The obstacle course

Things are changing at site. A lot. My position has changed. A lot. New ideas and projects are flowing. We had a great PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief) conference in Kumasi (how do you know when you've lived in Africa for too long- when you DON'T use the air conditioning in your fancy hotel), and I'm still trying to fly high off of that. Hopefully in the next few weeks I'll write about those things. Right now I need to keep working on being flexible, trying to keep positive.

As for that other big event- I survived the marathon. Somehow. Although I think "obstacle course" more aptly describes the adventure. Running has become my zen. My path to calmness. It is a mental challenge more than anything else, and I relish in it. Who'd have thought? It can be painful, but at some point you reach The Zone. And once The Zone hits, you can let go of everything and become completely absorbed. This is how I've come to manage long distance runs. This is also how I've come to manage my sanity. Hitting The Zone on the crazy muddy path between here and Salaga, sprinkled with a few small villages and plenty goats, it's awesome.

In a properly thought out marathon I would venture to guess that most runners hit their Zone. But when you are running a goddam obstacle course through one of the busiest cities in West Africa it is impossible! I don't think once did I ever reach The Zone- because for the majority of the time I was focusing on keeping my life. No roads were blocked off, the course was hardly marked, we were literally running through a maze of crazy Accra traffic, against the wind, starting 2 hours late. I actually was almost T-boned by a taxi into a tro. I literally had to turn to the taxi, put my hands on its front side, and scream for it to stop, within about a foot of it slamming me into another car. People were constantly grabbing at us, screaming at as, demanding money. The Kenyans, though, were amazing to watch- a study in the beauty of muscle form. By then end they were just blurs zig-zagging through traffic. The few moments I did have for my mind to wander were largely spent asking myself why on earth I thought this was a good idea. The low point? Being passed by the speed walker. The high point? Seeing my friends at the finish line! It was emotional. It was amazing. We were all served serious slices of humble pie. And I can't wait for the Portland Marathon! (Kimmie's got a great race report up on her blog for those who are interested.)

Crossing the finish line

Us crazies, at I think 3:00am

Somehow

This is something my friend Chris wrote. These are ideas that we wrestle with a lot over here. I also hope it can open some interesting courses of dialogue:

"A word you hear quite often maybe too often here is “somehow.” It is used during discussions about the progress of something or the hopes of progress; “The computer lab will be finished by God’s grace…somehow.” “The government will by all means get us the monies they owe us…somehow.” I believe it is more of a disclaimer or optimistic version of “or maybe not.” Sadly too often discussions on progress and development end with “somehow.” (By the way neither has happened yet. It may, somehow…someday.)

Our hope for the future

BUT! Yes but I have swung back into the optimist’s camp and I see hope for things here. Why? Well as often as I hear “somehow,” I hear phrases like “I know” and “We want to do it.” And I hear less and less, “Will you do it for us?” and more “how can we help?” This is a small step but very exciting! Far too long I have stewed in anger after watching Ghanaians accept their place and not hoping for better. I was overlooking the ones who were saying, “Enough already, let’s change things, let’s take control of our destinies.”

The major project I am unveiling this year at school is The Campus Pride Initiative. I happened upon its new motto at the first Sunday church service at school this past week. Rev. Kwarteng gave a sermon on making a difference, something the students needed and I really needed. I took a bit of poetic license and have decided the Campus Pride Initiative will have the motto; Effect Positive Change. I hope that it will have an effect on just a few and that effect in turn will go far beyond DASHS. I want these students to have hope, to be the change agents that Ghana so desperately needs.


