Charles and Kate go to Africa

The Day the Camel Came to Town

2010-06-03T01:14:00.000-07:00

8am in morning Togo time that is GMT for all you non-initiated, aka zero heur, the complete opposite of the International Date Line, I was enjoying some fine French pressed coffee that my parents brought with me when they visited. I heard little kids running past my window skipping and yelling “chameau!” A ten minute of search in my dictionary and repeating the word over and over in my head, I realized there was a camel in my village. Yes, a camel, my village, I had heard stories from older volunteers that these nomads will come down from Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. Now it was happening to me! So I grabbed my camera and followed the kids with Rufus, my new dog in tow (see attached photos).

So the skinny on this guy, the camel man came from Burkina Faso and spoke Mossi which some of my friends speak, he goes from house to house asking for corn or millet and selling “very strong” magical powders that give “the force.”

Blamo! Kondame, the brave, shows up (man on top of the camel) while all the rest of the village is scared of the camel, Kondame looks at me and says “if you take a photo I will take this camel for a ride (roughly translated from French to English by moi). It is only right to be afraid of camels. At almost eight feet tall, saucers like feet and a crazy flat tail, not even mentioning their hump they look like they come from the Red planet. Donce, Kondame hopped on, positioned his feet on the neck of the beast and with one word from are nomadic friend it raised. First the butt, tossing Kondame forward, then front, now it was on its knees and Kondame did not realize this because when it threw him forward again, it was almost to the ground. Then he is up, a round of applause and he was done.

Powders bought and consumed, camel feed, the man from the dessert returned and the rest of the day people regaled Kondame with praise.

Trying to catch up on many months

2009-10-24T11:18:00.000-07:00

Most of you have probably kept up with Kate on gchat or Facebook. For those who don't....
She is still in Niger, lots of ups and downs but nothing that Kate can't deal with. As she says, when things don't work out, she just works harder on the next project.
Lots of stomach problems, some political uncertainty, a bus accident to name a few.
Her living conditions in her village have been very problematic, walls falling down and a latrine open to all who pass by!
As a a result she hasn't been living there much the past few months. Mostly she is at the hostel in Dosso. Hence all the opportunities to have computer access.
Today she took her GRE in Niamey, (a pencil and paper test for them) so she will have to wait on the results.
She has several things planned for the next weeks to keep her busy and then on the 12th of December she leaves for vacation. She is going to Paris where she will meet Ryan, then Kevin and Michael will meet her in Dublin on the 19th. We will all be at our house in Mayo on Christmas Eve for a some good times all together again. We will certainly make the best of our time together until January 2nd. Then it's back to Niger for Kate.

I've been there and back...

2009-05-02T15:43:00.001-07:00

So Kate spent a hectic 3 weeks at home in Ardsley surrounded by family and friends. She had no difficulty readjusting to life in New York. She did think the soda bottles and vegetables were bigger than they used to be! Dad was surprised, he had figured out she was coming home but thought she wasn't getting here until Friday. His birthday present arrived right on his birthday and the delight that showed on his face was worth all the secrecy and planning. Kate manged to see almost everyone and crammed in all the experiences she misses in Niger. Early mornings and very late nights made it all possible. As she said, "I can sleep when I get back". She was a celebrity at our school as she told the kids about her life in Niger. They were especially fascinated by her pictures, the coins and the drum. She even made it on to one classroom's blog.
Needless to say she was a little sad when it was time to go back but off she went. Her big bag of goodies and her DVD player made it all the way. She spent the first couple of days in Niamey and is now in Dosso, tomorrow she may head to her village. No doubt, readjustment will have it's challenges . Alannah, her sister is going to visit her in 3 weeks so that will give Kate something to look forward to as she readjusts to life in Africa.

PIctures from Charles

2009-04-18T09:59:00.000-07:00

They Put Spaghetti in Everthing - by Charles

2009-04-16T08:26:00.000-07:00

I eat watchie pretty much ever morning for breakfast. A combination of rice, spaghetti, dried and ground yin yam, spicy pepper sauce and a dash of oil; it is the cornflakes of Togo. And for about forty cents one could easily satisfy the largest appetite.

I am in Dapong, my regional capital, enjoying some very tasty watchie with my closest neighbor and friend Christian who just happens to look a lot like Jesus. Because of his resemblance to our savior conversation between Christian and Togolese are often religiously themed. Not to break with the pattern a fellow watchie-eater began to

tell us that Jesus had had a wife and children. “Oh really!” my interest was peeked. Our brother in rice continued to elaborate that he had seen a film in Lome, a very secret film that you cannot buy and only certain people can see that definitively explained that Jesus had gotten wit Mary M. and had kids. At this point I started to realize

that our new friend was talking about the very popular novel/movie “The DaVinci Code.” Christian and I explained in detail that this wasn’t a secret film and that it is available for purchase. Erroneous, our new friend protested and continued to explain the film only to solidify our belief that he was talking about the afore mentioned film. At that point we had finished our mixture meal and were ready to go enjoy the air-conditioned goodness that one can only experience in Togo at the bank. So we said good-bye to our confused friend.

