On to Peace Corps, Ethiopia!

Hi all!! For those of you that havent heard, I have reapplied for the Peace Corps and am heading off the Ethiopia on the 4th of October, 2011.
Here is my new blog address: http://backtothebush-ethiopia.blogspot.com
Thanks for following me through my time in Niger!

Evacuation, COS, and Lessons of Peace Corps Niger

And two months later she finally writes again... I'll start where I left off, and probably break this into two posts (there's a lot to say)

Funny how you can have the next year of your life planned only to have it erased with one phone call. I think it was the 15th of January, at the ostrich site- it had been an increadibly productive morning and one of the first few days I really felt confident and successful at my new job; around noon I get a call from our safety and security director. 'Due to the latest kidnapping in Niamey, Peace Corps has decided that the volunteers safety is at risk and that we will be evacuating from the country as soon as possible.' Ok, so the statement he actually read to me lasted probably 10 minutes, but as I got off the phone, Im not sure I could have told you 10 words of it, only a numbness and the thought 'I'm leaving'.

That was the beginning. Note that this is evacuation number two for me, number one being a little over a year ago from the Tahoua region- and I would like to say that I took it a lot better the second time around (less tears). The message did however include 'drop what you are doing and go home and pack immediately', yet I sat teary-eyed with the ostriches for about 2 hours, then pulled it together, and sat for another hour with Abdou, Abdoulai, and their families (the site workers) and broke the news to them.

The next few days are a blur of packing, traveling in to Zinder with one of my pcv neighbors by riding in the sarki's car to the village on the main road, taking one of the worst bush taxi's I've ever had in my 28 months in country (just how many times did they take that car apart during the 6 hours of travel time?!) Though, it was hillarious that we had a 'personal guard' for the trip. Followed by a bus to Maradi, a bus to Niamey, 3 grueling hours that same evening at the Peace Corps bureau clearing all our accounts and what not, and finally, on a plane late that night to Casablanca, Morocco.

Evacuation Conference, Rabat, Morocco.

I'm not sure how many of us entered that conference thinking we were going to directly transfer to another country, but far more than actually did. We spent roughly a week looking over our options- to tranfer to another country (should there be an opening), re-enrolling, or COS. I was pretty determined at first to continue through a direct transfer, and was offered a position in Lesotho working at an Orphanage, but after some serious thought, I turned it down realizing it really wasn't what I wanted to do- I was just scared to move on without a plan. Much of the conference was how to deal with life after Peace Corps, i.e., how to write your resume, how to interview for jobs, and how to answer those dreaded 'return home' questions. After this emotionally draining week, I officially COSed (Completion Of Service) on January 21st, 2011. I feel good about my decision, and looking back on my service, I have no complaints.

So, what have I been doing between January 21st and now? I'll save that for the next post.

As the Last 'Peace Corps Niger' post, it's hard to summ up the past 2 and a half years of my life. How do you explain an experience that has completely changed me? So instead, here are a few things life in Niger taught me.

1) PATIENCE. Every day for two years, 'sai hunkuri' ('until patience'). Nearly every aspect about life in Niger demands patience- the language, the heat, the chariot spider... and waiting 4 hours for a bus that you, a large crowd, and a variety of livestock, wait for and then takes another 4 hours to get 40 K, is ok.

2) People are so friendly, and mean well. (even the ones that ask you to marry them in that pompus attitude) Everyone everywhere was happy to help me get where I was going, to invite me to dinner, to have me take their baby to America...

3) Eat what youre given. Stewed leaves, raw locusts, strange nuts found on that hill, sead pods, or that unidentifiable 'bush meat' that could be anything from a hedgehog to the neighbor's cat- Sometimes thats all they have, and they still were eager to share it with me.

4) Maggi makes anything taste good. (Even raw locust.)

5) How to drive a donkey cart: use a stick. Some of my favorite times in Niger were just riding the ostrich site's donkey with the cart attached, hauling millet stock from the field to the pens...

6) Everything is relative: hot vrs. cold, clean vrs. dirty... oh, and in the bush, hair-washing is a bi weekly activity.

7) To sleep almost anywhere. 130 degrees and packed in a bush taxi? No problem. A nap on the tile floor during hot season? Definately.

8) The art and joy of eating with hands. Trust me, it takes a little practice to be able to get it from the tray to your mouth without losing half of it on the way, but, food tastes better if you eat it with your hands.

9) To hand-wash clothes. I can get them cleaner than that washer machine.

10) Not to forget all the many lessons of the Zoo! How to raise a baby hippo, how to catch an ostrich, how to NOT catch a baboon, how to yell at kids in 4 languages, traditional medicines and what they're used for, and how to safely feed lions at the Niger Musee zoo (trust me... it's not the same as anywhere else.)

11) Lastly, that very few people in the world get the chance to have the experience that I did; my memories are hard to explain and my feelings of Niger and the Nigerien people are hard to convey. Peace Corps was the best decision I ever made for myself, and just as Peace Corps describes it, "the hardest job you'll ever love."

Working to set up millet stock screens on the ostrich breeding pens

Colors of Morocco!

Haily and I, the final two of our AG/NRM stage, at our Evacuation dinner in Morocco.

Life with the Ostriches

My new village has roughly 4,000 people, is settled in a small ‘mountain’ range, and about 500 k to the nearest anything. Maybe further… Other than that, it’s small enough to feel at home, but large enough to not feel obligated to know everyone. There’s electricity for 8 hours of the day, 4:00 pm to 12:00 am and the nearest water pump is about 10 feet out my front door. I have a smallish house used as a kitchen, a large two room house used as my main house, which they just finished- when I got there it didn’t have a floor, and only a feeble little door that didn’t shut properly, but when I moved in we brought with us three bags of cement and screen windows and doors. Two weeks later and two additional bags of cement later (which I bought from a market 50 k away and had sent out to the village on a car) the house is finished… Well, they put a new door on it- that doesn’t shut, but other than that it’s great. And then in one corner of the concession is a little house with the latrine. It’s almost too much space for one person, but I have to admit it’s nice. Unlike my first village (in Tahoua region) I don’t have kids poking over my walls every 10 minutes, or women coming in to tour my house (and ask for all my possessions) uninvited, or those goats that somehow got in my concession in the middle of the night and have eaten half my shade hangar.

The village itself has primary and secondary schools (elementary and middle schools), a good sized health clinic, and several other important looking buildings that I haven’t figured out what they are yet (I did find out one of them is a library). Oh, and the Sarki of the area lives here (sarki is Hausa for ‘king’) and has a small mud-brick ‘palace’ (if you will). Niger is very interesting in that it still has a large influence of traditional leaders. (Differing from the government leaders) Most villages have a ‘maigari’ or village chief, most areas have a ‘sarki’ or ‘king’ reigning over several villages in a larger area, and Zinder is even home to the Sultan, obviously the highest position.

Moving on… the Ostrich conservation site is about a 20 minute walk from the village and set at the base of the mountains. There are two guards/caretakers for the site (Abdou and Abdoulai) and their families, and then me. Keep in mind this is also backed by several organizations, namely the Nigerien-based organization, CRNEK, and the Sahara Conservation Fund, and a whole team of people in the states (such as the St. Louis Zoo, Disney Animal Kingdom, etc.). In a nutshell, I work with the team to address problems/needs of the site/birds and then with the site keepers to implement the potential projects and changes. The site consists of two large sections, the Eastern and Western pens, each pen broken down into two holding pens, and ten breeding pens. Right now we have only 8 birds; 4 males, 3 females, and a female 6 month old chick, so everything is focused in the eastern pen. Hopefully a few years down the line we’ll have both pens filled.

