William Travels

Life on the Road

2009-10-06T18:11:00.002-06:00

Things are going well on the trip home. Currently in Seville, Spain. At this point, we´ve seen too much to write about and we´ve been having trouble loading pictures onto picasa, so be patient.

Fortunately, Jeremy already wrote up some stuff about our 3 weeks in Tunisia. You can also see his pictures.

Go here first.

Then, mosey here.

Still with us? Go here.

Until next time.

First of the Videos

2009-08-31T06:59:00.006-06:00

I present my villagers saying goodbye to me and saying hello to all of my friends and family back home.

This is Illa, he was my landlord and neighbor. The setting is just outside of my house. I spent a lot of time with his family. In the background is Chaibou (next to the cart) and Moubarak (the little one to the left).

I'm hoping I'll get a few more of these up before I hit the road. So far this is the shortest of them and therefore the easiest to upload. One hour of uploading for a 6 second video. C'est la vie au Niger.

I can't promise I'll transcribe them all, but this one is short.

Illa: A gaida guida. Greet your family.

Haven't Posted in a While

2009-08-30T03:48:00.003-06:00

From Giraffes!

Thanks to everyone who has reminded me that I haven't posted in a while. I'm currently in Niamey and I'm working on all the paperwork that I have to complete before I leave Niger. There is quite a lot of reports that Peace Corps requires and it's a bit difficult to concentrate in front of a computer when you spent most of your time in the bush. My eyes are getting tired.

I'm out of here in a week and I'll try to get a few more posts up before I leave.

Until then check out these pictures if you haven't seen them on facebook already.

Enjoy.

America!!!

2009-05-03T21:20:00.002-06:00

So much to say, so many comparisons. I don't know where to start.

Since I'm on vacation, I'm not gonna write too much on here.

But, I did want to let you know that my friend Jeremy has internet at his post now and he's been working on a "Week in the Life of...". He's in a city post and thought people would be interested in reading something a little different.

Start here (day 1)

Then go here (day 2)

Then here (day 3)

Then go to his blog and check back.

Hope y'all enjoy.

Homecoming

2009-04-24T07:28:00.003-06:00

From Kokowa - Traditional Wrestling

I'm going home to America for 3 weeks. I must admit that I frightened. It will be the first time I have left Africa since I arrived in July of 2007. Wow!

I haven't really decided what all I'll be doing (or more importantly eating) but these things will come together.

The past few weeks have been great. We've finished yet another draft on the proposal that the mayor's office is writing for grain banks. I feel really great about this project because I'm not actually writing the proposal. I wanted to teach them how to do it and so far it's going slow, but it's going. As they say here, "sannu sannu, ba ta hana zuwa". Going slowly doesn't prevent one from going.

Things are still going well with the student governments, but nothing major to report.

Ryan, Tim, and I did a radio show in Maradi last week. It was my first time to do a radio show in Maradi and the radio station there is really nice.

More to come soon. Check out these other photos. Sorry didn't have time to sort them properly and add captions, but coming soon... hopefully.

Kids
Traditional Wrestling - Kokowa
Zinder

Malam Ibro and Hyena

2009-03-19T05:18:00.002-06:00

This is a folk tale that was written by Seyni Maïga Adama the head-master at the college (middle school level) in my village. He is originally from the other side of the country near the town of Tera. He wrote it and I edited it a bit. I hope you enjoy, more to come later.

Malam Ibro was a great Marabout. Talibé from different tribes and countries came to study Islamic theology in his school. One day he decided to go on pilgrimage to Mecca. At that time there were no cars and no motorocycles. People traveled on foot or by horse. Malam Ibro took a horse and went to Mecca. On his way he met Hyena. Hyena was very hungry. She asked Malam Ibro to kill for her, and then she would carry him to Mecca and back. Malam Ibro accepted and killed his horse for Hyena. When Hyena finished her meal, she ran away into the bushes laughing at him.

Malam Ibro took his baggage and went to sit hopelessly under a big baobab tree on the riverside. Hare came out from the bushes to drink from the river. When he saw Malam Ibro he went to greet him. After they greeted each other, Malam Ibro told him his problem. Hare knew exactly what to do. He told Malam Ibro to wait for him in the bushes and he would bring Hyena.

Hare went into the bush and met Hyena. He told Hyena that he had organized a great feast for his birthday celebration and nobody came. Hare did not know what to do with all of the food and all of the meat. Hare asked Hyena to take a message to all of the animals and to tell them to come quickly. Hyena told him that it would be of no use and that he himself would have to play the role of all of the animals of the bush.

On their way to the place where Malam Ibro was hidden, Hare moved slowly and Hyena asked him to hurry up. He told her that his leg was hurting him. Hyena asked Hare to ride her and he did it. He rode her to the river side and before he realized what was going on they reached the tree where Malam Ibro was hidden. Malam Ibro caught Hyena and rode her all the way to Mecca. When they reached Mecca, Malam Ibro tied up Hyena and performed his ritual washings before prayer.

During the journey, Hyena didn’t eat anything. People tried to give her vegetables and grass, but she could not eat them. In Mecca she saw some children eating meat and she begged them for the bones. Full of fear the children ran away and told their parents that the horse of Malam Ibro asked for the bones they were eating. When the adults arrived, they realized that it was not a real horse at all, but Hyena. They beat her and when she was free, she ran back to the bush.

Hyena came back to the bush very worn out, hungry, and correctly beaten. After she rested a while she went to the river to drink. At the river she met lady Tortoise. Hyena told Tortoise to go into the woods, fetch firewood, make a fire and kill and roast herself. Then, Hyena would eat her, because she was dying of hunger and fatigue. Tortoise went into the bush fetching wood to do what Hyena ordered her to do. She was fetching wood and crying. By fortune she came across Hare who asked her what was the matter. Hare told Tortoise to climb a tree and he would call to her and if Hyena asks you what was going on you should tell her that Malam Ibro was looking for Hyena.

Tortoise executed the plan and Hyena asked her who was calling. Tortoise told her that it was Malam Ibro. Upon hearing the name of Malam Ibro she ran like a fugitive into the bushes.

After helping Malam Ibro, Hare saved the life of Tortoise, proving once again that Tortoise and Hyena are two of the stupidest animals in the bush.

