The rule in Niger is that communities must apply for a volunteer as well, but as I watched Peace Corps Niger place three groups of volunteers after me, the “application” process grew fuzzy. Staff targeted acceptable towns so as to cluster PCVs, and after all was said and done a community very rarely refused. The Mayor’s Office in Falmey brought me in as a source of funding and outside work, expecting autonomous community development with little effect to them. The men did not welcome outside opinions and were not interested in conducting an internal review of their practices and efficiency.

My Peace Corps Response position was set up as a job to which I applied like a typical candidate. My qualifications were reviewed in accordance with the needs my office ladies specified in their announcement. As a result, the Women Affairs Office welcomes me as someone who will provide to them what they requested. My ladies in Tonga (at the direction of their boss) want to make use of me for their own capacity-building and encourage me to respectfully present plans or suggestions for improvement.

I am here to work with my local counterparts, not for them, in spite of them, or around them. My main purpose in this office is not the development of Tonga’s women, but the development of the Women Affairs Department women. I am delighted to work on their projects: develop business trainings, plan home gardening campaigns, energy saving projects with women in mind, and attend stakeholder consultations. I love doing the work that they do, but the point is to do it with them so that they profit from my input and develop their own abilities to do this work. I am mainly helpful in: correcting/editing memorandum, grant proposals, personal essays, annual reports, and work plans for English grammar and for clarity, feasibility, comprehension, and accuracy. In short, it’s all in the details. Unfortunately, the detail is what is lacking in this office…

I now approach my third month living and working in Tonga. I work in the Ministry of Education, Women Affairs Department with three full-time staff and one often absent Deputy Director. The two Executive Officers are my counterparts and I assist the two contractors and secretary as needed.

The Tonga workplace is easier to jump into than in Niger because English is well spoken, the culture more closely mirrors my own from decades of strong New Zealand and Australian influences, I work with a team of women, and office technology and internet are at a functional level. My counterparts are perfectly able to ask their questions in English and I can return with leading questions concerning their practices and behavior in a proper manner. In Niger I was able to tread lightly in French (never in Zarma) but I believe my own inexperience in another culture and the gender difference caused my numerous failures in respect and subliminal communication. I was altogether too forward in my inquiries and had a short temper when ignored. After 18 months of causing offense, looking the fool, and losing my audience, I feel I have a better instinct for moderating my behavior and picking and choosing my battles. It also helps that my Tonga crew is all female with one male (the office driver), compared to all male with one female (secretary) in Niger. It is important to note that I was at least 10 years younger than any of the men in my Mayor’s Office. While I could tiptoe around being female, age seemed almost impossible to overcome in Nigerien culture as I saw it. I am not so young compared to my Tonga counterparts, and Tongans seem to value youth input much more as a society, the general definition of “youth” is 18-35 years old.

In Niger, lack of internet technology meant that research was difficult and communication between important players kept work from being done. In Tonga, our (relative) ease of access to the internet actively retards work in the office. “I’m working on it” means that emails, g-chatting and facebook stalking take precedence throughout the day. Come quitting time, I hear the dramatically discontented sighs which indicate everyone else will be “working late” and they are not happy about it. My impression is that they see “working late” as a romanticized indicator of dedication and accomplishment. It impresses the boss and increases importance. Never mind the fact that they work late because they take long and frequent breaks during normal business hours.

At the outset, my position in Tonga seems to be a physical improvement to Niger in many ways. I can only imagine what the transition would have been Tonga -> Niger instead of the other way around. It is widely acknowledged that Niger was one of the most dramatic “hardship” posts of all Peace Corps countries for many reasons, while Tonga is more developed, has a linguistic advantage, and is greatly influenced by “western” culture. However, at the end of this short comparison, I find it almost invalid when I remember the difference in location between my post in Niger and in Tonga. The bush of Niger is VERY different from the city setting, and I know that the rural and outer islands of Tonga have less English, more traditional values, relaxed workplace etiquette, less oversight and less technology. Can I really even compare the two?

 Toli explaining what is what  Cute & DeliciousOooooooh yeeeeeeah

 The U.S.S. Enterprise has docked

Kathryn

Sarah S

Intrepid explorer

Information from the crew

Flower I planted...the night this picture was taken, heavy rains pummeled the poor bud to smithereens!



Invitation

 'Itu getting ready

Heading out

Group shot with the Bride and Groom

Truda (PC), me, Joey

This was kind of late in the evening...

Kathy and random white girl

Table dancing

Reload Bar watching the ceremony

 

Fancy guests :-)

Me and the bartender

Swarm of ants on my wall

before the beach...I just left...KittyCome Sunday, the weekend sunny weather took a vacation. Not to be deterred, fellow Response volunteer Adam and I still made our way to Pangaimotu (the star of my last blog). He had not yet been, and I can't get enough! The rain drove all revellers into the restaurant right in time for lunch and the atmosphere was not dampened in the least! Card games, pingpong and good conversation kept everyone occupied until the rain stopped. Adam and I took turns snorkeling: I found a veritable field of large, black starfish, and Adam bravely ventured around the rusting boats. I just might spend every Sunday on this island...

Adam

Yay snorkeling

Nobody I know...

Saturday was a big day of relaxation, reading, playing with a kitten I am babysitting for other volunteers, and eventually going to my first Tongan feast. The event was a one-year anniversary memorial and unveiling of a tombstone for my landlady's cousin's wife's brother who passed away April 7, 2010. I had met 'Amelia, the wife a few weeks ago and was invited to attend. The ceremony at the cemetary was very nice, and the feast was something to behold! Despite the unfortunate circumstances, all who attended had a good time consuming copious amounts of food, watching the ladies of the family dance, and the closing slide-show was emotional and beautiful. All in all, a very nice experience.

Come Sunday, the weekend sunny weather took a vacation. Not to be deterred, fellow Response volunteer Adam and I still made our way to Pangaimotu (the star of my last blog). He had not yet been, and I can't get enough! The rain drove all revellers into the restaurant right in time for lunch and the atmosphere was not dampened in the least! Card games, pingpong and good conversation kept everyone occupied until the rain stopped. Adam and I took turns snorkeling: I found a veritable field of large, black starfish, and Adam bravely ventured around the rusting boats. I just might spend every Sunday on this island...

This week was busy for me, but not necessarily at the office! The most recent group of two-year volunteers in Tonga came from their homes to attend an in-service training. These volunteers have been in Tonga for six months now, and I really enjoyed getting to know them! They are a wonderful group of people, and really took advantage of being together with dinners, outings to the beach, and group support.

 'Itu my landlady giving her speech Sandy, PCV manning the

GLOW booth Thursday night was my fellow-Response volunteer Ashley's first major work event, the Talitha Project sponsored a Young Women Inspirational Night. Present were many prominent female speakers, including the Princess and incidentally my landlady who is Deputy Police Commissioner for the Tongan Police force. Inbetween the speeches motivating Tonga's young women, particularly victims of abuse, the young girls present performed many traditional dances and sang songs. All in all, it was a wonderful group of girls and their mothers, and although I do not speak Tongan, I am sure the speakers were excellent! I sat to the side of the hall with the Peace Corps volunteers in charge of our WID/GAD office (Women in Developmet/Gender in Development) at a booth dedicated to Camp GLOW, a GAD sponsored skills-building and motivational camp held for girls. Kaitlin, Sandy, Sara, Bri [standing]

Camp Glow Booth

Malo e lelei ki he efiafi ni to all,

(Hello and good afternoon) I just wanted to share that I have FINALLY gone to a beach here in Tonga! Let my remaining five months of Beach Corps begin! While the western side of my island of Tongatapu is mostly rocky harbor , there is a smaller island in the Nuku'alofa harbor where tourists and townies can enjoy the sun.

Pangaimotu Island cafe The cafe and boat dock Pangaimotu is about a 20 minute boat ride from Nuku'alofa and thanks to a volunteer discount, the fare is incredibly reasonable! The island is small enough to walk around in maybe 20 minutes, but large enough that it is very easy to find yourself the only person on a visible stretch of beach! The island has a restaurant and a few chairs to lounge in under the palm trees. Prices are touristy, which means too expensive for me on a regular basis, but it's all good! Bring a little snack and a bottle of water and you're all set! You can swim and snorkel by the boatsWalk to the other side of the island

to relax aloneI hear the eastern side of Tongatapu has the coral and is great for snorkeling. A friend knows of a secluded little cove-beach 40 minutes away by bike and I look forward to visiting in the near future! Sunday is really the best (and only) day to do these sorts of things, so give me a few more weeks and I hope to have found all of the sand-and-water hotspots!

Enjoy the coming spring (and I am not being sarcastic!) and enjoy my beach photos while you plan your own summer vacations!Ashley with a whole shell some

kids gave her

Three-weeks into my life and work in Tonga, things are settling in, and settling down. The surrounding beauty is becoming more common place, and I am struck by the alien colours I see in my own photos of Niger. My home of 18 months has turned back into the Martian landscape I saw from the airplane in 2009, though I feel like I just left.

The “9-to-5” is working its way into my bloodstream and I like the structure. My first “project” will be done tomorrow and will be ready for report on Monday. I have been updating our NGO/Stakeholders database for the past two weeks. The list was last updated in 2007, and was long overdue for some cleaning. I have been sent on goose-chase phone calls, met with relevant women’s development organizations, and emailed the rest. I have battled with Excel to strike disconnected numbers and invalid email addresses, have made once active NGOs disappear from the record, and have scouted out new organizations. What did I learn from this exercise: Nobody knows what the other is up to! It has been a great introduction to the inner workings of my office, the offices of those we contacted, and the layout of my new town. In addition to the database update, I have been working on project proposals my counterparts hope to submit within the next month. It is a nice change from Niger to have working deadlines, and to see the end of my little work “projects”. I am excited to figure out my next few months once the database is done.

My social life is slowly picking up. The volunteers in the capital are somewhat isolated in their activities (a PC trend I feel) but I am gradually getting to know my American and Tongan neighbours. I am getting used to a real house that has about six living spaces; as compared to my two-room mud brick…Bungalow…shall I say? I miss having a cat around for company, but my landlady has an ancient dog that hangs out on my front porch. He is a flea-bag but a comfort to see when I come home. I am learning how to feed myself well, I have Tongan lessons with another Response volunteer every Thursday evening, and I look forward to making my first trip to the beach.

