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….