Six days left in Africa
this will probably be my last post.. although after 6 pm today i am officially done with class and will have some nice time on my hands. i'm actually in the middle of writing my last paper of junior year - in french - on henna traditions in hausa culture. ironically, i am in the midst of suffering from a henna inflicted acid abrasion on my hands and feet (yes, the worst spots on the body to be itchy) and am covered in rash in the shapes of flowers and leaves. opted not to go to the clinic (and spend all of $5) because i have about $20 US left and i'm determined to make it last through the end. it's amazing how our concept of expensive has changed. sometimes we want to slap ourselves for getting upset over losing 200 CFA... which may only be 40 cents US but it covers a whole taxi ride, 1/3 of a beer, half an egg sandwich, two brochettes... etc. anyway, i think i'll survive the rash. mind over matter has in many ways been the motto of this entire experience, and i wouldn't want my last week to be ruined sulking in my scratches.
very last week... i can't believe how fast time has flown by! at the same time, i feel like i've been here forever. yesterday i walked home from the museum, which i haven't done for the past 2 weeks because it's been too freakin hot. we've actually been getting nice breezes throughout the day recently, and i'm not sure what the temperature has been but it's been much more pleasant than those 125 or so days. anyway, i chose to walk that scenic staple route, and as i walked home i realized all the things i will miss (aside from the stank of poo river and burning trash, of course!) we have the kids who scream anasara fofo from the river; we have our little beggar baby on the corner, whose family makes a killing off of a bunch of americans who can't resist a cute face; we have the automechanic shop on the side of the road (which is just a bunch of motorcycles and guys sitting on a bench) and then we enter the CFCA - where students passing by politely greet us in french, and then we meet up with our staff who greet our return in hausa and zarma. i hadn't done that walk in a while because i normally come home drenched in sweat, but yesterday was nice. i savored every minute of the walk, one which i will miss.
don't have it in me to get sentimental and reflective now. am already planning on writing extensively on the plane -as long as i don't need to benadryl myself to sleep, this time with good reason!- will revisit the blog then :) thanks for following
Friday, May 8, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Il a PLU ici!
it RAINED here!
yesterday was by far the hottest day we've experienced. the power went out in the afternoon, and we were all melting. luckily we've rediscovered the youthful joys of frolicking under a hose... mondays have consisted of pretending to have a day at the beach instead of taking sieste ease the pain of the scorching temperatures. napping is impossible without the fan when the power's out anyway. well, we made it through the hottest part of the day by pouring water on ourselves for about 2 hours. listened to the dirty dancing soundtrack and really made an event of it.
afterwards, i had to go to my community placement at the franco-nigerien cultural center. i cabbed it and nonetheless was drenched in sweat while waiting for my supervisor. came back to eat a small dinner (appetite is finally being affected by the weather!) and then had dance class. the only way i can describe dance last night was like working out in a sauna. i played field hockey in the hottest part of summer in high school, but i have never ever ever dripped sweat from so many places of my body at once. it was awful and we all wanted to vomit haha.. but lately our instructors have been pushing us up to do solos and we really got into the dance last night, despite how awfully hot it was.
later in the evening we met up with our marine friends for a night in an air conditioned bar, and on the drive out RAINDROPS were hitting the windshield! we could not believe it. during the day at the cultural center i had seen clouds (which is unusual) but i figured i'd never get to see the rain here. and then it pouuuured. the rains were cool and heavy, and lasted no more than 10-15 minutes i'd say. but what an event! it is hot season, and they say when it's hot enough the mango rains come. i couldn't believe my eyes though, what a chance to see the rains in africa :)
..hopefully now the heat plateaus for a while!
yesterday was by far the hottest day we've experienced. the power went out in the afternoon, and we were all melting. luckily we've rediscovered the youthful joys of frolicking under a hose... mondays have consisted of pretending to have a day at the beach instead of taking sieste ease the pain of the scorching temperatures. napping is impossible without the fan when the power's out anyway. well, we made it through the hottest part of the day by pouring water on ourselves for about 2 hours. listened to the dirty dancing soundtrack and really made an event of it.
afterwards, i had to go to my community placement at the franco-nigerien cultural center. i cabbed it and nonetheless was drenched in sweat while waiting for my supervisor. came back to eat a small dinner (appetite is finally being affected by the weather!) and then had dance class. the only way i can describe dance last night was like working out in a sauna. i played field hockey in the hottest part of summer in high school, but i have never ever ever dripped sweat from so many places of my body at once. it was awful and we all wanted to vomit haha.. but lately our instructors have been pushing us up to do solos and we really got into the dance last night, despite how awfully hot it was.
later in the evening we met up with our marine friends for a night in an air conditioned bar, and on the drive out RAINDROPS were hitting the windshield! we could not believe it. during the day at the cultural center i had seen clouds (which is unusual) but i figured i'd never get to see the rain here. and then it pouuuured. the rains were cool and heavy, and lasted no more than 10-15 minutes i'd say. but what an event! it is hot season, and they say when it's hot enough the mango rains come. i couldn't believe my eyes though, what a chance to see the rains in africa :)
..hopefully now the heat plateaus for a while!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Konni - PCV week
This pic is from the tail end of our adventures in the village living.. Here we are in Koure, the last place in West Africa where you can see free-roaming giraffes. We were lucky enough to see 7! Our guide had no remorse - we walked within 40 feet of them! For other numbers, I would say it was 120 degrees (gray was not the wisest color choice for a day of photos) Despite the sweat and the bumpy ride, seeing these creatures was a magical experience.
As for our actual time in the bush, I am pleased to say I truly enjoyed myself. I can't really remember what I was expecting, but the time I spent living villager style -sans electricity, sans running water- was probably one of the best weeks of my life. The peace corps volunteer I stayed with was an awesome 27 year old with 2 bachelors and 2 masters, a (white) hawaiin by the name of Serette. She was evidently very well integrated in her village - I loved the way her neighbors and friends addressed her.. "Sahara" is her Nigerien name. Saibon Gida was the village we were in.. all mud-brick structures, no electricity or running water anywhere, 22 km from nigeria, decent sized market on Tuesdays, big onion producer, a 3-4 hour bush taxi ride away from the peace corps hostile.. Oh yeah, it was my first experience on a bush taxi. I sat on the gas tank in our first taxi. My head and knees didn't really fit, my hips were squished, and I was inhaling fumes for 2 and a half hours -it was an old, beaten stationwagon stuffed with 10 people and a trunk full of bags. The second taxi was even better: A open bed truck with 40+ people crammed in the back.. babies and goats included. Definitely the most crowded bush taxi I have ever seen. I am glad we didn't tip, and that I can now say I was a bush taxi passenger.
As for the village, it was beautiful. Women work all day preparing food and taking care of their babies - which are many. Food preparation is not fun - pounding millet takes much more strength than I think the finished product is worth.. It's not a very nutritional food staple, and it definitely isn't bursting with flavor. I know this picture is sideways, but it uploaded so it stays: its an ancient woman preparing tuwo over a hot fire. This is after all the laborious pounding and close to the finished product. I tried to pound a little, and gave the women a good laugh. A kwai muwa = That's difficult in Hausa.
We also worked on a mural on the mayor's office wall.. The only cement looking and roofed building in the village. It was a food sensibilisation, and the process of creating it drew a huge crowd. It was satisfying to see how many people were interested, how much one very juvenile looking mural could stimulate an entire village:
Was happy to help with that, and glad that our PCV had an actual project for us to do. Most of the day we had to just hang out in the shade because it was so hot.. Food preparation is really time consuming, even when you're not pounding grains. Serette fed us well the entire time. Even washed our dishes - I told her she was doing too much and is as hospitable as any local Nigerien would be to new guests.
Before dusk I'd take a bucket bath, and set up my mosquito net and cot before night fall. The week we were there the moon was full, so it provided a little extra light. I won't lie, I was a little afraid of using the latrine in the dark with a flash light - there were scorpions and cockroaches! I survived the bugs though.. and the animals. I realized after this past week that roosters don't just cockadoodledoo at sunrise, they go all night long. For that reason alone I didn't get very good sleep.. Nonetheless, night was my favorite time of day. It got cool enough to wrap myself up in my pagne/s, the moon and stars shined clear because there were no other sources of light in the sky, and I was just feeling totally relaxed. It made me realize that a lot of clutter comes with material and monetary wealth.. It also made me realize how many people there are in this world, and how little you understand about them until you habituate yourself in situations like theirs.
Even though I say I roughed it, my experience was cushy..
We had a latrine. The other villagers wake up early enough to go out to the bush to take care of business. We had water filters and bleach.
The well from which we pulled our water was in close proximity to Serette's hut; it was probably no more than 15 feet down, which means it was dirty.. Approx 30 people a year die as a result of water related issues in Saibon Gida. A water chateau is supposed to be functioning by rainy season, but there was little evidence of progress on that.
We could afford the $2 per meal it takes to eat rice or pasta and sauce.. which are the better alternatives to millet or sorghum stuff. Serette told me that the villagers have to pay a tax of 500 CFA per year, and that is apparently too much to ask. 500 CFA = $1.
During our stay, Serette's neighbors thatched roof burned down.. leaving 2 side-by-side families homeless. We showed up to give our greetings.. the ground was black and muddy, and the air was fresh of smoke.. In that same day we saw an extremely malnourished 2 month old, who can hardly breathe properly he is currently so ill.. His mother died during child birth, so he was getting goats milk (unpasteurized or anything of course) which made him sick. His grandmother ate a magical plant that now makes her lactate, so that is how he's getting his nutrients now. He probably won't make it, though.
