Niger Fans 2011

They will be Fine

2011-01-23T09:28:00.000-08:00

Niger Fans -
Watch a copy of Katie Lawyer's video to see yet one more time the life changing experiences our sons, daughters, friends, brothers, sisters, nieces and or nephews had in Niger. We would not have orchestrated this type of closure for the Crew of 2011 but even more so for the people of Niger. Now we pray for those left in Niger, and for the jouney - home safely, while on holiday, or to a new post for the crew members.

We are certain the connection among the crew will continue throughout their adult lives. We feel so fortunate, as we are certain you do, to have seen their good work and heard their marvelous stories. We applaud them all for their desire to make a difference. We wish them all a continued life of meaning.

Warmest regards,

Patty and John

HOW ARE YOU?

2010-08-10T18:35:00.000-07:00

Happy August! It is unbelievable that the Crew of 2011 is into Year #2. John and I find it amazing that our lives move forward as does Wills. John was "advised" to retire this year which forced us to visit a neighborhood establishment and start the process of what we wanted to do with the rest of our lives. He made the decision to have an elective amputation secondary to a 30 year old injury - which we did in April after a wonderful trip to Northern California. John became remarkably competent in a wheelchair - I had emergency surgery for a "twisted bowel" - I recovered - John got a prosthesis and dons it daily to walk anywhere he has ever walked at twice the speed! Life goes on...John has started a Welcome Home Inc. - house sitting business = I remain at the university. And we both hope to go to Italy to rendezvous with Will in April.

We continue to keep the Crew of 2011 on the top of our prayer list and remain grateful for the lessons that come from their good work. How are You?

Warmest regards,

Patty and John

CAN YOU BELIEVE

2010-03-23T17:31:00.000-07:00

We have extended our lives to Niger. What a privilege to read the blogs and to call ( God Bless Stanacard) on Sundays and hear the stories, of daily lives and daily dreams. How proud we must be of the 2011 Crew...

It appears today that there is a rhythm in Niger that beats hopefully for the people...for this we must give Thanks...

Trust your daily lives are where you want them and that the news from your Crew Member is good.

Warmest regards,
Patty and John

CREW OF 2011

2010-02-07T15:26:00.000-08:00

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL SITE...

SENDING BEST THOUGHTS, WISHES AND PRAYERS FOR THE 2011 CREW

2010-01-24T07:15:00.000-08:00

Good Sunday to All

The Crew of 2011 arrives at Camp this weekend. How important this time will be...to embrace and support each other...to share stories...to relax and re-energize. We understand the educational part of this camp will be on proposal writing, project discussing, and information on how to secure funding. If you hear a camp story from your crew member, post it.

Meanwhile we know you join us sending best thoughts, wishes, and prayers...

Patty and John

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2010-01-01T04:50:00.000-08:00

Greetings

At 5:01 pm Dallas time we toasted the New Year in Niger! How much bigger our world has become because of the skills and passions of our children. 2010 will be a year filled with stories of projects, people, travel...from Niger and 2010 will be a year when some of us at home travel... to or near Niger and bring additional stories home.

So share a story or a travel plan for 2010.

Warmest regards,

Patty and John

The Crew of 2011 is Outstanding

2009-12-09T17:41:00.000-08:00

These have been the worst of times for the Crew of 2011 and yet each individual member appears still to be thriving, We must applaud all crew members who elected to come home. Certainly that was a poignant decision as they had to give up their personal goals, dreams, missions, and say good by to their good friends. We trust they all arrived in the States safely and we know everyone will feel fortunate to have them around the holiday table.

We must embrace those crew members who made the decision to stay. They too weighed their decisions and are willing to adjust to any new conditions to stay working with the people of Niger

As friends and family of the Crew of 2011, we can only feel proud. We would love to hear from you if your crew member arrived in the States safely or if the crew member is staying in Niger. Will shares with us that many people are being relocated and that everyone is looking forward to January to being together in the training camp. November reminded John and I to hold on to our faith, trust the cautious nature of the Peace Corp, and be grateful that our children are adult enough to make their own decisions.

Warmest regards

Patty and John

PS: The word on the Niger street is that everyone is loving the holiday cards!

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-24T08:04:00.000-08:00

Hi .. as we celebrate Thanksgiving, I give thought to all I'm thankful for, especially for our children.

- Safe travel
- Health and medicines
- New Friends they have met from all over
- Friendly Staff who care for our children
- Caring and concerned Parents and blogs
- Cell phones and emails to connect with our sons/daughters.

Brian is thankful to find Watermelon in Niger! What a treat!

This is What We Have Learned

2009-11-08T13:25:00.000-08:00

1. The Stanacard Calling card continues to work like a charm. Skype works for text messages. Will is without computer access the majority of the time, but he picks up the Skype text messages.

2. There is a duty on the boxes that the crew members receive, around $6.00. The packages are gratefully received but Will has increased our sensitivity to not overloading his "cupboards" when his fellow villagers have cupboards that are bare.

3. Whether you send the holiday cards one at a time or in one envelope for each post, the cost is a wash.

4. The PCV in Will's area will celebrate T-Day the weekend of the 20th so that they can be in their villages the following weekend for a native holiday celebration. He shared that the more senior PCV are the main cooks for the event. He and his Dad reviewed what it would take to make a Pecan Pie in Niger next year.