Ouaga

2009-03-12T04:50:00.004-06:00

From FESPACO

OUAGADOUGOU, BURKINA FASO—FESPACO, the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou, takes place every two years and gives film makers from the continent a chance to showcase their films. This year was the 40th anninversary. I traveled there with 4 friends.

We saw about 6 full length films and about 15 short films and documentaries at about 4 different theaters. Some were good and some lackluster. It was easy to see which areas of the continent have money available for film makers by the number of entries, with things being weighted toward North African countries and South Africa. My favorite film was Teza which won the top prize, the Stallion of Yennenga. I’m no film critic, so I want try to bore you with my opinion, but if you get a chance to see it, I’d recommend it.

Equally important as the films, was the food and drink. Avocado sandwiches, pork (!), tapas bars, good street food, plantains, more than one beer, and juices and wines made of crazy delicious local fare. If we batted about .300 on watching good films, we batted about .800 on food.

One of my favorite parts about Ouaga is the fact that there are so many cyclists. They even have bike lanes for bikes and motorcycles. It made me shed a tear for my bike in Maradi—Oh, how I miss thee!

We finished out the week, having only learned a few words in the dominant language of Burkina, Mouré. No one seemed to want to help us out. They were perfectly content listening to our French—my broken French. But we were able to find a few people that spoke some Hausa and Zarma, which made us feel like we were home.

Although it's been nice getting back to Niger, I hope to get back to Ouaga some day—a great little city with a whole mess of potential.

--------

To read Jeremy’s account of Ouaga and other recent events look no further than here. For pictures of our trip look here. Have a nice day. You enjoy your snow and I’ll enjoy my 100 degree dustiness.

--------

Also, just added a new feature to allow easy feedback. There should be 3 buttons under each post—thumbs up, indifferent, thumbs down. I’ve forgotten what is interesting, so this will help me post more things you’d like to read. I hope it works. Thanks.

--------

Heading back out to the bush tomorrow (Friday) morning.

Update on Tsalla Girl

2009-03-09T06:46:00.013-06:00

This is Aicha. She delivers my breakfast of tsalla and sauce every morning. I found out since I last wrote about her that she doesn't actually live in my village, but only lives there during the school year. She helps out at the family who houses her by selling tsalla in the mornings and on market day.

Read more here.

My bowl is on the left and soon the tsalla will be covered in sauce, Mmmm.

-------

Lastly, notes from FESPACO coming soon (apologies, the FESPACO website is not only difficult to navigate, it is uninformative).

Back on the 'Interwebs'

2009-02-25T02:41:00.004-06:00

From Student Government Elections--Primary School Sherkin Haoussa

I'm sorry it's been so long without a new update. Things around here have been really busy. In December my parents came for a visit. I've organized the election and installation of a student government at the two schools in my village. I've uploaded pictures from both of those and you can see them here and here.

------

I'm working with the headmaster of the college (middle school) on a collection of folk tales from his region of Niger, near the Burkina Faso border, and I'll be posting them up as I progress through that.

------

This is the third attempt to type this. Each time either the power goes out or things are moving so slow that it makes sitting around typing very frustrating. Also, the heat doesn't help me want to sit around and sweat while typing.

------

One side project I'm working on is turning biomass waste into charcoal. Lachlan, another volunteer who lives near me, and I are running our first attempts in our "kiln" when I get back from Burkina. I'll let you know how that goes.

------

Now I'm getting ready to go on vacation to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso for the FESPACO film festival. I know that's not really good enough for a 3 month blogging hiatus. But, I hope y'all are doing well.

Photos from Vacation

2008-10-13T13:22:00.010-06:00

These are the pictures from vacation. Enjoy while I continue to procrastinate writing about the vacation. Thanks for your patience.

http://picasaweb.google.com/william.e.jones/Benin#

http://picasaweb.google.com/william.e.jones/HikingNearKpalime#

http://picasaweb.google.com/william.e.jones/Ghana#

Also, I finished uploading the pictures from science camp and you can see them here.

First Year, by the Numbers

2008-10-10T13:04:00.002-06:00

I've been in Niger as a volunteer for over a year now and while I'm uploading pictures and writing about my vacation I thought this would be kind of fun to read. Enjoy!

If you want to know anything else, just ask and I'll add it.

Books read: 37
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows - J. K. Rowling
Hoot! - Carl Hiaasen
Chronicles: Vol I - Bob Dylan
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail - Bill Bryson
African Diary - Bill Bryson
Blue Like Jazz - Donald Miller
Searching for God Know's What - Donald Miller
Walden & Other Writings - Thoreau
How Good Do We Have to Be? - Kushner
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry
Big Sur - Jack Kerouac
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Who Were the Celts - Kevin Duffy
A History of the Arab Peoples - Albert Hourani
Beyond Humanitarianism: What You Need to Know about Africa and Why it Matters - Council on Foreign Relations
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary - Simon Winchester
Tales of Mystery - Edgar Allen Poe
Confessions of an Economic Hitman - John Perkins
Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy
The Alchemist - Paulo Coehlo
Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History from the Mississippi Delta to Chicagos South Side, to the World - Robert Palmer
The Baobab and the Mangoe Tree: Lessons about Development, African and Asian contrasts - Nicholas and Scott Thompson
Soul Survivor: How 13 unlikely Mentors Helped my Faith Survive the Church - Phillip Yancey
Zen Guitar - Philip Toshio Sudo
The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood - David Simon & Edward Burns
Into the Wild - John Krakauer
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time - Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
Joshua: A Parable for Today - Joseph F Girzone
Captain Alatriste - Arturo Perez-Reverte
Hausaland Divided: Colonialism and Independence in Nigeria and Niger - William Miles

Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides

Robinson Crusoe - Daniel DeFoe
Sidhartha - Herman Hesse
Blood Done Sign My Name: A True Story - Timothy B. Tyson

Bacteria (tested): 6 or 7

Bacteria (self diagnosed) : I gave up on counting

Amoebas: 3 (maybe 4, I forgot)

Giardia: 1

Ear Infections: 2

Most languages heard in one day: 6 (recognized: Arabic, Hausa, French, Zarma, English and Fulfulde, 7 if you count Broka (broken English) and Grammar (correct English) as separate languages)

