Authored by the CBA--mom
Today was Thanksgiving in the United States, but Thanksgiving was also being celebrated by the PC Trainees in Niger. We spoke with Michael and he talked of the feast he was enjoying with the group....mashed potatoes, chicken, and more "yummy food". He said the girls had been cooking all day and it tasted GREAT! He and the group were also enjoying one of their last days in a country he has grown to love in just a few weeks' time. With much regret, he and his group are being relocated next week. He really wants to stay, but there are only more threats in areas where he was supposed to go, so the Peace Corps is abandoning their intentions to expand in Niger (although current volunteers will remain). On to a new frontier! His new home will be in Madagascar! He is not sure what his assignment will be or exactly what he will be doing, but flexibility is the key! He is very thankful that they get to remain in Africa, although the climate and the living conditions will be much different.....seasons, a house, electricity....he will likely be able to do his own blog posts!!!!
There are still many details to be worked out; I will update as I am able. Please hold off sending letters and packages for now---his address will be changing! He assured me that anything enroute will be delivered to him in Madagascar--eventually!
Thanks for all your continued love and support....
Friday, November 27, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
News from the Wanderer
This post is authored by the current blog administrator--mom
When Michael left almost 5 weeks ago, people would ask us, "Are you going to visit?" We would answer with a quick "yes, we're planning to!". This week the answer changed; it became a hesitant, "maybe". As of November 19, the US Dept of State recommends against all travel to Niger at this time. Our answer is now, "maybe we can meet him somewhere in Africa for a vacation!".
He has been living in a safe place and he is well cared for in his current situation, but his movement around the area is limited. In the meantime, he has gotten to know his fellow Trainees well, has learned a lot of new card games and has established himself as a frequent winner of the Catan game that one of the Trainees brought along! I pity those who try to beat him!
He is getting letters and packages and is very appreciative of them. He is pleased to finally have a phone so the parents can call him whenever they want to! I, however, am not getting letters from him--thus the lack of personal posts from the owner of this blog. I hear they are coming.....so stay tuned! There should be more news soon!
When Michael left almost 5 weeks ago, people would ask us, "Are you going to visit?" We would answer with a quick "yes, we're planning to!". This week the answer changed; it became a hesitant, "maybe". As of November 19, the US Dept of State recommends against all travel to Niger at this time. Our answer is now, "maybe we can meet him somewhere in Africa for a vacation!".
He has been living in a safe place and he is well cared for in his current situation, but his movement around the area is limited. In the meantime, he has gotten to know his fellow Trainees well, has learned a lot of new card games and has established himself as a frequent winner of the Catan game that one of the Trainees brought along! I pity those who try to beat him!
He is getting letters and packages and is very appreciative of them. He is pleased to finally have a phone so the parents can call him whenever they want to! I, however, am not getting letters from him--thus the lack of personal posts from the owner of this blog. I hear they are coming.....so stay tuned! There should be more news soon!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Hello from the Bush
Greeting friends and family. I apologize for my lack of posting, but mail home is painfully slow and this is the first access to a computer I have had since my arrival and I only have 10 minutes. Niger is great, Yesterday I went on an impromtu giraffe safari and saw a whole herd. It is super hot here and it is considered the cold season now. I am learning Hausa, eating rice with my hands, and sleeping under the stars. Good news, I passed the foreign service exam! Mom will post more on my adventures soon. I love you all!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
How to get from Holland to Niamey
Authored by Michael on October 23, 2009--two days after departure from Michigan
Dad & I left Holland at 4:15 a.m. EST. I slept maybe 2 hours that night, mostly as a result of nerves. Mom cried when I left which was sweet of her. Everything went smoothly at the airport; I made it through in plenty of time. I went to my gate, sat down next to some guy with ripped jeans and tried unsuccessfully to pass out. I did catch about 30 minutes of sleep waiting for my connection in Milwaukee, WI. When I got to Philadelphia and claimed my luggage, I saw the guy in the ripped jeans near baggage claim. Turns out his name is Aaron; he is a volunteer from Portage, MI! Together we caught the shuttle to the Radisson. By the time we made it to the hotel we were almost late for our meeting so we quick checked in and went to conference room 8.
These are some of the more interesting things I learned at staging in Philly:
1. Camel spiders, native to Niger, are the size of frisbees
2. We were expected to eat lunch before our 6 hour meeting so the 2 egg McMuffins dad bought me in Hudsonville at 4:30 am were clutch
3. You aren't supposed to touch anyone with your left hand
4. All 39 people in my Peace Corps group are super awesome and 5 of them are from MICHIGAN!
5. I am the only male volunteer assigned to agriculture; there are only 6 other guys--and all the girls are very pretty :>)
6. You will get sick in Niger
Once we were finally released from staging at 7pm, we decided to spoil ourselves with one last luxury. Fourteen of us decided on a nearby steakhouse. We all spent an obscene amount of money on an amazing steak filet and glass of red wine. We were all excited and shared lots of rumors about what we might find in the country.