On the bright side, we met a healthy baby who was only a few days old. The village kids put on a little show of dance and song for us, the ladies brought us traditional tuwo (not a personal favorite), a man gave me a welcome gift - a huge batch of onions, and I was able to use some of my Hausa. I love this pic of the kids, right in the middle of their performance (they LOVE the camera)
I was completely for the beautiful simplicity of village life. In comparison to Niamey, I think I'd take the bush over a pretty poor city. On the same token, I'm thrilled to have a toilet.. and access to the rest of the world here! The week made me want to do more, travel further, learn and live new things. It was my favorite part of this abroad experience, and I think I'll cherish the things I saw and felt for the rest of my life.
Posession Dancers
Some attendees who got up to dance before the spirits were called. The one in the purple was a medium.
Homestay Reception
that is my mom about to stand up , binta.. intimidating that she doesn't look very happy for photos or during first impressions - but we bonded, and she has a beautiful smile! rukoyah, the house keeper (14 yrs old) is in the white, and monido, the niece, is in brown. i am sporting binta's adolescent burkinabe dress - it was a gift
Monday, March 30, 2009
La Danse de Posession
the posession dance
so this past weekend was full of cultural events.. saturday was the marriage and sunday was the posession ceremony. i didn't realize the emphasis on "dance" until we got there, though. actually, let me preface the whole story with a little information on the timing of the event: it started at 10, our professor didn't pick us up until 11:30, we got lost and didn't get there until 12:00, the calabash players (whose music is responsible for calling out the spirits) didn't show up until 4 or so, and the actual dancing, trancing, and possession probably didn't start until 5. during all the time we were there where nothing was really happening, we were fed a huge nigerien plate of rice and sauce, we were occupied with a tiny 2 day old goat, and we even took a nap.. the nap was disturbed by men digging holes in the sand for the calabash players as well as what we thought was the sacrificial chicken going bananas over our bodies as we were lying down. but then things picked up, and there was tons of dance before the mediums actually showed any signs of being posessed. even the anasaras put on a little show! they forced us up in the dance circle, and the sand was extraordinarily hot underneath our feet, but we did what we could to provide a good show. our goofy boys especially caused a stir. then we sat down, and the posession began! probably impossible to imagine from whatever i write, so here is my best attempt at a synopsis:
the reason why the ceremony was called:
a woman in a polygamist (?) marriage -the third wife- was seeking revenge upon the first two wives. the first 2 wives were upset when their husband decided to take another, so they had a posession ceremony so that the 3rd wife would not be able to produce children. the 3rd wife then had a posession ceremony so that she could have children, and was having another one now (after her baby was born) in hopes that the 2 first wives would be cursed, i suppose, and the husband would divorce them both.
the spirits that were called and what they did:
red spirits - with the music and other mediums screaming in their faces to try to call out the spirits, these particular mediums were posessed by sad spirits. once past the trance phase they did a crazy dance of flailing arms, then they fell to the earth and cried and screamed and dug their hands into the sand. (there were 2 men and 1 woman posessed by the red spirits this time)
hauka - i was completely unaware of where these people came from. unlike the red spirits, who seemed to have a formal musical calling as well as people yelling and requesting their presence, the hauka came out of nowhere. the hauka spirits are angry spirits, who represent white soldiers and the colonizers. they are violent and angry. yesterday, there was a man and a woman posessed by this type of spirit, and they were foaming at the mouth, sweating profusely, trembling. the guy startled everyone because 'the spirit entered him quickly'.. he jumped up into the air and threw himself on the ground HARD.. 3 times in a row landing flat on his back on the hard sand! he then proceeded to rush at the crowd of people flailing his arms, making everyone run away!
i hate to be vague, but i will never be able to recap all the details of the day! once the spirits were all out, we went into this mudbrick house where the actual counsel was given to the woman who called the ceremony. the red spirits gathered around the woman, and the hauka went around talking to all those who gathered. (it was probably 120 degrees in that hut, by the way) people asked for advice, fortunes were given freely, and every once in a while something bizarre happened and there would be a cry from someone in the crowd. i don't actually know the exact advice they gave the 3rd wife who called the ceremony, but the male hauka did come up to the 9 of us white people. he said he liked us cause we were one with him (he came from ohio), he would be with those of us who were going to the beach after we left niger (most of my peers here are going to the coast of benin rather than straight home after the program is over), and he said we'd all get our diplomas (that one was vague, i know).. but for how violent his motions were, he was very nice to the anasaras.
anyway, to wrap it up, 9 hours of exhausting and crazy events later.. at the end of the day was i convinced? i would say that i'm 87% sure that something extraordinary was happening. i will say that nothing that happened couldn't have been acted. HOWEVER.. there are many unexplicables.. like: it would have to be really really really good acting to physically torture yourself, or foam out of your nose and mouth. also, the mediums who get posessed don't get paid. the musicians do for calling out the spirits, but the mediums don't. one woman was in trance, and they were trying to get the full posession, but the spirit "fell out of her" and she flopped to the ground before the spirit spoke. and the one hauka woman was a fully veiled, hardcore muslim until the spirit entered her.. and our teacher told us she hates being posessed and has to beg god for forgiveness after she attends these events. it is part of her duty, however, to be posessed, and no matter the pain or the sin of it all, she has to do it. also inexplicable, putting your baby's life in danger. one woman was overcome when the spirit was talking to her - she cried out and her body flailed, and we were lucky the baby (who was tied around her back the way all women here carry their young) didn't crack his skull on the wall behind her! after that episode the anasaras took over the infant and the woman went to rest on the floor.. but no mother here would act like that with her child around her waist!
at the end of the day you could definitely say it has a lot to do with beliefs, culture, and perhaps some sort of fabrication.. it is after all a very theatrical event.. but it's still really a mystery to me. i'm convinced there are spirits, i'm not positive they posess people. i'm sure mediums minds aren't fully there as their bodies are apparently being posessed, but i have no idea where they go! it's amazing to hear some of the stories, and to really think about it. being western the whole thing all sounds like such bull, but it is such a strong part of the culture here. me saying that spirit posessions don't exist is like a nigerienne saying that baseball isn't a sport. and that's a terrible analogy.
yesterday was exhausting, but an amazing experience. literally exhausting though - dehydration last night and all day today for sure. must nap now. was able to get one or two pictures on my friends camera yesterday, and will put them up with others the next chance i get.
so this past weekend was full of cultural events.. saturday was the marriage and sunday was the posession ceremony. i didn't realize the emphasis on "dance" until we got there, though. actually, let me preface the whole story with a little information on the timing of the event: it started at 10, our professor didn't pick us up until 11:30, we got lost and didn't get there until 12:00, the calabash players (whose music is responsible for calling out the spirits) didn't show up until 4 or so, and the actual dancing, trancing, and possession probably didn't start until 5. during all the time we were there where nothing was really happening, we were fed a huge nigerien plate of rice and sauce, we were occupied with a tiny 2 day old goat, and we even took a nap.. the nap was disturbed by men digging holes in the sand for the calabash players as well as what we thought was the sacrificial chicken going bananas over our bodies as we were lying down. but then things picked up, and there was tons of dance before the mediums actually showed any signs of being posessed. even the anasaras put on a little show! they forced us up in the dance circle, and the sand was extraordinarily hot underneath our feet, but we did what we could to provide a good show. our goofy boys especially caused a stir. then we sat down, and the posession began! probably impossible to imagine from whatever i write, so here is my best attempt at a synopsis:
the reason why the ceremony was called:
a woman in a polygamist (?) marriage -the third wife- was seeking revenge upon the first two wives. the first 2 wives were upset when their husband decided to take another, so they had a posession ceremony so that the 3rd wife would not be able to produce children. the 3rd wife then had a posession ceremony so that she could have children, and was having another one now (after her baby was born) in hopes that the 2 first wives would be cursed, i suppose, and the husband would divorce them both.
the spirits that were called and what they did:
red spirits - with the music and other mediums screaming in their faces to try to call out the spirits, these particular mediums were posessed by sad spirits. once past the trance phase they did a crazy dance of flailing arms, then they fell to the earth and cried and screamed and dug their hands into the sand. (there were 2 men and 1 woman posessed by the red spirits this time)
hauka - i was completely unaware of where these people came from. unlike the red spirits, who seemed to have a formal musical calling as well as people yelling and requesting their presence, the hauka came out of nowhere. the hauka spirits are angry spirits, who represent white soldiers and the colonizers. they are violent and angry. yesterday, there was a man and a woman posessed by this type of spirit, and they were foaming at the mouth, sweating profusely, trembling. the guy startled everyone because 'the spirit entered him quickly'.. he jumped up into the air and threw himself on the ground HARD.. 3 times in a row landing flat on his back on the hard sand! he then proceeded to rush at the crowd of people flailing his arms, making everyone run away!
i hate to be vague, but i will never be able to recap all the details of the day! once the spirits were all out, we went into this mudbrick house where the actual counsel was given to the woman who called the ceremony. the red spirits gathered around the woman, and the hauka went around talking to all those who gathered. (it was probably 120 degrees in that hut, by the way) people asked for advice, fortunes were given freely, and every once in a while something bizarre happened and there would be a cry from someone in the crowd. i don't actually know the exact advice they gave the 3rd wife who called the ceremony, but the male hauka did come up to the 9 of us white people. he said he liked us cause we were one with him (he came from ohio), he would be with those of us who were going to the beach after we left niger (most of my peers here are going to the coast of benin rather than straight home after the program is over), and he said we'd all get our diplomas (that one was vague, i know).. but for how violent his motions were, he was very nice to the anasaras.