We’re just getting in to breeding season, so the moment I got there I’ve been working to get things set up. First, switching their diet from a maintenance diet (they were receiving wheat bran and corn with a supplement of limestone) to a breeding diet (Beans and sorghum with a limestone supplement- we’re working to find an additional bone meal type supplement). So I spent one day with the caretakers teaching them the proper dietary amounts, weighing and measuring the different feeds, etc.

Another project we’ve been working on (that’s so far proving to be far more effort than I thought it would be) is to put up screens between the breeding pens and then separate the birds into pairs into the pens (currently we have a group of 5 in one of the large holding pens). With the three screens, one was made with millet stock, the next I tried woven mats sewn to the fence, and the last one we resorted back to millet stock. The biggest problem has been getting the birds in to the new pens. I’m still working on that one. Because the gates are so narrow, they either completely pass by them without seeing them, or are too scared to attempt to go in. So far I’ve tried to lure them in with food (melons) by leaving a trail (I feel like waiylee coyote trying to catch the road runner..), since that isn’t working, I think my next plan is to move their entire grain/water dish near, and then in the new enclosure. If THAT doesn’t work, then it may have to resort to setting up a temporary chute and herding them in. I want to keep this as stress free for them as possible, but we’ll see.

Anyway, that’s the general goings on of my job. I already miss the Musee like crazy- especially the primates- and I hope they’re doing ok without someone there to give them some attention. Oh, and my baby hippo- I really hope he’s weaned to grass soon, then I’ll stop worrying about him too. And of course all my friends and the keepers I got to work with.

With a little of my spare time in my new post, I’ve gone walking up and down and around the mountains and saw two Dorcas gazelles, several ground squirrels, and what I think was a hooded vulture. I’m still waiting to see the potas monkeys, I’ve been told I have a few weeks before they’ll be down on the site all the time (I see their prints in the sand a lot). Also there’s this one mountain that stands alone; I’ll try and add a picture of it. There are all kinds of stories surrounding it that long, long time ago it was a stronghold during all the wars and that there are massive caves in the mountain which they hid their armies and all their weapons. The story is that the caves are still there with all the weapons from the wars, but that the entrance is caved in, or that nobody can find the entrance. I spent an entire afternoon climbing it and searching for caves… which, there are several (or maybe just small holes, I don’t know), so I may have to come back with some rope and a flashlight. I’m getting a new Peace Corps volunteer neighbor only 10 k from my site… I really hope he’s into hiking… or spelunking…

Anyway, the first two weeks at my post have been really great- I love the village, I love the landscape, I love my new job, I think it’s going to be a great 3rd year in Peace Corps!

Before I left, the Musee had a little ceramony and presented me with a certificate (they even had a tv crew there.. it was a little over kill and a little intimidating) This picture is me and all the keepers I worked with throughout the year

Posing for one last picture with baby bouban: he wouldnt hold still- he gets really distracted by feet...

First few days in my new village: this is me and the two guards/caretakers on our way to the ostrich site

This is Jullien, 10 year old male ostrich. They love these wild melons (they're not the delicious melons youre thinking of) and if I walk in to the pen with one him and Aisha (the female in his pen) they get a little over excited....

This is thelone mountain I mentioned earlier. Dont let the photo fool you- its HUGE, and really fun to climb (I climbed up around the back side, it slopes a little better there)

Last few days in Niamey

One week left of Niamey life, then no more delicous resturants, internet at my fingertips, fresh fruits and veggitables, cheese, cell phone reception, or English conversations... The closer I get to December 10th, the more I keep splurging on things 'one last time'. Kinda like before I left the U.S. for Niger, strange how the list of 'things to splurge on' has changed though. To be honest, I can no longer remember what that 'one thing' I had to have before I left was. I remember really, REALLY missing candy and junk food for about the first 4 months of service, then I just stopped thinking about it. I've discovered most of my favorite foods I can actually make myself (like scones....thats right.) and fresh foods tast soo much better.

oops, let me back up a little bit. I think in my last post I mentioned that I was hoping that I would make it back mid December for my month home leave. This was, however, before I had discussed with the organization I would be working with. After discussion, we realized it would be breeding season for the ostriches, and it would be really important to have someone at the site. Which is just fine, but also means no christmas at home this year.. We'll shoot for 2012 holiday season :). Currently I'm concidering mid-March, mid-April home leave, trying to hit Easter (also attempt to avoid the 120 degree hot season), but we'll see. So, that said, I move straight up to the site after my original COS date.

I think the hardest thing by far will be seeing the rest of my stage excitedly pack up and leave for home, exciting vacation destinations, new jobs, and grad school. I remember when the first group of my stage left a year ago (back when we were evacuated from the Tahoua region), it makes one increadably homesick to watch everyone move on and know that you have a year left. Don't get the wrong idea, I'm very excited about this new job and about the village, location, and everything, it'll just take some transitioning.

My shade hangar project (which is taking a rediculous amount of time considering their small size and light work involved) is finally underway!!! If all goes well, it should (InchaAllah) be done by the end of the week. Other than that, its just a matter of training and transitioning one of the keepers to continue the food donation program and then I'm officially finished. This is another part of the new post that will be hard; this has been such a fun job and amazing opportunity to work here at the zoo. The keepers and everyone I worked with were so friendly and helpful- it'll be hard to say good bye.

This is all I have for now- once I move up to my new post I'll share more of my exciting job at the Ostrich conservation site :). Merry Christmas everyone, just in case I dont get a chance to write again before then. Wish I could be home to share the holidays!!

Our COS trip included a trip to see the giraffes!

Just pausing for a picture..

2 years in Country! The remaining 2008-2010 AG/NRM stage

The beginning of the end... or the end of the beginning?

