Some more photos

Well, hopefully the internet will be cooperating well enough for me to get up some photos so you all have an idea of what I see as I walk down the streets of my town.

So, here's the Mairie, looking across the main street going through town. The building consists of four rooms, the Mayor's office and the Vice Mayor's office each with a room in front. That thing you see on the roof on the left hand side is a newly installed solar panel. During the day, the panel is used to help charge the battery that was brought in to allow use of the computer even when the electric generator isn't working. I know, fancy, isn't it.

Here we have the lovely C.E.G. at which I spend several hours a day, either in class or talking with the director or teachers (when they don't have class). There are two buildings, each with two classrooms, and a shade hangar behind each (though the hangar behind the building on the left isn't constructed as of now, not sure due to lack of funds whatnot).

And here is the inside of one of those rooms (taken from the building on the right). This is the older of the two buildings, quite apparently so from the inside as this one has mud-brick walls that are exposed whereas the other is cemented, helping to at least maintain some illusion of newness.

The picture taken is of the 6eme (or maybe 5eme, I forget. But 5th, 6th grade area) English class. In the class, I had counted 70 some students (though taking a head count can be somewhat difficult as the students all get up and shout in order to be called on when the teacher asks a question. It's about 4 students to a table/desk. Boys do outnumber girls in the classroom, though I am glad to report that girls are decently represented, if not evenly. In this class, the teacher works off of a notebook he has written in. No textbooks for either students or teacher at all at the C.E.G. except in higher english classes.

And this is the lovely shade hangar I referred to earlier. 40-some students sitting in a French class. At the end of lecture, the teacher wrote two short paragraphs on the blackboard. Somewhat surprising and sad was that I was able to read and fully understand the paragraphs whereas the students (who have been taught in french since primary school, even if school is their only exposure to french) had immense difficulty reading. I'm not sure if this is simply a result of the lack of textbooks (or any other reading material for that matter) or maybe symptomatic of a larger problem of failure to comprehend the language.

And here is the NEW C.E.G. that they are working on. It is to be a Franco-Arab school (main difference, as I can tell, is that Arab will simply be taught as a second language). This school will (at least at the start) only accomodate 6eme and 5eme students.

And here is a photo with me with the CPs kids. Two of the cutest kids I have ever know, and possibly the two Nigeriens I'll be stealing back with me to the USA.

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.

Highlights from recent phone calls with Alex

This is a compilation of notes taken from phone calls with Alex. He does have a cell phone and we (the parents) use Skype to keep in contact.

Alex has been settling in to his new environment. One of his first assignments or duties as a Peace Corp Volunteer was to sign a release for getting wood for students desks. The person he was replacing actually had done the leg work (getting a woman’s group to raise the money) and all Alex needed to do was sign the form so the wood could be delivered. He did “win” a solar shower while at the training center and has been enjoying it greatly as it is much better than using a cup to pour water over one’s head during shower time.

Alex had his first taste of sugar cane. It is much sweeter than he thought it would be. Wednesday is market day in his town and they have a variety of items for sale. Some of these items include different fabrics, pottery, jewelry, and spices. He has had other Peace Corp Volunteers come to market day and they are able to meet and discuss life with one another. It is interesting to note that other volunteers see Alex’s humble life and think that he really has it made. For instance, there are generators that get turned on around 4pm until midnight in Alex’s town. Other towns or villages where some of the visiting Peace Corp Volunteers reside don’t have generators and thus there is no electricity. This means that all jobs; such as getting water are by manual means (i.e. pulling up a bucket of water from a well).

Alex’s job in the Peace Corps is a Community Youth Educator. Hausa is the local language, but French is what they teach in schools. He has been meeting with the other teachers and school started this week. Last week was a sort of orientation or sign-up for the students. They also received some limited supplies at that time. So it is a good thing that Alex does know French, but the local language is an additional hurdle that he has been working on. Subjects that they teach are Math/Chemistry, Physical Science, Philosophy, and grammar. There are two primary schools, one middle school and one higher level school in Alex’s town.

He remains in good spirits and has many stories. We are waiting until he has his own computer access so the stories are first hand.

Email update from Alex

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.

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.

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.