Yes, that’s right! Nuku’alofa is regrettably NOT on the beach-side of the island! There is a small island in the Nuku’alofa harbor where tourists go, and I have not had the chance to get on the boat and check it out! So much for beach corps! It will happen someday, hopefully before my mother comes to visit me in July. Her visit should be fantastic as apparently most of the things there are to enjoy about Tonga happen/occur in July! Cultural festivals, Miss Tonga pagent, bluewhale watching, etc. My office is already primed for my mom's visit and it should be no problem to take vacation time to visit some of the other islands!

That is the extent of my life here in Tonga. Pretty boring so far, but I know it will pick up! I feel time rushing forward, but unlike in Niger, I don’t care to slow it down this time. I have already been broken from my true Peace Corps family, and I see this experience in Tonga as a work opportunity, a nice buffer between Niger and resuming life in America. I have so much to look forward to at the end of my time here that the going-home is not scary like it would have been. All of the anxiety PCVs go through during their last three months of service happened to me in about one week in Morocco…I feel like I have done my time, and Tonga is an amazing bonus!

Here in Tonga it is 8:30 on Wednesday morning and my work day has begun! As usual I allowed myself way too much time to get settled before I send out a quick update, but everybody is busy, right?

A brief introduction: My Peace Corps program in Niger, West Africa was suspended in January 2011. During the very emotional transition conference in beautiful Morocco, I was introduced to the Peace Corps Response program. I applied for a six month position in Tonga (“Wow, that’s definitely the other side of the world!”), flew home to America, was accepted into the program and left America after an amazing month and a half rest on March 4th.

Here I am on the main island of Tongatapu, situated almost smack in the middle of the capital city of Nuku’Alofa (pronounced more like Nukulofa) and this is my third day at work. I am working in a lovely office of six women in the Women’s Affairs Department of the Ministry of Education. This office is in charge of all things women here in Tonga. They recently sponsored a successful Festival/Fair to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8th (my second day of Peace Corps training) and are now moving forward with their work plan of business trainings and policy writing. My experiences with proposal writing and working with my women’s groups in Niger help me integrate straight into the work of the office, and my Tongan language tutoring sessions begin tomorrow evening. Maybe in a few months I will be able to understand a quarter of what the ladies say around me then, I will patiently continue to ask for a translation when they forget to switch to English for me!

The island is beautiful as many of you have researched or could guess about a South Pacific paradise. While Niger’s main impression is dry and dusty, Tonga is of course humid and muddy! Maybe Northern VA is really the perfect medium? Colourful flowers surround me everywhere I walk, and I do walk everywhere! I hope buy a bike today which will make it easier to really explore (aka get lost) around the town. My house is in a “compound” area of sorts, nestled between my exquisite landlady ‘Itu, and a female University student named Lupé. The fact that ‘Itu is from a VIP family in Tonga, and that she is Deputy Police Commissioner, make me feel extra safe! The house that she graciously donated to me for these next six months is fully furnished and very comfortable.

In short, I feel that I am settling in well with my new community, I look forward to visiting a beach or two, and my work so far has been very structured, and thus rewarding! The transition to this kind of office environment illuminates the skills that I used and gained in Niger, which were often hidden to me while I was there. As I move forward in my formal career, I gradually discover all that I learned in the women’s garden, middle school, public library, and home environment that served as my “office” in Niger. Informal learning is a sneaky devil, but in many ways more formative than the nine-to-five. Thank you to Peace Corps for allowing me to do both!

I hope you are all happy and healthy! Please let me know what is going on in your world!

My warmest, 85-degree and sunny, wishes!

So here I am, in America. I have been spending time with my family, boyfriend and friends. I want to be here and do not want to be here. I want to be in Niger, but the opportunity to go to Tonga excites me too! I battle extremes and this blogging is both helping and hurting my heart. As I say goodbye to Niger I am reminded of all the people I have left behind, how I failed to appreciate the relationships I had there and how I wish I could drum up the courage to call my best family to speak with my “mother” Mouskoura. I feel guilt for leaving my cat, and for making the decision to continue to leave her in Niger instead of spending countless dollars and pulling in tremendous favors to have her flown across the world to my family while I am in Tonga. I want to communicate with the people who love me but have procrastinated and left messages unanswered in what I thought was laziness but now see was a self-preservation technique to remain disconnected. I was not supposed to be here at this time…what does it matter if I see people or not? Especially when I am about to leave again for six months…


I realize that this is NOT how I want to leave you. I need to re-engage, especially now! I am leaving again, although this assignment has more of the feel of a job than a life-style change. Six months is much more approachable than two years, and this time I know how to pack!


Here are some details of the job I am to do in Tonga. This was taken from the Peace Corps Response Position Description document and I do not know anything more about what I will be doing than is revealed in this paragraph!

Country: Kingdom of Tonga

Assignment Title: Business/NGO Development Advisor

Partnering Organization: Women Affairs, Ministry of Education, Women Affairs, and Culture (MEWAC)

Desired Start Date: February 2011

Length of Assignment: 6 Months with possibility of Extension

Location: Nuku’alofa, Kingdom of Tonga

The purpose of the Women’s Affairs division is the following:

Develop a National Policy on Women and Development Co-ordinate all women’s activities in Tonga Establish a National Committee on Women and Development. Enhance the effectiveness of Government’s efforts in Women and Development by supporting the activities of the National Council for Women, Langafonua ‘a Fafine Tonga. Duties & Responsibilities:
Help disabled women in writing their project proposalsAssist the Disabled Women’s Group in organizing their activities Conduct training on microfinance and other relevant business topics for various women’s groups including THA and the Women with Disabilities group.Seek funding, markets and exhibitions of which the Tongatapu Handicraft Association can be a partAssist women’s groups in writing project proposals as requestedUpdate data on registration of NGO’s and Government groups for 2011.Assist in coordinating local consultation for THA, Women’s Disability Group and others as requestedAssist WA in formulating a strategic plan with long term and short term goals and objectives
That’s what I’ve got, and will have to get there to find out more! The languages in Tonga are English and Tongan, I should be stationed in the capital of Nuku’alofa on the main island. My departure date has been slipped to March 4th. The Tongan tourism website will convince you to want to come see me during my stay there!

The transition conference in Rabat was held over the course of one work week. In that week we had to...

Process being ripped from our homes, friends, pets, and work.Process the eventual goodbyes as we would part from Peace Corps staff and fellow volunteers.Medical Clearance: physical exam, TB test, three stool/one urine/two blood samples, mental health exam, and dental for some.Paperwork: Administrative/Money stuff; health insurance; settling any in-country debt; personal “tell your story” stuff; description of our site in Niger for future volunteers; site close-out for Niger staff; what should PC do with the stuff you left behindDescription of Service: only record PC keeps of your service and what you did (essentially the official narrative of my work in Niger should employers wish to see it)Sessions: Exit interviews with Country Director; Readjustment to life in America; Resumes and NetworkingExplore Rabat and purchase warmer clothing (CLOSED TOED SHOES!)Figure out a Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, and possibly Plan F for FML nothing is going right.Future options based on your time in Niger:1.5 years in Niger [ME]: Direct transfer pending availability/medical clearance/being an acceptable candidate; go home and re-enroll for another two years; Peace Corps Response; Done with Peace Corps with full RPCV benefits.6 months in Niger: Direct transfer pending availability/medical clearance/being an acceptable candidate; go home and re-enroll for another two years; done with Peace Corps with partial RPCV benefits.3 months in Niger: Get directly transferred into a new program leaving between Feb-Apr for a full two years; direct transfer pending availability/medical clearance/being an acceptable candidate; done with Peace Corps with partial or no RPCV benefits (I didn’t pay attention to their status really).

Very few people knew they wanted to go straight home after the conference. Most of us wanted very much to continue directly with our Peace Corps service…we were all committed for two full years and wanted to serve! None of the continuation options were available until Wednesday of the conference, a short list of acceptable applicants was posted Thursday morning and final direct transfers were posted Friday. Many hopes and dreams were dashed in the span of 72 hours, emotions ran high and mistakes were made. By Tuesday, I had already decided that the direct transfer option was not for me as they required a minimum of a full year commitment. I was not prepared to put off my masters program for another year! I desperately contacted Peace Corps Response about a few positions I thought I could qualify for. By Thursday I had an interview done, and looked forward to decompressing from the stressful week, flying back to America and waiting to hear about the Response position.

I arrived home Tuesday, January 25th and the next day received an invitation to serve as an NGO Developer in Tonga for six months starting late February.