Days spent in Africa: 472 (as of oct 10,2008)

Days spent as a volunteer in Niger: 410

Days spent in Benin: 4

Days spent in Togo: 4

Days spent in Ghana: 11

Days spent in Burkina Faso: 2 (I'll hope to back in February for FESPACO)

Times I've pooped my pants: zero, ok once

Times my hair has been cut: 2

Number of people who have purchased tickets to come visit: 2, thanks mom and dad

Number of days I fasted during Ramadan '08: 4

Number of electronic devices that Niger has destroyed/damaged: 2 (iPod and Canon Powershot A5)

Number of subscribed readers of this blog (according to Feedburner): 70

Text messages sent: 2177

Text messages received: 3020

Number of times Oumarou said he would come over to play guitar: 4

Number of times he's shown up: 0

Number of volunteers villages I could easily walk to: 3

Avg number of shot glasses of tea per day: 3-4

Avg time to bush taxi to Maradi: 2 - 6 hours

Avg time to bus from Maradi - Niamey: 10-12 hours

Avg time spent greeting people per day: 1-2 hours

****
updated 10/13/08

Shots received in America: 3-ish (tetanus booster, Polio, Yellow Fever) that's all I remember

Shots received in Niger: 11-ish (Diphtheria?, Meningitis, Rabies series of 2 or 3, Hepatitis A series of 3, Hepatitis B series of 2, and yearly Tb tests) Sorry, don't have the info in front of me.

Drugs taken in Niger: 8 ish (The ones I remember are: Mefloquine (every week), Fasygin, Humatin, Cipro, Cefalaxin, and Augmentin)

Vacation!

2008-09-16T08:55:00.004-06:00

My stay in Niamey is almost over. Swear-In for the new volunteers went well. I had an excellent birthday. Thanks to all those in Niger, America, and elsewhere for all the birthday wishes.

I'm leaving tomorrow (Wednesday) morning at 5:00 am. I'm headed to Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Burkina Faso. It will be the first time I've left Niger since I arrived over a year ago.

I've posted some pictures recently and wanted you to have something to look at while I was gone. I'll get a post of my vacation travels when I return.

Science Camp (not finished uploading)
Map Project
Calendar

Read about these projects in the last two posts, here and here.

Enjoy!

Calendars, Meetings, and Fasting Oh My!

2008-09-04T02:45:00.002-06:00

These are just a few things I wrote in the village this past week. Enjoy!

Don't have a lot of time on the internet, please forgive me for errors. Will try to clean it up later.

Here goes nothing...

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Thursday I came back to the village by bush taxi after finding out that budget cuts had eliminated our shuttles until the start of the new fiscal year in October.

Friday we completed the calendar in the mayor’s office. Also, I set up a meeting to set commune priorities in construction projects of grain banks, classrooms, and wells within the commune. I also made the suggestion that we plant more trees in the 3 or 4 large markets in the commune, because in Serkin Hausa’s market, there is very little shade. This meeting is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday the 2nd and 3rd of September. It was a really great day and if for no other reason, it felt productive.

Saturday, the morning was spent reading and playing with my kids. In the afternoon I went to Mallam Ada’s shop on the main road to hang out with his son Saminou. Saminou claims that he was top of his 4eme (quatrième) class (approximately 7th grade) and will be in Serkin Hausa’s inaugural troisième class later this year. He usually speaks to me in French and I respond in Hausa which is his native tongue.

Sunday morning, I read a bit more and went and sat with Illa and tsoho, old man, under the tree outside of our concessions. After I was there for a small time the trainee that Illa had been hosting, a university student getting in some practical field work was preparing to leave. I walked them to the tasha, “bush taxi station”. Moussa the trainee and I exchanged contact information for when I’m in Niamey.

After that I went home and grabbed a few things and went off to Yaou’s shop. He had been in Maradi for a few days and he returned with a new sewing machine. He said, “It’s old, but it has a lot of kindness” in Hausa, meaning that it’s old but it is in good condition and will work hard. Yaou patched a couple of pairs of pants and we had tea for the better part of the morning. Around lunch time we looked through some magazines and I showed him pictures of Obama and McCain.

Once the pictures had been discussed, I returned home to get some things ready for the meetings to be had on Tuesday and Wednesday. I mostly just worked out a plan for how the meetings should go and familiarized myself with some French and Hausa vocabulary.

Hashem and Chaibou’s laundry was finished drying--they have the clothes washing business cornered in my area of town. In the afternoons we have tea and I help them with the ironing and folding of the clothes. If we have time, Chaibou and I play dara godegay a traditional game.

Monday, September 1, 2008

It’s 7:00 am and I’ve been awake for a couple of hours. Tsalla was the order of the day for breakfast. Today was supposed to be the start of Ramadan, but no one in my village could see the moon last night because it was below the horizon. I started my fast and some of my villagers did, but the people in my “neighborhood” didn’t see the moon. Those of us who started the fast received our information from the radio that Ramadan was starting.

I don’t know how many days I will successfully fast and I’ll only be in my village about a week during the fasting period. I have no intention of continuing during vacation.

The Islamic calendar is based on the lunar cycle and Ramadan is the 9th month of the year. Fasting during the month of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. Those who are fasting refrain from food and drink during daylight hours. Many men in my village walk around spitting all day so they don’t accidentally swallow their saliva. The other four pillars are Shahada, the confession of the creed: “There is one God and Mohammed is his prophet”, Salat, prayer five times a day facing Mecca, Zakat, charitable almsgiving, and the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca for all who can afford it.

In the morning, you can hear people starting around 4:00am chanting and shouting for others to wake up and eat. So, that’s when I’ll get up and start drinking water and kunu or koko (both millet porridge like drinks) and get ready to venture out in to the village flashlight in hand to find something a little more substantial. After that I take a little nap for a couple of hours.

During the day, most people can be found napping in the shade. That is after they return from the work in the fields.

In the evenings I plan to stay up drinking tea and eating for most of the night. Also, I found out ice will be available at five o’clock from Mayahi--what a treat!