On Thursday we were up and checked out early. We got on some tour buses for a trip to Philly. They parked us at the US Constitution Center, right next to the Mint, Liberty Bell, and Independence Hall. We were marched into a drab government building where we were each given a WHO card, a necessary travel document that makes me feel like I am being featured in a Dr. Seuss novel. We all got yellow fever shots and were led back to our bus. At this point we were abandoned by our training coordinators who bid us good lunch on their way back to D.C. We proceeded to JFK and boarded the 7pm flight to Paris.
I planned on sleeping for most of my trans-Atlantic flight as the in-flight movies were all bad. In addition, a fellow volunteer game me a Dramamine to put me down. My body and the infant of a hasidic Jewish couple had other plans. The Jewish child was screaming for most of the night and the Dramamine was not kicking in. I tried to help it along by drinking 2 things of wine and some liquor but by the time we landed in Paris I was wide awake. After a 2 hour layover, we boarded a flight to Niamey continuing to Ouadougov. O found it somewhat ironic that 80% of the 1st class passengers were Nigerien in fancy suits and the economy class was all Caucasian. After that I began a very strange sleep/consciousness cycle. I don't remember taking off from Paris only suddenly realizing that we were airborne. I chatted occasionally with the 81-year-old missionary on her way to a med clinic (nudge to Grandma). Air France installed a camera under the plane and broadcasted an image of the ground to the video screens of all the passengers. From this I learned that the Sahara desert is very big and dead. Arizona deserts have ground cover and cactus; the Sahara is all nothing, just sand. The screen constantly showed a big collage of neutral colors with no green in sight. The desert continued until the plane was putting down the landing gear and bushes appeared on the sand. The 81-year-old looked down and said, "Wow, look how green it is; you'd better look now because this is the most green you will see here."
We landed at Niamey "Airport" and stopped on the tarmac. Our Airbus 330 was certainly the biggest plane at the place, and I only saw one other plane with a jet engine. We were unloaded onto the tarmac and loaded into buses for the 100 meter trip to the "terminal". I made a quick stop at the men's room only to discover 1 working toilet with no seat, cover, lid or flushing device. Welcome to Africa. We were warmly greeted by Peace Corps staff in the dirt parking lot. All of our luggage was heaped on the back of a pick up truck, and we were smashed into 2 vans for a trip out to our training cite. Even though I was prepared to see rural poverty, I was blown away by what I saw just on the ride out to the training village. I am going to end my post now, but I already have a whole book's worth of stories and experiences to write about, and I have been here just 24 hours. You will have some good reading in the coming weeks and months.
Dad & I left Holland at 4:15 a.m. EST. I slept maybe 2 hours that night, mostly as a result of nerves. Mom cried when I left which was sweet of her. Everything went smoothly at the airport; I made it through in plenty of time. I went to my gate, sat down next to some guy with ripped jeans and tried unsuccessfully to pass out. I did catch about 30 minutes of sleep waiting for my connection in Milwaukee, WI. When I got to Philadelphia and claimed my luggage, I saw the guy in the ripped jeans near baggage claim. Turns out his name is Aaron; he is a volunteer from Portage, MI! Together we caught the shuttle to the Radisson. By the time we made it to the hotel we were almost late for our meeting so we quick checked in and went to conference room 8.
These are some of the more interesting things I learned at staging in Philly:
1. Camel spiders, native to Niger, are the size of frisbees
2. We were expected to eat lunch before our 6 hour meeting so the 2 egg McMuffins dad bought me in Hudsonville at 4:30 am were clutch
3. You aren't supposed to touch anyone with your left hand
4. All 39 people in my Peace Corps group are super awesome and 5 of them are from MICHIGAN!
5. I am the only male volunteer assigned to agriculture; there are only 6 other guys--and all the girls are very pretty :>)
6. You will get sick in Niger
Once we were finally released from staging at 7pm, we decided to spoil ourselves with one last luxury. Fourteen of us decided on a nearby steakhouse. We all spent an obscene amount of money on an amazing steak filet and glass of red wine. We were all excited and shared lots of rumors about what we might find in the country.
On Thursday we were up and checked out early. We got on some tour buses for a trip to Philly. They parked us at the US Constitution Center, right next to the Mint, Liberty Bell, and Independence Hall. We were marched into a drab government building where we were each given a WHO card, a necessary travel document that makes me feel like I am being featured in a Dr. Seuss novel. We all got yellow fever shots and were led back to our bus. At this point we were abandoned by our training coordinators who bid us good lunch on their way back to D.C. We proceeded to JFK and boarded the 7pm flight to Paris.
