Out of touch

Buh-bye

2010-12-25T17:42:00.001-06:00

I'm discontinuing my blog. I never write in it anymore, nor do I feel the inspiration to take photos to post in it. I used to be proud of my blog, but now I'm not motivated to do anything with it.

It's okay, I'm doing all right. This is something I've been thinking about doing for a while. And now I'm on vacation so I actually have time to use the internet and take care of some business.

Au revoir! Thanks for reading.

Crystal

News from Niger

2010-11-27T13:33:00.005-06:00

Things are looking up this week. I found a place to live and a new roommate, my classes are going well, I got paid so I can finally buy groceries and get a haircut, and I went Black Friday shopping. I'm not often in the mood for clothes shopping, I think it's stressful and tiring, but I was feeling good so I went to the mall and found a lot of great stuff. I bought a pencil skirt in darkwash denim. It fit and was only $18 on sale and I've always wanted a pencil skirt to show off what my mama gave me. I'm pumped.

Saw the movie "127 Hours" last night. It was amazing, though not for the faint of heart. It's about a guy who's out hiking in Utah and gets his arm trapped between a boulder and a canyon wall. All he has is climbing gear, a Nalgene of water, and a crappy multi-use tool (Leatherman knockoff) with a dull blade. You can guess what he did to escape.

I also saw "Burlesque," starring Xtina Aguilera and co-starring her silicone-enhanced cleavage (it was everywhere!) Fun movie, though.

I called my friend Darey from Niger. It was great talking to him. I asked about the cows (they lost over half their herd with the drought last spring) and his response was "They're there," meaning "not so great." He said they are patient and when the time is right they'll find a way to get more cows. Then I teased him about his braids (he cut them off last year when his brother died - only old men shave their heads in his culture) and told him I'd give him one of mine and he can attach it to his head. Then I asked him to drink some hura for me (millet with sour milk and spices), and he asked me to eat some American candy for him, then I told him to eat kilshe for me (Nigerien beef jerky, it's amazing), and he told me to eat some potatoes for him. He's still adorable after all this time.

Next I'll call the village to see what's shaking there. I am a bad friend for not calling them on Tabasky (The Hajj holiday) but I was working and also didn't have money to make calls. I'm sure they'll get over it. :)

So yeah, that's the latest.

Stressed

2010-11-20T14:40:00.003-06:00

My life's been crazy lately. Some things have been very difficult for me. Not only has there been some bad and sad family news (my dad has cancer, although benign, and my aunt suddenly passed away), but I'm struggling with a new career and now I'm having some roommate problems. Let's just say there's been some miscommunication between us (ahem - mostly from his side) that has evolved into a somewhat sticky situation, and now I need to move out. So I'm looking for a place to stay, as always seems to be the case for me while I'm living in Madison. I'd also like to mention that the first session of my job is a trial period, so I'm not even sure I'll be working there next term, and that further complicates the housing search because I don't want to sign a lease for a place when I may not even have a job in this city. So should I stick it out with my roomie until Christmas, when break begins, or move out asap and live somewhere else for only a month? I swear, my blood pressure has gone up a hundred points in the last week.

Kitties and bags

2010-11-15T17:38:00.002-06:00

The first week of classes was rough, but now that I have the hang of things (for the most part), I find myself becoming bored. I'm also living a very frugal lifestyle (read: I'm broke), so I've taken on a couple of hobbies.

I applied to become a foster parent for a cat from the Humane Society. I really want a kitty, but am not willing to commit myself to adopting one for good. I think fostering one would not only help a kitty in need but fulfill my cat-petting cravings without the commitment involved in adopting one. Oh, and sometimes there are mama kitties with babies!! Who wouldn't want a box of kittens in their closet? I meet with the lady from the HS on thursday.

I've also taken up a drawstring-bag hobby that I used to have in Niger. (Team Konni, anyone remember this?) I take colorful fabric scraps and hand-sew them into little bags. I've figured out a way to make them with no visible seams and with liners, therefore they are reversible. Last night I stayed up way past my bedtime making one. It's to hold my laundry soap.

Today my Muslim students were fasting and then, right during our reading lesson, busted out a bag of dates to break their fast when the sun went down at 4:30. Tomorrow's the big day for them. I gotta call my peeps in Niger and congratulate them on celebrating the Hajj.