The weeks keep flying by so fast I can hardly keep up with them. Older volunteers always said that your last few months go by way too fast, now I'm beginning to see what they mean.
Last two months until the official Completion of Service date (December 10th)!! Two months of a new place to live, finishing things up, and planning for the future. With new changes taking place; PCVs moving in to Niamey, a few people getting ready to leave; the house I was living in is getting two more PCVs- so peace corps is letting me live in a nearby apartment for my remaining two months. Yesterday I officially moved in- big change #1.
Big change #2: I officially got the position! Working with Sahara Wildlife Conservation , I'll spend one more year here in Niger, in the Zinder region, working in Ostrich rehabilitation and conservation as a project assistant! I'm so excited! To move back to the bush and use more Hausa language, to continue to work with wildlife here in Niger (though I will miss my baby hippo here at the zoo!!) and see and work with the people of Niger through an NGO perspective. Especially because I hope to work toward a Biology/Zoology/Wildlife Conservation career, this will be a great experience and I am really excited!
I'm just beginning the extension-of-service process for the job, once I finish (in a week or so), I'll have all my information; when I start the new job, the dates of my home-leave, et cetera. My plan and hope is that I can take my home-leave somewhere around mid-december (it's a month long) and then start the new job in mid january, but we'll see how it goes.
I have to appologize- I feel like the past several posts have been nothing but updates, and a little short on the stories and experiences. Here's one to help make up for it:
Ramadan was last month, and here in the city it was a whole different experience than back in the bush. Either way, I love the Ramadan fete- everyone is dressed in their best for three days, plus good food and sharing, and the best part is everyone is so welcoming even for someone who is not Muslim, nor participated in the month long fast, I felt included in the festivities.
This year, before the fete I was told that the Zoo hosts a festival for the three days of fete. This included a live concert and dancing for most of the day, games and carnival-style stands where one could win prizes, food of every flavor, shape and size, and, of course, the animals were always there for viewing. Not knowing what to expect, I arrived early on the first day of fete- all the workers looking a little frazzled like they were preparing themselves for a long day. By 11, the gates to the grounds were packed by about 50 metres with a loud, pushing mob of people excitingly awaiting to enter the Musee. The resident vet spotted me and beckons me over- he glanced down a long list and says, 'Balkissa, you're stationed at the hyena/jackal area.' Oh. no problem.. I wasnt exactly sure what was going on.. give tours? answer questions? No, crowd control. 'Keep kids from climbing the fence and sticking their hands in the cages.' Ok. So I head down the hill, to my new location, where another keeper (assigned to the nearby chimpanzee area) spots me and waves me over. 'Balkissa! here's your stick' and hands me a long broom-handle like stick.
If you've even been to a nigerien event- sporting events, concerts, whatever, there's usually a couple guys with sticks working as crowd control.. trust me, the sticks arent just props.. I was crowd control for the hyenas and jackals. Surely the crowds wouldnt be that bad? Wrong. everywhere you look, a sea of people- crowding to see this and that, pushing to get up as close as they can to the cages. HOW many times can you ask politely for someone to GET OFF a cage before they even hear you??? No idea, they never heard me when I asked politely, and I had to result to loud cranky yelling. While I did get pretty good at yelling at people (I can say 'get down', 'stop that' and move away' in 4 different languages...), I admit I probably wasn't very good with the stick- I didnt use it very much, mostly on rude teenage boys who just laughed when I yelled at them for kicking the jackal cage- and even then they laughed still, because I hit them so lightly... in which case I resulted to shameing them, telling them they had no respect, Allah knows all, etc. That usually worked.
It was a long three days, thats for sure. I did enjoy seeing everyone in their new ramadan outfits, and it really wasnt too bad with all the delicious fried food being sold right behind me. Plus the musee staff came around each afternoon to give all the workers a meat sandwich and yogurt. So, maybe a tiring celebration, but still fun!

Extending BACK to the BUSH??

The gorgious scenery of Zinder- these were in Liz's and Ari's villages (respectivly)

Not a whole lot of time, so just a quick update and some pictures! Well, ok, that wasn't completely honest... the truth is, I've been working in the rain all morning, and now I'm in the Peace Corps Bureau, and the remote is broken for the air conditioner...in the on position... so I'm freezing.

Zoo update- Work is good and starting to slow down. I'm still waiting on funding to come through for shade hangars for a couple of the cages, plus waiting for the baboon cage to get done, so things have slowed down- which is a nice change of pace. To keep myself busy I've been helping out with the different areas, cleaning, feeding, etc. The baby hippo, Bouban, is getting huge, but still healthy and cute as ever. Baby green monkey is also doing well (still no name). Today, one of our Docas Gazelles, (Clyde) got his hind left leg caught in the fence, panicked, and fractured his leg getting himself out. The vet set him in a cast and everything and now he seems to be doing alright.

So... I've considering it for quite a while, and I'm pretty sure I want to extend for another year in peace corps here in Niger. There is an NGO, the Sahara Conservation Fund, that works with Ostrich and Antelope conservation all around Niger, and they have a position for a PCV working out in the eastern part of the country with the Ostrich conservation. Which woulde be great- BACK to the bush, but still get to work with animals! So, I've applied, and I think I have a couple weeks before I find out if I got the job. Not to jump ahead of myself, but should I get the job, peace corps gives all third-year extendees a month home leave... home for christmas??? maybe :)

This is the front of the Sultan's Palace in Zinder!

Last but not least, our little baby green monkey!!!

A trip to Zinder...

I'm getting worse and worse at this blog! I'm so sorry I havent updated, once again, in over a month. This time I'm serious, I'll do a lot better.
In my defence, however, this last month has been a whirl-wind of activity and I feel like I've been running nonstop since the beginning of July... I keep waiting for it to slow down, but with only 4 months left of my 'official' service, I think it's only going to gain speed like a rock rolling down the hill.
ANYWAY, I appologize in advance for the long post, I have a whole month to report on after all.
Work:
The zoo is GREAT as always- Baby hippo, healthy and happy, he's up to 15 litres of milk each morning, I'm concvinced that he's still hungary after, I'm just having a hard time convincing the vet too (it doesnt help that its kinda a tiring ordeal to feed him- he's getting big.. and frisky). Baby monkey, still healthy and happy, and, scarily enough, big enough to get curious and wander away from his mother, as well as small enough to fit through the bars... red flag?
I tend to get a little frustrated as 'Niger time' is not the same as 'Nichole time'; things like, the baboon cage that's ALMOST done, which has been ALMOST done for about 8 months now, which means I can't outfit it until the workers finally get around to it.. Or, everytime it rains , if it's still raining the next day, nobody seems to show up until late morning, because it's raining. I understand its raining, but animals still eat when it rains.. honest.
Other than that, I've been spending my time with my daily feeding of the monkeys, warthogs, chimps, busy cleaning out cages when people have the day off, and each time it rains it creates a massive mud bog in the crocodile pits, so thats a full afternoon of fun :)
Life besides work:
About a week ago I finally left the city for a bit and headed out east to Zinder! I have some great pictures on my camera, so next time I'll have to remember it and upload them. It was a fairly short trip, 8 days, 2 of those strictly traveling- the bus ride is a little over 14 hours one way. (after living in this country I will never EVER complain about an 8 hour fight, EVER again... that sounds kinda nice right now). So, after one day on the road, I spent two full days in Zinder Ville, got to visit Zinder PCV's houses, the Sultan's palace, and the Artisianal village (baught some really cute earings made out of coconut shells!!!). Also met with the Enviornment agent there- he wants to start a zoo and asked if I could meet with him and discuss his plans, construction layout, etc. He wanted me to come back to meet with the builders from Nigeria, but I dont know if I'm going to have time for that before December. So, after Zinder, I headed out to the bush and spent 2 nights at Ariana's village, and then 2 nights at Liz's village- BOTH villages were great and a huge difference from back home in Tahoua region, and even back home in Tilleberi region. between hiking up mountains and wandering though baobab forests, as well as hanging out with their villagers, it was a great trip, and so nice to get back to the bush for a few days.
Sadly, the day I arrived in Zinder,I got a call from home with news that my Grandma had passed away. I tried for a minute to put it together how I could get home for the funeral, but with a day-long bus trip just back to Niamey, plus two days of flying, including a $2,000 plane ticket, I couldn't see how to make it work. I'm so sorry I couldn't be home, I will miss her very much.
In a matter of days, the stage right before us will head home, having completed their service. I still think of myself and them as having just arrived not too long ago- two years really isn't as long as I thought it was! Myself and a couple others from my stage are planning the leaving stage's completion-of-service dinner and party, so it should be fun, but sad to see them all go.
As for leaving myself, someday it'll happen, but I don't think I'll be leaving with the rest of my stage- I still havent decided more than simply extending my service for a year. I have a few ideas and opportunities, but nothing official. (I dont want to announce anything I'd have to take back a month later!).. Although, I probably should get going on this decision thing soon.. running out of time!

wow time flies!