Later that same day, same adventure different time after getting my monopoly money, Togolese money is red for the one mille bills, blue for the two, green for the three and purple for the ten it really is like monopoly money, I was walking back to the transit house with Christian when we ran into a couple women from my village. We chatted for a couple minutes. I asked them why they had come into Dapong, what they where doing, and they in return asked me when I was coming back to village and how my dog was doing. We parted ways and continued down the street in opposite directions. It was then that Christian turned to me and told me that I had just had an entire conversation with those women in Moba, our local language in these parts. Initially I was like oh no I didn’t and then I remembered that those women don’t know or speak any French so I guess he was right.

To rap this up nicely, in one day I had an entire conversation in a language that I had only heard of three months ago. But even more amazing to me was the fact that I had understood and argued about “The DiVinci Code” in French while eating watchie. It is that odd mixture of things that really makes Togo interesting sometimes.

Beekeeping fun - by Charles

2009-04-16T08:24:00.000-07:00

I want you to bike over here a couple kilometers right before dark. Wear jeans and shoes, oh and socks too. When you get here I am going make you change your shoes into the pig pen tenders boots that he wears without socks everyday for the past ten years because your shoes aren’t strong enough. Now put on this bee suit and elbow high rubber gloves. Now you really have no clue what is going on because everything is in French and at this time it is night. This what makes Africa fun and also really scary to you. They are building a fire, the two African guys you are with, everyone is suited up and ready to go. The smokers are a smoken and you all are off into the night. You have no clue where you are going and then you are there at the beehive. You can hear it before you actually get there and you also know that these are the Africa Killer Bees and Twenty-Twenty has warned you about. The type of bees that make you turnout like the boy in the last scene of the film “My Girl” so you check your back pocket for the Epi pin that the med unit gave you and get started. The two African guys are going at it and you are smoken those bees like your life depends on it. You might think man this suit is thick and then you realize you are covered in bees. Your legs are tired so you crouch down and all of a sudden three stings. Way to forget that bees are actually stinging you through all your clothing. Your comrades and you return with your harvest to base camp it is about ten at night and you get to taste the sweetness of your success. Heart racing a little bit you realize that this might be the best honey you have ever tasted.

And then you it dawns on you that the adventure isn’t over because you now have bike home in the dark.

Where in Niger is kate

2009-02-01T11:56:00.000-08:00

Many of you have heard from Kate this month as she has been in Niamey at a training session for several weeks. She has had lots of access to Facebook and G chat. For those of you who are following the blog.... a quick update. Kate is doing well. She was returning to Dosso yesterday and to her village today. Hopefully her cat Pepper survived. Kate will no doubt need to readjust once more as she has been away from her village a lot recently, Thanksgiving, Christmas and most of this month in training. She is eager to get involved in some serious work. She is also looking forward to a trip home in April...yes, she is actually coming home for 3 weeks and we are soooo excited! In typical Kate 'fashion', she told me the other day that she was at the tailors getting 3 dresses made for her trip home.

Charles' Updated Contact Information

2009-01-08T19:21:00.000-08:00

A couple of logistical updates:

I have a phone!

I keep it on pretty much all the time. Keep in mind that I am on GMT
that is four to five hours ahead of the US. My number is 986-1772 and
the country code for Togo is 228, so to call me just dial
011-228-986-1772.

It can be kind of expensive to call overseas however there are a lot
of international phones cards available at Walgreens, Target, Walmart,
etc. Skype is also another option which you can use to text, a very
cheap and easy option. Other internet options that might be better
than Skype are
1. nobelcom.com
2. jajah.com (click on "pricing")

A small change to my address, instead of "PCT" after my name it now
should be "PCV."

