Saturday, November 21, 2009

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!