I want to thank everyone who donated to my PCPP project! I got the money this week and I'm hoping construction can start next week. FYI -- my project did change a bit -- Peace Corps decided it was taking too long to get funded because the budget was too big, so I cut it from two classrooms to one classroom, but the school will also get desks for the students and a desk for the teacher. Construction should take but a few week and I'll be going out regularly to check on the progress. I'll be sure to update you and post pictures when it's finished.

Thanks again to everyone!!

I'm back in village and only have 1 month left. Everything is winding down and I'm hoping to celebrate my departure with villagers and have a party my last week in village--this usually means slaughtering a ram or two, maybe some couscous or pasta, and sodas. When my parents came, I asked them to bring certain gifts for my neighbors, coworkers, and friends--things like earrings, Obama paraphernalia, Matchbox cars for kids, etc. I'm waiting until my last week to give the gifts away, too; otherwise random people will see that and keep asking for theirs. Basically my last 3 months are a lot like my first 3--just spending a lot of time sitting and talking with people, not a lot of work. Of course, now, I'm more established and I speak much better Hausa.

Although I'm leaving Aguie, I'm not yet leaving Niger -- I decided to extend my service for one year. I'll be further East in the country in a new region that Peace Corps Niger would like to open in the near future. Right now, another volunteer and myself will move out there to begin work and site development. I'll remain a CYE volunteer, working with schools and the local Inspection, but I'll also be able to partner with a number of NGO's, such as Care and Save the Children. I'm looking forward to the new challenges, including learning yet another language, and to the new opportunities, like working more with NGOs.

By extending for one year, Peace Corps gives me a month of home leave to take during that time. I'll be sure to let everyone know the specific dates when I decide. Also, I don't know what my new address will be so please do not send any packages to me in the near future. I will no longer be in the Maradi region and I don't know what my new post office box will be. Thanks!

I know, it's been three months and I'm only getting to it now...

In late March, my parents came to visit for 10 days. It started on a rough note thanks to some snow and delays but they finally made it safely to Niger; the two major airlines only fly into Niamey every few days so if you miss one, you have to wait for the next. After a day in Niamey to sleep and catch up, we left for Maradi and my village. I borrowed the Inspection car, at the cost of gas and per diem for the driver, which made traveling smoother and faster; compared to the buses volunteers usually take. Everyone was very hospitable and excited to meet my parents. They were given the star treatment with dinners and presents. I also scheduled things so they could see my market and how crazy my village can get. The previously empty spaces fill with people, animals, and all kinds of merchandise, not to mention the butcher's corner.

While in Maradi, my Peace Corps friends organized a barbecue and we hung out at the pool. My parents were happy to meet my friends and also to speak with people without needing a translator, i.e. me. Before they left Niger, we took a trip down to Park W for a night -- Park W is a wildlife reserve on the borders of Niger, Burkina Faso, and Benin with animals like gazelles, buffalo, elephants, lions, and monkeys. It was a treat for me because I didn't feel like I was still in Niger. We were lucky, too, about 30 minutes into our visit, standing on an observation deck near a watering hole when two elephants came out of the trees and crossed the river. We also saw all the animals I listed, except for the lions.

All in all, it was a great visit. Almost every night was spent laughing and catching up, like we were too giddy to sleep. It was so surreal and went by so fast that sometimes I forget they came and I have to look at pictures to remind myself. I also feel very lucky that my parents wanted to come and had the means to do so. It's important that I had someone from home see my life here so they have a better idea of what I am going through. And who better than my parents? They were troopers and had the best attitude and the most patience with traveling, the food, the heat, and, most of all, me. I'll never forget it!!

I attached some pictures of a typical Nigerien school and classroom in the bush. When the number of students is overwhelming, the community must build an extra classroom, either out of millet stalks or out of mudbricks. Two photos are of children in add-on classrooms, which are usually assigned to the younger students. Children sit on the ground because they don't have enough desks and they each have a piece of slate and chalk for writing exercises.