I planned on sleeping for most of my trans-Atlantic flight as the in-flight movies were all bad. In addition, a fellow volunteer game me a Dramamine to put me down. My body and the infant of a hasidic Jewish couple had other plans. The Jewish child was screaming for most of the night and the Dramamine was not kicking in. I tried to help it along by drinking 2 things of wine and some liquor but by the time we landed in Paris I was wide awake. After a 2 hour layover, we boarded a flight to Niamey continuing to Ouadougov. O found it somewhat ironic that 80% of the 1st class passengers were Nigerien in fancy suits and the economy class was all Caucasian. After that I began a very strange sleep/consciousness cycle. I don't remember taking off from Paris only suddenly realizing that we were airborne. I chatted occasionally with the 81-year-old missionary on her way to a med clinic (nudge to Grandma). Air France installed a camera under the plane and broadcasted an image of the ground to the video screens of all the passengers. From this I learned that the Sahara desert is very big and dead. Arizona deserts have ground cover and cactus; the Sahara is all nothing, just sand. The screen constantly showed a big collage of neutral colors with no green in sight. The desert continued until the plane was putting down the landing gear and bushes appeared on the sand. The 81-year-old looked down and said, "Wow, look how green it is; you'd better look now because this is the most green you will see here."
We landed at Niamey "Airport" and stopped on the tarmac. Our Airbus 330 was certainly the biggest plane at the place, and I only saw one other plane with a jet engine. We were unloaded onto the tarmac and loaded into buses for the 100 meter trip to the "terminal". I made a quick stop at the men's room only to discover 1 working toilet with no seat, cover, lid or flushing device. Welcome to Africa. We were warmly greeted by Peace Corps staff in the dirt parking lot. All of our luggage was heaped on the back of a pick up truck, and we were smashed into 2 vans for a trip out to our training cite. Even though I was prepared to see rural poverty, I was blown away by what I saw just on the ride out to the training village. I am going to end my post now, but I already have a whole book's worth of stories and experiences to write about, and I have been here just 24 hours. You will have some good reading in the coming weeks and months.
Monday, November 2, 2009
A Delightful Fall Day
Mom, the current blog administrator (aka CBA), Dad & sister Lauren had a delightful day! The cell phone rang at 12 noon with a strange number on caller ID. I took a deep breath, answered the call and heard the much awaited words: "Hi mom, it's me". The wandering Westendorp checked in with the family! Thanks to a fellow PCT, he borrowed her cell phone long enough to give me her number so I could call him back on Skype (at my expense, of course!) We were honored to then connect with him on Skype and talk for about 40 minutes. I will give a quick synopsis of the conversation.
-he loves it there!
-it is very hot....temps have reached 122 degrees to his knowledge
-time goes very slowly...he says it seems as though he has been there for 3 months instead of 1 1/2 weeks
-he is enjoying the company of the other PCT's. He said they are quite a compatible bunch
-he is reading a lot
-he lives with a family of 6--2 parents and 4 children between the ages of 3 and 12. The children love the PCT's and cling to them....he's adjusting to that!
-he has a new name Habibou....pronounced Ha-Be-Boo
-he eats a LOT of rice. He is adapting to eating rice with his hand and adjusting to the fact that his hand is not always that clean when he uses it to eat.
-he has encountered the bush taxis but is a little hesitant to ride in them. He says they load them up with 20 or more people, put the chickens and the goats on the top and the cows in the trunk. Definitely a transportation adjustment!
-there are letters en route to me that will, in usual Michael flare, describe his trip there and his first few days. I will post them as soon as they arrive and you will get a better picture through his eyes.
He hopes to get a cell phone at some point that will allow him to communicate with us more regularly. Until then we will wait for the next scheduled communication in 2 weeks.
But for now, we will enjoy THIS day!!
-he loves it there!
-it is very hot....temps have reached 122 degrees to his knowledge
-time goes very slowly...he says it seems as though he has been there for 3 months instead of 1 1/2 weeks
-he is enjoying the company of the other PCT's. He said they are quite a compatible bunch
-he is reading a lot
-he lives with a family of 6--2 parents and 4 children between the ages of 3 and 12. The children love the PCT's and cling to them....he's adjusting to that!
-he has a new name Habibou....pronounced Ha-Be-Boo
-he eats a LOT of rice. He is adapting to eating rice with his hand and adjusting to the fact that his hand is not always that clean when he uses it to eat.
-he has encountered the bush taxis but is a little hesitant to ride in them. He says they load them up with 20 or more people, put the chickens and the goats on the top and the cows in the trunk. Definitely a transportation adjustment!
-there are letters en route to me that will, in usual Michael flare, describe his trip there and his first few days. I will post them as soon as they arrive and you will get a better picture through his eyes.
He hopes to get a cell phone at some point that will allow him to communicate with us more regularly. Until then we will wait for the next scheduled communication in 2 weeks.
But for now, we will enjoy THIS day!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)