Thanks for all your super encouraging words, I think my little rollercoaster is leveling out! My friend Steph (she was the Fulbrighter here last year and is very wise) advised me to just take one day at a time and to look for one thing every day that is wonderful/interesting/different and focus on that thing . . . that has really helped!
I started by looking for the huge bats she told me about, which hang in these tall green trees near the Petit Marche, and wow are they cool! Thy just sleep upside down during the day, chilling there, and I haven't seen them at night yet . . . I remember seeing them in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, they were also huge and made lots of noises and looked cool as they flew around at sunset. Now I am realizing that each day here presents me with so many new and eye-opening experiences, and that I should be grateful for all of them! Some fun times lately have been: strolling in the neighborhood with Mohamed, my 6-year old homestay bro who is literally and objectively one of the cutest kids I have ever seen, and practicing Tamashek with my new tutor, who is very kind and patient and gave me a book of Tuareg proverbs to read. He is making practice the four Tamashek sounds that I can't yet pronounce over the weekend with my family.
My homestay mom is a very interesting woman and I am learning so much from her. It is great to be with a family and see what they do on a daily basis. . . . it's amazing how much time they spend together and how generous my mom is.
Gotta go now, but I will write again soon . . . I'm about to go sweat a lot as I hail a cab to head back home! Keep me posted on your happenings, it's always fun to get email! xoxoxo
Fofo,
Maggie
Luggage update: going to the airport in a few hours to try one more time to get those bags. My least favorite phrase in French right now is "ca va arriver" because that is just what people say and who the heck knows if that means they will come tomorrow or next year. Whatever, I'm going with a nice girl from PC who speaks Zarma and saw me crying at the airport the other day so that is good. All the baggage people know me by now, so that's fun. But it's really ok now, because some awesome PC people (one of them is Sarah Kraemer's friend from Madison!) lent me clothes and took me to the market to buy undies that were from the salvation army in the U.S. I got two pairs for less than a dollar, how about that !? Then tonight I'm going out with friends and will probably have my first Biere Niger, yay.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
On a rollercoaster
Hi Everybody,
Thanks for your nice emails and comments, it is SO nice to hear from you, and I hope you continue to write and I will write back as soon as I can -- the only problem is that sometimes when I see your names in my email inbox, I get kinda sad and miss you even more!
So to be honest, I am on a huge emotional rollercoaster right now. I can't totally explain why, but I feel like all of my senses and emotions have intensified, so when I am happy, I am having tons of fun and really enjoying life here and feeling so lucky to be here and so grateful that people are being kind to me. However, when I am sad, I am really sad, and I think I have cried more tears in the past few days than I have in the past year. This has really only happened when I am talking to my parents on the phone about my luggage being lost, or when I tried again yesterday to get my luggage at the airport and it still hadn't arrived, or when I am thinking about my lost luggage (you might see a trend). I know it seems really shallow to care
about stupid material things, especially in a place like Niger where people have very very few things, but having one pair of underwear is a bit less than ideal and somehow it just makes life a bit harder. Luckily, people have been very nice in lending me things -- for example, my homestay mom Habsou lent me a great Nigerien outfit, it is pink and purple and white with flowers and I wore it with fulaar (headpiece) to a wedding the other day, and a new Peace Corps friend lent me a cool Nigerien dress for the PC swearing-in ceremony last night. And today Habsou took me to buy shampoo and stuff, so everything is okay, it's just frustrating sometimes not to have undies and stuff like that.
I have to go meet with the History Professor who is going to help me with my research soon, so I'll try to keep this short-ish by giving you a quick list of things that I've been up to and thoughts that I've had:
---Moved in with my Tuareg homestay family: excellent! My "mom" is an awesome, smart, beautiful, fun person and she seems to a prime example of the semi-matriarchal Tuareg family structure. Her husband is up North right now so it is quite matriarchal right now. Inside our compound, there is a huge sandy open space where there is a big tent and lots of mats to lounge on, plus mattresses under the ten and outside on the mats, so sometimes I lay out at night and watch the stars and drink Tuareg tea and try to discern the Tamashek conversation around me. I am currently sleeping in the children's/vistors' bedroom; there are three wonderful kids, Raicha, Nourrodine, and Mohamed, and every time I come home, there are at least two new visitors. It's fun chilling with so many different people, and I especially enjoy tutoring the kids in English. Hopefully they will start helping me with my Tamashek soon!
