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May 2007 May 2, 2007 I arrived safely back in my town. I have left Niger quite frequently this year so there was no culture shock to report on. Since I have left so often I told everyone that I was only going to Niamey. I managed successfully to transport a large traditional drum to Germany as a gift for the couple that introduced me to my wife. I had no bag large enough so I constructed one out of cardboard box pieces, a large sack and a lot of medical tape (I ran out of duct tape partway through). I stuffed it with clothes to act as padding, using some string I created a handle, and I labeled the package clearly. I knew that it would be tough to get a checked bag on my transfer flight with such a short layover in Morocco (only one hour). In fact my plane was late causing them to hold my connecting flight as I ran through the airport. It was a little embarrassing at the baggage claim in Frankfurt when they asked me if I was sure that my bag wasn't there and I just missed it. Then I had to point it out on the chart of luggage photographs (not surprisingly nothing matched). In the end it arrived safely. Germany was nice, about seventy degrees every day, save one. The exception day was in the upper forties and I spent a lot of time outside. That night I couldn't warm up no matter how high the heat was. I assumed I'd be the first person to get heat stroke and hypothermia in the same week. Fortunately, I wasn't. I drank some tea and was back to normal. May 17, 2007 I've begun the last stretch of projects. I am planning on returning to New York on July 5th, though the deadline for completing my work is actually mid-June since that is when the school year ends. From Niamey I brought back many issues of Newsweek which we get for free as volunteers. I collect all the ones given to the volunteers in my region and redistribute them amongst the English teachers here. I also brought back responses from our pen pal program. I carried them to the school on a Friday. Unfortunately the director and teacher of the class participating were out. Surprisingly school was still in session despite their absence. I told the substitute teacher I had the responses. The kids overheard and began to jump and cheer. I left extremely content with their reaction, promising to return when the director was present. On Monday I returned and gave the director and teachers the letters. The students were taking a test so all the teachers had free time. They all gathered to read the letters before we distributed them to the students. I'm not sure who was more excited to read them, the teachers or the students. Interesting to note, all the girls chose to write to the boys and vice versa. Before I left for vacation three students from the high school turned in late submissions to the essay contest. We graded them upon my return and gave prizes to all three. It was the same drill as before; the chair of the English department and I went to each class and honored the student in front of his or her class. It was easier this time because they were at the same school. Unfortunately, two of the three winners were absent that day. We presented the awards before the class nonetheless so that more students would be motivated next time. It hasn't all been work lately. Last Saturday I went to Malenville, Benin. There is an ongoing dispute between the border agents and the motorcycle taxi drivers. My ride left me at the bridge to walk the final kilometer (ironic that after two years of sneaking across the white guy crossed easily and the African was turned back at the border). I felt a bit like a refugee entering another country on foot alongside many other people, most of who had large bags of goods to sell at the market. I finally met the female volunteer stationed there (she'd been there a year but I kept missing her). Her sector boss was there and he took us to lunch. After I met with the information technology volunteer. He's fixed every computer in the town. One of his beneficiaries was the hotel. As a way of thanking him, he all of his Peace Corps friends can swim for free. We definitely took advantage of that on Saturday. It hasn't all been all fun either. The rain has yet to fall, which is late for my town. The heat has still been tough to handle (the pool definitely helped). The power outages have been ridiculous. Last year I remember them occurring here and there for a few minutes. Now it seems like every night for about four to eight hours we are without lights (and I'm without a fan). I don't know if its related, but the phone service has been greatly interrupted. Not that it was ever that stellar, but now every call is cut off. Have patience, only seven weeks to go... May 20, 2007 I decided to spend the weekend in Niamey. I have two friends from Gaya that have been studying there since November. Every time I go to Niamey I fool myself into thinking I'll have time to see them. However, I always venture to the capital for a specific purpose that usually takes all my time. I decided to make this trip just to see them. That is not to say I didn't have work to do there. I spent five hours Friday night typing and printing things on the computer. Unfortunately the photo copy machine was broken (and has been for at least six weeks), so I couldn't finish all the paperwork. I finished around midnight but decided to wait around an extra hour to 'watch' the subway series on yahoo game tracker. The internet went down at 1AM local time with the Mets leading 1-0 in the fourth and I called it a night. The next morning I went to the market to look for soap making chemicals (we're low on them here). I couldn't find any at the petitte marche so I went to grande marche. I had no luck there either. I was directed by one man down an aisle. I'm not sure who I was to be looking for so I asked a boy. He took me back to the man I just asked. The man told him where to take me. We ducked through the narrow passageways before exiting the market. The boy hailed a cab and away we went. I kept asking him where we were going, but did not understand the reply. The taxi dropped us off at an unfamiliar place. We walked. And walked. We left the city limits and stumbled upon an enclave of straw houses. We kept walking. We were no longer on a road. We passed no signs of civilization; the enclave was a speck in the horizon behind us. Eventually we arrived at a house. It looked like the African equivalent of a junk yard, with old parts strewn about and rusty drums lined up in front of a shack. The owner was a soap maker. He showed me his ingredients and explained his process. Unfortunately it was not the same as ours. We began the trek back to the city. When we reached the edge of Niamey the boy pointed out his house. I guess I found the right person in the market. I brought him a soda and gave him a small tip. I headed back into the city, tired, dehydrated, and empty-handed. I situated myself between the fan and the television in the Peace Corps house. After eight episodes of Family Guy I was rejuvenated. I headed out to meet my friends. We planned on 5PM at a restaurant. They showed up slightly after six. I chose this restaurant because it served hamburgers and fries. One of my friends did not like the meal so I had to eat hers as well. The other finished his but I couldn't tell if he enjoyed it. They both ate a lot of fries which are more familiar to them. We went back t my friend's house. I'd been to his old house in Niamey but he moved. His new house was much nicer. He shared it with his brother. We watched "24" in French and ate again. He introduced us to one of his classmates and her family. I was shocked by how fat her little sister was. She must have been six or seven years old and tipped the scales at one-hundred pounds. That's unheard of here. Sunday was rather unproductive. I attended Mass in English and returned to Gaya. I made it in time to go out with a friend for drinks. My friend assembled quite a crew for this occasion. He had to speak to me in English, a woman with us in Zarma, and another friend in Ibo.
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