I'm nearing the end of my service, with about six months left, and my final project is raising money for school buildings in a small bush village outside of my town. Please click on the link below to read a little more about my project and please do not hesitate to e-mail me if you have any questions; I'll do my best to get back to you in a timely fashion. The local community doesn’t have the resources to repair the school, so the Peace Corps has approved a partial match of funds if I can raise the remaining cost of the project. Please consider helping with a worthy cause; I would appreciate any donation. Please pass this along to your family and friends as well. I need to have all the funds by May in order to make sure the school buildings will be completed before my departure in August. The following link takes you to the Peace Corps page for a description of the project, and a way to make a tax deductible contribution if you are interested. Thank you in advance!

https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=683-181

(Niger , Newton P, project #683-181)

I just wanted to write a quick blurb and say I'm sorry for not writing--it's been 8 months, unacceptable. Everything is going well here in Niger. Currently we're in cold season and the nights can be unbearable with temperatures dropping to 60. Haha! To us, it gets very cold and we often joke about how we are our own grandparents. I'm not sure how I'll survive winter in America with the constant snow and ice. I'm going to freeze.

Things are slowly getting back to normal with Peace Corps and PCVs after we had a security incident in November. As a result, many people decided to go home after one of our regions was shut down and the newest group of volunteers was pulled from training and sent to Madagascar. The number of total PCVs in Niger almost halved, with 120 some volunteers before and around 70 now. In Maradi, our team is much smaller and it's weird to get used to. In the past we've always had the largest team with around 30 people. Now, we're down to 14. It's cozy and we're working on reorganizing the hostel, which is easier with fewer people.

Work has been steady and going well, too. At the beginning of the school year I started an English Club for the junior level students; an opportunity for them outside of class to read and converse in English as well as learning other grammatical points. I meet with two classes once a week and it's only me and the students. It's been a success but the number of students coming every week has declined since the beginning. It can be discouraging at times but it does benefit the few students who do show up because they get more attention and more practice. Also this year, I'm starting up the girl's soccer team at the high school in my town. I'm hoping to have a tournament before the end of the school year with two other PCVs' schools. And thanks to my amazing Aunt Anne and Uncle Pete, who sent me 4 soccer kits from SoccerOne--each kit has a bag with 6 soccer balls, a hand pump, and extra needles. I got to hand out a soccer kit to each school team, they were very excited and pass on their thanks as well!

I can't believe it has almost been two years. Ok, maybe I can. But it still went by very fast. I used to think that life in America was on hold until I got back. But when I remember all I've missed--5 weddings, 1 funeral, 2 of every holiday, etc.--I realize that's definately not the case and I think coming back to some changes will be hard. So, what's the next step? As of now, I'm planning to COS (close of service--Peace Corps jargon for finishing) in August and then take a 3-4 month COS trip around the world before making it home for Christmas. From there I may apply for grad schools or work for a bit; it's a year away but always on my mind.

Now that I’m back, I have to get right back to work. Before I left I was organizing a community event for June 16th, Journée de l'enfant africain (Day of the African Child), with people from my Inspection, school directors, and school teachers. We are planning sporting events like soccer tournaments, track, and wrestling, as well as cultural events, like songs and skits performed by the primary and secondary schools. The planning has been great so far and everyone in the community is very supportive of the event and its activities. I'm very excited for it and I'm hoping for the best.

Before I left, I was visiting a lot of bush schools with my Inspector. It was a great opportunity to visit these schools and villages outside Aguie, particularly because I'm not sure when I will make it out there again. I was also working on organizing a girls soccer team at my middle school to compete in a tournament with other girls teams in the area. So far the tournament has been postponed due to lack of enthusiasm and organization but we're hoping to start by the end of this month or early June. The end of school is nearing, around mid-June, so soon the rain will come and the towns will be empty as everyone makes there way to the fields for planting.

