Happy Thanksgiving

26 Novembre 2010
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope that you all had a wonderful Turkey day! I have a great one myself! It was a core day so we were at the training site all day. We had a learning session in the morning about HIV/AIDS awareness and Women's Association groups in Niger that are working to educate people about the disease. In a study done by CDA in 2002, less than 1% of people in Niger were HIV positive. The current percentage is not exactly known, but there isn't a great push to conduct another survey. I don't know if this lack of intent for another survey is due to financial constraints or that HIV/AIDS is not as big of an issue here in Niger as compared to other countries. The session was interesting and important, especially since many of us intend to educate people in our villages about HIV, how it's spread and ways to prevent it. Some project ideas that were discussed included:
-Skits in schools or youth groups
-Having a representative from the Women's Association group come to our village and lead an informational discussion
-Education with specific groups (young women, men, elders, etc.) at the health hut/health clinic in our village
Then we had a Safety and Security session. We learned about the Emergency Action Plan (EAP) for Peace Corps Volunteers in Niger. This is a protocol that we will follow if something happens when we are serving here. This could be anything from a natural disaster to political problems (in Niger or even America). Very critical info to know :)
The afternoon was a ton of fun. In light of the "Salla", holiday in Hausa, we were all given traditional outfits from our host families. We changed into our extravagant outfits and had a fashion show. It was cool to see everyone dressed up in their host mom or dad's best clothes. The fabrics used to make the clothes are all so unique and colorful. For the fashion show, everyone paired up (some men have two wives, when in Niger...) and we walked out and danced for everyone. After, we learned the names for the traditional clothing and what the different models and outfits are called. Certain people then changed into costumes from the various ethnic groups in Niger: Hausa, Zarma, Fulani, Tuareg, and others that I can't remember. Each othese ethnic groups, with exceptions of course, speaks their own language, lives in a certain region of the country and has their own set of customs. The Tuareg for instance are a nomadic group of people and are concentrated mostly in the desert in the north of the country. Tuareg men always cover their heads and carry swords (just in case they come across an animal in the desert we were told). The Tuareg people are nomads so they usually have camels or an assortment of other animals with them.
In the evening, we had a Thanksgiving feast. I was on the Thanksgiving committee and in the afternoon we helped to prepare the food. I didn't do very much, the kitchen staff here is amazing, but it was nice to help with the vegetables for awhile. We had chicken (I don't think there are turkeys in Niger), stuffing, pesto green beans, mixed vegetables, mashed potatoes, and cornbread-style cake. We all ate outside under the stars and it was wonderful to all be together. Our stage has become a family since coming here and I was very grateful to be with them for the holiday. I was thinking about all of you at home, though, and hoping that you were all having a happy Thanksgiving. There is so much to be thankful for: family, friends, laughter. A few other things I am especially thankful for on this Thanksgiving in Niger:
-malaria prophylaxis (even though the Mefloquine gives me crazy dreams)
-my host family (especially petite Razaac with is always chewing on something, be it a dirty flipflop or aluminum sardine can)
-Fullbar (a candy bar that is sold at one of the local Hamdallye stores. I get instant euphoria when I eat it. It costs 50 CFA, the equivalent of a dime).
-The stars. It is calming at night to simply look up at the stars that extent from horizon to horizon. They are a great reminder of why I am here. The full moon recently is beautiful as well.
After we were stuffed with so much food, we had a little dance party and games. The dance party was fun, I am thankful for Lady Gaga :). Currently, we have a new exercise underway called Language Immersion. This is two full weeks of ONLY HAUSA in a village. We are leaving Hamdallye tomorrow and will take a 10/12 hour bus ride to Maradi, and then a bush taxi from there to our village. We are in smaller groups with a teacher. We will have a few hours of class each day, but will be expected to only speak in Hausa for the entire time. We will talk with people in the village, learn about their daily activities and lives, and lead small sessions on hand-washing and rehydration solutions. The immersion is essential because it gives us an idea of what village may be like and how much language we have to gain in order to be able to communicate. I am excited to overload on Hausa. There is going to be a lot of new verbs, vocab and grammar to learn, but, because I'm a complete dork, I can't wait to get started!!