More hope

Anyway I really want to talk about a couple of stories we heard recently, one on BBC and one on NPR. The BBC story was called “Why is Africa Poor?” and the more Tammi and I listened, the more spot on we felt they were with their observations. As I have said before one of the amazing things about Peace Corps is we are here for over two years which grants us the ability to get a real sense of what is happening in a place though I could never say we can completely understand, our context just does not work here. It is very important to remember this when considering how to “help.” We have seen too often when a well meaning NGO drops in, shells out a bunch of money, maybe puts up a building or two and then leaves without ever spending the time to find out what or where the real need is. I would argue the most important need is “ownership.” People need to be able to say, “I worked for this.” or “I earned that.” These phrases are used far too little here and when they are sadly it is the corrupt politicians and civil servants justifying their chopping (skimming off the top for themselves) of budgets. One of the best lines from the BBC story states, “Africa is not poor, it is poorly managed.” I find this to sadly be so very true. As I see it, we well meaning people and governments of the west have created a continent of aid junkies who believe that someone else will do it for them, and that they will be taken care of no matter what. The heartening thing is that most of the people here we have spoken with realize this and recognize that it isn’t good. But just like drug addiction it isn't that easy to kick the habit especially when western governments and companies continue to profit from the addiction.


Ghana's future military...

We stay in a region called Afram Plains and I would guess it is about the size of two or three counties in Iowa, around 500 square miles. The US Government under the guise of the Millennium Challenge Account has put almost $250 million into the development of Afram Plains via the Ghanaian Government. After everyone is finished dipping their hands in the jar it is hard to see a single change for the better here. One now sees is a new fleet of pickup trucks with the MCA logo on their doors and a nice new half empty building in Donkorkrom which houses a few of their offices complete with air conditioning throughout! Imagine if 250 million dollars was spent on 3 rural counties in Iowa.

Anyway it is very easy to be angry and jaded but I know that there is hope, great hope and I remain angry but not jaded. The folks around here want to see change. They want to see a better future for their children, and they love their country. They simply do not know how to do it or they feel powerless and sadly it breeds complacency. In my humble opinion what they need from us is more Peace Corps or something like it and less throwing of guilt money at the problems. They need assistance, good education and training, and friendship, not more money. We need to oversee/guide not do. We cannot continue to come to the rescue every time someone breaks a nail. Teach them to mend it themselves. For example, I see far too many bits and pieces of perfectly good road machinery lying along the unfinished road from here to Etche because something broke down. And from experience, if something goes wrong the “obruni” (white man) will come and give them a replacement. Why not? After all, we bought the machinery to begin with. If we want to truly help, we need to continue and expand the Peace Corps style model. A model where assistants integrate into the community as much as possible and are make the time to identify what really needs to be done. Then provide assistance. Don’t do it for them.


...or maybe not

I have come to see the people in my community as friends and family, not a project. And I will very much miss them when we leave in some ten months. I have come to truly care. I go as far as saying I have come to really love these people and I pray for only the best for them. If you want to help, encourage our government to not only continue but enlarge the Peace Corps. And when giving money to any development organization, look closely at how those organizations function. The Peace Corps is not perfect and there is plenty of room for improvement. But I think that when JFK and General Shriver conceived of this brilliant idea almost 50 years ago, they were really on to something.

A great challenge for us is that our view of the world is tied to our own context. For instance, how do we define poor? I can say with confidence it is not the same as how Ghanaians would define it. The other night Tammi and I were on a walk and decided to see what was down a trail that went off the main road. We came to a clean attractive little area surrounded by plantain and banana trees and a tidy little mud walled hut with no running water or electricity. There was a friendly woman with her healthy happy children, including one of the more pleasant young ladies I have ever met who attends the JHS just down the road. Are they poor? Why? What more do they need?


Most beautiful smile in the world!

I can’t help to think that there are far worse situations in the world. Shouldn’t the aid go to those situations? Or better yet, be directed to prevention of those situations instead of playing triage. We cannot continue to apply our western sensibilities to the issues over here. We simply must take the time to develop relationships that will help us to gain the understanding needed to make better decisions about international aid.

There are three directives to the Peace Corps mission. One is “to educate the host country’s people about the people of America.” There recently was a group from Scotland visiting and helping at the school. We were told that there was a very negative image of Americans in Scotland and getting to know us they were surprised how different we were from their preconceived perception. I trust I don’t need to go there… Ok I will, “Bush loving war mongers.” I know they weren’t Ghanaians but it really illustrates the point. I hope that we are having the same effect on our Ghanaian friends and colleagues.