Science Camp

2008-07-28T13:04:00.004-06:00

I helped out with a science camp that was put on by Annie, a volunteer in my region, to help give hands on experience to girls who were in the equivalent of 7th and 8th grade to help prepare them for the test they have to take to get to the high school level. Here is account of the way things went down as I remember them… Enjoy!

Day 1: Arrive in Tessaoua

We arrived late in the afternoon on Saturday, July19th to meet and greet the lycée (high school) staff. We brought with us about 150 pounds of grains (rice, pasta, and couscous) also set up our shower area and went over the schedule to prepare for the week. There were six of us this first day including one of the three Jenns who would arrive during the week.

Getting ready for science camp took me back to a special place, with so many fond memories... Camp Beckwith. Most of the nostalgia came from writing the schedule, finalizing group lists, making name tags, and finalizing plans for morning and afternoon sessions. To all of my Beckwith friends… Camp Beckwith Rules!

High point: Playing Scrabble Junior with two boys who lived on the lycée grounds.

Low point: Seeing how much prep work was going to be needed.

Day 2: Training Day

I woke up early with pre camp excitement and went walking around the lycée grounds taking pictures until Annie woke up. We walked down to one of the bus stations to pick up the second of the Jenns. Once we returned we continued with preparations for the week. The five lycée girls, who would be acting as counselors hadn't arrived yet and none of the groups (one or two volunteers and one lycée student) had learned their experiments yet. On top of that, the chef de laboratoire had said he wasn't going to show up if he didn't get per diem. Thankfully, he did show up and all other or at least most other glitches worked out.

Each group set up their respective labs: a chemistry lab, physics lab, two earth sciences labs and the computer session that I was working with.

Just like the previous night and the following night, we went to the night market to find food. This night, Nate and I ended up splitting street meat and tuwo and sauce. Tuwo is millet flour that has been boiled until it is somewhere between the consistency of play dough and mashed potatoes. Some volunteers refuse to eat tuwo, but we didn't bring much money and you can get a lot of tuwo for not much money. It's what most people eat for most meals in Niger.

High point: Finding tsalla for breakfast on the way back from the bus station. Oh life's simple pleasures.

Low point: Getting eaten alive by mosquitoes.

Day 3: Second Day of Training

Uh oh! I started to get ciwon ciki, stomach aches. I wasn't surprised because of all of the random street food we'd been eating and I guess it was Murphy's Law in play, but our latrines were about 200 yards from our base of operations. Needless to say, I had the path worn thin after only a few hours. Later I began relying on raw garlic to make my stomach a less friendly place for bacteria to thrive and I slept most of the day away. As if some cruel joke, I also developed an ear infection. Despite sleeping most of the day away, it was the only night I had a mattress and I slept pretty well.

That afternoon, 3 more volunteers showed up including the final Jenn.

High point: On our way to the night market for food, I saw some kids playing Streets of Rage on a Sega Master System (the European version of Sega Genesis). I stopped, asked if I could play and the other kid and I got to level 4 and only lost one life...

Low point: ...then someone bumped the TV and we had to start over. Oh well, I was getting hungry.

Update: Ear is better now and stomach still giving me concern. Just found out I have giardia, amoebas, and bacteria… the tri-fecta!

Day 4: The Girls Arrive

We got everything finalized and waited on the collège (middle school) girls to arrive. After that there was a safety session in one of the labs and we played ice breakers and then attempted to watch the movie, Bend it like Beckham. Due to tech problems we watched it in English without French subtitles. The girls enjoyed it anyway.

After dinner I was exhausted and despite not having a mattress I slept like a little baby log.

High Point: Feeling like I was working at summer camp again.

Low Point: Realizing how bad I was at eating rice and sauce with my hand.

Day 5: First Day of "Classes"

Annie's counterpart led the first two morning sessions one on "Best Study Methods" and the other on "Obstacles to Girls Education". The parts that I sat in on (and understood) seemed to go really well. He is a very patient and dedicated educator.

When our first group arrived in the afternoon, I honestly had no expectation of how the session might go. First things first, I hoped Allah would bless us with electricity. Basically, Fatima the lycée student in my group nailed her part and we realized that we wouldn't get through all of the activities we created for each group. We eliminated creating the Nigerien flag in Paint.

Fatima reviewed the technology vocabulary that we had been going over for the last couple of days and then helped each girl use the mouse, open a program, close it, and she demonstrated what is capable with different tools in Microsoft Word and Paint. Neither Frances nor I knew that she was going to make each girl practice each action. It was time consuming, but worth it for the girls.

For the next activity, they sat down two or three to a computer (depending on how many computers were available/working and opened Microsoft Word. They then typed their names then we took turns making the text larger and larger and changing the fonts and colors. Once we finished with their names, some of them wanted to write their boyfriend's names. Then, we took turns typing sentences in French (if it wasn't for Word's ability to correct my spelling and grammar I would have looked like a fool).

High point: Our session going so well.

Low point: My horrible French grammar.

Day 6: Day of the Lizard

Day two of classes went just as well as the first day the only difference was we had two classes instead of just one. Fatima felt even more comfortable and the collège girls responded even better to the whole session because of that. That was amazing because I thought they had responded so well the first session.

During our afternoon break we heard screams coming from the rooms where the girls were staying. A few of us ran down there and discovered the girls throwing rocks at a giant lizard which had become quite comfortable on the wall above the door leading into one of the rooms. It's definitely the largest lizard I've seen in Niger. Although the size tends to increase upon each telling of the story I'm pretty sure that the lizard was about 15 - 18 inches long and it was a portly fellow. We got a few long sticks and knocked it off the wall and it ran off into the school grounds amidst high pitched screams. We tracked it down and took pictures. My favorite pictures though are of the girls watching the lizard.

For the evening activity we divided the girls into two groups. One group played soccer and the other participated in a self defense class led by Jenn W. Both groups seemed to really enjoy their activities and I had a lot of fun helping with the self defense class despite having to be the bad guy as I was the only boy with the group.

Also, Jenn F. had been sick and left that afternoon leaving us with only two Jenns.

High point: Two words, lizard hunt.

Low point: Having a volunteer leave for Maradi due to illness.

Day 7: Soccer

Again things went well with the classes and again I think Fatima did even better each time. When the last class was finished, I was both glad and sad that they were over. Glad because giving instructions in a foreign language consumes a lot of patience and energy and being sick I was just tired. Sad because I really enjoy teaching people how to use technology and I won't be doing it for a while because my commune doesn't have electricity.