5. When the 2011 Crew returns to the training camp in January they each have the option of taking someone from their village with them. Our thought is during this gathering the PCV will speak on projects and proposals for their village and having a local with them might strengthen their presentation or plan.

What are you learning? Share a story this week...

Warmest regards,

Patty and John

A clearer picture of the holidays this week

2009-11-01T18:26:00.000-08:00

1. The entire 2011 Crew will not be all together for the holidays. The teams within the crew will celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years together with more senior PCV's in their community.

This means:

A) Holiday cards must be sent to the person at their city address. I believe at our house we will address the cards to the individual crew member and then put all cards for one city in one envelope. John is costing it out as I write and our final choice will be based on the economics.

B) Your box for sharing would be shared among our Crew and their fellow teammates. We are certain anything would be appreciated.

2. The Crew of 2011 will be back at training camp on the 4th of January.

This means:

A) If you want the 2011 Crew to share in the package ship it to the original Peace Corp address in Niamey

As we welcome in November, we must be grateful, thankful, and proud for the 4 months spent in Niger by the members of the 2011 Crew.

Warmest regards,

Patty and John

They are at Home

2009-10-25T18:24:00.000-07:00

We are so proud and so awed by the ability of our children to adapt to their communities. We must applaud them and their training. Brian Tinger's mom has a wonderful holiday list (last count 20) for our card drive. Email Karen if you need the list or have one more volunteer to add. At our house we are packing holiday boxes to send next weekend. Think about sending a box for all to share, remember sending anything costly is not a good decision...it is a blessing/miracle when any of our boxes arrive. But think about sending something for fun or food or festivity! It is our job to lift up the Crew as they do their most worthwhile work. Let us know if you have any questions.

Regards.

Patty and John

PS: Thanks to Amazon.com the Crew will have Yo-Yo's!

Elizabeth (Liz) sends photos and videos

2009-10-22T09:35:00.001-07:00

I think that these links are set up for anyone to view, whether on Facebook or not.

Marcia (Elizabeth's mom)

------------------

PHOTOS -- Elizabeth's first month and a half in Guidan Roumdji:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2056277&id=17302847&l=6968cfd2cd

VIDEO -- Elizabeth's house in Guidan Roumdji:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=538855103064

VIDEO -- Dancing near Elizabeth's house:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=538844179954

VIDEO -- Elizabeth's Hamdallaye kids:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=538833486384

3 months down, 23 more to go.... [Facebook posting from Liz]

2009-10-17T15:01:00.000-07:00

[Elizabeth (Liz) just got on Facebook for the first time since arriving at her post last month. Since she doesn't have a public blog, I'm sharing her entry here. Highest regards to all from me, her mom, Marcia.]

Hey this is really long again...sorry!

Saturday Sept 19

Hello!

Right now I’m sitting on the front porch of my house, today is my second full day in Guidan Roumdji, my home for the next two years. It rained last night so it is nice and cool outside right now.

I haven’t been doing all that much so far; Thursday was a holiday and today is the weekend so I have only been to “work” once, and only for a few hours. Starting next week I will be going to the inspection (school administration) building every morning for a few hours, I have no idea what type of work I will be doing there, but when school starts in two weeks I expect that I will be able to go and sit in on classes, etc. There are a few public elementary schools in my town, and one high school with 2,000+ students; yesterday I met the headmaster of the high school and got a tour of the “campus” (long rows of rooms with desks in them, no electricity).

I’ve visited my neighbors a few times, the ones I met during live-in that helped me fix my stove and cooked for me. They were pretty close with the last volunteer here so I feel comfortable just walking into their house and hanging out whenever I want to, although this is something that’s apparently normal to do whether you know someone or not. I haven’t quite gotten comfortable enough to walk into a complete stranger’s house, so so far my neighbors are the only people in my village (apart from my work supervisors) that I have spent any significant amount of time with. There are four young girls there, the oldest is 17 and the youngest is 8, and lots of other random girls, a few boys, and a 2-month old baby that all come in and out of the house. Most of them know me even though I don’t remember all of them. The only kids that speak French are those who are older than about 12 years old, but that doesn’t stop the younger ones from babbling to me in Hausa as if I might understand what they’re saying if they say it loudly and slowly enough. The family has a T V with a satellite dish that gets channels from France.

I am not allowed to go into my regional capitol (Maradi) for a month, meaning I won’t see anyone from my training group until mid-October. The exception to this is the married couple that is in my sub-region that I will probably visit at some point, or they will come visit me. I am also allowed to visit (and have visit me) other PCVs that are near me – about 5 people, including another married couple (of the three couples in Niger, two are in my sub-region). My closest neighbor (a 2 hour walk away) came to visit me yesterday on his way back to his village and he gave me a small tour of my town and introduced me to some people; he knows Guidan Roumdji pretty well because he’s been coming here every week for the market, and he has been here for almost year. He doesn’t know any French and I don’t know any Hausa, so between the two of us we manage to communicate with Nigeriens in their favorite language of “Frausa” (French and Hausa combined). There are two other people that come in occasionally for the Sunday market, so I will have at least some interaction with other volunteers on a somewhat regular basis. Also, after this month I will be allowed to go to Maradi whenever I want to, although most people don’t go in more than once a month. After January I will be allowed to travel anywhere in the country.

