First Month at Post

One month down, only 23 to go! The first month in my town went by fairly fast. I was given my own desk at the Inspection but I still don’t have any “work” to do besides integrating and getting to know my town. That left me to socialize for the majority of my time. I talked a lot with my neighbors and coworkers, went on a picnic/family day with my Inspector, and went to two weddings. One of the weddings was the Prefet’s fourth and final, Muslims are only allowed to have four wives, and it was at least a 14 hour affair (the Prefet is equivalent to a Governor, I think). I was a special guest so I got to go with the men to pick up the new bride and ride in the multi-car caravan around town. I was even thrust into the dancing circle by one of the Prefet’s daughters. It was weird at first and I felt like I was on display until more and more women came and joined me. I guess it was the talk of the town because both the PCV in the next town over and my neighbor heard about my dancing at work the next week. I also spent a lot of time explaining, or trying to explain, what weddings are like in the U.S. and how different they are. It was a great cultural exchange and they got a kick out of it.

Also during my first month, I got some visitors on my birthday, which was great. The other three new volunteers in my sub-region came in for a night to visit, go to my market, and have a birthday dinner. Sadly, that was actually the first time I’d used my stove for an entire meal because I usually go to my neighbor’s house for lunch and dinner. I’m very lucky because that same neighbor has satellite TV, so I go over to her house to watch the news and movies occasionally. She even got a news channel in English the other week so we could watch the last Presidential debate. The election is hot topic here and everyone wants to talk about the different candidates and who I support. We’ve set up a deal with a restaurant here in Maradi so that on Election Day, they will stay open all night so we can watch the results on their satellite TV; it is a 5 hour difference between here and the east coast. It should be a good time.

I’ve been in Maradi for about 5 days now and I’m excited to get back to my town. I came in for our team meeting, we have one every month to go over logistical things, both countrywide and region specific. This was a special team meeting since it was also the end of our first month so we had a scavenger hunt, badminton, and a special lunch with treats. Most of all, it was nice to see everyone else and hear how the other new PCVs handled their first month. When I get back, I’m hoping to start setting up some meetings and observe some classrooms in order to get some project ideas and determine the needs of the community. Overall, my first month was a "success" and I hope that the next few months will turn out just as good.