I recently got back from a three week vacation to Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Burkina Faso. I went with four PCV friends from my stage and we traveled by bus and bush taxi the entire way. It was an amazing time and we had so much fun relaxing, meeting local people, and seeing more of Africa. (I uploaded lots of new pictures -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/tricianewton/ )

Benin -- The bus ride from Niamey, Niger to Cotonou, Benin was very long, roughly 18 hours, but beautiful. The moment we crossed the border everything seemed to turn green immediately. The beginning of our trip was a little rough, though. The day after we arrived in Cotonou, I got sick and dehydrated. So instead of hitting the ground running, we found the PC bureau so I could get checked out and get medicine. After 24 hours of resting and re-hydrating, I was ready to go. We continued on to the beach towns of Ouidah and Grand Popo over the next few days. We made fast friends with some Nigeriens and fishermen in Grand Popo and watched the boats return from their morning at sea before eating some of their catch with them.

Togo -- We spent two days in the capital, Lome, and two days in a town north called Kpalime. Kpalime was a beautiful small town surrounded by mountains and lots of rainforest. We took a day trip outside of Kpalime to go hiking and see some waterfalls. The hike was a hard one for us although our guide seemed to hardly break a sweat. One of my favorite parts of the trip was finding the second, smaller waterfall where we could go swimming. I had never been to or seen anything so isolated and pristine; it was beautiful.

Ghana -- The majority of our trip was spent in Ghana. We spent only one night in the capital, Accra, which turned out to be a little overwhelming. The other capital cities were bigger and more developed than what we’re used to in Niger, but Accra was something else altogether. There were so many people and so many amenities; it reminded us of a US city with all the food courts and the shopping mall. We continued to Krokrobite and then to Cape Coast, a very old town with what seems like a mixture of Caribbean and Spanish influence. From Cape Coast, we took a day trip north to Kakum to do a canopy walk. It was beautiful being surrounded by such lush rainforest but it was also scary being so high up. Our last stop was a resort near Busua called the Green Turtle Lodge. It was the perfect ending because after picking up and going all the time, we got to sit in one place and relax for a few days before the trek back home.

Burkina Faso -- We were supposed to stay the night in Ouagadougou but decided to continue to Niamey immediately after we arrived from Kumasi, Ghana on the night bus. However, we had to stop and sleep on the side of the road before reaching the Niger border because it was closed at the time. So technically, we did stay in Burkina Faso. In all, we ended up traveling for the last 48 hours of our trip. It was brutal at times but we kept each other laughing and we definitely have some good stories now.

I finally uploaded all of my pictures. Below is the link and they are semi-organized but not all of them are labeled, though most are self-explanatory. I will try to re-label them as soon as possible. Enjoy!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tricianewton/

I recently returned to my region of Maradi after being in the capital, Niamey, for three weeks completing our IST. IST consisted of different “workshops” mainly focusing on proposal writing, grants, and funding, but also covering sector specific issues (CYE, MCD, and CHA). The sessions were helpful and most of us were excited to get back to our villages to start projects and get funding if necessary, now that we know the logistics and process of proposal writing. The middle week we were divided into language classes depending on sector, skill, and needs. I was in Hausa, which was a great refresher. I took Hausa during PST but I don’t speak a lot in my town because I rely on my French instead.

Most of all it was great to see everyone again since we haven’t seen each other since we swore-in because we couldn’t leave our regions for the first three months of our service. We were missing all the people who had left since swear-in, so it was weird at the same time. It was a long three weeks but it was fun. Exploring more of Niamey on our own was an adventure, too. One of the downsides to being gone for a month and having constant PCV contact is that I feel like I have to readjust to my village life again, like repeating my first month at post. The down time and catching up with my friends and coworkers will be a nice change of pace, though.

On January 20th we were fortunate enough to be invited to the American Cultural Center to watch the Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama. The Cultural Center is a great resource in Niamey with a small library and Internet for research as well as English classes for Nigeriens. They hosted us (PCVs) and staff as well as their English students and teachers. We all crammed into their small auditorium with people sitting on the floor and in the aisle as well as having to stand in the back. It was great to watch it with PCVs and Nigeriens alike--we cheered, jeered, and cried together. It was an amazing experience and we were all so happy to have been able to witness history, again. We’re all looking forward to walking into the Peace Corps bureau, and all other U.S. federal buildings here in Niger, and seeing Barack Obama’s picture hanging up instead of George Bush’s.

