating that region.
I think the hardest part is not getting to say goodbye to any of my villagers, followed shortly by a horse I baught only 2 months ago, which my villagers are working on selling for me.
Its been a crazy couple of days where everything seems to just have fallen apart. Not only did I lose my village, but also my reagion; my American family/support system this past year. Peace Corps is being really great about our safety and are working around the clock- and, InShaAllah, it'll all blow over and we'll be back to work in no time. As for those of us in the region, I think we have some options and I'll keep everyone updated what turns out. I haven't heard the options yet, but I'd venture to guess that it'll be something like, go home now with an 'interupted service', or new village in a new region. All I can say though, is that I love it here; I love this country and this job and I'm going to stay if I can!

I was so sure last time I posted that I would post again before leaving Niamey... then I got a phone call from my villagers that my horse was colicing...AUGH... pretty much I was a nervous wreck for about 6 hours. I spent about 3,000 CFA just on phone credit, first calling my villagers numerous times asking all symptoms, and feeling completely helpless, then calling the L'evage (vet) setting him up to drive all the way to my village to check on her. Then, after that point, my villager calls back, 'oh, shes doing much better now, she doesnt need the vet'.. So I begin another round of phone calls to cancle the vet, talk to my villagers to get the whole story- it worried me a bit because they were a bit vague with the details.. What they did tell me was that she was laying down and wouldnt eat anything (panic?) and then they 'gave her medicine' and she was fine. When I returned from NiameyI asked what kind of medicine they gave her. They replied, traditional medicine... ok, and what exactly was it?... Well, you take a shoe made of cow leather, and tap her stomach. What? and that worked? Of course. So there you go- next time your horse colics, tap it with a leather shoe. At first I was like, no, thats rediculous. But the more I think about it I guess if it was just a gas colic, like they made it sound like, taping on her stomach might have done something... hmmm. Anyway, moving away from the horse drama.

In the final prep stages for this grain bank- I have a seller all lined up next week to meet with and discuss buying/transport. Its been a little more work than I though it was going to be- but it'll be worth it.

Thought I had rid my house of scorpions when I moved in and haddent seen one for a while... until last night.. there he was, sitting in my window. First I just sat and shined a black light on him (ever tried it? its cool...) but then I finally just killed him. I usually let them live, except one of my friends/ fellow volunteer reciently got stung- it was hiding in her house in a shirt that she went to turn right side out. After that story, I'm not sure I'll ever let em live again. Its not that theyre deadly, or, at least not in this part of Niger, but they apparenly hurt and burn like crazy.. No thanks.

One more quick story- so the other day I was sitting with my friend Hilemo at her house, and these two girls (around 10 or so) timidly walked up and just stared... So Hilimo asked them what they wanted and they were like, we've never seen a white person before! I didnt even think that was possible anymore, but they explained that they were from a village way out in the bush, and as they were passing through my village with their family, they heard there was a white person there, and just had to see.. usually when kids stop and stare I find it kinda akward, but this time i couldnt help but smile:)

Just a little stress... its a good thing

Well, its been another couple of weeks and it's already October... First, I would justlike to complain that the french need to just type on the same type of keyboard as the rest of us(sort of joking) , and my typing speed has reduced by about 30 words per minute... so if you catch any mispellings, its not my fault... ok, well now it is- after spending about 5 minutes seaching for the @ key, I begged to be switched to a different computer (most you can switch to an english keyboard setting, just not that one)
Anyway, it's been a good, if not slightly hectic couple weeks- although Ive long since realized I'd rather have a stressful, busy week than one with nothing to do... The grain bank plans are coming along- me and a few of the women from my womens group swept and cleaned out the storage building for the grain, and my good friend/village construction worker is going to cement all the little holes and cracks while I'm gone to finish it up. YAY.. then all we have to do is wait for the funding to get to country, buy the grain, and wait.. Thank you everyone so much for donating- it's such a good feeling (and relief) to be able to work with these villagers on such a big project. I seached on line today to see how much was left to fund, but it had been taken off line because it was full- THANK YOU all so much!!!
The world map is finished, and I have a newfound respect for just how many countries there are in this world (trust me... after labeling all the countries is just Europe with a paintbrush, you'd see what I mean). Now, I plan to do one the same size but just of Niger- so while I'm in Niamey I'm going to hunt down a good map with hopefully climate zones, and all the communes, etc. Then, in a few weeks, when school gets in to full swing, I'll hopefully spend an hour each week with the primary class and do some geography games'n stuff..
The biggest headache of the week has been this women's garden- not the garden itself, but getting this well repaired. The people who were originally going to do it are no longer able to, so now we're going to a different village to ask these other people.. I say 'we', but really it's my work counterpart thats doing all this. So, while ideally we'd like to plant as soon as possible, we're waiting a couple weeks until that gets done. I had a meeting with the women who are interested a couple days ago; first, the meetings alone sometimes turn into a fiasco, I have to repeat everything I say about 3 times (first time SOMEONES talking, second time everyones talking to shut the one person up, and third time it usually goes through) and then someone else has to repeat what I say once for the old ladies in the back, who, no matter what, cant seem to understand more than a dozen words of my Hausa... Anyway, so I get the message across, we discuss everything, then, casually, I ask, what should we plant? well, everyone answers at once- SHU! SALATI! KARROTI! TOMATER! TONKA! POMME DE TERRE! ALBASA!... Needless to say I spend probably 20 minutes of every meeting with my pencil paused above paper looking a little lost.
So the horse is doing great- completely night and day from when I first baught her- I REALLY wish I had taken a picture of her at the market- she looked like a half dead horse.. Now, I spend about 20 minutes just cantering and galloping through the bush just trying to tire her out (not that I'm complaining...) She's also a total mare and increadably moody... I think I've changed her name to Sahara- a little Cliche, but eh- what the heck...
Oh, so on my way to Niamey tomorrow- the new AG/NRM/CHA stage is coming in and I was selected to be one of their VAT's (Voulanteer Assistant Trainer) so a few of us are heading in for a training and to see the 'newbies' off the airplane. It's nice to get out of the village, even though I hate leaving behind the horse.
Anywho, thats my life thus far, not much more to tell. Village life is great as always, learning new things everyday- I didnt know peanuts were conected to the root of a plant.. I helped 'de-peanut' the peanut plants the other day, and I was like, wow, the peanuts are covered in dirt... who knew? I kinda felt like a failure of an Agriculture volunteer...

Horses, grain banks, and Ramadan- oh my

Wow- once a month is pretty shamefull... I'm sure I've left everybody in suspence... So, past month in a nutshell: baught a horse, working on funding for grain bank, humid as heck, painted girls education murals (that might have been last month) Almost done with my world map, Ramadan, planning a womens cold season garden, planning the repair of a traditional hand-dug well for that project, kinda want to buy a goat... I think that covers all the important parts.

