Some photos from Niger

Wrestling tournament that occurs at my village each year. Millet planted in rows and looks like corn. This is the main crop in my community.

My new shade hangar. Below you will see why its new.

I was sleeping under this when it crashed.

Ostrich's at a nearby (60 km) away from my village.

Me and some of the men from the village.

A grain truck got stuck.

The Conseiller and his twins.

To Stephanie

Sorry I’ve been so bad about updating my blog. And this would now be a typical update, telling about what’s happening in village, just how strange camels look (and they are funny-looking beasts), and essentially helping both me and you to understand the differences between Nigerien culture and American. But sadly, this isn’t a typical update. This isn’t a typical time in a Peace Corps service. In fact, nothing is typical, nothing is as it is supposed to be. It’s now been three days since I heard of the passing of Stephanie, one of the new members of Peace Corps Niger and, more specific to me, the Team Zinder family. We held a memorial service for her yesterday and followed her to the airport. We said goodbye in that way which we know how to do.

And so, if you like ‘typical’ updates, sorry. I can’t do that. Not this time. But here it is, the other side of my Nigerien life. Welcome to the American-American relationships, the What-the-*bleep*-are-we-doing-here side. In short, the side that helps to keep us sane as we wander around in our village, away from home and all that we grew up knowing.

I only knew her from a few half-days in Niamey and then some more in Zinder, but once a part of the Zinder family, always a part of the Zinder family. It doesn’t seem right to say she felt like family to me, she was far too new for us to have developed any sort of relationship. And yet, she was part of our family, a family that consists of a small number of Americans, from all parts of the country, with all sorts of lives, and who has seemingly little in common. But who cares about whether you’re from Jersey or Missouri, California or South Dakota (what what). Who cares that one studied English, another French, this one Foreign Relations, that one Art History? So what is there to join us together, but that, having gone past the literal (and one might argue proverbial) Timbuktu, there are 15 other Americans, just as freaked out as you in that lonely area called Zinder. So yes, we are family, hanging onto each other in this strange, crazy land.

Stephanie was at the exciting point in her service, where things are still new, people still like to hear your stories, and children love to call out ‘Anasara’ (white person). And yet her shoes are all too familiar. Yeah, I’ve been there. I was there a year ago. I’m still there now. I have grown since coming here, and this place makes far more sense now that it did when I first came. But I’m still Alex, born and raised in America, land where the snow falls, leaves change, people drive to work and school, and Starbucks and Wal-mart are always opening new stores closer than the one before. Some of my villagers might have heard of Wal-mart. What it does is a whole other matter. And the closest they can come to a $10 cup of coffee is a 10¢ glass of Nescafe. Snow is something some people have seen on a TV, once upon a time. Leaves yellow and fall, but who would guess at such a bizarre thing as pine needles? And ownership of cars? We don’t even have 10 private cars in my village. Are you starting to get why we lean so heavily upon each other? Want to guess the only person in my village who doesn’t understand polygamy? How about the only one who is confused when the husband and wife aren’t present at the marriage ceremony?

Looks like I’m starting to ramble now. But this is my life. A constant culture shock, even though the shock becomes manageable. A daily trial of walking out into this eternally strange world. Dawn to dusk, living life in my new home. And it does feel like home…almost. This is part of the reason why we go to Zinder or visit others’ villages, to experience that other side of the coin. You do what you need in order to survive. And this means spending time with those who are living this culture shock with you, those crazy Americans who crazily jumped on this crazy ride.

I remember talking with my dad before going to college, and he told me about how I would be making new friends as I find people I’m going on this new adventure with. Did he know even then not just how true it would prove for college, but how it would go further in life? Not only am I finding it applicable, but even more obvious. On the basis of our shared culture and shared backgrounds, Peace Corps Volunteers, at least in Niger, bind ourselves together on this adventure. And it becomes fierce, a level of friendship and (to be honest) dependence that makes family seem like quite the word for it.

And so, I say goodbye to my sister(?) Steph. You were only a short time with this absurd, sorority family thing we have in Zinder, but you were oh-so welcome, oh-so wanted, and are oh-so missed. It was hard to say goodbye and, in the coming weeks and months, will be hard to not come in and say hi. We love you.

