Stuck in Paris with the Naimey blues again

By this time I was supposed to be in Niamey, seeing my buddies, getting back into the African lifestyle. Instead I'm staying in a hotel next to the airport in Paris.

Here's what happened:

Seattle to Cincinnati is fine, Cincinnati to Newark fine, then the problems started. First there was a gate change 30 minutes before we're supposed to start boarding; not a problem. The cabin crew was hanging around just as confused as us when we get to the new gate and there's no plane. So about an hour later, half hour after we're supposed to be taking off we start boarding. Then on board the captain comes on to tell us they're still loading bags. I look outside, being over the baggage hatch and see them UNloading bags. Turns out that they had already loaded THIS plane with bags and our bags were still on the OLD plane sitting at the original gate. So they had to unload both planes, then load up our bags. By the time we got going we were already an hour and a half late. Guess how long my connection time was in Paris? Hour and a half of course.

So I missed my connection. It's too bad because I was supposed to be on the plane with all the new kids coming in for the next wave of volunteers, but on the bright side they're putting me up in a hotel for the next 3 days (yeah 3 days before the next flight to Niamey, not a super popular location I guess). I also get lunch, dinner, breakfast each day. So tomorrow I'll take the opportunity to go see a little bit of the city again. For now, I'm watching a Naked Gun movie in french. OJ Simpson is in it. hahaha, OJ Simpson....

Wanted to thank the Snohomish Lions club for letting me speak to them and they're offering of support for me and my projects. It really is the groups like lions club, rotary, etc who get community action going on so many fronts. Why don't people join them like they used to?

The Good Ol' US of A

So I thought I'd use this trip to the States as 1) reunion with friends and family, 2) shopping trip, 3) chance to update my blog, 4)Massage, pedicure, and acupuncture, and 5) chance to find support (read $$$) for my textbook project. So far, the reunion side of things has taken pretty much all my time.

It has been nice though. I went to my cousin's marriage. Congratulations Kyle!! Check out the pictures. I had a chance to see my friends in Seattle, some of whom, I haven't seen in almost two years (Will and Kaylen in particular for MORE than two years). Where does the time go? I guess it really does start to run away from you as you get older.

And speaking of, am I starting the downward slide in age when I drive through Seattle's U-district and see a group of what look like seventh graders trooping across the road, only to realize they're freshmen? 'Wow, did we ever look that young?' I asked. My buddy said, 'Yes we did, and really, you still do.' What else are friends for?

Going back to my USA goals, #2 - I've had almost zero chance to shop. #4 - I've not gone for a massage or pedicure, but I do have an acupuncture appointment tomorrow night in Seattle for some headaches I've been experiencing. Since my last post was while I was still in Niamey, I've obviously failed in #3, and, as for #5, I haven't drumed up a single dollar for my textbooks yet, but this particular goal I'm gonna put some more effort into before I leave (This one and #2, shopping... have to enjoy this consumer experience while I can). I'm drawing up flyers to pass out, maybe even just on the street in Seattle. Check one out, print it off and hand it out to people who could help me out. Note that it's a jpeg because I couldn't get google documents to share PDFs, but it should still work.

So the reason I'm getting a little concerned about this project is that Peace Corps Washington, the headquarters that is, has emailed me, concerned that I will not acheive full funding for this project and they want me to scale it back. I don't want to scale it back; even as it is now, the books are still being shared, anything less will still be great and all, but it won't be an optimal result. I've been given a reprieve until the 1st of January to drum up the donations. It should be noted that Peace Corps doesn't fund these projects, volunteers are responsible for finding their own. If it seems to you that this can be a little harmful to the impact volunteers can have in the field, I would full-heartedly agree, but then we need to get PC more funding and alter it's structure to be more supportive of volunteers. I could talk a lot about that, maybe in a future post.

Today, however, I wanted to run down the details of this project real quick for those who may be interested: I'm working with my local school administrations to supply English textbooks at the middle school level. It would cover the two public middle schools for my town, approximately 900 books would be given for the use of 1600 students. The idea is to have them for in class work and then work after school or in our community library, but that the books would not be taken by the children as a way of ensuring they survive a longer time. Each child in each class would have a book to read from while in class. Simple idea, but requires $ to do it and so I'm at the whims of economics in the US it appears. However, your donation is TAX DEDUCTIBLE, so what do you have to lose by sending $30 or $40 and helping 3 or 4 children learn english?