The full address is:
Address:

Charles Kienzle, PCV

Peace Corps
B.P.3194
Lome
Togo

- Charles

Books and Broken Bikes (by Charles)

2009-01-08T19:18:00.000-08:00

Post visit week, a little joke or even a test that the Peace Corps plays on trainees. After ten or so weeks of training they drive you up to your post with your homologue and tell you to make it back to the training sight by next Sunday. They do give you money to get a bush taxi back, a kerosene stove, and a food box of rice, pasta, sugar, and some powdered milk. All that plus a hey mattress where all that was in my home for that week. My French was pretty poor at that point and I had a lot of down time that week. I took time to catch up on two books I wanted to read: Deep Survival and Village of Waiting. Deep Survival chronicles survivors and non-survivors stories about getting lost in the woods or in other extreme situations. The moral of most the stories were that people held on too tightly to their plans and that is how things went wrong. The other book Village of Waiting is a chronicle of on PCVs service in Togo and it is pretty negative and covers some dangers that exist in Togo. These two books where stewing around in my head when I left on my bicycle with my over sized bag. I only had to go 9 kilometers to Dapong transit house. Right when I go onto the road my tire popped. I would pass people and they would say
things to me in Moba or French both incomprehensible to me. I thought of the line that they would right about me, "Charles held to rigidly to walking his bike and would not allow anyone to help him and then…"

Well as I got into Dapong I took a look at the map that was much more figurative than literal and did not even have the transit house on it. I walked down this street that I hoped was the right one. Then it happened a kid came running out after me, grabbed my bike and made off with it. I am done this kid just took my bike and all my stuff. I ran after him and grabbed him right then he said "Chez Paul." Chez Paul? Oh! Chez Paul, Paul the bike guy who fixes all the Peace Corps bikes. Paul and I had cookies together while his apprentice fixed my flat tire.

I ended up making it back safe and sound to my host Mother's house that Sunday and by the next Monday and told my got to tell everyone this story in French.

Ain't No Party like a Funeral Party (by Charles)

2009-01-08T19:16:00.000-08:00

Last night, the night of January 6th I got very little sleep because music was blaring a couple kilometers away from me from 7pm till when I left on my bike for Dapong at 8am the next morning. The silver lining for this was that Gibson, my new puppy could not be heard crying even thought he did very well last night in his kenel, aka my shower, aka a walled of corner in between my house and latrine. This party was a funeral party that is two days of music, dancing,
food, and Damm (Chakaba).

I went to my first funeral party during post visit week as only and observer of bunch a people around a traditional house with a neon green light and tinny music blaring out preventing any attempt I sought for explanation about the party from my homologue. Once I got to post as an official volunteer, we hit up two funerals back to back and I got a real taste for how the Moba party.

The party from what I experienced goes a little like this:

Everyone, everyone, I mean the entry village goes to the house of the family of the guy who died. Everyone sits in circles drinking Chakaba, a warm millet beer drank out of calabashes. After a couple of calabashes people might move to another circle for more Chakaba or for a round of SoDaBe, a local gin that is distilled from palm wine and can and is used to degrease bycycle chains. A women will come out and offer some type of food: rice balls, pate (corn, mush, jello) with some type of sauce with a lot of oil and some type of meat. This is the exciting part for me because I have shook so many and of course we are sans a fork. On top of that there is the add mystery of eating in the dark and not really knowing what you are eating. Questions I often
find myself asking myself are: Is this skin or intestine? What meat is this? Is that a bone or a rock and if so can I swallow it? After thoroughly gorged on drink and food I might dance or talk a little and then it is off to bed.

This is the case normally with funerals but New Years was the biggest party of the year. I had my first calabash at 7:30am and my last at 8:30pm in between I ate so much food that I could literal see my stomach bloated with food. My last meal I was eating around the meat on my plate when my friend looks to me and says "Charles, eat the meat."

Almost Brushed My Teeth with My Own Urine (by Charles)

2009-01-08T19:11:00.000-08:00

First I am sorry to any of Kate's friends and loved ones who read this post but this is a wonderful snapshot of life in Togo. Please read on to discover how I came to this end.

Note: For this entry "Voltic" refers to a bottle that gets its name from the company that originally produced the water and bottle.

I had two Voltics on my night table I grabbed one and almost poured it on my tooth brush when right before the liquid spilled onto my only American toothbrush I noticed it was my pee bottle and not my water bottle. Now you might be wondering how I got this point of bottling my
urine.

