My final town for serving as a Peace Corp Volunteer is a nice town, really calm, which is nice. It is bordered by a massive date palm tree forest, and should have some veggies and fruits, but most of those will probably be imported from a nearby town. People were really nice and I found it easy to communicate in French (though I was mostly hanging out with the Conseillier and the Director of the primary school, so of course they spoke French (and English, though we avoided that for the most part). I received lots of offers to teach me Beri Beri, though I'm going to wait until I start getting a grasp of Hausa before I try that. My house is small, about college dorm-room size, and I don't have a large yard. It has a nice shade hangar and an outdoor latrine/shower area.Bus ride went well. Both to go out and to come back, the buses left at 5am. We arrived at the main town around 6 pm (which is apparently unheard of to have it go so fast), arriving back in Niamey, we got in around 7, 7:30 (still fast). Usually, though, I should expect to get in around 8pm, 8:30.
I’ve seen some camels and beautiful horses along the road and in towns. There haven’t been many recent mail deliveries.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
After 8/15 phone call
After classes today, Alex visited with two PCV in the infirmary. For whatever reason, only two of the guys have not been seen in the infirmary. Luckily Alex is one of them! When we called him at the appointed time, he was at a local lake. It is a small lake (about 25 acres) that gets filled in the rainy season, and eventually disappears in the dry season. The depth is a few feet in the middle; it is very muddy, and the PCV are told not to enter it because of the bugs living in the water.
His wildlife viewing so far has been two giraffes on his travel to Niamey. He has taken bus rides from his training station to the capitol. The busses travel about 30 – 40 kph (18-25 mph).
Alex is being posted on the eastern side of Niger. It is supposed to be green and lush in the area. He is thinking he might be able to grow a garden. He is replacing a PCV that will be going to a larger city for some specialized work.
He will be staying in a mud house that is in a larger housing complex. There are different schools that he may be working in to some capacity. French is the language spoken in school. He has to learn two different dialects (one of which he hadn’t heard of before). The PCV he is replacing said the first six months at post are spent learning the language and making connections.
He will have access to electricity from 6 pm to midnight in the cool season, and from 4 pm to midnight in the hot season. The electricity is provided by generators. He will have cell phone reception.
He will be able to visit his new home soon and start visiting the areas and potentially meeting people. Most of the PCV’s will return to a staging place and then return to their training facility.
He received a letter from me saying the low’s were in the high 30’s – low 40’s, and he now dreads the thought of ever being so cold again. The other night it was 78°, and he had to huddle under the sheet he was so cold! On the language front, he is extremely close to the mid-level French and expects to pass the test.
He mentioned the mosquitos are not bad at all, but the flies are. Some people are having issues with bed bugs (luckily not him).
Alex and Shane do have a termite problem. When the rain comes in the night, they have to run inside their hut. The rain brings the wind, and the wind knocks the termites out of the roof onto their beds/floor. He has learned to secure the edge of his mosquito net on the posts of his bed so they are not crawling in there with him. For fun he and Shane will watch the ants attack the termites (entertainment Niger style).
Last night they did not have a movie night. Instead they had a dance with some snacks and sodas. He mentioned their soda is very sweet as they sweeten them with sugar (not corn syrup as we do). The soda always gives him a good sugar high. He found out his lost luggage spent more time at Chas deGaulle Airport than he did.
His wildlife viewing so far has been two giraffes on his travel to Niamey. He has taken bus rides from his training station to the capitol. The busses travel about 30 – 40 kph (18-25 mph).
Alex is being posted on the eastern side of Niger. It is supposed to be green and lush in the area. He is thinking he might be able to grow a garden. He is replacing a PCV that will be going to a larger city for some specialized work.
He will be staying in a mud house that is in a larger housing complex. There are different schools that he may be working in to some capacity. French is the language spoken in school. He has to learn two different dialects (one of which he hadn’t heard of before). The PCV he is replacing said the first six months at post are spent learning the language and making connections.
He will have access to electricity from 6 pm to midnight in the cool season, and from 4 pm to midnight in the hot season. The electricity is provided by generators. He will have cell phone reception.
He will be able to visit his new home soon and start visiting the areas and potentially meeting people. Most of the PCV’s will return to a staging place and then return to their training facility.
He received a letter from me saying the low’s were in the high 30’s – low 40’s, and he now dreads the thought of ever being so cold again. The other night it was 78°, and he had to huddle under the sheet he was so cold! On the language front, he is extremely close to the mid-level French and expects to pass the test.
He mentioned the mosquitos are not bad at all, but the flies are. Some people are having issues with bed bugs (luckily not him).
Alex and Shane do have a termite problem. When the rain comes in the night, they have to run inside their hut. The rain brings the wind, and the wind knocks the termites out of the roof onto their beds/floor. He has learned to secure the edge of his mosquito net on the posts of his bed so they are not crawling in there with him. For fun he and Shane will watch the ants attack the termites (entertainment Niger style).