But other than being worried about your project, you may ask, how was it coming back to the US?

Well, it's a trip. I can't believe all the STUFF that you can buy here. We really are quite the consumer culture. I just sat and laughed at the meat wall in QFC the other day. There was more meat on that one wall than in all of niamey, and it was all GOOD cuts, not the fat and bone I'm used to eating. I almost started crying walking through the mall when I began to think that the amount of commerce JUST in that one mall was enormous compared to what I see in Niger, not even playing the same ball game.

I'll be getting more to that in my next post, when I've had some time to digest this trip and all. (As well as the food... I've put on 10 pounds or so in a week and a half. We eat REALLY well here, no wonder I see fat kids again. They don't exist in Niger)

This is long enough to have driven some people away for sure, so last things: Couple of more albums added to Picasa: GAD stuff (GAD is a volunteer funded source of project financing, by us and for us, so it's a small amount of money) and some basketball pictures.

Thanks to all my friends for taking me out and about in Seattle this weekend. I know I just blew in and out, but it was great to see you all.

New Stage Swears In

I am now officially one year away from the end of my service as the next group of education and health volunteers has sworn into their positions. For us older ones that means a chance to hang out at the pool in Niamey, play some ultimate Frisbee at the ambassador's house and see friends who are getting done and gone back to the States.

Which will be me pretty soon as well. I'll be home Oct1-8, so all those in Seattle, beware.

Uploaded some pictures from Kelsey's visit to Niger. Should probably upload some more, but the album is here, if you want to take a look. Added them to previous posts as well to give some reference and they are the slideshow in the side bar.

Just a quick update for now, will try to think of something more intelligent and interesting to add later.

End of Vacation, Beggining of a Beautiful Friendship, and Continuing Thoughts of "Work"

So didn’t really take good notes or write hardly anything in my journal for the second half of that trip, and for that matter, neither did Kelsey, so maybe she can help elaborate on this last Africa tour section. But I’ll start it off…

When last we left our intrepid voyagers they were in Cape Coast trying to escape the over-turned bush taxi which was quickly sinking into crocodile infested waters… at least that’s pretty close to my memory of most bush taxi rides. So from that miraculous escape we moved on to Takoradi (non-descript factory and market town) and past, to a string of little villages which have become somewhat of a resort destination: Dixcove, Busua, and a couple of other little places, but it was the beach in Busua where we spent most of our time.


Initially, we were going to head to a different little town with a resort that came highly recommended: the Green Turtle Lodge, an ‘eco-friendly’ place with close ties to the local culture. Sounds great right? Too bad that as we get to within 10km (taxi stop in Busua), we see a sign saying it’s full. A little disheartening after an entire day of travel, but we decide to stay the night in Busua and try again the next morning.

First night there we stayed at our normal type of place for this trip: small, pretty cheap, and decidedly somewhere people on a Peace Corps budget could get by. But since our experience with the bed-bug infested room in Porto Novo I think the budget travelling had started to wear on Kelsey. After that night of so-so accommodation we were going to hit the Green Turtle, but decided it was a better idea to call ahead instead of just going out blind, so we went down the road a little further and found the enormous ‘white elephant behind the wall’ Busua Resort. Definitely a step above the rest of the places on the stretch of beach it had 10 foot high walls, security… and AIR CONDITIONING everywhere. Wow. Place for big spenders. Call the Green Turtle from their phone and it’s full. It’s full until well after we want to leave the area so what to do? Why not have a couple of days of luxury? And so we got a room at Busua Resort and IT WAS AMAZING. By US standards it wasn’t very expensive at all, but not some place people from the town could ever stay (or with the security ever be allowed to visit, which isn’t so bad when it’s the rasta beach bums hawking merchandise who are kept away). I was kinda put off at first with staying in a place so removed from local life, but I did enjoy it. Private beach, pools, bars, good food. It was definitely the highlight of my trip, especially I would say…