So now I’m just kind of playing the waiting game, trying to keep myself occupied enough so that I don’t get bored and start to freak out about what the heck I am supposed to do here for two whole years; I’m trying to get used to the idea that sitting and staring at a tree for half an hour is probably a worthwhile activity if it helps me stay calm and helps pass the time. My strategy so far is to take baby steps, even if that means only leaving my house once or twice a day – the last thing I want to do is get burnt out or overwhelmed. So far I’ve been keeping busy with housework-type things, which all take about 6 times longer here (which is a good thing right now since it gives me something to do) – washing dishes, doing laundry, sweeping my house and yard, cooking, etc.

For those who are curious about what kind of food I can get here (no more birdseed jello, hooray!) I have regular access to milk (powdered, but tastes fine), butter, flour, sugar, eggs, pasta (lots of types), cous cous, rice, instant coffee, tomato paste, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, garlic, bread, peanuts, peanut butter, mayonnaise, mustard, chicken boullion, hot peppers, soy sauce, salt, curry powder, ginger, and vegetable oil. When I go into Maradi, I can stock up on Laughing Cow cheese (the kind that doesn’t need to be refrigerated), canned vegetables and fruit (unfortunately not a huge variety), ramen noodles, oatmeal, honey, tuna, chocolate, and olive oil. Also, there are some things that I’ve seen here but I’m not sure how regularly they’re available, or things that I haven’t seen yet but I’ve heard are around: cabbage, carrots, bell peppers, eggplant, peanut oil, cornmeal, tofu, apples, bananas, cucumber, and zucchini. The tofu is delicious – it comes from Nigeria so it’s not available in Niamey (or Hamdallaye) but is in Maradi and apparently sometimes in Guidan Roumdji. It’s fried and served with a spicy tomato/onion sauce, or you can buy it raw and cook it yourself. So not a huge variety of food but I think I’ll be able to manage.

I casually mentioned to my work supervisor the other day that I would like to have a cat, and he immediately offered to find one for me, so hopefully I will have that addition to my household in the somewhat near future. I also would still definitely like to have chickens, so I need to figure out how to do that and how to explain that I definitely do NOT want a rooster – contrary to popular belief, roosters do NOT only crow at the crack of dawn, and in fact tend to find 3 o’clock in the morning a great time to make lots of noise.

Mon, Sept 21

Yesterday was the last day of Ramadan, so there was lots of activity around the village. In the morning on my walk to get bread there were large crowds of people all heading in the same direction, so I followed them for a little bit and realized they were all heading toward the market area, where there was a crowd of a few thousand people. I don’t know what they were doing and didn’t want to venture too close, since I tend to attract a crowd anywhere I go if I stay still for too long (and if I’m moving the crowd just trails behind me). At one point in the morning I heard trumpet and drum noises near my front door, and I walked out to see what it was and was immediately led over to the chief’s house (two doors down from me) – the chief was sitting in his “throne” all dressed up and surrounded by other important-looking dressed-up men all sitting on the floor, and he was being serenaded by a small “band.” He called me over to sit by him, and so I awkwardly sat on the floor next to the chief in my everyday clothes, with my head uncovered, with my sandals still on (usually when you come into someone’s house you take off your shoes), and with my poor knowledge of French and Hausa and of what the heck you are supposed to do with a kola nut, which was immediately offered to me. (Apparently what you do with kola nuts is suck or chew on them and try not to make a face at their bitter taste – they are used in traditional ceremonies and are for sale on the streets, and they are full of caffeine.) I was led inside the concession after a while, where I found some of my neighbors so I hung out with them, after being distracted by the presence of a horse in the concession – horses are a rare sight here (and a rare sight inside of a home anywhere in the world), so I assume that only the richer people have them. Apparently this end-of-Ramadan “fete” continues all week, so when I went to the inspection this morning there were only a few people there and they weren’t doing very much work, apparently the “real” work starts next week.

Friday, September 25

It hasn’t rained since I started writing this so it’s been very hot lately – yesterday it got up to 124 degrees, and right now my thermometer is reading 119 degrees. Fortunately my electricity hasn’t gone out at all since I’ve been here (which is apparently abnormal) so I’m able to be in front of a fan whenever I’m at home. Also, my concession walls are high enough that they can’t be peeked over, meaning that I don’t have to conform to the conservative Muslim dress code when I’m in my house.

On Wednesday I visited the village of my closest PC neighbor, an 8 kilometer walk away from here. We got a ride on a donkey cart for the first two kilometers, which was being commanded by 3 10-year-old-ish boys – usually a free ride, but we gave them some bread just to be nice – and then we walked the rest of the way through sandy millet fields. It was nighttime for the last half-hour or so of the walk, but the 3-night-old moon (aka just a small crescent) was bright enough that we didn’t need flashlights. (The full moon here is like a spotlight and usually wakes me up in the middle of the night with me thinking that it is daytime.) My neighbor’s village (Karangia) is very small and doesn’t have electricity or running water, and there are as many millet-storage-huts as there are houses, since almost all of the villagers are farmers. I saw my first scorpion there, it was maybe about an inch long and was crawling up the side of the concession wall. I didn’t see it at first – the scorpions in this part of the country are sand-colored (and not poisonous, those ones are only in northern Niger) so they are difficult to see, but when you shine a blacklight on them they glow in the dark.