anyway, to wrap it up, 9 hours of exhausting and crazy events later.. at the end of the day was i convinced? i would say that i'm 87% sure that something extraordinary was happening. i will say that nothing that happened couldn't have been acted. HOWEVER.. there are many unexplicables.. like: it would have to be really really really good acting to physically torture yourself, or foam out of your nose and mouth. also, the mediums who get posessed don't get paid. the musicians do for calling out the spirits, but the mediums don't. one woman was in trance, and they were trying to get the full posession, but the spirit "fell out of her" and she flopped to the ground before the spirit spoke. and the one hauka woman was a fully veiled, hardcore muslim until the spirit entered her.. and our teacher told us she hates being posessed and has to beg god for forgiveness after she attends these events. it is part of her duty, however, to be posessed, and no matter the pain or the sin of it all, she has to do it. also inexplicable, putting your baby's life in danger. one woman was overcome when the spirit was talking to her - she cried out and her body flailed, and we were lucky the baby (who was tied around her back the way all women here carry their young) didn't crack his skull on the wall behind her! after that episode the anasaras took over the infant and the woman went to rest on the floor.. but no mother here would act like that with her child around her waist!
at the end of the day you could definitely say it has a lot to do with beliefs, culture, and perhaps some sort of fabrication.. it is after all a very theatrical event.. but it's still really a mystery to me. i'm convinced there are spirits, i'm not positive they posess people. i'm sure mediums minds aren't fully there as their bodies are apparently being posessed, but i have no idea where they go! it's amazing to hear some of the stories, and to really think about it. being western the whole thing all sounds like such bull, but it is such a strong part of the culture here. me saying that spirit posessions don't exist is like a nigerienne saying that baseball isn't a sport. and that's a terrible analogy.
yesterday was exhausting, but an amazing experience. literally exhausting though - dehydration last night and all day today for sure. must nap now. was able to get one or two pictures on my friends camera yesterday, and will put them up with others the next chance i get.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Mon Premier Mariage Nigerien
My first Nigerien Wedding
wearing our ridiculously nigerien and conservative attire
well today for nigerien culture and society class we went to our teacher's nephew's wedding. ceremony here isn't at all like it is in the state.. tradition says that the day is all about the groom and not the bride. while probably 150 people were celebrating in niamey, the bride-to-be was out in tillaberi - she was waiting to be picked up by the groom's friends for i guess the evening shebang.
on the way to the ceremony we took a quick visit to some girl's house, said hello, drank some juice, and left.. a strange little pit stop. on the road again and amina's car started squealing like a cat so we had to pull over, luckily right in front of a garage. the garage guys proceeded to give us a ride to the house.. all in a typical day's happenings here, il n'ya pas de problem, we say
so we reached the final destination at last, with all the family members wearing different cuts of the same crazy pagne. a big gathering, and 6 of us anasaras were warmly welcomed.. more Nigeriens in one place than i think i've seen yet, in and around an average sized nigerien home. we wore traditional nigerien clothing, so got some compliments on that, and it probably helped us blend in a little? at least that's what we thought until we were brought into a bedroom, they shut the door, and then we were like.. "they want to hide the awkward white people!" we really just sat around in the bedroom for a while, but an occasional old woman would come and serenade us with singing. then they brought us food - african rice and chicken, traditional style - which entails using your hands - no utensils! it was a big anasara mess. there was rice everywhere, none of us could breathe sitting on the floor in our traditional dresses, and we had officially lost amina, our teacher. after about 2 hours we decided to ask if anyone knew where she went, but by then she came back, and it was time to go.
we left with a member of the wedding party.. dropped us off at the main road and caught a taxi back.
i realize as i write that nothing that i can type can explain how awkward these situations have been, or how fun in retrospect. we have a singing competition and dinner on a boat tonight.. then tomorrow we're going to a posession ceremony, soo hopefully the next post will be a little more interesting!
wearing our ridiculously nigerien and conservative attirewell today for nigerien culture and society class we went to our teacher's nephew's wedding. ceremony here isn't at all like it is in the state.. tradition says that the day is all about the groom and not the bride. while probably 150 people were celebrating in niamey, the bride-to-be was out in tillaberi - she was waiting to be picked up by the groom's friends for i guess the evening shebang.
on the way to the ceremony we took a quick visit to some girl's house, said hello, drank some juice, and left.. a strange little pit stop. on the road again and amina's car started squealing like a cat so we had to pull over, luckily right in front of a garage. the garage guys proceeded to give us a ride to the house.. all in a typical day's happenings here, il n'ya pas de problem, we say
so we reached the final destination at last, with all the family members wearing different cuts of the same crazy pagne. a big gathering, and 6 of us anasaras were warmly welcomed.. more Nigeriens in one place than i think i've seen yet, in and around an average sized nigerien home. we wore traditional nigerien clothing, so got some compliments on that, and it probably helped us blend in a little? at least that's what we thought until we were brought into a bedroom, they shut the door, and then we were like.. "they want to hide the awkward white people!" we really just sat around in the bedroom for a while, but an occasional old woman would come and serenade us with singing. then they brought us food - african rice and chicken, traditional style - which entails using your hands - no utensils! it was a big anasara mess. there was rice everywhere, none of us could breathe sitting on the floor in our traditional dresses, and we had officially lost amina, our teacher. after about 2 hours we decided to ask if anyone knew where she went, but by then she came back, and it was time to go.
we left with a member of the wedding party.. dropped us off at the main road and caught a taxi back.
i realize as i write that nothing that i can type can explain how awkward these situations have been, or how fun in retrospect. we have a singing competition and dinner on a boat tonight.. then tomorrow we're going to a posession ceremony, soo hopefully the next post will be a little more interesting!
Friday, March 27, 2009
JE SUIS FACHEE
IM PISSED
I never write blogs and I just had a real long one goin about my homestay this week, then the power went out for just a minute so it disappeared :(
Anyway, I'll try again:
I lived with Dad Ousmane, Mom Binta, Mesbah 5, Kaliyah 2, Monido 11, Rukiyah 14. They're a Ba'Hai family, an interesting religion I'd never heard about until meeting them.
First day was awkward, as expected.. Went through the market with Binta to get cooking materials for the week (although she doesn't cook, the niece Monido and the housekeeper Rukiyah do all domestic things). Before that day I had never gotten so close to the meat section of the market, for good reason. I got a lil splatter of bone or cow or I don't know what on my face.. The way you buy meat is absurd, you order it off of big slabs on wooden counters, and then the guy hacks away at it with a machete (sp?). Anyway, the market is always a big ordeal with people trying to sell you things at every angle. I felt bad for Binta because as a whitie I attract a lot of salespeople and automatically jack up the price of things she is actually trying to buy.. But we made it through.
That night was the Ba'Hai New Year so we went to another family's house for dinner. I thought I was eating a BAT so I was sweating profusively.. to be curtious I ate everything (and that wasn't the last time I had to force somethin down) Turns out it was just the head and breast of a small bird, but fried up I was seriously worried. Later that night there was a cockroach in my bedroom, but I took a deep breath, turned off the light, and tossed around in bed for hours because it was so flippin hot. After my awkward first day and hot, sleepless night I really wasn't sure I was gonna love my homestay.
BUTTT of course things picked up, and I came to love my family. Mesbah and Kaliyah have devilish and angelic sides, like any kids I guess. Kaliyah can pull off the bratty-ness better cause she's as cute as a button and just 2. Mesbah, not so much.. never malicious towards me or anything, but just as obnoxious as a boy his age in the states - very bright and cute boy though, who likes to draw and could be entertained for hours in front of some construction paper.
Yesterday I had no class and spent the whole day with the family at a close friend's house.. played with the neighbor baby, ate a lot of food, and even took a nap while I was there. I have come to master the early afternoon sieste, and when they first told me I should lay down, I was like "nahh, cava" but then I got smart and passssed out. It is so hot in the middle of the day the only thing to do is sleep.. it's just odd that I took a nap at a complete stranger's house. The couple there was super nice though - they even gave me a pagne as a gift :) Also spent some time at an Iranian woman's house, a nice big place with a SWIMMING POOL and AIR CONDITIONING! Her name was Fara, and she's this smart Ba'Hai lady who runs a private school here.. talked to me a lot about the religion, but I surprisingly wasn't bored.. it's a really logical approach to faith that emphasizes being in accord with science - just something new and interesting.
Surely there are countless other things I could record about homestay, like how Kaliyah pooped in the bude, the amount of times there was no water, how often and hot it was when the power went out at night, the loud call to prayer from the mosque next door, how me and Binta bonded over American and Cote D'Ivorian music, the amount of rice and fish I ate..
We're having a little homestay reception in about an hour.. everyones' families are coming to eat dinner with us at the CFCA. Binta is actually Burkinabe, and as a gift she gave me something truly African to wear tonight.. the material is the equivalent of a burlap sack and I'll be dying of sweat for sure, but it's a pretty dark blue and I'll sport it with pride. My last lunch with the family filled me up to the brim and I'm not hungry at all - and I probably can't zip up the top part of the dress - but I kind of look forward to showing my pretty family off to the other students :) Hopefully Mesbah and Kaliyah behave..
I never write blogs and I just had a real long one goin about my homestay this week, then the power went out for just a minute so it disappeared :(
Anyway, I'll try again:
I lived with Dad Ousmane, Mom Binta, Mesbah 5, Kaliyah 2, Monido 11, Rukiyah 14. They're a Ba'Hai family, an interesting religion I'd never heard about until meeting them.
First day was awkward, as expected.. Went through the market with Binta to get cooking materials for the week (although she doesn't cook, the niece Monido and the housekeeper Rukiyah do all domestic things). Before that day I had never gotten so close to the meat section of the market, for good reason. I got a lil splatter of bone or cow or I don't know what on my face.. The way you buy meat is absurd, you order it off of big slabs on wooden counters, and then the guy hacks away at it with a machete (sp?). Anyway, the market is always a big ordeal with people trying to sell you things at every angle. I felt bad for Binta because as a whitie I attract a lot of salespeople and automatically jack up the price of things she is actually trying to buy.. But we made it through.
