Pumps and Sickness...

So I've been stuck in Niamey for 5 days and a week in Maradi before that... It all started with a fervor in my village, it didn't go away after a day so i came into Maradi a week before i planned and ended up with Amoebic and bacterial disentry which total took me about 6 days to get over and i was super weak after(couldn't stand up for 1 min w/o feeling exhausted). The day I felt well enough to eat again(last Friday) I woke up and my legs had turned a dark red purple color... peace corps made me come into Niamey because of this which totally sucked!! It ended up being a drug reaction to the amoeba meds so I've been in Niamey for 5 days while my legs slowly turned Un-purple. So finally they are allowing me to return to Maradi.

While I was in my village before all the sickness World Vision came to my village and drilled to put in a hand pump in my village. The village had to pay 100,000Fcfa as their contribution to get the pump. I have probably missed some of the process in these 2 weeks I've been away on sick hold so well see when i get back whats going on.






There have also been a lot of weddings in my village lately and heres a picture of them putting the roof on one of the new couples houses!! They mix the mud on the ground and do a kind of conveyer system to get it up there and in place.


And heres a picture of my friend's 11th child (her 6th) as just over a month old!! Mom got to see him when he was only a day old.

It's been cold outside in the mornings so I set just inside my door and read instead of laying in my hammoc. Dodo sleeps on my lap while i read.


There have been some weddings in my village. And before the wedding the house is built by the men and the women put clay in the house and wet it and dance inside the house so that the house has a hard flatish flooring. This is some of the dancing just outside the house.


This is the kind of thing i see on my bush walk from my village to the main road during dry season. The camels are gone during rainy/farming season because the nomadic herders take all their animals north in to the Sahara because they would eat all the growing millet and sorghum and beans if they were left in the area.

Pictures

New addition to my zoo. Shes pregnant so ill have a new adition in the next 3 or so months (gestation is 5 months in sheep and goats)


Ofcorse the filtered water inside isn't good enough for him.


More new additions but I didnt buy these...theres 6 total.


And its building season in my village this wall is going up on the outskirts of the village and eventually itll be a whole house for someone in the villages son who is moving back from Nigeria.

The two guys in the photos are 2 of my friends and Uncle and Nephew (the one in red is the Uncle).

Right now is watermellon season in my area of niger (50K stretch of road) and this is what all the villages on the road look like!



I go to bed some nights sloshing from all the watermellon my villagers gave me that night!

Merry Christmas

So santa came and visited us at the hostle!


And he brought us all stockings!!


I decorated our lime tree for our christmas tree! Some ornament improvising was done!



Maradi Family Picture!!


And Ousmane petite with a christmas tree hat on!


We woke up sunday morning (some with hangovers) and opened gifts sent from home and then cooked all day getting ready for our hamburger x-mas dinner. We did secret santa before dinner each opening the gifts one at a time so everyone can see what everyone else got! We had a 2000Fcfa price limit and had to be bought in Niger (not from a care package) and a LOT of realy great things were bought!


Thought id add some more pictures

Heres 2 pictures of my village tailors.
Abdou


Chietou(Shy-e-too)




Its watermellon season in my area of Niger. This is what i call my Bush Fridge. Its the clay thing i keep my water in so that its nice and cold all year round.

Well heres a picture of the New kids and all the Maradi people that went to swear in!


And to the COSers!! Well Miss you guys!



Maradi!


Ag/NRM '07

I've desided to take a page out of the Flat Stanely book and take pictures with this lovely pig Cousin Sue gave me at my going away party! This is the inside of my house door!





Here is my chicken and some of the guinea fowls she raised. The redish ones are mine and the black ones are my landlady's. Unfortunatly the chicken is no longer with us as according to my villagers someone hit her and an egg died(broke) inside of her and she died.




Heres a cute little hedgehog someone caught for me. They eat them but i let this guy go.
Theres a saying here like the american "Its a peice of cake" that goes something like "Its like catching Hedgehogs" Because you just touch them and they roll up in a ball and wahlah you have dinner....




Chamillians are everywhere!!! I keep saving them and putting them out in the bush as kids kill them because everyone is scared of them.





Heres my big roster crowing in the morning.






This is a local land moniter lizard. They caught her for me and we ate it. YUMMY!!!!



Dodo playing in a bag in my house. Nigerien cats like bags too!!

Well never mind on the pictures....grrr mabey in Niamey which ill be there dec 6-14th.

Thanksgiving is coming up and we are having dinner tomorrow after the new kids get here because they will be in their villages for the actual day. We have a turkey wondering around the Hostel yard right now which i will be plucking and butchering tomorrow after the guard gets it killed and then one of the other girls will be cooking it.

I've started the work on a Grain Bank project in my village and need to write a preposal for the money we need. Their village contribution is the building of the building and a small part of the grain. I'll be writing a Peace Corps Partnership proposal so when that gets aproved ill be asking yall to donate!! :D

My animal count right now is up to 2 hens(use to have 3 but one got sick) 2 rosters 3 baby chickens (i think my other hen is setting on eggs somewhere in teh village she hasnt come home in a few days) 6 teenager guinea fowl and Dodo my cat. I'll be buying a ewe after Tabaski when the prices go back down.

Team Maradi!

The "New Kids" swore in yesterday and heres a picture of all of Team Maradi that came in.




And the view from the Ambassador's House!!!

More Pictures from the Bush

Chickens!! The grey one in back isnt mine!


Dodo and his CRAZY eyes


Millet Field near my house its even higher now!!


My field..again plants are higher and the sorgum has heads now.


My garden in my house....the corn has flowers now....and isnt much taller.