The other day I walked up to the village bread ovens that provide the daily fresh bread sold on the streets. To my surprise and somewhat horror, they are made of the exact clay/mud material that houses are made of, only that they are smaller – maybe about 5 feet square. So basically my house is a giant oven. It’s possible that a fire is lit in the real ovens to use them for bread-making, I’m not sure exactly how they work, but the thought still isn’t comforting.

I’m luckier than some other volunteers in that I have a very small number of bugs/other creatures than inhabit my house/concession – I’m convinced that I have an abnormally high lizard population, which is fine with me, especially since some of the lizards are less than two inches long and are therefore adorable, although the bigger ones tend to make a lot of noise when they run across my (corrugated tin) roof playing chase-the-other-lizards, which is their favorite game.

Monday, Sept 28

Yesterday I went to my first Guidan Roumdji market. There’s actually not too much stuff there that isn’t sold every day in the street shops, and unfortunately a disappointing amount of vegetables, but that might be because of the season – harvest hasn’t started so people’s pockets are tight, so it’s not worth bringing in lots of vegetables if no one can afford to buy them. Just now, in fact, I was up at the main road looking for onions, which I’ve been told should be available year-round, but there were none to be found – this even though just last week there were several stands selling onions, tomatoes, eggplant, cucumber, cabbage, and potatoes. Fortunately I found a “friend,” (warning, this is a side-story) a man that I had met briefly while walking around town with my work supervisor, who asked me what I was looking for and quickly dashed off on his motorcycle to bring me back a small bag of onions from some secret location. He didn’t take the money I offered to him, saying it was a “cadeau” – this is the third time that has happened to me TODAY. The first time I was buying fried cornmeal cakes (a new food for me; they don’t have them in Hamdallaye) and I only had enough change for one, even though I wanted two, and the vendor didn’t have change for my 1,000 CFA bill (about $2). So she gave me the second one for free. Then as I was coming back from work, I wanted water, but again only had the 1,000 bill, so that too was free, even though I had never even met those people. I don’t know if I receive these “gifts” because I’m white, because charity is a tenant of Islam, or because they’re hoping that I’ll come back to buy something later – maybe a combination of all three things, but personally I’m really leaning toward Islam, which is taken very seriously here, plus just a general kindheartedness of Nigeriens. Who knows, but it’s appreciated, especially when I know that pockets are extra tight right now.

Anyway, back to the market – I had a funny encounter while looking for cement, which I need to repair a crack in my clay water jug/urn/thing (which keeps water cooler than a plastic jug). I found a stall with what looked like small piles and columns of cement, but unfortunately I only knew enough Hausa to ask if it was indeed cement (which is wasn’t), and not enough to understand what it WAS. A very small, very old woman with a very large bundle of stuff piled on her head noticed my confusion and came over to try to explain to me what the substance was, though as she had most of her teeth missing and only knew Hausa herself, her (10 minute long) explanation didn’t help me much, even with the help of an enthusiastic pantomime of something repeatedly being licked. A teenage boy who had been watching us finally helped me out, explaining simply “c’est sel, pour les animaux” – salt for animals. Of course. So after I got done feeling silly for thinking that salt was cement, I felt a little cooler (and dorkier) walking around the market knowing that I was surrounded by the product of trans-Saharan (or maybe not trans, I don’t actually know where the salt came from) salt trade, one of the few things I remember learning about in 8th grade Global History class.

I did my first official “work” today at the inspection, as opposed to this past week when I just kinda went and sat around and talked to people, studied Hausa, or learned how to play a computer game (matching Pokemon characters – the HR manager is addicted to this game and loves when I play with him) but today I helped record exam grades. By “record,” I mean I wrote over the pencil grade marks in pen in the exam record book, presumably to make it harder to alter the score. So maybe not a world-changing activity, but it was nice to feel slightly useful for once.

I just remembered my fourth “cadeau” of today. Yesterday at the market, I ran into a man who works at the inspection – he was sitting in a stall selling and repairing shoes (I don’t know if he was working or visiting a friend). I chatted with him for a little while, and asked if it would be possible to fix one of my shoes whose strap had broken. He told me to bring it to work the next day (today) and we’d take care of it, so I did and asked how much it would cost – nothing, cadeau. Also, as a note on the previously mentioned charity as a pillar of Islam, I’ve found that the religious aspect of charity here helps me to exclude myself (and lessen my guilt, since I have a somewhat reasonable excuse) from giving money to beggars, who of course flock to me and my white skin almost as quickly as children do. I think I would occasionally give money to beggars, who I assume usually really don’t have another option for income, but to do it in my village I think would be a mistake since I feel like I would be expected to give regularly if I gave once. Plus I don’t want white skin to be associated solely with money, as it generally is here. So but basically I feel like if someone gave me a hard time for not giving charity (which so far hasn’t happened) then whelp, too bad, I’m not Muslim so I don’t have to.

