En brousse

Another month in the bush another month in review…

-UPDATE: Firstly as an update to the July blog about visiting Mehanna. Well about a week after returning to Babagade I got a bush package sent to me via bush taxi containing 45 eggs from the school director in Mehanna. I was ecstatic to receive it as it’s nearly impossible to get eggs in the bush. I called the school director and thanked him. Another week later I received another package containing 35 eggs. When my villagers saw me open it they looked at me in all seriousness and said “Kadija, you know he wants to marry you!” Okay, enough! So, I never called him back as I was busy with my parents coming a few days after. But he preceded to calling me every single day over and over, sometimes up to 12 times a day! He was even calling the schoolteacher of my village to track me down- creepy! And then….he showed up at my house, even more creepy! I yelled at him, told him I was busy. You’d think he’s learned a lesson. But no, he’s still calling. I guess that’s what I get for living in country where you “buy” a wife….

-One story my villagers keep telling me:
One night when my parents were in my village we were eating dinner with about 10 other villagers. My mom wanted a chair so my dad got up and got her a chair. Then she needed to wash her hands, so my dad brought her water to wash with. Finally, my dad brought my mom a bottle of drinking water. Sounds normal, right? Well, all of my villagers watched and couldn’t’ believe what they were seeing. They all laughed as in Nigerien culture men sit around nearly all the time just waiting for women to wait on them. They don’t even get water for themselves!

-Interesting sometimes the Nigerien concept of money. The other day I had on my new Chaco sandals my parents brought me. One ofmy friends asked me how much they were- I told her very expensive(Nigerien sandals cost about $.80-$1). She asked me if they were more than $1. Well, yea, a lot more. More than $1.20? Yes. But maybe that’s why they keep telling me America has money!

-The other day my friend told me how happy I must be that my parents brought me lots of money when they came. I told them in America when you turn 18 years old you have to make money for yourself. My friend looked at me confused, and asked, “What do women do, become prostitutes?”

-At the beginning of this month the fast of Ramadan started. I forget how cranky everyone gets! The 2nd day of Ramadan I told my villagers I would fast with them. So at 5 AM my friend Katumie came banging on my door long enough to make sure I woke up and got out of bed. So I ate breakfast and went back to bed. During Ramadan Nigeriens break the fast at the end of the day with kool-aid and tasty food. Since I didn’t have anything before sunset Katumie brought me what Zarmas call “kopto”, which means leaves in Zarma. Since it’s rainy season the women go around picking the weeds from the ground and boil them like spinach. So I was starved so I was eating quickly- but then I noticed a funny black round thing on my fork.. As I picked it out I looked more carefully I noticed it was a pellet of goat poop. Yes, read that again- goat poop. Only in Niger.

-I had some apple scented dishwashing soap sitting out so one of my friends asked me what it is. Most soap in Niger is in teh form of bar soap so she had never seen liquid soap. I opened it for her and she smelled it….”This smells like candy!” She loved the smell so much she started rubbing it all over her body! She needs lotion, not dishwashing soap!

This week I'm in town for my Close of Service conference....crazy I'm leaving this country in less than 3 months...

The Parents Take Niger

Last night wrapped up a week long visit with the 'rents. Although I was pushing for them to visit for two weeks, i think they were "Niger'd out" after being in the bush! The first day they arrived I took them to what is considered to be the nicest hotel in Niamey. I told my mom I could have found her a cheaper hotel, but I know she prefers luxury- she looked at me and said "This is luxury?" I was a little concerned about how they would manage the rest of their trip, but they adjusted just fine....
After a few days of searching for giraffes and getting a glimpse of Niamey we headed to Babagade. As we arrived we recieved a warm welcome from the village we tried to sit down and relax...but the welcoming didn't stop! Nigeriens love to greet, and when you're tired of greeting, you greet again! All afternoon people from all over the village came in to see both my parents-my mom newly named "Haisatou" and my dad "Soumaiaylou". The kids came quickly to begin the staring that never ended for the entire 4 days they were in the bush! Then they would try touching my parents to see if they would turn white too!
Both of my parents seemed to adjust quickly to the bush- no running water, no electricty, the dirt, the uncomfortableness, my small house. Except for one thing- they both avoided the toilet insisting they didn't know how to use it! Who would have thought my parents- the people that taught me how to camp, would have been so concerned about squatting?!
Besides the toilet they seemed to enjoy meeting and chatting with my villagers. It was an interesting meeting of the two worlds- women and men that I've referred to as my dad, mom and Nigerien family for the last year and a half finally meeting my real parents. Although some of my friends were tough on them- one of my friends was insisting my dad needed to go work in the field for the day. The women insisted my mom had to stay around and pound millet and rice. One things for sure though- both parents kept commenting on the happiness that they could see in the village, an innate happiness. The women and men of Niger just don't stop joking.
It was interesting to see both my parents adjust to the village life by themselves. My mother had no problem heading out into the village and sitting with the women by herself, regardless of a huge language barrier. As for my dad? He became the Pied Piper! When we were at market my mom and i went for a little walk around and left my slightly cranky dad by himself sitting. When we came back he had nearly 30 kids gathered around him, teaching them English. He'd point and the kids would answer "eyes, nose, chin". Keep my dad around this country and these kids will be speaking English in no time!
That night after getting back from market we were all exhausted and as we were going to bed I got a knock on my door. When I answered it it was one of my villagers bringing my parents a gift: a live chicken. I didn't quite know what to do, but my mom in her limited zarma kept saying "Alhamdulala". Which in this situation translates to "No thank you". She thought she was being nice! After settling the situation we finally had a new little pet tied to the bed!
The third day in the bush we had a party and killed a goat for the visiting annasaras. All the women in the village came to eat some rice and goat then to dance the afternoon away. Although (very) hectic, it was fun to hang out for the day with the buzz of the village around.
After four days in the bush we went back to the same hotel we stayed at when they arrived- which they now recognized as luxurious! After a few more days in Niamey both my parents survived Niger- including the near death hippo ride!