So lets talk about this horse- shes about 15,2 hands high Id guess, almost a gruella color (lets just say a dusty sandish brown with black) with three white socks, a blaze, and a white splotch on her belly. She has pretty good conformation for a Niger bush horse, but she was so skinny when I baught her that I got a decent price for her (although, I think I got the 'anasara'price- 'white person'..) Ive had her for three weeks now, and between her and recent piles of work, I havent gotten out of the bush much for internet time, but thats a good thing. Days are litterally flying past and I cant believe septembers almost gone.. So, I went up to my big animal market, thats not too far from my village, Id guess about 26 K or so, brought the saddle and everything with me, and went straight into the market. So there were about 20 horses total that day to look from, but most werent within my price range. So when I first met her, she was timid, shy, and just really miserable looking not to mention skin and bones. (Shes a total princess now). Anyway, well, I rode her home from market, and 26 K on a tired horse took much longer than I thought it would... Not to mention hot... and I couldnt get that darn America song out of my head ("I've been through the desert on a horse with no name..."), but I eventually got there about 4+ hours later. My villagers have been so excited about her and love to brag that their 'batura' is the one with the horse. I was so worried about what would happen with her when I had to leave the village for a couple days, but the first time I left her, I came back a day before they expected me, and her area was imaculately clean, she had a fresh pile of hay waiting for her and a full bucket of water, and someone was out in the fields grazing her. It made me realize that they feel a sense of pride to care for her, and I havent worried since.

Ok, for non horsey people, we'll move on. Ramadan was a really good experience- I have a new respect for the huge effort it takes to fast for a whole month. So, during all daylight hours, they are not allowed to drink anything, eat anything, smoke, etc. Every morning at about 4, they would wake everyone up to drink water and eat, and then every evening after the 7 o'clock prayer, they would break the fast. I only lasted 6 days in the fasting, after that I baught my horse and I let it slip. It was really hard- not so much the food part, but not drinking water at all during the day, in 100 degree heat, was a huge challenge. However, there was something very rewarding and a sense of accomplishment every evening when you broke the fast. One of the other traditions I love in my area is that people will go to the nearest electricity town and buy a bunch of blocks of ice and sell them in the bush villages- there is nothing like a little ice... I love ice.. Anyway. So the end of ramadan was about a week ago, and there are 3 or 4 days of fete following the siting of the new moon (lunar calandar- as soon as the new moon was spotted, Ramadan ended). The days leading up the the big celebration were a lot of fun too- all the girls (myself included) get their hair braided, get henna done on their hands and feet, and get a new outfit made. Then the day of the celebration, everyone goes around greeting each other, kids get small change or candies, everyone is bringing each other food- I ate three complete DELICIOUS meals that day thanks to the generousity of my villagers, as well as had meat galore. I had baught 4 kilos of dates to pass out as my "salla gift"- it was a lot of fun. Also, the men also attend an extra 10 o;clock prayer that they do just outside the village- I felt slightly akward, but they all insisted that I go and that it would be great to take pictures- (I took pictures all day that day) so Ill try to get those us soon. Anyway, it was a great bonding time in my village and I thoughouly enjoyed my first end of ramadan celebration.

Ok. Whew, moving on. So, we are FINALLY getting started on our village grain bank!!! My villagers are so excited and keep asking me when we're going to buy the grain (I have to tell them over and over that we're waiting for it to be funded from people in America). There's so much to get done in the next few weeks, that I get almost frazzled thinking about it.. Weve got this room for the grain, that we'll scrub out, cement all the bat entrances, and lay down pallets for... I have to organize a grain storgage workshop with the Agriculture agency and a money management workshop for the women running the caisse. The part that makes me most nervous of all is that grain is starting to get really cheap right now, because its harvest, but in about a month and a half, prices are going to be high again so we really have to buy before then. Which, THANK YOU so much everyone who has donated so far!!! My villagers really are so excited and just so thankful that they're given this chance for a grain bank. I've never really been the type that enjoyed asking people for money so thank you all for your support. If you still want to donate (I think we need only 1000 dollars more! were getting close!) You can go to peacecorps.gov, click under donate now, and then you can either type in my name, country of service, or my home state, and it will pull up my project and show you how to donate over the internet. Thanks again, from me and my villagers.

Thats about it- I've got a couple other things just starting- planning for a womens garden (to sell veggitables for income generation) going to do another tree nursery with moranga trees ( the leaves are VERY nutritious and a great nutrition reasource during hot season when there is no produce)- my goal is that before I leave, every family will have a tree in their family concession. Oh, and I need to get to planning some geography lessons to work with the school kids on that go with my newly painted map, and I kinda want to buy a goat... I always said a wanted one as a pet as a kid, my parents I dont think took me seriously...

Back in the BUSH!

Wow, exactly a month since I wrote last- the internet has been either down, or incredibly slow (as in, 45 minutes didn’t even get me into my email inbox) and this is the first time I’ve been in with working internet. Well, month after vacation- its been really good to get back into the swing of things. Been out in the fields working with my villagers, whom, because of recent drought throughout all of Niger are incredibly fortunate to have an ok crop of millet this year- parts of the country have literally had to replant 3 or 4 times because of lack of rain and honestly have little to no crops… so that’s kindof hard to watch- they work all day every day for the grain their family is going to be living off of throughout the year, and I just cant imagine how it would be to see that crop fail planting after planting.
On a lighter note, work has been fun and picking up! (FINALLY!) My latest projects have been a lot of painting- which is a really good change from planting… So, myself and another volunteer, Meaghan, planned some girls education sensibilization murals in my nearby market town- they turned out really good! So we did two- one at the cultural center, and one at the secondary (?) school (the French school system still confuses me). So the first one has a cartoon figure of a girl in a class room raising her hand- to the side of that says: “Rishin Sani Ya Hi Dare Duhu”, a Hausa proverb meaning; Lack of Knowledge is darker than night. Then beneath that we had in French a little blurb about the education of girls can benefit everyone and to send girls to school. The second mural was pretty similar, with a similar cartoon girl sitting at a desk, and to the side, “Allah, Ya Ce, Tashi in Taimake Ka.” Another Housa proverb which is basically, ‘God helps those who help themselves’. And the same French message on the importance of girls education. Anyway, so the whole project was a lot of fun- we worked with a couple of the JICA volunteers (Japan’s equivalent of Peace Corps) in the painting and just spent a couple of days at it. Hopefully the murals and a couple radio shows we plan on doing later, will just get people thinking and opening their minds to girls education.
In my village, last I talked to my school headmaster, we had around 4 girls in all of 35 students in school. It is a little frustrating to ask parents why only the boys go to school- usually there’s a conversation of, oh, she has too much work to do, or, she’s at more use at home, or worse, well, she doesn’t want to, plus, how is that going to help her get married (educated women tend to not be as quickly married.. hmmm)? Especially in the bush, even most girls have an outlook of, knowing how to read and write isn’t going to help me get married, have lots of kids, and pound millet/pull water each day. I feel like sometimes a woman’s status is based on how many children she has- most women are so timid and intimidated when they’re around men, that very few get the respect they I think they deserve- I try to hint that women’s education is a way of ‘evening the playing field’ so to speak, but I think it’s going to be a slow and gradual change. I do feel like it is getting better- it just takes time!
Anyway, enough on that topic, so after we finished the murals, I took the paints to my village and I began a world map in my school. Since the school has very limited resources, they don’t have a world map and I doubt most in my village have ever seen a world map (one day a women asked me how long the bus ride to America was… “isn’t it next to Nigeria?”… um a little farther…) So there’s a world map booklet with a grid to help paint in onto the wall. So I’ve just started that, and so far I’ve got about half drawn up on the wall in sharpie- it’s kinda a pain, but still a really enjoyable project!
OK, so. It’s official- I am going to the animal market next week to buy my horse! I still have a lot to get done before that, (like, buy a saddle, put a stick in the ground to tether him to, buy a 50 Kilo sack of millet, oh, and hire about three little kids to pick 3 big bags of grass/weeds for him each day) oh, and the saddle in the market is going to cost me about 20 us dollars… pretty amazing considering the last saddle I bought was several hundred more than that… I’m pretty excited J So donations of peppermints will be greatly appreciated!