Please listen to these podcasts and let me know what you think. It is important for the peoples of Africa that we shift our thinking toward aid. APR’s Speaking of Faith; “Ethics of Aid” http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/2009/ethicsofaid-kenya/ BBC: “Why is Africa Poor?” Part 1: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p003zt3q

I feel the most important thing you need to take especially from the BBC series is at the end of the day the people not just here but everywhere need to do for themselves. We all want ownership of something and the pride that goes with it.

So somehow we WILL get it done. We ALL will get it done…somehow.

I look forward to continuing this conversation…"

Thanks Chris.

Kofa's barking up a storm outside

I finished reading "The Poisonwood Bible" the other day. It seems that for quite a long time now people have been recommending that book. I'm glad that I was able to read it for the first time while living in Africa. I identified with, or maybe I should say recognized, so many parts of the book that I think would have otherwise gone unnoticed. I found myself so caught up in the story, and captivated by the details of life, that hours would go by without my notice. But then I would suddenly realize, these things that are touching me so much are right outside my door! So I would put the book down and go to town for the rest of the day, with an almost renewed sense of appreciation for what I have been lucky enough to be apart of here.

Most of the novel was predictable. I think we all knew the smallest child would die. While that was certainly a sad part of the story, what brought me to tears was when her body was laid outside under the handmade funeral arch and the villagers came on hand and knee to mourn the family's, and the community's, loss. There is such beauty in the fierce sense of community in this part of the world. This family, that had in so many ways insulted and ostracized the place they resented to call home, was still embraced by their village as though they were one.

When I told a student that my Grandfather was sick, she organized a prayer group in the school for him. When I fell sick, my students gathered outside of my room and prayed on their knees for me all day. My neighbors, many of whom can hardly feed their own families, always make sure I have enough yams and groundnuts in my kitchen to feed myself and my dog.

There is such beauty in the happiness and sadness that people carry. There is such beauty in the strength of beliefs (as frustrating as that may be at times). The thing that has struck me the most about Africa is how, in the absence of so much, people are so filled with joy. I think this book captured that well.

For what it's worth, I've compiled a list of the books I've read since coming here. (I think my list is significantly shorter than others.) Some books were terrible, some were wonderful. Kinda weird to be on such a fiction kick. Not normally my style. But, I think I am ready to move to Murakami-land for a few years.

• His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman
• "No One Belongs Here More Than You" by Miranda July
• "Audition" by Barbara Walters
• "Eat Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert
• "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
• "The Partner" by John Grisham
• "Rock On" by Dan Kennedy
• "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay" by Michael Chabon
• "Kafka on the Shore" by Haruki Murakami
• Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
• "What is the What" by Dave Eggers
• "Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett
• "The Blind Assassin" by Margaret Atwood
• "Eye of the Needle" by Ken Follett
• "Wings of Eagles" by Ken Follett
• "The White Coat" by Ellen Rothman
• "Franny and Zooey" by JD Salinger
• "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory
• "Dance Dance Dance" by Haruki Murakami
• "The Brain That Changes Itself" by Norman Doidge
• "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
• "Norweigan Wood" by Haruki Murakami
• "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman" by Richard Feynman
• "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

I am so glad to have reread "To Kill a Mockingbird." I was reading it about a month or so ago, having kind of a tough time at site. It's such a wonderful book. (I think we sometimes overlook the strength of a book when we are forced to read them in school.) A few lines have resonated in new ways with me, when Atticus is trying to explain to Scout why he is defending Tom Robinson. This one especially, "Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win."

The last few months

June brought with it the STARS Conference (Students Taking Action Reaching for Success). Plenty of photos are posted on my flickr page for those who are interested. In a nutshell, it's a conference put on annually by PCVs to promote leadership and life skills among our students, largely from the poorest communities in Ghana. I forgot how things like goal-planning, life skills, and the ability to stick up for yourself in situations with uneven power dynamics are things that should not be taken for granted.

The human knot. Lots of good lessons about teamwork to be had from this super fun activity. At first the students literally could not imagine how it would work, but by then end they were having a blast and were so proud of themselves. It was great!

