How long will the novelty last?

1/18/08
The moon is so bright now that I can write by moonlight. But...I'm not. I am inside my grass hut, laughing to myself about the fact that I'm in Africa. You guys, this place is SO CRAZY. I am totally loving it right now. One week so far...it is as if I have time traveled to another dimension and century. Pretty awesome. How long will the novelty last? Let's hope that I can get another 26 and 1/2 months out of it...
...so, info about NRM stuff: desertification, soil loss, and over-grazing are major problems for Niger. They need to have good soil--or any soil at all--to feed the 13 million people living here. (2-3 million of which are under 15 years old.) NRM PC people do work that falls under 2 categories:
1. Farmer/ student/community/youth environmental education
2. Land rehabilitation/sustainable resource use/small business development

Projects that I am learning about and interested in overlap with agriculture a lot. I do think that NRM will be a good fit for me. NRM PCVs do things like start tree nurseries, do experimental plots to grow anything in rock-hard soil, hold training on making cookstoves, hold enviro camps for schools, build living tree fences around fields, start grain banks, help organize community co-ops...all sorts of stuff. It'll be good.