The first picture- The Point of No return, Ouida, Benin next, Liz Myself, and Ariana on a hike through the rainforests of the Volta Region, third, One of our little monkey friends in Tafi Atome just eating his banana...

Fifth, the Wli falls- just the lower ones, since it was rainey season, we couldnt hike to the upper falls. Below, me feeding the monkeys, next the fishing port at Cape Coast, I loved this scene- I think it'd make a great watercolor painting...

Next, on the river at a small fishing village near the Green Turtle lodge, after that, at cape coast again, these two boats and the flag just looked too picturesk to pass up.

The bridges at the canopy walk in Kukum Rainforest, and Liz, Myself, and Ariana pausing for a photo on the rope bridges.

Ok, so I have a bunch more photos on my facebook page, but I figured this was enough for one post!

Vacation Part 2! (sorry this one's kinda long...)

Well, my plan to write in Ghana didn’t work out too well… We probably spent numerous hours in internet cafes in Accra, but most of that time was used in TRYING (unsuccessfully) to upload pictures… so much for the idea that that would be easier in Ghana…
Anyway, Ghana was absolutely beautiful- so much water and greenery, almost made me wish I was in Peace Corps, Ghana. After our day and a half wait in Lome, Togo, for our Ghana visa, we left (straight from the Ghanaian Embassy) for a village called Kpalme, Togo, which had bush taxis through the border to Hohoe, Ghana in the Volta region. I think we got to the bush taxi station around 1:30, but we waited there for 6 hours…. for a 32 K drive. Oh, and we had to personally wake up the border guards to get our passports stamped. The Volta region of Ghana, however, was definitely worth the hassle. After what we voted our most rundown-sketchy hotel of the entire trip (that’s saying something considering we averaged about 7 USD a night per person), we got up early and (well, switched hotels first) went to the Wli waterfalls. Absolutely beautiful walk through the tropical rainforest up to the Wli falls, where swimming was an option we of course couldn’t pass up. It was FREEZING, but this is coming from the land of never-under-98-degrees-farenheight. There was also a hotel/restaurant a short walk from the tourist centre with a beautiful view of the falls and delicious food. I think that was the point that started our chain of eating out like queens (or pigs), and that’s probably where a good portion of our trip money went… that and football jerseys (ok, SOCCER) but anyway. So the next morning we set off to Accra, stopping at a monkey sanctuary in a village just outside of Hohoe. For about 5 Ghanaian Cedis we got a bag of bananas and a 15 minute walk through the trees… but we also got to feed the monkeys, so I guess it was worth it. What you did was hold out a banana, as tightly as possible and about 5-7 little monkeys would attack it- it was gone within 5 seconds- once we were out of bananas, they wouldn’t come down from the trees.. the tour was over.
On to Accra, capitol of Ghana. We were a little overwhelmed how much this city is like AMERICA!!! Every kind of food just around the corner, a MALL, even a big movie theatre!!! We watched our first big-screen film in 10 months, The Proposal, and maybe because it had been so long, it might be one of my favorite flicks. Our real reason for going was to see when Harry Potter 6 was playing (a crucial element in our vacation) but it wasn’t out for a week- so we made plans to come back… other than that, Accra was pretty exciting as we happened to be there the same time as President Obama, but we didn’t see him (unless you count seeing his helicopter overhead.. I do. ) To be honest, we didn’t make a huge effort to see him- we weighed out our possibilities; mall and the movies, or waiting outside a building for 7 hours in hopes to glimpse the back of his head… The Obama paraphernalia was astounding though- everywhere you looked were banners, posters, flags, t-shirts; all with Obama on it (even little American Flags with Obama’s face in the stripes). It was really great to see how much support Obama has in Ghana- or really in any West African country I’ve been to- if they hear you speak English, the first thing they say is “Obama!”.
After one night in Accra, we went down to our first on-the-beach reservation spot, a big Rasta-type resort called ‘Big Milly’s Back Yard’ (Milly being this sweet little old British woman). I think it would have been a lot of fun and a couple days of relaxing, but we kinda got of on the wrong foot with this place. When we first showed up, at about 5:15 that evening, they were like, sorry! You were late, we gave your room away! LATE? We had no idea 5:15 was late. Especially for a laidback backpackers resort. Anyway, so they took us down the road to this Black Stone hotel… possibly second or third on our list of not so great places to stay… But we moved to big Milly’s the next day. As we were sitting on the beach, there were a couple of Rasta guys talking about us. Their tactic was to talk about us in Hausa so that none of us ‘white people’ could understand them… but when we turned around and asked in Hausa who they were calling white people and why they speak Hausa, it was fun to see the surprise on their faces..HA.
True to our form so far, we only stayed one night in this place and moved on to Cape Coast the next morning. (We did 9 hotels in the first 10 days of our trip) Cape Coast is a gorgeous fishing-type town on the coast, with the Cape Coast Castle just a walk down the beach from our hotel (the Oasis) The castle itself was very pretty and a really interesting part of African slave trade history. We took a tour of the castle and got to see the holding chambers for the slave men and women- tiny little dark damp rooms for 200 to 500 people. Even worse were the chambers designed to hold those that rebelled- small, windowless chambers where they were put in for 48 or so hours or until they died; this was also reserved for the women who refused to be raped by the military captains and always ended in death. Because the fort was originally built for trade of goods and then later converted to slaves, the rooms were so small and dim and stuffy that it was hard to be in them for a few minutes with 20 other people on the tour- I can’t even imagine what it must have been like.
Other than touring the castle, we spent our day perusing the shops on the streets of Cape Coast, and then watched some Ghanaian dancing at the hotel- it was a good day… The next morning we were off again for Kukum national rainforest where we got to do a Canopy walk (which I learned is only 1 of 5 public canopy walks in the world..oooh) We got to walk out on these swinging rope bridges 50 Meters above ground- the view was BEAUTIFUL and it was a great experience… It may not have been such a great experience for the guy in our tour group who was terrified of heights and thought there was only one bridge instead of 7… bet that was a nasty shock (he let us know with a few choice words)! After Kukum, we bush taxied on to the Green Turtle Lodge, an eco-friendly backpackers beach resort (full of West African NGO volunteers from all over the world all on a quick vacation before heading home). Here, we finally relaxed and stayed for 5 days- the food was DELICIOUS, and the best part, I only spent 115 Cedis (around 85 dollars?) for everything- food, lodging, boat tour, everything. I’ll definitely be back! There’s not much exciting to write about this portion of the vacation, except that lying on the beach for 5 days does in fact get boring. For Ariana’s birthday, one of our favorite staff members, Naomi, baked her a cake, and we got all dressed up… Liz and I had a dance party at one point with some of the staff, and we spent the evening dancing around a fire with the locals to the drums (I’m serious.) Bet not many people can say they did that for their 25th B-day! We did also take a canoe trip through the mangroves, but it wasn’t much to shout about, and we spent most of the time worrying about crabs falling from the trees (they were EVERYWHERE) but we did meet some fun people, returned Peace Corps volunteers, NGO workers…
Anyway, back to Accra, saw HARRY POTTER 6!!! it was awesome… one of the highlights of my trip. Which is good, because following that was a 24 hour bus ride to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, followed by what was supposed to be only an 8 hour bus ride (but took 13) to Niamey. All in two days (or three? I may have lost a day in there…). Oh, and the 24 hour bus ride? We left 4 hours late… and the one to Niamey? Never went over about 45 miles an hour. It was fun.
Either way, were back home in Niger and it’s actually really good to be back! It’s so nice to speak Hausa again and to be understood, and I really missed the hospitality of the Nigerien people. Nigeriens really are the most welcoming and friendly people I’ve met in West Africa and are genuinely happy you’re here. That’s not to say Ghanaians aren’t nice, just that it’s good to be home!