That night was the Ba'Hai New Year so we went to another family's house for dinner. I thought I was eating a BAT so I was sweating profusively.. to be curtious I ate everything (and that wasn't the last time I had to force somethin down) Turns out it was just the head and breast of a small bird, but fried up I was seriously worried. Later that night there was a cockroach in my bedroom, but I took a deep breath, turned off the light, and tossed around in bed for hours because it was so flippin hot. After my awkward first day and hot, sleepless night I really wasn't sure I was gonna love my homestay.
BUTTT of course things picked up, and I came to love my family. Mesbah and Kaliyah have devilish and angelic sides, like any kids I guess. Kaliyah can pull off the bratty-ness better cause she's as cute as a button and just 2. Mesbah, not so much.. never malicious towards me or anything, but just as obnoxious as a boy his age in the states - very bright and cute boy though, who likes to draw and could be entertained for hours in front of some construction paper.
Yesterday I had no class and spent the whole day with the family at a close friend's house.. played with the neighbor baby, ate a lot of food, and even took a nap while I was there. I have come to master the early afternoon sieste, and when they first told me I should lay down, I was like "nahh, cava" but then I got smart and passssed out. It is so hot in the middle of the day the only thing to do is sleep.. it's just odd that I took a nap at a complete stranger's house. The couple there was super nice though - they even gave me a pagne as a gift :) Also spent some time at an Iranian woman's house, a nice big place with a SWIMMING POOL and AIR CONDITIONING! Her name was Fara, and she's this smart Ba'Hai lady who runs a private school here.. talked to me a lot about the religion, but I surprisingly wasn't bored.. it's a really logical approach to faith that emphasizes being in accord with science - just something new and interesting.
Surely there are countless other things I could record about homestay, like how Kaliyah pooped in the bude, the amount of times there was no water, how often and hot it was when the power went out at night, the loud call to prayer from the mosque next door, how me and Binta bonded over American and Cote D'Ivorian music, the amount of rice and fish I ate..
We're having a little homestay reception in about an hour.. everyones' families are coming to eat dinner with us at the CFCA. Binta is actually Burkinabe, and as a gift she gave me something truly African to wear tonight.. the material is the equivalent of a burlap sack and I'll be dying of sweat for sure, but it's a pretty dark blue and I'll sport it with pride. My last lunch with the family filled me up to the brim and I'm not hungry at all - and I probably can't zip up the top part of the dress - but I kind of look forward to showing my pretty family off to the other students :) Hopefully Mesbah and Kaliyah behave..
Thursday, March 19, 2009
La Moto
The motorcycle
In retrospect, I made gut decisions which were kind of stupid, but I made it home safely!
To alleviate some of the homesickness I'd been having recently, I decided to get out of our little compound and do some city exploring last weekend. Some of us explored new restaurants, went through the markets, went to an English club, etc. On Sunday I decided I would be productive, so I went to an internet cafe (which was not like an internet cafe in the European sense, obviously) I was happy to catch a ride there from our neighbor, and not have to get in a taxi -which is only 40 cents per ride by the way. The internet cafe proved not to be conducive to writing a paper though, because the keyboard was in french format and it took me an hour to type anything.. It was hot, cramped, and I was sitting on an uncomfortable stool, But I didn't stay through my full two hour session anyway, because the power was cut before it was finished. So I left hot and slightly disgruntled.
I probably walked around the roundpoint in the sun for about 20 minutes trying to catch a taxi. Some passed, but none were going in my direction, which is how they do things here. So I start talking to a local, who tries to help me find one, walk down another road, catch one finally -who starts taking me in the wrong direction! Kicks me out (didn't pay of course) and now I'm back at the game of trying to find someone going towards Chateau 1 or Indrap. End up walking all the way back to where I started, with a young boy named Nu who also tried helping me.. No use.. I finally decide to just start walking back home until something else comes up. The road I went down to avoid the unsafe route proved to be backed up with traffic... That explained the power outtage.. The president was passing. Military personell were everywhere and the streets were congested but quiet. I didn't realize at first what was going on, and was instructed by the gendarmes to run across the road! I laughed at my misery.. lost, sweating profusively and the police were making me look like an idiot anasara running through a military blockade. (Locals were actually saying, HEY ANASARA -the term for white foreigner.. sometimes I get HEY CHINOIS too) Well seconds later I heard sirens and saw the presidential entourage speed by. All the roads were literally grid lock and I lost any hope of getting back in a timely manor.
Then, a friend of the program said hello, and I hopped on his moto and we took a tour of the city to avoid the traffic! Front door service and my first time ever on a bike... I sort of got scolded for getting on a motorcycle in Niamey, which is understandably unsafe, BUT I was soo flustered! And it was really my best option, the two possible walking routes pass by the two parts of town we are specifically informed not to go to: The Kennedy Bridge is notorious for petty theives and roberies, and La Cloche is a brothel where 2 students here were mugged last week!
I have just realized I have no creativity for writing right now, and those adventures were much more exciting to recap before this blog entry! .. I'm in the middle of doing the descriptive paper I had intended to do last Sunday at the cyber cafe, and thus am all typed out. It's hot too. I even notice that Nigeriens are sweating now, which means that the season is starting! It gets up to 110 already.. and even though it cools off in the night, our rooms stay a toasty temperature. I wake up often to a pillow and matress soaked with sweat.. The worst is when the power goes out - if that happens in the middle of the night and our ceiling fans go off everyone immediately wakes up.. it's unbearable already. Lately I've been seeing friends' pictures of Europe and Australia, and I start to think I chose the wrong region of the world to study abroad in! I have discovered the French Cultural Center's air conditioned library though, and am going to spend as much time there as possible once it "actually" gets hot...
Speaking of French Cultural Center, I was there yesterday talking to a guy who I always see at the museum, a major Nigerien sculptor. He introduced me to the cultural center's graphic designer, who co-runs a culture and arts NGO here, which I hope to start doing another community placement with.. so more on that later.. but I literally met one guy to another, and even got to introduce myself to Moustaffa, the animator who I watched a documentary on at Fespaco.
I'm quitting this blog now though for a lunch break. Then back to my paper, and then out for a friend's 21st birthday tonight! The heat and the many languages I'm trying to concentrate on really don't do much for my english grammar and style.. I've realized this in the difficulty I'm having doing this formal paper! So I'm signing off on a very scatter brained note.
In retrospect, I made gut decisions which were kind of stupid, but I made it home safely!
To alleviate some of the homesickness I'd been having recently, I decided to get out of our little compound and do some city exploring last weekend. Some of us explored new restaurants, went through the markets, went to an English club, etc. On Sunday I decided I would be productive, so I went to an internet cafe (which was not like an internet cafe in the European sense, obviously) I was happy to catch a ride there from our neighbor, and not have to get in a taxi -which is only 40 cents per ride by the way. The internet cafe proved not to be conducive to writing a paper though, because the keyboard was in french format and it took me an hour to type anything.. It was hot, cramped, and I was sitting on an uncomfortable stool, But I didn't stay through my full two hour session anyway, because the power was cut before it was finished. So I left hot and slightly disgruntled.
I probably walked around the roundpoint in the sun for about 20 minutes trying to catch a taxi. Some passed, but none were going in my direction, which is how they do things here. So I start talking to a local, who tries to help me find one, walk down another road, catch one finally -who starts taking me in the wrong direction! Kicks me out (didn't pay of course) and now I'm back at the game of trying to find someone going towards Chateau 1 or Indrap. End up walking all the way back to where I started, with a young boy named Nu who also tried helping me.. No use.. I finally decide to just start walking back home until something else comes up. The road I went down to avoid the unsafe route proved to be backed up with traffic... That explained the power outtage.. The president was passing. Military personell were everywhere and the streets were congested but quiet. I didn't realize at first what was going on, and was instructed by the gendarmes to run across the road! I laughed at my misery.. lost, sweating profusively and the police were making me look like an idiot anasara running through a military blockade. (Locals were actually saying, HEY ANASARA -the term for white foreigner.. sometimes I get HEY CHINOIS too) Well seconds later I heard sirens and saw the presidential entourage speed by. All the roads were literally grid lock and I lost any hope of getting back in a timely manor.
Then, a friend of the program said hello, and I hopped on his moto and we took a tour of the city to avoid the traffic! Front door service and my first time ever on a bike... I sort of got scolded for getting on a motorcycle in Niamey, which is understandably unsafe, BUT I was soo flustered! And it was really my best option, the two possible walking routes pass by the two parts of town we are specifically informed not to go to: The Kennedy Bridge is notorious for petty theives and roberies, and La Cloche is a brothel where 2 students here were mugged last week!
I have just realized I have no creativity for writing right now, and those adventures were much more exciting to recap before this blog entry! .. I'm in the middle of doing the descriptive paper I had intended to do last Sunday at the cyber cafe, and thus am all typed out. It's hot too. I even notice that Nigeriens are sweating now, which means that the season is starting! It gets up to 110 already.. and even though it cools off in the night, our rooms stay a toasty temperature. I wake up often to a pillow and matress soaked with sweat.. The worst is when the power goes out - if that happens in the middle of the night and our ceiling fans go off everyone immediately wakes up.. it's unbearable already. Lately I've been seeing friends' pictures of Europe and Australia, and I start to think I chose the wrong region of the world to study abroad in! I have discovered the French Cultural Center's air conditioned library though, and am going to spend as much time there as possible once it "actually" gets hot...
