August 10, 2011
Wow! I can’t believe it’s been almost a month since I last posted. A lot has occurred in that time. In my last posting I talked about meeting my counterpart. Well, I am happy to report that he was a very sweet gentleman and we got along very well. Unfortunately, it turns out that the site I was slated to work in isn’t going to work out as expected. So, I have a new site! Now, instead of being in the north, in an area very similar to Niger, I will be living in the lush southwest part of the country near Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire and speaking a language called Lobiri. I hope to be able to visit the site sometime next month. I’ll give you an update then!
Otherwise things here are good. My host family is still absolutely wonderful, learning French is still a nightmare, etc. The last week and a half have been especially busy as every morning we have been participating in “model tutoring”. Basically, for a couple hours each day I work with a group of 9-11 years old on reading, math and life skills (hygiene, self-confidence, health, etc.). This is where knowing French would come in REALLY handy! Luckily, my wonderful partner Vida (also of Niger fame) has great French, so she has been invaluable to me. That said, from here on out, I tutor alone. Yikes!
One of the focuses of Peace Corps service in BF is a program called Camp G(2)LOW. Girls and Guys Leading our World. Over the last couple of days I had the opportunity to visit the camp and interact with some of the girls (The girls camp was this week, and the guys camp will be next week). It was a great experience – intimidating at first, but better when I got to work with the girls one-on-one. The camp included activities about building their future, health, and decision making as well as tie-dying and yoga. Fun, informative and diverse! While the camp had just started, it seemed like the girls were really enjoying themselves. I hope they are able to implement what they learn into their daily lives.
Now, I’m back at training. Lots more French, lots more tutoring – and hopefully some sleep thrown in. I must admit that PST x 2 is still pretty difficult at times. I’m beyond ready to be at my site already! Luckily, there are some very awesome people in my stage to hang out with (and commiserate with) in the meantime. What especially hard to think about, is that if I hadn’t been evacuated from Niger, I would be halfway done with my service by now. I’m happy to be here, but at the same time, very jealous of my friends who were able to transfer to another country directly and continue their service without interruption, rather than start all over again. It’s hard to think about that aspect of everything! Plus, I keep thinking I see my friend Hamza everywhere I look! I wish!
P.S. I’ll try to post some pictures to Facebook tomorrow!
