08/06/05

Mom, Dad, Cate, Ellie, etc...

How are things going back home in MN?  Everything getting greener?  How're those Twinkies holding out?  Do you guys have any travel plans for summer?

I myself don't have too many extravagant travel plans ahead of me.  Later this month, Crystal & I will be heading down to Gaya to visit Pita, because it's her birthday this month, and I hope to see Aaron and Brandon as well.  Then in early August, I'll probably head out to Zinder for "Prom" (each region hosts a themed party annually; theirs happens to be Prom).  That'll give me the opportunity to see the other side of the country, visit a couple of friends, as well as be in another situation where I have absolutely no idea what's going on, language-wise (on this side of the country, you can always find a person or two who speaks Hausa, but out in Hausa-land, no one speaks Zarma whatsoever.  That'll be ... interesting.)  Beyond that, it doesn't sound like too much progress is being made on the proposed Trevor-Maggie-Molly-Michael meet-up in Senegal in December - it'd be great if it work out, though.  All of the plans are , of course "In Sha Allahu."

As far as you guys visiting - you're still interested, yes?  I'm open to pretty much anytime.  My guess is that you wouldn't really want to come in the hot, hot season, so next March - May can be nixed out.  Mid-December will be bad here this year, as the Francophone Games go from 7-17 December.  So maybe January or February 2006?  (Any earlier might tax my language skills to the max.)  As I recall, that's when a lot of people in the last Ag/NRM (2004 January) stage's parents came this year.  Or else I could come home instead - I'm already plotting stopping at a supermarket on the way home from the airport .  Then there's always the possibility of meeting up in Ireland (if Cate allows it) or elsewhere in the First World, if you don't want to visit me in Niger.  Whatever you guys want - if anything, this experience is teaching me to be accommodating .

I think my claim from early May that "rainy season is here" was a bit premature.  Now that the official starting date, 1 June (actually, it may be 7 June, but no matter), has passed, I can really say that the rains have started.  From 8-30 May, it didn't rain once, but since the 30th, it has rained 5 separate times!  Let the good times roll.

The storm on the 30th (of course, the day AFTER I talk to you guys) was unlike anything I had ever experienced.  Aaron and I had just gotten into a cab after leaving the Petite Marche in Niamey.  As we drove by the PC Bureau on our way to the hostel, we looked off to the right, and at least I was startled by the two mile high, rusty red wall that was encroaching on the city from that direction.  I asked the driver if it was going to rain, and he said, "Nah, it'll just be some wind."  We got out at the PC Hostel, and I had enough time to set down my bats before realizing how dangerously close the storm was getting.  Everyone at the hostel then made a mad dash to the roof - where at least 40 beds - mattresses, sheets, mosquito nets and all - were still set up.  As the wind picked up, we furiously took things down as quickly as possible.  To move things along, a good number of mattresses were thrown the 20 feet down to the ground, rather than navigated down the steep (and now busy) exterior stairwell.  Just as everything got thrown inside, the red dust storm finished its approach.  As it got closer, you could see the columns and pockets of dust roiling and tumbling over one another to get to the front of the storm.  As the first wave of dust passed over, everything turned a rusty red color.  And then it got darker and darker and darker as the sun was blocked out.  It got so dark, I could no longer see my watch, and cars with headlights on the streets were barely discernable.  For a while, Aaron and I stood up on the roof, bracing ourselves against what must have been 60+ mph wind gusts.  If the apocalypse were to begin with a dust storm, it probably wouldn't have felt much different that this one.  Eventually, the darkest part passed over us, and the huge, icy raindrops began to pelt us, so I went down, inside the hostel..  Eventually, though slowly, the ensuing downpour washed the dust out of the sky (and incidentally got my purple "kitten playing with a ball of yarn" shirt all muddy), though it was an energizing storm for all of us heat-logged "anassaras," as evidenced by the people shooting baskets or trying to hula hoop in the dirty rain.  Crazy times.

