The World Changes Every Day

I’ve been wanting to do a “day in my life” post for a while, where I record pretty much everything I do during a random day.   So here’s what my February 14 was like.   Perhaps a bit more busy that some days, but otherwise it’s pretty typical. Around 6:15, I was woken up by the sounds of the women in my concession sweeping the courtyard and starting their day.   I slept in until around 7, and then made my morning trip to the latrine – greeting the members of my concession family that I saw along the way.   “How are you this morning?   How’s your body?   How’s your fatigue?”   Then I moved my little wooden stool into my house’s open doorway, looking out into the concession, and read my weekly Bible Lesson.   Nafisa, my 10-year-old “sister,” was eating rice with sauce and offered me some.   I told her I was going to go buy bouillie- millet gruel- at the market for breakfast, and she told me they’d made bouillie next door.   My neighbors often make bouillie to sell.   I went next d

Whenever I sit down to write one of these monthly work update posts, it seems like the month has been impossibly long.   Was this all really in one month?   Here’s what I’ve been up to since January 15: Gardening   The team from ICRISAT, the NGO in Niger, visited our area again to give a second set of trainings.   The topics this time around included how to use the drip irrigation system, how to create and use natural pesticides, how to transplant and direct-seed garden vegetables, and organizational tips for gardening groups.   A fellow volunteer from Gomori, in far northern Benin, got a “technical exchange grant” from Peace Corps to attend some of the training and learn about the drip irrigation system.   He may be interested in installing a similar system in his area.   It was really cool to have someone else here, to show off my village!   In all I spent about two weeks attending garden training sessions, both in Peonga and in several other gardens.   Visiting the other ga