(written 28sept2010)
My day to day generally consists of doing a lot of chores, which is pretty much what African people do all day, so I'm feeling pretty bien integre. I've really liked the cooking I've done, but that requires a lot of dish doing. I finally figured out how to set up my cot in my little backyard and I've been drying my dishes in the sun on that- which is working really well (P.S. Totally Shannon's idea). I've set up a clothesline back there too for my underwear. It's culturally unacceptable to let other people see any of your underjunk, so you have to find a secret place to dry it. The regular laundry can go in the line in front, and there's always laundry I should be doing. Sometimes...I do...some of it. I sweep my house about three times a day, because now that I actually have control over my surrounding I'm absolutely obsessed with keeping things clean (and more importantly bug and animal free). There's water to boil for drinking. There's water to get from the pump (which in reality Reine's domestic does for me, but I have to go find her and ask her to do it.) There are sometimes bugs to kill, but it hasn't been that extreme. My favorite is sweeping and finding tiny bugs that are alive and then just sweeping them up in the pile. Because there's nothing they can do about it. And then I just throw them outside! Sorry little men, there's a war on here. Either rally your troops or prepare for annihilation.
Each day brings somethings new. I've been meeting friends in village, going on bike rides to Heather's house, saluating old people in Ani (sometimes). What's interesting is that I never really know what expect- what a shock- TIA (this is Africa). Today I had a little bit of a lazy day in the morning, and then Alassane came by (surprise!) and dropped off some curtains he bought for me in Togo (surprise again!). He and Reine are always just giving me things, I love how they see me and Heather as family already. And family is just how it feels. Anyway, I ended up having a longish conversation with Reine about what we want my role to be in the village, and what projects I'd like to do, which was the first time I'd really talked with her about it. When we were chatting some teenage girls came by (surprise!), and I got to talk to them a little bit about how I want to start a girl's club. They were really into it, which made me all the more excited. The girls brought me to this wedding party that was happening down the street- more dancing! I can't ever predict how the day will go, and that usually means it will go somewhere awesome.
I've been working really hard the last couple days on getting started with my actual work- trying to identify the resources in my community, trying to figure out community priorities, and what it is that they really need most. I've been reading a lot of Peace Corps books about how to get started on your projects and how to ensure sustainability. It's fascinatingly complicated, and the more I spend time here and educate myself on aid systems in Africa, and what actually works and does not work, I better understand the mess this whole continent is in the begin with. Aid is one of the most complicated and intricate issues of our time (in my humble opinion). What's more important than what you do, is how you do it. It may seem simple to come in and build a latrine for a poor African school- but what does that latrine mean to the community? Will they use it? Will they maintain it? You have to a arrange the resources and provide the opportunities for the community to do things for itself. If they want a latrine that is sustainable, they have to build it themselves. And your job is to make that possible, all the while, handing over leadership, encouraging them to work within their own resources, and basically making yourself as invisible as possible. So interesting. And hard!
My main goal in my village is going to be working on decreasing teen pregnancy and school drop-out rates for my girls. What an impossible problem! I'm excited to get started!
I feel like the main thing holding me back right now is my French...it's hard to be patient with myself because I have so many ideas about what I want to do, and I feel like my village must think I'm an absolute idiot because I can't express opinions or ideas. Arg!
My day to day generally consists of doing a lot of chores, which is pretty much what African people do all day, so I'm feeling pretty bien integre. I've really liked the cooking I've done, but that requires a lot of dish doing. I finally figured out how to set up my cot in my little backyard and I've been drying my dishes in the sun on that- which is working really well (P.S. Totally Shannon's idea). I've set up a clothesline back there too for my underwear. It's culturally unacceptable to let other people see any of your underjunk, so you have to find a secret place to dry it. The regular laundry can go in the line in front, and there's always laundry I should be doing. Sometimes...I do...some of it. I sweep my house about three times a day, because now that I actually have control over my surrounding I'm absolutely obsessed with keeping things clean (and more importantly bug and animal free). There's water to boil for drinking. There's water to get from the pump (which in reality Reine's domestic does for me, but I have to go find her and ask her to do it.) There are sometimes bugs to kill, but it hasn't been that extreme. My favorite is sweeping and finding tiny bugs that are alive and then just sweeping them up in the pile. Because there's nothing they can do about it. And then I just throw them outside! Sorry little men, there's a war on here. Either rally your troops or prepare for annihilation.
Each day brings somethings new. I've been meeting friends in village, going on bike rides to Heather's house, saluating old people in Ani (sometimes). What's interesting is that I never really know what expect- what a shock- TIA (this is Africa). Today I had a little bit of a lazy day in the morning, and then Alassane came by (surprise!) and dropped off some curtains he bought for me in Togo (surprise again!). He and Reine are always just giving me things, I love how they see me and Heather as family already. And family is just how it feels. Anyway, I ended up having a longish conversation with Reine about what we want my role to be in the village, and what projects I'd like to do, which was the first time I'd really talked with her about it. When we were chatting some teenage girls came by (surprise!), and I got to talk to them a little bit about how I want to start a girl's club. They were really into it, which made me all the more excited. The girls brought me to this wedding party that was happening down the street- more dancing! I can't ever predict how the day will go, and that usually means it will go somewhere awesome.
I've been working really hard the last couple days on getting started with my actual work- trying to identify the resources in my community, trying to figure out community priorities, and what it is that they really need most. I've been reading a lot of Peace Corps books about how to get started on your projects and how to ensure sustainability. It's fascinatingly complicated, and the more I spend time here and educate myself on aid systems in Africa, and what actually works and does not work, I better understand the mess this whole continent is in the begin with. Aid is one of the most complicated and intricate issues of our time (in my humble opinion). What's more important than what you do, is how you do it. It may seem simple to come in and build a latrine for a poor African school- but what does that latrine mean to the community? Will they use it? Will they maintain it? You have to a arrange the resources and provide the opportunities for the community to do things for itself. If they want a latrine that is sustainable, they have to build it themselves. And your job is to make that possible, all the while, handing over leadership, encouraging them to work within their own resources, and basically making yourself as invisible as possible. So interesting. And hard!
My main goal in my village is going to be working on decreasing teen pregnancy and school drop-out rates for my girls. What an impossible problem! I'm excited to get started!
I feel like the main thing holding me back right now is my French...it's hard to be patient with myself because I have so many ideas about what I want to do, and I feel like my village must think I'm an absolute idiot because I can't express opinions or ideas. Arg!