In the afternoon, Jenn B. also was quite sick and also left for Maradi. Then we were down to the strongest or the luckiest of the Jenns, Jenn W.

In the evening, we played soccer until prayer call and my team won 1-0.

High point: After soccer one of the collège girls, Binta, asked if I'd help her work on penalty kicks.

Low point: Losing a second Jenn.

Day 8: Fête

The morning session was a discussion panel of professional women who worked in the sciences. It went really well and the girls in addition to asking them questions went around the room and said what they wanted to do when they grew up. Some of the girls wanted to be teachers, nurses, doctors, government ministers, and president.

There was also an evaluation session where the girls were asked several questions about what they enjoyed most/least and if they would attend again. Annie seemed to be pleased with the feedback she received.

We had a closing fête (party) where we played bingo, pin the tail on the donkey, musical chairs, and had 3 legged races. I couldn't have imagined the games going any smoother and the girls had such a good time. After our dinner of guinea fowl and couscous, we set up the projector and laptop to play Hausa music videos. The girls loved it, but they did let me know which songs they didn't like and we skipped them. After I saw several yawns and people getting tired I played a slide show of pictures taken from the week. Every time someone was in a picture all of her friends would shout out her name… every time.

After the slide show all the girls pretty much went to bed, it was a long week. We volunteers spent another few hours cleaning up.

High point: Fatima coming up after we set up the projector and wanting to know more about the things that we didn't teach the girls in the computer session.

Low point: Despite being excited about going to Maradi the next day, I really enjoyed the week and didn't want it to end.

****
Update: 10.10.08
Uploaded pictures, click here.

There's a Thief in the Village

2008-06-06T04:27:00.000-06:00

another post dated story. i'll get more information about mid-service training soon.

I was in Idrissa’s office when it started. I was there inviting him as my counterpart to Mid-Service Training. Walking back to the front of the office, where the benches are and most people spend most of their time, I hear the sounds of unfamiliar voices. To be more precise, I hear voices that are unfamiliar for the location.

I round the corner and see a mass of people standing underneath the large tree out front. I can only pick out random words and can make no sense of what I do understand. I can read the faces and body language of the group only enough to know that something is wrong.

Deciding that I didn’t want to stand around any longer not knowing what is truly going on I return to the shaded benches in the entrance way of the office. It’s too hot to stand around anyway. I watch for a while longer. More people show up. School is out for the year and more and more school-aged kids appear, making up the majority of the crowd.

Only a few, besides those originally posted under the tree, wear concerned looks. One of the concerned is a shop owner on the main road through the village. The other volunteers in the area and I do most of our non market day bush shopping at his shop. Lachlan keeps the shop’s tea inventory dangerously close to non-existent and we all buy a little something to try and break our larger bills. He hates departing with his coins but likes his repeat customers.

The crowd begins shifting and spreading out, though no one is leaving. I ask one of my coworkers what is going on. He tells me in Hausa that there was a thief. Then, another tells me in French as if the other man hadn’t spoken. After that a third says in awkward English, “We have chief”. So I replied to all three, “Oh, thief, voleur, barawo”. I couldn’t believe it. I’d always thought that I could leave my house unlocked. I lock it, but I always felt that it wasn’t necessary.

The shop owner is chatting with the office guard. The guard’s job is more guardian in the traditional Hausa role than a security officer. He makes the tea every day, sweeps the conference room, and is always around to run an errand for someone else. Now his task is to call the mayor. No answer.

The crowd shifts about and I catch my first glimpse of the young thief, a boy on the front side of his teen years. His head down, heavy with the great responsibility of carrying this shame, and his arms tied behind his back. The crowd stares and ignores him. Staring ensures that he feels his shame and ignoring him leaves him thinking that they thought he would always be a thief.

“Le numéro est indisponible” or whatever the recording says when someone’s phone is off or without service. Someone else tried to reach Mr. le Maire again this time using speaker phone.

The shop owner is visibly irritated that he can’t go about his day because no one is there to decide what to do with the boy. I guess it is hard enough not to take matters into your own hands when you find someone breaking into your home. Some one else attempts a phone call.

Headed east into town the shop owner, with thief by his side, walk. The crowd parades behind them. I ask a few questions to those who remained in the shade. Apparently I’m not asking the right questions. “That way” pointing east was not the answer I was looking for when I asked where they were taking him.

That’s ok because moments later they return to the large bedi tree in front of the office. Now, the boy is leaning his shoulder hard into the tree, staring at his feet as if they contain the last bit of dignity left in his body and if he looks away, even for a moment, he will lose that. He’s afraid. He’s trying to hide it, but I doubt that there is a single person here who can’t see through it.

With their toy cars made of millet stalk, old tomato paste cans, and old bits of flip-flops the younger boys continue to filter in. Some one else shows their effort by the use of speaker phone.

The shop owner has come to sit with us in the shade on the benches in the entrance to the office. A few young girls have shown up to try and sell food. As best as I can tell we are all waiting on the mayor. Another unsuccessful speaker phone attempt.

Another twenty minutes pass and the crowd has thinned out except for the shop owner, thief, office workers, a handful of children and myself. The boy, still leaning against the tree looked up and we made contact. It was only for a moment, but I’m certain I saw his last shred of dignity blow away in the hot breeze.

An hour passes and although I noticed no comings or goings, the crowd is back thrice as strong. Everyone is mocking the boy by ignoring him or making light chatter about the situation. How embarrassing? Now I’m beginning to feel uncomfortable about all this. I wish the mayor would show up so that we can get some resolution to all of this.

It all seemed fun like a vigilante act at first. Tie ‘em up, then call the sheriff. Parading a thief up and down the street seems as good a socializing act as any. If you don’t want to be paraded up and down the street, don’t steal. That rule sounds easy enough to follow. But, that didn’t make it any easier to watch.

Rainy season usually marks the beginning of the hunger season. Outside of the rising global food costs, hunger season is an annual occurrence here as the last year’s millet supplies dwindle making it difficult for people to find food. Many of my villagers have stopped eating three meals a day and have even stopped eating twice a day resorting to one daily meal. I’ve heard in other villages that people are eating only once every 2-3 days. This one meal is usually just a millet dish with some kind of sauce and doesn’t exactly cover the bases on the food pyramid.

