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!