The conference was held in Kumasi, the second largest city in Ghana. The two students I took (each PCV brought 2 of their best students) had only left the village a handful of times. I think Choro had been to Yendi before, and Alice had been to Tamale once. Their jaws were dropping as soon as we hit the south. All the food! The storied buildings! The cars! It was worth it just to expose them to other parts of Ghana where people have found success. Overall, the conference went really well. (Oh, after all this hard work putting on this ridiculously HUGE conference, did one person from the Peace Corps office show up for support? Or even just to see what we had been all been working so hard for? Nope, not one. Thanks for the support Peace Corps. Glad to know they care.)

Alice, me, and Choro

It was an exhausting week, and I'm sure somewhere online someone has written an exhaustive description of it. One thing I thought interesting to share- it was quite easy to tell the students from the north from those from the south. Those from the north licked their plates clean- not a drop of sauce was left, not a piece of bone to be found. The majority of the students from the south on the other hand, well it looked like they are fed a bit more in general. Overall, it was a beautiful, albeit stressful, week. Opportunities like that don't come along often, if it all, for these students. It was pretty awesome to witness. (Another cool thing, while it was exhaustively organized for a year to put together, the actual conference presenters were all Ghanaian. So cool for the students to see all of these successful Ghanaians, many of whom share similar backgrounds!) When we came back to school, Choro and Alice presented some of the topics they learned about to the school. I am so incredibly proud of Alice (she's our Assistant Girls Prefect). She took the stage and just rocked it. So incredibly competent. So incredibly confident. So incredibly smart. Those are not traits found in many young girls in Ghana, nor are they encouraged. She kicks ass.

Ghanaians never want to smile in photos. Choro and Alice.

Hahahaha, I got them to smile.

Ok, one kind of funny story, and kind of sad story about the conference. Each night we had entertainment. One night was a talent show (and yes, I will confirm the rumor that I did perform a ROCKIN air guitar solo to Weezer's "Say It Ain't So"). Keep in mind that the students gathered are among the best in the country, albeit from the poorest schools. Everyone takes their turn on stage, mostly singing Praise-the-Lord-I-Love-Jesus songs. Seriously, like 15 or 20 songs all along those lines. And then Choro, oh dear Choro, decides to get up on stage and perform a rap he wrote himself. Let me just quote a few lines from it, "I fucked that bitch. I fucked that bitch and I'm not gonna pay her. I'm not gonna pay her! Ha!" Oh yes, way to make me proud, Choro. That is Kpandai Senior High School for you.

July brought a lot of work. I had mid-service medical down in Accra and got to meet the President! But I think I wrote about that on here already. Coming back to school was good, as it was getting to exam time. The last few weeks of school were pretty intense for the students. Overall, though, I am so proud of them. I gave them a pretty tough exam, but the average score was the highest all year. Out of my 316 students, 17 had As!!!! That is huge. Plenty more had Bs and Cs. I am a proud mama bear. I really want to continue with my students to Form 2, but the Assistant Headmaster Academic wants me to continue teaching at the Form 1 level. I understand his reasons, so I won't contest it too much. I really have come to adore my students though, even if most of them are a bunch of little shits (God, I sound like my mother). I saw one of my students in town a few weeks ago and we got to talking and he told me that at the end of the term he gathered all of the Form 1s and they wrote a petition that they will give to the Assistant Headmaster Academic pleading for me to be their science master in Form 2. (Wow, that was a really long sentence. I have almost entirely lost my grasp for the English language. I am really going to embarrass myself during med school interviews.) How sweet is that? I actually almost started crying when he told me that. My eyes are actually getting a little misty right now just thinking about it.

Another student in town the other day who's a great artist handed me a piece of paper. He drew the most beautiful flowers all over the paper and wrote everywhere "To Madam Megan," "Thank you for your marvelous job Madam." And then he wrote,

"I am very happy of giving you this flower. Thanks for your well done for us in KpanSec. It's unfortunately that I don't especially have anything to thank you, but may the God Almighty thanks you, gives you more life, guards safely and protects and gives more divine knowledge and understanding to still hold the next academic year. Madam, I have thought about my masters back at JHS. I had never seen anyone who teaches like how you teach. I said that you for your marvelous job done at KpanSec. From Havor Francis To Madam Megan."

