My first days in Niger

Journal entry from March 20th 2008

I am now beginning to realize the gravity of my choice. It is my third day Guidimouni and it is passing mostly in silence. A radically different landscape, culture, and language is in the air I breath here. I am exploring ways of staying less hot and avoiding the flies. Two good days of work have organized my house a bit, but there are still many kinks to be fixed and small additions to be added. All together it is much tidier than it was, which brings me a lot of comfort. It is my house now and it is very private. After two days I am feeling somewhat comfortable around town. Being an instant celebrity is a large responsibility, even if my status is completely unfounded. I wish I could say that in Hausa. Lots of practice, effort, walks, and laughing will get me more comfortable outside my mud walls. My mind is racing with work ideas, but I just learned how to say, “I want to start a tree nursery”, but I can’t understand or answer any of the difficult questions that will inevitably follow. I would be a fool to begin something large right now. If I practice my language, greet people, shake off the oddity of my skin, and make my house and body more comfortable, that will be a good start. These are my goals for at least the first two months. It's spring tomorrow and its hot, the sun gets higher and higher in the sky everyday. Soon it will be directly overhead I was going to cut my hair, but I think I will wait. I do need a shave. I’ll call home tomorrow.