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