Some Benin and Togo Time

I am right now sitting in an internet cafe in Lome, the capitol of Togo... I don't know which makes me more excited- the amount of water they have, or the amount of green-ness... Or maybe the food... Anyway, so far its been a pretty sweeet vacation. So I'll give the play-by-play.. We left on the 4th of July from Niamey and got on what was suposed to be only a 16 hour bus ride, but there was a bit of an accedent along the way and our bus swerved off the road to avoid an oncomming semi truck who was passing another semi truck. We were fine, the guy doing the passing was fine, but the semi truck that he passed was forced off the road and flipped. So the bus stopped for a good three hours to get the guy out.. Guess it just goes to show that Benin roads and drivers are about the same as Niger's... (I think Benin has better roads though)
Moving on. So after an increadably long bus trip we finally arrived in Cotonou, Benin, stayed the night, and then headed first to a spot called the 'point of no return', where African slaves were walked down this path to the beach and put on their boat... never to return. It made that whole portion of history that much more real- especially to see the land they were taken out of (BEUTIFUL) only to be shoved on a boat where half would die before reaching a daunting final destination. So that was a really good experience and I'll try to get the pictures up when I get back to niamey.
After that, we went to a fishing village called Grand Popo (I'd live there just for the name) and stayed at this Regge/Rasta place on the beach called Le Lion Bar. It was so awesome and chill of a place, we're still wishing we'd just stayed another night! Basically we just lounged around on the beach listening to Bob Marley and sipping from coconuts.. oh good fish too.
Ok.. Moving on, the next morning we took a boat cruise (the hollowed out tree trunk kind) on this river (cant remember the name) and whent to a VooDoo village and got to walk around with our guide. It was REALLY interesting and made me realize there's a lot more to VooDooism than flying white flags and little pin-cushion dolls- Its really fascinating- I really want to do a little more research.
After the Village, we continued up river to a coconut grove and drank coconut milk and ate coconut.. Kinda amazing how that little kid could just shimmi right up the coconut tree..
Anyway, not to cut the story short, it just gets a little dull- we traveled to Lome, this morning we applied for the Gahnian visa, which should be ready tomorrow, and we've spent the day at the peace corps bureau here and down at the market doing a little (or a lot) of shopping.. Tomorrow, off to some hiking and waterfalls!
I'll try to write again in Ghana!

Chariot Spiders Anyone?

Off to Ghana in less than a week! (I’m pretty excited…) First a little recap on the last two weeks in the bush: Finished planting all our stuff- millet, beans, ground nuts; started the next process, which they call ‘noma’, basically tilling the entire field by hand... You can probably guess I didn’t help out too much with this part. After about one row, I was like, whew, well guys, good work, the sun’s out, I gotta go home… That one row was more than they expected me to do in the first place, so I think it was ok .. Had my first women’s group meeting on our Grain Bank project (I’ll talk about it more when my proposal gets on line to start the funding) but I’m really excited and I think these women are going to do an excellent job- they
So I’m pretty sure I mentioned that I got a cat about a month ago; so there’s a sad story now about that… The day I got back into the bush Musuru (that’s his name.. it’s just the Hausa word for ‘male cat’, but it sounded cool ) was perfectly healthy and really cute and excited to see me, probably because I’m the only one in the concession that doesn’t terrorize him, but anyway. So, that night we had a huge storm (irrelevant…sorry) and the next morning I couldn’t find him anywhere. Then I heard these little whimpers coming from underneath my cika-bed (millet-stock mat propped up on mud bricks) so I look under it and there he his, laying there whimpering. So, he can’t get up or anything, and to be honest, the moment I saw him I was pretty sure he wasn’t going to make it. So for about three hours I just had to kinda sit and wait, not being able to do anything for him- I tried to keep him hydrated, but by the end he was having muscle spasms and couldn’t breathe. I was so frustrated that I didn’t know what it was or what to do about it- but later on that day I found a dead scorpion that was in a couple chewed pieces. So my theory is that sometime during the big storm he either went in the house or under some dark corner to escape the rain and got stung and then tried to eat it, or, tried to eat it and then got stung, and, because he’s still really little, it killed him. It was sad. Oh, and possibly the worst part is the Nigerien perception of pets- my women’s group leader came in during those three hours and just looked at him and was like, ‘eww, don’t put that thing on the mat, its dying… you can just get a new one… lets go to the fields!’. Most of my neighbors were kinda like, oh its no big deal, you can just get a new one. Frustrating. Proudly I can say I kept my cool and didn’t cry… in front of them.
Sorry, but one more not-so-up-beat story: So that same night, I was going through the routine, getting ready for bed- it’s about 8:30 and it’s dark outside, so I have my headlamp on. I take a step out of my house and I see a large spider-like figure shoot across the ground at high speed… TWO of them. Oh- and they’re about as big as the palm of my hand. My cat just having been stung and killed by a creature, I freak out a bit and run back inside cowering.. They’re Chariot spiders, and they run around at top speed and they have these huge arms. They’re totally harmless, but the worse part about them is if they see light they kinda go crazy and charge it; so for about an hour and a half every time I got the courage to leave my house and set my bed and bug-net up, they would come flying out at me and ‘chase’ me back into the house. ( I finally put on some hiking boots, a rain coat, and gloves and set my bed up in several short increments) Needless to say it wasn’t one of my favorite days in Niger (I watched “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” on my Ipod, it helped the situation) So the next morning I tell one of the men in my family concession that there is a large chariot spider in my concession and that he needed to kill it… Actually, the exact translation was, ‘there is a too-big spider in my shade hanger, you need to give it death”… Anyway. He got the point, I went to market, came back and he was like, uh, Balkissa, I looked everywhere, I couldn’t find the chariot-spider.. So then I felt like the girl with a monster under the bed (literally) and was like, no! I SAW it. Well, a few days went by with no sign of them, and it wasn’t until the past couple of days that I saw them again. Don’t worry- the initial fear of the things kinda left, now when I see one, I just jump about a foot, turn off the light and leap into bed (which I have learned to set up BEFORE it gets dark). Ok. Moving on.
We're heading to Niamey for a few days before heading down to Ghana, so I'll try to take advantage of the fast 'city' internet and put up some pictures!