The title of this entry is something that Nigeriens have been saying to us since the election, whether it was a neighbor, friend, or a passerby on the street. It was exciting to hear it because it seemed they were just as anxious as we were for Obama to become President.

The CYE/MCD/CHA 2008 stage just finished our first three months of service as Peace Corps volunteers! After a rough beginning for most of us, we’ve all formed routines and integrated a lot into our communities, so now we’re much more comfortable in the Nigerien way of life. Also, there's a new sense of confidence after learning more of the language and being on our own. The end of month one signified we could leave our site and our subregion and the end of month three signifies that we can leave the larger region of Maradi, with approval from the Peace Corps Bureau first though. It also means that we’ll return to the Peace Corps training site in Hamdallaye for In-Service Training (IST), which will be for a few weeks in January. It’s generally more focused with language and technical skills based on what we need and want to know after our first few months at our sites. Everyone here in Maradi is excited because it will be the first time we’ll see all our other stage-mates since we swore-in in September, since we couldn’t leave our region and all.

Most of the volunteers from Maradi are in for Christmas now, we even have some extra people who will be here for the holidays. It’s very bizarre and doesn’t feel like Christmas, so to get us in the mood, we’ve been listening to a lot of Christmas music and we’ve started to watch some Christmas movies. We have some special activities planned for Christmas and Christmas Eve, including a backyard BBQ, a Secret Santa gift exchange, and maybe a festive game of charades, so it should be a fun time.

Much love from Niger and I hope everyone has a safe and happy holidays!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Also this past month, fellow PCV Jenn Farwell, a health volunteer in a nearby village, and I did a radio show in my town on December 1st, World AIDS Day. It was about 30 minutes long and all in Hausa, basically a short introduction of Peace Corps and then all about AIDS, like myths, protection, the importance of the day, etc. We were both really nervous but it turned out to be a huge success and the radio staff loved it, they even asked us to come back to repeat the show. We’re hoping that maybe we can turn it into a once a month show or something and that every month can have a different theme, like education or nutrition. It was just very exciting because it really felt like I was putting something out there and into my community.

I've kept pretty busy this past month, both with work and just by being social. First there was Tabaski, a two-day Muslim holiday where every able family is supposed to kill a goat in honor of Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son. I spent both days going from house to house, visiting most of my co-workers and friends to greet them and their families as well as eat a lot. December 18th is the Nigerien Independence Day, so there was no work or school. At the high school in front of my house, they played music all day and they ended up having a soccer game between the older students, it was a great time and there were a lot of people and other students around cheering.

I also started visiting all the schools in my town, elementary through high school even though my Inspection covers only the elementary schools in the town as well as surrounding villages, not the secondary schools. I’m hoping when I get back from IST, I’ll be able to visit some of the bush schools with my Inspector. I’ve also started to talk in-depth with my Inspector about possible projects he’d like to accomplish if I'm willing to help. Luckily, we were more or less on the same page about ideas for projects, which will be very helpful. I won’t start anything until after I return from IST because I have too many ideas now and I need to organize them and prioritize them.

Now that I’ve been in my town for almost two months, I’ve been able to settle in more and establish my own routines. I go to my inspection every morning, usually from 8-12:30. Everyone gives me a hard time because I walk there even though it’s on the other side of town, maybe a 20 minute walk. People offer me rides daily but not only is it prohibited to ride the motos (motorbikes) but the walk is really nice and I enjoy seeing everyone and greeting them on the way. Even though I now have a desk, I still don’t have a lot to do at work so I get to talk to people a lot. I go next door for lunch with my neighbor when I get home and we usually will watch some TV or listen to some music. I have the afternoons free so I do a lot of different things depending on my mood. Sometimes I’ll go for a walk around town, go get a cold drink, talk to my other neighbors, or even just relax and stay at home. Around dusk, close to 7 pm, I go running with my neighbor and a friend. There is a big field in front of our houses so we usually run and walk for about 20 minutes. Later, I go back over to her house for dinner and after watching some of the news we usually put in a movie. I’m pretty lucky because I’ve been able to keep up with a lot of current events because she has satellite TV, so we usually watch France 24 and maybe CNN.

