A Typical Day

On Tuesday I did buy some beautiful Nigerien fabric and on Wednesday I proceeded to visit our neighbor who is a taylor, or tako as they say in Zarma. My three-piece dress it won’t be ready until Tuesday but I’m sure it’ll be beautiful in every way when it is done. And if it’s not it’ll be my own fault since I designed it.

We have now been in Niger one full week but by god it feels like longer since we’ve had such intense days packed with sessions. A typical day will be as follows:

7am – Teri wakes me up - I finally figured out how to fall asleep and now I am sleeping like a baby every night
8am – We head to the market for breakfast which usually consists of solani, (i.e. drinking yoghurt in a bag), Faria masa which is like balls of fried dough with sugar, a mango and a latte. Today I also discovered this amazing café au lait that I hadn’t known of before. Because of the high risk of bacteria in milk, the beverage is actually is made with instant coffee and a mix of powdered sugar and milk but it still tastes delicious and it could easily become my new vice.
8:30 our first session begins.
10am we break and on Tuesdays and Thursdays they provide a snack
10:30am second session
12 lunch
1pm third session
2:30 break
2:45 fourth session
4:15 our day is over

My language hut.....

Sessions are broken up in five areas. They are:

1. Language,
2. Cross cultural
3. Medical
4. Safety and Security
5. Technical

Language is pretty straightforward. We will go through numbers, money, daily activities, expressing needs and technical terminology specific to our sector. Every week we will rotate instructors since they are not al at the same level of teaching. Luckily I am in the more advanced language group so if the teacher isn’t keeping up, we can learn from each other.

Cross Culture includes a mini skit by the language teachers that highlight some aspect of Nigerien culture which may be anything from gender roles to do’s and don’t’s the home as well religious practices and perceptions on alcohol. Following the ‘petite surprise’ (i.e. skit) we have a discussion and VAT input (Volunteer Assistant Trainers – current volunteers that come to bridge the gap between training and actual peace Corps work)

Medical Sessions are lead by one of the two PSMO’s (Peace Corps Medical Officer). They include information on every disease under the sun we may be exposed to in Niger. Malaria and Diarrhea are covered of course but so are things like STD’s, bites, burns and skin diseases. Today our medical consisted of how to use our water filter. Peace Corps invests over $100 per volunteer so that we can filter all water that comes in contact with our face. It looks like two buckets stashed on each other and apparently it was developed specifically for Peace Corps use. Naturally Nigeriens don’t filter their water and once again I am amazed by how sturdy their bodies are compared to ours. That’s evolution in action for you since infant mortality is extremely high meaning the weak ones don’t live to grown age.

Safety and Security Sessions are generally lead by our SSC (Safety and Security Coordinator) and will range from discussing personal safety at post to what streets to avoid in Niamey. Peace Corps makes no joke about Safety and it is quite impressive how fast communication can travel if needed. They will reimburse you r any costs related to your safety and once again I am happy about joining the Peace Corps because it is the safest way to live in one of the least developed places in the world.

Technical Sessions are my favorite so far because they directly pertain to the Municipal and Community Development Sector (MCD). Our technical session today included more about the MCD (Municapilty and Community Development) Project Plan. It lists two goals and 8 objectives that we should strive to achieve once we begin our service. I am so excited to get started but know that I have a lot of learning to do before then.
Another tech session included a summary of the political history of Niger and it is really quite sad that in the 40 years of independence, Nigeriens have still to take charge of their own country’s destiny. I won’t be able to change that but I know that the technical sessions will be good in discerning what our actual job will be like and what potential we have for making a real difference in peoples’ lives.

Aside from the aforementioned topics, we also have various other sessions relating to our successful integration into Niger and today the American Ambassador to Niger visited to talk about the US and Nigerien relationship on more political terms. American presence in Niger includes development work, military assistance, missionaries and business investment. A total of 650(give or take) Americans live in Niger. It was most interesting and very inspiration given that the ambassador is a black women who’s spent her life as a career diplomat having worked her way up the ladder.

I am starting to get the hang of Zarma and feel like I have a strong advantage in terms of pronunciation abilities given my previous language knowledge. I still can’t hold a consistent conversation with my host family but am fairly certain I’ll be able to do so in the next week or two.´

...and language class