Hey all, finally getting to update! Training is finished, woo hoo! Training was a lot of information, about language, medicine, culture, work, survival, presented us to so quickly. It was very overwhelming. I am just starting to process all of this information. Also, during training I lived with a host family and living with a host family can be very hard. No privacy! Or choice in food (rice and sauce...rice and sauce...rice and sauce. lol).
I'm at my village, which I'm not supposed to mention by name on the internet. However, it is located in the Maradi region of Niger. I'm on the road to Nigeria (but I can't go there...). It's a very lush area, with tons of trees, and, my town in particular has a huge lake. Not that I can go in this lake at all without all kinds of health risks...but it's pretty to look at!
Before I really start doing serious work here I have to integrate into my village, adjust to life here. A big part of that is getting a handle on language. In training I had to brush up on French, and I only took two weeks of Hausa. Well, some of the educated people in my village speak French, but most of the villagers just speak Hausa! Learning language is fun though, for sure. I feel my brain expanding.
My new home for the next two years is pretty sweet, for Niger. My house has a huge yard. Like, I could have soccer games in it. The house itself is 3 bedrooms- kitchen, bedroom, and entryway/living room. The "bathroom" is a hole in the ground in the corner of my yard. I have no running water or electricity at my house, though I may be able to get the latter. I want electricty before hot season, (February to June), where it's over 100, up to 120, EVERYDAY and nobody does anything. Anything. With electricty I can have a FAN!FAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For animals, I have spiders, crickets, earwigs, cockroaches (frakk these dan iskas, I go Wrath of God on their behinds every time!), ants, a variety of beetles, frogs (especially when it's rainy), and a KITTEN! My neighbors brought him to me because I kept saying "Ina son moussa!" (I want cat!). I named him "G'kar." Kudos to anyone who gets the reference! (HI KEVIN!)!
For life in village I've been wandering around, meeting people, drinking tea, playing soccer with the scores of kids, being social. Being social is so important to the culture here. People are very curious about me, and also about America. I get all kinds of questions about The States, which I enjoy answering. "Are there black people in America? Are you friends with Obama? Is everyone in America rich?" Doing some good cultural exchange.
I often wonder how all of my family and friends back home are doing. I'm thinking of you! I try to write letters but get overwhelmed. I will try to do better! Okay, this is David ("Issa" here), singing out. Peace!