Ok, I'm almost in tears now because that's just so sweet.

July also brought with it a nightmare of problems that almost caused me to leave. I seriously considered leaving Kpandai. It's been tough. If anything along those lines happens again, I'm outta here. It's these great students that make me so happy, though, and they're the ones keeping me here. That letter, and the conversation with the other student (Punalar), came at just the right time. They were really the "atta boys" that I needed. Now that school is on holiday I'm alone here at camp, a few miles from town. It's been great just to ride my bike with the Kofster to town everyday. Greeting the market ladies, sitting in the shade with friends. Throwing Stones (my beer for choice, thought others prefer to shoot Stars) with the priest. I think I forgot how great Kpandai is outside of the complete bullshit that is Kpandai Senior High School.

So, for whatever you may have heard, I'm staying. That was August for me. Deciding to stay and continue the work that needs to be done. This is where I need to be. I'm trying to think positively. Keeping positive people in my life. Not dwelling on all of the negative. That means cutting back on a lot of PC friends, actually. When we all get together we tend to just bitch about how much we hate Ghana, even though we all love it. But, it brings me down, and I need to stay up right now. Happy thoughts.

In other news, I'm running in the Accra International Marathon at the end of the month. I'm only doing the half-marathon actually. 13.1 miles. I thought about doing the full, but well, first, I'm not a runner. Never have been. So just a half is kind of a big deal for me. Also, the marathon is supposed to start at 5am, and last year it didn't start until 10am. Let me tell you, Africa is HOT that time of day. 13.1 miles will be painful enough at that time. I can really only run at 5am or 6pm. Otherwise it's just way too hot. I'm hoping to keep up my training schedule, though, and compete in the full Portland Marathon next year right after I get back. We'll see.

That's about it for now. School is "starting" next week. Classes probably won't actually start for a few weeks. But, positive thoughts! I've got lots of plans for running an even tighter ship in the girls dorm this year. I'll save those thoughts for another post though. Cheers!

P.S. I just read that Paul Farmer will not be heading USAID. Something about the House refusing to confirm him. No one is more saintly than that man. What the hell is wrong with the US government? No one is more perfect to run an organization like that. He is an inspiration for us all. The world would be a better place if there were more people like him.

Obama-rama! Part deux

I had a great birthday surprise! President Obama came to Ghana, and at the last minute a private event at the airport was coordinated, which Peace Corps was invited to attend! Obama fever was everywhere in Accra- billboards, t-shirts, biscuit wrappers, even fabric! In Kpandai people were asking me if I was going to meet my president. Most people's ears were glued to the radio for any Obama news. We saw him off at the airport, where he and President Mills of Ghana gave a speech. I still am shaking off the goosebumps:

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/07/11/obama-bids-goodbye-to-ghana/

It still feels a bit surreal. When I left America he was still contending for the democratic nomination. In my mind he has been a symbol of hope and change, it's been difficult to grasp him as anything beyond that. So to see him standing behind the Presidential Seal and boarding Air Force One, that was exhilarating. I think for many of us that was when it really sunk in that this is, in fact, our President. (Interesting fact, the Presidential Seal is only put onto the podium a few minutes before the President is to enter.) Also, how freakin awesome that he mentioned Peace Corps 4 TIMES in an 11 minute speech?!?! Being a PCV is often a thankless job, and it wears us down, a lot, so to be acknowledged by the President of the United States was, to say the least, the pat on the back that we all needed. After his speech finished he and the First Lady came around to shake our hands, and the whole time they kept saying, "We're so proud of you," "You're doing such a great job," "Keep up the good work," and so on. It really is difficult to describe how that made me feel.