And, in the off-chance that her family and friends might be reading this, I am so, so sorry for your loss. I only knew her for a short time, but I was eager to get to know her over the next year. God bless.


Sorry for the rambling all. As I said, this is not a typical update, for this is not a typical point in time.

But really, what's life without a coup every now and then?

Well, we’ve had some quasi-major action going on since last update, so here goes.

And so, my return to ville was on February 18^th, a day that turned out to be rather important as there was a military coup d’état that afternoon. Sounds like something to be a big deal to a country, no? At least, I would have thought so, until later that day when everyone had heard about it, I noticed that besides the talk about the subject, there has been no chance in the daily lives of the vast majority of my villagers. The only major change I’ve noticed was that there was to be a changeover at my Mairie (to see a photo of which, look several months back), in which the political persons have exhausted their term and will therefore be leaving. However, that has since changed slightly so that the Mayor is staying temporarily, but the vice-mayor and other councilmen are now gone. The hired staff will remain, keeping up with the day-to-day responsibilities of local government. But at least as of the time that I’m writing this, these things have yet to be fully realized, so I’m still not fully sure what’s going on or how things will run in actuality. Further news relative to the CSRD, there were recently some arrests in Niamey of some Ministers and others who are accused of having conspired against the CSRD/government.

So now, with this little coup event that transpired, my time in this country has officially been under three different governments. I came in under the 5^th Republic. Last fall we had the referendum which pushed us into the 6^th Republic (and extending then-President’s mandate for an additional three years). And now, we are under the Conseil Suprême pour la Restauration de la Démocratie (CSRD). The plan is that we will, in the as-yet undefined future, be having elections. And then there will be another issue, as to what government we will be under, will this be a return to the 5^th, will be going forward to the 7^th, or will we be in the 6^th (considering CSRD doesn’t consider the 6^th to have yet existed). Makes for an interesting situation and a fun mind-puzzler while at the same time making me thankful of the peaceful political situation we have back in the States. No matter what the arguments that have gone on for the last 200+ years, we have a stability I hadn’t thought to appreciate until coming here and seeing ‘African Democracy’.

Other news here revolves around the food issue and weather. I haven’t heard that it was officially declared, but Niger is facing a major food security crisis this year. They have already broke open the grain banks to sell the staple foods (mostly millet, but also rice and sorghum) at a reduced price (i.e.-people only pay 13000 CFA for a bag of rice, not the 23000 CFA one finds in market), something that I’m being told usually isn’t done for another month or so. People are saying that this will make things harder down the road when people are waiting for the crops to yield their fruit; hopefully the food situation (with the aid of foreign aid) will be kept manageable up till harvest time. As far as weather is concerned, we had a nasty dusty period a few weeks back, wind was whipping through blowing sand and dust into the air which covered the sun enough to be able to look at it (did keep things a bit cooler), but which also covered every square inch of my throat, making everyone complain of dry and sore throats. That has since died down, heralding the hot season, in which we have once clocked 112, several 108s, and a daily high consistently above 100. Nights fall to between low and upper 80s. Happy news on the horizon however, I have started seeing clouds crossing the sky. As yet, nothing serious, and nothing even considering rain, but it’s showing me a light at the end of the tunnel. There will be an end to this ungodly heat (good thing for my service as it is hard to do any real work in the hours that make up the heat of the day).

And now that I believe I have those things somewhat covered, on we go to a discovery I have made, of which I am extremely pleased. As it is, I’m the only Christian in my town. Such a thing tends to make Christian fellowship/community difficult to manage, as one might expect. Many thanks to my father who downloaded sermon podcasts and put them on an iPod and sent to me, such truly has been a blessing to keep me grounded in faith, but there is yet lacking a community to see and touch. However, to my great pleasure and joy, it turns out that there is a church in a city about 60km from me. I have now attended three services there, the last one being on Easter Sunday. I thought I should probably try to write about that, thinking that some (hopefully my church friends at the least) might appreciate knowing about the differences I’ve noticed.

