Tuesday, February 5, 2008

New pics!

Habsou giving a speech at her NGO's (Tin Hinan) Graduation ceremony for the first group of women who have made it through the training, skills building, and literacy classes that Tin Hinan offers. They began their training in Feb. 2006, so they have worked hard for this day.






Class photo!






My good friend Ruki and me in the Petit Marche, this was while I was shadowing an awesome streetfood vendor while she made her weekly purchases

just checkin in


Hello everybody,

Happy late Groundhog’s Day and Super Bowl Sunday weekend! Okay that was a weird beginning to a blog post, but those were two things I thought about this past weekend so I thought I would mention them…in fact, these American cultural landmarks made me realize just how far I am from home, but not at all in a bad way, in an exciting way! I’ll explain.

On Sunday, after spending most of the day in fragrant (that’s a nice way to put it), bustling markets with some awesome Nigerien women, I went swimming in my friends’ UNHEATED pool and It felt great. As I paddled around, I thought, it is the beginning of February, and I am swimming in an unheated pool.

If there was a groundhog in Niger, it would say that the windy “harmattan” season is almost over and it’s about to get ridiculously hot. I’m actually scared for the hot season, but I am trying to approach it positively by thinking about mangoes and swimming and how some people say saunas and sweating are good for your health.

On Sunday night, at 12:30 am to be precise, the Super Bowl game started and some American friends and I watched the game at the U.S. Marine’s house. That was a surreal experience in itself, but the funniest part was that after Tom Petty’s performance (I did not like his hair), I decided to head back to my friends’ house, where I was spending the night. It was 3 am and I made the 15-minute walk back home by myself…don’t worry, it was completely safe! The one person I crossed paths with said “salaam aleikum,” which means “peace be with you,” or “I come in peace.” I wouldn’t walk just anywhere in Niamey, but still, how cool is it to be able to walk around in the middle of the night in some parts of the capital city?? Plus there are stars b/c this is a small city!

These days, I’m just plugging away on some stories about various aspects of Niamey life, taking Hausa lessons, tutoring my Tuareg family in English, and watching the African Nations cup. I also have been buying African fabric in preparation for getting some clothes made for my American parents and my bro Charlie, who are going to meet me in Dakar, Senegal, in March! Yipeeee…I’m also looking forward to hosting a friend who is coming to visit me next week.

I hope you folks in the U.S. enjoy watching Super Tuesday results come in, I will be excited to check online tomorrow!
Much love,
Maggie