--Tuareg wedding/block party/dance party fest: On my first night with my homestay family, my mom took me to a Tuareg wedding in a nearby neighborhood. It was 10:15 pm and I was really tired and thinking about heading to bed, then Habsou dressed me in one of her cool outfits and a bunch of us (not the kids, the random adults/family members who were around that night) piled into her Land Cruiser and headed out. We drove for a while and were suddenly at an amazing event, involving electric guitars, lots of turbaned Tuareg men, gorgeously dressed Tuareg women, and dozens upon dozens of children. It was an amazing time, and although I was too nervous to dance, I think I will next time.
--Spent some time meeting Peace Corps volunteers who are in town for the 45th anniversary of the PC in Niger, then attended swearing-in ceremony for the new volunteers at the U.S. Ambassador's residence: it's been great meeting some Americans who really know their way around Niger after having been there for so long. One volunteer in particular has been a lifesaver for me, taking me to a cool tailor/fashion designer (really). It's interesting to learn about Peace Corps and the work they do here.
--One more random impression and then I'm done: Although I am certainly seeing parts of Nigerien culture and learning a lot from my family, I still feel as if I haven't seen anything yet b/c I haven't left Niamey. I haven't seen many of the images of Niger that I expected, although I have seen some. I've seen burning trash, extremely malnourished children (especially infants and toddlers), bustling markets and Sahel sunsets. However, b/c I have been meeting people at the Embassy and in the PC, I have also experienced the luxuries that Americans enjoy here, which continues to distance me from real Nigerien life. I have been swimming in a heated pool, I have eaten ice cream and drank real coffee . . . some parts of my life seem "normal" or familiar, but some things are unlike any I have ever seen before. I don't know if these two "sides" of life here will ever come together for me during my time in Niger, but it is a wierd feeling right now.
Thanks again for all your love and support. Hope to be in touch soon!
xoxo
Mags
Thanks for your nice emails and comments, it is SO nice to hear from you, and I hope you continue to write and I will write back as soon as I can -- the only problem is that sometimes when I see your names in my email inbox, I get kinda sad and miss you even more!
So to be honest, I am on a huge emotional rollercoaster right now. I can't totally explain why, but I feel like all of my senses and emotions have intensified, so when I am happy, I am having tons of fun and really enjoying life here and feeling so lucky to be here and so grateful that people are being kind to me. However, when I am sad, I am really sad, and I think I have cried more tears in the past few days than I have in the past year. This has really only happened when I am talking to my parents on the phone about my luggage being lost, or when I tried again yesterday to get my luggage at the airport and it still hadn't arrived, or when I am thinking about my lost luggage (you might see a trend). I know it seems really shallow to care
about stupid material things, especially in a place like Niger where people have very very few things, but having one pair of underwear is a bit less than ideal and somehow it just makes life a bit harder. Luckily, people have been very nice in lending me things -- for example, my homestay mom Habsou lent me a great Nigerien outfit, it is pink and purple and white with flowers and I wore it with fulaar (headpiece) to a wedding the other day, and a new Peace Corps friend lent me a cool Nigerien dress for the PC swearing-in ceremony last night. And today Habsou took me to buy shampoo and stuff, so everything is okay, it's just frustrating sometimes not to have undies and stuff like that.
I have to go meet with the History Professor who is going to help me with my research soon, so I'll try to keep this short-ish by giving you a quick list of things that I've been up to and thoughts that I've had:
---Moved in with my Tuareg homestay family: excellent! My "mom" is an awesome, smart, beautiful, fun person and she seems to a prime example of the semi-matriarchal Tuareg family structure. Her husband is up North right now so it is quite matriarchal right now. Inside our compound, there is a huge sandy open space where there is a big tent and lots of mats to lounge on, plus mattresses under the ten and outside on the mats, so sometimes I lay out at night and watch the stars and drink Tuareg tea and try to discern the Tamashek conversation around me. I am currently sleeping in the children's/vistors' bedroom; there are three wonderful kids, Raicha, Nourrodine, and Mohamed, and every time I come home, there are at least two new visitors. It's fun chilling with so many different people, and I especially enjoy tutoring the kids in English. Hopefully they will start helping me with my Tamashek soon!