Cold-season is upon us! Actually, it is half-way done! Niger started to mercifully cool down in early November and should stay pleasant until about late February. The nights get down to the mid-50’s (FREEZING) and the days are probably more like 85-90 and dry. By now my body has adjusted to the new degrees of heat so anything between 60-80 is chilly, 80-90 feels AMAZING, 100-105 degrees start to feel uncomfortable, and above 105 is just hot. The dry heat is a blessing for a girl who has lived in the boggy Florida pan-handle and the marshes of Washington DC/Northern Virginia’s Potomac area. My hair air-dries in a matter of minutes and looks better than it could ever look without a blow-dryer. Cold-season is a time for gardening and that is what I am doing with the Falmey Women’s Union named “Tontoni” or “growth”. We are planting: Salad, cabbage, eggplant, tomatoes, hot peppers, and green peppers. We would love to have carrots, onions and potatoes too, but unfortunately my project financing has not come in yet and the time marches on. We will make due with what we have though! What else is there to do? The women will use the produce to either help feed their families or to sell for extra cash around the house. Either way the cold-season gardening activities should help them out as we move into Hot Season and the “hungry” season. This is typically throughout the months of April, May, and June. The stores of food from October 2010’s harvest will start to run low and people will have to ration until the first yields of the rainy season come in, usually around mid-July. This past year’s hungry season (Apr-Jun 2010) was terrible but the harvest that just came in should hold people over MUCH better for 2011. Any extra help these women can get to stock up or save before the hungry time is a victory and that is what we are trying to do with the gardens. The follow-up project to the gardening this year is to acquire a quality metal fence around the space so the women don’t have to build a millet stock fence every year. I am in the process of finding funding for this, but the agriculture is the most interesting thing I am doing right now, second to an English-French letter exchange that is.The Christmas holiday in Falmey was modestly celebrated. The Presbyterian congregation of 10-15 held a service on Saturday and the Pastor’s family cooked up food for a large luncheon. My friends in town who are aware of the Christian holiday greeted me on it, but they were not many. This did not bother me because it is indicative of one of the best things about Niger, the religious freedom. There is no tension between Muslims and Catholics, although all the Muslims want me to convert when the topic comes up. They do not harass me or speak ill of Christianity, but merely exhibit a passive sympathy that I am not a part of their comfortable Muslim world. In a way I have the feeling that we are constantly agreeing to disagree. Everyone goes about their day in peace. My villagers are more than happy to include me and educate me on their religious holidays and if I had the ability to explain Christianity, I am sure they would listen patiently and celebrate with as much gaiety as I. I have no problem getting excited about the feasts of Ramadan, Mouloud, and Tabaski…religious observance or is it all about the food? I have the same difficulty making the distinction with American holidays! Their daily life is full of prayer (literally, five times a day) but clashing religious principals have yet to come between me and my life here.That said, religion and culture are so entangled here that social and cultural differences, stemming from religious beliefs do occasionally interrupt the flow of life for me. This very afternoon I received the following text message from a Nigerien colleague who speaks English: Hello, Happy Christmas! Islam do not allow men to share hands with women except their parent/relative. So excuse me if I do not later share mine with you. Bye.In America this is rude, and my American sensibilities were momentarily shocked and insulted. However, I live in Niger now. The male/female dynamic is dramatically different and I must understand this and adapt my behavior so as not to offend my host country. I can respect my colleague’s beliefs and genuinely want to minimize any discomfort he feels in my presence. He has shaken my hand in the past when I offered it, and now I understand the unease it must have given him. We all pick and choose our battles and this is a small thing that I am willing to give up to my friend so as to avoid embarrassing scenes in the future. I suppose it helps that his view is not widespread. Most professional men in Falmey will shake my hand. If it were the opposite, then perhaps I would have spent more time fighting to be treated equally with handshakes, instead of insisting upon my right to treat street food as it is meant to be treated. I will never be able to let go of my right to take food on the go and eat and walk at the same time!

A Peace Corps program can be evacuated for many reasons but believe it or not, many programs are back up and running with new volunteers within as little as three months! This will not be the case with Niger. We were officially evacuated due to “security concerns” caused by unpredictable acts of terrorism perpetrated by a party outside of Niger. The program will not be reinstated until the country can be proven “safe”. Since 2008 Niger has seen multiple kidnappings per year, increasing in frequency and intensity. At the time of the national evacuation of volunteers, PC/Niger had already removed volunteers from the northern and middle areas of three active regions, and had shut down an entire region of volunteers. Directly before and during my service, Peace Corps Niger experienced three “consolidations” of some or all of its volunteers, where affected volunteers are required to pack one emergency bag and proceed to their regional safe-house. As a result of the previous security concerns, my whole time in service saw increasing travel restrictions and “whereabouts” check-ins so that the Peace Corps could keep me safe, know my location at all times, and hopefully still enable me to do my work as a volunteer. The last month of my service was frustrating as my work commitments increased (to my greatest pleasure) and came into conflict with the tight restrictions. I tell you now that I was NEVER worried for my safety in any real terms, but I relate this information to you in order to explain Peace Corps’ decision to suspend our program.

This leads me to the reality of the final straw: the terrorist threat to foreigners (in particular to French nationals) reached a new and frightening level when the armed men entered the heart of the capital city, at a reasonable hour on a Friday night, in a crowded bar frequented by volunteers, just minutes from the place I call home when travelling through Niamey. It is a miracle that none of my friends were there that night. For clarification, all that I have read and heard confirms that the two Frenchmen were specifically targeted, so there is no reason to believe that, had American PCVs been at the bar, they would have been approached. Peace Corps Washington sat down to discuss the next step in Niger’s future, keeping all of these details in mind. The ultimate decision, and one I can only regrettably agree with, was that adding more restrictions to my life would do nothing to further guarantee my safety, and it would render me next to useless to my villagers. I appreciate their concern for my ability to do work, and for considering my quality of life as a peace corps volunteer. I am not happy about leaving Niger, but I can not argue with the logic.

I promised this a few weeks ago, and I am sorry for the delay. After you read this, I hope you might understand why I could not write sooner. I feel alternately bitter and numb about what has happened, yet excited about where my life will lead me. I have been itching to write, but shy and also lazy about corresponding to my friends and family about this issue. Procrastination has been my method of coping with the fall out of evacuation from Niger. For those of you who have contacted me with heartfelt messages and genuine requests to spend time with me, I owe it to you to shake myself out of my self-indulgent mood. Re-adjustment after Peace Corps service is not fun, but the best way to get over the shock is to dive right back into my life and to realize that while I may be a bit different, I still fit in with those who have loved and supported me during my time away. Without further ado, my literal adventure in Niger comes to an end with this post, but will continue to live on in my heart and memory as I move on to life, to Life, L’Chaim!

With gardening going, I had also begun a pen-pal correspondence between a classroom of middle school French students in America and English language students in their final year of Nigerien middle school. I was having a great time acting as the go-between for both cultures as the students exchanged letters: Nigerien students wrote in English and American students wrote in French. I had high hopes for the success of this program, nothing sustainable really, just a glimpse into another culture and linguistic development.

At midnight on Friday, January 7, 2011 four armed men walked into a bar located within walking distance of Peace Corps Niger’s administration bureau and the volunteer hostel, removed two French nationals at gunpoint and fled with the hostages for the Mali border. Over that weekend, the Frenchmen were killed before or during the rescue attempt…details are still unknown. Over the weekend Peace Corps Washington discussed PC/Niger’s history of security concerns and decided to suspend volunteer operations in Niger until such time in the future that volunteers can return to Niger to live and work without restriction. I was called with the news of evacuation at 10am Wednesday, January 12th and was given one day to pack and to make provisions for my house, cat, projects and friendships. I was picked up by the Peace Corps the next morning around 9am and taken straight to the capital. I was not allowed to return to my regional hostel to collect my belongings, so my friends who were able to do so, sorted through my trunk and pulled out any items I requested. As I had not been into my regional capital since the end of November, there were many items in my trunk that I did not know about and were therefore left behind. Including one of the three original copies of a land donation to my women’s Union.

I was flown out of Niger Friday morning at 7am to Casablanca, Morocco and then bussed to the capital where I would stay for the next week of a “Transition Conference”. The majority of Niger’s volunteers joined my group on Monday.

After my guests left, I fell back into my work in Falmey. Before my holiday, my Union ladies had completed the training course I set up with Falmey’s Community Development Agent. Adamou was an efficient and effective training leader, and the ladies who attended the sessions participated fully and really seemed to enjoy the chance to meet and discuss their work. I really feel that the women benefitted from the formal discussion of what they do every day without thinking, sometimes we all need to take a look at our rote behavior from a different angle. I felt proud that the women got some attention, a pat on the back for the commitment they have shown, validation of their importance in the community, and an opportunity to learn about progressing in their work.I continue to hope that the work we did will give the ladies confidence to move forward in their own development, but I admit I have little faith that they will really put into practice the ideas and work methods they learned. Life is the ultimate test of sustainability, no matter how carefully we planned the project. I feel that we could make more progress towards behavior change if I had been able to stay in Niger and perform the follow-up and evaluation of the project. This last step involved attending the women’s monthly meetings, evaluating the ways in which they put their new training to use, and reminding them of the organizational tools that the trainings presented to them, so that they could really make the most of their time and work together. However, I do not have that opportunity and I can only wish my ladies good luck, and the strength to push forward with a development idea that challenges many of their traditional beliefs and customs.

Our “business plan” challenged some long-standing practices in Falmey, (1) multiple separate but not specialized women’s groups, (2) every women must see a direct benefit to herself before she will participate, (3) a group of women who do not engage in a steady work regimen can be officially registered, remain on the poverty line, and be eligible for NGO handouts. A select few wanted to pull as many of the active groups as possible into an overarching Union, look at group specialization, and to save in a communal safe to start financing small projects. The idea was to benefit from Falmey’s local development agents to share knowledge of a chosen enterprise, and to work with a small group of women in order to create a real change in their financial situation. Given time, and communal resources, the Union of women could then work on one small campaign after the next, hopefully rotating through the various types of income generating activities that the town of Falmey can support. We wanted to start with the communal gardening space, then be able to move on to other types of projects that different women would participate in, raising goats for profit, production of shea butter products, exploitation of peanut products, sale of street food for profit, and maybe even some small Union-sponsored activities such as town clean-up campaigns and encouraging participation in the adult literacy classes and young girl’s sewing lessons offered in town.

Grand ideas, but not their own. It all seemed so rational to me, easy to do once you show people what they are missing! My counterparts and I did the best we could while together; our plans were altered, challenged, and boiled down to the understanding: we needed free access to knowledge, steady work, even if it was slow, to keep everyone interested, and time. I left Niger with the knowledge less than half-completed, the work in progress, and time off the table where it concerns me.

My last personal blog post left off just after the Christmas holiday, and before I went to Gaya to welcome the New Year with Brian and Sara, along with Sara’s brother who was visiting from America. My trip down to Gaya from Falmey is a solid six hours, but I broke it up over two days to visit my friend Michelle who was located almost exactly in-between. Michelle and I met up in the market town of Ouna, snacked on fried dough, watched the people go by and eventually made our way back up the road about three hours to Michelle’s village “high” up in the mesas. Just one night was enough to show me that although she was so out of the way, Michelle was placed with wonderful people and I felt confident that we would be able to visit each other somewhat regularly (maybe once every few months). From Michelle’s home I made my way to Gaya. Once the crew was assembled, Sara, her brother, Brian and I struck out on the town, visited Brian’s Nigerien Mom, ate oranges off trees with friends in a riverside garden, climbed the non-pedestrian path up Gaya’s largest mesa and generally enjoyed the mini vacation. At this point I had been in Falmey since early December and it felt good to get away and spend some time in Gaya. It also felt like coming full circle all over again. In July of 2010, my whole group stood bewildered that we had arrived in Niger one year previous, and over the Christmas and the New Year, I looked back again at the time I had spent with the same people, minus a few good souls who had already closed their service.