Early Evaluations

2010-11-13T14:39:00.002-06:00

We just finished our second week of school, and the students got to fill out early teacher evaluations for us newer teachers. This is so we can learn how we're doing and find ways to improve during the next 6 weeks of classes.

My evaluations for Reading 500 were good, which isn't surprising because that's my best/ most well-behaved class.

My Reading 400 evals were good, except some people complained about "all the writing assignments" I give them. Seriously? I consider a couple of 2-paragraph book reports to be not that bad. This is supposed to be a college prep course, and if they expect to attend college without ever writing anything about what they read, they're in for a BIG surprise.

As for grammar class, well... let's just say there was a big range of opinions. One guy complained that I didn't remind him to give me his homework and that I don't even know grammar so why am I teaching it? (a really good point, but I'm trying really hard.) I think this is the guy who misses half of each class and was the only student to fail the exam. On the other hand, a different student said I was her favorite teacher. So there. (ha ha) My favorite thing is that since these are ESL students, their grammar isn't all that great. "She not good teacher. She different, " so that just adds even more hilarity to what they're writing.

I am thankful for these evaluations and get to talk to my boss about how to address my students' needs. I'm also looking forward to some classroom management advice. My Reading 400 class is out of control - people yelling across the room to each other in Arabic, the girls talking incessantly while I'm trying to give directions... it's seriously driving me nuts.

A rainy day here in Madison, not that that's stopping all the Badger fans from walking around in their red sweatshirts. My roomie's out of town and I just realized I don't have anyone to hang out with. Hm. So I am chilling out downtown and doing "computer chores."

Still alive!

2010-11-07T09:44:00.003-06:00

Wow, I have been really MIA for a couple months. I know what you're asking - "wtf, Crystal?" Yeah, life's been crazy.

I started taking my TEFL course in Madison, WI back in September. It was very intensive but super fun. First, I'll tell you what TEFL means. It's "Teaching English as a Foreign Language." It's what you'd use to travel overseas and teach people English. It's different from ESL (English as a Second Language) because ESL is for people living in an English-speaking country. You need a lot more schooling than what I had to become an ESL teacher. EFL is for people whose countries don't use English.

I had four different classes - Speaking Skills, Reading/Writing Skills, Lesson Planning, and Grammar. The grammar class blew my mind - did you know we have twelve different tenses in English? "I was going to," "I had been wanting to," "I had wanted to," etc. Wow, crazy. Every night I was swamped with homework assignments and lesson plans to hand in the next day. I didn't have good cell phone access at my home and no internet access outside of school. This is the point when I fell off the face of the earth.

Included in the Lesson Planning class was student teaching for two hours a week. The student teaching was my favorite. The school I was enrolled in is connected to a larger ESL school, so I got to practice on some of the students. I taught an intermediate-level conversation class. My students were from a variety of places, but most were from Saudi Arabia and South Korea, as is the norm at this school. They were wonderful and willing to work with me and my clumsy teaching. We had a lot of fun in our class.

BTW, the students at the school are in their early-to-late 20s and are studying English so they can get into a U.S. university. So it's mostly a TOEFL preparation program.

Then I got a job at the ESL school. Apparently they have the highest enrollment they've ever had, and needed more teachers. I started there last friday and have been working there ever since. The first week was hard. I know how to teach a conversation class, but instead I was given two reading classes, a grammar class, and a writing class to teach. Yikes! So I had to figure out how to teach those and familiarize myself with the materials and I only got 1-1/2 days to do it.

But I survived. My grammar class is the most challenging for me at this point because, as a native English speaker, I never had to learn the grammar that ESL students need to know. My reading classes became easy once I figured out the textbooks. And my writing class is my favorite. The students have to write in a journal once a week and I get to read it. Fun!

I've been making friends with a lot of the students. I have a couple of Saudi girlfriends and there's a couple of West African students I like talking to. Last night I saw "The Town" with my friend Ruqayyah, then we went clothes browsing. I taught her what "cougar" is and we talked about the differences between "f you" and "f me" (it was mentioned in the movie.) She's adorable and we had lots of fun.