Speaking of French Cultural Center, I was there yesterday talking to a guy who I always see at the museum, a major Nigerien sculptor. He introduced me to the cultural center's graphic designer, who co-runs a culture and arts NGO here, which I hope to start doing another community placement with.. so more on that later.. but I literally met one guy to another, and even got to introduce myself to Moustaffa, the animator who I watched a documentary on at Fespaco.
I'm quitting this blog now though for a lunch break. Then back to my paper, and then out for a friend's 21st birthday tonight! The heat and the many languages I'm trying to concentrate on really don't do much for my english grammar and style.. I've realized this in the difficulty I'm having doing this formal paper! So I'm signing off on a very scatter brained note.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Le Feticheur
so last time i wrote anything i think i stopped mid sentence.. it was too hot and i was tired tired tired! a week ago i was feeling pretty under the weather, and worried i might have malaria (someone else has already gotten it!)... i may or may not have posted since then, but the latest news is:
class is pretty good, had my first hausa oral exam today and it was the first real studying i've done since i've been here: and i got a 19.5/20! as for the other classes, they're going pretty easily. on the bright side, my 490 level class is going to be the easiest near grad-level class ever. so far we've watched a movie, and the lady had malaria for a week, so we haven't really gotten much done.. the electricity goes out frequently during that class too, which is pretty convenient.
i forget if i've mentioned how cool my culture and society professor is.. but i will recap. she is a major feminist in niger, protested against pregnant girls being unable to attend school, and began and led a demonstration in class against a professor who hit his female students. she was such an outspoken woman's rights lady that she had to flee the country under the dictatorial president kountche... was followed by the secret police... lived with a family in mali who wouldn't let her eat at the same room as them because she hadn't undergone female genital circumcision... etc. she's an amazingly strong woman even by the states' standards - divorced her husband because he opted to go down the polygamy route (up to 4 wives is legal) with a younger woman - and in niger that's a huge deal, she waited for days in court and when she brought up her case it wouldn't be heard until her husband agreed to be present. the only reason the divorce went through was because he told them he had quit the house for 3 weeks, and they deemed her a poor spouse worthy of the shame. she also had to fight in family court for their children (because it's a patrilineal society and the father automatically gets the children, to be raised under his other wives)... case in point, this woman has incredible stories to tell, and we all love her class -culture and society of niger- last friday she took us to a feticheur: a fortune teller's!
so the fortune teller is across the river, and while we have fit 7 people in a cab before [don't even try to underestimate how bad that is, when it's over 100 degrees and the cab the size and quality of a 1977 corrola] this time half of us were able to ride with amina, our awesome lady professor. the cab driver with the other half of us was directed to follow us, but there is a huge amount of traffic and they got left behind.. we forgot about them in amina's car and had to wait until we saw a big tall anasara head hitting the roof of a cab approaching us. the traffic situation, and what you see along the road is for another time, but there is little rhyme and reason to anything en route, and there are funny stories worthy of sharing - just when i get home.
the feticheur was in this little mud compound with around 4 straw huts. people were gathered cooking millet, talking, drinking tea, and sitting around, like normal. i saw no water well, but there was an outhouse - which was probably just the visible wall, some straw, and a bucket of water.. probably no hole and definitely no running water! there was a goat and a fat chicken that all of us americans immediately thought looked delicious. [an aside: chicken here is for some reason more expensive than beef, good for the red meat carnivore in me, but i will say i am missing some good ol chicken!] anyway, my point is this place looked like what you'd think of in an african village... EXCEPT, you get into the feticheur's house? i suppose house.. and it is decked out with every wall covered in ornate, oriental looking rugs, there are some frames, there are 2 beds, a fan, a lightbulb, a tv, and a cabinet. i sat on the floor next to her, a larger woman with a cackle for a laugh that was so appropriate for her line of work, and watched as she used little shells in a platter of sand to dictate our fortunes and futures.
she had nothing too too juicy to report, i guess, but she was definitely on par with our lives. about 7 of us were there, and each of us got our turn. eerily, she told one of us, laure, that she would be pretty sick but that it would be nothing bad. we get home and this girl threw up 15 times in one night, and had some terrible 24 hour bug - that thankfully passed! she had some accurate things to say about our friend betogi's life and love life, that weren't too upbeat yet still true. and just for fun, she told me i'd have 4 male suitors... in niger? good god, i know! but she added that i was not going to marry here, but in the US.. so don't sweat too hard.
anyway, we're going to celebrate our last night in niamey for the next 10 days - we depart for burkina faso early in the am.. a 9-10 hour bus ride i do not look forward to. i'm probably going to take some benadryl for good measure so that i can sleep out the misery of the heat and bumps? haha, anyway - we're going to go say our bye's to our nigerien friends.
i hope to update more after burkina - there's an african film festival called fespaco (festival pan-afrique cinematique ouagadougou) going on that we'll be able to see. miss everyone, 1 month is down and there are only 3 left to go!
and fyi, my camera pooped out within the first week.. i'll steal other people's pictures when i can!
class is pretty good, had my first hausa oral exam today and it was the first real studying i've done since i've been here: and i got a 19.5/20! as for the other classes, they're going pretty easily. on the bright side, my 490 level class is going to be the easiest near grad-level class ever. so far we've watched a movie, and the lady had malaria for a week, so we haven't really gotten much done.. the electricity goes out frequently during that class too, which is pretty convenient.
i forget if i've mentioned how cool my culture and society professor is.. but i will recap. she is a major feminist in niger, protested against pregnant girls being unable to attend school, and began and led a demonstration in class against a professor who hit his female students. she was such an outspoken woman's rights lady that she had to flee the country under the dictatorial president kountche... was followed by the secret police... lived with a family in mali who wouldn't let her eat at the same room as them because she hadn't undergone female genital circumcision... etc. she's an amazingly strong woman even by the states' standards - divorced her husband because he opted to go down the polygamy route (up to 4 wives is legal) with a younger woman - and in niger that's a huge deal, she waited for days in court and when she brought up her case it wouldn't be heard until her husband agreed to be present. the only reason the divorce went through was because he told them he had quit the house for 3 weeks, and they deemed her a poor spouse worthy of the shame. she also had to fight in family court for their children (because it's a patrilineal society and the father automatically gets the children, to be raised under his other wives)... case in point, this woman has incredible stories to tell, and we all love her class -culture and society of niger- last friday she took us to a feticheur: a fortune teller's!
so the fortune teller is across the river, and while we have fit 7 people in a cab before [don't even try to underestimate how bad that is, when it's over 100 degrees and the cab the size and quality of a 1977 corrola] this time half of us were able to ride with amina, our awesome lady professor. the cab driver with the other half of us was directed to follow us, but there is a huge amount of traffic and they got left behind.. we forgot about them in amina's car and had to wait until we saw a big tall anasara head hitting the roof of a cab approaching us. the traffic situation, and what you see along the road is for another time, but there is little rhyme and reason to anything en route, and there are funny stories worthy of sharing - just when i get home.
the feticheur was in this little mud compound with around 4 straw huts. people were gathered cooking millet, talking, drinking tea, and sitting around, like normal. i saw no water well, but there was an outhouse - which was probably just the visible wall, some straw, and a bucket of water.. probably no hole and definitely no running water! there was a goat and a fat chicken that all of us americans immediately thought looked delicious. [an aside: chicken here is for some reason more expensive than beef, good for the red meat carnivore in me, but i will say i am missing some good ol chicken!] anyway, my point is this place looked like what you'd think of in an african village... EXCEPT, you get into the feticheur's house? i suppose house.. and it is decked out with every wall covered in ornate, oriental looking rugs, there are some frames, there are 2 beds, a fan, a lightbulb, a tv, and a cabinet. i sat on the floor next to her, a larger woman with a cackle for a laugh that was so appropriate for her line of work, and watched as she used little shells in a platter of sand to dictate our fortunes and futures.
she had nothing too too juicy to report, i guess, but she was definitely on par with our lives. about 7 of us were there, and each of us got our turn. eerily, she told one of us, laure, that she would be pretty sick but that it would be nothing bad. we get home and this girl threw up 15 times in one night, and had some terrible 24 hour bug - that thankfully passed! she had some accurate things to say about our friend betogi's life and love life, that weren't too upbeat yet still true. and just for fun, she told me i'd have 4 male suitors... in niger? good god, i know! but she added that i was not going to marry here, but in the US.. so don't sweat too hard.
anyway, we're going to celebrate our last night in niamey for the next 10 days - we depart for burkina faso early in the am.. a 9-10 hour bus ride i do not look forward to. i'm probably going to take some benadryl for good measure so that i can sleep out the misery of the heat and bumps? haha, anyway - we're going to go say our bye's to our nigerien friends.
i hope to update more after burkina - there's an african film festival called fespaco (festival pan-afrique cinematique ouagadougou) going on that we'll be able to see. miss everyone, 1 month is down and there are only 3 left to go!
and fyi, my camera pooped out within the first week.. i'll steal other people's pictures when i can!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Il ya longtemps?
It's been a while since I've posted anything, so here is a run through of what we've been up to in Niamey.
Classes have started and I've decided which ones I'm actually going to take.. one in English, two in French, one in Hausa. Challenging myself? sort of, but the professors are very laid back, and since my french has finally picked up I can definitely understand what's going on. Both my french-speaking professors are awesome - one teaches culture and society (her name is amina, we've been on a field trip to speak to Hausa, Zarma, Beri-Beri and Toureg women representatives about their role in their society), and the other teaches performing arts (his name is yazi dogo, and he's actually famous throughout Niger for his films.. i'm learning jembe -the big african drum- with a guy named oumaru- and nigerien dance, which looks so cool but is real hard.. and we have yet to start)
I've been loving my community placement at the national museum.. At first I thought I had a poor reception with my artisan - because we could barely communicate.. but the past few times I've been going I've been feeling totally welcomed and incorporated. My guy's name is Tanda and we do silver together; I've already made 2 rings and a set of earings (By 'me' I mean 'HE' because they really teach by doing rather than showing, and it was necessary for him to fix basically everything that I did). We sit between these guys Isufu and Bebe.. Bebe's hysterical and speaks good french - so I converse with him as often as possible. We joke about how I'm melting from the walk when it's not even really hot here and how he wears sooo much cologne, and always applies it while I'm there.. Lots of people usually gather by my artisans and I've heard Tanda is like the go-to guy. People seem to bring things over to him to fix more often than the others, but I could just notice that because of where I sit.