...The night I proposed. I had been trying to find a perfect moment the whole trip. I think I was waiting for a band to fall from a rainbow stretching over us in the sky, birds singing, children laughing, and champagne waterfalls. I was putting too much pressure on myself to make it perfect when, being in Africa and not in control of birds or bubbly, it was never going to be. Nothing ever really is I would say. So after another great relaxing day in Busua (our second I think), we were walking back from dinner at a place farther up the beach, the moon was shining, the waves crashing on the empty beach. I thought ‘quit being a chicken and just do it already, you both want to say it, want to make it an official promise to each other, so just get to it,’ and so I did. It wasn’t the most romantic or perfect moment with me stumbling over exactly what to say (though I’d tried out a hundred different ways in my head) and also stumbling on the sand when I kneeled down to give her, well, the same ring she had already been wearing, but it felt right and perfect in the moment. One point about the ring: it’s a special ring to me and even though I understand when she says she wants a real engagement ring at some point, I think she knows that the love that went into making that one was great and meaningful. I don’t know if ya’ll want to be reading this type of stuff and I won’t get all too mushy, but I’d like to say that I’m very happy this has happened and I’m very much in love with her, and though this year has been hard, especially on her, that we’ve both gown and I can see how even our relationship has matured over this time and distance. I mean, we’re engaged. Feels pretty great I have to say.

Kelsey, cause I know you’ll read this: I love you and am very happy you said yes, but the planning is really up to you, my one request is an open bar and maybe a live band (budget allowing).
As far as the rest of the trip is concerned, after Busua it was more like transit back to Niamey. We stayed a night in Kumasi, which is a city I actually rather liked. It was far smaller than Accra, but had just as much good stuff and restaurants. Then it was on to Ouaga on an overnight, 20 hour, bus ride (again drum corps preparing me for Africa). Again not a bad place, Ouaga has movie theaters, a bowling alley, and pool tables in some bars. Think I'll have to come back, maybe for the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (Festival panafricain du cinéma et de la télévision de Ouagadougou or FESPACO), perhaps the best African Film festival.

Then it was on to Niamey and Kelsey's flight home. At least we'll be getting back together for christmas in Paris.

I must say that having traveled around Africa outside of Niger for the first time I can really appreciate that Niger is not the standard to measure Africa by. In many ways West African countries are very similar, especially in the way people act, but Niger is definately a couple steps behind in terms of development. Kelsey was shocked at the trash that littered Niamey's streets, I was used to it, and so when we saw other cities I really expected the same, but most aren't littered up, or at least it isn't as bad. Really comes down to 'can we pay people to pick up trash' because people would willing do it if it means steady pay. 'Can we setup a trash collection infastructure?' These are things Niger answers no to. Maybe this is right as money is needed for other things like health and education, but then you think, why do the mayors in Niamey need big old SUVs to drive around in? Couldn't that money be better spent? It's just Niger spreading it's thin resources, other countries can do the same, but have more to spread around.

It is nice to be back though. Just crossing the border from Burkina and hearing Zarma again made me feel at home. The thing I like best about living here and the Peace Corps approch is that I feel very much a part of the community most of the time. Knowing the local language is extremely useful and I had no access to that in southern Benin or Ghana, though I did run into a couple of Zarmaphones at times in unexpected places.

So now that I'm back... well it's back to work, or the thought of it.

1) Student government is now on the table again, but not in my original conception, it'll be more keyed to Gaya and I'm not going to worry about the big, money eating conference I had originally wanted to do in Niamey.

2) MJC library is my next stop today. Thanks to the donations of books from the Dihns, my parents and grandparents, and an NGO, Darrius Book Aid, we're ready to start catologing and shelving the many english language books we've collected. A big Fonda Goy to you all!!

3) Radio work. Just did a show yesterday on the amazing Moringa (Windi Bundu in Zarma). A great way to reduce malnutrion around here. I eat it with everything and so should you!!

4) This school year I'm going to try and be more involved with the english classes by going in each month to read to and chat with the students in a way of helping them learn english from a native speaker and maybe increasing their interest in learning the language and maybe school in general. Reminder to myself to do a post on the differences in US/Niger teaching styles.