Cold season has officially started and it’s been getting as low as 40 or 50 at night. It feels great but some of the Nigeriens really don’t like it, they’ve been wearing jackets and ski masks for the past few days, which is a pretty amusing sight. I enjoy the colder weather and I’m still sleeping outside, even though my neighbors think I’m crazy. It’s just so nice and open, and the sky is still as clear as ever with all the stars in the sky.

Today is a HUGE day here…election day! (Yes, even here it’s big.) Almost all of the volunteers in the Maradi region came into Maradi for the election. We kind of rented out a restaurant and they are going to stay open all night long so we can watch CNN and see the results as they come in. Because of the time difference, the party starts at around 12 am here and won’t end until…well, we’ll just have to wait and see. It should be a fun time and everyone is excited, especially the Nigeriens, who overwhelmingly support Barack Obama. It will be a long and exciting night and even though we’re time zones away and on another continent, we’ll all be waiting anxiously to hear the final results.

Marriage is always a hot topic with Nigeriens. They like to talk about it with me because my views are so different. When discussing marriage, the question about my status almost always comes up. At 22, I should already be married and have at least one kid. I guess I’m getting to be past my prime so the men and women give me a hard time. I tell them that I don’t want marriage or kids right so they ask when, then they sigh really loud as if I’m hopeless. It’s also difficult and frustrating because the verb for “like” and “want” is the same in Hausa; so even though I mean “I don’t want marriage,” they might take it as “I don’t like marriage,” which gets complicated. At one of the weddings I went to I was offered to become a third wife and a fourth wife by two different women. I had to laugh, and although I was flattered I ultimately decided to turn them down.

Guinea fowls may be the most annoying animal on the planet. They’re a kind of poultry and they make a noise that sounds like a rusty pump that needs oil, only more annoying. Not only do they start making noise before dawn, they usually don’t stop for hours and hours on end. So, you can imagine my horror when my neighbor got two. I usually don’t sleep past 6:30, so the time is not a big deal, but waking up to that sound is dreadful and it has the same effect as nails on a chalkboard. About a week after my neighbor first got the two guinea fowls, she had me over and it turns out the birds were annoying her just as much because she cooked one for dinner! (It was delicious, by the way!) She said that she wasn’t getting a lot of sleep because of it so she decided to get rid of it. The lone guinea fowl didn’t make as much noise but still met the same fate soon after…

One month down, only 23 to go! The first month in my town went by fairly fast. I was given my own desk at the Inspection but I still don’t have any “work” to do besides integrating and getting to know my town. That left me to socialize for the majority of my time. I talked a lot with my neighbors and coworkers, went on a picnic/family day with my Inspector, and went to two weddings. One of the weddings was the Prefet’s fourth and final, Muslims are only allowed to have four wives, and it was at least a 14 hour affair (the Prefet is equivalent to a Governor, I think). I was a special guest so I got to go with the men to pick up the new bride and ride in the multi-car caravan around town. I was even thrust into the dancing circle by one of the Prefet’s daughters. It was weird at first and I felt like I was on display until more and more women came and joined me. I guess it was the talk of the town because both the PCV in the next town over and my neighbor heard about my dancing at work the next week. I also spent a lot of time explaining, or trying to explain, what weddings are like in the U.S. and how different they are. It was a great cultural exchange and they got a kick out of it.

Also during my first month, I got some visitors on my birthday, which was great. The other three new volunteers in my sub-region came in for a night to visit, go to my market, and have a birthday dinner. Sadly, that was actually the first time I’d used my stove for an entire meal because I usually go to my neighbor’s house for lunch and dinner. I’m very lucky because that same neighbor has satellite TV, so I go over to her house to watch the news and movies occasionally. She even got a news channel in English the other week so we could watch the last Presidential debate. The election is hot topic here and everyone wants to talk about the different candidates and who I support. We’ve set up a deal with a restaurant here in Maradi so that on Election Day, they will stay open all night so we can watch the results on their satellite TV; it is a 5 hour difference between here and the east coast. It should be a good time.

