Twitchy, but Healthy

Hello All,

Yes, we are alive, well, and still in Niamey. The holidays hit us all pretty hard. Without our friends, we would have been despondent, but we are recovered and ready to tackle 2010 with whatever it may bring. This morning, new running chip in hand (or on foot, rather) I set off into the bright, windy morning. Asthma has been creeping up on me pretty brutally for the last few months since the wind started and unfortunately, today wasn't much better. Guess it wasn't all in my head after all. However, the joy of the run did overrun the discomfort and I had a wonderful three miles through sand, around parked cars- almost got hit by a moto, again- and through wet cement. Yes, oops, I did run through wet cement. No camels today and just the occasional goat. Funny how things that once seemed so foreign can become so everyday. I used to marvel about that in Kouna too- I guess it's true that "wherever you go, there you are." Sooner or later, the wonder fades and life resumes, with more occasional moments of glory.

So far, 2010 is off to a wonderful start. We are running and spending most weekday evenings playing soccer at the stadium or working out in the gym. Perhaps a few too many Belgian waffle mornings or cake with whipped cream and papaya evenings, but life is uncertain, eh? No more so, than here. The political situation seems to have calmed down at least on the level of the population. I'm sure the battle of rhetoric still rages in the halls of congress, but the average Nigerien just wants to work, eat and keep it all together. Don't we all? Car jackings and kidnappings still occur on the highways, but that's more a function of open empty road and not enough manpower or will to patrol/secure them. Mostly the US and European sanctions are hurting development work. It's a little scary to see what the effects will be of so much money not flowing into Niger, where more than 60% of the GDP comes from foreign aid. I guess it's a wait and see situation.

Anyway, Karim is happy to be back in school. He lives to play with his three best buddies- two school friends, Ron and Yann and our little buddy BJ from Petits Pas. Often, he comes home with paint on his fingers and smudges on his forehead. How does he get paint on his forehead? The older he gets, the funnier the things are that come out of his mouth.

Sample conversation from yesterday:

K: I was little in Portland.

Me: Yeah, I guess you were. Are you bigger in Niamey?

K: Yes, I was your baby in Portland and now I'm a big boy. When we move somewhere else, I'll be a bigger boy.

Me: Do you think if we'd stayed in Portland you'd still be a baby?

K: No . . . I don't know.

Me: If we stay in Niamey for a long time, will you grow into a bigger boy?

K: No, we need to move so I can be a bigger boy and get a red bike.

That's all for now. Gotta go get the munchkin from school.

Love and Peace to All

Happy Halloween and Happy Fall

Hello All,

It's funny to think that it's November and in many parts of the world that means fall leaves and crisp mornings. Not so much here. It was 100 yesterday and supposed to be hotter today. We had a cool spell last week when it dipped down to 97 and we're told cooler weather is on the way. Needless to say, there was no fuzzy tiger costume for Karim this year. No time change, no change in seasons; life just blips along here in a toasty, sunny daze. It's crazy to think that the 4th will mark six months (and Karim's 1/2 birthday!) since we left Portland on this crazy adventure.

Karim had a scary episode of strep throat two weeks ago that put him back in the clinic with an IV full of antibiotics. He was shaky and sleepy and just cuddled and slept for two days while we pumped him full of drugs and prayed it wasn't Malaria. It wasn't, thank goodness and he's back to his happy, energetic self again.

Yesterday was Karim and Cheikh's first day back at school and work after a much needed week of vacation. It gave us all time to rest and reconnect since Cheikh's been working so constantly since we arrived. Karim capitalized on "Papa, play trains with me! Papa, let's build a train track! Papa, let's do puzzles! I don't want to go to Mama-Baby, we want to stay here and play trains, right Papa?" Not sure Cheikh got all the rest he needed, but it was worth it to see their closeness again.

We also joined a gym two weeks ago, where I'm taking classes three times a week and Cheikh is lifting weights. It's actually adjacent to the hotel where we lived for our first month here and we never even noticed it while we were there!

We've abandoned the idea of buying a car and have started renting a taxi at a monthly rate to take us wherever we want to go. So far that's working out very well since neither of us are dying to drive in the anarchy that rules Niamey streets.

Cocochouland- Niamey's front yard

Hi All,

I know I've mentioned Cocochou on numerous occasions, but I just can't say enough good things about it. Every Thursday afternoon, mamas (and some papas) flock to the playground with our little tykes. For the equivalent of about two dollars per kid for entry and juice, I get to feel like an accomplished, educated adult (which I like to be reminded of on occasion:) while Karim plays with trucks, trains, and other kids, or at least he spars with them over toys. Families of all different languages and backgrounds gather at Cocochou. Today, I chatted with a German, a Dane, several French ladies. On other occasions I have met Senegalese, Burkinabe and Nigerien women and their kids. In fact, several of my closest friends were found at Cocochou.