Countdown to Ghana and Planting time!

A little less than three weeks til Ghana and counting!!! Actually I thought I woundn't be heading there until August, but as of today, the official plans moved up... about a month, which I think will actually work out better as I think August was going to be a little busy with Grain Bank preperations in my village. (which will hopefully work out funding-wise... there's a bit of 'wahala' in the funding department as most of our usual funding sources seem to be 'out of money until further notice'.)
But planting season has finally come and these past few weeks I've enjoyed heading out the the fields with villagers and planting millet. This is how it goes: First someone (usually the man of the family) creates lines with the 'Kwasa', a really heavy version of a hoe, and creates holes about a meter apart in rows about a meter apart. Then, behind him comes the children, women, (and me...) putting seads in the holes and covering it up with sand by foot. It really does go quickly, but most families have 3 or so fields that are huge pieces of land and work several days straight to plant them all. I wanted to take pictures and post them of planting, and I still plan on it, but, as of right now my camera is "out of batteries"... AKA, I have been completely worn out with my villagers on the picture front.
I can no longer walk down the paths of my village without someone demanding a picture, or asking me "when I'm going to give them that one picture I took 4 weeks and 3 days ago with the donkey or the little kid drinking hura"... that type of thing. I understand the excitement and fascination with my camera and pictures, but I've decided its high time for a rest until the excitement dies down- then I'll slowly bring it back out. But back to planting. So. We've planted our millet. As soon as I return to my village, we're going to intercrop beans and peanuts/ground nuts in the same fields, so fun's not over yet!
So today Leah (Fellow region volunteer) we're walking down to one of the 'ElHadji' shops as we call them, side note, an 'ElHadji' shop is I guess a really REALLY small version of a grocery store.. well, it's usually one room and they sell an asortment of 'western' stuff, toiletry items, juice, milk, canned goods, sometimes exciting stuff, like today, PRINGLES... Wow, back on topic.
So, today Leah and I we're walking to this shop and we had a really entertaining converstaion that all started with someone offering us a mango.
This was the converstation: Mango guy: Bisimillah (holding out the mango) Leah and I: Allahumdulillahi! (as we continue walking). Ok, what it means in my head: mango guy: want a mango? Leah and I: Oh, no thanks! But, literal translation: Mango guy: 'In the name of God!' Leah and I: Thanks be to God! Which, doesnt really make sense. But we that it was hillarious when we broke it down to the literal translation. Theres a lot of that in Hausa I feel like- even in the everyday greetings, literally when you ask greet someone in the morining with "ina kwana?" literally it's saying where's sleep? or Kun Tashi Lahiya? (how did you sleep) literally means You rose in health? And then there's these "all-purpose" words like, 'Sannu' that means, hi, thank you, sorry, and slowly, all depending on the context... Anyway, thats about it for now, I'm planning on doing a full two weeks in my village before comming back in in prep for vacation, so I'll try to write again then!!!!

To Buy or Not to Buy.. No longer a question

Well its been a long couple of weeks in the bush, but not much to report on... It seems my villagers are just twittling their thumbs til the rain comes- I'm pretty sure I'm just as anxious, but more for it to be a cooler temeperature than in excitement to plant my fields.
I have bee seriously concidering buying the horse now, mostly after I took a trip up to the big animal market in Badagishiri and took a look at the horses.. I have to let you know about this one, I was pretty sure I was going to get (I even told the guy I might come back in a few weeks if he's still there) He was all black with three white socks and a stipe, super sweet, and only four years old, and, compared to many of the other horses in the market, reletively nutritioned. When I asked the man how much, he told me 150,000 CFA, which is about 300 USD, but I didnt haggle, and if I were to buy him for real, I think I may have gotten him down to 100,000. ANYWAY. So I thought I had found my horse. So I get home, start making plans for my big purchase. I talked to my neighbors and they were all for letting my put him in the large 'family' concession as theres no room in my personal concession. Things were looking good. Then I went on the search for Hay... After this question my villagers shattered my little dream with "HA HA, you cant buy hay til harvest! You'll have to wait til October!" I was very sad. So, then I was like, can I buy it in the market town? they said yeah, but it would cost 1,000 CFA a bundle. INSANE price. 1,000 CFA is about 2 USD, and that would mean I would be paying 30 Mille a month on hay alone, plus a big bag of grain, another 15 Mille, with a grand total of 45 mille a month just to feed the horse! Wich, anyone who's owned the horse and did the math (90 USD) would be like, 'uh, thats insanely cheap..' but, when you live off of two USD a day, it's not looking to feasable. So the end of my sad story, is I'm back to my original-reviesed plan, to wait and get the horse during harvest. I'm sure I'll find one that I like just as much as that one, but I still cant help being like, "I want THAT one!!". SIGH.
So other than horse drama, I haven't had much to do.. With my Chemical Fertalizer project, I wrote my proposal, and we're just waiting for the forms to go through so we can start funding, so nothing to do but wait. I did, however, start a little Moranga tree pepiniere- I planted about 45, but still have a ton of seeds, so I might plant another 30. In theory, after about 3 months (moranga grow really fast) they'll be pretty close to ready and I want to do a big sensibilization and then give them away (nothing makes people more interested in a project than free stuff) after they've listened to me ramble about the nutritional value of Moranga (look it up- it's really good stuff, seriously.). So I guess, actually, I'm kinda going to be like one of those 'knife-infomerchals" things in the mall where you have to sit through their boring demonstration to get the free knife set, but hey, maybe someone will retain something :)
I have been really lucky lately with produce- For the past couple months it's been mainly onions and mangos, with an occasional eggplant, but just the other day I found CUCUMBERS in the Tahoua market (which I always disliked, but now theyre delicious..) and, today, I found bananas and pineapple in the Konni market. I was very excited. The End.. I just read that and realized how boring my life must be if thats what I fill my blog with. Oh well, it's exciting stuff here.
Well! All for now, my hour's bout up, let me know any questions or if I've left any gaping holes in my experience-writings!

Rain! Work! Cat! Ghana?