Everyone around me is really generous - always taking me to greet other artisans in tents and throughout the museum, offering me tea and snacks, and one guy even gave me earings -spoon shaped, and not the exact design I'd choose to wear, but a really friendly gesture nonetheless.. although I think he gave them to me because we joked about how I don't have a husband in the states and he PROBABLY wants to marry me (something every american here gets asked on a daily basis by cab drivers, strangers in the street, passerbys, etc).
Don't worry though! I don't feel creeped on at all - giving is simply a much huger part of culture here than it is in the US.. a major comfort and surprise, especially when there is so much less to give here than there. For instance, these guys who own a mechanic shop across the street from the CFCA always go through the typical greetings with me, which are quite extensive and always involve asking about my kurne and ize (husband and kids), always invite me to have a shot of tea with them, and even offer to walk me down the street because it's not safe enough -which don't worry, it is- note: by mechanic shop I mean there are usually 4 motorcycles sitting there/getting worked on under a little shaded stand with a toolbox. there's just a bench with 3 guys making their tea (of course), no sign, and no resemblance of any sort to a garage. Anyways, my point is that the general consensus is that people here are just outgoing and warm, and so much more receptive of others than anywhere else I've ever been.
Some trips we did:
Belleyara, a huge market about 2 hours outside the city.. with more camels, sheep, goats, cattle than I've ever seen together in one spot. The drive was rough - down the worst road I think I've ever been on and extremely hot. A fun adventure, but exhausting.
Park W -wildlife conservation area about 2-3 hrs outside the city. Most of the roads unpaved, and through absolute nothingness. There is still brush, and tiny villages with just a few huts, but it's still incredible to know that people are able to make a life for themselves so far away from any infrastructure whatsoever.
As for the drive, I'll just say Brush:3, Americans:0. The SUVs we took were nice in comparison to our usual bus, but we experienced many get-outside-the-truck-and PUSH to start, we had a driver get out to help fix our overheated engine and meanwhile his SUV rolled into the brush and one of our students had to jump into the front seat to pull the e-break, and finally one SUV's tire went completely flat and pretty much exploded going over a bridge. Case in point, travel here is really really difficult. To be honest, I'm surprised at how resilient the vehicles here are. Considering the conditions, and the old age of the cars, they fare okay..
So we did the safari type thing at Parc W and were able to see monkeys, giant antelope, buffalo, warthogs, and crocodiles. we rode on the top of those trustworthy SUVs, and were
Classes have started and I've decided which ones I'm actually going to take.. one in English, two in French, one in Hausa. Challenging myself? sort of, but the professors are very laid back, and since my french has finally picked up I can definitely understand what's going on. Both my french-speaking professors are awesome - one teaches culture and society (her name is amina, we've been on a field trip to speak to Hausa, Zarma, Beri-Beri and Toureg women representatives about their role in their society), and the other teaches performing arts (his name is yazi dogo, and he's actually famous throughout Niger for his films.. i'm learning jembe -the big african drum- with a guy named oumaru- and nigerien dance, which looks so cool but is real hard.. and we have yet to start)
I've been loving my community placement at the national museum.. At first I thought I had a poor reception with my artisan - because we could barely communicate.. but the past few times I've been going I've been feeling totally welcomed and incorporated. My guy's name is Tanda and we do silver together; I've already made 2 rings and a set of earings (By 'me' I mean 'HE' because they really teach by doing rather than showing, and it was necessary for him to fix basically everything that I did). We sit between these guys Isufu and Bebe.. Bebe's hysterical and speaks good french - so I converse with him as often as possible. We joke about how I'm melting from the walk when it's not even really hot here and how he wears sooo much cologne, and always applies it while I'm there.. Lots of people usually gather by my artisans and I've heard Tanda is like the go-to guy. People seem to bring things over to him to fix more often than the others, but I could just notice that because of where I sit.
Everyone around me is really generous - always taking me to greet other artisans in tents and throughout the museum, offering me tea and snacks, and one guy even gave me earings -spoon shaped, and not the exact design I'd choose to wear, but a really friendly gesture nonetheless.. although I think he gave them to me because we joked about how I don't have a husband in the states and he PROBABLY wants to marry me (something every american here gets asked on a daily basis by cab drivers, strangers in the street, passerbys, etc).
Don't worry though! I don't feel creeped on at all - giving is simply a much huger part of culture here than it is in the US.. a major comfort and surprise, especially when there is so much less to give here than there. For instance, these guys who own a mechanic shop across the street from the CFCA always go through the typical greetings with me, which are quite extensive and always involve asking about my kurne and ize (husband and kids), always invite me to have a shot of tea with them, and even offer to walk me down the street because it's not safe enough -which don't worry, it is- note: by mechanic shop I mean there are usually 4 motorcycles sitting there/getting worked on under a little shaded stand with a toolbox. there's just a bench with 3 guys making their tea (of course), no sign, and no resemblance of any sort to a garage. Anyways, my point is that the general consensus is that people here are just outgoing and warm, and so much more receptive of others than anywhere else I've ever been.
Some trips we did:
Belleyara, a huge market about 2 hours outside the city.. with more camels, sheep, goats, cattle than I've ever seen together in one spot. The drive was rough - down the worst road I think I've ever been on and extremely hot. A fun adventure, but exhausting.
Park W -wildlife conservation area about 2-3 hrs outside the city. Most of the roads unpaved, and through absolute nothingness. There is still brush, and tiny villages with just a few huts, but it's still incredible to know that people are able to make a life for themselves so far away from any infrastructure whatsoever.
As for the drive, I'll just say Brush:3, Americans:0. The SUVs we took were nice in comparison to our usual bus, but we experienced many get-outside-the-truck-and PUSH to start, we had a driver get out to help fix our overheated engine and meanwhile his SUV rolled into the brush and one of our students had to jump into the front seat to pull the e-break, and finally one SUV's tire went completely flat and pretty much exploded going over a bridge. Case in point, travel here is really really difficult. To be honest, I'm surprised at how resilient the vehicles here are. Considering the conditions, and the old age of the cars, they fare okay..
So we did the safari type thing at Parc W and were able to see monkeys, giant antelope, buffalo, warthogs, and crocodiles. we rode on the top of those trustworthy SUVs, and were
Saturday, January 31, 2009
manger
alkamisa and i just returned from lunch at a nigerienne home.. we went to saratu's - a woman who works with the US embassy. she is 7 months pregnant with twins, has already got i think 4 children, and lives well in niamey. all i want to say on this post is that i foresee gaining more weight in the desert than losing! in reality it is extremely sad how much we americans are used to eating in comparison to the rest of the world. it's silly trying to exercise off the excess when everybody here is undernourished - but we are all being fed such delicious foods.. so don't judge when i return from africa a few pounds heavier. it's unexpected, and the man on airfrance was completely wrong, but at this rate, it's likely to happen. oh yeah, it's very hot today
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Un Mot: Barke.. but a reallllly long post
One word: Barke.
Barke is a former BU Niamey abroad student from 1998. That's his Nigerien name. In English, Bryan. Yes, he's white. He is easily the coolest person I have ever met. He did the program I am doing now for 3 semesters about 10 years ago - was studying anthropology and something else, I forget. Fluent in Zarma, he returned I think three years ago to do things with education, after working on his masters in the US? We are going to spend a lot more time with him, but if you could only see the place he lives now, you'd think the same thing - This guy's awesome.
His home only recently just got solar electricity. It has its own handmade well, a self sufficient garden, goats, and best of all, it sits on the edge of the Nigerien river. When we arrived by bus yesterday, we were greeted by a whole community of kids, a herd of cows, a camel, a mule cart. You could only actually see one other substantial hut/home nearby, but the amount of people hanging around was insane. Mostly children, we taught them some games and played with them for hours and hours. All kids (and adults for that matter) look far younger than they actually are here, and this was probably the most time we have spent time with kids so far - girls and boys from 2 to 18 and probably about 30 of them. I occupied myself with a little girl who stood about 1 and a half feet tall wearing a torn and stained pink sweatshirt - who I caught pick her nose and eat it. I thought, it's okay, we do that in the US too!
Yeah, It's super depressing if you are looking for something to be sad about, because WOW - their dark skin is dusted by the sand; kids don't even flinch when 7 flies are buzzing about their face, they play on the earth that serves as their toy and their toilet, their home lacks any of the amenities we are so used to, if they even have a home, and their lives are just so completely real and harsh. But if you can block the poverty out of your mind, one of these child's smile is truly the best thing to see in the whole world. They aren't just cute because they're beautiful and tragically pitiful - They are all resilient and happy and welcoming. I have officially decided that one of my field studies will be spending time with them.
