Brian visited his new place for a week which is where he'll be for the next 2 years. It is a larger area and is nothing like the desert area he had been in. It's lush and much more up to date.
His new living place will be a 4 room concrete house. It's already furnished by a previous PCV and there is electricity and water. He has an oven/stove, there are ceiling fans in the house, a bathroom with shower and even a front porch to sit out. There's also a fence around his concession with a gate. So different from his training area. He is blessed!
Outside is a garden growing with corn, basil, green beans and aloe. He spent part of a day weeding and is excited about eating all these foods again. He also has a papaya and banana tree.
The school district he'll be working in has elementary, middle school, high school, trade/tech and private schooling. There are even computer labs which he's excited to work on.
One of the PC's took him to the local market area and there he bought coconuts, sugar cane, papaya and bananas. He'll also have access to vegetables, fish, tofu, meat and fried cheese. He'll have his own post lock box and can get his mail easily, and a bank he'll open an account. There's an internet cafe which he can access for 75 cents per hour!
As you might guess, he's looking forward to his new home.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Internet & Email
Photo: Brian (far right, seated) in a PC classroom.
A special visit was made by another PCV (Jessica) and her parents (Kerry & John) who stopped to encourage this group in their adventure. Kerry passed out some hugs from moms - here's one to Brian.
The following is an email Brian was able to send out - yeah!
Its aug 27th and its my first internet time... the keyboard is in french and all the letters are mixed around.
Im about done with my livein week - a taste of what my new post is going to be like.... i have the best place in all of niger!
i basically live in a mansion with electricity, a water spicket in my yard, a garden with corn, papayas and a BANANA tree!!!! I also have a shower which is amazing - no more bucket baths!!
ps: Brian has a new mailing address (see right side for address)
Its aug 27th and its my first internet time... the keyboard is in french and all the letters are mixed around.
Im about done with my livein week - a taste of what my new post is going to be like.... i have the best place in all of niger!
i basically live in a mansion with electricity, a water spicket in my yard, a garden with corn, papayas and a BANANA tree!!!! I also have a shower which is amazing - no more bucket baths!!
ps: Brian has a new mailing address (see right side for address)
A special visit was made by another PCV (Jessica) and her parents (Kerry & John) who stopped to encourage this group in their adventure. Kerry passed out some hugs from moms - here's one to Brian.Saturday, August 22, 2009
Home Sweet Home
My home consists of a hut made of mud, mostly to go in when the rain and winds come. Otherwise I sleep outside under the stars (under the mosquito net).
Friday, August 14, 2009
Going to *******
Brian will be finishing up his training in a few weeks and then he'll be going to his post on Sept 12th for the next 2 years. He'll be in ********* part of Niger. He'll be going there to visit in a week, for a week, and is excited about having water, electricity, probably internet access. There'll be trees and vegetables and he's hoping to see giraffes.
When asked about side effects of the Malaria pills, he said he's had some pretty wild and crazy dreams, all funny. Some of the volunteers dreams have not been as amusing as they've fought bears and such.
Since his mail wont change for another month, he asked everyone to keep writing to the same address. He finally received the 2 packages I sent to him and especially enjoyed the sports pages which got shared with all the guys.
When asked about side effects of the Malaria pills, he said he's had some pretty wild and crazy dreams, all funny. Some of the volunteers dreams have not been as amusing as they've fought bears and such.
Since his mail wont change for another month, he asked everyone to keep writing to the same address. He finally received the 2 packages I sent to him and especially enjoyed the sports pages which got shared with all the guys.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Loving it in Niger
Brian called and said he loves it in Niger and is having a great time! Training is going well, it's only a 2 minute walk from "home" to training. Being the first time I've had opportunity to speak to him, I had lots of questions. Here are some things he shared with me:
Bus trip - cheap - only 50 cents american money for a 1 hour bus trip; but i guess you get what you pay for as the bus trip not only took people on board, but also goats and people carrying their chickens, holding them upside down by their feet. Maybe next time he'll pay for the upgrade - lol.
Weekend Getaway- a group of them went to an americanized recreational area and enjoyed swimming, eating nachos and drinking milk shakes (not made of millet!). YUM.
Family - Brian is enjoying his host family who he's been with for almost a month now. They treat him great. Oh, and one of their lambs just had a couple cute baby lambs.
Health - he's doing well, except for that bout of violent vomiting where he needed medicine - after a couple days the nausea and tiredness ceased. All is well again.
Food: "millet jello" is what he called his nightly dinner - I hear he's lost weight. A couple times he's had some mashed potatos or pasta at lunch. I asked if he wanted me to send dried veggies & fruit and that sounded really good to him.
Weather: It's hotter and more humid than at home, but he usually can find shade during the day.
Language: he's continuing to learn french, and will start on his Zarma soon.
Other: at market, he found cheese and crackers and ate the whole thing in one sitting - mmm, mmm, good!
The local bar soap is very harsh and irritates his skin. He was thankful that Katelyn offered him some of her soap.
Bus trip - cheap - only 50 cents american money for a 1 hour bus trip; but i guess you get what you pay for as the bus trip not only took people on board, but also goats and people carrying their chickens, holding them upside down by their feet. Maybe next time he'll pay for the upgrade - lol.
Weekend Getaway- a group of them went to an americanized recreational area and enjoyed swimming, eating nachos and drinking milk shakes (not made of millet!). YUM.
Family - Brian is enjoying his host family who he's been with for almost a month now. They treat him great. Oh, and one of their lambs just had a couple cute baby lambs.
Health - he's doing well, except for that bout of violent vomiting where he needed medicine - after a couple days the nausea and tiredness ceased. All is well again.
Food: "millet jello" is what he called his nightly dinner - I hear he's lost weight. A couple times he's had some mashed potatos or pasta at lunch. I asked if he wanted me to send dried veggies & fruit and that sounded really good to him.
Weather: It's hotter and more humid than at home, but he usually can find shade during the day.
Language: he's continuing to learn french, and will start on his Zarma soon.
Other: at market, he found cheese and crackers and ate the whole thing in one sitting - mmm, mmm, good!
The local bar soap is very harsh and irritates his skin. He was thankful that Katelyn offered him some of her soap.
Will and Brian set up a hammock and enjoy resting on weekends with friends.
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