Received first mail from Brian - dated 7/12/09

How exciting to finally hear from Brian ... here's what he has shared:

Bri started by letting me know he's healthy and happy (not to worry about him). His time in Philly was basic information (important) and he enjoyed meeting the other 31 volunteers going to Niger - 9 guys and 23 girls. They were given a substantial amount of cash to cover eating and traveling expenses from Philly to Niger and Bri enjoyed a fine salmon dinner before leaving on his trip.

The flight to Niamey was long but he was able to sleep on the trip. The plane had a camera on the bottom which displayed on the TV at their seat so he was able to view Niger as they flew in, lots of red sand. Walking off the plane was like walking into an oven of 105 degrees.

The next couple days were filled with info session and language assessments .. and most importantly some head lamp ping pong at night! They enjoyed a big game of volleyball before being sent to their host homes where Bri will stay for the next 9 weeks.

Communication is tough with the language barrier, but he's thankful for the amount of french he does know, allowing him to communicate basic needs.

Brian's host family is headed by the father, Amadou, who is 41 and works for the natural preservation department, and is always reading about fish (but where is the water they live in?). He lives with Amadou, his 2 wives and 9 children (all under the age of 12). His sister is also staying with them at this time.

Most in Niger live on a staple of millet with various sauces, Bri's first meal was millet and a sauce with lamb, for dessert they had oranges and melons - he is eating very good compared to others. Brian and Amadou eat alone and the wives and children eat separately. Amadou's sheep and goats came stampeding home past them while they were eating dinner.

The next day the young boys took Brian to their hang out place, a dried up riverbed outside of town, where the ground is beachlike rather than hard clay. They wrestled while bypassers were amused seeing a white suburban young man wrestling with a dozen pre-teen Nigerian boys. Brian introduced them to american football which they love.

Bri's host family actually has a TV that gets 3 channels, their favorite show is a Brazilian soap opera dubbed in french, and one night there was american music videos on TV.

The family lives in a rectangular clay/cement building and Bri has his own place which is a small round hut with a thatched roof with it's own bathroom/shower area. The bath area doesn't have a roof but better described as "an enclosure with a poop hole in the center (the large cockroaches hang out at night)". It's a place of privacy to take a bucket bath (pour a cup of water over you and hope you dont run out of water before you rinse off). Since nights are hot and stuffy in his quarters, he's been sleeping out under the stars.

A statement from Brian ..

"Simplicity here is one of my favorite things"