5) English text books for my middle schools. This is a hard one.... I need YOUR help to get it done. I'll be plugging it when I get back to the states and see my friends, since most of them don't read this blog, but I still have $5994 to raise before Peace Corps will release the money to me. It would be great to have it by the start of the school year, but that's coming up way too quickly, so by the New Year is my real goal. If you have any ideas about groups I can approach to ask for donations please let me know. They're all tax deductable and on-line easy to do. Check it out, thanks!

6) Live and learn here. Can't say enough about how much of a job it can feel like just to live here. Ask Kelsey about how long it takes me to move from one side of the town to the other with all the people I have to greet, but I do enjoy it and think it's opening my mind a lot.

Oh and not to make this post any longer, but.... Did any of you catch the other day that McCain said "one thing is to expand opportunities for national service - the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps, neighborhood and community organizations. You see, I think after 9/11 we had a golden opportunity to call all Americans to serve the country - not just to tell them to take a trip and go shopping. And I think they would have responded. I think they will still respond."? Don't want to turn this into a political blog and I by all means don't support him in place of another un-named candidate (who, by the way, also supports expanded PC), but if a republican can say that, could the next president, whoever he is, please get us more funding and support?!?! I mean our budget just got cut 7% this year alone and that makes it all that much harder to do our work and live here.

Wow, too much to say. Congrats if you made it all this way through, especially without pictures (bad connection here, but hope to add them next time i'm through Niamey). Nice to be back. Great to be engaged and now y'all know the latest in my life.

Ghana... a wonderland of wonderous wonders

It's amazing how different countries in West Africa can be. Since I saw skittles in a store in Cotonou I knew we weren't in Niger anymore. Now in Ghana there are things non-existant in Niger, like nice dogs!


Ok, I'll let Kesley explain what we've been up to

"Hello again from Ghana!Since I last wrote in Cotonou, things are going well. We spent took a day trip on Tuesday to Ouidah where we saw a cool national history museum (for Benin, though previously where they held slaves for the slave trade), a python temple, complete with pythons that they put around our necks, and walked the Route of the Slaves, 4 km all the way to the ocean. We were super excited to see the ocean and walked in it but could not swim even if we wanted to....there was a crazy undertow.Wednesday we spent the whole day traveling from Cotonou past Accra in Ghana to Big Milly's Backyard, a beach resort in Kokrobite, Ghana. We had a beautiful room and stayed for two days, relaxing on the beach and soaking up the fine Ghanian sun. Of course, because I was so ridiculously white from covering up in the Muslim countries (Niger and Benin), I unfortunately burned my legs kinda badly and I am paying for it today! Today we got up early in Kokrobite, took one last stroll down the beach, and left for Cape Coast. Our tro-tro (basically a van with many seats) broke down and we had to get another one, but luckily we weren't on the side of the road all that long.We have walked around Cape Coast today, a beautiful little coastal town, and visited the Castle here, one of the main posts for the slave trade. They took us into the dungeons where 250-300 slaves were kept in a tiny room with one little window.....you can't even imagine what it must have been like for them. They would be kept there for two-three months at a time, waiting for the slave ship. The women were often raped and would kill their babies so that they would not be slaves. It was really sad to hear about it all.Tomorrow we are taking a day trip to Kakum National Park where there is a canopy walkway 300 ft. above the forest floor. Should be interesting for Jeremy.....he is afraid of heights! We might hire a car for the day so we can also go to Elmina, where another large fort is. Sunday we will head to Dixcove to stay at the Green Turtle, an eco-friendly beach resort!"

All the best, until my next update.

The quietest little capital city in the world

Porto Novo is a nice little place to visit. The seat of Benin's government since way back into the French colonial time, this place is only 45km from Cotonou, populated at around 225000, but it feels like a quiet, relaxing little place, especially as opposed to the hustle and bustle and traffic of Cotonou. But I'm getting ahead of myself a little bit I suppose since this is really my first post about me and Kelsey's traveling, so let me back up two weeks to leaving Gaya.....

Waving lines of flashback.... ala Wayne's World....