So at Barke's we drank some traditional tea, played with kids, rode camels, and then took off for our canoe ride. The camel ride was interesting, nothing too exciting except I had to compensate for the crooked saddle by putting all my weight left while straddling Lare (Laura in English).. Needless to say our meaningful friendship has begun! We then went with local fishermen in their canoes for a magical ride on the Nigerienne River. Keeping close to the brush on the side, the river was pretty shallow. They mostly moved us around using sticks as opposed to oars, and even when they did use oars they were surprisingly unsubstantial. These guys know their way through the water better than most professionals probably know their own jobs. They typically fish at night, so are accustomed to spotting a hippo by ear. We saw one across the way who came above water a few times. The water was tres calme and peaceful, temperature perfect. I wore a t shirt and linen pants, occasionally had to scoop water out the bottom, and once again felt I had to lean a certain way to balance. The guy we were with spoke fluent french, helped us learn words for the birds, fish, etc in Hausa and Zarma. It was a fantastic and unusual experience that culminated in the dark. The water and the sky were indistinguishable, and it was the first time that visibility seemed to be hindered by water rather than dust. Everyone loved the sight. Won't lie, got somewhat nervous as we went through the brush. I would be lost for months if I tried to navigate with the lack of light there, but those guys are good, really good.
Later, we went to see a former peace corps volunteer perform with the local most popular musician. Ginger, the white lady, sang some sassy spoken poetry numbers. She wore a strapless Nigerienne fabric dress, and I was thinking, really? Isn't that a faux pas? The atmosphere was nice, it was at an outside bar area. We were thinking we'd be the awkward table of 14 white people, but to our surprise, the majority of the audience was white. French speaking and many Americans.. volunteers at the peace corps, NGOs, we don't know yet but we'll probably find out. The local musician was very good-played some flute type thing, a sitar type thing. When I start learning in a classroom I hope to know the real names, but the music was definitely good.
This morning we did our windi windi, which was a tour around the local markets. Me and Lare went with Yahaya, our driver Sanni's younger brother. 22, he's real smart - spoke to us in French and taught us terms in Hausa and Zarma. Showed us a picture of his girlfriend and "god permitting, future wife" - how cute. The petit marche et grande marche sell variations of foods, fabrics, clothes, oils, spices, and accessories. I don't think much of anything in the way of accessories being sold here is new. I'm really curious to know whether it is imported by donation then sold or what - but purses, shoes, hats, coats, clothes, they are all noticably second hand. The meat is typical of a meat market I suppose. Saw pretty much a whole skinned dead goat, flies everywhere, stomachs, liver, etc. Non, merci. The chickens are sold live, actually not chickens but guinea-foul. There are a few recognizable spices: garlic, basil, bay leaves, etc. Our goal was to buy something we had never seen, so I bought something I originally thought was hookah smoking tobacco, smelt good, molasses covered. But it was actually Turaran Woota, an insense type thing to burn over a fire. At our little show and tell I ate a few weird things, used a piece of wood as a toothbrush, and toyed with clay that is eaten if you have a stomach ache.
We ate lunch Nigerienne style at the program director's abode with our guides. They were all young men with great personalities, and it was nice to dine with them - most of whom are either employed by this abroad program to drive, cook, guard, etc, or the friends or family of someone who is.
Nice, but rather exhausting day. I am starting to think, uh oh, if I got sweaty today when Sanu was walking around in all longsleeves and a wool hat, I'm going to have real trouble when hot season comes. I've been wearing capris or skirts and tee shirts, SPF and tons of bug spray, and I can't really shed any layers, so soon my euphoria with Niamey might turn a little sour. But so far, so good! There's so much to write about for what we do with our time in just two hours, I will never be able to convey all my emotions and experiences here... Sorry for the super long post. It's almost midnight and I'm hoping to get to sleep before morning prayer. As a last quick aside, last night I laughed hysterical with my room mate Zaure (Rachel)... until 5:30 am. I don't know if it was jet lag, or that I have been bathing at night, or what, but we have been having trouble falling asleep - which was only exacerbated by the country side drone of the morning prayer - which, don't get me wrong, is actually beautiful and fascinating. Anyway, we discovered we have tons in common. Her mother is Taiwanese, father American.. We like the same artists, share the same thoughts about things here, etc. I would love to say our views on life are identical, but I am not even 5% as amazing as she is. She took a little time off from school to study in Guatemala, volunteered at an orphanage, went back to visit the kids, helped open I think 2 schools there and in Ecuador, has started her own microfinance organization, and really just is the most driven do-gooder I've ever been able to spend so much time with. Despite the nice comfortable temperatures at night, we laughed so hard for so long last night that I was sweating. To be short and sweet, I lucked out on that one-I'm sharing my quarters with the next Nobel peace prize winner. More on our friendship later! Because our lack of sleep last night, and my 4 hour nap today, I'm hoping to get into some sort of a regular schedule. So, goodnight.
Barke is a former BU Niamey abroad student from 1998. That's his Nigerien name. In English, Bryan. Yes, he's white. He is easily the coolest person I have ever met. He did the program I am doing now for 3 semesters about 10 years ago - was studying anthropology and something else, I forget. Fluent in Zarma, he returned I think three years ago to do things with education, after working on his masters in the US? We are going to spend a lot more time with him, but if you could only see the place he lives now, you'd think the same thing - This guy's awesome.
His home only recently just got solar electricity. It has its own handmade well, a self sufficient garden, goats, and best of all, it sits on the edge of the Nigerien river. When we arrived by bus yesterday, we were greeted by a whole community of kids, a herd of cows, a camel, a mule cart. You could only actually see one other substantial hut/home nearby, but the amount of people hanging around was insane. Mostly children, we taught them some games and played with them for hours and hours. All kids (and adults for that matter) look far younger than they actually are here, and this was probably the most time we have spent time with kids so far - girls and boys from 2 to 18 and probably about 30 of them. I occupied myself with a little girl who stood about 1 and a half feet tall wearing a torn and stained pink sweatshirt - who I caught pick her nose and eat it. I thought, it's okay, we do that in the US too!
Yeah, It's super depressing if you are looking for something to be sad about, because WOW - their dark skin is dusted by the sand; kids don't even flinch when 7 flies are buzzing about their face, they play on the earth that serves as their toy and their toilet, their home lacks any of the amenities we are so used to, if they even have a home, and their lives are just so completely real and harsh. But if you can block the poverty out of your mind, one of these child's smile is truly the best thing to see in the whole world. They aren't just cute because they're beautiful and tragically pitiful - They are all resilient and happy and welcoming. I have officially decided that one of my field studies will be spending time with them.
So at Barke's we drank some traditional tea, played with kids, rode camels, and then took off for our canoe ride. The camel ride was interesting, nothing too exciting except I had to compensate for the crooked saddle by putting all my weight left while straddling Lare (Laura in English).. Needless to say our meaningful friendship has begun! We then went with local fishermen in their canoes for a magical ride on the Nigerienne River. Keeping close to the brush on the side, the river was pretty shallow. They mostly moved us around using sticks as opposed to oars, and even when they did use oars they were surprisingly unsubstantial. These guys know their way through the water better than most professionals probably know their own jobs. They typically fish at night, so are accustomed to spotting a hippo by ear. We saw one across the way who came above water a few times. The water was tres calme and peaceful, temperature perfect. I wore a t shirt and linen pants, occasionally had to scoop water out the bottom, and once again felt I had to lean a certain way to balance. The guy we were with spoke fluent french, helped us learn words for the birds, fish, etc in Hausa and Zarma. It was a fantastic and unusual experience that culminated in the dark. The water and the sky were indistinguishable, and it was the first time that visibility seemed to be hindered by water rather than dust. Everyone loved the sight. Won't lie, got somewhat nervous as we went through the brush. I would be lost for months if I tried to navigate with the lack of light there, but those guys are good, really good.
Later, we went to see a former peace corps volunteer perform with the local most popular musician. Ginger, the white lady, sang some sassy spoken poetry numbers. She wore a strapless Nigerienne fabric dress, and I was thinking, really? Isn't that a faux pas? The atmosphere was nice, it was at an outside bar area. We were thinking we'd be the awkward table of 14 white people, but to our surprise, the majority of the audience was white. French speaking and many Americans.. volunteers at the peace corps, NGOs, we don't know yet but we'll probably find out. The local musician was very good-played some flute type thing, a sitar type thing. When I start learning in a classroom I hope to know the real names, but the music was definitely good.
This morning we did our windi windi, which was a tour around the local markets. Me and Lare went with Yahaya, our driver Sanni's younger brother. 22, he's real smart - spoke to us in French and taught us terms in Hausa and Zarma. Showed us a picture of his girlfriend and "god permitting, future wife" - how cute. The petit marche et grande marche sell variations of foods, fabrics, clothes, oils, spices, and accessories. I don't think much of anything in the way of accessories being sold here is new. I'm really curious to know whether it is imported by donation then sold or what - but purses, shoes, hats, coats, clothes, they are all noticably second hand. The meat is typical of a meat market I suppose. Saw pretty much a whole skinned dead goat, flies everywhere, stomachs, liver, etc. Non, merci. The chickens are sold live, actually not chickens but guinea-foul. There are a few recognizable spices: garlic, basil, bay leaves, etc. Our goal was to buy something we had never seen, so I bought something I originally thought was hookah smoking tobacco, smelt good, molasses covered. But it was actually Turaran Woota, an insense type thing to burn over a fire. At our little show and tell I ate a few weird things, used a piece of wood as a toothbrush, and toyed with clay that is eaten if you have a stomach ache.
We ate lunch Nigerienne style at the program director's abode with our guides. They were all young men with great personalities, and it was nice to dine with them - most of whom are either employed by this abroad program to drive, cook, guard, etc, or the friends or family of someone who is.
