A Trip to Hamdallaye and Anxious for Home

Not fully recovered from the madness that was America, I got off the plane in Niamey, and went directly to the Peace Corps training site up in Hamdallaye. Two weeks of hanging and helping out with the newbies was a really good time. The new kids are a really good group. Of course, that leaves us playing the "who's coming to Team Zinder" game for another month, but its entertaining if nothing else.

And of course it was great getting to spend some more time with my old host family, who remain wonderfully, amazingly, awesome. They now have their house fully built, though they no longer have electricity. But regardless, it's a huge relief to see them together after being afraid they might need to split up. All the kids are still in school and the oldest was on the brink of passing the end of College exam (though I should be careful not to speak too soon, because its still not a done deal).

The pics are of me with the family and some friends who are always coming through. In one you can see the front of their new house in back of us. Of course there's an obligatory picture of me with that gorgeous little budding super model, Rookaya, the one who stole my heart back when I first arrived. In another picture I'm thinking about biting Nafissa's face (OK not really, but it was a fun picture anyways. I call her the Big Mosquito because she's always teasing me. Super smart girl.) There's me with the twins, and another with me the twins and their friends as they head off to another friends' marriage.

And that about catches us up. I've been in Niamey for a couple days trying to get this heinously old computer fixed for the local newsletter/journal project with only moderate success, but that's just the way life goes. At 4am tomorrow morning I board that 14 hour joy ride we call the commute out east (although with detours and washed out parts of the road due to rainy season it'll probably be longer). And within another day I should finally be back home in Matameye... Wow, its been a while. Can't wait to get back.

To America and Back

It’s been a while. And it’s been a crazy frantic madness of a blitz back to that land called America and back. Whew. The break. Well, it was awesome. At times and in some ways perhaps a little too awesome.

I apologize if I was a bit stressed. I feel really badly about having missed a few important people, and even those who I did get to see, I wish I’d had more time. But in the end, it reminded me that America is a pretty amazing place, that I have a wonderful family, and some amazing friends. So, while I wish I could’ve had just a bit more time, in the end leaving it as a tease is perhaps how it should be, and I’ll be eager for more when I finish my service.

Of course coming home came with a small cost too. It gave me a glimpse of how difficult it will be when my time here in Niger comes to an end. I’d have to say that leaving America to come to Niger has been the most difficult challenge I’ve faced in this whole endeavor, but I’ve always known that I’d come back to the U.S. and see my friends again. But leaving Matameye just for a short vacation gave me an idea of how difficult it will be to say real goodbyes to my Nigerien friends after another year, when I’ll be much less sure of when I’ll get to come back.

I don’t think that my fears of coming home were totally unfounded. When I left I had a lot of momentum and was feeling settled. Going home undid some of that, but not totally. Although I’m not yet back in Matameye, it’s good to be back in Niger. I’m actually now up at the training site and its fun and rejuvenating getting to help out with the new group of trainees that came in. Thinking back to my own first few weeks, how horrified I was of the heat and how sick I got its nice to be able to encourage others going through the same freaked out adjustments.

So, for now that’s it. Nothing too interesting to report. Just wanting to say hello to everyone, announce that the visit home was wonderful, that the trip back to Niger went safely, and that while it was sad saying another round of goodbyes, I’m really happy and excited to be back in Niger for another year. I feel like I still have a lot left that I want to do I worry whether or not I’ll have enough time. While a year seems like a long time, if this next one blasts by any thing close to as quickly as the last one did, then I’ll be back before you even realize I’d left.

You’re all in my thoughts. Thanks to everyone for their support and just generally for being fantastic.