Biddilyloo biddilyloo biddilyloo

Left Gaya last Tuesday. Typical of any African traveling, this one started off like a bush taxi, coughing and sputtering and we weren't sure it would get moving.... We had bought tickets from Gaya to Dasa, Benin on a bus line, Air. Show up at 7 like they said. No bus at 730, no bus at 830. Finally a bus pulls up at 9 or so. It's full. They say, no problem, there's one behind it. Ok, Fine. Turns out the next bus is more than an hour behind this one.... and it's full also. Before it arrives we're told to head to the border and after the bus passes there people may get off and we can find seats, so we motorcycle taxi it to the border (Kelsey's first one ever actually) and get through just as the bus is pulling up. And.... no empty seats. It's this bus or nothing for the day so we talk our way on and sit in the aisle.... for FOUR hours. A bush taxi would have been better. Never has my back been so sore. But we make it to....

Dassa-Zoumé

This place is famous because the virgin Mary was seen in a cave in one of the hills behind town, and may I say, these hills are Awesome! They rise out of nowhere as one travels from the flat lands of Northern Benin, huge piles of rocks made by giant tonka trucks. They just seem so improbably placed in a land one wouldn't think of as having glacer activity (cause that's what looks like would have caused them), but no one can tell me where they came from. Our guide on one hike told me that they had always been there. Since his grandparents parents and that they were natural; no more info. Stayed at a great ecotourism place we got hooked up to through a PCV in the area and spent a relaxing day and a half hiking in the hills and enjoying GREEN.

It's ridiculous the difference in the flora between Gaya and Dassa, which is maybe halfway down Benin. Gaya is green by Niger standards, but Dassa is much much more. They have FORRESTS. That's multiple trees in the same place!!!! Unheard of in my neck of the woods. The land just seems thick with living plants, like it will strangle itself. And sometimes it can feel quite... claustraphobic after living in open savanah scrub land for a year. Even in our rainy season when the bushes get green and leafy it never feels like it controls the land like the foliage does here.

So after this intial shock of green-ness, and our pause to adjust (more for me as Kelsey is still somewhat fresh from the green NW), we pressed on to....

Abomey

Seat of the Dahomey Kingdom for a long time (since I only speak a little French I didn't exactly get all the info from our French language tour). We visited the palace of the last two kings, they're attached. It was interesting as they were a pretty bloody lot who traded in slaves. Carved and painted pictures on the palace walls depict decapitations and other bodily harm casued to enemies and there is one of the thrones set on the skulls of four poor fellows from and opposing group. One cool thing is they used women heavily in their army, which the europeans referred to as their Amazons. There's a pride in that and a lot of places are Benin with Amazon in the name. This was all in passing to....


Cotonou

Which isn't all that cool. Big and busy. Scared me, but not really because of it's size, but because of the difference in the power of the economy versus what one sees in Niger. It's sad to see my little slice of Africa in the grander scheme of things. We really are a poor country, even here. Cotonou is happening economically, with new builings, lots of businesses, etc. Clean streets even (for the most part), which means someone is being paid to pick up trash... a luxury from where I'm from. Didn't spend much time here, but instead went to...



Porto Novo

And now we're back where I started. I liked it much better than Cotonou. On Friday when we arrived it was sorta busy, Sat and Sun it was like a ghost town and then when we left there this morning (Monday) it was busy busy busy. Such a contrast, but I imagin most people who are in the government are only there during the week or when they have to be. So much of the government work is handled in Cotonou and not in the capital.... Well anyway it made it a more attractive place for me. They have some great colonial architecture there. Sadly, much of it is crumbling away, but they have restored a number of buildings, though there are so many many more that are just falling apart in the capital's twisted maze of old town. Very fun to walk through.

So from here it's on to Ghana after a stop tomorrow in the voodoo capital of Benin, Ouida. Will try to keep you all posted as we go.

Oh, before I go, don't forget how you can help out a poor English starved Nigerien child in Gaya for only $10. (I'm trying not to be overly pushy here, but I'm realizing that seven grand is a lot to come up with, so PLEASE donate and/or pass this along to others I may or may not know who are more suceptible to a casual mention of education needs in the third world... Thanks!)


Until later and from an English speaking country (hurray!)

Benin, Cotonou, and Beyond

First off, I wanted to point everyone towards my Peace Corps partnership page where you can buy an english textbook for kids in my town. Each book is ten dollars and will help out immensely. Please pass along the word to any and all who would be interested in helping. There's still 7000 to raise.

