After IST

I just finished up my in-service training, which was some technical training mixed in with feedback from my fellow volunteers on how things have been going in the village. I have not done my cook stoves as of yet, we'll actually be doing those in my village tomorrow or the next day. I did not get a chance to go to my friend's village as a result of eating some bad food, and getting diagnosed with amoebas and bacteria the day I was supposed to leave for his village. No worries though, i took some strong medicine, and it cleared up in about a week. I was also intending on buying a cow, but the night before my market day the rains finally came to my village. So the next morning all the men (and me) were out in the fields planting millet, which meant i had to wait for a later date to buy my cow. It's still ridiculously hot here, but it's exciting to see rain on the ground. I've also just finished writing up my first proposal, which is for a fence for my school garden, and fencing for a nursery i want to start in the school yard. I'm also in the midst of trying to get a hold of the radio station guy near my village, and on in the regional capital, but like everything else here, things take time, and a person must have patience-kala suuru.

Follow-up to my 1st month

Now that i have a little more time I can fill everyone in on some of the stuff that's going on. I have begun thinking about possible projects as of lately. I'm going to visit my friend Alex in his village to see how he's been making improved cookstoves. These basically look like big mud donuts with smoke chutes; they help keep the heat in, so less firewood needs to be used. I've also started a tree nursery, so far just mangoes but would like to expand out to gum arabic, citrus, baobob, windy bundoo...etc I'll be working in my school garden once the hot season is over (around mid-june), and have looked into a project that involves drawing a map of the world on the side of the school. I also have a few animal husbandry programs focusing on nutrition and vaccination/deworming that i want to start oncemy in-service training is completed, which will be around june. My village cheif also wants an animal fodder bank so that the animals will have food during the lean seasons (now until june). I also have many acres of demi-lunes, which are half circles that collect rain water and rclai hardpan soil-think really hard ground that doesn't grow anything. We're hoping to plant trees little by little with fencing around them, trees were planted before but the animals ate them. I would like ot plant trees and grasses that we can use later for animal fodder, but all of this is in the works right now. I'm still working on the pictures, but in the meantime you might want to google soem info on the food shortages in niger and west africa that will be apparent in the coming year. http://www.irinnews.org/Reportaspx?ReportId=76323

Ist month in the bush

I got back from my first month being in the bush, which they say is the hardest one to get through. I've also heard that Niger is one of the toughest countries to serve in, competing with Mauritania and Mongolia. And hot season just started. So all in all I think I made it through my first month pretty unscathed. I have 4 cats nows, due to two more kittens, and my other cat is pregnant. I am surrounded by various animals such as chickens (which I am currently in an epic struggle with, i hate chickens now and will eat them at any chance), sheep, cows, goats, donkeys, and cats. I've already seen two scorpions, a chariot spider (look this one up on the internet). I have some good stories which i will post in a day or two when i have more time

Site Live in

Well, i just came back from a week long stint at my new home, and i must say not only is it in a good location, but in Nigerien standards pretty luxurious too. Though i don't have running water or electricity, all is well, no worries. The women in my village love having a new girl around to hang out with, and the men are cool with me because i'm white, and therefore transcend gender boundaries. I cooked my breakfast and lunch meals on my own, and ate with the villagers/teachers for dinner. Dinner is usually pounded grains (i.e. millet, sorghum, corn) and sauce that although tasty, has the consisitency of snot. I have aso started to compile a new top 10 list...How you can tell you are becoming nigerien...but that's for a later blog. Any questions just drop a line, i'll have internet access more frequently now.

Top Ten List

I've compiled a list (I did this a couple of weeks ago), their will be more lists in the future, including how you can tell if you're a Nigerien, but for right now it's...
Top 10 Reason Why Peace Corps Niger is Hardcore (the training/stage phase)

10)Club X ( I call it Club +the name of the town we're training in, but i can't post that info). This "club" includes everything from the random guy playing his music until 3 in the morning, to movie watching in people's concessions (yards), with a random guy holding an antenae above his head. But it's okay becaus Nigeriens don't seeem to sleep ever. And with a prayer call at 5 a.m. they don't need an alarm clock either

9)General living conditions-No electricity, plumbing, latrines, mud hut living, making food over a rock fire, and sleeping on a bed of sticks an a piece of foam. Ingenuity falls into this category too...fixing water filters, making dustpans out of pop bottles...and the generak re-use of everything

8)Climate-hot/wet season, windstorms, wild dogs, chickens running around, donkeys and goats talking all night long.

7) Marriage proposals-need i say more

6)Children-half of the country is under the age of 15 and they're pretty rambunctious where i live-a nice way to put it

5) Dirt, sand, rocks, bones in food-you learn to chew softly

4)Dress Code-Knees are completely off limits

3)Hygiene-and the general degredation of mine

2)5 a.m. wake up call to prayer

1)The people-Nigerien have to live in harsh and somewhat depressing conditions, but they do it, and they do it with a sense of humor.

Done with Pre-Service Training

Been in Philly for the last couple of days going through the paces of pre-service training. Tommorow we leave for Niger!!!