A Taste of Reality

Before I begin this post, I would like to note my new mailing address at post. I should be posting it (along with some photos, hopefully) on Facebook soon. If anyone of you should be interested in sending over some goodies, make sure to put in a checklist of the box’s contents as some things can ‘disappear’ during customs.
Thomas Leonard, PCV
Corps de la Paix
Gothèye, Niger
West Africa
You may be wondering why there is no PO Box or address. It is because the six or seven PCVs in the Gothèye cluster are the only people to pick up their mail at this post office! I am posted about 24 km from Gothèye city. I also have changed my cell number from my original to (011227) 96 12 61 44.
My training group has about a week of training left before Swear-in, and I expect it to be a very busy few days. Thus, I am taking this time to share about our live-in experience completed last week and to preview the near future.
Sunday before last all thirty-one of left to the far reaches of Niger to visit our future posts for the week. My region, Tillaberi, surrounds Niamey, so our travel to site lasted all of one afternoon. That morning, the six Tillaberians in our stage met up with our Regional Representative (a PCV) and some other PCVs to buy the essentials for the week: cot, mat, table, pots, stove (and gas tank), buckets, cord, food and utensils. After lunch we split up into two cars and headed to our sites.
I won’t go into all the details, but suffice it to say we all had our share of adventures. Some trainees had unfinished houses, unusable latrines or missing ovens. I didn’t lack anything to essential. Still, I felt like I was at Boy Scout Summer Camp except there was no car to whisk me away, no trading post or swimmable water, and ‘wilderness survival’ actually meant survival. While education and municipality volunteers are often considered ‘spoiled’ compared to other Nigerien PCVs, there are some bush CYE (education) posts. Mine, which did not include a high school, school inspection, municipal government or a paved road, is included in the latter category. CYEs often follow directly after a previous CYE, while I was ‘opening’ a new post. While I have reliable cell phone service and the potential for electricity, my town of 7,000 (chef de village estimate) does not carry much economic or cultural clout. Whereas the training town of Hamdallaye is marginally smaller in size, it has a paved road lined with merchants and relatively constant motor traffic flow. Larba Birno, my site town, has a handful merchants in huts hidden seemingly at random along the main dirt road and in the ‘alleys’ winding throughout town. The sporadic (a few times per hour) traffic rarely stops on its way to the gold-mining operation in Samira 72 km west, hence the lack of imported goods.
On the flip side, Larba Birno had natural beauty not found elsewhere. The seasonal Sirba river whooshed by the south of town, cutting crevasses into the clay and feeding a multitude of trees and shrubs nearby. Additionally, the townspeople had a uniquely positive view of Americans, having welcomed in succession four previous volunteers in Agriculture and Nat. Resource Development (I believe) somewhere between a few years to twenty-some years ago (a point of contention between village elders!). At any rate, the immediate warmth with which I was received differed exceptionally from the awkwardness experienced by many of my stagemates. While at times I felt that certain villagers were trying to exploit their kindness for their own advantage, I greatly appreciated the opportunity to be shown about town like a dignitary. The slow pace of life around Larba seemed to suit me well as well, although I did feel more than a bit cut off from ‘real life’ - despite the fact that this will be my reality for two years. I also learned more Zarma than in I had in the weeks previous combined, although the little French I spoke acted as a mental popsicle.
I will return to Larba sometime around September 12. For the first month I will be staying exclusively in village with an exceptional market excursion to the next town over. That said, do not expect any new blogs for some time. Even when/if I do get electricity, Niamey is the closest internet, and that will be off-limits for my first three months - except for official business like regional team meetings.

Until next time,
Thomas