I've been living with my friend Djam, who needed a roommate in his 2-bedroom apartment. I needed a place to stay, and at only $300 the rent is very reasonable. And it's a good location, next to the library, buslines, a Walgreens, and a grocery store. Djam's a great roommate who makes delicious African food and cleans up after himself. He also makes me coffee every morning while I'm in the shower.

So yeah, things are going well. I'm enjoying my life in Madison. It's so nice to be in the city again.

Bittersweet

2010-09-09T08:54:00.002-05:00

Saturday I will be saying goodbye to my life in Grayling and moving to Wisconsin to take my TESL certification course. The class is 5 weeks long and I will be gone for no longer than 6 weeks, but moving from Grayling marks the end of a period in my life.

I will go from living with my wonderful parents and brother (and cat) to being on my own again. I've only lived here for 9 months, but it feels like forever. I don't know if there will be a period in my life where I will live in Grayling for this long again. I have come to consider myself a resident of this town and not just a visitor.

Things I will miss about Grayling:

Living with my parents - fun, relaxed people, no rent, no bills, no grocery expenses. There's always someone willing to join me on adventures and to offer support when I need it.
My friends - George and Lorna, my homegirl Liz, the Peace Group, drum circle, bank and K-Mart friends and customers, etc.
The beauty of the area - tall pine trees, "natural" rivers (i.e. log-filled and impossible-to-get-through), crystal clear lakes, rugged bike and walking trails, Hartwick Pines.
The lack of retail development - you really feel like you need less when there's less to buy.
My darling sweetheart Juan who's stolen my heart these last couple of weeks. I will miss his beautiful smile, great sense of humor, and firecracker personality.

But small-town living ain't all it's cracked up to be. I guess unless you have a family, there isn't much here for entertainment. There's certainly a lack of non-alcoholic venues where you can meet other people, unless you count flirting with someone in the produce aisle at Glen's. I'm pretty excited to meet like-minded liberal free-thinkers in Madison, attend university events, buy ethnic groceries and cook for myself, and ride my bike for transportation.

Hello, Madison! Goodbye, Grayling!

News from the village

2010-09-06T12:07:00.003-05:00

I just talked to my friend Issoufou, from Niger, for about 30 minutes. It was so great, it was like we had just seen each other yesterday when it's actually been over nine months.

We used to talk a lot, back when he had a cell phone. But he sold it to buy food for his family, so I would call other people in the village but wouldn't get a chance to chat with him. Now times are looking up and he bought another cell phone and was able to call me. I was out of town and my mom answered the phone. She used my Hausa-English cheat-sheet we keep by the phone to say, "Zeina is not here. Who is this?" Her Hausa's improving because this time Issoufou didn't have to correct her on her pronunciation. :)

Issoufou is doing well. Actually, the whole village is doing well. They got plenty of rain for their crops and didn't experience any flooding like other villages. That was a relief to hear because I keep hearing on the news about the famine in Niger, followed by flooding that swept away people's houses and ruined their fields. I was glad to hear that Korap wasn't affected by this. I was also happy to hear that other villages nearby who had had problems received food assistance from the government. Thank you, Niger government, for not forgetting the villages.

Other good news - his wife, Omeima, successfully gave birth to their baby daughter, Mariam. She and the baby are both doing well, but she asked me to send her some warm clothes for their daughter for the upcoming cold season. I spoke to Issoufou's mom, and when I asked her if she carries the baby around she said, "No way! She's too white for me to carry around." (some babies are very light-skinned until they get older.) Then I asked her if the baby has a nose (another thing they joke about, not liking a baby because it doesn't have a nose), and she goes, "no, she does not have a nose!" Ha ha. It was great having this sort of banter again.

Then Issoufou shared with me the story of Idi Buzu and his cell phone. He lost it somewhere, probably in the city nearby (Konni). A few days later he called his number and spoke to the person who had his phone. He told the guy, "hey, this is my phone you have. Can I get it back from you?" and the guy was like, "yeah, where do you live?" So Idi tells him, and the guy is in this village about an hour east of ours. So the guy promises Idi that he'll somehow return the phone. Issoufou relayed that they're skeptical the guy will actually return it, but we will see what happens.