5 months and counting... no, not really. COS date is officially December something, but I'm still trying to fingure out what I'm going to do after (extending?). It's amazing to think I've been here this long and to look back at all the experiences. Especially to look back at all the things that shocked me before that now seem day-to-day, like watching heards of cattle cross the busy intersection, or a couple goats on the top of the car, or buying fruit, veggies, or anything really, right out the car window. Actually, America seems so inconvinient that you can't buy phone credit out the car window, can't head to the produce market and select all the best produce and name your own price. In fact, it now seems like a really silly idea to put everything you'd ever want to buy in one big store, with fixed prices. ugh- where's the fun in that?

Anyway. The job is great still- I don't think I could ever get sick of working with those animals; there's always something going on and something to help out with. The baby hippo is still healthy and consuming around 15 litres of milk a day and getting big enough that it's getting tricky to restrain him sometimes. I always think its so cute when he prances around and nudges your leg, but will it still be cute when he's put on another 500 pounds? I think yes. Which reminds me, a few weeks ago a film crew came in and filmed us feed the hippo, which resulted in random strangers asking me if I was 'that hippo-girl they saw on tv'.. interesting.

It's been a really great experience to help with this and probably one of the best aspects of my job right now- it makes me realize how lucky I am to be this hands-on with such amazing animals- I really hope I get to do things like this the rest of my life. Though I was frustrated at first that there was zero information on the internet about bottle-feeding baby hippos, I did discover a hippo named jessica down in South Africa who was raised from a calf. She now has her own fan club.

In other zoo news, our female Green monkey had a baby! I still havent gotten any pictures of him/her yet, but I'll try to take a few.

Other than work, life in Niger has been overall busy but rewarding. It's been a lot of fun having the World Cup going on- its such a different atmosphere than in the U.S. where most people don't even know it's happening. Football is a really big deal here and its hard not to get really into the WC. With the Buvette at the zoo having a tv, and that I don't have a set work schedule I've kept up pretty well. Even though Niger doesn't have a team in, we had several neighboring teams- Ghana, Cameroon, Algeria, Nigeria to cheer for. Which made the US/Ghana game reaaally interesting.. we went to this pub that shows the game on a projector- the place was packed wall to wall, all the Nigeriens were for Ghana obviously, and then us few people in the back of the room rooting for the opposite team. People got pretty excited. If truth be told though, was happy to see Ghana continue on (the Ghana/Uraguay game was even more exciting but we wont get into that).

Ok, thats all for now- I'm going to try to keep it short, but my goal is to write three times this month to make up for my lack of writing last month!

This is Kalia, our oldest hippo- she likes to hang out and weave back and forth by the fence while we feed baby bouban (or jibo as some people have started calling him). She loves attention and rests her chin on the fence to try and lure someone away from the baby and to her instead :)

Hippo Video

This is the baby hippo about 3 days after we got him- still had trouble with the stairs of his pool!

Hippo time!

Sorry for the long delay between posts- this time I have an excuse at least (well, not really). My computer is in the shop; after weeks of having it freeze up after 5 minutes of use, every time I turned it on, I decided it was time to take it in. Turns out it was packed with viruses.. you know its bad when the technician shames you for never running a virus update- I tried to explain that I would have, but that it's just so time consuming, but I just took the shame instead. I still dont have it back yet, he's putting a new antivirus on it- and updating it... and setting an automatic update... Anyway.

So life at the zoo is still jam-packed with action and I am usually pretty exhausted at the end of my work day (a good exhausted). I'm curently waiting for funding to come in for a shade hanger for the mule, working to repaint some of the animal information signs, trying to find some sort of rope swings for the new baboon cage, and still keeping up with daily things of collecting and feeding out the food donation from the hotel, chimp enritchment, baby-hippo feeding, and cage cleaning (I try to work in whoevers area that has the day off). If I have any extra time in my day, I'll take the mule out to graze in the big grassy area by the back gate.

While we had hoped that the baby hippo would have grasped the concept of drinking out of a bowl, or even a bottle for that mater, he still refuses. SO, every morning we prepare about 6 litres of milk; myself, the Vet, and at least 4 keepers jump in, the keepers get a net over him and the vet tubes him while I pass him syringe after syringe of milk- it wasnt so hard when he was a little baby, but now he's probably close to a 300 pound baby.. try restraining that. Its all worth it though when he nuzzles his cute little face on your leg. Awwww! Who wouldnt want a baby hippo?? By the way, his name is Dien Bouban- 'Dien' meaning 'son of' and 'Bouban' being the village he came from.

Ok, moving on from the baby hippo. One story from my day. So, this morning I was hosing down the chimp/ monkey area, which neither of the chimps appreciate much. Well, today, unfortunately for me, Bebe had somehow gotten ahold of a massive branch and thought it was a great game to shake it at me and watch me retreat at top speed. After about 5 minutes of this I gave it up as a bad job deciding I'd rather not have to go to the PC med office for concussion caused by 'chimp with a stick'. (that would have been an even better story though...) Then I moved on to the monkey cage where chewy, a little vervet monkey, caught me off guard and pulled out a handful of my hair. Maybe it wasn't such a great day.

Hot season may just be over(knock on wood)- last night we had a huge rain storm with impressive thunder and lightning that continued into a drizzly day today. I think the temperature said 29 C when I got up (about 85 F?) ahhh. bliss. After 5 summers in the northwoods of wisconsin I thought I'd seen my share of impressive storms, but the storms here are amazing! Aside from the high winds, heavy downpour, and briliant thunder and lightning, storms are usually preceded by huge sand storms- it's harder to tell here in the city, but back in the bush it literally looked like a wall of sand rushing in. I just hope the rains start comming to the rest of Niger. With the draught and famine situation all throughout Niger, I talk to my village often and it sounds like my village is doing better than other areas- they all asure me that the new grain bank is helping immensely- so thank you everybody again for donating! Though I do love my new job here, I sometimes wish I could be back at my village helping with the grain bank and seeing its progression. Oh well, c'est la vie!

One more thing- in about 2 weeks I'll have officially been here for 20 months- meaning I'll have technically 6 months left of my service! I can't believe how fast time flies!

Baby Hippo and a Lion Autopsy; just life at the zoo :)

Whew what a week.

First off, if I may, I'd just like to say it is rediculously hot here. I think since the last time I wrote it's been at least 115 degrees each day (some days up past 120 F) and rarely falling below 95, the one exception was after a nice 'mango rain' we had (the good things about Niamey) it cooled the place down considerably- we're talking 105 during the day and even down to 85 at night for a couple blissful days. For the most part, I think it doesnt get any hotter here than in the bush of my last village, but it did cool down at night there to a comfortable sleeping temperature, whereas here, it never really cools down enough to stop sweating. Dont worry. I have it all worked out- I sleep in the back yard on a cot, and I've strung an extension cord out the window so that I can have my big stand fan (best thing Ive ever baught for mysef) blowing on me all night.. Ok, moving on.