On January 1st, Sara, her brother and I got a “late” start out of Brian’s house to the bush taxi station. Our intention: travel from Gaya directly back to Falmey. Easier said than done! We arrived at the tesam around 9am and did not get on the road until 11am. The trip (usually six hours once on the road) took us 10 in constantly broken open-back truck! Thankfully, the Falmey-to-Gaya road is the scenic route!! Rocky mesas turn into the palm-tree lined riverbank, which turns to flat stretches of sand and gravel, dotted with small shrubbery and massive baobob trees bare in the winter. The next day we spent out on the Niger River, searching for elephants. We finally did see the beautiful creatures bathing in the shallows on the side of the river that belongs to the national preserve, Parc W. The trip had a true African safari-feel and we were lucky for the chance to do it!

Post IIMeanwhile, life here has been eventful. The summer months saw me back in the States for my brother Stephen’s wedding to Linda Ryerse. After more than a year away I finally saw my family, my boyfriend who has dealt with this crazy girl in Africa the whole time, and all of my beloved friends who were available to be seen! The wedding went off without a hitch and I can not wait to be home again to spend time with the new couple under calmer circumstances! It was a whirlwind of a vacation but worth every minute. I can’t forget that America awaits me when this is all over! September culminated in the Swearing-In Ceremony of my “Sister Stage”, the group of MCD/CYE Volunteers who came in exactly one year after me. I spent the last two weeks with them as their training came to a much awaited end and 29 trainees became volunteers. There was much drama during those last few weeks when three of their numbers returned to the US for various reasons, but it was nothing compared to what was to come. Most of you may know by now that Peace Corps Niger mourns the loss of new volunteer Stephanie Chance. Stephanie was a beautiful, intelligent, funny, outgoing girl who was greatly enjoying her first two weeks in her new home when she passed away during the night of October 7, 2010. At the time of writing this, we have not heard the final cause of death (there was no evidence of foul play), but we held a joint Nigerien/American memorial service for Stephanie in Niamey on Sunday October 10th before escorting her remains to the airport to send her home. It was an emotional time for my Sister Stage, and the whole country feels the loss as well, whether we knew Stephanie or not.The rest of October has been busy for me as I scramble to submit project proposals for several trainings and cold-season gardening activities with the women’s Union of Falmey. The first appeal for money (it all comes down to money, doesn’t it?!) is to train the Union officers and the participating member group officers how to be a proper organization, how to manage their money in an efficient and transparent manner, and basically how to plan out their work and do it. I really want to focus on their self-promotion to reduce the dependency on outside partners. Of course, if you consider the fact that I myself am an outside partner, bringing them money, I think that my message could be a bit lost on the ladies. The second phase in the development of a successful and autonomous Union is a series of trainings on gardening techniques and materials for 30 women to garden a donated space in the middle of town. This space officially belongs to the Union and we will rely on the ladies to manage all gardening activities that take place there. The final aid I want to bring to the Union is a metal fence to enclose the gardening space. The permanent fence will really give the ladies a leg up on gardening because all they would have to purchase in the future would be seeds and replacement tools if something breaks. Taking away the need to erect a fence every year saves a lot of money and effort.My local library is attempting to restart its school-year programming with game nights, video showings, presentations, and a new idea, a monthly essay contest for the Primary school grades. I also suggested weekly or monthly soccer games to my middle school P.E. teacher and the first game of an Inter-class tournament will be held on Wednesday, November 10 after school. I am keeping my fingers crossed for these activities, mainly because they are so much fun for me to attend! I also hope to be more involved with the English classes at the middle school, and will be meeting with the English teachers this week to discuss the possibilities.While you have been experiencing unseasonably warm weather the past few weeks, Niger has finally begun the march to our “winter”!! The Harmattan wind that blows across this region has brought with it relief from the debilitating heat of mini-Hot Season. Although the air is full of dust, I still prefer this time of year to September and October! I will bring this post to a close with the news that my cat’s second litter of kittens (three boys to follow the first group of three girls…) has finally left the nest. Although I will miss not having babies around the house, I feel it best to get Kaydiya spayed as soon as possible!

I hope all of you are doing well and that life is everything you want it to be!

Post IAs often happens with these things, life has delayed my blogging for some time. Today as I work on various project proposals, my procrastination mechanism has been triggered and I feel compelled to write. After living in Niger the past year, I could not help but nod and laugh last night at the pronouncement “Tomorrow is a day when, for the rest of the world, Americans seem to go a bit insane…” at the beginning of a BBC report on Halloween. My best effort last year was a night in the Dosso hostel with friends, cooking a massive amount of onion rings and watching the scariest selection of movies available until we passed out. This year I am in my village, with little desire to “educate” my neighbors on our…interesting…holiday. Not even enough effort to carve a pumpkin as many volunteers do. I do not feel guilty because really, my neighbors don’t need another reason to think Americans are bonkers.Halloween seems so far away now, and it took a minute to remember my last celebration of the holiday. My last Halloween involved last-minute scrambling and the unfortunate purchase of a long bright red wig, now reminiscent of Johnny Depp’s mad Hatter since I have watched Alice in Wonderland so many times with my neighbors. Two Halloweens ago, my college roommate joined hundreds of others in imitation of Sarah Palin, though unlike many others, Stephanie pulled it off. Katie was forced to add a fleece to her Betty Rubble outfit, sadly it wasn’t leopard printed. At least her dark bobbed wig flattered her features and was still telling of her costume. Our night out in Washington DC was low-key as we chose to skip the high cover charges at the bars for the simple joy of strolling together and congratulating fellow revelers on their imagination.Even though I am not a big Halloween participant, I am glad that I remember that it is today. I feel more connected to home and that BBC report had me chuckling and remembering just what it is like. I did feel a pang of homesickness for the sweeter parts of the night, handing out candy, orange and black baked goods, “scary” movies, costume camaraderie, both topical and original. Like the reporter said, Halloween must be the only American holiday that exists for pure pleasure. There are no strings attached and the only pressure is to avoid wardrobe malfunctions during the night. I hope that everyone back home had a happy Halloween and that you were able to report to work Monday morning!

Dear Friends and Family,

I hope all is going well at home and that your summer has started off with a bang! It's hard to believe we are already half way through 2010! Just a quick update on my comings and goings, since it has been a while for sure!

April saw the beginning of my library programming in Falmey, as well as my first "project" for which I secured about $20 USD funding....yay me! It was a very small project to clean up the Falmey library and it went down (almost) without a hitch! The idea was to recruit eight (8) Third Year students from the middle school to help myself, the Librarian and one other member of the Library's Activities Committee clean the building from top to bottom! Only one student was absent that day and the rest of us got the work done in short order. The money I secured bought cleaning supplies and lunch and we were done around 1pm before the heat of the day really hit. At the end of the clean up I asked the students and teacher to put together a "Student of the Month" poster which we will use to display a picture of the student (middle school or primary school) who frequents the library the most during a given month. I hope to use the display as encouragement for the kids to spend some time with the books! Watching my villagers cut out pre-traced letters and stars and glue them onto a posterboard was both amusing and charming and I think they really got a kick out of the creative-artsy project. Nigeriens really do not get much of that in school or in life really so I thought it would be fun to work with colored construction paper for a few minutes!

May saw the second month of library activities, including 5 exposes! I am the most proud of these presentations because of the significant numbers of both students AND adult attendees. So far the Library activities committee members in charge of the exposes have brought in Falmey's experts to discuss: Malnutrition (head doctor of the doc's office), Malaria (ditto), Education system in Niger (Education Councelor with the Inspection), Education system in Falmey (ditto), "Park W": Importance to Falmey's riverain communities (Forestry Agent). Every expose had *at least* 20 attendees comprised of male and female third year middle schoolers, and various male functionnaires from the town of Falmey. The reason we had two presentations on the Educational system was because the Councelor ran way over his presentation time and the audience was so engaged in the topic, they voted then and there to continue with the question and answer portion the following Saturday!

We may not be able to draw the crowds for game night, but the exposes are engaging the community in a way I only dreamed was possible. These past few months have given me an idea of what works, what doesn't, and what we can do better when the next school year comes around. The activities committee is taking a break during the summer vacation months.

June came quickly and the most anticipated activity was Peace Corps Niger's first ever All Volunteer Conference. Created, planned, run, and partied by Volunteers! Teams Maradi and Zinder along with select Tillaberi and Dosso reps did *an amazing job* planning this thing and despite being rather sick and working through a painful infection in my leg, I had a wonderful time! I got to see Maradi and Zinder, which are Hausa lands and my Zarma is of little value to me. The sessions at the conference were all run by Volunteers based on projects they have successfully completed in their villages over the past two years. Even if I'm not going to work on some of those ideas myself, it was fun and impressive listening to my friend's service stories! Some ideas I am interested in are: Goat Loans; small scale irrigation systems; English letter exchanges with an American classroom; Basic health care advice for villagers; and Population education sensibilizations. There really is SO much, so we'll see what I can do! I also engaged in whirlwind shopping trips for the amazing artisanal goodies that can be found out East!

The rest of this month and into July will also be busy. I will be starting a Peace Corps sponsored radio show in a town about an hour away from me. My main focus for the show will be on Mayor's Office, Commune, and Decentralization related material, but I am sure I'll get some Environment, Health, and America related topics in there too. Early July will see me back around Niamey and Hamdallye for "TOT". The Training of Trainers session will lead up to the arrival of the new group of Education and Community Development volunteers in Niger. I will be a Volunteer Assistant Trainer (VAT) for their final weeks of training in September before the new volunteers head out into the big wide world of Niger. I am super excited to help the newbies integrate into Nigerien culture and to answer any last minute questions they might have before being thrown out into their sites! I remember my own arrival and training like it was yesterday and not almost a whole year in the past! This is a really exciting time for me.

August, as most of you know is my vacation to the United States. Some people leave Niger to travel around West Africa....well I'll do that next year! This year my younger brother is getting married and I am so lucky that I will be able to come home to see it happen!!! I am a bridesmaid and will be home just 20 short hours before the Bridal shower and other activities! The next weekend will be the wedding itself and after all the drama and activities and photos are done, I will be able to relax for the next two weeks and do nothing but EAT! I hope I will see many if not all of you around that time (July 30 - Aug 21) but if not, we will be in touch!