Patience in Tough Times

http://www.phrasebase.com/countries/niger/

Fertility rate= 7 babies per woman

Birth rate= 49.95 births per 1000 people

Infant mortality rate- baby deaths per 1000 births= 122.23 babies die per 1,000 births

Those are the statistics.

Right now is rainy season and with rainy season is hunger season. Right now it feels like everyone is sick in the village….malaria is sneaking up on everyone.

This past week I went for a walk to the Fulans (a nomadic ethnic group) that that live behind my village and chatted with them for a few hours. They told me I had to see the little Fulan twins that were only a month old. When I walked in, they showed me the first baby- a girl who was small, but still moderately healthy. Then the mom pointed to the other little boy who she told me "didn't have health." But this little boy was beyond not being in health- he was on the verge of dying. When I asked, they told me his mouth hurt and he couldn't breast feed. What? This child hasn't been able to breast feed for a month except what you've forced upon him? Looking at this child just killed me- reminded me of the commercials of "the starving kids in Africa" on TV. He almost appeared as a skeleton lying on the bed, every bone popping out of his body. When I asked his mom why she hadn't taken him to the doctor at all for medicine, she told me she had no money. But you have cows, chickens, sheep and donkeys, go sell an animal and you'll get money! Finally after me yelling at everyone including the child's grandparents, father, and father's brother that afternoon they brought the child into the doctor's office.

Distraught as I was, I started asking my villager about it. "Nigeriens, we like giving birth! We like babies!" But why have more babies if your babies will die? "We'll give birth again!" And from the mind of a villager, why nurse a very sick baby back to health when it would be very expensive when you could just give birth again?

I started explaining to my friend how in America we like all of our kids to live and how our health is so important. But with every explanation, I got nearly the same answer "She will give birth again." That same day a baby that was just a month old died in my village. Then, 2 days later the little Fulan boy died.

All that and the next morning I woke up to three of my villagers knocking on my door to let me know that Sophie, my neighbors 2 ½ year-old little girl, died of malaria that night. While the tears streamed down my face, they looked at me and said "Patience, Kadija. Have patience."

Your Guest is Your King

When I first arrived in my village I brought along the book "In Sorcery's Shadow" by Paul Stoller to read. The book is about animism in the region I live in, with a big focus on the larger town of Mehanna. It just happens that Mehanna is at the end of the unpaved road that i live in, so I hear about it often. But, it is still about 70k from my village, and I hadn't been there yet. So a few weeks ago Rachel and I gathered our mosquito nets up and we were off to Mehanna. The chief of my village gave us the name of a contact he had that we could ask for when we arrived. After a long day of bush taxi riding and sitting at a nearby market we arrived in Mehanna. Upon arriving Mehanna, we showed up at the shop and asked for my chief's contact, Issifi. The women sitting there called Issifi, and told him he had guests. Really? Yup, there are two annasaras here asking for you.