When we first found out we were moving here, we scoured the web for things for kids in Niamey and found nothing to give us hope. Luckily, we have found several kid friendly spots to play and build community.

Ode to making friends and building community wherever you are!

Love to All

Running through a movie set. . .only not really

Hi All,

Running in Niamey is an experience that I feel I need to share. While Deb was here for her wonderful week in September, it occurred to me that what I take for ordinary might make fun reading for our friends and family far away from this oven we call home.

So, first, there is the heat. I suppose that goes without saying and believe it or not, it's the easiest thing to get used to. Running is generally the first obvious exercise for anyone with decent knees and minimal equipment. Let me sing my praises of running in general. If you don't do it, and you could, then you should. It'll change your life.

To begin, I pick out the right running clothes, not just any clothes, but comfortable, "culturally appropriate" clothes that make me glad I don't own a full length mirror. Yes, it is difficult to knowingly don something you know is ugly, but ugly can be your friend sometimes too. Then, I set my ipod to the same running mix and hit "shuffle" with things like Mambo #5, Online, I kissed a Girl, Je t'emmene and many others just to make the experience as surreal as humanly possible.

I could be a walking (or running:) advertisement for the nike+ running chip which measures speed and distance, and records this info on your ipod to upload to the computer for further obsessing.

So, armed and ready, I head out. My current favorite loop is four miles. I think of it as four separate segments. First, I start along the main road where I am accosted by smells of sewage, frying mini millet pancakes, fresh meat and car exhaust. I usually get a few kids to race along next to me during this stretch.

About a mile later I pass the "Camping Touristique" a vacant lot that has been walled for tourist camping- yup, western nuts camp there right inside city limits. Not sure I'd do it now, but I might've if I'd been here ten years ago. There I leave the paved road and make a left onto a sandy track that is as wide as a four lane highway- which 4X4's drive like it is. This is the toughest part, since it's dry sand and not packed very well. I'm always relieved to finish the second mile and enter phase three at the American Embassy. Don't even look at the embassy as you go by, the guards will hiss at you if you stop. Americans are by far the most neurotic people in the world. I mean, I guess my ipod could be a bomb, but really?

After the embassy is a beautifully shaded, tree lined road with sporadic views of the river. Of course you do run through a herd of cows and a garbage dump, but it's all part of the experience. As I run through embassy row, and yes they are all on the same street, I always get lots of encouragement, which is great, because in the third mile is when I need it most. "Du Courage!" yell the embassy guards and the armed police. Whew! I'm a marathoner! Then I clear all the officials in uniforms and I'm in the home stretch. I usually end it right at the terrifying intersection near my house. Don't want any distractions trying to cross against the broken lights.

And I love it. It's funny, I often think of my friend in Peace Corps who said "I was riding my bike into the market today and thought, 'who wouldn't want to be here? This is paradise.' Then I remembered I'd had to stop early in the ride to have diarrhea behind a tree and wipe with a leaf." I guess maybe it's not for everybody and it's not always pretty, but there is certainly joy in it.

Love to All.

September Recap

Hi All,

September has been crazy and wonderful. Of course we started September one week into Ramadan and the ball just got rolling. Ramadan is usually a sleepy month, but for us, it was not only a time of focus and goal setting, but also a time of rejoicing. Karim started school full time at Alliance on September 3rd. He has 17 kids in his class and two wonderful teahers who have declared that Karim is the best singer in the class, both in French and in English. His French is still patchy, but it's coming along slowly. And wonder of wonders, our stuff arrived on September 4th- a full 4 1/2 months after it left our door in Portland. Whew! Mostly the relief was for Karim and for Aicha, our cook, since most everything we packed went to our boy or to the kitchen. I did get some much needed new novels and bed linens. That mattress was worth sending! Karim likes his new Ikea bed and has by far the cutest room in the house. Thanks to Deb and Petie for the art and stickers on the walls.

We are still furnishing- it's amazing how little a 2 thousand dollar move in allowance actually gets you. But, the upside is that we can keep anything we pay for out of pocket. The dollar has reached a record low on the currency exchange- yippee. It's worth half what it was in 2001. Yikes.

Cheikh and I have both flung ourselves into running again with the return of daylight nutrients. Karim is getting a standing ovation every time he takes out his Skuut bike with no training wheels or pedals! Nobody's ever seen a wooden bike before. I think the wood workers wished we'd stop so they could inspect it close up and start making a few of their own.

Finally got a camera (Thanks Deb!!) and took some photos. I added a bunch to facebook, but I'll try to add some here too.

Deb is on her way here now and should be arriving Friday afternoon. Karim is so excited, he tried to go to the airport today to get her. After some detailed explanations of my part that even though she left Eugene today, she won't be arriving here for two more days, he decided he could wait two days, but no more. He's excited to show off his school, but especially the playground at the Grand Hotel. We may have to do that one on arrival.

Love to All. Life is good. Our thoughts are with you as always.