I don’t know what this young boy was accused of taking, but regardless of what it was it is hard to justify theft in a society where everyone is being pressed by hunger season. It’s equally hard to get upset when someone steals food because they are starving.

It’s also hard to argue with the community’s decision to allow the boy to be tied up and paraded around town. Why would you risk all of that humiliation and shame, unless you really needed something?

Tsalla Girl

2008-06-04T13:08:00.002-06:00

wrote this, but didn't get it posted. i'm post dating it for the day it was written. enjoy.

I’ve never asked her name. Often, she is the first person I see in the morning. If I forget to lock my concession door at night, she may be the first thing I open my eyes to. Here she is every morning, shortly after the sun. And, I’ve never asked her name.

It didn’t matter that I was gone for two weeks. She said that she came by every day to see if I had come back early. I must admit, it was a sight I missed. A breakfast ritual missed.

A young girl, no more than 10 and probably closer to 8, she is balancing a tub large enough for laundry on her head and carrying a smaller bucket in her right hand. The bowl contains a mountain of tsalla and the bucket contains red sauce. Every morning she shows up at my door.

Besides being down-right tasty, tsalla—fried millet balls that must be kin to hushpuppies—and the sauce—tomato based with a kick of onions, peppers, garlic and ginger—have become an early morning tradition of mine. If nothing else, it provides another excuse to get out of bed in the morning.

While I was away I craved the village food, despite being surrounded by the food distractions and conveniences the city provides. Maybe I should be getting tired of the same thing every morning, but I guess I’ve always been a creature of habit.

This morning I purchase 100 CFA worth, my usual. She asks about my trip and listens wide-eyed as I groggily recount the details—about the big city, the rain, and how tall the millet already is in some places along Route Nationale 1.

She excuses herself to go sell the rest of this morning’s batch, hurrying so she doesn’t miss the first few minutes of school. I asked her to come back tomorrow as I put water on for tea that will round out my breakfast.

Well, it is almost 7:00 am now and I’ve been away for a while. Lots of chores to take care of and there’s no better time to get started than before the heat sets in.

Tomorrow, I’ll ask her name.

Exhausted!

2008-05-31T09:55:00.011-06:00

I think I'll start this post by saying that Jeremy's pictures are much better than mine. Not just a little bit better, but a LOT better. So, before you read any further check these (and these) out. I won't have enought time to upload my pics now anyway, but have patience and I'll get them up next time I'm in Niamey.

It's been a really great trip into Niamey, but I'm ready to get back out to the bush. It's expensive being in the city. I'm not looking forward to getting on the bus tomorrow but I am excited about being back in my village. After all, I have a meeting in Niamey on the 13th and Mid-Service training the 16th -18th at Hamdallaye. Mid-Service training!!!! I'm nearly half way done? Ok, it's not quite half way yet, but it is very close.

Pangea was absolutely amazing! It was so great to see all of my friends and it was great to connect with Nigeriens in such a constructive way. I made contact with many new musicians and look forward to practicing what they taught me. I never got a chance to teach my second class on Cash, Dylan, and Redding, but maybe I'll get the chance to hang out with some of my new friends and do impromptu classes. One guy said that I could come stay with him any time I'm in Niamey and we'll talk about music and drink tea all night.

All of the classes went really well this week. The volunteers that led the dance classes worked really hard and the routines turned out really well. Thursday's theater and radio classes also went really well. These classes had the most amount of collaboration between volunteers and their Nigerien counterparts and that was very inspiring to see everyone come together. Most other classes were led either by Peace Corps volunteers or Nigeriens.

During the hip hop conference (led by Nigeriens) Koy, a Nigerien rapper, was talking about the origins of hip hop culture in America and mentioned the artist Afrika Bambaataa. Some of the volunteers asked if he was Zarma, one of the ethnic groups in Niger, because bambata in Zarma means big. He actually took the name from the Zulu chief Bhambatha. Although I think "Big Africa" is a pretty cool name.

There is no way to describe everything that happened this week, or to truly express how I feel about it. I hope that it continues next year and that each year it gets bigger and better. Like I mentioned in my last post, there was a videographer every day and at least one photographer. As the fruits of their labors are collected and combiled I will be linking to them. The video that was put together last year was really good and I think that this years video will be well worth the weight, so be patient (but don't forget I'm on Nigerien time).

I hope you are all doing well and thanks for reading. I look forward to posting again when I get a chance.

Pangea

2008-05-27T05:48:00.007-06:00

First of all, Pangea is going great, I'm having a blast. Monday morning I taught a class on American folk traditions in music. The class was scheduled to be an hour and about half way through a television crew showed up (you can see in the picture above). So, I did the second half of the class with a camera shoved in my face.

The class was directed at the Nigeriens present (mostly musicians) and it went really well. Everyone there seemed to enjoy it. It was just a surface skimming presentation on origins of popular American musical traditions. It was incredibly difficult to narrow down such a broad topic, but it was alot of fun to put together.

My favorite question that was asked during the presentation was, "Can you tell us everything about Johnny Cash?" At this point, I had about 5 minutes left in the class. We decided that I would do a follow up class highlighting a few artists. With input from the class we decided on Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and Otis Redding. Basically, I'm just going to put together short bios of the artists and play lots of video and music clips. I think that there is an opening tomorrow that I am going to fill with my second class.

After my class was a demonstration of the biram by Malam Barka. You can read more about Malam Barka here. I don't think I can describe this instrument with words and be believed, so I'll just wait until I have some pictures. You can purchase Malam Barka's CD from Amazon here.

Yesterday, I was supposed to help out with a guitar basics class, but no one really showed up for that. I spent that time learning some West African guitar styles. It was really great.

During lunch, there were groups of people pocketed all over the Centre de Formation et de Promotion Musicale (CFPM) playing and jamming in various styles. It was beautiful and was where I realized that I was going to have a lot to learn and nothing to teach in any instrumental class.

Well, I'm going to get back to preparing for my next class. I'll leave you with a general overview of the week.