Here ends this "short" look into my life for the past few months!

Although it will not be a major part of this entry, the title of this blog refers to the two nights of rain my town received this past Thursday and Friday. I suppose I feel as though two nights of rain in a row signifies the beginning of the end of Hot Season so it's big news. I could be very wrong though, so I won't count too many chickens before they hatch, I'll just try to eat the eggs real quick...

The past few months have been busy. Such an overused statement but true I guess. The next few months should be busy as well and before I know it I will have passed my one-year mark in Niger. Here is an insert from my school blog entry....for the full picture you can check it out (link on the right side of this webpage) and for the rosey picture just keep reading here :-)

"March started off well with a rapid-fire series of meetings to initiate my Women’s Union/Gardening project and the Library Activities Committee “project”.

In the case of the Women’s Groups of Falmey (WGsF) Two resolutions were quickly decided by the town’s top officials and relevant technical services, (1) That the land will be donated, officially, to the WGsF, and (2) that a Union of the WGsF must be created in order to accept this donation on behalf of the more than 30 groups registered for the three towns. My two counterparts for this project are, Adamou the technical agent for the Community Development Service and Hassan the technical agent for the Agricultural Service/Aide to Community Based Organizations. We immediately conducted three successful meetings: first a general call to assembly for all women’s groups of Falmey Zarma, Falmey Hausa, and Falmey Kaina to discuss our ideas and encourage the creation of a Union; Second, three candidates from each interested women’s group met to discuss the role of elected officers of the Union and to formally elect from among themselves the Union’s Bureau; Third the elected Bureau of officers met to present themselves to the Mayor’s Office of Falmey and to discuss the monetary and paper requirements of becoming a registered Union.

At the same time as the women’s groups’ project, I also approached my town Librarian about revitalizing the Library’s weekly and monthly programming. My aim was to build on this institution to (1) increase frequentation by the population, (2) utilize the space for public events, and (3) establish a strong working relationship with the local schools (Primary and Secondary). In this endeavor my counterpart is Abdul Azika, the Librarian. We met with the existing but inactive Management Committee to propose the creation of an Activities Committee made up of volunteers from the community to oversee weekly programming. This idea was universally accepted and on March 31st the first program took place, a reading of Zarma folk tales to students by the Mayor’s Office Treasurer. The Library Activities Committee is a work in progress and generally going well as we continue to learn and develop our objectives.

The two most successful programs to date are our French language game nights, and the Exposés of community issues. Four incredibly dynamic exposés have taken place to date on : The local branch of NIGELEC, Niger’s national electric company presented by the NIGELEC Agent; Malnutrition and Malaria both presented by Falmey’s head health worker; Niger’s Educational System presented by the town’s Education Councilor. The Education System exposé ran so long last Saturday that there was not enough time to hold the “question and answer” portion. All present were so engaged in the topic that they decided on the spot to continue with the discussion of the issue tomorrow, May 22, bumping the planned Environment exposé to the following Sunday slot. Attendance of all exposés to date has been at minimum 10 adult community members (educated male functionaries) and 10-15 secondary school students (male and female) as an after school assignment by the Director of the Secondary school of Falmey.

This past Tuesday, after collaborating with their teacher, I conducted an after-school English language exercise for the 3rd year middle school students. I had a great time, the kids seemed engaged and their teacher was satisfied with the whole exercise. We will be repeating the session with the second half of her class this coming Tuesday. Next school year I hope that teachers will take the opportunity to bring their classes to the Library for field-trips and/or to take advantage of our after-school programming......

There has been a recent transition within the Mayor’s office and Chief of Post office that also necessitated a break in the Union work but the gears have started spinning again however my window of opportunity might very well be closed as Niger’s food crisis takes precedence over almost all other development work at the moment. While I look into the Union project, my Library programming looks as though it will be coming to an end for the months of school vacation. In the mean time I have discussed with my General Secretary the possibility of starting a Peace Corps radio show in a neighboring village.

The idea came about as I pondered over ways to improve the Public Relations of the Mayor’s office. Since change from within by my presence is not a viable option (as far as developing a more transparent, efficient working environment) I thought one way I can help out is by inspiring the commune population to demand change from outside. What is the Mayor’s office entity? What does the Mayor’s office do for the Commune and what should the office do? What is the Mayor’s office of Falmey currently doing for me? How can the Mayor’s office do more? Sensibilizations on Niger’s decentralization structure, paying your taxes, participating in census projects and/or being vigilant about acquiring Birth and Death Acts are what I want to focus on at first. Hopefully I will be able to get this up and running (it would be a weekly program) and get enough tapes made for program slots I would be missing this summer if my current plans go through. I am hoping to be a Volunteer Assistant Trainer (VAT) for the month of July for the new group of Municipal and Community Development and Childhood and Youth Education volunteers arriving in Niger July 10th. I really want to be there to welcome my “sister stage”, help them through their first few weeks of training, and help create a stronger Peace Corps-to-Master’s International connection than currently exists. When my group came in, nobody here even acknowledged the MI program or its participants despite the fact that there are many MI programs that require some specific support from PC/Niger staffing. Wish me luck!"

That is the gist of the work I am currently doing and hoping to start up in the next few months before I come home to Northern Virginia to attend my brother Stephen's wedding in August. An extra two weeks will be tacked on after the festivities for me to enjoy a bit of the First World without getting too attached. My plan is to eat eat eat, get really large and feel as though I have to return to Niger, West Africa so I can lose the weight again...fool-proof I think. Oh yeah, the "healthier" plan is to make sure my next few months are so chock full of work and socializing that I actually have a worthwhile life here in Niger to return to.

This weekend I travelled to my friend Sara's village for her 30th Birthday Bash. She threw tons of money at her wonderful friend and food-go-to-woman to prepare massive amounts of rice, sauce, bread, ice and iced juice, mangoes, coconut, and even bought and killed a sheep. The trends seems to be, us new volunteers decide we've just got to throw a Nigerien party while we're here, and afterwards declare that it will NEVER happen a second time! I am so glad that Sara's party went much more smoothly than my "baby naming ceremony" for Kaydiya's first batch of kittens. We all had a great time, and best of all, cold drinks all day long!

Tomorrow I head back to village until mid June when I will attend Peace Corps Niger's first All Volunteer Conference. After that I hope to be chosen as a VAT, where I will spend most of July before coming home in August. If it all goes through I will be out of village quite a while, but will make up for it when I get back! I hope you all have a wonderful spring and early summer and I will see you in a few months!

I welcome myself back into your lives to bring everybody up to date in my life.

I left off just before IST which stands for Peace Corp’s In-Service Training. The three week technical training, once over, clears us to apply for funding and gives us the skills we need to initiate and follow through with projects in village. The first few sessions were spent doing “Experience Sharing”...aka talk about our villages and experiences so far. To be honest, those discussions often turned into gripe-sessions, but I defend myself and everybody else by pointing out that the ability to share among fellow Americans was incredibly cathartic. Once the “You would not believe me if I told you…” stories and flip-out sessions were over, we were able to get down to business and learn from each other’s situations and move forward into the technical sessions. The Bureau did a fairly good job scheduling our classes, my favorite of which included: Nick’s Small Business Group session, Zarma vocabulary and hands-on demonstration for making mud cook stoves, Introductory Haussa language lessons, working with Boy/Girl Scouts in Niger, Project Design and Management, proposal writing and funding for projects, PEST MANAGEMENT IN NIGER, learning about the Education volunteer’s classes and teaching them about our Community Development knowledge, how to use visual aids with Nigerien audiences, a gardening demonstration and a two-day conference with each volunteer’s Nigerien counterpart.

After classes we always had a group playing volleyball, there was a very nice paved road down in town on which to jog or bike in the morning and evenings, and plenty of laptops to watch movies, have dance parties, and share photos. Every person in my stage is so wonderful! I could never have believed that 22 people could get along so well but while not everyone is absolute BFF, everybody gets along and genuinely enjoys each other’s company. No drama, no fighting, just tons of fun! Three weeks of bonding over classes, Hamdallaye food, and weekends in Niamey for partying (:-P) and group dinners + Team Dosso sponsored Sunday Brunch…life in Peace Corps Niger can be so good sometimes ;-)

One thing you will have to understand and perhaps get used to reading my updates is that we here in Peace Corps Niger, and particularly my group of friends, talk about food a lot. We talk about it, dream about it, and make good food at every opportunity. Consequently group dinners and breakfasts are frequent events. One weekend in Niamey during training team Zinder busted out with veggie stew over rice, and our final weekend together team Dosso (my team) whipped up Sunday brunch for all 22 people. Scrambled eggs and over-easy, spicy and non-spicy batches of home fries with ketchup on the side, southern biscuits and pepper gravy, loaded fruit salad, cinnamon rolls with walnuts and real homemade icing, and Mimosas. We were filled to bursting and then some for less than 1,000 CFA per person for food and a little extra if you had the Mimosas. Real food is heavenly!

The past few weeks coming off of IST have been eventful. Trying to strike while the iron was hot, I was able to organize the first meeting for my largest project…a metal fence to create a permanent gardening space for the Women’s Groups of my village. The meeting included: the government representative of my commune and one neighboring commune, my Mayor, Vice Mayor, Community Development Agent, Agricultural Agent, representative from the Chief of Canton (traditional collection of villages), and the traditional Chief of my town. We discussed the land that will be enclosed and the organization that will be needed of my town’s over 30 women’s groups in order to make this project work, and be sustainable…guess whose job it will be to organize the women into one over-arching Union? Yeah…I’ll be busy.

Another project that I will be starting soon is the re-animation of my town’s public library. My librarian and I will be meeting with the Library’s committee to propose a series of programs involving primary school students. I want to work with the schools to create fieldtrips during the school day that energize students and acquaint the younger kids with the library and all that it contains. I will even see how story time works out!