Last night they did not have a movie night. Instead they had a dance with some snacks and sodas. He mentioned their soda is very sweet as they sweeten them with sugar (not corn syrup as we do). The soda always gives him a good sugar high. He found out his lost luggage spent more time at Chas deGaulle Airport than he did.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Phone call from Alex in Niger to Parents
After a phone call to his parents, this is what Alex:
All is going well. He and other PCV’s are going to Niamey that day (he called me early Sunday morning). They had been to Niamey briefly this week, and it somehow seemed they had the ‘all clear’ to travel there on their own in their time off. His mail received so far is the first two letters sent to him and a package we sent him. He mentioned other PCV’s are receiving their mail out of order, but the mail is going through.
As a PC Trainee they all get Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday off. Once he goes to his site they can set their own schedule dependent upon duties, etc. If you have seen the picture of the PCV’s when they first arrived, his roommate Shane is standing near him.
It is surprisingly green, mostly coming through the trees though, not much grass at all in the country. The one tree in their concession is only chest high.
The father in his host family is an English teacher at the middle school across the street from their concession.
Had a recent language interview; he is in the intermediate French stage. He has to reach intermediate-mid range before he gets to his post (that is still 2 months away). The language is coming along well. I do not know how Hausa is coming for him or if he is studying it yet; I did not get a chance to ask him. Communication within the host family is going OK (Mom still talks super fast, and needs to repeat herself for him to understand her). It is harder to communicate when going outside his concession.
Items that we can send are Peanut MM’s (they do not melt), granola/energy bars, dried fruit (though he has never been a fan of that before, he is willing to give it a good try), and beef jerky. He mentioned he had gone to their version of a supermarket and purchased some chocolate. It was a very welcome treat for him.
They have no pepperoni in Niger; other PCV’s said to have people send pepperoni sticks so he could slice them up and make a Niger version of pizza.
He finds out on Friday, August 14, where his post will be. When the temps are in the high 90’s to low 100’s he is good, when it climbs above 110 he gets into the shade.
There are several wells in town, so no shortage of water. They usually do a water run on Sundays and Wednesdays to fill up their barrels. Ryan and other longer term PCV’s are in Maradi (the economic city of the country) where they have running water, refrigerators, and flush toilets. Alex was told he will have access to electricity and water.
For his demystification weekend, he and Katie ended up in the Tillaberi region where Hausa is spoken. They all left on the PC vehicle at 7:30 a.m. dropping off people along the way, Alex and Katie were the last to be dropped off at 2 a.m. the next day. So they were able to visit with Emily for 14 hours of the weekend. After they went to sleep Sunday night, they were awakened early Monday morning with a storm. They all ran inside her hut which really only sleeps two. He let the two ladies have the sleeping mats, and he tried to curl comfortably around a table, that is how he slept (?) from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. Alex & Katie had to leave at 6:30 a.m. for an hour walk (6-7 km) to catch the taxi which leaves at 8 a.m. once a day.
It took them 1 ½ hours to reach their destination, about 3 minutes into the walk it started down pouring again. There was a small creek beside them that they had to cross several times; the creek soon became a calf-high rushing torrent. They are carrying their backpacks with all their gear, books, electronics, and clothes in the downpour. It was a miserable walk in the only pair of lace-up shoes he took, and it took 1 ½ hours. The last bit they were running it because they did not want to miss the taxi. When they arrived, the driver said he would not leave until after the rain stops. A PCV in that town, invited them over to his place for breakfast. They had toasted bread drizzled with honey and some hot drink that people add a lot of sugar to and it ends up tasting like kool-aid.
At 9 a.m. they left for their 45 minute drive to the bus station. The driver went real, real slow in a car that has no shocks and no windows in it. It was still drizzling so Alex was ½ dry and ½ wet. The drive ended up taking 2 hours. They had to pay 2 tolls (ended up being roughly $1.00 each). One of which was to a regular citizen who complained they were destroying the road by driving in the drizzle. The resident PCV did not want to pay the toll and was making disgruntled noises, but Alex & Katie just wanted to get to Gaya.
They arrived in Gaya at 11:45 (having texted ahead for some of the others to order their lunch for them); the food was not ready and preparation to make it did not start until 12:40. At 1:50 the food was ready, but they had to catch the bus at 2:00. So they scarfed what they could down and went to the bus station. Buses habitually leave ½ later than scheduled. This bus did not leave until 3:15-3:30 (the following bus was leaving at 3:30 according to its schedule). The hold-up was in loading the passengers and freight.
All this transportation for 14 hours of visiting with an in station PCV – he and Katie were just tired.