Monday/26: American & Nigerien Traditional Music

Tuesday/27: Jazz, Blues, Funk, Soul

Wednesday/28: Hip-Hop, Reggae, Rap

Thursday/29: Theatre and Expressive Arts

Friday/30: Ceremony and Performances

Every Night: Concerts

Every day has a videographer and several photographers, so I'll be linking to all available video/pictures as they become available. Also, I'm taking pictures in my free time and will post them soon.

Thanks for the picture Jeremy.

Back in Niamey

2008-05-22T04:25:00.006-06:00

I'm back in Niamey and I'm getting ready for Pangea, more information on that coming later. Just know I'm very excited about it. The guys in the picture are from a soccer game we recently had in my village not from the upcoming Pangea.

Before I discuss Pangea any further I'd like to talk about what I've been working on in the village.

On, April 29th (Yeah, I know it's almost June) I held a meeting where I walked the guys in the office through how to assess a problem and write a proposal for a project. We recently had a well collapse in another village in the commune and one day the secretary general asked me what I was going to do about the problem. So, I told him that I would teach him how to fix the problem. They started working on the information that afternoon and I just got hold of some proposal applications that can be submitted in French. So, when I return to the village we will complete the proposals. When I say 'we', I hope that I mean 'they'.

The next day, we were supposed to have a meeting to establish a calendar for the office. I sketched out some designs and created a few keys so that we can color code different things such as meetings, travel, projects, market, etc. No one showed up. Who would have a thought you needed a calendar to plan a meeting for establishing a calendar. I tried again a few times to have the meeting, but there just weren't enough people interested/around. I left them the task of creating a list of dates of activities within the commune during the next three months and when I return we will put the calendar together. In sha Allah.

On Friday, May 2nd Sarah took two girls from my village to Maradi for a Young Women's Fair that the volunteers in our region put on. I didn't go, because we had some soccer games in my village, including the first game ever by the girls team at the CEG. The boys played on Saturday evening in front of about 600 people. We beat Kanambakache 2-0. After the match the students performed songs they had written. One song was about the importance of girls education and the other about how to treat the visitors. Sunday morning the girls played and we lost 1-0. It was a great weekend.

The following Friday, we were supposed to do a project celebrating Global Youth Service Day (2 weeks late of course). That got postponed to the following week and then postponed again. The rains have started, so school will get out soon. I don't think we will get around to doing this project this year.

May 13th was Nigerien Women's Day and I went the following day to Tibiri to help with a school there. We made paper flowers for all the mothers.

Well, that's the low down on what's been going on here. I'll post about Pangea soon.

Thanks for reading.

------

Best thing about hot season: mangoes

Worst thing about hot season: well, it's hot

Missed My Bus

2008-04-16T03:08:00.003-06:00

If it left on time, it left about the time my alarm went off at 4:30. Not sure why I set my alarm wrong. So, now I'm in Niamey for another day.

I really want to get back out to my village. I have a soccer game on Friday, but this time on the internet allowed me to do a bit of tinkering to the blog.

You'll notice I changed the banner. It's a lot less boring now, thanks Jermey for the help with that.

Underneath the archive I've created a list of the 5 posts that have been viewed the most times. This way, if you are new to the site and don't have much time you can see what people have read the most. I will update it every chance I get, so that I can keep it as up-to-date as possible. All I ask is for your patience.

I've also added a list of my PC Niger friends blogs that automatically updates itself and keeps the most recent updates on top. So, if I haven't updated in a while you can read what is going on in their lives.

At the bottom of the left hand bar I've added a search box. It will allow you to search everything on my blog and all the links I've included. Could be handy if you forgot where you found something.

I'm still having trouble getting Facebook to import my blog, no fun. So, if you used to read an imported note on Facebook, stop being lazy and just visit the site.

I also helped Jeremy add some features to his blog. With our powers combined true nerddom can be achieved.

Ghana Comes to Play

2008-04-14T04:24:00.007-06:00

Yesterday I went to see Niger and Ghana play for their second meeting for the African Nations Championship (CHAN). This tournament is being used to showcase new local talent. No players that play on foreign soil are allowed to represent their country.

I was amazed at the hostility the fans showed for Niger's coach and the praise they had for Ghana's coach. Niger's coach had to be escorted by security forces when moving about. The pictures I took don't really show much but there were many bags of water and plastic bottles being thrown down from the stands. When he exited the field, people ran around the stadium to get a better angle to taunt and throw. I was impressed with their effort.

Niger lost 1-2 and combined with the 0-2 loss received when they traveled to Ghana two weeks ago, they are not in a good position to continue in the tournament.

Pics from match

April Fools

2008-04-14T01:47:00.004-06:00

First of all, I want to thank everyone for reading. I know I don't get to post very often and your patience is very much appreciated. I want to clear up some things about the post March 31st. Actually, I want to clear up the whole thing. It was all an April Fools joke.

So, there has been sickness. No camel polo league. No electricity/running water.

Sorry for any inconveniences.

Wishing you all well.

Click here for pictures of camel polo. Not mine.

Changes

2008-04-12T10:08:00.006-06:00

With a great deal of satisfaction, I'm looking at a clothesline of freshly washed clothes. I still don't have clothespins, but my carabineers have been working just fine. (Note to self: go buy some clothespins in Maradi!). I’ve recently learned that I really enjoy washing my clothes by hand. Although I’m not entirely sure why I enjoy it so much, because those who have lived with me can attest, I’ve never been a huge fan of washing my own clothes back home in America, even with the modern “convenience” of the washing machine. Granted the amount of clothes I can wash at any given time are limited by several factors: I have much fewer clothes here and I wear each article much longer than I would in America which tend to make each load rather small.

But, I think, at least in part, some of it is because I can see the fruits of my labor. Right now, with my work in the Peace Corps, I feel that it is going so slow that I will never see the effects of any of my work. I know that this isn’t true, but things move slowly here and people are often slow to change.

After discovering this bizarre change in my life, I began noticing many other changes going on around me.

One example is how my perception of some people has changed. Shortly after arriving in my village I met a man on my way back from work on day who I thought would be someone who would be great to help me with language and to teach me about the village. At first, things went well. He taught me several words. He invited me over during the Ramadan celebration where we shared macaroni, sauce, and sheep stomach. The meat was very chewy! The he started inviting me to help pick peanuts in his field. After we were done picking peanuts, he would give me the bag I picked. It was a lot of peanuts. I had to give them away to my kids.