The congregation has usually been around 20-25 adults, 10-12 youth, and the flock of young kids that follow their parents. The adults break down into a few more men than women. Small side note, as a response to a question I asked, I found out that all the women that attend are either wives of another churchgoer or widows, whereas there is at least one guy whose wife is a Moslem. Not great numbers to make a statistical analysis, but this makes sense relative to what I would expect in this culture, in that it would be much harder for a woman to break out into a new religion, whereas the man, as head of household, has the cultural freedom to do a lot more as he feels led to. As I said, side note. Also in attendance at the church are missionary families, currently one Australian and one American. I can’t possibly describe how awesome it was to find I could speak English the first time I visited.

The service starts with a prayer followed by songs. Most of the songs are simply translations of random hymns I’ve never heard of into Hausa, to which we are supposed to sing along to the original tune. There is occasionally music provided by a keyboard and drums, but it is mostly vocals. Through my missionary connections, I borrow a hymnal (they are all words only) and we then follow the melody provided mostly from one woman (though how she knows the melody, I don’t know. Heck she could simply be making it up.) Songs consist of several picked out prior to service as well as some that congregants ask for.

After the hymns, the ladies provide the music for two more songs, and following them is the youth’s turn. Their turn is broken into a trio of young girls who do a song as well as the full youth group doing some songs.

Sandwiched in near the end of all this singing is a time where the children are led to the front of the congregation where they each recite bible verses. After we applaud them (Sannu da Aiki! Yayi Kyau!), they are led out of the church to do whatever the lady who helps with them has them do (they have already had a Sunday school-ish time before the service started). We then pass around the offering sack (just one little guy for a little congregation), we finish up this portion by a another song or two.

The service then moves into sermon time. We start with a prayer and then launch into a mini-version of their greetings. The sermons are presented bilingually by pairs, with the leader speaking in Hausa and then pausing for the other to translate into French. As the entire bible has been translated into Hausa (I’m not sure when that happened, have been meaning to ask so as to satisfy my curiosity), the service can come from any book the pastor wants as he can easily be matched by the French translation of the bible. After the first sermon, the Hausa speaker sits down, the pastor who had done the French translation steps over to what I’m now nick-naming the Hausa podium while another steps up to the newly-dubbed French podium. Another sermon is then presented in the same manner, talking in Hausa followed by talking in French, bible verse in Hausa followed by bible verse in French, en suite en suite. I know that at least these last two have received biblical education, not sure about the first Hausa-speaker. At the end of the second sermon, we share in prayer and then, if it happens to be the first Sunday, we take communion. If not, we then move finish with the prayer and move around the building, shaking hands and greeting everyone. Somewhat strange to see at first, but I did note that all the guys greet all the women, something I found surprising at there is a significant population in the culture who don’t shake hands with women but do greetings from a short distance. After we finish the not-insignificant greetings time, everyone goes off in their separate way. In all, the service seems to be something around a 2-hour affair.

As a side note, I find it to be amazingly interesting just how similar people’s characters are between the US and Niger. Yes, there are the major social/cultural differences, but still some things just fall out in much the same way. For a wonderful example, the “children’s music” portion of the service is nothing but reminiscent of the same at my church stateside. There are kids standing with their arms crossed while others swing their arms and still others actually following the motions, kids not knowing any of the words while others know the words and then vary the degree to which they actually move their mouth, kids waving to their parents, kids pulling on the sleeves of others, etc. Just one example of just how similar I’m finding people to be regardless of where we come from.

And here are some pictures of the church. The first is obviously of the outside. It is done with the traditional mud bricks.

For this inside shot, you can see where the men sit on the left hand side on plastic chairs (which had already been stacked up and put away by the time i took this picture), the women on the right on the pews, and the youth to the side of the podium. The guy up front, yeah, not any official person in the church, simple a member who wanted to be in a picture.














And at this point, I believe I have everything I specifically wanted to talk about, though I have been rereading this post so much that I'm now forgetting what I have put on here and what I may have forgotten. Weird how that happens.

Hope all is well back home. Say hi to the rain for me (though I will hopefully be getting some soon enough, whenever that may be).

