From Untitled AlbumThings are going well on the trip home. Currently in Seville, Spain. At this point, we´ve seen too much to write about and we´ve been having trouble loading pictures onto picasa, so be patient.

Fortunately, Jeremy already wrote up some stuff about our 3 weeks in Tunisia. You can also see his pictures.

Go here first.

Then, mosey here.

Still with us? Go here. Until next time.

I present my villagers saying goodbye to me and saying hello to all of my friends and family back home.

This is Illa, he was my landlord and neighbor. The setting is just outside of my house. I spent a lot of time with his family. In the background is Chaibou (next to the cart) and Moubarak (the little one to the left).

I'm hoping I'll get a few more of these up before I hit the road. So far this is the shortest of them and therefore the easiest to upload. One hour of uploading for a 6 second video. C'est la vie au Niger.

I can't promise I'll transcribe them all, but this one is short.

Illa: A gaida guida. Greet your family.

From Giraffes!

Thanks to everyone who has reminded me that I haven't posted in a while. I'm currently in Niamey and I'm working on all the paperwork that I have to complete before I leave Niger. There is quite a lot of reports that Peace Corps requires and it's a bit difficult to concentrate in front of a computer when you spent most of your time in the bush. My eyes are getting tired.

I'm out of here in a week and I'll try to get a few more posts up before I leave.

Until then check out these pictures if you haven't seen them on facebook already.

Enjoy.

So much to say, so many comparisons. I don't know where to start.

Since I'm on vacation, I'm not gonna write too much on here.

But, I did want to let you know that my friend Jeremy has internet at his post now and he's been working on a "Week in the Life of...". He's in a city post and thought people would be interested in reading something a little different.

Start here (day 1)

Then go here (day 2)

Then here (day 3)

Then go to his blog and check back.

Hope y'all enjoy.

From Kokowa - Traditional Wrestling

I'm going home to America for 3 weeks. I must admit that I frightened. It will be the first time I have left Africa since I arrived in July of 2007. Wow!

I haven't really decided what all I'll be doing (or more importantly eating) but these things will come together.

The past few weeks have been great. We've finished yet another draft on the proposal that the mayor's office is writing for grain banks. I feel really great about this project because I'm not actually writing the proposal. I wanted to teach them how to do it and so far it's going slow, but it's going. As they say here, "sannu sannu, ba ta hana zuwa". Going slowly doesn't prevent one from going.

Things are still going well with the student governments, but nothing major to report.

Ryan, Tim, and I did a radio show in Maradi last week. It was my first time to do a radio show in Maradi and the radio station there is really nice.

More to come soon. Check out these other photos. Sorry didn't have time to sort them properly and add captions, but coming soon... hopefully.

Kids

Traditional Wrestling - Kokowa

Zinder

This is a folk tale that was written by Seyni Maïga Adama the head-master at the college (middle school level) in my village. He is originally from the other side of the country near the town of Tera. He wrote it and I edited it a bit. I hope you enjoy, more to come later.

Malam Ibro was a great Marabout. Talibé from different tribes and countries came to study Islamic theology in his school. One day he decided to go on pilgrimage to Mecca. At that time there were no cars and no motorocycles. People traveled on foot or by horse. Malam Ibro took a horse and went to Mecca. On his way he met Hyena. Hyena was very hungry. She asked Malam Ibro to kill for her, and then she would carry him to Mecca and back. Malam Ibro accepted and killed his horse for Hyena. When Hyena finished her meal, she ran away into the bushes laughing at him.

Malam Ibro took his baggage and went to sit hopelessly under a big baobab tree on the riverside. Hare came out from the bushes to drink from the river. When he saw Malam Ibro he went to greet him. After they greeted each other, Malam Ibro told him his problem. Hare knew exactly what to do. He told Malam Ibro to wait for him in the bushes and he would bring Hyena.

Hare went into the bush and met Hyena. He told Hyena that he had organized a great feast for his birthday celebration and nobody came. Hare did not know what to do with all of the food and all of the meat. Hare asked Hyena to take a message to all of the animals and to tell them to come quickly. Hyena told him that it would be of no use and that he himself would have to play the role of all of the animals of the bush.

On their way to the place where Malam Ibro was hidden, Hare moved slowly and Hyena asked him to hurry up. He told her that his leg was hurting him. Hyena asked Hare to ride her and he did it. He rode her to the river side and before he realized what was going on they reached the tree where Malam Ibro was hidden. Malam Ibro caught Hyena and rode her all the way to Mecca. When they reached Mecca, Malam Ibro tied up Hyena and performed his ritual washings before prayer.

