Heading to Say South of Niamey for our “Demystification” trip; our first chance to head out to see the general area where we will eventually be stationed.
A lot has happened in the two plus weeks since the last time I was able to write here, which was the last day I was in the US. Since arriving in Niger, via Paris, two weeks ago we’ve been taking language and culture classes at the Peace Corps training compound in Hamdallaye. We’ve been moved in with host families. I’m living with Siddo Seyni and his family, consisting of his two wives, Biba and Zalika, and the kids (from oldest to youngest) Bubakar, Aissa, Mimuna, Habibu, Tinamu, and Sakina. There are two older children, both married and in Niamey. Siddo is a farmer and that means him and Bubakar work a lot this time of year when the rains make everything grow at an amazing rate. Since I’ve arrived the land has gone from mostly brown with sparse greenery to a (nearly) lush land of green, but get too close and it’s obvious that the sand lurks everywhere.
To get everyone caught up with my first impressions and all, I’m gonna relay some parts of entries I made in my journal (Thanks Chass!!!!).
July 27, 2007 –
“It is rainy season. It’s cool and humid tonight, a thin layer of clouds blurs the moon and creates a light show of the constant lightening that flares on the horizon. We sleep outside under mosquito nets. I hope the rain holds off, but from what I’ve heard so far the season has not yet produced the much needed rain yet.
I’m in Africa. Wow. It’s still so surreal. I hear children laughing, clapping, and playing in the village down the hill. No drums or dancers around a roaring fire. Guess the real Africa isn’t like that.”
---I was wrong, the real Africa really loves to dance, but we wouldn’t get our first taste for another couple days when we had a culture fair in the compound. ---
A lot has happened in the two plus weeks since the last time I was able to write here, which was the last day I was in the US. Since arriving in Niger, via Paris, two weeks ago we’ve been taking language and culture classes at the Peace Corps training compound in Hamdallaye. We’ve been moved in with host families. I’m living with Siddo Seyni and his family, consisting of his two wives, Biba and Zalika, and the kids (from oldest to youngest) Bubakar, Aissa, Mimuna, Habibu, Tinamu, and Sakina. There are two older children, both married and in Niamey. Siddo is a farmer and that means him and Bubakar work a lot this time of year when the rains make everything grow at an amazing rate. Since I’ve arrived the land has gone from mostly brown with sparse greenery to a (nearly) lush land of green, but get too close and it’s obvious that the sand lurks everywhere.
To get everyone caught up with my first impressions and all, I’m gonna relay some parts of entries I made in my journal (Thanks Chass!!!!).
July 27, 2007 –
“It is rainy season. It’s cool and humid tonight, a thin layer of clouds blurs the moon and creates a light show of the constant lightening that flares on the horizon. We sleep outside under mosquito nets. I hope the rain holds off, but from what I’ve heard so far the season has not yet produced the much needed rain yet.
I’m in Africa. Wow. It’s still so surreal. I hear children laughing, clapping, and playing in the village down the hill. No drums or dancers around a roaring fire. Guess the real Africa isn’t like that.”
---I was wrong, the real Africa really loves to dance, but we wouldn’t get our first taste for another couple days when we had a culture fair in the compound. ---
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