It all started on my first day in Togo while me and my thirty other potential volunteers showed up at Mama's, a Togolese hotel which means its third floor is made completely of plywood. Like good Westerns in a foreign country we started to pound bottled water, Voltics. After our third day before we left for post the Voltics began to stack up, a current volunteer shared with us the many uses of a Voltic to hold all types of liquids from filtered water, honey, palm oil, kerosene and yes, even urine. I met my host mother, Elizabeth and my twin host
brother and sister, Carlos and Karren with five Voltics in tow. In French with panta-mime I got a tour of my home of the next three months. I understood the bucket flush toilet and how to get water from the well and where the shower was. I had been pounding water all that day and at the end of the tour I really had to go number one. I thought it would be a waste to pee in toilet and then bucket flush it and it would have been really hard to panta-mime my belief in if it is
yellow let it mellow. The other option, the shower would have drawn too much attention and I already was alien enough to them. So I went to my room and filled up a bottle. Now that my water was in another bladder I still need a place to put it. Luckly there was a little alley between my house and my Drunkle's (Drunk + Uncle). This wasn't a problem until one morning I went to pour out my pee and poured it almost on top of the deaf, mute that lived with us and had been
storing palm fences that he made in my urinal. Luckly, he did not tell anyone about this and then I knew that I had to start peeing elsewhere like the Togolese. The Togolese actually have no qualms about peeing anywhere and even do it in what we, Americans would call public places
like streets and so on. So I took a little cup of water and went to the shower. Elizabeth stopped me. I used the five French verbs that I knew and my expert panta-mime skills, which I picked up in 2005 when my jaw was wired shut for a couple of weeks, to tell her that I was going to pee in the shower. She misunderstood and thought that I was going to drink my pee. So afterwards I had to show her that the cup was free of urine and my intention was not to drink my pee even though I had bottle of it in my room.

So old habits die hard and during the night sometimes I do not want to get up and the pee bottle is there so I use it. I keep it on my night stand next to my other water bottle. And that is how I almost poured urine on my tooth brush. I think that after this I will no longer have a pee bottle. It is too much of a risk.

- Charles

Update about Charles from Charles' dad

2008-12-02T17:34:00.000-08:00

December 2, 2008

Charles passed his French language test today and will officially become a Peace Corp Volunteer (PCV) at a ceremony in Lome on Friday along with about 2 dozen other trainees. He will leave a few days later to go to his permanent assignment in Nanergou. He will be lone volunteer in the town which is about 6km northwest of the regional capital of Dapaong.

Thanksgiving Update

2008-11-26T13:31:00.000-08:00

So, where is Kate celebrating Thanksgiving?

Kate will be in Dosso at the hostel for the next few days. Her group are celebrating on Friday so that the newest PCTs can join them. She went there ahead of time, as assembling the ingredients and preparing/cooking the feast will be a bit more complicated and time consuming than it is here in New York. I will let you know what they end up eating...

Kate has been busy the past few weeks doing everyday things that take a long time to do in Niger. Visiting a friend, going to the bank, gathering supplies, all take time often a full day or more. In her village she spends her time visiting with her neighbors and helping out where and when she can. She told me she assisted a dentist visiting from Germany...She translated and held hands and generally tried to keep people feeling calm. Almost all needed teeth out and had never been to a dentist before. The treatment was pretty basic, certainly not what we are used to at the dentist!
She celebrated Halloween in Dosso dressed as a lost boy (Peter Pan).
She has visited a few other PCVs in their villages and has had a few friends stay with her. She spent the days around the election in the capital ( Niamey) and so was able to watch it all unfold on TV, no doubt wearing her Obama '08 shirt.
The new PCTs arrived in October so she has had a couple of visits wit them. She just spent an overnight with a PCT settling him in for his "live in" in a neighboring village. She described her return from that trip as a ride on a cow cart, a long walk and a bush taxi ride.... quite exhausting!

Kate has posted some pictures

2008-11-06T14:57:00.000-08:00

If you go to
http://s469.photobucket.com/albums/rr59/ksheerin/?albumview=slideshow
you will see some of Kat'e pictures

Kate's life in her village as told by Kate.

2008-11-03T15:46:00.000-08:00

Kate used to live in a house like the one on the right
her new house is more like the one on the left.

Right now the cement floor of my first apartment in adulthood is littered with half finished crossword puzzles, the week in review from the last two months of weeks, all the edge pieces to a 1000 piece puzzle, about 15 books with the corners turned down and a stack of letters waiting patiently for responses. Every night I slowly work through the piles of stuff with my laptop open music playing - finishing puzzles, answering letters (I am trying I swear!) and catching up on what is happening in the world – surrounded by things from home I sometimes forget that I am indeed living in Niger. And in about twenty minutes I will climb into my mosquito net and put my headphones in- but then I will go to sleep thinking about home. That's the way the entire first month at post has been. In certain moments I forget that I am thousands of miles away from everything in my life and then in the next I will realize that I am alone in West Africa.
I have been living in my new village for just a month: spending most of my time just adjusting to being here, getting used to my various animal roommates (lizards, a bat roaches and most recently a black mouse) and learning how to do things (washing my clothes in a bucket, carrying water, cooking). And while I am adjusting (slowly) to living here, my villagers are also adjusting to having me here. When I arrived here a lot of people couldn't quite figure out what I was doing in Niger and being a Peace Corps volunteer didn't clarify things at all (I am the first volunteer in my village). I still don't think people have any idea what the Peace Corps is, but at least they have an idea of what I am doing here…kind of.
SO, an idea of what I am doing here:
Technically, I am a Municipal and Community Development Volunteer with the Peace Corps. What that means is that I work with the Mayor's office of a commune to promote the efforts of decentralization in Niger. And what that means is that I am trying to help the Mayor's office be able to do its job. Because the concept of decentralization is new to Niger, and the commune system also just out of the packaging, there are still a lot of kinks in the new government organization. The Mairie serves as the local government for the commune. Potentially the two biggest problems that this new system faces are the lack of resources available to the Mairie and the lack of knowledge about the Mairie in the community. That is pretty much where my technical job description ends.
The reality of this job description is that I won't be able to start to tackle really any part of these two problems for quite a while, if ever. And so that means for the next two years, I will spend my time first integrating and then working on projects that fit my community whether it be a community garden project, civic education, microfinance or any of the other hundred potential areas for work.

