Visiting a Member of the Peace Corps in Africa - Part II

While we lived with Sarah in Niger, we acquired a better understanding of how the Peace Corps works, and at the same time had an opportunity to learn about a country we’d never seen before. Enough English is spoken to accomplish the basics of life there, but one of their languages would have to be learned in order to have a meaningful conversation. French is the official language, but Hausa, Djerma, Arabic, and many other languages are also spoken.

French colony beginning in 1885, Niger became part of French West Africa in 1922, and gained its independence in 1960.

         This open-air truck is probably headed for Niamey, the capital of Niger, and it’s quite possible that some of the occupants want to be dropped off at a market for you can see animals stacked on top.

         This is a small section of a market that we visited near Sarah’s village.  I’ve searched for what this particular type of cattle are called, but there are so many types that I haven’t been able to identify them.

            A general view of the market in which the women are selling food.  It’s a confusing place unless you’ve been there before and know exactly where to go for what you need.   On the racks In the background, various types of clothing and material can be found.                                                    

         Here’s a closer look at the items for sale.  I’d hazard a guess that peppers are in the foreground, nuts in the middle, and perhaps peanuts farthest away from us.

         He has become expert at balancing things on top of his head.  The women who go to the wells for water carry the piled up empty pails up there, too.  Then they manage on the way home to balance a full one on their heads without  spilling them while carrying full pails in both hands.

         We kept seeing things we wish we hadn’t.  The knife in the man’s right hand tells this story.

        Perhaps the people that were squeezed together in that truck (in the first photo) were going to Niamey for some night life, but that’s a bit improbable.  Niger is the poorest country in Africa. 

        We visited the capital a couple of times and actually stayed in a hotel there the night before we flew back to the States.  That was the easiest way of getting to the airport on time.

         Back at Sarah’s village, I liked to take long walks so that I wouldn’t miss anything.  On one of those walks, I saw this baby camel and took a photo of it with it’s mother.  I’d never seen a baby camel before.  Note that the mother’s from legs are tied together and then attached to a stake.  Camels must have a habit of wandering off.

         My interest in camels grew when I saw these boys having such a good time.  Each of us wanted to ride one, too, so Sarah made the necessary arrangements.

         Here’s Sarah riding side-saddle.  She feels pretty secure for that rope you see leading from the camel’s mouth is held at the other hand by the owner of the camel so she has no fear that she’ll be charging off on a wild ride. 

         Sarah was coming to the end of her days as a member of the Peace Corps, and as I had a polaroid camera she notified all the villagers of the day she’d be coming around to take their photos before she left.  That gave them a chance to decide what they’d wear.  In the above photo, it’s interesting to note that the man is seated in the position of honor and his two wives stand behind.

        I have no idea where the husband was for this photo, but he must make regular visits for there are four children.

        Wouldn't it be interesting to know the relationship these three women have to this man.  Polygamy could be involved, but then, too, it’s possible that it’s an extended family of some sort. One woman we talked to said she was the second wife in family and that she and the other woman both liked the arrangement.

         After each photo was taken, everyone wanted to see the results.  You can even see the baby reaching for it in the above photograph. 

         The young man with Sarah is her brother Jamie who was gung ho for everything we did.

        To cap off our visit with Sarah and the villagers, we’d made arrangements to go on a safari – not to shoot wild animals, but to see them in their natural habiatat. That’s a popular thing to do in Niger, and we had no difficulty finding camp grounds where we could get meals and sleep in tents.

        Most of the time we stood on the top of our vehicle to see what we could see, but then we came to the very tall look-out that’s pictured above, and I got a photo of Sarah standing at the top.

         We saw two wild elephants.  This one was (obviously) on our side of the river, but not as close as it appears here after cropping.  I have no memory of our being fearful.

         I'm going to write that these two are deer until someone tells me I'm mistaken.  They blend into the background so well, and I'm so colorblind, that it's quite possible that they're only close relatives to that species. 

        I'm not sure what to call the creature on the left, but it's quite possible that it's a running monkey.  I have no doubt, however, about the figure on the right.  That's definitely a monkey and he's sitting down. 

        We saw groups of them a couple of times that day, but I never had a camera ready.  The other problem was my colorblindness.  I just don't see what others see -have given up trying to pick red raspberries as they blend right into the green foliage. 

         And here’s the other elephant – the one with big ears.  He’s so impressive - the Lord of the Jungle.  Using his photograph is a great way to end this hub. 

        I can’t help wondering what his days are like.  They can’t be as good as those we spent with Sarah.