So apart from the heat, it's been a good, though busy past couple weeks. Last week the Musee hosted an Artisianal Festival- we had artisans come from Burkina Faso and around, as well as bands and dance groups from both Niger and Burkina perfrorming during the day and at a big concert at night. I got some great video of the dance group that hopefully I can attach, but we'll see. The only obligation I had toward the festival, because it was artisian related and not zoo related, was giving tours saturday of the zoo, which was fun.

Few days after that, we got more big news: Up the river at a little fishing village the villagers had killed a large hippo that was ruining their fishing and causing problems- made me a little angry, but, the point is, they discovered the hippo had a baby who was still nursing, so the musee agreed to take him in. We just got him a few days ago and we're still working on getting him to drink milk from a bowl. He's about the size of a really large dog, which makes me just want to climb in with him and give him a big hug (dont worry, I'm kidding... sort of.. but seriously.). To make room for the new hippo, we moved our male hippo in with one of our females- personally I think 4 hippos is plenty... but who knows what'll happen.

A bit after the news of the new hippo was more drama. Our oldest lioness, Fati, got beat on by the male in the pride during feeding time. She was isolated and watched closely, but with the beating she took combined with her age, she didnt get up for a day and a half. That afternoon myself and the lion keeper were watching her when we finally both looked at each other and realized she was dead. After the initial sadness of the situation, I was excited that I would get to watch her autopsy. So the next morning behind the lion house, I got to observe as the vet took a sample of each of her organs for testing. Its times like these how disticly different Niger is and made me smile. Like, trying to get the eyeball out, two different people had their fingers shoved up the eye socket arguing about how to get it out, or, when the vet asked where the paws were- "they're inside"... "all four of them?" "no, just two.." "Two?? Where's the other two??" "Well, so-and-so took them because he wanted them..." and then after it was all over the Musee workers hovering and cutting themselves a bit of lion meat/fat/intestines/anything else.

Ok, last but not least, part of my big week- yesterday was May day and the big workers holiday! So, who knew, but here in Niamey they had a parade!! and I got to be in it! Basically every work organization/company got together in a matching pagnae outfit with their business logos and had banners and 'floats'. Yes, there were even 'floats'. The musee's float was a pickup truck with a hyena in a cage, and on top of that, a Jackal in a cage, and a crocodile in a cage. Then we all walked or rode in the truck. Besides our own float of course, I have to say I did enjoy the float that was a pickup truck with a operating table in the back, with someone laying on it, and a few people dressed up as doctors.. It was a lot of fun to be part of the parade and see all the other people representing their work.

On Safari: A few days in Parc W

It's been so long since I've posted- I'm really sorry!! I have quite a bit to write, so prepare for a long one..

Yesterday we got back from our mini vacation (about 3 days) from Parc W... thats right, on safari. :) The parc is spread though Burkina, Benin, and Niger and named for the 'W' bend in the Niger river running through it. Though it was hot season, it was still gorgeous and a huge change from the sahelien landscape of up in Tahoua region or really anywhere further north, but from what we heard, this was the time to go, because the animals tend to gather around the diminishing water holes during the hot days. Anyway- so it was just three of us volunteers- myself, Maeghan, and Nathen who went, along with Hadji Moussa, or good friend, regional PA/driver for peace corps. It was a lot of fun to say the least (not to mention my first safari!!); we rented a car, drove down and stayed a couple nights in a great campsite by the river. Our guide, Ishmael, was really nice and also spoke Hausa, so the two days were spent driving through the trails of the parc spotting warthogs, red monkeys, green monkeys, baboons, antalope, buffalo, gazzelle, and... ELEPHANTS! Oh, we also saw numerous colorful birds.. the guide was great- every antelope, monkey, and bird we saw he could tell at a glance what species it was, whether it was male or female, etc, not just in French, but also in Hausa and even sometimes in English.

Anyway, so a little Hausa wildlife language lesson: Warthog= Giado, Monkey= Biri, Elephant= Giwa, Lion (which we werent lucky enough to see)= Zaki, Antelope= Barewa, Hippo= Dorina, Hyena= Kura, Crocodile= Kada, and Birds= Tsuntsu. Study hard. I will test you all when I get home.

I think my favorite part of the trip was easily the Elephant spotting- they're so big and beutiful and we got to watch them from pretty close. When I got back to the Musee a couple of the workers asked why I didn't bring one home- I told them I tried, but it when the parc people saw it in the car the refused and I had to leave it. :)

The Musee has been great- Rose, the other volunteer, has officially, as of a week and a half, completed her service and now I'm all alone at the Musee. No, it's really been great- I've tried to put in at least 5-7 work hours each day, and I'm enjoying the task of setting my own goals and creating my own projects. Things I've been working on as of late: The new baboon cage is nearly finished, so I've been working to furnish their cement cages with tree limbs, and reliable waterdishes- it's been a huge problem in the old cage- what they did was make a cement hole in the ground for water, which over the years cracks, water empties in about 10 minutes, and then he's left without for hours. Problem is, can't open the door to put in a new waterdish, so the poor baboon has to live with it. Right now I have a hampster-style waterer hooked to the outside, but it too rusts quickly, leaks, and will soon break. So, to solve the problem in the next cage (which they again put in cement holes for the water) I have some nice stainless steel water bowls to install. Wow, that was really interesting.. a whole paragraph on baboon waterers. Sorry. Anyway, I've also been working each day on a project started be the last volunteer, where the local hotel donates all their fruit and veggie peels/ meat scraps, etc., so each day a take a couple hours to collect it and feed it out to all the monkeys, warthogs and porcipines. I'm still working with the mule, just to get him out of his small inclosure to graze and use his legs- maybe someday to do pony rides, but I'm not sure, his hind legs are in pretty bad shape and his joints have lost a lot of movement probably due to arthritis. Anyway, I am also hoping to put together a brochure for the musee to help with tourism, and maybe eventually a website, and lastly, working to update all the animals information signs- a lot of them have worn off and you cant read the information anymore.

Ok. Moving on. A few of us went to a Niger vrs. Nigeria football game a couple weeks back- exciting!!! This was the first Niger game I'd been to- neirly everyone I talked to said that Niger never wins, blah blah... BUT, the game was great, and a lot of fun, and... WE WON! 2:0! It was a good day. Rose and I got all dressed up in our Niger jersies and face paint, hair bling, and then danced in the cheering section- all the cheer-songs were in hausa! My favorite one was at the end we sang, 'Nigeria, sai wata rana! or, 'Nigeria until another day'. Also, some of the people I work with said they saw me on TV.. "Balkissa! I saw you on TV! You were doing this (jumping up and down with cheering-arms motion)!"... great.

Ok, one last thing, one of the Jackals at the Musee, Wylee just had pups!! There are two of them- really cute. I'll let you know their names in a week. (Nigerien tradition you know :))

Traditional Medicine Anyone?

Though I just posted less than a week ago, it's been a great couple of days and I couldn't help but share.

This weekend I got a huge suprise- I got a call from one of my villagers back from my old post saying he and another of my villagers had come to Niamey just to visit me! To give you an idea, this is at least two days of traveling and a bit expensive for 'bush-people'; I was really flattered and excited that they would come all this way to see me.

