Classes were cancelled Monday for the fete of Tabaski, in which everyone kills a bunch of sheep to commemorate the moment in which Abraham sacrificed a sheep instead of his son Ishmael. ("But wait!" say the Biblical scholars. "Wasn't that Isaac?" Alas, you've obviously been reading the wrong holy book.) The holiday starts early in the morning when the sheep are killed, there heads and skins removed. Then they are slit down the middle and strung up over a fire for roasting. Not to worry, this all takes place on the side of the road so that everyone might enjoy the festive sight of entrails! My homestay family invited me back to their house, which was nice, although they also sort of kidnapped me and forced me to spend the night. I did eventually make it back to the CFCA, where I am now busy living out my final nine days in Niger.

written by  The Boston Wanderer on December 12, 2008 from Niamey, Niger
from the travel blog: Sandstorms
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Two weekends ago, we visited Parc W, a huge wildlife reserve that stretches across three countries. Unfortunately, Niger is the least-appealing of those countries from the animals' perspective, so we didn't see more than a few antelope, some crocodiles, and a couple of baboons. It was still really fun to ride around the park on top of the SUVs, though. I'd love to post some pictures, but my sort-of-broken camera was completely broken by a child last week, so those will have to wait.

I spent the last week living with a Nigerian family in a suburb just off the main road out of the city, which was cool. They have three kids and are wealthy in the sense that their home has electricity and running water. They fed me crazy amounts of food and helped me practice my French and Zarma.

We were with our homestay families for Thanksgiving, but everyone worked really hard yesterday to cook a belated Thanksgiving dinner. There were yams, chicken (no turkeys here), stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, mac and cheese, sangria, and two kinds of pie. Of course, Thanksgiving has always marked the beginning of Christmas for me, and my roommate and I have been taking advantage of the opportunity to sing Christmas carols at the top of our lungs. Did I mention the sangria?

Three weeks from today, I'll be in a plane somewhere over the Atlantic. I'm not at all ready for this to end.

written by  The Boston Wanderer on December 1, 2008 from Niamey, Niger
from the travel blog: Sandstorms
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When we finally did get to Benin, it was an eye-opening experience, and I couldn't help thinking how much easier it is to live in a place like that (as compared to Niger). First of all, things actually grow there. Imagine palm trees and broad, leafy plants. Even more exciting: fruits. A whole world of vitamins awaits the visitor to Benin who feasts upon its pineapples, papayas, and avocados. Also, the country is on the coast, which means not only fish to eat but also tourism and trade to enhance its economic prospects. Thoguh it is not a wealthy nation, Benin's standard of living was notably high to my eyes, accustomed as they are to the Sahel. The people are bigger, the children have more energy, and the livestock isn't so boney.

I'd thought that living in Niamey had acclimated me to West African cities, but Cotonou was bigger and busier that I could have imagined. It took us a full hour to drive our bus from one end of the city to the other. In fact, the only way to really travel efficiently is by motorcycle (your own or a moto-taxi), but we poor students are forbidden by International Programs from riding such things. The market too was enormous and chaotic; you could wander around for hours without seeing everything. I would definitely like to spend more time in Cotonou. It has a certain beachy charm, and four days was not enough to see everything the city has to offer.

We did get to see some pretty great signs while we were there:

We also took a day trip to Ganvier, the so-called Venice of Africa. It's really not like Venice at all except that both cities have a lot of water and a lot of gift shops. Otherwise, Ganvier is just a town on stilts.

After Cotonou, we spent two-and-a-half glorious days on the beach in Grand Popo. We slept in bungalows, ate coconuts, and frolicked in the waves.

A bunch of people lived on the beach near our hotel, and we watched them bring in their boats and fishing nets each day. And it just wouldn't be Africa without a gaggle of adorable children:

All good things must come to an end, and we got back to Niamey last night after a long busride punctuated by an infuriating number of stops. As much as I liked traveling, it's good to be back "home" again.

written by  The Boston Wanderer on November 9, 2008 from Cotonou, Benin
from the travel blog: Sandstorms
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Columbus Day weekend we were forced to participate in a softball tournament for foreigners, the comically-named NUTS (Niamey Universal Softball Tournament). A good time was had by all, though we only won one of the four games we played and were beaten by a group of school children. That same weekend, I visited a feticheur (fortune-teller/ healer) twice for a class and carried a chicken to its ritualistic slaughter. I'm usually skeptical about things like that, but the feticheur's readings for everyone were both accurate and specific. AND a second feticheur told us the same things!