Sometimes I wouldn’t be able to stop by to visit him because I was traveling, busy, or ill and every time I’d return he’d ask if I was trying to sever the friendship. It got old really fast.

Now, I get a barrage of the same question over and over. Where is your wife? The other white girl, she’s your wife. Do you sleep alone? Do you eat meat? Do you drink hura (millet drink)? This is just a sampling of the questions he throws out each time and each of these questions he asks over and over and over but he already knows the answers to them all. I thought he was going to be really helpful in my work and integration and now he just annoys me.

Then, on the flip-side are Koursiya and Sarrey. Both are middle school girls in the early teens who I only recently realized aren’t part of the family I live with. They live there so that they can attend school because their villages are too far away. This is a fairly typical set-up when people choose to/are allowed to continue their education. Anyways, these two girls are like “typical” middle school age girls everywhere, inquisitive, energetic, excited, and talkative (and boy do they talk fast). The difference is that I can barely understand them. But, it was a great day when I realized they were talking something like the equivalent of Pig Latin or Double Talk. It took me several weeks to make the connection. I’ve learned a lot from them about Niger and now I’m able to double talk a little now. My villagers cheer me on shouting “He can! He can!”

After nearly 7 months in my village my house is almost finished. I spent the last four days essentially hoemless under my shade hangar while my house work was being done. I missed a trip to do radio but my coworkers greeted me on my new house. After they found out that is what you say to someone who is getting married, they decided to go ahead and greet me anyway. The back wall of my house was torn down and re-errected. I was certain it was going to fall on its own with enough time and would have leaked once the rains came. The wall around my latrine was raised so that I don't have to greet the entire village every time I enter. Best of all, my two room house is finally a two room house with a door inside connecting each room. Previously I was only able to live in one of the ten foot by ten foot rooms.

Cold season has come and gone. Hot season is here and now we are waiting on the rains. The only redeeming thing about hot season is MANGOES! When the heat of the morning air doesn’t get me out of bed, the thought of sinking my teeth into a delicious mango usually does the trick. Some days I’ll eat 4 or 5 mangoes in a sitting. I fear the day when I say, “Another mango? I don’t know, maybe later.” I can’t even describe how good these things are.

With the change in seasons, I’m sure there will be many more changes to my life. I’m not looking forward to traveling in this country during the rainy season. Also, I’m not looking forward to the constant moving of my bed to avoid the heat or the rain. Maybe I’ll find something about rainy season that I do like. I’ll let you know then.

Well, until next time I hope that everyone is doing well and again, thanks for reading.

Pics from house work

It's Been A Long Long Time...

2008-03-31T12:07:00.001-06:00

Well, it's been a while since I've let you kind folks know what's going on in my world. So, I've got a lot of exciting things to update. I think it may be easier as a list, so here goes nothing:

-I haven't been really sick since I last updated my blog in Niamey (really sick = needing medication because my body won't fight off the things living inside of it). Health is so relative.

-The volunteers in my region started playing in the camel polo league and we lost our first two matches versus the teams in the lowest bracket in the Maradi League.

-I've been working hard to help my village get their electrical hook-ups completed and water connections finished. Much to my chagrin, they made sure that my house was the first to be connected to the grid and my refrigerator has already gone out… c'est la vie.

-The people in my office secretly slipped my name into running for the mayoral race in early 2009, which were originally slated for late this year.

-During a recent trip to Niamey, some of my fellow volunteers were filmed in the background of the next season of CBS's "The Amazing Race". Things always look more exotic with Americans in the background.

-My friends Tim and Jolene have a new family of Scientologist missionaries who have moved into their neighborhood. I haven't met them yet but Tim and Jolene both agree that they are nice. (side note: Tim and Joelne greet everyone!)

-Niger's League Nationale de la Baseball announced that opening day will coincide with MLB's opening day and due to time differences the first pitch here will be thrown about 5 hours prior to the first pitch in America. The LNB has also begun plans to enter the next World Baseball Classic.

-The Nigerien government and French venture capitalists have finished the first trans-Nigerien high speed rail system which runs parallel to the Route Nationale from Niamey in the west to Diffa in the east. The trip from Niamey to Maradi used to take me between 10 – 16 hours and average time of trial runs on the new rail system are around 5 – 6 hours.

-In an unprecedented policy change that volunteers have dubbed "No Volunteer Left Behind", Peace Corps Niger has decided that volunteers would be more efficient with laptops and have started bringing laptops and generators to the volunteers without electricity in their villages. It shouldn't cost that much money because we will probably just be buying gas that's been illegally smuggled from Nigeria.

It's been a busy busy few weeks here in Niger and I hope everyone reading has had a great first few months of the year. As always, I hope to get another update as soon as possible, but technology in Niger 'tis funny sometimes.

To all of my family and friends in America, my family and friends in Niger greet you and wish you a happy April Fool's Day.

----

UPDATE: 04.16.2008

Click here for more information.

Sharo

2008-03-10T09:29:00.005-06:00

As cold season transitions into hot season the Fulani in my area start preparing for Sharo. Traditionally the Fulan are pastoralists and therefore spread out over a broad area and several tribes will come together for Sharo. Sharo is a test of a young mans bravery and ability to endure pain, rendering the young man very attractive to the ladies. In some places, I'm told, they take turns hitting an "opponent" usually from a rival tribe. That's not quite what I saw.

I'm not entirely sure how to describe what was seen, but I hope the pictures help. It was a bit overwhelming. I saw several scars from past years but only saw one boy actually being hit. These pictures are from the trip Daryn, Tim, and I took on February 8th. Katie and I went back two weeks later but I didn't have my camera. Maybe Katie will let me steal the pictures from her camera--or, better yet, check her blog and photos of the February, 22 Sharo.

Well, here are my pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/william.e.jones/FulanSharoStickBeating

Tonight the poeple from the first Ag/NRM stage of 2008 will swear in. Congratulations, you will soon be full-fledged volunteers!

I'm heading back to Maradi on Sunday and will try to get one more post up tomorrow.

Take care and thanks for reading.