So we had a really nice visit, and I asked them if they'd like to come to the Musee and I could give them a tour. Neither of them had ever been to a zoo before or seen any of the animals in it so they were both really excited (and I was excited too). So, the tour is going great, I loved giving it in Hausa, and we actually attracted a bit of a croud- I think a lot of bush people come and just wander around because they can't speak french or cant read the information signs, so when people heard me explaining things in Hausa, we had about 10 people latch on to the tour.

Every animal we saw got a 'wah!! Wayyo Allah! or Allah Ya Sarki!!'... So just for the satisfaction of hearing my villagers 'oohs and aahs' I would jump behind the railing and pet the hyenas or feed the hippos.. it was great... then we got to the lions.

So. I need to first give a little information. Lions, here in West Africa, apparently have some 'medicinal' purposes (I guess I should say traditional medicinal purposes).. People, especially from the bush, feel that lion urine and lion crap make great little home remedies. I've asked several times what exactly lion urine cures, and as far as I've been told, just about everything. I think the translation I got was 'it makes your body strong'...

Anyway. So we get to the lions. My villagers suddenly get more excited than I've seen them throughout this whole tour. I get ready to wow them with some lion knowledge, when they turn to me excitedly, 'Balkissa, can you get us some poop??!!' (shot down.) I was like, oh... uh, maybe.. I mean, Im not sticking my hand in the cage to pull out lion poo-balls, but I find one of the keepers of the area, one of my friends, and ask him. Apparently he does this all the time, so he's like no problem, puts it in a baggie and I give it to my villagers. Oh no.. thats not all. Now we want the urine. My friend, the keeper, is kinda an interesting guy himself.. we joke and call him 'owner of the bush' or 'savage' because he's often seen behind the monkey cages cooking up a couple of hedgehogs (one day he had caught a cat and skinned and roasted it!). So he happily sits down with my villagers, they're drinking tea and talking about medicinal uses of cat crap, it's the heat of the day (around 110 degrees) and I'm sitting there listening to all this and wondering, why me? Anyway, through about 40 minutes of serious bargaining (my name being thrown in every now and again as "we're friends of Balkissa! Lower the price!"), they finally fork over some money and we walk away with a bag of poop, and a soda bottle of cat urine.

I'm not in a great mood at this point (sunburnt and dehydrated) but I continue the tour and as we near the end, one asks, 'uh, Balkissa, can we get some crocodile poop?'... They left the musee that day happily with their little bags of crap. (literally.)

Sorry this is a long post, but wait, theres more. Part Two: An Afternoon on the Niger River!

Ok, so this same day (it was a long day) The Hippo/Crocodile keeper had invited Rose and I to come down to his house by the river and he'd take us out on the river in his boat (called a Kalo-Kalo, a traditional wood Songhai boat, I can't remember what we'd call them in English). It was possibly one of my favorite afternoons in Niamey. We went out on the river, he paddled us upstream for a while (of course we were wearing life jackets, peace corps.) and gave us a riverside tour of the city- it was amazing how different it all looked from on the water. I also loved the cool humidity of the water and surrounding swampy areas- all being used for gardens and rice crops. It was so beutiful and so different than Hausa land I am used to. Women washing clothes, kids splashing and laughing, men in their boats throwing huge fishing nets; it was pretty awesome. Oh, so we hear this deep cry in the distance, and sure enough, there's two hippos swimming in the river!! We didn't get too close of course, but you could just see their heads poking out of the water.

After we got back on shore, we watched his friend fish from shore with a net, and then he gave us a tour of his family's gardens. Everything, lettuce, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, mint leaves, peppers, not to mention mango, papaya, and guava trees. The hospitality in this country is really wonderful and we then went back to his house where his wife cooked us dinner and we drank traditional tea. First time- she fried these fish for us, small enough that you just eat the whole thing, break off piece by piece. They were really good, save the head, which involved a poping and squishing of fishy gooeyness squirting in your mouth as the eyes and vessles burst.. But a good experience :)

Anyway. My adventures of the last couple days!

Its a hippo!!! (no seriously, it is.)

Tuareg Wedding and Mangos!!!

Whew! These past two weeks have flown by. After four exciting days of hostel-arrest, we were able to head back to our houses, then, another two days later, I was able to head back to work at the Musee (it's in the downtown area). So, politically, things seem to have settled; theres still different oppinions floating around that I'll hear as a get into a taxi, whether the Military Coup d'etat was a good thing, whether people are happy or sad Tanja is out of office, what the future outlook is like, etc.

Back to work was great after being gone so long, I really missed all my animals :) It really makes you smile when a baboon or hyena rubs up against the cage asking to be scratched. Unfortunately, due to getting the flu only one day after going back to work, I was basically on house arrest... again- for three more days. To be honest, it hasnt been the most productive or enjoyable February I've ever had.

So, back in February was also a big event for our friend Ginger, an RPCV (Returned Peace Corps Volunteer- I'm trying not to get too crazy with the Peace Corps acronyms: you can be a PCVor PCT... talk with the PCMO, your APCD, AO, PA or even the CD, about AG, NRM, CHA, MCD or CYE during PST, IST, or MST, that is, before your COS, because then you'd be an RPCV...you with me?)

Anyway.. so big event for Ginger, an RPCV, who has been here for over three years, and currently teaches at a school here in Niamey, got married! She married a tourag guy named pepe and had a beautiful traditional tuareg wedding. I'd never been to a tuareg wedding and it was really a fun experience. We started out early in the morning, got all dressed up in our uniform outfits (kinda like bridesmaid dresses- she picked a particular kind of cloth, then we went and baught it and took it to a taylor and got an outfit made) showed up at the house for what the call the 'fatia' which is a prayer (all the men outside with the Malim and all the women inside) that basically 'officializes' the wedding. This is also when the two fathers sit down and negotioate the dowry, set the marraige 'rules', if you will, and such.

So after that, the women put Ginger under a blanket and we walked her up the street to another house (I think it was Pepe's familys house) and we got to sit in a room for about 6 or 7 hours. It sounds boring, but it was really fun (in the bush I could never seem to last more than 4 hours sitting at a wedding, but it was a lot more fun knowing the bride and speaking some English) Anyway, again, men and women are in different areas, but as far as I know they stayed at the other house and visited until the evening hours. It wasn't all sitting and waiting, there was constant music and dancing, henna and braids getting done, taking pictures and chatting, and eating DELICIOUS food. Definately the best wedding food I've ever had. in the morning there was this wonderful milk-millet porrage stuff that tasted like pudding and bread, then the big afternoon meal including a delicious rice and lamb sauce dish and a meat-millet paste, it was all so good!!! Tuareg women can cook apparently. Anyway, we all had to up and leave around 4, but later in the evening, they bring the bride (under the bridal blanket) to the grooms house, tons of people come, they have more dancing, and the bride and groom dance together. I'm sure I've forgoten little details, but it was a great experience. Congrats Ginger! Barka da Aure!