It's interesting, I never considered myself a particularly patriotic person before I cam to Ghana. I suppose I have always intellectually understood that I am lucky to be an American, but nothing really beyond that. Coming to Ghana has unexpectedly developed my sense of patriotism. Part of it is just the stark contrast in living conditions (I think it's quite rare for an American family to not have electricity or running water, for example). Part of it is also how incredibly revered Americans are by Ghanaians, and I imagine by most of the world. Being American is akin to royalty (at least initially). I think the average Ghanaian thinks America is the land of wealth, health, and happiness. There are so many things we take for granted, not just the material things, that still blow my mind here. Even just the other day I was at school, and two students were brought to the masters I was with to be punished. Basically, in class the boy slapped the girl for talking and the girl slapped the boy back. The masters responded by saying, "How dare you hit a man?" My jaw literally dropped. It was no problem to them that the boy slapped the girl. They continued, "A man can take four of you, how can you hit a man?" So naturally I chimed in, saying, "How dare you hit a girl? How dare you hit your colleagues at all?" Maybe in America these ideas are subversively present, but on the whole I think you'd be hard pressed to hear anyone seriously voicing those ideas, especially in an educational setting. I forget how fortunate I am to be from a country where these things are not such a problem, and it really makes me proud to be an American.

Meeting any president would be an honor, and certainly President Obama was no exception. My burgeoning sense of patriotism was practically bursting throughout the day.

The speech he gave had a powerful message, about how now is the time to for Africa to shape its destiny. The future of Ghana is in the hands of the youth. It's true. It really is time for Africa to start taking care of itself. But that is a story for another time. I was excited to bring those messages back to the students. I hope a few of them really heard it.

Over the meadow and through the woods

Just getting back into the swing of things at site. Most of April was spent backpacking around West Africa. My friend Shawn and I traveled through Togo, Benin, Niger, and Burkina Faso. It was an amazing trip! A friend from home is a PCV in Niger, so we spent most of our time there. We did the trip in a loop- we started in Togo, but only spent an afternoon there (eating avocado baguette sandwiches on the beach!). That turned out to be a good thing because shortly after there was a coup in Lome. From Togo we went straight to Benin. It was challenging to move around Benin without any French. Luckily PC Benin was very helpful. Some tragedies struck there recently, so out visit with PC was rather somber. We were able to meet up with some Benin PCVs who took us around to explore the cities. Benin is beautiful, I really enjoyed our time there. It felt similar to Ghana, socially and environmentally. The biggest difference I noticed? Baguette! In the village we only have sugar bread, so the baguette was a treat. All of the francophone countries had baguette on the streets. One bummer about being colonized by the British? No baguette. Bummer. Anyway, Benin is apparently the voodoo capital of West Africa. I hope that when my French improves I'll travel back. I heard there are some interesting sacred forests and voodoo villages you can visit.

We somehow managed our way to the north of Benin and into Niger. Niger immediately felt different from the other places we visited. The environment was much drier, to soil poorer, vegetation sparser, and so damn hot. It was a bit easier to understand why Niger is the poorest country in the world. You might ask why would be travel to an entrance of the Sahara desert at the hottest time of the year? Yeah, um, I'm still trying to figure that one out, too. After a few adventurous days, Shawn and I navigated our way to Chris's part of the country (my English has gotten terrible since being here, my vocabulary is so small now, my grammar is even worse, so is it right to say Chris' or Chris's? I HAVE NO IDEA). We met up with Chris in Zinder, the regional capital nearest his village. We spent a few days exploring Zinder before heading to his site (pictures are up on Flickr).

This is the main mosque in Zinder.

The juju protecting the mosque from evil sprits.

One of the main roads in Zinder. The street was not busy because it was time for afternoon prayers.

In Niger henna is quite popular, in the traditional sense that most westerners think of, so naturally we had to do it. In Ghana I've only seen henna used by Dagomba women. They use it raw, so it is more of a red color. The women paint it around the base of their feet to display that they're married. In Niger, it seemed that most women use henna for more decorative purposes (surely we were looking for husbands) on their arms and legs. They also add hydrogen peroxide to the plant so that it is a darker black color. We roamed around Zinder asking people on the street if they knew where we could get some. We found one woman who was working and stopped her work to take us to her house, where her and her daughter applied some for us. We sat on the floor, eating dates and playing with small children. One thing I love about Africa is how willing people are to open their homes and share their lives with you. The whole process took almost 4 hours, and it turned out to be a great time! We really felt welcomed by the experience. Even though we spoke about three words of Hausa, and they only spoke about three words of English, we still found ways to communicate and share each other's culture. It was exciting.

