Dust storm

A red-orange storm
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5/31/08
Jessica has spent the past 3 weeks in Hamdallaye at a Peace Corps training session; part of the time was shared with the volunteers' counterparts who all traveled in from their villages for a few days. On May 20 there was a huge dust storm, followed by rain. There was a mad dash to drag mattresses inside, and it looks like everybody was blasted with wind, sand and then rain. Quite a sight! Thanks to volunteer Jody K for the above photo.

Jessica, Angie, and Jen experiencing the dust storm to the fullest degree

Midday

Inside Jessica's hut

4/6/08
I've gotten off track. Mornings. After I greet people for one or two hours, or three, depending on how hot it is, I come home to my compound, usually around ten or eleven. It's starting to heat up around now, but it's still nice enough to get things done. I'll wash clothes, sweep sand (always a chore), get out veggies for drying, wash clothes, pull water from the well. And then it's midday, and the only thing to do now is to make it through the heat, which is white light, and brightly, hotly, windily, parching. Sometimes it is humid, which is worse.

Things I do between twelve and two PM include: study, sweat, nap, eat, write, sweat, crosswords, stare into space, watch my pigeon preen in the shade, read letters over and over, drink water...It's not that bad, honestly. Yet. It will get much hotter soon, and I'll look back on this and think I was such a sissy!

The elders

N'arba and grandchildren grinding berries

There is another section of the population you might be curious about: the elders. These people are among my favorites. The life expectancy in Niger is not very high--I forget--is it even as high as fifty? So there aren't a lot of older men or women. However, there are many senior citizens in my village who, in my eyes, may be experiencing their happiest and freest years. Take N'arba, for example, my daily companion and adoptive parent who accompanies/leads me in my rounds. She is close to seventy; her kids are grown, her husband passed away. For the first time in her life she has the freedom to walk around the village whenever she wants. She can mouth off to everyone, men included. People listen to her, her family feeds her...she is living it up. It is so cool to walk behind her and imagine what it would've been like to follow her around twenty, forty, sixty years ago.

Kids

I know this picture is blurry and gray, but I love it. A group of sweet, enthusiastic boys helped me clear the remains of an old shade hangar one evening, just before sunset. They ran back and forth, all of them flushed with the excitement of helping.


You might wonder: what about the kids? There are a lot of those. Some of them go to school for a couple of hours a day (mostly boys), but a lot of them play and goof around with neighbors and friends. There are no structured "activities" outside of school for kids in my village. The end result is that kids are able to entertain themselves for YEARS with little more than a companion, and perhaps a can or stick. They make awesome toys out of used tomato paste cans: at night I can hear them racing down the street with their little metal "ponies."

Soccer

Playing soccer in Niger, with a ball from Oregon

4/5/08

When I brought out the soccer ball, the one I bought at Big Five, a crowd of men quickly gathered and feverishly cleared away bushes and scrub brush. They cleared a soccer field! Then they played and played and played. I gave the ball over to Ibrahim, my neighbor, who is now in charge of it. They play every evening, with a crowd of young boys watching the older guys.

Men

4/6/08
It's different for the men, at least for now, because it's not farming season yet. Men have a completely different routine, and it does not overlap with the women's at all, except when sleeping. Men's schedules revolve largely around prayer times-which are 5AM, 2PM, 4PM, 7PM, and 8PM. In the mornings, from 6AM on, they sit in the shade along the paths of the town, sometimes alone, but normally in large groups. You'll find the same guys in the same places, making tea (the exception to "men don't cook in Niger"), playing cards, and listening to the radio.

A lot of the men are on Exxode right now, meaning they have left the villages for work in more "prosperous" countries: Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana...I'm told that they will start to return soon, pre-rainy season, to get their fields ready for planting. When that happens, I anticipate things becoming a bit louder and busier, and I bet there won't be so many dudes hanging out.

Morning circuit

Teen girls visiting Jessica's compound, in the shade of the hangar

4/6/08
I have a common "circuit" that I walk most mornings. I visit a few women at their homes almost every day, people I feel particularly drawn to for one reason or another. There is Fati and her daughter Sahara, both of whom I adore. I came across them by chance the first time I visited the village in February; I had walked to the edge of the village and was trying to meet as many people as I could handle. As soon as I walked into their compound and saw them, I knew we would be friends. Fati is probably in her 40s; Sahara is in her teens, and they find it hilarious and wonderful that I am here. No matter what, I know I can go there and and smile with them. I also visit Karima, because she seems like a sort of powerful matriarch-type person; she sells goro nuts (kola nuts to you?) .

To provide a little context to all of this: under Islamic law a man can have up to four wives. I believe most, if not all, men in my village have two or more wives. During day time, most women (ages17+) are within the family compound, working. Each woman has her own hut for her and her kids. Younger girls and teen girls leave frequently throughout the day to get water-you'll always see them coming and going-but for the most part you won't see women hanging out in public spaces. In the hottest part of the day, the women do congregate with their friends in the shade for a few hours, but really they are without much "free time."