Kate Elizabeth SheerinPeace Corps Niger: July 2008-October 2010Municipal and Community Development

Update on Charles!

2008-10-26T20:42:00.000-07:00

10/26/2008

Charles is currently still in training in Agou Tomegbe which is about 50 kilometers north to northeast of the capital. He is living with a family in 2 rooms both of which have electricity, a hanging light bulb. The water well is close by and his latrine is working. The “father” at the airport in Lome and his wife Elizabeth is Charles’ current “mother”. She has a set of twins who are 12, one boy and one girl.

Each day consists of classes, about 50% French language traing and 50% technical skills. After training his assignment will be in a town of less than 1000, which is about 5 kilometers from the regional capital of Dapaong the northernmost city in the very northwest of Togo (638 kilometers from the capital of Lome on the coast). They are in the process of finishing his living quarters there (actually repairing) and he will go there for a few days next week. He then returns to training in Agou and if all goes according to plan he will complete the training in early December.

Kate made it through her month!

2008-10-25T13:28:00.000-07:00

That's Kate!

Sunday October 19th

hey mom!
I made it officially to my one month!! I am here at the hostel in Dosso basking in all the packages and letters that were awaiting me. love you
-k

PC Hostel in Dosso

Kate made it through her month of living alone in her village. She established a routine for herself, cleaning her house, talking to her neighbors, going to the mayor's office, stopping to shop on the way back and visitng with the neighbors until the evening. Then cooking dinner, writing in her journal, watching and rewatching her movies and TV shows. Last weekend when I was talking to her she was in her house and a big bug came in the window. She described it as a very big praying mantis. She leaves the windows open to let the cool night air in but she doesn't have screens....they will come eventually...patience seems to be the most important thing she needs. She has been sleeping indoors as there are a lot of dust storms at the moment, even indoors she is safely tucked under her mosquito net. Last Sunday she went on a road trip to Dosso for a few days. She sent out a few emails from the account there. If you want to send her email there - dossopcv@intnet.ne put Kate Sheerin in the subject line. She can only use that account for email. Blogging etc she needs to go to the internet cafe and that is not always available.
She planned on staying in Dosso for a few days and then visiting friends close by. She planned on being back in her village by the end of the week. Travelling by bush taxi can take time and her plans don't always work out. It gets a little crowded!