Above and beyond work I was back in village just in time to realize that after months of speculation, my cat Kaydiya was in fact very pregnant. I came back and she was a tank! It was so cool watching the babies shuffle around in her belly and fun speculating what kind of mother my scatterbrained child would be. My villagers were excited when I told them she was pregnant and this past Thursday her time came! I skipped work that day and like a true mother stayed by my kitty’s side while she gave birth to three very small, very adorable babies. That day I also received a site visit from one of Peace Corps’s Doctors. Walter, transporting my friend Emily on his way back to Dosso, stopped in to see how hygienic my living conditions are, and was very pleasantly surprised. If I do say so myself, my house and yard are very well taken care of and I have finally reached the “homey” stage. The only thing missing now is some greenery, and hopefully I’ll be able to jerry-rig some good gardens this coming rainy season.

While Walter and I conducted our interview under my shade hangar, I spotted the first snake I’ve ever had slithering along my fence. Walter managed to kill it by throwing large rocks at its head, and after Emily and I took pictures, he stuffed the snake in an old olive oil bottle of mine and sealed it up for the journey back to Niamey. Continuing our interview after the action, I noticed that the snake was continuing to move! This was no mere muscle spasm….Walter’s snake with a crushed head and we thought a broken neck was actually still alive and coiling around and around the bottle! Thoroughly horrified, Walter, Emily and I watched this poor creature suffocate to death, earning the title of “Rachel’s Twice-Killed Snake”.

After all of this, we come to this weekend and the end of my update. I bush-taxied into Dosso in order to pick up my new bike (sorely needed and much awaited) and ended up staying these past few nights due to the full and uncomfortable manifestation of a case of Bacteria. To all, please enjoy your relatively germ-free existence in America…it’s not fun eyeing your food wondering if three days from now it will turn on you! As our highs have been between 100-105 degrees and climbing I also hope you enjoy your cool spring weather! I now leave you to return to the rest of your day and I hope that all is well!

Fofo Family and Friends!

As usual, many months have passed since my last email, although I have updated my blog a few times in the meanwhile. If you are interested in keeping up that way, here is the link: http://djamilaniger.blogspot.com/. My personal blog also includes a link on the left-hand side of the page for my School Blog which all are welcome to read as well to (hopefully) get a fuller understanding of the work aspect of my life here.

I will do a quick recap of my activities since our Thanksgiving Consolidation and I think you will soon find out that the drama never ends for us in PC Niger! Coming off of consolidation was great, although my IST Technical training was now delayed by a month due to added pressures on the Bureau staff as a result of the terrorist activity. Instead of spending my first three months at post unable to do “real work” I now one more month tacked on for working on integration, language, and observation. I shouldn’t complain, as no amount of preparation can be considered too much when culture and foreign language is concerned. However, at a certain point it feels best to get on with it and dive into the hundreds of mistakes that will hopefully yield one or two very successful projects.

Christmas arrived quickly, and the last few weeks in village before the holiday were rather stressful for me. All of you on the Eastern Seaboard, and even those in Northern Florida and Texas will roll you eyes, but one of the things that made me the most homesick during that time was hearing about all of the snow I was missing!! Fate decided that the year I move to the hottest country in the world, (I have not verified this fact, but am willing to bet Niger is in the top three at least) that Virginia would get the most snow in 20 years. Combined with Holiday talk, various stresses in village, and the news of more foreigners being kidnapped in Mauritania, I could not wait to get out for the vacation I had planned. I met three girlfriends and two guy-friends down in the border town of Gaya, a veritable paradise in Niger, to spend the holiday and to help paint a map of the world for the Gaya Community Youth Center. The map turned out splendidly, as did the whole trip! Holiday Care-packages right on time, sight-seeing around Gaya, hitting up the bars, relaxing in hammocks, viewing the sunset over the Niger River from the top of a Mesa, Christmas night bonfire, Fun-Fetti cake with matching icing, and generally enjoying “American time” with new friends were the highlights of the trip.

After Christmas I returned to my village and spent the turn of the New Year with Nigeriens. There is an association for the younger Republican Guard soldiers in my town, and the heads of this group of 18-25 year olds decided to throw a party for the New Year. I was issued a formal invitation, and was promptly steered to the “Oldies” section upon arrival! After observing the proper protocol, i.e. shaking hands and conversing with the Chef de Poste, and senior soldiers, I very forcefully asserted my right as a young 23 year-old to move to the circle of chairs where the “kids” were socializing. After sitting around for a few hours, I grew tired and bored and got up to leave just 30 short minutes before midnight. It had become apparent to me that there was to be no counting down, no shouting “Joyeux Année” (Happy New Year) and apparently no dancing as well, though the music was pumping. Let me also note that there were about 25 young men and at best 5 girls including myself….dancing did not seem like a culturally appropriate option, and I thought would incite the same frenzy as dangling a steak in front of a group of hungry lions…

Luckily for me, one of the young soldiers saw me make a break for my bed and pulled me back in with the promise of dancing. They let me pick the first song and we actually got a good group up off the chairs and into the open space. I wisely stuck close to the girls that were there and we all got the pick-me-up energy that the party needed! As expected, midnight came and went with no particular notice, but I stayed and danced until about 1am at which point I was escorted home by a few of the soldiers and a few of the girls as well. All was fun, appropriate, and worth the wait.

As expected, January simply flew by after the end of the holiday season. February dragged a bit, but included a visit to my village by Sara and then a return visit to see her village that same weekend. The week before IST was to begin, I returned to Sara’s town. Our friend Brian and I joined Sara and her PCV neighbors for their weekly Radio show and Rebekah and Kate arrived later that weekend to spend a couple of free days before reporting to Niamey for training.

In case I run out of steam before finishing the update, I figured I would do this in installments :-P Still to come:

• IST training, aka three busy but fun-filled weeks of bonding

• Dosso’s culinary streak

• Receiving backlogged letters and packages (!)

• Dog owners around the world

• Kitten madness

• Starting “real work”

I want you all to know that I LOVE hearing from you and I really hope you enjoy sharing my life in Niger with me! Many days take much effort to get through and I can only do it knowing that I have so much support from back home. I also find the strength to make good memories here by knowing what is going on with you all back home! Feeling like I am still connected to your successes and failures keeps me going and helps us all grow together despite the distance. Keep writing, because I know that I sure will!

Love,

Rachel

Journal Entries since Christmas:

Sunday, December 27, 2009

I am sitting in my house after my "vacation" and I'm feeling pretty good. I probably should have written more (at all) while in Gaya but I was having too much fun to journal! Wednesday travel went well. The truck left promptly at 7am, waited about 30-45 minutes in Ounah, and got to Gaya by noon. Map painting was so much fun although it's not done yet. Brian's house and concession is great, and Sara and I agree that the house only needs a few select items to be really cute :-P It felt SO good to be with Sara, Rebekah and Brian relaxing and *ahem* bitching about things we should just let go, and probably will. Dillon, who was evacuated out of his village over Thanksgiving was around as well and it was very nice to see him too. Wednesday night included going out and some midnight snacking which is always fun.

Thursday morning I cooked French toast and then it was on to more map work, lunch food shopping (SALAD!!), and eventually a "nature walk" through the Gaya gardens to the river. Thursday night Emily joined our party and was successfully convinced that she did not in fact want to go to Dosso for Christmas and that she really wanted to stay and party with us! Friday morning brought eggs and potatoes curtesy of Brian and Sara and we celebrated Christmas day with candy from timely care packages, I passed a much anticipated book on to Brian, Sara got sudokus, and Rebekah is now reading through a thoughtfully sent Janet Evanovitch romance. Even though the Christmas gifts are technically "hand-me-downs" or some might say "re-gifted" everything will circulate back to the source eventually and we all had fun exchanging our "gifts". Emily received in one of her packages wooden Halloween and Christmas themed ornaments along with paint and we spent the morning painting away and enjoying the cool weather. Evening plans included a trip to the Gaya Mesa for the sunset and then a homecooked Mexican dinner and Bonfire...

To be continued...our stagemates from Maradi just barged into the computer room so lunch plans must be made!!

(December 21, 2009)

11:00AM

I sit here days before I leave for my self-imposed “Christmas” vacation and it’s all I can do to stay in my office instead of packing my bag and high-tailing it outta here! Luckily, most of the trucks going out of town have probably already left so that helps me fight off my cabin fever. This last month in village has been a good one, although once again I look back and can’t seem to specify what I have actually been doing! Each day feels so packed, but in retrospect they all blend together...with the exception of Market days... Unfortunately I always remember how much money I spend on Market days! Why can’t I remember the important stuff and conveniently block out my shopping sprees??

Life after our Thanksgiving consolidation has really returned to normal for me. The dread of another consolidation has worn off, although the news of 16 PCVs resigning from various towns across the country was depressing. Those of us left in Niger are determined to continue and just hope PC will be able to ride out future incidents. My next round of training is scheduled and will be here before I know it, and I know everyone in my Stage is excited to be back together for the 2 and ½ weeks of Technical classes and fun bonding! Those who have left will be missed, and we who remain will try to avoid being bitter thinking of all the wonderful food we could be eating if we had left as well ;-)

December 10, 2009 marked five months in country and three months at post as a Sworn-In Volunteer. While I can certainly tell my language and cultural understanding have improved significantly, I learn something new everyday and have much room for improvement and fine tuning. Nothing proved this more than a series of Budget meetings this past weekend with the Mayor’s Office staff and Commune Council members. While most participants speak at least a little French, ease necessitates proceeding primarily in Zarma, with occasional Hausa thrown in....just in case I was actually able to understand some of the fast-paced Zarma ;-) Thwarted again! While I have been able to follow the general topics and ideas, individual questions, comments and loud simultaneous “discussion” is pretty much lost on me. When I asked for advice on how to proceed, a fellow MCD Volunteer and one-year veteran admits she is not more able to follow these sorts of meetings than I am, and tells me her goal is to sit there and not fall asleep! This gives me relief, and the license to slack off, instead of inducing a headache by concentrating so hard! I’ll catch what I can, and get caught up on the rest after the meeting.

Like usual, I am rushing at the last minute to finish my work before my Holiday travels. These last few days will consist of: finishing/sealing all letters to be mailed; extra time on the Library computer to compose and polish school and personal blog entries; and working as much as possible on my report for the Community Development Office here in Falmey. This report has been my main work activity since late October and my goal is to have it completed before my upcoming training. The work has involved personal interviews with every state supported service in town: Primary School Inspection, Primary School, Middle School, Agriculture, Environment, Veterinary, Health Center, Food Security Center, Administrative Post, Community Development Office, and the Mayor’s Office. The work will synthesize my findings into what will be an “Activities Report” for the Commune of Falmey. For ease I am composing my thoughts in English, although the final version will be in French (please excuse me Dr. Powers and Laura, I felt it better to work backwards from English to French) and will go into the archives in the Community Development Office as an at-a-glance resource as of 2009 for future Development Partners.

