Quicky!

Happy Holidays!!! Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to yu all.  I was a little sad, missing family and friends during the holidays but I sill enjoyed it for the most part.  With each holiday all the volunteers get together and try to make everyone feel like home even though we are thoudands of miles away.  We all got together and enjoyed a Christmas brunch and dinner filled with carroling and singing plus movies into the night.  All in all I enjoyed my holiday away from with other vounteers and Peace Corps Staff.  In 5 days I will be moving to my new site.  I am very excited about the move and looking forward meeting the poeple in my village and working in the hospital.   I just wanted to quickly put up a holiday post and some pics that I promised.  Till next year....sa anjima!

It's Almost Time!!!

It’s been awhile since my last update and so much has happened that I can’t type it all.  I am two weeks away from swear in and the end of training.  By January 1^st of the New Year I will placed in my new village which will be my home for the next 24 months.  I am nervous and excited all at the same time but looking forward to the change.  Well before I talk about the future let me update you on the past several weeks.

First, Happy late Thanksgiving & Happy Holidays ;-) Although Niger does not celebrate Thanksgiving, all the Peace Corp trainees got together and enjoyed a lovely feast American style.  We had a Thanksgiving committee that put together a lovely menu as well as prepared most of the food.  From sweet potatoes  to stuffing , to Nigerian style salad and sweet butter cake, all 40 trainees plus a couple of special guest sat outside under the star lit sky and enjoyed the company, food and tradition of Thanksgiving.  All this made me think of my family at home and all my favorite foods I missed but I know it will all be waiting for me when I get back.  After all the festivities of Thanksgiving calmed down it was back to business as usual and training continued. After a couple of weeks of luxury at the training site it was time for us to get our first taste of life in the bush!

For two weeks I stayed in a small village with 5 other trainees and 2 language trainers outside of the state, Maradi .  The village was a 3 hour walk to the closest main road and the only access to the market or the road was by an ox cart, donkey, horse motorbike, or camel.  During these two weeks I focused on building my language skills through intensive classes as well as talking with residents of the village who were all very welcoming and receptive to our visit.  I also had the opportunity to attend 2 naming ceremonies, which is like a baptism, where everyone in the village comes to the newborn’s home and showers the family with gifts and blessings.   The religious leader of the village names the child and then the ceremony is concluded with the killing of a sheep, which is then prepared and cooked by the women.  I also visited the well which is like going to the water cooler at work; it’s where all the action is ;-)  In most rural villages since there is no running water the main water source is either a well, pump, or foot pump.  This village had a well which was 25m deep and provided water for all residents of the village.  Women will usually wake up as early as 5am to get water from the well to provide for their daily activities which includes cooking, cleaning, and water for bathing. This is by no means a small job and women in rural villages work very hard each day carrying gallons of water, gathering firewood, cooking lunch and dinner and taking care of the children.  

Although the village was small and remote village it was one of the few which had a school for grades 2, 4, and 6.  The school was a small 2 room building used to teach over 150 children; needless to say it was overcrowded and in need of many supplies.  The school was surrounded by 2 rows of beautiful itace trees which provided shade and was also where my language classes were held.  During my free time I would sit under the trees and read  a book while watching the animals graze through the field, women carrying water on their head and children playing simple games in the sand.  My two weeks was a great experience and an opportunity to see what my future life in ville will be.   

As time narrows down and my training comes to an end the next chapter of life will begin…follow me until then ;-)

P.S. I will put up some more pics in the next few days so be sure to check back.

On The Road!!! ( For Real!)

Week 3 in Niger and so far I am still here! I have been steadily learning the language and getting to know my host family which I enjoy hanging out with. 
Despite the language barrier we still enjoy eachother's company, I spend my nights teaching them dances like the cupid shuffle, playing cards or playing with the kids
or listening to my roommate Chelsea's mp3.  They even gave me a new name, Jamilya Boba, which mean big Jamilya, since my 10 yr old host sister  My typical day starts at sunrise,
I am usually woken up by the lovely sounds from the chorus of animals I live with including 2 new baby goats, a couple of sheeps, and a handful of roosters. After my
daily bucket bath I head out to the local market to get breakfast; ranging from fried massa (millet and flour balls sprinkeled with sugar ora pepper sauce) to sulanni
(liquid yogurt in a bag) or my favorite, sandwich kwai (egg sandwich w/ onions and pounded peppers in a baguette). My days are usually filled with language and culture
classes outside followed by dinner with my host family which has been variations of rice!  This week was dmystification, which is really a fancy word for visiting other
Peace Corps Volunteers out in the field.  I traveled to one of the other major regions of Niger called Dosso, where I spent 5 days with a great PCV who showed me another side of Niger
that is not quite like my village.  I actually got to go to a pool which was very refreshing, reguardless of how many bugs might have been floating around in it with me lol.

This experience was one to be remembered and gave me a lot to look forward to in the next upcoming years.  There is more to Niger than what meets the eye at first glance and I hope I can show
all of that as well.  Although I still can't speak Hausa or French I have been learning so much more without it so imaginge the possibities once I have both languages mastered.  This was a short entry but until next time enjoy the pics!

Toi sa anijima!

On the Road!

Unfortunatley I had technically difficulties posting, so until when I return I will put up pics and the blog I actually wrote before it was all deleted!

Arrival!

I have arrived, safetly & soundly ;-) My first day was exhausting but after a 13 hr flight from  NY to Niger me and the other 42 PC volunteers arrived in Niamey airport.  We were greeted by other PC voluteers  & staff with a big bottle of warm water!  My first thoughts off the plane was "damn it's hot" and "how does this bathroom thing work???"  Probably TMI, but a reality of my new life  for the next couple of years.  As we all boarded the bus to head to the training site outside the captial I was  so grateful for the AC during the 30 min ride.  Driving along the main road I was greeted with waves and smiles from local Nigeriens who have been anticipating our arrival.  To see the little children, women and men so elated to have a large group of strange Americans coming into their homes warmed my heart and reaffirmed my purpose in PC.  Since Niger is landlock and mostly desert, I admired the red clay rock formations in the distance and the sandy roads that were sprinkled with thatch huts and Nigerien families walking along the side.  As we approached the training site I was pleasantly suprised to find my cell phone had recieption and was recieving messages but since all these messages would cost me I decided to enjoy the moment and relish in being unattainable and free from the modern leash of communication.   At the training site we were greeted by more PC staff and brief overview followed by a my first Nigerien meal, pasta with goat meat sauce, which I found quite delicious.  I am also not a picky eater so any food that wasn't an insect or unidentifiable animal sounded good to me.   

As end of the day approached I was also happy to find a shower on the training site, since I was informed I would be taking bucket baths I was not expecting one;  although that luxury was short lived ;-) The sun had finally set and the pitch black night of the desert was in full effect.  For my first night I was unable to sleep; this could be due to the fact it was only 9pm and I am have never yet to go to sleep at that time since adolencese.  Yet I layed awake in my mosquito net staring at the beautiful sky bontiful with stars and enjoying the cool night breeze;I imagined my many days to come and the stories that would fill them up.  This is how my adventure begins!