Kate's end of September update

2008-09-28T13:15:00.000-07:00

Kate is now an official PCV. She was sworn in 2 weeks ago. That’s her in traditional dress bottom left.
She spent that week celebrating and relaxing, even swimming at the rec. center
She then moved from Niamey to Dosso and stayed at the hostel there for almost a week. We are not allowed to name her village for security reasons but she is not far from the city of Dosso. Dosso you can find easily on a map.
She was supposed to move to her new village right away but the house was still not finished to PC standards. Last Sunday she finally got to move in. Now she has to spend the next month there without leaving. I think it’s a test of her commitment and also ensures that she integrates into her new community. In true Kate style she has taken on the challenge and is doing just that. She has plans to move around again, visiting friends and doing PCV work toward the end of October. And of course there is Halloween to look forward to.
At the hostel in Dosso they have a big Halloween bash.
She has her phone but no email or internet. She saved up books and magazines to read and movies/TV shows to watch. Thank goodness for her laptop and electricity. Spending so much time alone can be quite difficult. Especially for Kate who loves to surround herself with friends and this large family. She has hung up all the cards and pictures she has received in the mail. She will slowly decorate the house and make it a home. Although she won’t get her mail for a while it will all be there waiting for her when she goes to Dosso late October. She has started to write a few letters, but now needs to find someone going into the city to mail them for her.
Her new house is a mansion by local standards in that it has three rooms; one large and two small, two small windows in the main room and an electric light and socket! She is still trying to decide what to do with all that space. The house is made of mud like bricks and has a metal roof.
not Kate!
Currently she uses the tap nearby at the Mayor’s house to get water but thinks she should do as the villagers do and go the pump. Learning to balance it on her head will be another story! She has a water filter system and a stove and gas bottle. She has a bed that she currently drags in and out depending on where she is going to sleep. In time she hopes to buy another one…an inside and an outside bed! Her latrine and shower area are outside. Her wall around her concession is not yet finished, probably won’t be until after the harvest season as they will use the dried millet stalks to weave a fence. She is surrounded by a peanut farm, that is just about ready for harvesting. Kate loves the homemade peanut butter
Her village is quite large with approx. 3,000 people, mostly young children. She said the people in her village are wonderful, warm and very friendly. She is still a novelty and will remain so for some time. They invite her over for meals and just to hang out. They send their children over to check on her. They have never had a PCV live there before and there experience with NGOs is limited. They think she is too thin… being heavy means your well provided for and can afford good food. Explaining that in America you cannot be too thin falls on deaf ears. They also wonder why her family, especially her mother let her go away. She assures them that I love her and shows them all my letters and cards but it is all so foreign to them. She told them we plan on visiting her next year…they need a months notice to ready themselves and the village!
There is a market there once a week where she can but almost anything she needs including the animals she is thinking of getting. The local children are on the lookout for a stray kitten for her.
Ramadan ends on Tuesday and so they are gearing up for a big celebration. Someone is coming over to braid her hair tomorrow. I guess that’s the equivalent of your own personal hairdresser.
The mayor’s office will then be open regularly and she will have a routine that includes spending time there. School too will begin and she plans on going there a few times also.
The children promise to come by and collect her when it’s time. There doesn’t seem to be an official opening day.

Kate has lots of pictures but hasn’t managed to put them on line. One of her friends is more adept at doing so. Check it out and you will see Kate in Niger! http://www.flickr.com/photos/mwong64/page5/

Charles' first entry

2008-09-10T06:37:00.000-07:00

This is my first entry in this blog. I leave for training the 17th of September. I am a little stressed about packing. There is no way I can take everything I need for two years and I cannot even fathom what I might come in hand in Togo. I am also a little worried about my poor french skills. However as with all things it will work out. Below included a little information of Togo and how to contact me.

Situated between Ghana and Benin at 8 degrees North by 1 degree and 10 minutes East is the epic African state of Togo. Shaped like a pogo stick this state of 5,858,673 that official speaks French and many unofficial indigenous languages will be my home for the next 27 months. If you do the math that means I will return December 10th, 2010, start counting down for Christmas and New Years 2010 they will be the best yet.

My first three months in Togo will be spent training in a little town 55km outside the capital city of Lome. Once I am done, I will serve as a natural resources management agent which involves a myriad of skills from well building to teaching sustainable agriculture techniques in rural villages.

I know my absence will drastically alter your lives as you currently know them. But do not worry the transition will not be that harsh. This blog will be where I will post updates and tales of my fantastic adventures.

I will also be sad because I will not see any of my dear friends and family for two years so please keep in touch. I will be desperate to hear about anything from updates about eating McDonald's to photos of you and the new addition to sticker collection. There are a couple ways in which you can contact me. One way is through the new electronic mail (this fad seems to be staying around) my address is below. Or through traditional mail, all you need is an 98 cent stamp that you can get any post office, the address is also below. If you really want to make someone's day write me a letter, every letter I get while I am over there will be very special to me and I thank you ahead of time.

Note: if you letter is really great or something big happens in your life I might buy a goat or a smaller animal and sacrifice it in your honor, feel free to start writing now.

Address in Togo:

Charles Kienzle, PCT

Peace Corps
B.P.3194
Lome
Togo

Email:
ckienzle(at)gmail(dot)com

Puddles, Winter Coats, and Giraffes

2008-09-03T20:10:00.001-07:00

In America, I always loved the rain. But in Niger, not so much. It is currently rainy season- and that means that the rains come every other day or so (when I first got here it was about once every three days) Rain in Niger means that I have to sleep in my hut (thatch is not quite waterproof), that I am either damp or soaked all day long (like in New Orleans-umbrellas are completely useless) , that my laundry never gets dry (and then it starts to smell bad), that there are more mosquitoes (if that is even possible), that there are frogs everywhere (you have never heard frogs croak as loud as they do in the middle of the dead silence of nighttime in Niger). After the rains come there are giant puddles and rainy season rivers throughout the fields and if you are not careful you are likely to fall in one and perhaps even lose a shoe. But the rains have some perks too. A good rainy season means a great harvest (that means more fruits and vegetables). The rain makes the desert soil grow grass and the landscape is surprisingly green. The rain brings a few hours of respite from the heat and humidity. Most importantly, the rain also brings a winter jackets. Upon arriving home, I am greeted with the usual slew of greetings (mate gaham, mate Peace Corps, mate farga, mate goyo, mate cawyan etc.). But rainy days bring a new greeting: How is the cold? On occasion I try to explain that at 70 + degrees, it isn't exactly cold, but to the Nigeriens who are proudly sporting winter jackets and sweaters, it's even too cold to sit outside.

