Getting Settled

It's hard to believe I have been in West Africa for just over 3 months now. As with any move it takes time to adjust to your surroundings and build friendships. I am just starting to feel like I have a life here, and in a few months that is going to change again. Most of the people I spend time with will be leaving in June, and I will be spending 8 weeks over the summer bumming around Europe. When I return to Niamey in late July there will be a new set of teachers and transplants from various organizations (embassy, marines, DOD, etc.) Here we go again with the revolving door of new faces. Part of the life of an expat I suppose, and those who take the "glass half full" approach see it as an opportunity to have more friends. After so many transitions, leaving Korea, traveling, spending the holidays at home, and arriving in Niger I have done a lot of growing in the past 6 months. Relationships I thought I held dear have evolved and changed and some I was unsure of have been solidified. For better or worse, people sometimes surprise you. The common denominator in all of this is myself. A support network is invaluable but if you can't rely on yourself you will just set those around you up for failure. I had a very brief meltdown about a month in to my time here. Locking myself in my room on a Friday night and having a good cry was a needed reminder that I am in fact, human. A chat with a dear friend whipped me back into reality when she reminded me "You're there to learn and grow, and you're better than that." A much needed buck-the-eff-up was all it took to snap me out of it and appreciate celebrating my 29th birthday in West Africa. With all that said, this place truly is another planet. A friend and I have started playing a game when we are out and about, called "Normal." It goes something like this, "men throwing dirt up multiple stories with a shovel: Normal. Camel: Normal. Chinese man doing aerobics in the middle of the street (sand) at 7am: Normal." Yep. That pretty much sums it up. Occasionally when I am at someone's house or working out I forget where I am. The moment is often fleeting as I promptly step back into reality and remember I live in a place where the goat to people ratio is questionable. Most social activities are spent in people's homes partially because of security restrictions, but mostly because there ain't much to do here. One of the main points of interest is a National Park called Park W. A few weeks ago my roommates and I went for the weekend. We had so much fun we are going back in April with more friends. The park spans three countries, Niger, Burkina Faso and Benin. The landscape is made up of the Sahel, which is easily confused with the Savannah. Just imagine watching a Nat Geo special about "The Bush." We saw warthogs, baboons, hippos, many species of gazelle and deer, monkeys, wild dogs, and even got to see tracks of the rare West African lion and hear them hunting. For me the elephants were the highlight, of course. Except for the part where we almost got trampled by a startled elephant thanks to some D bags from Turkey. Particularly ironic as I was wearing my "Ivory is for Elephants" t- shirt that day. Maybe that's what saved us. A little adrenaline never hurt anyone, right? Right. Our guide was actually what saved us as these people who showed up were doing everything wrong to agitate the elephant, and he made sure we stayed safe. We will be asking him to join us for the weekend again in April. The weather has begun to turn hot, with highs in the 40's C and reaching triple digits in F (108+). From what I keep hearing this is just the beginning. I am really sick of hearing "it's a dry heat," even though it is. 108 doesn't feel that hot, I know that is hard to believe but all I have to compare that to is hot season in Thailand and let me tell you 42 in Thailand felt a lot worse. For now I am enjoying the people around me, getting to know myself again and counting down the days until spring break in Paris.