News from mid-February

Well, IST(In-Service Training) is now over. Late January, my entire stage came into Niamey for a three-week training designed to give us more practical knowledge after our first few months of life in ville. We all enjoyed seeing each other, hanging out with people we haven’t seen for four months, enjoying the pause snacks at the training site, playing volleyball after classes until dark, and (only three days late) watching the Superbowl together (GO SAINTS!).
Week one was devoted to sharing our experiences, telling what we have already done, and sitting in on some sessions to further our knowledge in our respective sectors (CYE or MCD). Week two was the Language week, a very helpful time that gave a base of learning for speaking either a local language or French, depending upon what the individual wanted. Personally, I was in the lowest of the low Hausa course, a very good thing considering I currently don’t speak it. At the end of the week, we had been given a basic grammar/sentence structure and had learned the three tense conjugations. So after that crash course, I have at least the basics and, with the help of villagers, can learn verbs and vocabulary to be able to speak the language. Week two also had some tech sessions and guest speakers, so time was split (unfortunately for me, as I was wanting nigh on every class to be a language). Week three kicked off the Homologue Conference, a two-day event in which we reviewed with our chosen counterpart how to assess community needs as well as some basic project designs. Also, we created a rough timeline for the upcoming months, stating the goals and objectives we all expect to meet over the next bit of time. My counterpart couldn’t come, unfortunately, so I wasn’t able to do all that everyone else was able to do (re: collaboration with HCN). IST ended this last Friday, and we were then given some time to talk with our APCDs and any other admin staff that we needed in order to be prepared for our next stretch of service.
I will soon be heading back out to Zinder, and as a little schedule for you guys, my next few months in ville will consist of continuing to learn Hausa, implementing some small projects (i.e.- English clubs, maybe eventually a radio show, etc.), and talking with villagers and determining the level of support the community shows towards some certain ideas and larger projects. As Peace Corps volunteers, we’ve heard and been taught on maintaining sustainability when it comes to project ideas as we will soon enough be leaving the community which will then have to take complete control over the project (unless we are replaced) and who must therefore have a vested interest in its success, a desire to keep it going, and (whenever possible) the means to keep it going. And let’s not forget the Girls’ Soccer Tournament that we are having for eight middle schools in Zinder region that will cover the weekend of the 28th and March 7th. All this is to say that it looks like I have a fair few things to do over the coming months.
I’m now going to jump back to what happened before I left ville, because we had some entertaining stuff roll through just as I left, namely la lutte traditionnelle, the traditional wrestling that they practice as (or so it seems) the dominant sport in this country. My ville was hosting the event for the department this year, and so I got to see lots of wrestling. And, whether because of my anasara status, or that I’ve made friends with the important people in my ville, I was given a good seat from which I was able to take lots of video on my camera. My current small project is joining them all together to make a video to give to the mairie. It was a really fun event to watch, including the music entertainment (though that did become annoying and loud rather quickly). The rules of lutte are varied from the free-style we have back in the States. All it takes to lose is to have either an elbow or knee touch the ground, so the rounds had the potential to be over in just 10 seconds (though there were times where the participants were trying to bore us all by taking 3+ minutes to do nothing). My ville was hosting the departmental lutte competition to choose the competitors who would go on to represent the department in the national competition (which, incidentally, started just yesterday in Zinder and will be going for about another week).
Well, we are now mostly splitting up to go our separate ways, which not many are terribly happy about as we have all grown fond of each other over PST and IST (being the Americans that we all started this crazy adventure with, from Philly to now). On the other hand, I know I’m not the only one wanting to get back to my village. Three weeks out from my home life is a lot, and I’m ready to get back into the cycle of things.

Merry Christmas to All

Well, first time I've not had a White Christmas in quite awhile.
So, update on what has been going on.
Was last in Zinder due to a security situation that has since been resolved. Some members from Niger elected to return to the States, so the size of PeaceCorps Niger is decreased. Added to that, the latest in-coming stage was forced to leave in the middle of their training, and (as far as I know) most have gone to Madagascar which has recently reopened. The rest of us have accepted to adopt a few more rules to help guarantee safety.