I’ve been in Maradi for about 5 days now and I’m excited to get back to my town. I came in for our team meeting, we have one every month to go over logistical things, both countrywide and region specific. This was a special team meeting since it was also the end of our first month so we had a scavenger hunt, badminton, and a special lunch with treats. Most of all, it was nice to see everyone else and hear how the other new PCVs handled their first month. When I get back, I’m hoping to start setting up some meetings and observe some classrooms in order to get some project ideas and determine the needs of the community. Overall, my first month was a "success" and I hope that the next few months will turn out just as good.

So, it's official...I'm a Peace Corps Volunteer!! We swore in yesterday at the US Ambassador's house. We were 33 strong because 6 people didn't pass their language tests and one more person left this past week. It was a great ceremony and so surreal, it's bizarre to think that our training is finally over and that we're official. A lot of current PCVs came in as well as a lot of people from the ex-pat community. It was held at the Ambassador's house on her lawn overlooking the Niger river. It was a pretty short ceremony but with a lot of speeches--our training manager, country director, Ambassador and three stagaires spoke, one in each language (Zarma, Hausa, and French). Then we took our oath in English and French. There was a lot of media there too and I got interviewed with Ariel, a fellow PCV, about our feelings after the ceremony and stuff. After the ceremony we went back to the training site for dinner. Today is our recovery day in Niamey - we went to the bank, did some shopping, ate lunch, and the Ambassador opened up her house for swimming and an ultimate frisbee tournament between the different regions.

Everyone's heading out tomorrow to their different regions, we're leaving at 6:30 am for Maradi. It will be sad to leave people knowing that we won't see each other for the next few months -- we're not allowed to leave our villages for the first month and we're not allowed to leave our region for the first three months. We'll all be back together for In Service Training (IST) though, which is in January back in Hamdallaye.

I'll be sure to write some more and put up some pictures this week before I leave for my town since I won't have Internet access for the following month or so. I hope all is well with everyone, I've been getting family updates from my mom so I am pretty much up to speed with everything. Thank you for all the comments and messages, it means a lot. Take care everyone!

It’s nearing the end of training now and it’s bittersweet. I’m happy to be done with training so I can finally move out to my site for real and start working in my community and getting to know the people. It will be sad and weird to leave everyone though after spending the last nine weeks together in such close quarters. We are not allowed to leave our sites for the first month of our service and we’re not allowed to leave our region for the first three months, just to ensure that we really are integrating into our community. We will all get back together in January for our IST (In Service Training) back here in Hamdallaye, which will cover things like how to get certain projects started and how to get funding. It’s been a rough PST (Pre Service Training) too, so far out of 48 total people that we started with in Philadelphia at staging, we now have 40. People have left for different reasons, personal, medical, and administrative; but regardless, we miss them all. This Thursday is the GAD Auction (Gender and Development) at the American rec center in Niamey. Different things like trips and dinners are auctioned off and all the money goes to GAD so then PCVs can get funding later on for projects dealing specifically with gender and development. Friday is Swear-In when we officially become Peace Corps Volunteers. The ceremony is held at the US Ambassador’s house and apparently a ton of people come. Most of us are getting traditional complets made of fabric we've gotten at market; my host mother is making mine. Usually, we have a dinner served at her residence but because it’s Ramadan and people can’t eat until after sunset, we are being bussed back to the Peace Corps site in Hamdallaye for dinner. Saturday is our “recovery day” and most of us are going back to the Ambassador’s residence for an ultimate Frisbee tournament and swimming. Then Sunday is when we head out to our different regions to start Installation—this is when we meet all the important people in our region and town, like government officials and traditional leaders. And then my two years of service as an official Peace Corps volunteer start....