So about an hour later Issifi shows up as he had also been traveling. After we greet him, I explained how I got his number. Then with a smile on my face, I told him "We will sleep in your house!" So with that, we became his guests. He started leading us around the village, brought us to his friend's house so we could wash up. After our walk around the village we decided it would be best to sleep in the school as it would be like giving us our own house for our stay in Mehanna. When night time rolled around the school teacher set us up an enormous mattress to sleep on, complete with pillows and sheets. A sweet treat when we expected to just be sleeping straight up on the ground! For dinner, they set us up with a table, tablecloth, chairs, and a few amazing pots of food with an enormous fried fish on the side. Oh those luxeries! After dinner they even brought us come cokes! And with it all we didn't lift a finger!

After a great night of sleep we woke up the next morning to...more food! An enormous bowl of fried eggs with a side of bread! And when I insisted they didn't have to do it for us...what do they tell us? "Your guest is your king" A Niger proverb. And wow, we were definitely the kings, (or queens?) of this village! The second day we hung out at market for a few hours then made our way back to Babagade. We didn't see any crazy sorcerers but sure did experience Nigerien hospitality.

Conclusion? I'd highly recommend showing up at a random village in Niger and telling some random person you will be sleeping in their house for a few nights. Hospitality at its best!

Monthly Rambles...

Well...almost two months, I'm a little behind with the blog. What was my welcome back to the village after returning from Ghana? Mom's of every little baby boy in the village, and every little boy coming to my house, pulling down their pants to show me they've been circumcised! And they were so excited about it! (Circumcision is part of Muslim culture). Definitely gave me a good laugh....

It's been a more or less typical few months in the village- a few weddings, many babies born, and sadly a few babies died. A pair of twins died just days after being born, another little girl that was 2 weeks old died. And unfortunately hunger season has started. I was talking to one of my friends, asking her about how many children she has (although it's generally an impolite question in Niger, as its a sign of how much money one has). She told me 5, but then started naming off all of her children that have died. Shocked, I found out that she has given birth 13 times, 8 children have died. 8. An incredible number that's still almost unbelievable to me.

When I was talking to another villager, I was asking her questions in an attempt to figure out the family tree of the village. After I had written down about 15 people, she busted out with "I married my grandfather." Umm, seriously? No, no this can't be. God is big. Wow, you married your grandfather? God is very big. In the bush in Niger they really only use the terms "child", "mom" "dad", etc, so they don't tend to use uncle or cousins. But finally I broke it down with her, and she married her great-uncle. Still shocking, to say the least.

Other village news? The water pump in my village broke. So I've been going to the next village to fetch water. A 12 minute walk with 20 liters of water on your head isn't the easiest. But, then that pump broke. So next up? the river. But at that point the 20 minute walk through mud and water was just a little too much, so I sent a kid. They did fix the pump in the next village so it's back to fetching my own water.

All that, and I bought 2 goats and 3 chickens! Being an anasara (white person) walking 2 goats on a leash back from market has never gotten me so much attention! One goat will be killed and eaten next month when my parents visit, and one when i leave in December. Although I'm afraid I am already becoming to attached and won't be able to kill either of them!

And most importantly....the machine at Babagade is up and "fufuing" rice! I can't thank everyone enough for the contributions back home.....and the women can't either! They are constantly showing me their hands telling me they won't suffer anymore! They love buffing their enormous calluses!

Unfortunately my camera broke...so until my parents come I don't have any pictures to put up...so stay tuned for the pictures of the rice grinding machine!

and we're back

Wow. Wow. Wow. when I visited America everyone asked me if I felt culture shock. My answer- not really. I felt like i clicked back into my American self. But this time, after traveling around West Africa? Holy shit. I don't quite know what to say to give these countries justice. As soon as we crossed the border into Benin--it was green. Ghana, they have sidewalks. Crosswalks. Not only do public restrooms exist, they offer toilet paper. Heck, they even sell toilet paper on the street. Women in Burkina Faso, a country more similar to Niger, wear pants. Ride bikes. It was like just crossing the border into Benin was a whole new world. All in all it was interesting to see Niger in comparison to its neighboring countries.

But....Vacation was amazing. After a quick few days through Benin and Togo we reached the destination we'd been dreaming of for over a year: Ghana. Before getting to the ocean our first destination was Wli waterfalls. Barbara, Claudia and I did the roughly 2 hour hike to the upper falls. After an extremely strenuous 2 hour hike (wearing flip flops) we got a chance to swim in the waterfalls. Heaven at last. All while speaking what felt like a foreign language, ENGLISH!
Then on to the ocean, sunbathing, and just lounging on the beach. The ocean was amazing though, almost took Barbara out a few times as she came panting out of the waves. (Near death experience number 2.) We bummed around the coast for about a week then headed up to Kakum national park. Kakum has a canopy walk, consisting of 7 bridges up to 40 meters over the tropical rain forest, unique to Africa. Although I think it was a little above my thrill level as it turned into a major thunderstorm when we were in the middle! I think my knees are still shaking from the walk!