We celebrated Christmas yesterday. Enjoyed a table full of good food (including tenderloin, garlic rosemary mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, salad, apple-cranberry stuffing, apple-squash stew, gravy, pumpkin bread, and I think that was all). Also, there was a large number of cookies (several dozen of many different varieties). All in all, a very sweet, and very filling, dinner. Very thankful that Team Z is so full of great cooks. That has made these two holidays quite happy events with plenty of good food to go around.
After dinner, we had a White Elephant and Secret Santa gift exchange. Fun stuff went around, with a mixture of laughing and crying (depending on the nature of the gift).
Village life has been going quite well. I have recently sat in on two CAPED meetings (a sort of teacher-training), and am considering not attending any more (though I would have to reconsider that decision if I decide I could do something to make it more effective. I dunno, maybe have everyone check in cell phones at the door, not gabble when the leader is talking, not shouting across the room, etc. The good thing about these meetings is that they take place in French, so I'm able to follow what's going on (although the entire point of the message was lost on all but a few at the latest meeting).
Two others and I visited a fellow PCV in mid-December. So, we headed up north (passing through some interesting landscape) to help paint a world map. We spent the better part of thee days up there, working at a primary school in a village a few km away. It was a worthwhile experience, heading out to visit another person's village.

So, time for a few photos. Here's what the bush taxi was like. On the way up, Sean and I were sitting on bags of rice, legs hanging over the side, just behind the cab of the pickup. Our only hand holds was a bar that ran along the outside of the bed of the pick-up, and since it was market time, the bed was packed until we were sitting at the same height as our hand holds, making a very difficult time of holding on. We were sitting on the left hand side, and had to work to stay on our very precarious position, especially on the right hand turns. I had the added bonus of having a lady behind me (inside the bed of the truck) elbowing and kneeing me in the back in order to find a better position. Didn't let her win that one, however, as I figured my situation was worse than hers. Meanwhile, Sean was catching the thorn branches as we were drying by and Audrey was sitting inside the bed with the cab to her back, which left her with several bruises on her back.

And here is us sitting on the top for the ride back. Surprisingly enough, this was a much better position to ride in. Wasn't afraid of falling off, wasn't being hit by thorns. In all, a much better experience.










And here is our wonderful world map. The grid lines have since been erased (happened after we left, so no pics of that). It turned out to be a rather interesting experience as the smallest paintbrush was a 2", so we ended up finger painting and using the tips of millet stalks. Perhaps not the proper way, but amusing nonetheless.







And yeah, that's what's been happening in the life of Alex. Merry Christmas to All, and to All a Good Night.

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.).

Email update from Alex

Wheeeeeee!

So, this weekend is Demystification weekend, and as I'm going to the Gaya region (very southern tip of Niger), I'm staying in a PC transit house along the way with some other volunteers. And luckily, all the transit houses have basic email, so I'm loving being able to send this off.

So, things have been speeding up lately. Days aren't going by so slowly and this last week went by relatively fast. Language class started getting better the end of this week. Still nothing new, but some more advanced tenses/conjugations that I had mostly forgotten along the way. So, feeling far less frustrated now than when we were going over the very basics (like "Bonjour Monsieur. Comment allez-vous?").

The host family situation is going well, the family that I am with (along with my fellow PCV Shane) consists of a husband, wife and one child. Last night I had to go inside to get another sheet which I curled up under. Crazy thing is that, according to my alarm clock, the temperature was 74 degrees. Guess that means I'm adjusting, huh? But I am noticing that the days are seemingly less hot (especially compared to that first day we stepped off the plane), despite it still being around or over 100 most days. It is really nice to get the rains though. It does make things that much more humid, but a good rain cools everything down for the next two days.

Got to cook tonight in the regional transit house here in Dosso. Made up spaghetti with a tomato paste/squash sauce. Turned out well enough, though I certainly would have liked some meat to go with it. But, with this Demyst (Demystification) weekend, even so far, it has made things seem a lot more real and quite bearable. Hearing one PCV talk about what his diet consists of, others how they like to get together to be 'American', etc. This certainly is starting to look like a good opportunity to get a glimpse of what the real thing is like, as in the day-to-day living, activities, small projects (not just the big ones), interactions with other PCVs, etc.