7:15PM

“Such is the impermanent nature of our existence” – Kate, PC Niger ‘11

Kate’s words, texted in the context of our Thanksgiving consolidation and her evacuation from site, really work for all humans across the planet. Sadly they ring uncomfortably true for PC Niger, as news of kidnappings in Mauritania reached us today at about 1:00pm. While this does not pose a present danger to my Christmas plans, the before-mentioned normalcy of life, and forgotten impending doom of evacuation obviously loses ground as I wonder....when I leave town this time....will I ever come back?

(December 11, 2009)

I am writing tonight for several reasons. The past few days have been interesting and remind me that I will always learn something new, no matter how long I live here.

Acquiring new clothes here in Niger is a whole new kind of excitement. Different from the joys of window shopping and bargain hunting in the States. I get to have clothes hand-tailored to fit and it is up to me what “model” I choose, or what style I can clumsily draw up. This is my second complet (shirt and skirt set) in country and my first in Falmey. Unfortunately, the work has not turned out quite the way I planned, and the tailor has reclaimed the too-small shirt and too-big skirt for fixing. This was one of those times when I decided to break the habit of asking my Nigerien friends for help finding a service in town. Every now and then I get stubborn and I decide I want to figure things out for myself. That said, I commissioned a friend to do the work and I definitely learned my lesson. Once again, my haste and secrecy paid me back in shame as my friends laughed and laughed at the semi-botched job, repeating the old refrain:

-“Why did you not tell me you were doing this? I would have shown you a good person to go to! This guy, we all know that he does not do good work!”

-“Yes, yes,” I say and hang my head, “You always know the best people....next time I will come to you first....”

True to my word, for the next few errands, I will go to one friend or another for help. They all know “the best person” and of course everyone’s person is different. Eventually I will try my luck, strike out on my own again, and probably end up regretting it. Vicious cycle much?

Last night I returned home rather late, past dark, from working here in the Library. As soon as I arrived in my yard my neighbor Rachida told me how one of my PCV neighbors, has gone to Dosso and they all thought I must have gone as well. Saddened by this assumption knowing it stems from our recent consolidation incident, I fervently assured her that no, I do not have to go to Dosso, and that I do not know why my neighbor left. She said she saw him pass by on the road in a nice car, not one of the public transportation trucks. Curious, and a little worried as my neighbor had recently had some bouts of poor health, I figured I would text him to see how he was doing. I also thought he might have informed our mutual Nigerien adoptive family. As if she knew I was thinking about her, Moscura the mother of this family appeared at my door, mirroring my own curiosity and slight disquiet about the mysterious departure. I now started to worry something may have happened, and eagerly awaited his reply to my text, promising Moscura I would pass the word along when I got it. This morning came without word, and both I and our family friends really started to wonder. I sent another text to my neighbor and even one to our RR so that if he saw my neighbor somebody would let me know. Still nothing. Eventually I received a text from my neighbor saying that he had just arrived in my town from his village for Market day, and that it was all a misunderstanding. Rachida must have seen the white NGO worker who had been out his way, and thought it was him in the car! My neighbor received all of my text messages when he arrived within the cell phone network (his town does not have any) and everyone was relieved that he is ok!

The reason this experience has touched me so much as to write about it, is best summed up in my neighbor’s own words, “It’s nice to know people care!” This whole exercise re-enforces the fact that despite recent kidnapping events, PCVs who are well integrated into their surroundings (even neighboring villages) are possibly the safest Americans in country. Although there was the case of mistaken identity (let’s be honest, most white male expats with their scruffy beards and haphazard haircuts do resemble each other in this setting) it also goes to show that neighborhood watch is somewhat in effect. The fact that nobody had heard from my neighbor triggered a red flag and search measures went into effect. I assured my friend that neither I nor Moscura want to be his mother in Niger. He certainly has the right to travel and live his life without people going crazy...however, we knew that under normal circumstances, he would have at least texted one person that he was traveling, even if he did not want to say why. Echoing the words of my own mother in the States, “At least send me a message so I know you’re alright!” Never underestimate a woman’s ability to worry! So for all of you back home who might still be a little shaken over the fact that we PCVs live one to a village, remember that we are clustered relatively close for a reason, and that although we are by ourselves in our homes, if we have done our assimilation job well, we are n.e.v.e.r. alone. Never. Ever, ever. :-P When I meet a new villager for the first time, and they ask me if I live alone, I say “Yes” but I am always quick to add that I am surrounded by neighbors all the time, and it is true. The friends that we make here really do watch out for us and this incident proves it.

This morning I received an update from Peace Corps. One of the bits of information is that after reaching the deadline to take interrupted service, 16 more PCVs have chosen to resign from their post here in Niger. This seems like a staggering amount to me, but I assume this number also includes many of the Konni and Gotheye volunteers who were never allowed to return to their original villages after Consolidation was lifted. In their case, the choice was to take interrupted service or start all over again in a new village. I can understand the choice in that case. Sadly, I also know that a few of that 16 must be volunteers who were allowed to return to their homes, but have decided that they either (a) do not feel safe in their village/in Niger and/or (b) do not want to live in Niger under the currently tightened communication and travel restrictions. As I am such a new Volunteer, I can not bring myself to let the restrictions kick me out of Niger, and clearly from my previous post, I feel safe in my town. I have been back in ville for two weeks now, and can’t imagine leaving. The restrictions are there, but so far have not changed the way I live and work, and everything feels like it is back to normal. I can only hope that PC Niger can get back on its feet again, although with news of further budget cuts and US-Niger academic exchange program cancellations, times might be a little tough for a while.

November 25, 2009

Yesterday was Team Dosso's early Thanksgiving feast. Apparently last year's Turkey day (minus the turkey) was a little hectic as they ended up with a million little dishes. This year the plan was to go all out and have a lot of just the basics...just the good stuff...and it worked! Still no turkey, but we had street-meat guys cook up ten chickens for us. The rest of the food included:garlic and onion mashed potatoeshomemade stuffingbiscuitscorngreenbean casserole (with Frenches Crunchy onions!)cranberry saucepumpkin breadcornbreadgravytwo pumpkin piesThe food and the atmosphere was amazing, even if we did decide to celebrate a couple of days early. Everyone shared their "I'm Thankful for..." and between dinner and dessert almost everyone joined in on watching Love Actually. It was a perfect Team effort and I couldn't have asked for a more comforting celebration considering this is my first ever Thanksgiving away from my family. I wasn't homesick at all, and now all I have to do is make it through the REAL Thanksgiving day without thinking about it.

Now for the news about our situation. Unfortunately our Thanksgiving spirit was dampened significantly in the middle of the cooking-day when we received the news that there are many Volunteers who will not be allowed to return to their villages. For the rest of us who are allowed back home, we will be living under rather strict communication and travel restrictions and at this point in time I'm guessing that these restrictions are indefinite. I just hope that my life in Ville can move on in a normal manner. We are all hoping that future information will reveal that there is no longer a threat and PC will be able to lift some of our new rules. Thank you to everyone who sent us well-wishes, and I hope everyone's Thanksgiving is as fabulous as mine was yesterday! Remember, it's not the day of the month, or even your location that makes this American holiday special.....it's all about the FOOD!!!! *ahem* and the company, of course ;-)

November 19, 2009

I am living and working in a town called Falmey and I think the first thing I ever said about it was “There are so many trees!” While I am aware that almost everything will be brown during Hot season, I am very happily situated in a town that has a high water table and receives between 500-900 mm of rainfall per year. Green there is, which is great for my state of mind. Right now my yard has little to no foliage, but I am currently planning my future tropical paradise...TBD. I am approximately 30 steps round trip from a small traditional well and the water is only about three meters down. The close water supply should enable me to keep plants going fairly well, even during hot season. I can draw my own water, and even though it is rather dirty compared to a larger well a distance away, there are no issues with bathing and I filter my drinking water anyway. I’m not sure how I feel about adding trace amounts of Chlorine to further sanitize my drinking water...but then I think about how much pool water I swallowed as a kid and I guess I’m OK after all of that.My house is “free”. One prerequisite to receiving a Peace Corps Volunteer is that the town must donate our living space. Major construction is to be completed and paid for by my Mayor’s office, and the rest of the renovations are on my own time and money:Achieved Cement Floors (Mayor) Wood and Millet Stock Pavilion for shade (Peace Corps) Higher fence around my bathroom (Mayor) Electricity Installed (Me) Pending Locks for my windows (Me) Permanent fence separating my yard from my neighbor’s concession (Mayor) Door to close off my concession (Me) Working lights to go with my electricity (Me/Peace Corps)PLANTS!! (Me)Time, money, and effort-willing these things and more will be done to make my house feel like a home. It is amazing how little it takes, for instance the Shade Hangar (pavilion) is the difference between life and a fiery hot death under the Niger sun. I hope to plant at least one tree somewhere in the concession so that future generations of PCV’s or Nigeriens living in this house after me will have some natural shade as well.

Falmey is a medium-to-small sized town with a population between 5,000 and 6,000 people split between “Falmey Zarma” and “Falmey Hausa” quarters. Of course, both languages and then some are spoken all over and when I feel more comfortable with my Zarma I intend to pick up some Hausa as well! Coming from the tiny town of Bartchawal (could not have been more than 400 people) I feel a welcome sense of space here. People are friendlier than in a larger city, but there is enough going on that I can blend into the background when I feel the need. Bartchawal was just too small, school was still on summer break, the kids definitely did not have enough to occupy their mischievous little heads, and five Americans at once learning Zarma provided constant entertainment. I find myself getting more and more comfortable with the friends I have made here, and I am glad that most other people are happy to live their own lives and do not feel all that inclined to interfere with mine. My three immediate neighbors interfere enough for three Bartchawals combined!My townspeople are mostly farmers of Millet, Sorghum, peanuts, beans, and sugar cane. Seasonal delights include bananas, Cucuduku (sort of like a big chickpea), small pond fish, little limes, and the cold season should bring in some tomatoes, salads and domestic onions. Barnyard wildlife includes (in order of frequency and annoyance):

Sheep/GoatsChickensPigeonsDonkeysCowsGuinea FowlDucksOne TurkeyTwo or three HorsesA wandering Fulani with one Camel**Side Note: Yes, I have ridden his camel, and yes it’s AWESOME!CatsDogs

Cats and dogs mostly stay out of sight, with the exception of two particular animals: Kaydiya, my well-loved and “americanized” pet cat, and a dog named Mogono (mo = rice, go no = it goes/exists) who was raised and americanized by a former PCV. This person left the dog to a Nigerien family in charge of the Peace Corps Transit House here in Falmey. The problem is, Nigeriens, even those used to Americans and our silly ways, are not pet-people. As a consequence, Mogono has only one command learned: Find the Anasara and FOLLOW! This makes her a very annoying tag-along in a culture where dogs are seen as unclean and generally disliked.