Ramadan is the month of fasting practiced by Muslims in order to teach patience, sacrifice, and humility. It started on September 1st this year, it changes every year depending on the Islamic calendar. There is a man that walks around town at 4 am banging something together, it sounds like pots, and chanting in Arabic, kind of like a wake up call so you don’t forget to eat before the sunrises. Then, after an entire day of not eating or drinking, people can break the fast at sunset or 7 pm by drinking water first then eating dinner a little after that. At the end of Ramadan, there is a big celebration called Eid, when people prepare lots of food for a feast. We’re still being served lunch at the Peace Corps site but it is a lot quieter since none of our teachers and most of our staff are fasting. There are a few volunteers who are fasting for different reasons, both religious and for the experience to share with their host families. I haven’t tried yet but I think I’m going to try for at least one day either sometime next week or after I go back to Aguie. It will be really hard though, especially not drinking water for an entire day. People are noticeably tired and take more naps during the day now but they are so pleased when you break fast with them or if you say “Barka da shan ruwa,” which means “congratulations on drinking water.”

On the way to Niamey, the most amazing thing happened. Traveling in Niger has been interesting and I’ve had to stop for cows, sheep, donkey, as well as other cars and people, but on the way back from Maradi, as we were nearing Niamey, the bus we were on had to stop for some giraffes crossing the road. In case you didn't know, Niger is home to the last wild giraffes in West Africa. During the rainy season, they apparently come closer to the main road, so we were warned to look for them but we didn’t expect to see them that close. There was one literally crossing the road to join another giraffe drinking out of a watering hole and then there were two more on the other side of the road. It was one of the most amazing things seeing wild giraffes, one of those “Holy crap, I’m in Africa” moments.

My live-in week was amazing and I couldn’t be happier with my placement in Aguie. My house is pretty cool too—I have a nice size porch with a hangar above it and mosaic tiling, a very large living room with a double wrap around couch, a kitchen area, two bedrooms with a king size bed and frame in one, and a bathroom and shower. I live right behind the combined middle and high school along a strip of teachers and school directors. I spent the majority of my time there walking around town and starting to meet the people I will be working with when I return. I’ll start out by working at the Inspection in Aguie, similar to a school board in the U.S., but I’ll also be working a lot in the community and with school kids. CYE volunteers no longer teach English in schools but we do continue to work with school age children outside of the classroom like starting different types of clubs; English clubs, theater clubs, soccer clubs, etc. I’m really excited to get things started when I go back to Aguie because the people that I met there were very enthusiastic and supportive of the idea of having a Peace Corps Volunteer and of the different possibilities that lay before us. The day before I went to my site and the day before we came back to Niamey, I stayed at the PC hostel in the city of Maradi. There is a hostel in every regional capital where volunteers can stay for “free,” we pay monthly dues for electricity and stuff, when coming in to do banking, working on projects, or before traveling since it takes about 10-12 hours to get from Maradi to Niamey, the capital. The night we arrived was really nice because most of the volunteers in our region came in to welcome us to Team Maradi. It was a great time and I really can't wait to get back out there.

I'll try to post more pictures later but it's difficult without my own computer. For now, here is the website of Marisa Wong, a girl in my stage who has posted a bunch of different pictures. I'm not sure how many are of landscapes and people, there might not be any of me. I hope you enjoy!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mwong64

I found out my site this past Thursday and I’m going to the Maradi region, out east and about a 12-14 hour bus ride from Niamey. My town Aguie (pronounced 'Agay') is about 90 kilometers East of Maradi city, the capital of the region. It’s a pretty big town because it’s the capital of the sub region, so there is a middle school and high school, some NGO’s have offices, and I’ll have electricity, running water, and indoor plumbing. Next week is “live-in” where all the trainees go to their actual posts and live there for a week. After that we come back for two weeks of training and then we swear in. It’s hard to believe that we will be done with training before we know it and finally become official PCVs.

I’ve grown so used to my routine during training and being around all my friends and the other PCVs that when I move to my site after swear-in, it will be a big change. I’m looking forward to the quiet time and all the reading I’ll be able to do – a nice break after these nine hectic weeks. We’re not allowed to travel outside of our region for the first three months, to ensure that we are integrating into our community. It’s crazy to think about how different daily life is here in Niger versus in America. In America, you have a schedule for you day of meetings and things to get done, so you are generally more productive. But here in Niger, with exception to our time during training, most days are very relaxed. I think this difference will be weird at first and maybe a little hard to get used to, especially the feeling of wasting time, but I have two years to get work done, so I’m in no rush. Plus, reading, relaxing, sleeping, eating, and talking to people all day does not sound like such a bad idea!