--Tuareg wedding/block party/dance party fest: On my first night with my homestay family, my mom took me to a Tuareg wedding in a nearby neighborhood. It was 10:15 pm and I was really tired and thinking about heading to bed, then Habsou dressed me in one of her cool outfits and a bunch of us (not the kids, the random adults/family members who were around that night) piled into her Land Cruiser and headed out. We drove for a while and were suddenly at an amazing event, involving electric guitars, lots of turbaned Tuareg men, gorgeously dressed Tuareg women, and dozens upon dozens of children. It was an amazing time, and although I was too nervous to dance, I think I will next time.
--Spent some time meeting Peace Corps volunteers who are in town for the 45th anniversary of the PC in Niger, then attended swearing-in ceremony for the new volunteers at the U.S. Ambassador's residence: it's been great meeting some Americans who really know their way around Niger after having been there for so long. One volunteer in particular has been a lifesaver for me, taking me to a cool tailor/fashion designer (really). It's interesting to learn about Peace Corps and the work they do here.
--One more random impression and then I'm done: Although I am certainly seeing parts of Nigerien culture and learning a lot from my family, I still feel as if I haven't seen anything yet b/c I haven't left Niamey. I haven't seen many of the images of Niger that I expected, although I have seen some. I've seen burning trash, extremely malnourished children (especially infants and toddlers), bustling markets and Sahel sunsets. However, b/c I have been meeting people at the Embassy and in the PC, I have also experienced the luxuries that Americans enjoy here, which continues to distance me from real Nigerien life. I have been swimming in a heated pool, I have eaten ice cream and drank real coffee . . . some parts of my life seem "normal" or familiar, but some things are unlike any I have ever seen before. I don't know if these two "sides" of life here will ever come together for me during my time in Niger, but it is a wierd feeling right now.
Thanks again for all your love and support. Hope to be in touch soon!
xoxo
Mags
Friday, September 21, 2007
Fofo from Niamey!
Salut everybody,
("Fofo" is a popular greeting here in Zarma, the language that everyone but me speaks:) My fav word thus far is "barka," which means "congrats")
Hello from Niamey! Although I only arrived 6 hours ago, I just had to use an incredible opportunity (free internet in the house where I am staying) to check in right away.
It is 11:45 pm here right now, and it seems to be a balmy 80 degrees outside. Ca va, it's not unbearable, but even the locals were complaining today when we stepped off the plane onto the 100 degrees++ tarmac.
Today was a most excellent day, despite the fact that my luggage did not arrive in Niamey. Oh well, i think it will come in a few days, "inshallah," as the say here (if god wills it). I was greeted at the airport by some nice folks at the airport, and despite my lack of Zarma skills, I was able to remain calm and speak in French to the Air France dude about my luggage. The Embassy folks took me to the house where I am staying for the weekend, and then I got a small tour of the city from a resident expert (the lady I am staying with, who has lived here for quite some time, and yells in a variety of languages to people in the streets that she knows, all the while yelling at her car not to break down, which it eventually did). We visited the nice Boston University study abroad students at there center, and I also met some Peace Corps folks who work with Tuaregs, so it was good to chat with them.
Although it's too soon to really have an opinion, I already like Niamey! The people seem friendly, the streets are widen and red and dusty, the town sits on the Niger river, and there is apparently a great karaoke bar that I hope to go to soon. I can't wait for Sunday when I meet the director of Tin Hinan, the NGO that I am working for.
I hope all is well with all of you, who are scattered around the planet. I am thinking of my dear family and friends at home (and abroad!) and I would love to hear from you whenever you have the chance to drop a line.
Much love,
Maggie
p.s. This will be probably be my one and only post from Niger without typos, b/c pretty soon I will be using those damn French keyboards. Just fyi!
("Fofo" is a popular greeting here in Zarma, the language that everyone but me speaks:) My fav word thus far is "barka," which means "congrats")
Hello from Niamey! Although I only arrived 6 hours ago, I just had to use an incredible opportunity (free internet in the house where I am staying) to check in right away.
It is 11:45 pm here right now, and it seems to be a balmy 80 degrees outside. Ca va, it's not unbearable, but even the locals were complaining today when we stepped off the plane onto the 100 degrees++ tarmac.
Today was a most excellent day, despite the fact that my luggage did not arrive in Niamey. Oh well, i think it will come in a few days, "inshallah," as the say here (if god wills it). I was greeted at the airport by some nice folks at the airport, and despite my lack of Zarma skills, I was able to remain calm and speak in French to the Air France dude about my luggage. The Embassy folks took me to the house where I am staying for the weekend, and then I got a small tour of the city from a resident expert (the lady I am staying with, who has lived here for quite some time, and yells in a variety of languages to people in the streets that she knows, all the while yelling at her car not to break down, which it eventually did). We visited the nice Boston University study abroad students at there center, and I also met some Peace Corps folks who work with Tuaregs, so it was good to chat with them.