On the way to my village this past week (we had a one week test run for living in our villages) I had my first encounter with African wildlife. Niger has quite the variety of wildlife, we have been told. But up until now the only wildlife I have seen includes a vast array of farm animals, lizards, bugs and camels. But on the bus from Niamey to Dosso at 6 am this past Sunday morning I got woken up from my open mouthed head bobbing sleep by the honking of the bus driver. Drivers in Niger think their horns are equivalent to their brakes so at first I tried to resist waking up. But luckily I opened my eyes just in time to see a herd of about 8 giraffes grazing right by the road. Niger proudly sustains the last wild herd of giraffes in Africa, and there they were just eating trees on the side of the road.

I spent one week alone in my village. And while I still don't have a latrine, a wall around my concession, or a shade hangar- I do have a three room square house with a metal roof. My house is really too big for someone whose belongings fit into two duffle bags but that means that I have tons of room to decorate. For the first time ever (probably in my entire life) I was completely alone (not even cell reception). And what I figured out was that I have plenty of time to try a variety of different hobbies. So on that note, I am open to suggestions from all of you on what I should try (send the necessary supplies via mail). So far my list of potential activities includes gardening, composting, yoga, meditation, art, training for a marathon, cooking, dancing alone in my house to my ipod, and GRE Prep.

And I have a new address, so start sending letters there (don't worry the ones you already sent will still get to me)

Kate Elizabeth Sheerin-PCV

Corps De La Paix

B.P. 144

Dosso, Niger

Don't forget to write airmail on whatever you send!

First blog entry from Kate: A ga kanu ay se, a ga bori ay se!

2008-08-08T10:42:00.000-07:00

After four weeks in Niger, I am happy I came. And maybe I am starting to adjust, just maybe. Definitely because my mom writes to me every week so that I always have mail. Definitely because life without running water or electricity in my house isn't that bad (going back to my roots, my dad would say. Definitely because the night sky is incomparable. Maybe because I have a mosquito net, an iPod and now a cell phone. Maybe because I am starting to understand the language. Maybe because I am realizing how lucky I have been. Maybe because I have amazing friends both in Niger and America. Hopefully because I am going to last the whole two years here. Hopefully because joining the Peace Corps was the right decision. And hopefully because I am figuring out how to be myself, just myself in Africa.

Philadelphia is the beginning. Aside from the obvious nervous awkwardness, everyone seemingly hit it off right away. And after two days of receiving limited amounts of information, worrying about chariot spiders and lack of toilet paper, and getting our first round of vaccines, we boarded the plane a makeshift family. And somewhat surprisingly, I managed to pack less than 100 pounds of luggage and while I didn't have the least luggage I certainly didn't have the most. The first good omen for the trip was the American flag debit card containing 180 dollars to pay for our Philadelphia expenses. The second good omen for the next two years was that all of the bags made it to Niger. The first week went by extremely slowly but the last three have flown by. I am almost half way through training!

My day usually starts at about 5:30 am, when the prayer call blares over the town speaker system. An African alarm clock, the prayer call, lets me know I need to get out of bed in 30 minutes- the roosters are the reason I actually get out of bed at 6. I head into town at 7 to buy breakfast which normally consists of coffee and a beignet typefood (fari masa). Then I head up to the training site where I have a full day of technical (municipal community development), medical (howto deal with diarrhea, skin infections and malaria), cross cultural (what not to do in public), and most importantly language (ZARMA!) training. We eat lunch at the site and then get kicked out after a full day of learning at 615. I then go home to my host family for dinner. Sometimes I go for a run and other times I read or write in my journal. I take a bucket bath just as it is about to go dark and then I am in bed by 930.

A few things that happened this week: a cow died in the neighboring field and smelled up the neighborhood, I looked into buying a small donkey (to be purchased when I am at my post), I got some phone calls from America!, I reached intermediate level at Zarma during my first language assessment (which means I can swear in to be a volunteer on time), I visited a maire and learned about budgets, decentralization and taxes, and tonight I am going out to dinner in the capital!

Next Week: I find out where my post is!!!!!!!