After that, we took a twelve-hour bus ride to Konni to meet up with some Peace Corps volunteers. The trip was only supposed to take 6-8 hours, but we had three flat tires along the way. It was okay though; when our bus broke down next to a little village, we pulled out the iPod speakers and had a dance party with the children. Much hilarity ensued.

In Konni, we split off in groups of two to stay with PCVs in their villages. Some of the volunteers really live in the bush, but I stayed in the relative luxury of a 25,000-person town. We didn't have running water or electricity, but at least there was plenty of street food to be found. Mmm...egg sandwiches and shinkafa da waake (rice and beans).

At the end of the week, we had a less-eventful bus ride home and stopped along the way to see the last free-roaming herd of giraffes in West Africa. We were able to walk fairly close to them until a certain student, who shall remain nameless, chased them away with his bright red shirt and excessively menacing gait.

Yesterday, we modeled in a fashion show for a local designer and former Nigerien RA. Her name is Kadi Mariko and her clothes are super cute, so if you're ever in the area you should check them out. Tyra would have been proud: we were fierce!

written by  The Boston Wanderer on October 20, 2008 from Birnin Konni, Niger
from the travel blog: Sandstorms
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The hotel was right by the river, and at night we could hear the hippos roaring.

The next morning, we rented a canoe and rode up beside the mighty beasts.

Then we were steered towards a nearby island village. The people there were Songhay, so I got to practice my terrible Zarma skills.

The children were absolutely adorable.

We talked to the people there for a little while, and Barke bought some millet husks for his animals. Once the word got out that he was buying, everyone in the village came running with their husks.

They pound the millet grains with a mortar and pestle to remove the husks.

After our island excursion, we visited a Fulani family who live just outside of town. The Fulani are nomadic herders, so it took us a few minutes of searching to find their camp.

The family was really nice and didn't seem to mind that we fell asleep in the sand underneath their tree. We came bearing pineapples and bananas, two fruits which they had never seen before. (Imported produce like that doesn't often make it outside of Niamey.) Then we dropped by a Bella camp before dinner for a few hours. The Bella are also nomadic herders, but they speak Tamasheq. Their culture is very reserved, so I didn't get a lot of photos.

After our visit with the Bellas, we returned to the Fulani camp for dinner and sleep. They rolled out mats for us, and we fell asleep looking at the Milky Way over our heads.

On Sunday, we were awoken by the sounds of roosters, cows, and donkeys. We ate a breakfast of fresh milk and reheated rice from the night before, and then we returned to Ayorou for the market. There was a group of adorable boys who followed us around all day. They loved posing for pictures because it meant they got to see themselves afterwards.

We drove home Sunday afternoon, tired but happy. My roommate Bukaram was so dirty that we decided to take a picture to memorialize it.

The good news is that no one was hurt, and everything that was lost is replaceable. Last night I was just angry, but I'm starting to realize that it could have been much worse. The perils of city-living, I guess.

written by  The Boston Wanderer on October 6, 2008 from Ayorou, Niger
from the travel blog: Sandstorms
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This past weekend was crazy, due in part to the ending of Ramadan. Went out Friday, Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday nights. Classes were canceled on Tuesday for Eid ul-Fitr (or La Fete, as everyone calls it here), but we left the CFCA at 8 AM to visit the mosque. Don't we look fetching in our headscarves?

My roommate and I were walking to the store tonight, and this guy asked us if we were American. It turns out he's a huge fan of McCain. I think we found the only non-Obama fan in the country!

written by  The Boston Wanderer on September 24, 2008 from Niamey, Niger
from the travel blog: Sandstorms
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Yesterday was sweltering, a taste of the mini hot season that comes in October after the rains dry up. I think I sweated out every last drop of moisture in my body last night as I lay in bed praying for the electricity to come back on and power my ceiling fan. (Power outages are an almost daily occurence here.) It ended up raining early this morning, so today will be cooler, but it's typical for temperatures to hover around 100 F. Hotter in the aptly-named hot season.

Also, a big shout out to Hasi, who was the first in our group to get malaria! She's back from the clinic now and well on the road to recovery.

written by  The Boston Wanderer on September 20, 2008 from Niamey, Niger
from the travel blog: Sandstorms
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