Although it's too soon to really have an opinion, I already like Niamey! The people seem friendly, the streets are widen and red and dusty, the town sits on the Niger river, and there is apparently a great karaoke bar that I hope to go to soon. I can't wait for Sunday when I meet the director of Tin Hinan, the NGO that I am working for.
I hope all is well with all of you, who are scattered around the planet. I am thinking of my dear family and friends at home (and abroad!) and I would love to hear from you whenever you have the chance to drop a line.
Much love,
Maggie
p.s. This will be probably be my one and only post from Niger without typos, b/c pretty soon I will be using those damn French keyboards. Just fyi!
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Contactez-moi!
Hello again,I'm still writing to you from Bainbridge Island, but I think my next post will be from Niamey. I wanted to give you my contact information in the chance that you decide to shower me with affection from afar!
Here are some ways to get in touch:
1. I would be quite happy if you sent me MAIL and it is surprisingly easy to do. Please send mail to me at my parent's home address:
Maggie Fick
7335 Madrona Drive NE
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
My parents will then send it to me via a special system and then I will be able to pick it up at the U.S. Embassy in Niamey- yay! Please only send LETTERS or POSTCARDS, not magazines, newspapers, anything like that. Sorry to be strict, that's just what I was told.
2. And as you know, my email is maggie.fick@gmail.com
3. I am a new convert to Skype, and my Skype name is maggie.fick. I have a camera and microphone, so if you want we can video chat, which is pretty much the coolest thing ever. So far I have talked to friends in South Korea, Germany, and my bro in Minnesota and Grandma in San Diego.
Finally, please email your contact info to me (at maggie.fick@gmail.com)! I would love to send letters/ emails to you, so don't hesitate to pass that info along.
Right now I am very excited to get to Niger! I am also very pleased about the fact that I can see the friendly faces I love on Skype when I need a little glimpse of home. This week I have been emailing with my contacts in Niger and with folks at the Embassy, so I at least have the first 2 days of life in Niamey figured out. The woman who runs the NGO that I will be working for is super cool and I think she will be a great friend/colleague throughout my stay.
Alright, that's all for now, keep in touch and I'll write again from Niamey!
p.s. For those you who don't know Scout Fick, he is featured above.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
INTRO/ Greetings from Bainbridge Island! (this is not a test)
Hi all,
I returned home yesterday to beautiful Bainbridge Island, Washington to visit my family and friends and to prepare for my upcoming trip to Niger. I am very excited to begin this experience, but I know that it will be hard to be away from the people that I love. But it's okay, I'll be back soon enough:)
I had a fun and interesting summer in Washington, D.C., working for the ENOUGH Project/International Crisis Group (click on the link over on the right of this page) and for the National Democratic Institute. D.C. is a great place to be (in the U.S.) if you are interested in Africa and African policy.
There is lots to be done before I leave for Niger on September 20, and there are SO many things that I know I can't prepare for, but for the moment I am happy to just be relaxing at home. My brother Charlie left for Carleton College last week, so unfortunately he is not here to hang out with, but my mom and dad and I call him often to bother him and try to extract information from him about his saucy new "college life."
Feel free to leave comments with ideas on how I could improve my blog! I'm a beginner at this business, so I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks for reading:)
Love,
Mags
I returned home yesterday to beautiful Bainbridge Island, Washington to visit my family and friends and to prepare for my upcoming trip to Niger. I am very excited to begin this experience, but I know that it will be hard to be away from the people that I love. But it's okay, I'll be back soon enough:)
I had a fun and interesting summer in Washington, D.C., working for the ENOUGH Project/International Crisis Group (click on the link over on the right of this page) and for the National Democratic Institute. D.C. is a great place to be (in the U.S.) if you are interested in Africa and African policy.
There is lots to be done before I leave for Niger on September 20, and there are SO many things that I know I can't prepare for, but for the moment I am happy to just be relaxing at home. My brother Charlie left for Carleton College last week, so unfortunately he is not here to hang out with, but my mom and dad and I call him often to bother him and try to extract information from him about his saucy new "college life."
Feel free to leave comments with ideas on how I could improve my blog! I'm a beginner at this business, so I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks for reading:)
Love,
Mags
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