Well, its been about a week or so since the last post, so its about time to write again I guess...
This past week has been extremely hot, but with not one, but two suprising middle-of-night rain showers in my village! The sound and smell of rain is probably almost as exciting as.. well, I dont know, its just really exciting. The first night it rained, I wasn't prepared ("one month til the time of 'sky water'"-'sai wata guda, akwai lokacin ruwan suma'- thats what my villagers kept telling me) so, that night at first I was really excited sleeping under my woven-grass shade hangar, when I felt the first rain drops.. about 45 minutes into the storm I was soaked through and freezing (I didnt know it was possible to be 'freezing' in 93 degrees..), so needless to say, the next chance I got I went to my market town and bought a large roll of plastic, and waterproofed my shade hangar. The second time it rained it was bliss....
So a small piece of big news, I got a cat! Yes, I am alergic, but I got him anyway; he was sitting at this little cafe stand near the peace corps hostel and I just asked, can I have your cat? and they said yes.. So I put him in a box and traveled the 3 1/2 ish hours to my village.. Its a kitten, so its still really whinney and obnoxious and drives me a bit crazy, but suprisingly, he's growing on me :) Still no name for the thing, so send ideas my way.
WORK! Finally, I feel like I have stuff to do! Right now Im in Konni buying seeds for my big field project Im planning... Well, actually I wasnt really planning it per say, it just kinda fell into my lap. So, I was talking to my women's group leader in my village, and I asked, so, can i help you with your field this season? Learn the ropes, figure out how to do it, so that next year I can do my own field project? She was like, sure! That'd be great! So, then a few days later I was talking to her again, so what are we going to plant? Well, we're planting millet, beans, and peanuts... ummm... how big is this field? Oh, we have two of them... What?? oh... so you have the seeds? Oh, no- you should go buy them. Oh...
So instead of this just being a learning experience, I'm going to work with one of the agriculture programs here that does improved crops and seed varieties- I'll plant some of their 'improved seeds' and work with them on data collection to help them create better seed varieties with higher yield. So, trail by fire.. it'll either turn out great, and it'll be a nice demo plot for my villagers to see an imroved seed variety, as well as improved techniques (chemical fertalizers, etc), or, the test-'improved' seeds could turn out to produce less yield than the local variety and my villagers can just enjoy watching the 'batura' (white girl) working in the field. Anyway.
Other than that, not much new to share! Its been hot, sweaty, and it seems neirly everyone (volunteers) is escaping off to Ghana to spend a couple weeks on the beach. I was going to wait on a vacation and buy a horse now, but, as my villagers have pointed out, horse feed will be pretty expensive right now until harvest season-- so I might jump on the band wagon and head to Ghana sometime in August and buy the horse, instead, coming October, harvest season.. which seems so long away, but I've already waited 7 months, I spose I could wait a few more! And, with a trip to Ghana, maybe coinciding with the time of the Harry Potter 6 reliese of course, the wait wo'nt be too bad!

A few photos!

So, not much time left on the internet after uploading these so just briefly: the first one, some kids in my village- they all love cameras and getting their pictures taken- it gets a little overwelming sometimes! The second one is at the zoo in Niamey- never have I ever seen a hippo this upclose before!!

Next is also in Niamey, just a mechant hauling his wears from one place to another- the way they can carry stuff on their heads.. A-mazing!! Next is some SWEET henna I got done in Tahoua, Heidi and I splurged for her B-day last march!

Some of my Fulani neighbors and their camel- I love the hats they have, I'm determined to buy one, but since usually only the men wear them, they might think it a little odd... so Im going to wait until I have a horse and they already think that odd for a women to ride a horse.. so Im just going to add the hat on!

Oh the Heat... and my first big village meeting

So, 8:30 in the morning and it’s already 100 degrees… If today’s like the last 3 weeks, by noon our thermometer will be 120 (in the shade). SIGH, I am slowly learning how to deal with the heat, heat-rash, etc.. basically just jump in the shower fully dressed and then lounge around in wet clothesJ Works great here at the hostel, but I’m still trying to work it out in the bush when I’m rationed to two buckets of water a day!
Anyway, I’ve been at the hostel the past couple nights to write my proposals for my two projects- grain bank (co-op) and chemical fertilizer bank. Though I really enjoy my village, its really nice to take a break in the hostel where there’s showers, fridge/freezers, an oven… So, only been here two days but definitely have caught up on my cooking- made French toast (twice), cookies, chili, and cake! In the bush it’s just so hot to turn on the oven during the day that I cook as small amount as possible- I’ve dropped in on my villagers more often for hura or tuwo (both made of millet- hura a milk and millet drink with pepper, tuwo, a ground millet gelatinous patty with sauce on it) which is really starting to grow on me.
About a week ago I held my first big all-village meeting- it was so nerve-wracking! I will never again complain about any form of public speaking in English; holding a meeting in a language I barely speak with over a hundred people may have been one of the most intimidating things I’ve done. It’s amazing the things you take for granted like ability to communicate. When I first decided it was time to have my first meeting I talked to my village chief and we discussed the day and time- we decided Wednesday at 4- except actually we discussed it as being ‘Foloa’s market day’ around the La’azar (4:00 prayer call). I love time in this country! Because most of my villagers don’t own a clock or watch nor do they even know what time it is ever, all that goes on is explained by the Muslim calls to prayer times (and even then its give or take an hour or so). Anyway, I show up to my own meeting at 4, and it’s only me, my women’s group leader, one of my good friends, and the village second-in-command guy sitting in the room… I couldn’t help but get that ‘nobody likes me enough to come to my meeting’ feeling and I was feeling a bit sorry for myself J Well, by 5:00, our little one room school house was PACKED from wall to wall, it was great! They explained the tardiness that they couldn’t come until the livestock came in from the bush from grazing, duh.. (Silly me, what WAS I thinking!) But overall, I was very pleased with how the meeting went- they understood all my questions and I got my answers, and better yet, I understood all their questions and was able to give them answers, so overall, a success.
For all of next week I’m here in the hostel as the RR fill-in (Regional Representative) while the current one (Marcus) is on vacation. I’m actually kinda excited for the chance to get all my proposals written out and sent in, as well as maybe get some future project proposals written for future projects I have in mind, basically just do a bit of 2-year-planning and get some things started. Either way, I’m SURE I’ll find some time within the next week to write again!

Happy Easter!