Fri, Oct 9

So after being slightly useless for the past three weeks (not that I’m complaining – I’ve been greatly enjoying being lazy) I decided a few days ago that maybe I should actually start doing something productive and work-related. Of course the problem of this is figuring out where to start: my official job title here is “Community and Youth Educator,” and while there are a lot of specific goals of the CYE program, they are plentiful and varied, and each volunteer has the freedom to tackle these goals or other ones that they identify in their own way. So while it’s nice to have the option to focus on whatever areas/issues that interest me, deciding exactly what those areas/issues are has so far been a challenge. For example, do I want to help middle- and high-school students improve their English, or strengthen their knowledge of other subjects taught in school? This would help them pass their end-of-year exams and therefore decrease their likelihood of dropping out of school, but what about the kids that aren’t even in school? Should I be trying to teach them life skills that they are missing out on – income-generation strategies, literacy, health, etc. – helping these out-of-school youth is also part of the CYE program. And what about trying to increase girls’ enrollment and retention in school? This is a huge problem in Niger and there are a lot of things PC volunteers can and have done about it, but how do I decide that this issue is more important than the others? And will anything I do actually be effective?

So basically after being overwhelmed by this for a while and not knowing what to do about it, I finally remembered that we were given INSTRUCTIONS on what to do – Peace Corps put together a whole manual on the CYE job, with specific tips on what to do during our first few weeks at post, and specific outlines of projects that past CYE volunteers have done. So in reading through this manual (which I probably should have done during training) I found a whole list of NGOs near my town that are education- and youth-focused, and right before this list there was a bolded suggestion that I should probably be introducing myself to these NGOs so that we can collaborate on projects and activities (if we want to). There was only one NGO on the list that was actually in my town – an organization that provides vocational training to out-of-school youth, and upon seeing it on the list I asked the secretary at the inspection (I was reading this at the inspection) if he had heard of it, expecting that he probably hadn’t. So of course I was surprised when he pointed out the window of his office to a small building right behind the inspection, with a man sitting in front of it as though he were expecting that right at that moment I would be asking about his organization. We walked over and I introduced myself and the man (the director of the organization) gave me a brief overview of what kinds of things were done there, explaining that sewing classes would probably start next week, and that he would be glad to have me come and observe/help out with them. Well, that was easy.

The day before this I had asked my supervisor if he would take me to the middle/high school (all on one campus) so that I could meet the English teachers and maybe arrange to sit in on a class or two. They weren’t there at the time – school “started” this Monday but like anything else it takes a while to get off the ground, so today when I went back there were still no classes but there were a few English teachers. I chatted with them for a while, explaining why I’m here (roughly) and that I’d like to see one of their classes sometime. They immediately laid out their schedule for Monday morning, saying that I could come for any or all of their classes, and one would like me to come in Wednesday for a guest speaker session with his class. One teacher remembered a volunteer from a few years ago who had done a weekly English club that he had helped out with, and was very excited that I was interested in possibly doing something like that as well. I had to explain to him that I wasn’t quite ready to start something like that right at this moment, and that I might even be able to do an English club at all, but that I would definitely keep it in mind. Ideally, I’d like to sit in on as many classes as possible (and not just English, although obviously that probably where I’ll be the most useful), just to get to know what school is like here and to do something more productive than tree-staring.

I had also heard that there was an “MJC” in Guidan Roumdji, which is some sort of youth center, I actually don’t really know what it is but I’ve heard of other volunteers that work in MJCs so I asked my neighbor about it, and this afternoon she is going to go with me to introduce me to people there and presumably get an explanation of what an MJC is.

Wed, October 14

I’ve been going to school for the past three days, met a bunch of the English teachers and sat in on about maybe 6 of their classes, ranging from 6th grade to 12th grade levels. There is quite a diversity in teaching style – some of the teachers (two in particular) seem just generally unhappy to be in class and display this emotion by berating the students for silly things and exuding infectious boredom which renders the students unenthusiastic about participate in class. These are among the teachers who arrive the latest to school, well after the official starting time of 7:30, although it seems that almost no teachers arrive on time, despite the fact that most students are at school several minutes early. (The beginning of class periods, by the way, is denoted by the banging of a large metal wrench on an empty propane tank, which is hanging from a tree near the school’s entrance.) Other teachers are somewhat more animated, although as class is mostly based on simple fill-in-the-blank exercises written on the board, it’s hard to get all that passionate about the material. One woman in particular, though, has figured out some secret to getting kids excited about English – every time she asks a question, almost all of the kids jump out of their seats yelling “Madame!” and snap their fingers (apparently not rude here) in an effort to get called on. Maybe it’s because she’s the only teacher (that I’ve seen) that regularly uses positive enforcement – simply saying “good!” after a student gets the answer correct, which the other teachers rarely or never do. She even sometimes has the whole class clap when a student gets a difficult answer right, and she is always smiling. (Obviously, she is my favorite so far.)

Class sizes vary greatly in this school, which is a combined middle and high school – the only middle- or high-school in the area, so students from “the bush” have to live in my town during the week and only go back home on the weekends. Almost half of the ~2,000 students are in 6th grade, and class sizes (and the percentage of girls in each class) decrease steadily as 12th grade is approached. The two 12th grade classes that I saw had about 8 students in them, meaning that there are probably less than 20 12th graders in the whole school. This is compared with the 6th grade class that had 91 students on the roster (18 girls), which was one of the 9 or so 6th grade sections. All the students in this class were seated on long benches bush-taxi style, meaning practically sitting on top of each other and with little elbow room for taking notes during class. Again, I’m a little overwhelmed as far as what I’m supposed to do about this – clearly the school needs more classrooms and more desks, but even if I were to somehow get the money to provide that, I don’t know if there would be enough teachers to allow for smaller class sizes. There are so many factors that go into any project idea that I have, and I have no idea how to even start going about getting money. Fortunately I have additional PC training in January that is more focused on fundraising efforts, but it’s a little frustrating to be stuck here for three more months with no idea what to tell people when they ask if I can help them with things like building schools, buying vocational-skill-training materials, bringing electricity to community centers, etc. (I did end up going to the MJC, it is a community center and library and they want electricity and books in English, both things I don’t know how to get.)