Thats about it for new events around here, work is great and I still enjoy every day of it, oh, so hot season is also creaping in.. right now my little outdoor thermomiter says 35 degrees (in the shade of my poarch) celceus, so I think thats around 96 ish farenheight. The good thing though- MANGO season!!!!! We have two mango trees in our yard and one is chocked full of mangos (we ate the first one off it last night-yummy) the other ones just a little slower.. late bloomer... Anyway, so there's the silver lining of hot season: Fresh mangos, mango juice, mango jelly, mango sauce, spicy mango salsa, mango chipoltle......

Drama in Niamey...coup.

It's been an eventful couple of days for Niger, especially Niamey.. Just to quickly let everyone know, I am fine and safe and things here are settling after all the drama. For anyone who didn't read about it, there was a Military Coup d'etat last thursday, in which the military stormed the presidential palace, took the president into custudy along with a couple other ministers to an undiclosed location in Niamey to get him to resign. Anyway, Ill let everyone look it up themselves so I don't mistate anything.

On a personal account, I was close by the area when it started, but Peace Corps was fast as lightning to get me and all other PCVs into a safe place. I could make this story as dull or embelished as possible, but I think I'll save the embelished version for another day :)

I do, however, want to say this was not dramatic 'African' military scenario that you see in movies. Things are really calm here in Niamey in the aftermath and I have hardly seen any military out on the streets. I did enjoy the 'victorious' marching music they played on the and some great music videos once the radio stations and TV stations were in military influence.
The interesting part, which I won't spend too much talking about in a blog, is the reaction of the public. People are very calm, and going about their daliy lives...
Anyway, thats all for now. As for us Niamey PCVs, we've been consolidated the past couple of days, and as things have relaxed we are enjoying our first day of space away from the hostel!

The Many Adventures of me and my New Bicycle

Well maybe not so many... give it time. But yes! Finally! I got a bike!! And, believe it or not, it's even BETTER than my one in the bush!! Well, not that the one in the bush was bad, but the frame was huge and I usually had to do this hop-jump thing to get up on the seat.. Anyway. So me and my new bicycle, or, my new bicycle and I, bike all around the city every day and even entered a bicycling for aids race. Ok, seriously now.. So yes, there were about six of us from Peace Corps (including our country director and assist. country director!) that joined a bicycle for aids (or SIDA as it's called here) event. Before the actual race they did this little promo 'race' with the director of the race, a couple other important people.. and us 6 peace corps, biking a quick fake lap with the video crew in the back of a truck in front- so I may have been on tv... It was a lot of fun though- after our little promo tour, we lined up for the real race, they actually had a girls heat and then a boys heat.

In a country like Niger, it's not every day you see girls doing things like riding bikes or looking sporty and strong, so I was really impressed with the girls and really proud for them. I remember back in the bush I was watching a little soccar match between mine and a neighboring village (just some local boys) And not a single woman thought it would be ok if they stopped and watched- I remember watching the game with a little 7 year old girl, and then I turned and asked her if she liked to blay ball. "I can't play soccer!" she laughed. I was kinda taken back and asked why not. "Because I'm a girl! Girls can't play!" and trust me, she wasn't the only girl who felt that way. Imagine, 7 years old and already having that kind of mind set.. Anyway, thanks Mom and Dad for letting me do whatever I wanted when I was younger.

Oh, so the outcome of the race.. The 6 of us each only did one of the two laps (I didn't want to take away from those girls that had been working a lot harder than I) but I will say I was it second at the end of my lap... (maybe you can catch a replay on ESPN or something...)(that was a joke).

Anyway, to continue on my bicycling adventures, I am now a city biker and terrified almost ever meter of the way. Growing up on dirt roads in the country (not to mention the last bike I owned in the states was pink and purple with a unicorn on it...) then biking only on the sandy roads through the bush the past year, these city streets are nerve wracking.. Every time I come to a roundabout or a left turn I have a mini panic attack. Especially because, I mean, not to complian, but at the roundabouts in this country are poorly designed. Just saying. Here, if you're on the roundabout you yield to somone comming on... its somwhat controlled because theres stoplights at every entrance, but STILL. Thats NOT THE POINT of a roundabout. Anyway, no its getting a lot better. At first I was almost causing accidents glancing around and behind me so much, now I just signal with my hand and say a little prayer.. :)

Other than that, life in Niamey's been pretty great. Got to go to the wedding of one of my language teachers from back in training the other day. Me and a couple of the other PCV's wowed the croud with our African-dancing skills (I got some great pictures of drummers and a guy with this traditional Oboe looking thing called an 'Algaeta' see picture up top) Oh, any my second b-day in country's commig up! 2 weeks and I'll be 25.. uh. that seems so old.

What's Not to Love?

Ahh.. Just a relaxing friday morning with nothing to do :) So Rose and I have been splitting up the weekends so that the only day one of us is not there is Saturday- either one of us take of friday and saturday, and the other, saturday and sunday- this way our food donation from the nearby hotel gets picked up every day and the animals don't miss out. Anyway, life is smoothing out and routine is slowly setting in. In some ways I am so glad to be here in Niamey- life is just so much easier!

10 things I love about living in the city:

1- Electricity!!!! It's so wierd staying up past when it gets dark at night!! (Why, yes... that does mean that I went to bed around 7 o'clock some nights in the bush)

2- Obviously my job is a huge part of loving where I live- I love what I get to do, I love having schedule in my life again, and I hope it never gets old!

3- Food. Wait, let me refrase that. Veggitables. After a year in the bush with often only onions and garlic (when I was lucky) for veggie-nutrition, I had lost a bit of weight... which I have promptly gained back...

4- I love the conglomeration of languages here in Niamey!! I greet people in an assortment of 4 sometimes 5 languages every morning (Hausa, Zarma, French, and even an occasional English 'Good morning' or Tamacheq)

5- My new house. It's this big, old, french style house, probably a zillion years old. My roomie, Maeghan and I call it 'Netherfield' :) I love that its surrounded by huge trees, it's made completely out of cement (kinda like a cave..) with tall ceilings and a cute poarch wrapping around the front. Oh! And we're putting in a tree-swing..

6- Cloth and Taylors.. So Maeghan has gotten me into the cloth shopping habit.. There is so much cloth here in such a variety; the typical West African colorful prints, beutiful cotton cloth, Mauritania cloths, pretty much anything you could want. Then, all you have to do is get a good taylor, give him a magazine picture of what you want, measurments, and poof.. two weeks later, really cute clothes, at about a quarter of what you'd pay in the U.S.

7- Internet Access!!!! I love reading the news!!! It's such a novel thing... I'll admit I'm becoming re-addicted to facebook..

8- Because it's the capital, I get to see a lot of volunteers coming in and out- so I'm getting to know a lot of peace corps volunteers I probably wouldnt have otherwise.

9- To go along with that, I'm getting to know the Peace Corps staff a lot better too. It's great seeing them every day and chatting with people I hadnt talked to much before.

10- The WestAfrican Culture of the city. Niamey has a whole different atmosphere than the bush. While I loved the bush as well, Niamey has this vibe that's hard to explain.. I guess it's just a little more relaxed from the strict, Muslim atmosphere of more rural places. Plus, working at the Musee National, I'm getting a good insite to the history and culture of Niger, both as a westerner sees it, and as Nigeriens see it. They have so much pride for the history and culture, and the longer I've lived here the more every now and again I feel little snippets of that pride myself.