Well, the heat is a learning experience if nothing else... I've learned that everything's pretty relalive- when its 120 degrees outside, sitting in a 90 degree hut feels like air conditioning. No seriously..
I don't know how many times over this easter weekend we discussed how nice it was when it finally cools off for the day (at about 6:30 or so) and then looking at the temeprature and realizing its still over 100 degrees.
So, Easter was different but good- me and a few other volunteers from my region went to Easter mass in the morning, after which Leah and I made french toast for whoever wanted it followed by chocolate cake (thanks for the mix dad). So, it was a nice Easter over all.. no chocolate bunnies or marshmallow peeps (which would have been little more than chocolate or pink sprinkled blobs) and no hidden baskets or eggs, though, we thought about hidding stuff for people to find... without them knowing (You know, cell phones, shoes...). Easter Mass was really great- I've only been to this particular Catholic church one other time (for christmas actually) but the music especially is really fun. They use traditional drums and theres a lot of clapping :)
But moving on, village is really great- because it's so hot, there's really not much you can accomplish in a day. I've met with a womens group in my village organized by a local NGO a few times to get a little more familiar with their group and their work.
They have an Animal Fodder 'bank' or co-op, and they manage their own Caisse. They're a really motivated group and they really put in a lot of effort to their work. What I hope to help them with is to keep better records in their group and during meetings; they also really want to extend their 'bank' to also having a grain bank and a chemical fertalizer bank. So, my new project I'm going to take on is to get them organized and write a proposal for the funding of the initial grain and chemical fertalizer. I'm actually really excited to have my first 'official' project starting and I'll keep you updated. They were so excited when I agreed to look into the project and see of funding possibilies. What I think I'm going to do is Peace Corps Partnership funding, in which I write a proposal and friends and family, or anyone who finds it interesting can donate any kind of amount to it online. (don't worry, I'll keep you updated!)
Anyway, short post, but the internet is slow today and my hour's almost up! Happy Easter!

Equestrian Center,Transportation and Post...

So, come tomorrow around 11 o'clock, Im on my way back to my village... It's been a looong few weeks and I am more than ready for a little village time!
So, recap on the past few days- left Niamey around 3:30 (bus was suposed to leave at 2, but I've moved on) BUT, and this is very exciting, not before I was able to go to the EQUESTRIAN CENTER of NIAMEY!!! (go ahead and read that part again) I was so excited when I found the place, I mean, who knew that a third-world country would have an Equestrian Center??? I didn't until I walked by it and had to go in.. there are horses... and they look well fed- something I havent seen in a while. I got so excited that I was telling anyone in sight that I ride at home, and that I jump and that I went to school for Equine Science, and that I love riding... and blah blah blah... Im not sure half of the people I stopped understood me; since it's Zarma land, most of them only spoke Zarma and French- neither of which I exactly know, but, fortunately a lot of the Equestrian vocabulary is french, so I think they got my point. I did tell them I was going to return one day and take a riding lesson- sad part is, its about an arm and a leg price... even after you convert it to US dollar.. hmmmm, and I might need to learn a bit more french if I hope to get anything out of it. I wonder if they'll need a housa/english/french riding instructor after 2 to 2 1/2 years... only joking (sort of).
ANyway, sorry about the side track, SO- we got on our bus, and 6 hours later we arrive- about 9:30 at night. So here I am with a backpack on, a huge box on my head, and I have this massive 'Al Hadji' bag (kinda a big square duffel bag type thing thats really cheap but holds literally EVERYTHING) that I was trying to carry along with it- poor Heidi and Lindsey had to help me out so we could get it all back to the hostel. My other option was to hire a small child to carry it for me, but I didnt see any around- when we stopped at this one village I payed a boy to bring me macaroni and sauce from a nearby place so I wouldnt have to get off the bus- I told him to put it in a plastic bag- actually, it sounds wierd, but EVERYTHING is in plastic bags here. Everything from flour and sugar, to water and cooked food is sold and stored in plastic bags. (you buy a bag of water, bite of the corner, and just drink it that way- its really quite convenient and I dont know why I havent thought to put water and leftovers in bags before)
ANYWAY, sorry about the side track, again, so, because I only have a market car directly to my village from a village on the main road on thursdays, I hung around at the hostel for the past two nights.
Postal service... As I'm guessing you'd guess, its not entirely reliable, however, we've come to realize that if packages are being sent somewhere NOT Niamey, they dont open your stuff- its great! So today, one of the guys in my region mentioned that when he went to the post office today he saw that I had three packages (thanks Mom, Dad, and Grandma/Grandpa Hadden!!!) So I treck down there, head in the back door, to the office and check our mailbox for package slips. (no key required- well, maybe if we actually OPENED to mail box, but they dont care if you just walk behind and check :)) So, no package slips, so I just head over to the stack of packages and sort through them until I find my three, then I ask the really nice ladies who work there if they'd write my slip up, as I sit and chat with them for a while. As you can proably tell, the mail system is a little more lax here than back in the US... So, after taking my slip down to the border customs guards (with Nigeria) to get is stamped, me and my three packages climbed aboard a motorcycle and headed back (dont worry, with a helmet, totally PC legal)
Either way, it was like christmas this afternoon and I think I may have had a few jelious stares from my fellow PCVs... Thanks tons for the packages!!! Now, the tricky part will be getting it all back to my village- it may have to go in incraments...
Anyway, thats about all the excitingness I have to report. In about a week and a half I have a team meeting back here, so hopefully I'll have some exciting stuff to report on by then.
Most of all Im just really excited to start working! I have a lot of project ideas, and I am a little nervous to put some of them into practice, but excited none the less. Maybe by a week or so Ill have a little of that to report on as well! Its starting to finally feel like Im a "real" Peace Corps Volunteer!!!

PICS PICS PICS!

Just a few quick pictures!!!
Ok, so left to right, top to bottom: This is one of my villagers camel, in this picture he was hanging out at the well just getting a bit to drink...

Three of the boys on my village, kids are always so happy here it seems!

This is a group of Fulanis near my village (when I went to a baby naming ceremony) I sat and chatted with the a bit, here they are resting in the shade making rope..

This is a little girl on her way back from the well- it amazes me that they are able to balance such large amounts of stuff on their head!! That is one of my goals while here.

This little girl is my good friend Mariamma- I love this picture because it completely captures her personality!!!

This is one of my Hakimi's (Village Chief) daughters-she's mixing together the millet and milk for the afternoon meal of Hura drink.

Niamey, Pictures, and Randomness...

PICTURES!!!! (FINALLY!)

Above Left: one of the girls in my village with a gord full of goats milk which she will spend a while shaking to then add to Hura, a millet-milk drink used for the breakfast and lunch meals. Top Right: Heidi, Lindsey, Myself and Colin, all dressed up for a night out after Kokowa! We were so excited that we didnt look 'bush' for once, that we took a picture... Below left, one of the more exciting matches we watched with a painful stratagy to get the other guy down... Below right, my fulani friend was showing me how he 'herds' the animals- or more accurately, how they'll just follow him. All the people in my village intrust their animals to the Fulanis durring the daytime to take them out to the bush to graze, and they return in the evening- you can see my Fulani friend in the lower right corner- he's a pretty cool guy, he's making me a sweeeeet fulani necklace while Im in Niamey.

The first week we were here in country I remember asking one of our language teachers what Niamey (capitol of Niger) was like... she replied, "It's just like America!" I rember thinking...um, no not really... Then, after 4 months in country and in the bush, I have returned to Niamey, and I swear its JUST LIKE AMERICA!!! It's crazy how living with nothing, in the middle of nowhere, and just making-do with what you have can change your outlook (or lower your standards of living...) but Niamey, which I was first thinking, 'oh no... I'm in a third-world country and I can't even buy deoderant' is now, 'OMG, they have EVERYTHING here, even peanut M and Ms!!!' (still no deoderant- don't worry, I have some from home).