I am thinking of starting an English club sometime soon since that doesn’t require any money, but again I’m not really sure where to start – what grade level should I work with, and how do I select who gets to be in the club and who doesn’t? Fortunately I’m finally allowed to go into Maradi (my regional capitol) since I have now completed one full month at post, so I’ll be able to ask other volunteers about all these things. I’ll also finally be able to eat some VEGETABLES – there’s been nothing but onions and hot peppers in my town for at least two weeks, and one day I couldn’t even get onions. Fruit has also been mostly out of the question, although sometimes I can find bananas. I think after harvest is over (a few more weeks) then people will have more money and there will be more produce, but this year it has only rained about 1/3 as much as it usually does, so there might not be as much available as usual. I’m hoping that pretty soon I’ll figure out how to garden, so I’ll be able to grow at least some of my own food, but for now I’m just loading up on vitamin pills and good food whenever I go into Maradi.

My thermometer read 130 degrees yesterday, when I get online I’m going to check if it really was that hot because that’s crazy. Somehow I wasn’t dying from the heat – I think the fact that it’s not very humid here means that being in the shade is significantly cooler than being in the sun (moreso than in the US) and also I have a fan and tend not to move very much in the afternoon when it’s really hot.

Yesterday evening I didn’t go over to my neighbor’s house like I usually do (I went on a walk instead – it’s the only time of day when it’s cool enough) and so today when I went over the girls were especially excited to see me. The youngest one, Zuzu (8 years old), ran up to me and actually hugged me – the first time I’ve seen/experienced hugging here as physical affection is usually off-limits (except between men, who often hold hands, it’s kinda funny). So while screaming excitedly “JAMILA! YOU’RE HERE!” I noticed that this little girl was decked out in a complet (matching shirt and skirt) and pink pearls, and had shiny blue makeup on her eyelids and lips. Apparently she was that excited about going to school today. So then we all settled down to a game of Go Fish, whose rules are still somewhat fuzzy to the girls (they got mangled somewhere in the translation from English to French to Hausa) but they all know that when you tell someone to draw a card, you have to scream “Go Fish!”

I realize that this story requires me explaining that Jamila is my “Nigerien” name, given to me by my host family in Hamdallaye – each PCV gets a name that they usually keep throughout their service, just to minimize the difficulty and separateness that comes with going by a weird (and usually hard-to-pronounce) American name. My neighbors (and other people who ask) know that my real name is Elizabeth, but most people just accept that my name is Jamila as though it’s not weird at all for a white girl to have an African (or Arabic, actually) name. It means “beautiful.”

How are You Doing?

2009-10-12T18:17:00.000-07:00

They all passed the language proficiency. The swearing in parties are over (didn't the Peace Corps do it up right!). The members of the Crew of 2011 are at their posts. Our children have jobs for the next 2 years. Have you dropped in social settings that your son or daughter is working in Niger ?

John and I are struggling a bit on our Sunday calls with Will. "We made the tacos just the way you like them" - "Great Mums and Pumpkins on the front porch this year"- "We walked the Katy in under 60 minutes this morning". Our daily life simply does not compare, it almost doesn't merit sharing when we think of Will's daily activities. But we would not miss a call, or an opportunity to send our love and our support. We know that it is Will's stories and the stories of the other members of the Crew of 2011 ( do not miss any of the blogs) that will broaden our world views and enhance our understanding. Send your email to Karen with your child's address for holiday cards: regnitk@yahoo.com.

Place a story on the blog, applaud the Crew.

Patty and John

1st ANNUAL HOLIDAY DRIVE

2009-09-22T19:15:00.000-07:00

Given the Niger Delivery Service, Brian's mom Karen reminded me it is time to think about the Holidays. We are open to ideas for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Ideas thus far:

1. Send a Thanksgiving Day Box with traditional items for dinner. The thought is that members of the 2011 crew will be cooking together sometime over that holiday. Let us know if you are sending over a package.

2. Send holiday cards to all the crew members. This would be a wonderful way to demonstrate our support and give them "decor" for their abodes. SEND YOUR PCV NAME AND ADDRESS TO KAREN AND SHE WILL DO A MASTER LIST FOR ALL OF US AND FORWARD IT ON.
Karen'e email: regnitk@yahoo.com. We could choose to send a box with cards for all or separate cards...it is the thought that we know will count.

3. Ship a holiday present that can be shared: M and M's; Dried Fruits and Meats; Hard Candies. The thought being something to open and something to share.

4. Send one or more ornaments. The Niger "tree" might need some imagination but if there are plenty of ornaments...all will be well.

Let us hear your thoughts. Send your address to Karen. Stay in touch as it is communication that gives us strength and understanding, pride and peace.

Warmest regards,

Patty and John

All Dressed Up!

2009-09-13T15:32:00.001-07:00

Ready for Swearing in Ceremony - do you recognize them?

For more pictures and speeches, check out katie's blog at:

http://niger-mania.blogspot.com/

The Camp is So Quiet...