Above the daily annoyances and everything else, I still have yet to question my decision about joining the Peace Corps and coming to Niger. I just can’t wait to move to my community and my new home (my first house – whoa!!), not only to get started but to also regain that sense of independence. The possibilities that lay before me are endless and for the next two years, I hope to push myself and do things I never thought possible, I know it might sound corny but it's the truth. I hope all is well with everyone reading this back home, take care!

Before I came to Niger, I kept hearing that the Nigerien people are some of the kindest, warmest, and most beautiful people in the world. And it is definitely true. They have a saying here in Hausa, “your guest is your God,” and they take that to heart. Most people are willing to help if you are lost, especially in Hamdallaye where the people are used to having Americans around because Peace Corps training has been held here for years. The people are so eager to talk to us in the national languages (Hausa and Zarma) and they are so supportive when you succeed. A sense of humor is also needed when talking to Nigeriens. They love to joke, so it’s important to not take things personally and laugh with them, often at you too.

We also have a small following of kids in the village. They yell “fofo” (hello in Zarma) and run after us screaming it until we respond and wave back. Some of them have even memorized my Nigerien name so they yell that too. The best are the vendors who sell us breakfast in the morning. They are super friendly and like talking to us in the morning; this usually consists of all the typical greetings about your health, family, work, etc. Another fun thing is market day. Every Tuesday, hundreds of people come to Hamdallaye to sell and buy specific goods—like mats, fabrics, buckets, soap, and food. It can sometimes be overwhelming with all the people but it is quite the experience with all the people, colors, sounds, and smells. They do try to rip you off through since you’re an American and therefore have to have a lot of money. No worries though because we learned how to bargain in the different languages so we can get by.

So…I don’t even know where to begin. I’ve been in Niger for over a month now and so far, I’m having an amazing experience. We’re over half way through our training, which is actually about 45 minutes east of the capital, Niamey, in a town called Hamdallaye. I’ve been living with a host family of four: the mother stays at home and is a tailor part time, the father is a teacher at the Franco-Arab school in town, and then I have an 11 year old host sister and a 2 ½ year old host brother. They are all very nice and make me feel like family, which I think is a feeling I’m going to have often in this culture and country. They even gave me a Nigerien name, Halima, which means nice and generous. However, my host brother wasn’t always so welcoming – he was scared of me for a while and would run and cry when I came home. Only within the past few weeks has he really warmed up to me and plays with me daily.

Training is six days a week with two to four sessions a day, which can be language, medical, security, cross cultural and technical sessions specific to our different sectors (Community and Youth Education for me). We definitely keep busy and time seems to go by faster and faster each week. We’ve also taken a few trips, mostly with my CYE group, to Niamey to interview “successful” women and to other villages to visit typical CYE sites. We also spent three to four days with current Peace Corps Volunteers so we could see and experience their life first hand.

I'm leaving Indiana for Philadelphia in less than 24 hours for my few days of Peace Corps orientation before the big trip to Africa, then Wednesday I leave for Niger! I’ve been growing more and more nervous over the past few days but I am still excited about the next two years of my life. The first few months will be hard during training in Hamdallaye, which is just outside of the capital, Niamey, but I think as long as I keep a positive attitude, it’ll be OK. Once I complete and pass my training, I will officially become a volunteer and will get placed into a village or area. It’s been kind of frustrating because I don’t know exactly where I’m going or what I’m doing exactly, so I don’t feel very prepared. But I guess I’ve just had to accept that I’m as prepared as I’ll ever be. I’m going to do my best to keep this updated regularly and eventually put up some pictures. Feel free to leave comments, send me e-mails or snail mails and I’ll reply as soon as possible.

Take care everyone!

-Tricia