Some bad news - this girl, Suyeba, had a baby but passed away during childbirth. Issoufou said the baby's doing okay and other women are looking after it. He mentioned that it's because she had two babies close together, like only a year apart, and it's not good to do that. The woman's body needs time to rest between births. I'm just glad that's common knowledge - now if only people would follow that advice and start using birth control to space out their childbirths. And if only pregnant women didn't fast for Ramadan. And if only there were enough food to feed all these children...

I gotta call a couple more people, especially on thursday when they celebrate Id al Fitr, the festival marking the end of Ramadan.

Oh, and finally, Issoufou asked about Mandy and how she's doing. I said she's doing well, living with her fiance and working and stuff. Then he goes, "what about you? when are you going to find a husband?" and I said, "I met someone and we hung out the other day. I really like him, and we'll see where it goes." And he goes, "what's his name?" so I told him (translated into the Hausa version of his name, Yahaya), and he goes, "I will be praying for you and Yahaya to make it." It was so sweet it brought tears to my eyes.

Africa Fest

2010-09-01T17:35:00.015-05:00

On August 21st, my mom and I attended Africa Fest in Madison, Wisconsin, hosted by the African Association of Madison.

I had been to Africa Fest once previously, back in 2007. I remember having a ball seeing African dancers, hearing wonderful music, and hanging out with friends. It was the first time I'd seen Djam's portfolio and realized what a talented artist he is.

Djam spent most of the day in his booth trying to sell drums.

His cousin, Aggo, is one of the event organizers.

There were tents with exhibits displaying items from different cultures. In the North Africa area, my mom got henna done.

There were some foods for people to sample, too. I was really excited to taste tiger nuts again. And I had some delicious yogurt mixed with couscous and a little sugar.

Tiger Nuts - they're crunchy and kind of taste like coconut.

I saw some cool shops with imported African goods. I recognized a few things. My mom tried bartering with a Gambian shop-owner for some perfume. It was $5 for a little tube, and I told her she should try offering $10 for 3. When she tried bartering, the guy told her no, then proceeded to ignore her. She would have paid the $5, but he wouldn't talk to her any more, so she walked away.

There were a lot of great music and dancing acts. These people invited kids to join them onstage.

My favorite act was this Igbo group performing a New Yam Festival dance.

Tani Diakite excited us with his beautiful Malian music.

The group WADOMA was awesome and had lots of drummers and dancers.

And this group played Moroccan music, interpreted by a beautiful belly dancer.

Mom and I made a new friend - Kofi, one of Djam's friend's kids. He is such a sweet little guy!

I didn't meet a single Nigerien person there, though I did find one guy who spoke Hausa and got a picture with the Niger flag.

Afterwards, mom, Djam and I went out for pizza. Mom and I split a pitcher of beer and got a little loopy before heading back to our hotel for the night. Overall, Africa Fest was a great time and I can't wait to go again next year.

Farm fun

2010-08-07T20:44:00.007-05:00

Today's been a long day. I did a lot of things:

My mom and I went to her friend's house, a guy who keeps a really nice little farm, even on our poor, sandy Grayling soil.

I got to pet his friendly chicken...

And we played with his nice little dog, Princess.

He cut us some collard greens...

Dug up red potatoes...

And gave us some corn. We had a great time!

Tonight my mom, our friend Cathy and I processed the collard greens. It took forever. We washed, sliced, blanched and packaged them into freezer bags.

Also today we visited my friends Patrick and Abbey's house to pick up some sourdough bread starter. Patrick made his own starter using the wild yeast found on blueberries. Right now we have some dough made and it's hanging out in the fridge until tomorrow morning, when we'll bake it.

I helped Cathy scrape paint off her garage today, as well. And we repaired the Boy Scout tent poles (replaced the worn-out elastic that holds the poles together).

So yeah, it was a great, busy day. I love long weekend days because that makes the weekend seem longer.

Exciting stuff

2010-07-31T13:07:00.003-05:00

My life is kind of hard to describe. I can't decide if I'm happy or not. The day-to-day stuff is more boring than I'd prefer. I miss living in a city where I can walk/ride my bike everywhere and know lots of people to chat with. Sometimes I feel like there's nothing happening, no reasons to laugh uncontrollably or jump around with excitement.

But there are a few things that have really excited me lately. Now I will share those things with you.