November 20, 2009

I have to admit that this post was interrupted by circumstances beyond my control and although I had not rounded everything out, I am pretty much done with my impressions of my town. Construction of my concession wall has probably ceased until further notice, i.e. my return from Dosso. I have been confined to my Regional Capital since Monday and will be here at least until this coming Wednesday. There was an unsuccessful kidnapping attempt on American Embassy workers in the town of Tahoua. Due to the as yet unknown security threat to all Americans, no PCV can go back to their village until further notice.

(Monday, September 21, 2009)

I feel like living here in Niger is like balancing a bucket of water on my head. Something, that as a woman here I will be doing often. There is no dipping my toes in the ocean of Nigerien life and culture, as Niger is completely landlocked. No, the culture and my success in it is the water found at the bottom of the deepest well in Bartchawal. Pre-Service Training is preparing my muscles, sweating and laboring to pull out a logo of culture and language. All to fill the bucket with the most precious of life-giving resources.

This bucket, filled to the brim must now be lifted from the ground to the top of your head. In the learning process, we often fall short, but giving up is not an option. We keep refilling the bucket and work on building those muscles. Once the bucket is up on your head, the most blissful feeling of relief washes over you...until you realize you now have to walk back to your house. By now, the water has become a part of you, an extension of your body, but something separate, unfathomable in its momentarily balanced state. It took you so long to learn the basics, to get that bucket up there that, now balanced, confidence leads you to your first hasty step towards a new life in Niger.

The first shock of water that sloshes down your back is the knowledge that after two months, you still don’t actually know Zarma. The first natural response to the sudden bath is to stop, halt all movement, and let the water settle again. Sometimes this technique works; your world becomes balanced and serene and you are ready for another, more carefully chosen step. Sometimes, stopping produces the antithesis of what you expect. Withdrawing from the journey, stopping too dramatically will cause the water to slosh down the front of your shirt, and neighbors and new friends start to ask, “Where have you been? You haven’t been by to see me in a few days...”

Remaining inactive may feel comfortable, but it won’t get your anywhere and eventually the heat of the day will come and your arms will hurt holding stagnant, unused water. Everything will fall. So moving forward is your only option. Slow, steady steps, watching out for obstacles along the path, and making sure to always greet everyone you pass with a smile. As confidence builds the pace of life increases. A little water will always fall to remind you to slow down and regroup. Every demand for gifts/cadeaux/habizey is another moment of aching in your neck as the bucket of water gets heavier and your arms get weary. The incalculable complexity of social relationships, who is in charge versus who does everybody listen to, is frustrating and all you can do is focus on the distance between you and your house. Bitterness sets in, “Why is this well so far away?”, “Maybe I should just pay someone to draw my water for me...” All of these distracting thoughts vanish as you round the corner to your concession, and slowly, sloppily, dropping so much water that you are sure the bucket must be empty, you lower your prize to the ground. Now you can rest and breathe.

As the feeling returns to your arms, the bitterness begins to dissolve and relief fills the space. You look at your bucket and realize that most of the water is still there, and what felt like mini-deluges of lost effort along the way were really only droplets. There is still plenty of water to work with, and you feel a sense of great accomplishment. The aching arms signify the coming strength and you know that the next time you need water the trip will be a little bit easier. The path is laid, the friends made. Even if you trip and fall next time, you have other resources now who will help you stand back up and try again. Sure, they will laugh when you feel like crying, but eventually you will laugh too...

“Look at that funny Anasara carrying water

on her head, trying to be Nigerien.

Let’s watch her and see what she tries to do next!”

(10/30-2009)

Goodmorning :-)

I am in Niamey and actually have internet! What a life... I was not originally going to be in the Capital for quite a while because I was able to come in two weeks ago for money. I am living in Dosso Department and otherwise I need special permission from my Supervisor to come to Niamey. "Luckily" I bit into a very unforgiving rock hiding in the middle of my morning Saala (greasy pancake-like street food that we eat for breakfast) and thought the resulting sensitivity was a cracked filling. I called our PC Medical Officer and was told that a dentist appointment would be scheduled for me within the week! I hastily took a 6-hour Bush Taxi ride to the city and was able to (naughtily) extend my stay a couple of days to catch the COS/Halloween party today :-P COS = Close of Service....which means a group of tried and true PCV's have made it all the way to the end of their two-year service with the Peace Corps and now get to go home! It's great meeting so many nice and experienced PCVs, but it's also sad because you know they will be leaving in just a few short months. I wish them all the best, and I aspire to be one of them in two year's time!

Coming into Niamey brought with it the news that two of my fellow Stagaires have ET'd (Early Termination). Shane and Kylie were two very fun people and I am glad I got to know them a little bit through training, and disappointed I will not get to know them better throughout our service together. I did not see Shane before he left, but Kylie was in the Hostel with me for a few nights this week and I got to hear about her first month, and fact that living here was just not for her. Physically she was sick a lot in-Ville and was having a very difficult time with her Malaria meds. Mentally she did not feel like living in the Niger bush was something she wanted to do for two years. I applaud her courage to stick through all that she did, and especially for making the tough but necessary decision to leave.

Sad stuff aside, I want to post my next blog entry here as I seem to have forgotten the password to my online site!!! I am going to be stubborn and resist starting a whole new site until I am absolutely certain the old one is out of reach. I hope everyone is happy, healthy and safe! Enjoy your fall!!!

Love,

Rachel

(10/22/2009)

Bartchawal Training in Retrospect

By now most of you have heard/read/seen pictures about my life living in the small town of Bartchawal during my first two months of training in Peace Corps Niger. To sum up, training started out slowly and I never thought it would end! F O R E V E R.

I couldn’t imagine a life here that did not involve a daily time schedule and a constant stream of “American Hour” as I saw my fellow Stagaires every day. The language, technical and cultural classes gave me the idea that, yes, there is a world outside of Bartchawal, but I realize now that even my host family experience was more American-friendly than I guessed at the time. Our families were trained to have a better understanding of American culture (specifically our unique need for privacy) as well as how to slowly and patiently initiate us newbies to Nigerien life. Every family unit performed this task to varying degrees of success, and I soon found out that my situation in particular was one of the most satisfying experiences out of all of them. Every member of the family, a relatively small unit of one husband, one wife, and three children, exposed me to a slice of life here in Niger and prepared me well for my future life as the only Anasara in-Ville.

My host mom Zenabou showed an intense and intimidating interest in my Zarma language, or lack thereof. Her challenging demeanor was often frustrating, and no matter how well I come to “hear Zarma” (as it is put in Local language), I am not sure I will ever be able to understand her speed-talk very well! Zenabou was also fiercely protective of me and fully integrated me into her family not only as a guest but as a respected and amusing older child. Without my even noticing, her mothering supported me through training and created a safe-haven, a comfortable home to come back to at the end of the day. I thank her for that.

My host dad Hamidou provided a calmer social setting and welcomed me into his circle of friends for tea in the evenings. He also won brownie points with my fellow Bartchawal Stagaires as I passed along many of his frequent treats and gifts from Niamey, the mangoes were particularly coveted. He introduced me to the incredibly generous culture of this country by bringing me into his home, and bending the often strict gender barrier by including me, and I thank him for that.

My two year old brother Ibrahim got me used to being around babies again, and especially Niger’s brand of babies! I am glad he did because despite the practice, most of the babies/tots here in town definitely give me a run for my money! My seven year old brother Mohomadou introduced me to the roving warrior that is the typical village child. Forever curious, always ready to help carry a bag or walk a bike back to the house, nosey and loud, sometimes a single shadow but often an undulating mob of eyes ready to stare you down in the longest game of “don’t blink” you’ll ever play, rather annoying but well intentioned, and most importantly, the best friends you’ll ever have as you navigate a new environment. The 7-14 range never tire of “what is this” questions. They love to display their own skill in French or English, which usually results in a whole-hearted “BON SOIR!” at 8am, or the “Gooood Moorrrrning” at 6pm shouted in an accent that almost sounds Russian because of the way they roll their ‘Rs. Yes, Mohomadou and his lively gang of ruffians prepared me well.

Hijira, my 12 year old sister welcomed me into her home and heart like nobody else did. While my Zarma was virtually non-existent, Hijira and I would have lively conversations in French, and I got to know the world of girls and women through her. My classy Hijira has inherited her mother’s fierceness, but mixed it and toned it down with her father’s calm and her own good heart. She was never sassy with me and I could tell that she rose above the superficial attitude of a lot of her peers (that 12-16 age range…MAN what a gaggle of geese do they make!) That said, Hijira is in many ways a typical middle-schooler, reveling in all things feminine, looking up to the older girls for guidance, example, and sometimes approval, but she chooses her role models well by avoiding the manipulative personalities. She led me through the clicky world of women and taught me by her example how to find good friends and how to gracefully navigate through the rest.

Of course, forever really turned into nine short weeks and before I knew it, language exams and swear-in were around the corner. Four days after swear-in I started my first month at Post. Looking back, as my first month is now over, Training seems like a lifetime away. Luckily, I constantly find lessons and experiences from Bartchawal creep into my life here and I feel just a little more prepared. In two months I will be back in Hamdy for a three week Technical Training, and I can’t wait to see my Bartchawal family and share with them all I have learned while away. Maybe by then my host mom will acknowledge that I just might know a little of that Zarma Ciine.