We arrived in country on Thursday, July 11th. There are about 40 other Peace Corps trainees in our training group in the following areas: municipal and community development, community health (like Theresa) and community and youth education (like Joe). There are also other volunteers who are serving in the areas of agriculture and natural resources/environment management. We were greeted at the airport by the training director, Tondi, a native Nigerien with a big smile and a contagious laugh. We traveled in two giant Peace Corps vehicles to the training site which is about 30 kilometers (km) from Niamey. (For security reasons, when we share our location and travel plans on this blog we will be purposefully vague).
We are in class at the training site Monday through Saturday. Class includes:
Language - Joe is studying French, the language used in elementary and middle schools and Theresa is studying Hausa, the local language spoken throughout the eastern part of the country.
Culture - We are learning about appropriate dress, gestures, traditions, and customs. We are also learning about the religion here. About 95% of the country is Muslim.
Health - We are receiving special medical training tailored to address specific challenges in Niger. We have two medical officers who are available around the clock and provide medication, consultation, and support as well as leading training classes and info sessions.
Security - We have a staff member dedicated to training all volunteers in safety and security. We have learned the best way to be safe is by understanding and adapting to the culture.
It is a 9 week training program and we are just finished week 4. We have to demonstrate our knowledge in each of the four areas in order to become volunteers. Right now, language is the most challenging part of the training. We had our first evaluation which shows we are progressing, slowly but surely. We have 5 more weeks before being sent out to our job sites, which will be announced next week.
We live with a host family and have our own little mud hut with a thatch roof within their concession (their walled property). We use a bucket bath and a squat latrine - both pretty much are exactly like they sound. An unanticipated luxury has been that during training, the Peace Corps does our laundry for us - washing, ironing, and folding everything! But we wash our "small clothes" ourselves in our bucket. We buy our breakfast at the market, usually milk in a bag (called Solani) and bread. We eat lunch at the training site, and our host family cooks dinner for us. Due to cultural norms here, we eat together, apart from the rest of the family, on a little table. We eat from a large metal bowl using our right hand. There's a lot of rice and beans, as well as onions, pasta, and of course millet. We don't eat much of the meat (goat, mostly), but have our fair share of mangos and even pineapple from time to time.
The weather has been hot, but not overwhelming. Plus, we're told our bodies will adjust to the heat. It's the rainy season now, and it rains a few times a week, cooling things down a bit. During the day we stay in the shade and there's often a cool breeze. After rainy season comes "cold" season, and then hot season, followed by the rainy season again. We're more than a little intimidated by the reports of 120+ during hot season, but it also coincides with mango season, which will help us cope with the heat.
This past month has been exciting, challenging, eye-opening, and crazy all at the same time. We love and miss all our family and friends while cherishing the opportunity to experience this amazing adventure. We appreciate you all following along with us, and we hope to keep updating as we are able. We haven't been able to load any pictures at this point, but a girl from our training group has put hers on her Flickr account and invites you to check them out (www.flickr.com/photos/mwong64) Thanks to Marisa Wong for sharing her photos!
More stories to come, but for now, Sai Angima!