2009-09-12T03:55:00.000-07:00

without the 2011 Crew. The country of Niger however is a noisier place this morning because of the intelligence, energy, enthusiasm, humor, and dedication of each member of the Crew. This blog has an immediate need of some pictures of the Swearing In. Posting the pictures will honor their accomplishments and let us visibly see their joy! Long term our work as Niger Fans is just beginning, each crew member will face unique challenges and experience success on a time schedule that we have no control over...now more than ever these young people and their service must remain on the top of our lists.

Pictures Please!

Patty and John

Taking heart

2009-09-09T21:30:00.000-07:00

Here's a recent exchange between me (Mom) and Elizabeth, who will be an education worker in the village of Guidan Roumdji outside of Maradi.

Mom:

I Googled Guidan Roumdji. Found photos of young, extremely malnourished children there who are being given some kind of (I presume) sustenance through tubes taped to their noses. Their hands are bandaged, obviously to keep them from pulling out the tubes. One photo caption says: "The reason why we're here."

I don't have the heart to Google Earth it right now.

Elizabeth:

Those photos are probably from Doctors Without Borders - they have a couple volunteers in GR. There are also a few Japanese volunteers from their version of the Peace Corps. I don't know whether or not this makes you feel better, but I have seen no children with tubes up their noses (and there are certainly none that would be visible from satellites) - the most "depressing" thing i have seen in the whole country are kids with bloated bellies, which isn't all too difficult to be around, especially when the kids are running around and laughing all day long. You (as in "il faut," not you personally) have to keep in mind that the pictures from Africa that make it back to America are the ones that will shock people the most, not the ones that necessarily represent real life here. Not to downplay the seriousness of problems here, health or otherwise, but there is more to this country than its problems. Not that you didn't know that. :)

I also have to admit that my life here is probably much "easier" than that of a medical worker, who would be confronting these types of "depressing" things day in and day out; in my opinion that's a job that requires a lot more "bravery" than mine.

Charlene's box going for a good cause

2009-09-09T19:45:00.000-07:00

[I just noticed, after posting this, that Stacy posted the same news in a comment a few days ago. I haven't figured out how to get e-mail nudges whenever people add comments to the main entries, so I miss things. Oops. Will leave this post here anyhow for anyone else, like me, who is subscribing to the blog and sees only the top-level entries.]

I talked with Elizabeth today. She asked me to post the volunteers' decision about what to do with the package that Charlene's family sent. There's great stuff in it, and the group didn't want to split it up. At the same time they've been planning an auction fundraiser, and not much stuff was donated to auction off. So (you can see where this is going), they decided to auction off this package full of wonderful things. Charlene and family, if you're reading this, know that everyone is thinking of you with fond memories and gratitude.

Countdown Begins

2009-09-01T17:57:00.000-07:00

It is so hard to believe that it has been almost 2 months since the Crew of 2011 boarded the plane for Niger. It has been amazing for our household as we know it must be for yours to hear our children speak of bucket showers, no flush toilets, bush taxis, and breakfast from the street. How we all must applaud their courage and their adaptability. We imagine this last 10 days on the compound to be a mix of emotions....some anxiety as they split up from their nuclear 2011 family, but also some great anticipatory excitement as they look forward to establishing their home in their village or city. Will shares that there will be wonderful parties and then formal introductions for each of them into their post locations. We feel blessed...that our sons and daughters have been together...that they have been expertly trained and that they anticipate doing the good work on their post. Tonight John and I went to see YOUSSOU NDOUR: I BRING WHAT I LOVE, the story of the journey of a Muslim singer, much of which is filmed in Africa. It is a beautiful story, that should not be missed, if an opportunity exists, by a family with a son or daughter serving in Africa. Finally it is cool enough to dine outside so after the movie to honor all who serve...we visited the neighborhood Irish pub( Will's favorite) and lifted a glass of Harp to the Crew of 2011.

Do you have a story to share this week?

Warmest regards.

Patty and John

Hausa Fashion Show

2009-09-01T11:55:00.001-07:00

(found on facebook)

The Annual Peace Corps Niger Fashion Show- Hausa Edition

I am wearing a chic "complete" which is traditionally worn by unmarried 13-15 year old girls to do housework. Cariad is wearing a "juma" which is traditionally worn by slightly richer married women (and is very unflattering on absolutely everyone.) Brian is wearing a Hugo Boss suit and, yes, its very ethnically "niger-ian"

Crew of 2011 - First Day on the Job!

2009-08-24T16:40:00.000-07:00

We know we all thought of them all day long...Keep the members of the 2011 Crew in the forefront this week as each of them embraces a brand new experience. Great stories from Kerry, Karen, Mary Ann and Stacy....communication gives us all balance, keeps us connected, and strengthens the understanding of the outstanding service of these young people.

Share a story this week.

Patty and John

Our PCV's in Niger

2009-08-17T14:37:00.000-07:00

Click on photos to enlarge.