During the journey, Hyena didn’t eat anything. People tried to give her vegetables and grass, but she could not eat them. In Mecca she saw some children eating meat and she begged them for the bones. Full of fear the children ran away and told their parents that the horse of Malam Ibro asked for the bones they were eating. When the adults arrived, they realized that it was not a real horse at all, but Hyena. They beat her and when she was free, she ran back to the bush.

Hyena came back to the bush very worn out, hungry, and correctly beaten. After she rested a while she went to the river to drink. At the river she met lady Tortoise. Hyena told Tortoise to go into the woods, fetch firewood, make a fire and kill and roast herself. Then, Hyena would eat her, because she was dying of hunger and fatigue. Tortoise went into the bush fetching wood to do what Hyena ordered her to do. She was fetching wood and crying. By fortune she came across Hare who asked her what was the matter. Hare told Tortoise to climb a tree and he would call to her and if Hyena asks you what was going on you should tell her that Malam Ibro was looking for Hyena.

Tortoise executed the plan and Hyena asked her who was calling. Tortoise told her that it was Malam Ibro. Upon hearing the name of Malam Ibro she ran like a fugitive into the bushes.

After helping Malam Ibro, Hare saved the life of Tortoise, proving once again that Tortoise and Hyena are two of the stupidest animals in the bush.

These are the pictures from vacation. Enjoy while I continue to procrastinate writing about the vacation. Thanks for your patience. http://picasaweb.google.com/william.e.jones/Benin# http://picasaweb.google.com/william.e.jones/HikingNearKpalime# http://picasaweb.google.com/william.e.jones/Ghana# Also, I finished uploading the pictures from science camp and you can see them here.

I've been in Niger as a volunteer for over a year now and while I'm uploading pictures and writing about my vacation I thought this would be kind of fun to read. Enjoy! If you want to know anything else, just ask and I'll add it. Books read: 37 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows - J. K. Rowling Hoot! - Carl Hiaasen Chronicles: Vol I - Bob Dylan A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on

My stay in Niamey is almost over. Swear-In for the new volunteers went well. I had an excellent birthday. Thanks to all those in Niger, America, and elsewhere for all the birthday wishes. I'm leaving tomorrow (Wednesday) morning at 5:00 am. I'm headed to Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Burkina Faso. It will be the first time I've left Niger since I arrived over a year ago. I've posted some

These are just a few things I wrote in the village this past week. Enjoy! Don't have a lot of time on the internet, please forgive me for errors. Will try to clean it up later. Here goes nothing... Sunday, August 31, 2008 Thursday I came back to the village by bush taxi after finding out that budget cuts had eliminated our shuttles until the start of the new fiscal year in October. Friday

I helped out with a science camp that was put on by Annie, a volunteer in my region, to help give hands on experience to girls who were in the equivalent of 7th and 8th grade to help prepare them for the test they have to take to get to the high school level. Here is account of the way things went down as I remember them… Enjoy! Day 1: Arrive in Tessaoua We arrived late in the afternoon on

another post dated story. i'll get more information about mid-service training soon. I was in Idrissa’s office when it started. I was there inviting him as my counterpart to Mid-Service Training. Walking back to the front of the office, where the benches are and most people spend most of their time, I hear the sounds of unfamiliar voices. To be more precise, I hear voices that are unfamiliar

wrote this, but didn't get it posted. i'm post dating it for the day it was written. enjoy. I’ve never asked her name. Often, she is the first person I see in the morning. If I forget to lock my concession door at night, she may be the first thing I open my eyes to. Here she is every morning, shortly after the sun. And, I’ve never asked her name. It didn’t matter that I was gone for two

I think I'll start this post by saying that Jeremy's pictures are much better than mine. Not just a little bit better, but a LOT better. So, before you read any further check these (and these) out. I won't have enought time to upload my pics now anyway, but have patience and I'll get them up next time I'm in Niamey. It's been a really great trip into Niamey, but I'm ready to get back out to the

First of all, Pangea is going great, I'm having a blast. Monday morning I taught a class on American folk traditions in music. The class was scheduled to be an hour and about half way through a television crew showed up (you can see in the picture above). So, I did the second half of the class with a camera shoved in my face. The class was directed at the Nigeriens present (mostly musicians)