Magic Mornings

Hello All,

This morning, my thoughtful alarm went off at 4:40 instead of 4:30. It's always the lack of sleep that gets you during Ramadan. But, it is such a joy to wake up in the dark, knowing that all our neighbors are awake with us. I wake up first for those quiet moments to myself, when I drink water and nibble banana bread while I warm up some "breakfast"- usually dinner food. My favorite is re-heated rice and fish sauce! mmmm. What does that say about me? Then, I wake up Cheikh (and today, Karim James popped his little eyes open too, groan.) and we eat a bit and drink as much as we can. No water either, remember:) while the sun is up.

Through the open window, we hear mosques all around us calling everyone to wake up to pray. That sound was among those that I missed most when I left West Africa. There's just something ethereal about it. The rooster next door called us too. We pray in our living room, but the prayer itself is called out and we hear it through the window as well. Then, the tough part is going back to sleep for two hours before getting up to start the day. That is the deepest sleep of all during Ramadan. Then, from about noon till four pm is a fog. Imagine jetlag because that's what it feels like. Everything is slower, quieter and warmer than usual. What surprised me the first time I fasted is that it doesn't make you "hungry," just groggy. Hunger changes a personality and makes ambition or urgency less possible. Fasting is something I believe everyone should try at least once. It really gives you a sense of what hunger is like and the damage it can do to a child, a community, or even a country.

I went to the Grande Marche this morning to buy sheets and curtains. I wandered for a while, but nobody said much to me. When I found what I wanted, I hardly had to bargain for it, since the prices were reasonable. Neither the boutiquier or I felt like playing that game today. It was a 2 hr process to have everything cut and sewn, but a pleasant one. While I was there, I was thinking about how I would describe the market. It's not insane like Sandaga in Dakar or spread out like the market in Bamako. It's a labyrinth that's contained, with labeled entrances, an acutual structure and interwoven paths which will take me a while to learn to navigate. All of the markets in Niamey are much cleaner than to be expected thanks to Mercy Corps' "Cash for Work" program which employs people to clean up the markets for the improvement of community health. Even the government has started employing more city clean up crews so as not to be shown up by Mercy Corps:)

Karim was excited to find construction truck curtains on his windows when he got home from school! And Cheikh was relieved to find beautiful curtains in our room, rather than the nigerian pagne fabric I'd teased about.

Love to all. Our thoughts are with you.

Live from Niamey

Hi All,

This morning the thunder woke me up at 2:30. Wow. I can see how religion is born. To me, lying in bed, the crashing did indeed sound like Zeus hurling thunderbolts. Nothing in Oregon can compare to the fury of this downpour. Lying there in the king sized bed with my snuggly boy, under a mosquito ne,t in my water tight (mostly) home, I thought about two things. The first and most disturbing thing was the dwellings of all the "settlers" in Niamey. Unlike Kouna, these houses are not made of mud or banco, they are nomadic looking tents of bamboo mats lashed together over poles. They are quite pretty and round and they romanticize the nomadic life of Touaregs with their echos of caravans through the desert. But can they survive a real honest thunderstorm that rages on and on for hours? And even if they hold, what happens to everything on the floor? Are the beds raised up and does the whole bottom of the house turn into a muddy swamp? Because I haven't actually been invited into one of these dwellings, I can only speculate.

The second thing that filled my mind was heaven sent thanks for the rain. The farmers need the rain in the most real way. We all need it, because if the farmers fail, so does the country. That is the difference between the Sahel and the rest of the world. Like Mali, Niger has no safety net. I realized that in Kouna. When people are farming this difficult land, every good growing season produces enough, but no more than will be immediately consumed. We are always one to two yearsaway from potential famine if the rains don't come. And so, knowing the hardship they cause, everyone gives heartfelt thanks for a good rain.

I just found our friends' blog yesterday, it's livefromniamey.blogspot.com. This is BJ's dad who's writing it. I enjoyed reading his perspectives on Niamey and his comments about everything from the colors of the city to the food we eat. You may get some additional insight into our every day life by reading about theirs.

Yesterday, I realized exactly how small our international community is when I ventured out to meet our Irish neighbors. When the mom met me at the door, I realized that we have already met and she's not Irish. Small world. Karim didn't play much with her son, who was feeling a little shy, but he attracted the adoration of the 9month old baby. They were playing on the floor and I was talking to the mama when suddenly Karim yells "Mama, the baby bit my toe!" and indeed she had. Not hard, just enough to attract his attention away from the playmobile boat that had captured his imagination. K was a little disturbed, but forgave her quickly.

Today, We've spent most of the day inside, since when we did venture out, we both got about six mosquito bites each in the space of ten minutes, after I'd lathered us with bug repellent! Blood thirsty little beasts! Anyway, we'll try again later since the sky has cleared and the sun is out again. Even in this land of light, I can't seem to get enough of the sun.

Love to All.