Granted, things go a lot slower here and things may be in the mail, but any letters with news from home or the like would certainly be welcome. I know not much time or events have elapsed, but everyone is liking the communication they get from home. And I have heard that, for care packages (Skittles, sweets, etc) and the like, send things in large boxes instead of several smaller ones as the customs fee isn't different except from the small padded enveloped to larger size; any size box should be the same fee. I'm not in terrible need of a care package, but for if/when anyone plans to send one. Also, not sure what all I can get in Niamey (trip there in 2 weeks time), esp. sweets-related, or even in the larger regional capitals (depending on how close I am and how often I make the trip to Maradi, Zinder).

Hope/expect to get a cell phone when I go to Niamey. It will be nice to hear friendly voices again. It is crazy though, to see cell towers sitting on the edge of town (there is one right next to the PC training site on the edge of Hamdallaye).

Well, that really is all I can think of at the moment. I feel like I should have a lot more to say, but it just seems that everything that is new/strange is really as a matter of lifestyle, not specific events to report.

Alex

Arrival in Niger

This comes from an email sent via the Peace Corps:

I am pleased to announce the safe arrival of the Peace Corps Niger July Training Group for the beginning of their training to become Peace Corps Volunteers. Everyone is in good spirits and, as you can see from the attached photo, settling in well to our training site. Last night they experienced their first really big African monsoon storm and they have weathered it well!We are thrilled to have this new set of trainees and look forward to working with them over the next 2 years.

Charles de Gaulle

Well, landed in Paris around 8am local time, though it's still 2 am Philly time. And I think I finally realized that this is for real about the time that we were passing the UK. Kinda figured that signaled the point of no return.
The group seems to be bonding well, which is very well and good since these are the most of the only Americans we'll know for the next 27 months. There's 32 of us in the group, prolly a 2/3 majority of them women. I believe we're all in our 20's and cover most of the States.
And by the way, things are very expensive here (maybe it's just that it's the airport). Lunch just cost me 7.50 euros for a half liter of water and an 8-inch pre-made sandwhich. Comes out to somewhere around $11+ (according to my mental math) for something I'm gunna try to stretch out as much as possible (if the trip across the Atlantic w/ complimentary dinner and breakfast was any hint, I shouldn't expect to enjoy very much of the Lunch provided at all).
And that's about all for now. My time on internet is close to running out (2 euros for 15 minutes), and boarding is coming up. This will probably be my last internet connection for several weeks, so no updates coming along unless it is from my parents saying they've received the confirmation email that we arrived safe and sound in Niamey.
Should be arriving in Niamey sometime in the mid-late evening local time (approx. noon-time back in SD), so we'll be getting our first taste of Niger food this evening. Wish me Luck!

I'll provide updates and pictures as able.
Alex

Philadelphia

Well, I've now checked into my hotel for staging and where I will be until flying out tomorrow afternoon to Charles de Gaulle in Paris and then to Niamey, Niger. And, even though my trip has just begun, I must say that I have already learned some things about myself and Philadelphia.

1) It is no fun to arrive in the evening in a large city one is unfamiliar with and the apartment at which one plans to stay just to find out that the apartment keys do not work.
2) I have an allergy I didn't know of before. Both times I walked through Chinatown, I was sneezing uncontrollably.
3) They have some really cool architecture hereabouts. I mean, really cool.
4) They also have some very nasty smells hereabouts....and dirty streets and sidewalks (at least, compared to RC). Also, many of the sidewalks are gone to the dogs. Seriously people, take some time to repair the things.
5) Mt. Rushmore has bigger fireworks.
6) Philly has bigger crowds at their fireworks.
7) Philly drivers are fairly good at parallel parking. Oddly, they have this insane habit of automatically swerving whenever someone blares their horn. Strangest thing.
8) Most of the city is within walking distance of where I was staying (by UPenn campus). Made it rather easy to walk around. SEPTA was easy to take as well ($2 to get across town, not bad).

And yeah, that's pretty much my thoughts for now. I have some pictures, but the computers at the hotel don't have a port to read the SD card, so no pictures to be put up for now (maybe they'll have something at the Philly or CDG airports.

So I think that's about it from me.
Toodles.
Alex

Dropped Alex off at the airport today

Under cloudy skies and sad hearts, Alex was dropped off at the airport and will eventually travel to Philadelphia. He will enjoy the July 4th holiday in Philadelphia and will attend a short training for a few days. From there he boards a plane that will take him to France and then Niamey, Niger.

A movie of what Niger might be like