2011 - Crew - They are Posted

2009-08-15T05:01:00.000-07:00

We can only imagine the excitement that the 2011 Crew had learning where their Post would be. It must be seeming more and more real to each of them as the training part of the program is winding down and the placements have been made. In a short conversation with Will this week, he laid out one more week of training, one week at the post and then two additional weeks back in the training camp. We worked this afternoon trying to upload a Niger Map so we could visualize the city that the crew member would be close to. (Karen, do you have any pointers?) The postings made it more real to John and me too. We took a deep breath as he spoke about his village and detailed his living conditions. We don't know that growing up in Old East Dallas prepared him for life in West Africa. He seemed however most content with his placement. Therefore we applaud him and keep him on the prayer list... along with the rest of the Crew of 2011 who have so selfishly made the decision to serve the families of Niger.

This week remember not to share their exact location (Will spoke to his Dad and the Peace Corp thought exact locations should be between kids and families), but update us on their post,close to a city, bush, electricity, water, their job, their thoughts, and yours....

Patty and John

TOMORROW...

2009-08-08T16:19:00.000-07:00

ALEX, SARAH, RACHEL, WILL, BRIAN, ELIZABETH, EMILY, KATELYN, SHURUQ, KATY, THOMAS,CINDY, CARAID, SARAH and the rest of the Crew of 2011 will CALL HOME! What a joyous occassion. We know your phone cards or Skype are ready. Celebrate the call and share with the Fans of Niger the parts of the conversation that you think will help all of us understand the Niger Experience just a little better. Meanwhile Brian's Mom organized our Niger Fan Blog List to make it easy for all of us to log on:

Our Group:

www.nigerfans.blogspot.com

Individuals:

Alex

www.americaninniger.blogspot.com

Will

www.willinniger.blogspot.com

Brian

www.brianniger.blogspot.com

Katy

http://katiecrocker.wordpress.com

Tom

www.thomaseleonard.blogspot.com

and one more outside our group that we've all enjoyed - Jessica

http://jrobinpcv.blogspot.com.

Thanks Karen! Looking forward to hearing from all of us this week...as through communication comes understanding, peace and joy!

Warmest regards,

Patty and John

PS: DO not miss Brian's blueprint of his living condition in Niger posted on his blog! All of the kids are writing about it, Brian drew it perfectly!

Families...still the Best!

2009-08-03T17:33:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth Poulsen and her brother Brian and mother Marcia. Everyone journeyed to Portland Oregon just prior to Elizabeth's departure for Niger. Marcia got married!

Families are the Best... Continued

2009-08-03T15:31:00.000-07:00

Thomas Leonard and his friend on his grandparent's overlook dock in on Lake Michigan.

Do not miss Thomas's blog, in English and in French. The 2011 Crew is a talented gifted bunch!

Happy Birthday Trisha Cusak - Week 4

2009-08-02T17:18:00.000-07:00

Families are the best! Katelyn called to wish her mom Happy Birthday this week. Charlene will leave the 2011 crew and journey back to the States. Her family will help her recover from her illness, deal with her disappointment, and plan for her next adventure. Elizabeth sent her mom an email that she posted, sharing her feelings and the reality of the adventure. Alex connected and wrote beautifully of his first weeks in Niger. We are certain his parents are thrilled as we all should be to share that information. Families emailed John and I and we labeled 2 more folks in the 2011 crew ( watch for the new attachment in the email). And finally because we are Jessica Letter's Addicts...her parents are in Niger this week. Hopefully Kerry will share how she traveled, what she experienced and give us all her most worthwhile advice. Meanwhile keep in touch...as we know communication gives us knowledge, hope, and peace.

Warmest regards -

Patty and John

PS: This is our family: Patty, John, Will, Misty and the March 13th son-in-law James... At our favorite Fish house the night before the Niger departure.

Week 3 -Yeah Brian!

2009-07-24T19:23:00.001-07:00

Outstanding to have a letter in the States from one of the 2011 crew. Visit Brian's blog to hear his first impressions. Thanks Karen for sharing the news. The way we figure...each time there is a letter back home that can be shared then we all have the opportunity to feel the experience. Great discussion on how best to send the packages. Kerry, Jessica'a Letter's mom has offered us invaluable advice. We are collecting our first 20# limit box to ship later this week, but the comments on the soft envelopes are very enticing. Welcome Katelyn to the Class of 2011! I think it will be easy for all to tag her picture. Do not miss Alex's blog especially his comments on the trip over and the wonderful slide show.

This week we keep all of 2011 on the prayer list. We look for more news from Niger. We are going to attempt to structure the blog so that any of us can make a post (stay tuned). Meanwhile keep your comments coming. It is through communication that comes strength, joy, and peace.

Warmest regards for the week

Patty and John

Week 2: Fireballs in a Quilted Envelope

2009-07-18T16:47:00.000-07:00

First we apologize as we have never ever blogged before and we are not certain how to keep you all hooked up. If Will was here he would teach us. Your comments and stories have been wonderful and have certainly helped us connect as we hope our sons and daughters are. Of particular interest was the note from Jessica's mom who can certainly give us all insight into communication and coping strategies during our children's tenure with the Core. If you have not yet, you must read Jessica's letters from Niger. Meanwhile tomorrow I am visiting the CVS in the neighborhood and spending 99 cents x2 for fireballs, dumping them in a quilted envelope and sending them on Monday to Niger. As we enter into Week 2, share how you are doing, what are your strategies for coping with the mail system, and do you have anything set up to communicate with your PVC once we learn how he or she can communicate? Wishing you all well.

Patty and John

They Made It!

2009-07-14T17:34:00.000-07:00

That was a fabulous picture of the 32 new PCV. Tell us about the volunteer from your household.