Survived One Month!

So, the end of month one has come to an end. Peace Corps Niger policy is that volunteers must remain in ville for the entire first month (barring emergencies). And so, after a month (and some days) in ville, I came into Zinder city this last Thursday.
I would call it a successful month one. Got a bit lonely out there without even the simple presence of all my fellow PCTs as I had in month one. However, I was visited twice by PCVs who live in close proximity to me, which really helped. However, now that month one is over, I am free to move about the Zinder region, so I will be able to visit others in Zinder (and my fellow Stagaires me).
As far as language is concerned, I've mostly been working on my French, which I would hope I am correct in saying has improved. Much of my time has been spent in making friends, and since I'm limited to those with whom I can speak in French, I have had several good, long conversations (including one in which I was up past midnight giving a basic description of American politics, geography, history). It remains, however, extremely tiring to be speaking for long periods of time in a foreign language, so I still have to wait for French to become natural enough for me for it to not be difficult. The locals have been loving the stories of snow and -40 wind chills, along with some astonishment that, yes, it gets colder outside than inside the refrigerators in town. Blowing Nigerien minds with stories of this cold has certainly been entertaining for me (as well as a source of new-found respect as to how anyone could live in such weather). Nowadays, I'm the only one in the town of about 15000 to be sleeping outside. Most have moved indoors, as a result of how "cold" it gets at night. So far, only twice have I ever seen it get below 70. To be honest, however, I too am finding the early morning hours (about 4am when the prayer call goes off) to be chill, though slipping under a single bedsheet is more than enough to keep me warm.
Classes have officially started, though, in truth, it's not the same quick "start" as we're used to back in the States. A lot of preliminary stuff (students arriving from bush, handing out of cahiers, setting up the class schedule) has pushed back real classes by several weeks. However, I have been able to observe (so far) three english classes at the local C.E.G. (equivalent of Middle School). There is a lot of variation in the ages of the students in the respective grades. Some of the students at the sixieme grade (roughly 6th grade) appear at least as old as several students in the quatrieme grade (roughly 8th grade). However, we have been warned that such seeming discrepancies can be expected as a result of teacher strikes, when parents put their children into school, and whether or not the children have had to repeat a grade (or two). My VERY first class was the english class for the sixieme level, which just so happened to be the first english class these students have ever had (not to mention probably the first time most have ever heard an english word). And so, that first class covered such things as "Good morning", teacher, student, boy, girl, man, and woman. To be honest, I had some difficulty in keeping a straight face at the beginning, for the accents were, to be truthful, quite amusing. That is, however, something I might be able to help with, giving the students more repetition in speaking english, especially from a native english speaker. Also, I might try working with the quatrieme level as they need to have a certain level of english (as well as their other classes) in order pass the test and continue on to lycee.
At the primary school level, well, some are still waiting for teachers to arrive (especially after several were called away for the legislative elections held on the 20th), and others have been working on teacher trainings.
And well, what else? It certainly was a long month, but certainly bearable and, now that it has passed, I've been warned that time really starts to fly by.

And now, some pictures (but not too many, as the internet isn't the same as that back in the States).

This first one is the palm forest I have on the border of my ville. It isn't all that deep but goes on for quite awhile east-west. I got 'lost' several times in here, as there are a lot of trees and they block out the only landmark by which I can navigate in this town, a cell tower.








This second one is my pad. It's a small concession inside a larger family concession. I've a wall and door sufficient to afford me privacy, which is quite welcome for when I want to find some solitude. The shade hangar you see has a tarp on the inside, making it waterproof and allowing me to sleep outside even in the rain. Also, note the mosquito net, something that has come to feel rather protective, as if nothing can get at me inside there once it's tucked in under the mattress. My house is that lovely one room mud hut on the right, but not all of it, as my room ends at the point you see the end of cement along the top of the building. The rest is a storage space. So essentially, my room is about a college dorm room. As you follow my house past the right side of the picture, the building continues on for a few more feet and then you run into my latrine/shower area. Fortunately, I 'won' a solar shower at the GAD auction at the end of PST, so I have can take a shower with running water instead of a bucket bath. Very glad I won that one.

Well, that's all the pictures I'm gunna dare for now. Some other pictures can be found either on other PCVs blogs as well as on facebook.

Some last notes before I head back to the hostel for the night.
1) My host family showed me a metal bowl full of something last night, asking if I was hungry. Before responding 'yes', I got up and looked inside and, to the great delight of my stomach just after eating, it was a bowl full of crickets that they were about to fry up. And, as I'm sure everyone will be surprised to hear, I turned down this generous offer and have ever since been unable to keep a straight face on the issue.
2) Letters are quite enjoyed. Don't be afraid to send them.
3) In a happy turn of being able to be American while in Niger, we will be having a Thanksgiving dinner (with chicken instead of turkey, but with potatoes and rolls) as well as a Christmas party.
4) Team Zinder is apparently known as the cooking region in Peace Corps, and I'm happy to report that this newest stage is representing well, as we made some nice chocolate cake today and are planning stuff for both the Thanksgiving and Christmas get-togethers.

I believe that's all I can think of for now, so I'll say toodles and try to remember anything I forget for when I speak to my parents tomorrow.