12/01/05

Dear Family,

Hey, how is it hangin'?  It's hangin' over here in Africa.  I got here last week and it's really been a blast - seriously.  Everything's been really fun and all the people here are really nice.  That was the one thing that I was worried about, that I'd get here and there'd be a bunch of snobs saying, "Oh, I've been volunteering at X Y and Z, and spent last summer in X."  There's none of that.  Well, not too much.

We're still having tons of information sessions all of the time, but we're really getting into our language classes.  Remember how I thought French would be my only asset here?  Well, guess I was wrong, because it's not much of an asset here.  Our emphasis is on learning a local language, and mine is Zarma.  Wait till you see that on my resume, eh?  Zarma comprises something like 30% of the population of Niger.  It's the predominant ethnic group in the general Niger River area.  (You can maybe find a map with ethnic group breakdowns on the U Texas map website).  This is maybe good, as it means I'll get to go to Niamey more often.  The Hausa speakers (the other national language people are learning) go east of the Zarma region.  In some ways, the split-up is kinda sad as, according to the current PCVs who are helping us in PST (pre-service training), the Zarmaphones and Hausaphones rarely see one another once they get put off to site, and, as I said, I like most of the people here.  But such is the way of things.

So if you are anxious or worried about where PCVs are placed, don't worry too much.  PCVs are placed no further east than Zinder and barely north of where we are currently (one of the PCVs here is placed about the same latitude as Ouallam).  As a Zarmaphone, I'll probably be placed around Tillaberi, Niamey, or Dosso.  (It's be nice to be down by Gaya, as that's supposedly like a rainforest).  Unfortunately, that probably means I won't get to have a camel - oh well, someone I know will probably have one.

So, how's Africa, you ask?  Well, I have to say, it's not that different than I imagined, actually.  The only thing I really wasn't expecting was the dust.  I guess I didn't know it was "dusty" season.  It's actually cool season, and surprisingly, I do put on a sweatshirt every morning during language class (Go Vikings! - how'd the season turn out?  Did they lose to the Pack?), but that may have more to do with our training center being up on a hill than anything else (y'know Reagan's "City on a Hill" speech - yep that's us, the "anasara" (white people) taking the high place in the city to look down on everyone else).  So, yeah.  There's dust over everything here - all of my exposed things in my hut, on my clothes, all over my feet (it's warm enough for sandals and I have to wash my own socks and underwear - PC takes care of the rest) and rest of my body.  It's in the air, so I wake up smelling dust on my pillow and all over my mosquito net.  That started out bleach white, and it's slowly turning a sandy tan color.

About the only thing that was really "shocking" was the amount of trash everywhere.  There's just plastic bags everywhere, on every street, just piles and piles of 'em.  But that's about it.  I guess all of the kids are dirty and dusty when they come up to us and say "Fofo" in Zarma ("hey!"), but that wasn't terribly shocking - I mean, there's dust everywhere.

I'm sure that the defined gender roles will eventually grate on me as I'll want to branch out and actually include, you know, women in conversations and discussions, but so far my Zarma is no good, so I just sit there and smile and nod and say, "Ay man faham."  (I don't understand!)  But eventually it, the language, will get better.

So what's a typical day like for me here.  As I've only had three with the host family, I'll use today as an example.

Okay, this morning was a bad example.  Every other day, I've woken up with the ~5:20 prayer call, and then fell asleep, awake, and back again, until I get up ~6 something, arrange my affairs, and head to my meeting place - a tree in the center of our little village outside of Hamdallaye (note:  do not put the names of any of my villages that I live in on the website - that way no one hunts me down and kills me;  also, it's a PC policy, AFAIK).  At 7, we head out, and it's roughly a 20 minutes walk to our training compound at ?????? (up on the hill).  We then have breakfast, and chat it up with the other trainees - we're down to 23, as the one married couple dropped out (this stuff would be stressful enough without a spouse to worry about) - and see if they have any funny stories from the night before.  Many stories have to do with cockroaches, and peoples' reactions to them, but I haven't run into any in my hut - but that may be because I sleep outside every night (yes, under the mosquito net).  At least those were the stories from last night.  At 8, there is a general meeting, and from 8:30-10, there is Zarma class.  It is so much fun, because all three of us in the class have good senses of humor, and we like to make our instructor laugh as much as possible.  At 10-10:30, there is a snack break, then 1.5 hour info session (twice a week, it's with one of the medical officers).  At 12-1, it's lunch (except Tuesday, when market takes it 12-2).  After that, we have 1.5 more hours of Zarma (can't get enough of it), then a 15 minute break (this last snack is a chance to stock up before heading home to the host family food - who knows what you'll get?) and then from ~3 to 5, it's another info session (which usually lets out early), and then 5-6 is "happy hour" as they open up the cold drinks area for sale - Biere Niger and Coca-Cola (and Fanta and Sprite).

At 6, I meet up with the same girl from the morning and head back to the village.  Apparently the last two trainees who have stayed in my compound (aka my hut with my host family) have ET'd (early terminated) - I figure that third time's the charm.  Again, today was a bit of an abnormality, as I came home and took a bucket bath.  That's a lot of work to get ready for!  My washing area is the maybe 5 x 5 x 5 cube behind my hut, meaning I have to leave the "courtyard" in front of my hut and walk around behind it.  Meaning, I have to gather all of the following things:  my new shirt, underwear, pant; bucket half-filled with water, cup used to pour water over me, plastic soap holder, plastic bucket holding my face wash and shampoo, towel and all that.  But hey, it feels refreshing to get all of that dirt off your body.  Oh yeah, and the "bathroom" is a similar, connected 5x cube with a cement plug over the hole.  So far, I've been lucky enough not to have Mr. D (diarrhea) visit me (but my time will come), so I've avoided the "squat" part of the "squat toilet."

But usually, when I come home, I put a few things away in my hut, and then my host brother, Abdul-Aziz, comes around, and I plop down in front of my compound on a mat rolled out (tables must seem like incredibly strange concepts to people without them).  We sit and chat, and then a meal is brought to us in the dark (save the presence of my P.C. lantern) by one of the sisters.  We eat mostly in silence.  You may be surprised to find out that I have yet to eat any millet while here.  Usually, it's been rice with some sort of sauce - though last night was rice and beans and onions and some added cayenne pepper - it was GOOD - like having Mexican food.  After dinner, we sit around, and he shows me pictures in my workbooks, and I pretend like I know what the pictures are.  It's great!  I'm picking it up, little by little.  "Kala Suuru"  Have Patience!

So, a recap:  all is well, I am healthy, don't worry about me.  I miss you guys.  Did I miss anything?  I guess not.  Anyways, take care, and I'll write or call on 12 February - sooner only if I get really sick.

Michael Redman

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