Finally we said goodbye to the coast and several long travel days later found ourselves in Dogon Country, Mali. We spent about 3 days hiking around Dogon, going village to village, up and down the cliffs. Dogon people have an extremely unique lifestyle as they live in the cliffs. Thousands of years ago they moved to the cliffs to escape tribal enemies. Originally it was the Tellem people that moved into the high cliffs, using black magic to climb up the walls. Although none of us were able to get into the high houses as today even scientists wonder how they got out there. Our guide was insisting they used vines but who knows. Being in Dogon country actually turned out to be the most relaxing, enjoyable part of our whole trip as Dogon people were laid back, friendly, and overflowing with culture.

But soooo good to be back in Niger. Made me appreciate Nigeriens. No hassles, no getting ripped off, no one grabbing me as i walk to market.

So it's back to speaking zarma and in 2 days back to Babagade.....

But before then, here's a Vacation by the Numbers:
(see Flickr site for more pictures)

# OF.....

...days on vacation: 26
...countries visited:5
...cities/villages visited: 24
...hours spent in buses/bush taxis traveling: 73
...Fanmilks consumed(i.e. ice cream in a bag): 62
...hostels without running water(or broken): 7
...number of screaming matches over taxis ripping us off: 7
...languages we learned to say hello in: 10
...hard boiled eggs consumed on a bush taxi: 27
...braids on my head: 204
...stamps in my passport: 14
...nights slept in a shared bed: 18
...times we almost ran out of the current currency: 3
...times Barbara almost died: 2
...West Africans that want a mohawk thanks to Claudia: a lot
...villages visited in Dogon Country: 7
...times I was hit on by men I didn't want to talk to: too many to count
...times getting ripped off: I don't want to think about it. Far too many.
Favorite place? A tie between Wli falls and Begnemoto in Dogon country


Two Weaves and a Mohawk drinking fresh coconut juice oceanside

Swimming at the Upper Wli Falls

The canopy walk at Kakum National Park

Crossing the ravine by a "ladder" in Dogon Country

V A C A T I O N

Well, almost….Next Friday morning Barbara, Claudia, Kim and I are catching a bus outta here. The next 3 ½ weeks will be spent traveling Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso, and Mali. Barbara and I got our hair braided yesterday so we're ready to go...and we’re headed straight to the beach!

But before then...Came into Niamey earlier in the week to start getting visas, which are pricey! Then my group that I swore in with is all heading to Hamdallaye tonight for mid-service training. Although we're a lot fewer than when we started, down to 25 out of the 37 people.

As for the bush? Been super busy! Tring to get all these pepinieres of trees started/planted before leaving for vacation. Several villagers are starting a pepiniere to outplant as live fencing when the rains come. I’m also working with the men again planting nearly 2000 gum Arabic trees in a pepiniere. And the motivation this time? When my parents come they’ll be helping transplant the trees to the field. After all, what’s better than two “old” annasaras planting trees in the desert?!

What else? Babies and weddings. A woman in a nearby village gave birth to 4 babies, all girls. I can’t even imagine the pain she suffered. When I went to see her and the babies at the doctors office the next day, she was lying on the ground and could barely lift her head to greet me. Later that day an ambulance took them all into Niamey. Rumor has it one has died so far, three are still in health. God is big.

And weddings? About 2 months ago Fati, 33 years old, showed up in my neighbors house. When I asked my villagers they told me she is my neighbor’s daughter, had been living in Niamey but just got divorced for the second time. A few weeks ago a man from another village showed up at her house to give her mom the bride price: 100,000 CFA and a cow(worth up to 400,000 CFA). Six days later her stuff was packed and she left Babagade for her 3rd marriage. As her eight year old daughter watched her leave she was screaming in tears. Sad but kind of interesting, she didn’t take any kids from her previous marriage, including her 3 year old son. One marriage ends, another beginning...

On another note? I’m learning Nigerien sign language! There are a few deaf people in my village and nearly everyone can communicate with them. So I figure it's my turn to start learning. The funny thing is though when I’m signing, other villagers that are warching will tell me “I swear to God Kadija, you hear Zarma!” Well, what’s to hear?

And lastly, a plea to everyone reading this, even if we’ve never met: something has happened in my life- I have finished every puzzle in my Sudoku book. Every single puzzle. So please, someone send me a new book. I need some way to fill those long 120 degree days. Here’s my address:
Lulu McCourt
Corps de la Paix, PCV
Gotheye, Niger
West Africa

Thank you and Allah loves you.