Yesterdays, storm here in the village was pretty similar.  I came to the house and packed in all my things that were sitting outside, then climbed on my concession wall, both to see better, and to snap a few photos.  It was a little more crazy this time, being out in the village - even though the dust ended up not being so "sun-dousing" as before.  I could see the band of murky red stretching from horizon to horizon along the storm front, which was tumbling a bit like you'd expect a tidal wave to tumble.  Additionally, as the storm was almost upon me, I looked up at the sky, and saw bunches of birds of prey high, high above - sort of an ominous sign of what is about to come.  But rain is always good here.  You definitely see more clearly here than in America that water is the source of life.  In any case, a storm is always good a making living more bearable.  At 4 pm, it was 108 degrees.  It rained from about 6 to 7 pm and by the time I went to sleep around 10pm, it was 78 degrees.  I had to spend the night in my sleeping bag under the stars!

The downside to the storm yesterday, of course, is that my shade hangar fell over.  But it was kind of a lame ending.  I had opened my door to watch the end of the storm, as the rain seemed to be dying off.  Just as the door open, I could see the shade hangar begin to lean over, and then, with a dull thud, it hit the ground.  Pretty anticlimactic.  However, as it fell, it did mange to crush a part of the bed frame I had spent all of the previous morning - with numerous frustrations, I'll have you know - setting up.  *sigh*  Oh well, what're you going to do?

Some more good news is that, finally! my first camera memory card is full.  Meaning that, the next time I go into Niamey, I can try to upload all of the pictures, or at least send the card to you (there will even be pictures of the aforementioned bed frame and hangar, taken only hours before!)  Aren't you excited?

As far as correspondence goes, I've gotten letters #1-9, 11, and I think I've got all of the packages (#1-8), so we're back up to date.  My own letter-writing is not up to date, as I've got a stack of 15 letters to respond to (!) but if anything, I've got lots of time on my hands .

So, response to some things in your letters:  I got the Girl Scout cookies, but that package came out of turn (it was #5 maybe?) - the reason it was late was stamped on the box - over the metered sticker, in blue ink, was stamped "MISSENT TO JAMAICA".  The Peanut Butter Patties made a good rainstorm treat in Gotheye, and Joe, Brandon, Aaron, and myself ate one stack of Thin Mints last week in Gotheye (one stack, In Sha Allahu, is still in the freezer - being here is also teaching me the principle of rationing ),  As far as teh costs of packages - who knows?  I may have said this already - it costs me 1000 Gfa to pick up a small (i.e. most padded envelopes) package, and 1500 Gfa for larger.  I hope I don't get any more packages before I go back to Niamey, as I have barely enough to get me back to Niamey again (I guess I still need to work a bit on rationing my money, eh?)

Thanks for the pictures of dad, deer, and Thomas - they've found their way onto my wall already.  Tell Thomas he's a jerk for laying on my bed when all I have to look forward to is a 1 1/2 inch mattress on top of a too-small plastic cot .

Okay, if you interested in how long it takes for me to get a letter, I'll do that up a little bit (note:  all the dates of receipt are from the time the letter made it into my hands - they could have been waiting for a while before I actually got them).

I left the international ones out, though I just got one from Molly that made it from Senegal to my hands in only 6 days! - that wouldn't be too bade for domestic mail in America.

Well, I guess that'll do 'er.  I hope all continues to go well back on the home front.  Hey, have a happy 4th of July.  Just think, last year you were in Alaska at that time ... and I was getting ready to go out to Walla Walla for Trevor and Maggie's wedding.  And Harpo would have been what? 26?  And wish Theresa a Happy Five-Oh for me .

Okay, I miss and love you guys

Michael Redman

PS:  Cate, I'm working on a letter for you - your prodigious efforts will not go unrewarded.

PPS:  Where's the "Frank's Hot Sauce"?