Funny Story of the Week. The title of this blog entry is a direct quote from my seven year old neighbor. Literally it means, "it's good to me, it's great to me". My friend Hamas lives with this family and he woke up one morning to the kid dancing naked under a floral umbrella singing it. It's a pretty good way to start your Sunday morning and now we sing it about five times a day.Thanks to everyone who called and sent me mail! It makes my days! (If you want to call me from Skype my number here is 011-227-96349589,-I put it up wrong before sorry! and the best times are either at midnight east coast time or 2 PM east coast time)

Email from Kate on July 29th

2008-08-06T08:37:00.000-07:00

Hey you guys!

This is the first time I have been able to access the internet and only have a few minutes so here is the lowdown really quick on africa so far.

1. I have no electricity
2. I have no running water
3. I live in a hut
4. I poop in a hole
5. I shower with a cup and a bucket
6. my african name is fadila
7. I have 6.5 weeks of training left
8. i am learning a language called zarma
9. the sky at night is amazing
10. I can see mars
11. it is really hot
12. I am always dirty
13. the people are amazing
14. I wake up at sunrise and go to sleep at 930
15. the food is terrible
thats all i can think of for now. hopefully i will be able to write you all a letter soon I miss you all terribly send me mail letters packages (us postal flat rate envelopes are best)
I feel out of the loop so keep writing!
much african love
-kate

More News About Kate!

2008-08-05T15:19:00.001-07:00

I just realized that there were posts in the comments section, and there's some news from Kate that was posted in the comments. Here's the letters from Kate, reposted.

From July 29, 2008

Fo Fo Family!

This note has to be short because I have limited internet use, but i happen to be in the capital traveling back from a weekend away from training. Everything is going well so far. I live with a host family in a rural compound right outside the town of hamdallaye. We dont have any running water or electricity. My house consists of a round thatch roof hut and a walled in concession. my shower and latrine are seperate. the latrine is clearly just a hole, and the shower is cement room. there is a letter in the mail with some more details so you should be receiving that soon.
Everything is going pretty well- It definitely is harder than anyone says it is but it is also more amazing than I could describe. I am practicing my new language everyday and am already getting the hang of it. I have made a solid group of really good friends and all the people in my training group are really supportive. The trainers and the language teachers are all really great and have been helping us through all the difficult times. My family has given me the name fadila so everyone in hamdallaye calls me that. I either here fadila or anasara (white person) being yelled across the feilds wherever i go. at first being called white person all the time sucked but now i respond by calling them borobi which is black person and is a pretty good joke.
I miss you all tons and hope everything is well at home. I should be getting a new cellphone number soon so i will text you all when i have it. Happy Birthday James! and send me letters everyone with all your news because i feel really out of the loop.

I love you guys
-kate (perhaps a little more african, but still kate)

Here's the second letter...

Today we got a Kate letter.She wrote it before we talked to her so some of it you've heard before. One of her fellow PCT's has developed a severe peanut allergy and is returning to the US so he offerred to mail a letter from his home in California. Another letter is somewhere in the mail from Niger.

excerpts from her letter...The night sky is amazing,I have never seen stars stars like this! I went for my first run, the landscape is amazing. You can see for miles and it is very green as it is the rainy season. She has no electricity or running water but takes a bucket bath every day. She says that she still wears her good clothes, wears makeup and brushes her hair everyday. Still Kate!!She is learning a new language 'Zarma' and is beginning to make some sense of what people are saying to her. She has some good friends and lives near 2 PCT guys, who keep her company, walk her to school etc.

She is quite homesick but determined to get over it. She loves to get letters about our everyday stuff so if you have a chance drop her a line. A stamp is about $1:00. Make sure you write 'Air Mail' on the envelope.

Email from Peace Corps Niger Director

2008-08-05T14:23:00.001-07:00

(Here's an email that Kate's mom forwarded to me, from the Peace Corps Niger director. You can click on the picture above to see a bigger image. Kate is on the bottom left-ish - Melody)

Hello all - I am pleased to announce the safe arrival of the Peace Corps Niger July Training Group for the beginning of their training to become Peace Corps Volunteers.? Everyone is in good spirits and, as you can see from the attached photo, settling in well to our training site.? They are also, as I type this, experiencing their first really big African monsoon storm!

We are thrilled to have this new set of trainees and look forward to working with them over the next 2 years.

Cheers,
Mary Abrams
Country Director
Peace Corps Niger

The First Post

2008-05-03T00:06:00.000-07:00

So, Charles and Kate are going to Africa for about two years through the Peace Corps. This is their blog. I will be posting up any news I get from them, whether by snail mail, messenger pigeons, or a message in a bottle, for their avid fans.

Kate is going to Niger from July 2008-October 2010 to work in Municipale and Community Development. Charles is not set to leave for Africa until September. He's in New Orleans from Aug 5th-8th if you want to see him before he leaves!