Ok enough of trying to get money from ya'll... Oh and I'll try to explain the whole PC Partnership thing better in a future post; feeling internet cafe time constrictions here: 9 minutes and counting till shutdown!

So Kelsey is visiting, has been here for over two weeks actually, and we are currently in Cotonou after seeing 1. Dirty Niamey, 2. Giraffes, 3. Gaya, and 4. some awesome hills. Pictures forthcoming with more internet time; but not tonight. So in the sake of such time crunch I'll let her tell ya'll all about it from some snippets which went out to her family. Maybe it'll help describe this place more since I'm too accustomed to its auirks and have settled into it. Enjoy!

From July 1

"Hey!

So, I would love to say that the time here so far has been AMAZING......

But the reality is that I find that Niamey sucks ass. The city is so sad and depressing....not what I was expecting at all. There are little kids begging everywhere, in addition to the real beggars. Some of the children beg to learn to be humble, according to the Qu'ran. If you give them money, they give it to their teacher. You can tell the difference between the children that are begging out of need and the ones who are learning to be humble because the ones who have money are the ones with silver bowls on strings and nice clothes. There is no shame here in begging.....they ALL do it. You are white, give me money.

I already had one little boy try to pickpocket me at the national museum. Going to the national museum would have been cool except for the fact that nothing has been updated since about 1983 (literally, no sarcasm here) and the zoo that they have is extremely depressing with the most cruel of animal conditions imaginable. It is hot and nasty, the flies are rampant during the day and the mosquitos at night.

So far, I am not impressed and I find myself a little depressed because of it. I am hearing that the trip will get better. Gaya is a small town but is still supposed to be prettier....we will head there Friday. I am REALLY looking forward to getting to Benin, Togo, and Ghana because the other volunteers that I have talked to that have been there say that it's awesome....we should be going there in a couple weeks.

Tomorrow I am going to have a purse made....I will get to pick out the material and everything. I am actually looking forward to that. Their local beer, Bierre Niger, is actually not bad, but each bottle is different....you never know what you are going to get. Wednesday we are going to look at a bunch of wild giraffes not too far from Niamey....supposed to be cool."

From July 8:

"Hey!

i decided that i am not going to capitolize anything since this is one
of those damn european keyboards where everything is out of order.

the trip is tons better. we went to goethéye, north of niamey for a
fish bake for a couple days. it was awesome to get out of the city
for a while as I was definitely tired of it. the culture shock has
worn off though and i am just trying to accept it for what it is now.
I got some fabric at the grand marché and had two bags made and a
dress. I am very excited as it was very cheap and they look good. I
love the way the women dress here....so colorful!

we also took a bush taxi out to Kore to see some wild giraffes that
are protected. They have about 150 there but we only got to see about
6, but three were babies. Even babies are huge! it was cool to see
them out in the wild and not in a zoo. We had to walk with a guide 7
km to see them in the hot sun....that part was not so much fun but
still worth it. the bush taxi ride was crazy. They crammed more
people into that van than i would have ever thought possible; and kept
trying to stuff more in. I had a womans armpit on me, and when her
baby started to cry, she pulled out her boob in my face and started
feeding. The boob and baby were practically in my lap! I have seen
more boobs here in one week than i have ever seen in my life!

I am now in Gaya; where Jeremy is stationed. Everyone here is very
friendly, and while it is still dirty, it is much prettier here thanks
to more trees and vegetation. The town is about 30,000 so it is still
a fair size. Everyone here wants to say hi and I am getting many good
opportunities to practice my french, which is good but i am still shy
with my lack of enough vocabulary. I can understand
about 70% of what people say, which i think is good considering that
african french sounds different than France french. Mostly I have to
rely on Jeremy though since most people speak Zarma more than french.
I hate that.... I have to stand and smile stupidly since I have no
idea what is being said and they are often teasing him about me.

It has been raining since it is rainy season, but usually in the
mornings. It makes it humid but at least it is a little cooler than
usual."


So.... as you can see it takes a little bit of time to come to love this place like I do, well at least get comfortable with it. Will post about the trip soon.... 2 minutes till this thing explodes, time to publish!