Nice, but rather exhausting day. I am starting to think, uh oh, if I got sweaty today when Sanu was walking around in all longsleeves and a wool hat, I'm going to have real trouble when hot season comes. I've been wearing capris or skirts and tee shirts, SPF and tons of bug spray, and I can't really shed any layers, so soon my euphoria with Niamey might turn a little sour. But so far, so good! There's so much to write about for what we do with our time in just two hours, I will never be able to convey all my emotions and experiences here... Sorry for the super long post. It's almost midnight and I'm hoping to get to sleep before morning prayer. As a last quick aside, last night I laughed hysterical with my room mate Zaure (Rachel)... until 5:30 am. I don't know if it was jet lag, or that I have been bathing at night, or what, but we have been having trouble falling asleep - which was only exacerbated by the country side drone of the morning prayer - which, don't get me wrong, is actually beautiful and fascinating. Anyway, we discovered we have tons in common. Her mother is Taiwanese, father American.. We like the same artists, share the same thoughts about things here, etc. I would love to say our views on life are identical, but I am not even 5% as amazing as she is. She took a little time off from school to study in Guatemala, volunteered at an orphanage, went back to visit the kids, helped open I think 2 schools there and in Ecuador, has started her own microfinance organization, and really just is the most driven do-gooder I've ever been able to spend so much time with. Despite the nice comfortable temperatures at night, we laughed so hard for so long last night that I was sweating. To be short and sweet, I lucked out on that one-I'm sharing my quarters with the next Nobel peace prize winner. More on our friendship later! Because our lack of sleep last night, and my 4 hour nap today, I'm hoping to get into some sort of a regular schedule. So, goodnight.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Dans le prochaine deux jours...
For the next 2 days:
We arrive at the CFCA, which is nicer than I thought. Soon I will try to put up pictures, but I share a small bedroom with Rachel Rothgery, a senior from Oberlin, originally from Eugene Oregon. The room is probably 10 x 10 with twin beds, mosquito nets, a small table, and a closet. There are REAL bathrooms, with somewhat real showers. I only bathed for the first time last night, after I could no longer bear layers of sunscreen, bug spray and sand... There's no hot water so I boiled some, mixed it in a bucket, and poured it over myself. Although it is a nice 80 degrees in the day, the water stays cooler than desirable for a shower. First day we got here there was a lizard in the bathroom, so I won't say it is a completely enjoyable room. But to be honest, it's nice here. And after seeing what a "toilette" is at a local bar? WHOA... we live in luxury.
The city is charming. The tallest building is 12 stories, and there are very few things that stand tall. The markets are very crowded, but our street is a little more quiet. Roads are paved until you get a certain distance away from the center of the city. We did a bus tour with our RAs but I'm sure I'll have more to report on about that later.
Last night was the bapteme, or our welcoming ceromony au Niger. I think 200 or so people were invited. Most came to enjoy the soda, popcorn and nuts, and watched as we all received our Nigerienne names. My name is Kauje (Koh-Jai I think!?) and some people have told me it is a traditional Hausa name. The man who gave it to me said it was Touareg, however. The ceremony was a great introduction to the culture here. There was traditional prayer, music and dance, and afterwards we were able to talk to a lot of the guests. I must say I'm truly impressed with the children here, and conversed mostly with them. They're all so charming and friendly - most know up to 4 languages if they attend school. We have already hackey sacked with a few of them, and have frisbee play dates with others. Most are either the guards' or housekeepers' children who live relatively close. They're so beautiful, and I look forward to spending lots of time with them.
Many people here don't speak english, so we're working on our French. Despite the fact that I haven't spoke the language in 3 years, I am surprised at how much I am able to comprehend. It comes to me and bits and pieces, but I am able to apologize for my mistakes and communicate somewhat! There's a lot of nodding and, Oui, and Cava, but it will definitely improve with time. Already more terms are coming to mind.. We went to the bar with our RA - one which I don't have the time now to describe, but the one with the horrifying toilet - and found that the bar is a great place to converse. I spoke with about 5 different Nigeriennes, and one French artist, all who were very patient with the communication barrier. I think that's the nicest thing about it here so far. In America people don't tolerate foreigners who don't know how to ask for something ..but here, at least from my experience so far, people are mostly kind and willing to assist you! Maybe that's because we are SO different to them... It was cute.. on the bus tour - we passed a school with a bunch of little girls. The word for foreigner (or white person) is anasara, so little girls were freakin out screaming, giggling and pointing at us.. Not in a bad way though! Smiling and waving hello. C'est jolie
There's so much more to write on, and I'll do my best to post as often as I can. But I'm trying to keep a hard copy journal at least to remember what we do. It's SO dry and I have to drink tons of water in order for my brain and memory to work possible.. oh yeah, there is like a triple filter system here for us so we can drink the water. and the food prepared is all safe, and so far all good - nothing traditional yet, but that will come as we ease in. Right now we're going to hang out with a BU alum who came to Niamey something like 7 years ago, returned now lives among the locals. To us in America, Yes - he is the epitome of a hippie. But real cool, real nice. We're going canoeing/piogeting and may spot some hippos! AH! Afterwards we are going to a concert. Oh and today we went to the musee and spoke with the local artists, saw lions mating, etc. For real!
Promise my subsequent blogs will be a little more reflective.. A bientot!
We arrive at the CFCA, which is nicer than I thought. Soon I will try to put up pictures, but I share a small bedroom with Rachel Rothgery, a senior from Oberlin, originally from Eugene Oregon. The room is probably 10 x 10 with twin beds, mosquito nets, a small table, and a closet. There are REAL bathrooms, with somewhat real showers. I only bathed for the first time last night, after I could no longer bear layers of sunscreen, bug spray and sand... There's no hot water so I boiled some, mixed it in a bucket, and poured it over myself. Although it is a nice 80 degrees in the day, the water stays cooler than desirable for a shower. First day we got here there was a lizard in the bathroom, so I won't say it is a completely enjoyable room. But to be honest, it's nice here. And after seeing what a "toilette" is at a local bar? WHOA... we live in luxury.
The city is charming. The tallest building is 12 stories, and there are very few things that stand tall. The markets are very crowded, but our street is a little more quiet. Roads are paved until you get a certain distance away from the center of the city. We did a bus tour with our RAs but I'm sure I'll have more to report on about that later.
Last night was the bapteme, or our welcoming ceromony au Niger. I think 200 or so people were invited. Most came to enjoy the soda, popcorn and nuts, and watched as we all received our Nigerienne names. My name is Kauje (Koh-Jai I think!?) and some people have told me it is a traditional Hausa name. The man who gave it to me said it was Touareg, however. The ceremony was a great introduction to the culture here. There was traditional prayer, music and dance, and afterwards we were able to talk to a lot of the guests. I must say I'm truly impressed with the children here, and conversed mostly with them. They're all so charming and friendly - most know up to 4 languages if they attend school. We have already hackey sacked with a few of them, and have frisbee play dates with others. Most are either the guards' or housekeepers' children who live relatively close. They're so beautiful, and I look forward to spending lots of time with them.
Many people here don't speak english, so we're working on our French. Despite the fact that I haven't spoke the language in 3 years, I am surprised at how much I am able to comprehend. It comes to me and bits and pieces, but I am able to apologize for my mistakes and communicate somewhat! There's a lot of nodding and, Oui, and Cava, but it will definitely improve with time. Already more terms are coming to mind.. We went to the bar with our RA - one which I don't have the time now to describe, but the one with the horrifying toilet - and found that the bar is a great place to converse. I spoke with about 5 different Nigeriennes, and one French artist, all who were very patient with the communication barrier. I think that's the nicest thing about it here so far. In America people don't tolerate foreigners who don't know how to ask for something ..but here, at least from my experience so far, people are mostly kind and willing to assist you! Maybe that's because we are SO different to them... It was cute.. on the bus tour - we passed a school with a bunch of little girls. The word for foreigner (or white person) is anasara, so little girls were freakin out screaming, giggling and pointing at us.. Not in a bad way though! Smiling and waving hello. C'est jolie
There's so much more to write on, and I'll do my best to post as often as I can. But I'm trying to keep a hard copy journal at least to remember what we do. It's SO dry and I have to drink tons of water in order for my brain and memory to work possible.. oh yeah, there is like a triple filter system here for us so we can drink the water. and the food prepared is all safe, and so far all good - nothing traditional yet, but that will come as we ease in. Right now we're going to hang out with a BU alum who came to Niamey something like 7 years ago, returned now lives among the locals. To us in America, Yes - he is the epitome of a hippie. But real cool, real nice. We're going canoeing/piogeting and may spot some hippos! AH! Afterwards we are going to a concert. Oh and today we went to the musee and spoke with the local artists, saw lions mating, etc. For real!
Promise my subsequent blogs will be a little more reflective.. A bientot!
Nous Sommes Arrivees au Niger!
So we survived the flights and are at the CFCA (literature or learning center here) in Niamey. The flights were fine-from JFK to Paris we were super speedy because we boarded the plane later than expected and managed to arrive at Charles De Gaule an hour early. Got NO sleep on that flight because I sat way close to a Trinidad musician who wanted to read my magazines and listen to my ipod! Slightly annoying.. To compensate for the absence of rest on that plane, I took Nyquil anndd benadryl - thus slept on the floor at the airport, and was completely conked on the way to Niger! Was awoken by a nice French flight attendant who said, ''Mademoiselle, some macaroni?'' I declined because I was BARELY awake, but he insisted that I would be hungry and Africa, needed to put some food in my stomach, and at least try... then I got a little scared! But we arrived full and safe to what is the Niamey National Airport. There was a small dust storm I think because it was pretty cloudy.. and by cloudy I mean dusty in the air. But that was day 1. Just trying to catch up since it's now day 3.
PS the punctuation marks on this computer are off, or not like on American computers at least, so I may avoid being gramatically correct until I figure it out!
PS the punctuation marks on this computer are off, or not like on American computers at least, so I may avoid being gramatically correct until I figure it out!
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