On the bus ride the plexiglass window he was sitting next to was cracking. The construction and motion of the bus was causing it to buckle in about 4 inches. One of the Nigerien tapped him on the shoulder to push back on the window to help it not crack further. So instead of napping he spent the 1 ½ hour ride pushing back on the window so it only caved in about 1 inch compared to the 4 inches.
All is going well. He and other PCV’s are going to Niamey that day (he called me early Sunday morning). They had been to Niamey briefly this week, and it somehow seemed they had the ‘all clear’ to travel there on their own in their time off. His mail received so far is the first two letters sent to him and a package we sent him. He mentioned other PCV’s are receiving their mail out of order, but the mail is going through.
As a PC Trainee they all get Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday off. Once he goes to his site they can set their own schedule dependent upon duties, etc. If you have seen the picture of the PCV’s when they first arrived, his roommate Shane is standing near him.
It is surprisingly green, mostly coming through the trees though, not much grass at all in the country. The one tree in their concession is only chest high.
The father in his host family is an English teacher at the middle school across the street from their concession.
Had a recent language interview; he is in the intermediate French stage. He has to reach intermediate-mid range before he gets to his post (that is still 2 months away). The language is coming along well. I do not know how Hausa is coming for him or if he is studying it yet; I did not get a chance to ask him. Communication within the host family is going OK (Mom still talks super fast, and needs to repeat herself for him to understand her). It is harder to communicate when going outside his concession.
Items that we can send are Peanut MM’s (they do not melt), granola/energy bars, dried fruit (though he has never been a fan of that before, he is willing to give it a good try), and beef jerky. He mentioned he had gone to their version of a supermarket and purchased some chocolate. It was a very welcome treat for him.
They have no pepperoni in Niger; other PCV’s said to have people send pepperoni sticks so he could slice them up and make a Niger version of pizza.
He finds out on Friday, August 14, where his post will be. When the temps are in the high 90’s to low 100’s he is good, when it climbs above 110 he gets into the shade.
There are several wells in town, so no shortage of water. They usually do a water run on Sundays and Wednesdays to fill up their barrels. Ryan and other longer term PCV’s are in Maradi (the economic city of the country) where they have running water, refrigerators, and flush toilets. Alex was told he will have access to electricity and water.
For his demystification weekend, he and Katie ended up in the Tillaberi region where Hausa is spoken. They all left on the PC vehicle at 7:30 a.m. dropping off people along the way, Alex and Katie were the last to be dropped off at 2 a.m. the next day. So they were able to visit with Emily for 14 hours of the weekend. After they went to sleep Sunday night, they were awakened early Monday morning with a storm. They all ran inside her hut which really only sleeps two. He let the two ladies have the sleeping mats, and he tried to curl comfortably around a table, that is how he slept (?) from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. Alex & Katie had to leave at 6:30 a.m. for an hour walk (6-7 km) to catch the taxi which leaves at 8 a.m. once a day.
It took them 1 ½ hours to reach their destination, about 3 minutes into the walk it started down pouring again. There was a small creek beside them that they had to cross several times; the creek soon became a calf-high rushing torrent. They are carrying their backpacks with all their gear, books, electronics, and clothes in the downpour. It was a miserable walk in the only pair of lace-up shoes he took, and it took 1 ½ hours. The last bit they were running it because they did not want to miss the taxi. When they arrived, the driver said he would not leave until after the rain stops. A PCV in that town, invited them over to his place for breakfast. They had toasted bread drizzled with honey and some hot drink that people add a lot of sugar to and it ends up tasting like kool-aid.
At 9 a.m. they left for their 45 minute drive to the bus station. The driver went real, real slow in a car that has no shocks and no windows in it. It was still drizzling so Alex was ½ dry and ½ wet. The drive ended up taking 2 hours. They had to pay 2 tolls (ended up being roughly $1.00 each). One of which was to a regular citizen who complained they were destroying the road by driving in the drizzle. The resident PCV did not want to pay the toll and was making disgruntled noises, but Alex & Katie just wanted to get to Gaya.
They arrived in Gaya at 11:45 (having texted ahead for some of the others to order their lunch for them); the food was not ready and preparation to make it did not start until 12:40. At 1:50 the food was ready, but they had to catch the bus at 2:00. So they scarfed what they could down and went to the bus station. Buses habitually leave ½ later than scheduled. This bus did not leave until 3:15-3:30 (the following bus was leaving at 3:30 according to its schedule). The hold-up was in loading the passengers and freight.
All this transportation for 14 hours of visiting with an in station PCV – he and Katie were just tired.
On the bus ride the plexiglass window he was sitting next to was cracking. The construction and motion of the bus was causing it to buckle in about 4 inches. One of the Nigerien tapped him on the shoulder to push back on the window to help it not crack further. So instead of napping he spent the 1 ½ hour ride pushing back on the window so it only caved in about 1 inch compared to the 4 inches.
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