I'm back in Niamey and I'm getting ready for Pangea, more information on that coming later. Just know I'm very excited about it. The guys in the picture are from a soccer game we recently had in my village not from the upcoming Pangea. Before I discuss Pangea any further I'd like to talk about what I've been working on in the village. On, April 29th (Yeah, I know it's almost June) I held a

If it left on time, it left about the time my alarm went off at 4:30. Not sure why I set my alarm wrong. So, now I'm in Niamey for another day. I really want to get back out to my village. I have a soccer game on Friday, but this time on the internet allowed me to do a bit of tinkering to the blog. You'll notice I changed the banner. It's a lot less boring now, thanks Jermey for the help with

Yesterday I went to see Niger and Ghana play for their second meeting for the African Nations Championship (CHAN). This tournament is being used to showcase new local talent. No players that play on foreign soil are allowed to represent their country. I was amazed at the hostility the fans showed for Niger's coach and the praise they had for Ghana's coach. Niger's coach had to be escorted by

First of all, I want to thank everyone for reading. I know I don't get to post very often and your patience is very much appreciated. I want to clear up some things about the post March 31st. Actually, I want to clear up the whole thing. It was all an April Fools joke. So, there has been sickness. No camel polo league. No electricity/running water. Sorry for any inconveniences. Wishing you all

With a great deal of satisfaction, I'm looking at a clothesline of freshly washed clothes. I still don't have clothespins, but my carabineers have been working just fine. (Note to self: go buy some clothespins in Maradi!). I’ve recently learned that I really enjoy washing my clothes by hand. Although I’m not entirely sure why I enjoy it so much, because those who have lived with me can attest, I

Well, it's been a while since I've let you kind folks know what's going on in my world. So, I've got a lot of exciting things to update. I think it may be easier as a list, so here goes nothing:

As cold season transitions into hot season the Fulani in my area start preparing for Sharo. Traditionally the Fulan are pastoralists and therefore spread out over a broad area and several tribes will come together for Sharo. Sharo is a test of a young mans bravery and ability to endure pain, rendering the young man very attractive to the ladies. In some places, I'm told, they take turns

[forgot to post this at the end of January] As promised, here are the photos that were taken in Vicky's village. Enjoy! http://picasaweb.google.com/william.e.jones/VickySVillageWell, I'm getting on a bus at 4:30 am heading back out to Maradi. I plan to head out the next day and get back to the village. While you are all watching the Super Bowl I'll be preparing for a radio show for the 4th.

Everything is going well in my neck of the woods. It is cold here, something I never thought I’d be saying. It has been getting down into the 40’s, but that’s just what I hear—I don’t have a thermometer. I received my new Christmas present, a sleeping bag, this week. I've had such great sleeps. I just still can’t believe that it is this cold in the Sahel. This past week it hasn’t even been hot

Wishing everyone a very merry Christmas. I just wanted to let you know that I added captions to all of my the pictures I put up in the last few posts and I added links to my friends blogs so that you can see what they are up to. So, check out all the new stuff and I'm sorry I haven't gotten a good post up lately, but there has been a lot going on and I'll get you updated soon. Enjoy your

I've posted some new pictures. I hope you enjoy them. Most of them are of my house and concession and things around it. I don't want to start pulling my camera out in the village just yet. But, soon I'll have a well documented account of what every thing looks like. You know all the hot spots and places I frequently pass, like the water pump, the office, the market, the road, the guy with

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving here was surprisingly normal, minus all the extra work that wouldn't be necessary in

Well, I hope by the time you click this link that I've been able to get more photos uploaded. Quite a painful task! I have about 20 uploaded now and hope to have about twice that when finished. If not, maybe I can load the rest when I go to do the next radio show. Most of the pictures on here are from the first three months of training. If I get them all up there will be some pictures of my

I just finished my first month in village and I really love my village and villagers. So much has happened that it would be impossible to relay everything, but I'll do my best to share as much as possible.  I'm still struggling along with the language and my villagers get so excited when I learn a new greeting or a new word.  I have made many friends and they have taught me so much.  There

Hello Everyone! This is Lindsay, William's fiance. He asked that I send out a post to inform everyone of his new address: William Jones, PCV Corps de la Paix BP 291 Maradi, Niger West Africa ...you can also find it in the right-hand margin of his blog in the "Send Me Stuff" section. I have spoken to William multiple times and, aside from getting the "expected" illnesses, he is doing very