Letter from Alex on the first few days

Bonjour, Fofo, sannu, salam, alaikum July 15, 2009

It has been a very interesting not yet even a week. So many things are so different, I am not sure exactly where to start off.
The plane rides were quite boring. Both times I was in one of the middle seats of the aisle. Fortunately, I was sitting next to a fellow PCT from Paris to Niamey (pronounced Knee-ehmeh).
In all, there are 32 of us, 9 guys, 23 women. Youngest will be turning 21 this Oct, I believe. Landed in Niamey mid-afternoon July 9th. Stepped off the plane into 100+F. Passing through security went well, but encountered my first trouble at baggage collection. In Philly, I had cleared out half of my small luggage and stuffed it into the larger & my carry-on so that I could fit some things of another PCT who would have been overweight for checked luggage. And as no good deed goes unpunished, it was the small luggage that arrived, not my larger one. And so once all the other baggage had been claimed, another PCT & I reported we were each missing luggage. Tondi, a local PC guy, helped us with that. The ride from Niamey to Hamdallaye (a village of about 4,000 someone said) showed us the countryside. Must say that there is far more green than I had expected. Lots of trees & what not.
Those thatched huts we saw pictures of are for sleeping (if one must go inside) and personal storage or, if elevated (on wooden frames), for food storage. However, back to day 1, they showed us how to how to hang up the mosquito net using a slip-knot. Slip-knot very important as we found out that first night, for as we were sleeping that night, a dust storm arose which seems to be a herald of rain storms (at least at this time of year). So we quickly had to let loose the knots grab the bundle of net & mattress, and move it inside. Meanwhile, weather changed from a bit of wind to not being able to see 15 feet in the time it took us to climb out of mosquito net, tear down, and rush into building 20 feet away to reset mosquito nets and try to fall back asleep while some metal door kept slamming open & closed from the wind & rain pounding the metal rooftop.
The 10th was first full day in Niger. The nice thing about the rain is that it keeps the next day cooler, albeit a bit more humid. Day started off with introduction to PC Niger staff. Had culture fair on PC compound (where we slept first 2 nights). One girl in particular kept dragging me into the dance. Guess she will have to compete with a certain Sophie who I passed on street one day and seemed to have a crush on me.
Taking Doxycycline for 2 weeks until mefoquine kicks in (no strange dreams yet).
July 11th – We started with a small language lesson to learn some basics of either Hausa or Zarma (I’m doing Hausa). It was fun to be learning some, but difficult nonetheless. Had some stations around PC compound showing how to use the latrine (for those who only used toilets), how to wash clothes by hand, bucket bathes, etc. Found out didn’t pass French Interview for Intermediate-mid level, which I was happy for because then I get to take some French lessons, but am now loathing as we are starting at the very beginning, despite what we already know. Moved in with host family, consists of father (Soulet), mother (Isso (sp)), and daughter (3-yr old Nana).
July 12th – I got my 2nd suitcase. Very nice. Got rust stain on some clothes I had hung up to dry on metal wire. Bought my first stuff in village street vendor market area. Easy enough to do in French.
July 13th – Was second sand storm/rain storm. Not much else except boring language class.
July 14th – Tuesday is Markey day, so after some morning health lessons & lunch, went into Marche. Bought material to have pants made and a shirt. Safety & security lesson after 2 hr lunch break. Shane started feeling sick, but is better now. Oh yeah, I’m rooming w/Shane for these 9 weeks.
I’m starting to get used to this 100+ degree weather, which is good, right? As more evidence that I’m adapting, I was a bit chilly in last nights 70 some degree weather. The days aren’t terrible if you can find some shade beneath a tree (which are common enough everywhere but in my concession). Also, light breeze helps keep things cool.
People around here are nice. It does not take long to get a bunch of kids yelling “Fofo” at you as you walk down the street. Friends & relatives are free to enter compound as they will.
Food is good here. Lots of starch (rice, sweet potato, rice), some beans, some meat (but not tons), from my experience. Several different sauces, tho I think all are tomato-based (at least so far).
Easy to get used to sitting on mat, reaching in & grabbing food with right hand.
Feels like I’ve been here a month already, days go slow & accumulate slower than expected. Don’t terribly miss the cleanliness of home yet, but it still kinda feels like camp, not yet life.

Culture shock #1: Boys & men will often walk around holding hands if they’re good friends. Very common sight I’m still not used to.
Culture shock #2: Lots of cell phones in this country. Not everyone has, but a good number do. And on that note, they said that almost 100% PC Nigerians have cell phones to I’ll look to get one in Niamey. I guess most PCV’s have home call them at a set time as that is easier than calling to the U.S.

I do love you all and miss the states, but can’t think of much else to say. If my memory serves right, I should have a cell phone before my second letter gets home, so maybe that’s what to look forward to. Hope to talk to you soon and know that all is going well.
Much love,
Alex

P.S. Should have brought flip-flops, not just sandals. Shoes mostly for walking long distances I think. Might look for some next Tuesday (Market Day),
P.S.S. Something to think of for Mom, contacts are a no go in this country. Glasses only.
P.S.S.S. I had forgotten to mention I’ve been given a Nigerian name by my host family. Sani, which means second (as in second child, etc.).