Heading the Chris's (I just feel more comfortable with the s's, the s' feels incomplete) site was crazy. He doesn't live far from Zinder, but it sure felt like it. After taking a tro to a neighboring village, we had to walk about 10 km to his village. No problem, right? Someone forgot to mention that it is 10 km through the desert! Ok, in all fairness Chris says it's technically sahel and not desert, but give me a break, I live in the sahel! If there's only sand, sparse vegetation, and camels, I say desert.

Of course I did not bring the proper footwear for the trek, I was just wearing cheap Ghanaian leather flip flops. Oh my goodness the sand was so so so hot, my feet were in serious pain. So, we hiked for almost three hours, in over 120 degree heat, AND WE RAN OUT OF WATER. Good lord it was painful. The heat was so dry that our sweat immediately evaporated. Rather we had salt stains all over our clothes. It was only when we reached the house and collapsed on the floor out of the sun that our sweat stopped evaporating so quickly- it looked as though someone poured buckets of water on us! We were pretty useless for the rest of the day, so Chris had to be the one to fetch the water. Apparently all of the villagers were harassing him for having lazy wives because he didn't go to fetch the water for him!

Chris is living what I think most of us imagined to be the typical PC experience. A small mudhut in a tiny village in the middle of the desert (ok, sahel, whatever), no electricity, no running water, no English at all.

Entering the village.

Time to herd the sheep! (This is supposed to be the lushest region of Niger.)

In some ways I'm envious of the experience he's having. (Of course I know that I'm working where I need to be and I'm happy with my projects.) He's working on some interesting projects at site. He's a Natural Resource Management volunteer, so he does lots of farming development. It's a different life from Ghana to be sure. Chris is awesome.

The farm where Chris is working. It's also the big lake.

Fetching water for the farm.

We were very lucky to be able to travel under the PC umbrella. We were able to spend time with volunteers in their villages, people who speak the local languages, which allowed us to have a richer cultural experience I think. Anywhere you travel and are able to speak the local language you are instantly treated with more respect. It was great to spend time in the villages, not just in the larger cities. One thing that struck me about Niger was the relative homogenous culture. In Ghana there are over 80 languages spoken, and almost as many ethnic groups. I think that is has been difficult for the younger generations to hold onto their cultural traditions as they become increasingly integrated with each other in multiethnic forums. In Niger, however, a country much larger than Ghana, there seemed to be only four major ethnic groups, inhabiting different parts of the country. It felt like the people were practicing their traditions in stronger, more apparent ways, which was a really beautiful thing to see. Ghana is a place where western culture is beginning to prevail, and in many ways that is helping them to progress as far as they have. It was interesting to observe different kinds of African culture.

We somehow made it out of Chris's village alive. We hired an oxcart to take us back, and we were sure to stock up on plenty of water.

Eventually we made our way to Niamey, and then to Burkina Faso. The bus from Niamey to Ouagadougou was interesting, there were quite a few Fulani families traveling. The Fulanis are a traditionally nomadic tribe of West Africa that largely take care of cattle. I do not know a lot about the history of their culture unfortunately. But the way the women carry themselves is absolutely stunning. The Nigerien Fulanis were so beautiful, I've never seen any in Ghana like that. Unfortunately I don't have any photos of them. Other than the beautiful and fascinating traditional Fulanis, the bus ride was tortuous. About 10 hours I think, and of course the windows in the back, where we were seated, did not open. And the men in the front refused to open their windows. Not the most fun bus ride. Such is traveling. (Overall travel time throughout the trip? 92 hours.)

Overall, it was a great adventure. It's nice to be back in Kpandai now. It was great to see Kofa, too! Lots of exciting things are happening in the school these days. I'm hoping to update everyone soon!