So, some of the things I suprised myself by not including in this list:

-Transportation- while I thought taxis would be so convinient and a great change to walking three hours or biking to the market or main road, I miss my bike terribly, and have started walking a lot more to avoid the hastle of taking the taxis..

-The 'Anasara Novelty'... I thought that living in the city with so many other 'white' people, it wouldn't be such a novel thing to see me, and I could blend in a bit more... nope. I'm still a specticle. In fact, the other day I was in the Mule's cage at the zoo, and 2 Nigerians come up and ask if they can take a picture. 'Sure' I replied, I didnt care that they took a picture of the mule... 'well, should I come in the cage then?' I got a little angry and told him of course he couldnt come in the cage. I assumed he just wanted the mule in the picture and I was messing up the shot. So I was like, 'Fine, I'll get out.' I get out. He then turns and snaps the picture of me. Apparently it was the mule that was messing up the shot.

-Food- like resturants, cheese, other expensive items not even found in the bush.. or Konni... I admit I went crazy the first couple weeks and spent a ton of money, and now I'm back to normal, using my powdered milk and eating cous-cous and pasta.. I will admit it's nice to have the option of good food.. Even if I don't take it.

-Toilets and Showers. To be honest, I couldn't care less anymore if I take a bucket bath or a shower.. which, I'm in a really bad habit of neither becasue it's so cold these days... I either force myself to take a cold shower every now and again, violently shivering for the 5-10 minutes I can stand it, or, head to the hostel and make use of the hot water there. ahh. As for the toilet upgrade, I dont know, I miss that latrine in a weird way.. I was saving a lot of money on toilet paper in the bush..

Ok, so that's that.. One more quick comment. With about 10 months left of service, I can't help but get a little ahead of myself wondering what to do after Peace Corps. I can't say I've made any final decisions yet, but I have a couple options I'm weighing the possibilities.. I'll let everyone know when I've figured it out!

Reminisces of the Bush and adjusting to life

First post of the New Year! Better make it a good one...

To begin, New Years was fun, a group of us went to a Nigerien rap concert (that was an experience.. concidering I've never been to a rap concert in the states!)- I think I'm getting old though; the concert was too loud and I was way too tired by 2:00 am, but otherwise a fun New Years!

Wow, I was reading through my last blogs and I realized there was so much I left out from my village experience! The things I really miss now, I hardly, if at all, mentioned! So, I'm going to try to fill in the blanks within the next year on culture differences, the people, what I miss most... I admit, the reason I was reading through them in the first place was that I was a little bush-sick. I really miss my life I had there and the unexpected friends I made. So, for the next portion of this post, some of my reminiscents of bush life:

First- the people of my village. As I read through old posts, I couldn't believe how much I'd left out some of the most important people of this last year! I don't want to put too much information out there about anyone, so I'll just use first names (no harm in that, right?) First- my home-away-from-home, Aisha's house. Aisha was one of my best women friends in the vil, she and her husband are absolutely open and giving with everything they have. Aisha and I would study little Hausa pamplets together to improve her literacy/my Hausa- usually ended up just me reading to her in Hausa... which got a little akward- most of her pamplets were given to her by medical/ sanitation type NGOs, so every now and again I'd find myself reading about something potentially akward... like condoms and STDs... best part is that it would just randomly don on me half way through the paragraph what I was reading out loud ('oooooooohh...'). Aisha and her family were always willing to help and were the first ones at my meetings. Oh, and she was a FABULOUS cook... ate her food more than my own (ok, I ate ANYONES food more than my own).

Next, Hilimou was also one of my best women friends and she always had a smile on her face. I absolutely loved hanging out at her house, and we never seemed to run out of things to talk about. Half our conversations were dedicated to arguing over my weight- she would tell me to drink lots of Hura (spiced millet and milk drink) so that I would get really fat, and I'd argue, 'but I don't want to be fat', she'd come back with, 'fat is beutiful! You need to get fat to find a husband!' Then we'd go back and forth on random other things... sigh, I miss her!

Hankuri, whom I believe I have mentioned before, is both my grandma (well, maybe great grandma) in the village and my best friend. If I was ever upset about something, no matter what it was, she was always on my side- whatever was wrong, she would do anything in her power to make it right. This one very frustrating afternoon, I was sitting with her and I told her my horse had no hay because the kid who was supposed to go get it had no honesty.. She says, ok, lets take care of it. We go find kids to pick hay for the next day, the we head out to the bush and we pick a bundle of hay! I just loved watching her whole face light up when you show up at her house, and I was so glad that on the last day I was in my village (had no idea it was my last day) I spend the day with her and we walked an hour to a neighboring village to a wedding. If I had one more day in my vil, I'd probably spend most of it at her house, helping her pound millet, or just sitting with the zillions of kids that always are there.

Idi was one of my best guy friends in the village I loved hanging out with his family even if he wasnt around. (we'd catch the ducklings and watch the momma duck freak out, then laugh.. hmm. yes I'm an animal husbandry volunteer...) Anyway, Idi and I would just hang out and talk most of the time- he was my official villiage counterpart, so anything I had going on he was in on and ready to help. We used to talk about anything under the sun- things like, explaining that at 12 o'clock our time, it was 5 am in America.. why? Well... then I'd explain about the sun and the earth and rotation... I got a little too technical sometimes, but he was always eager to hear more. He loved the world map I painted and would watch me paint and ask which countries where which, where America was, etc. My favorite memories are of when he thought this combination lock I had was amazing- so I gave it to him and taught him how to use it. for three days he unsuccessfully tried to use it, then one morning (around 6..) he knocks on my door, Look! I can open it! and then shows me. I loved it. He was one of those rare people that you just wanted to give tons of gifts to because he never asked for anything and was genuinely happy to be your friend.

Ok, just one more, this is getting long, Oumarou and Hiyali were the two husbands to the two families in my family concession. Both were always helpful and cheerful- Oumarou one dy caught me giving my horse a pepperment- he thought it was hillarious that I would give an animal a piece of candy and didnt leave me alone about it for weeks! Hiyali was one of my really good friends, and luckly for me, really liked my horse. He took as good of care of her as I did and I'd hear through the village that he'd ride her out to the bush and back bareback when I was gone :) Sigh.. good times..

Anyway, enough reminiscing for now. the zoo is going great and the animals are starting to really get used to me.. maybe even like me! (I get the evil eye from a monkey every now and then.. actually, there's this one monkey that thinks I'm the scariest thing on two feet and has a fit if I'm standing too close (thats gotta be good for the self-esteem! Lol)), but the baboons like me well enough now, so it all weighs out :) We're starting to get some projects started: first, working on a volunteer program with the University, so we'll start training new volunteers here soon, second, we've been working with our mule, Barry, and hope to have him up and going for pony-rides one day (more on him later!), third, I've started researching possible funding sources to build either a hyena or chimpanzee habitat (not so successfully, so if anyone has any ideas, let me know!), fourth, we really want to get a website up and going for the Musee, so I've been looking into how to go about doing that. Definately enough to keep us busy anyway! Oh, just a note- mail here in Niamey is kinda atrocious, and I still havent seen packages that were sent over a month ago. From what I hear, not a package goes by that doesnt get opened and peaked into... or stolen from.. or eaten out of by a critter.... but no matter what is missing when I do eventually get it, I really am thankful for everyone's support and letters/packages!

Clyde- one of our two Dorcas Gazelles!

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