So, yes, we (my whole stage) are back in Niamey for three weeks of training, called IST (In Service Training), before heading back out to the bush. It's really been interesting to see everyone after three months out (which felt more like 2 weeks) as well as to see how some people have changed so much in such a short period of time, myself included. I feel like we're all so much more self-sufficient and confident to just do our own thing. Also, I guess because we've all changed a bit, I may not be as close to some people as I was before. It was an interesting realization when I thought to myself, 'I need a break from all these Americans...'.

Anyway, its been an ok week of training, with two more down the road- it's been hard to sit and focus is classes after total freedom of bush-life- I think my attention span shrunk!

Either way, I suppose its been a nice holiday of good food, movies, resturants, going out, and speaking english- so I can't complain too loud!

However, on thing I've found frustrating is, once again, language. Just as I was beginning to feel confident and capable of conversing in Hausa, we head back to Niamey- Zarma land! So once again I can't fully comunicate with people (a lot of merchants speak a little Hausa, but not enough to have a decent conversation) and I'm worried the little Hausa I have is slipping away!

Anyway, So I have a plan... it's a selfish one, but here it is. I am hoping to buy a horse (or a camel). No, it will probably not help my village in any way, and strictly be for my benifit... Im hoping to save enough of my Peace Corps pay to cover most of the funds, but, I think I still need to do a little research on how much feed and care will cost in case I don't have enough. I'm pretty sure, if nothing else, a horse would be a great moral booster :) so thats my plan as of now...

KOKOWA!! (Wrestling- Niger style)

These past few days I have felt more like a tourist and less like a resident of Niger! One of the big traditional sports in Niger is wrestling, or ‘Kokowa’, and this year those of us lucky in Tahoua region were lucky enough to have the championship tournament for the past five days in Tahoua. So, these past couple days a few of us headed into Tahoua to see part of the tournament as well as some of the other events that have been going on during the big event.
A bit on Kokowa- as far as I can tell it’s very similar to ‘typical’ wrestling, except as soon as one of the opponents hits the ground they lose and (I think) are out of the tournament. (I’d have to do a little research- you can only grasp so much sitting and watching) While I’ve never really been a huge wrestling fan, I was totally entertained and fully enjoyed myself for the 3 ish hours we were there. While it started at four, for some reason, we didn’t think it would be necessary to actually show up on time (NOTHING in Niger is on time), but we were mistaken, there were TONS of people there, the place was packed, and there were massive lines to the ticket area… No fear, we were fortunate enough to be attending with one of the volunteer’s Nigerien friends, who smooth-talked us right up to the front of the line of the ticket window. With no seats available and standing room only, we thought we were in for a squashed, limited-view, nose-bleed section, but, once again, things worked out pretty well- Colin asked one of the guards if he could sit on the ground (about 10 feet from the ring) under the press window area, and we all followed him over and plopped down, fully expecting to be shooed away, which instead we were interviewed by BBC! I hope the locals weren’t thinking, “Darn foreigners!” but I think we may have had some of the best seats in the house; I ended up with some great photos and video, which will (hopefully) one day be one here! The other part about sitting so close is several people that evening and the following day told us they saw us on TV! (I feel so famous) It was pretty great.
About the wrestling itself, it was actually pretty intense, especially since it was the finals. Each state or region in Niger has there own regional tournament (there are 8 of them) and, I think, the top ten in each state attend the BIG one. The winner last year was from Tahoua region, and we did get to see him wrestle… he won… I’m guessing a lot of potential for a two-year-in-a-row victory… You would think that the rounds would go pretty quickly, and some of them did, but some of them dragged on for quite a while, almost 15 minutes.
So after our wrestling viewing, we went to a concert that night which, unfortunately, I thought I wouldn’t need to bother bringing my camera… I was very angry with myself as we sat and watched several groups perform traditional songs/dances… as well as some rap and hip-hop dancing! I think that’s one of the things that strikes me as so fascinating in Niger- people wear everything from very traditional attire- Tuareg, Fulans, Wudabi, Hausa, Arabs, all have distinct traditional wear; yet some of the younger generations look like they just stepped out of a 50 cent video! Especially in Tahoua, and during such a big event, it was really cool to see the traditional vs. modern Niger, all integrated together for a traditional wrestling event.
The other day in the bush, in my village, I was thinking how lucky I was to live in such a traditional place. There really aren’t that many places left in the world that still live in such a simplistic traditional way! I wonder, in 100 years from now there will even be a place like this still? I mean, sure, you can go camping, or head up to the mountains, but even that is turning into renting a fully furnished cabin, or driving a motor-home the size of a small house to some park with running water and electricity hook-ups! I know that’s exaggerating, but I couldn’t help but feel how fortunate I am to be living in what feels like a part of history- which up until I moved here seemed like something so primitive and challanging! It still amazes me that this is how these people live and how I live, and, really, out here in the bush, things haven’t changed a whole lot for probably thousands of years. (Minus, of course, motorcycles, radios, and the ‘bling-bling gangsta’ wear the younger generations are donning. )
I really am having the time of my life here, but just so you know it hasn’t all be roses, here’s one of my more frustrating stories of my week…
So a couple days ago, one of my women friends, who happens to be the women’s-group leader (I have yet to see her hold a meeting…) shows up at my house at 9:30ish in the morning and says, I’m going to a wedding, get ready and we’ll go. Not that I mind, but this wedding was in a nearby village about 6 K away… Again, not that big of a deal, but this women tends to do this often… she often refers to me as “her Butura (white person)” and almost shows me off like some kind of show-dog (she’s a very sweet old lady, I just get a bit frustrated every now and again on the whole ‘her volunteer’ thing) then, as we showed up to this wedding, some lady announced, “Friend! You brought your Butura!” (I just smiled as I grinded my teeth). Also along the same lines of frustrating times in my village, the other day, this same woman came up to me slightly angry and tells me, “you have no truth!” and then continues in rapid Housa I couldn’t understand then walks away! I was a little affronted, but to make it worse, the women I was sitting with at the time, started in on the same thing and repeated what she was saying- I know it was partially in fun, but I was so frustrated that they were telling me I had no truth! When I finally got them to slow down and explain in a way I would understand, I discovered I apparently have no truth because I don’t visit that woman every morning before anyone else… I was not exactly calm nor happy. So then I was like, “I NEVER said I would! I have truth! I never said I would visit her EVERY morning!!” So then they were like, “no, you have no truth. The last volunteer, Raheila, SHE visited her every morning- YOU don’t.” That’s when I almost lost it and was like “I AM NOT RAHELA!” and then said “I have to go now.” And got up and left. Needless to say that is one of the most frustrating, aggravating conversations I’ve had here.
Anyway, sorry for the exceptionally long blog post, but, as this is Niger, I am sitting at the internet place, in where the internet has not been working for the past hour… so to pass the time I am pre-writing my blog… and as there is STILL no internet, it just keeps going, and going, and going, and going….