I've joined the NLSC (National Language Service Corps) as a charter Hausa-speaking member. The NLSC is an organization that provides language assistance to government agencies. They have a database of members who speak languages from all over the world, and contact those members for assignments when needed.

So first it was really exciting that I was asked to join. My Hausa's okay, but not awesome, mostly conversational and not at all technical. But apparently it's good enough because I was surprised to see an invitation for membership into the NLSC. They are looking for other African-language speakers, so all you RPCVs should check them out.

Then I got an email from them saying some agencies are looking to hire African language-speaking people for temporary translation projects. I applied and got an interview, now we'll see what comes next.

Second, I've joined RAIN for the Sahara and Sahel, a NGO that helps the nomadic Wodaabe and Tuareg people of Niger. When I first came back from Niger I contacted RAIN asking if there's a way I could help my nomadic friends in Niger, and mentioned my friend Darey wanting to find help for his village, Teyiss. They told me they'd consider helping Teyiss when they had more money to work with, and I figured that might take a while.

The chief of Teyiss.

Well, I was really surprised when, a few weeks ago, RAIN contacted me and said they'd like to start helping the people of Teyiss. They told me to connect Darey with their local representative, a Nigerien man named Mahmoud, and they would see about starting some work there. Well, today I spoke with Darey, and he told me RAIN has sent money to Mahmoud to buy food for the children and animals of Teyiss! I was so excited!

The kids of Teyiss.

My third exciting piece of news is that I translated my resume into French using Google Translate and sent it to Darey to give to the teachers in Agadez so that I can find a job there teaching English. It's kind of a long shot, considering the Niger government went for months without paying school teachers their salary because they didn't have the money for salaries (or because of corruption?), but we'll see what happens. How cool would it be to live in Agadez, an ancient caravan town on the edge of the Sahara, as an English teacher?

Blueberry Pie

2010-07-15T17:09:00.007-05:00

A couple backbreaking hours of blueberry-picking weren't without rewards. Two weeks ago we feasted on two delicious blueberry pies.

The berries...

... assembling the pies...

... the finished product.

Yum!

Happy belated July 4th!

2010-07-11T19:27:00.010-05:00

Fourth of July weekend was a pretty eventful one. I didn't go anywhere special, just hung out with the fam, but we had a lot of fun.

Saturday:

Saturday was a hot day. My mom, Chico and I went to Traverse City to the Cherryland Festival to see the Blue Angels. We parked on the other side of town in the mall parking lot so we could take the bus downtown, thus avoiding traffic and parking issues. Once we showed up at the mall I went inside the grocery store to ask about the bus (it was supposed to show up there at :40 after, did we have the wrong place?) and this guy standing in line offered to give us a ride. So we got a ride in his nice Mercedes to the downtown area.

The Blue Angels were neat, but not uber-exciting. I spent most of my time try to avoid sitting in the sun. I actually was so un-enthused about the whole thing that I didn't find any photo-worthy moments. The bus-ride back was long and hot - we were in the very back seat and the air conditioning unit was directly over our heads and blowing cold air out in front of us so that none of it blew on us. And the windows didn't open. Plus this guy was standing in the aisle next to me and he smelled kinda funky, I'm not gonna lie. We were on that bus for like 40 minutes. When we finally got home we were all exhausted from the heat and sun.

After a few hours of rest we attended the Grayling fireworks show and it was great. I am so proud of our town for providing such a nice fireworks show for the community. We sat near the courthouse and it was like having front-row seats. Of course we saw people we knew, including Tom's doctor.

Sunday:

Sunday I had plans. I noticed in the paper that the local state park, Hartwick Pines, was having a
19th-century Independence Day celebration. So my dad, Chico and I attended that. It involved the park historian, Rob, reading the Declaration of Independence, then an old-fashioned baseball game.

Dad and Chico watching the game. I'm not sure who the guy in the orange shirt is.

Picking teams for the baseball game. The guys in the red represent the 1890s-era baseball team. They also played by period rules, including pitching to make the batter hit (rather than strike him out) and no stealing or sliding. The game was really fun to watch.

Some of the players were small. They were so cute! I think in some plays they were "favored" so they could make it all the way around the bases.

We stayed for a few innings, then went blueberry picking. It was really freakin' hot out but with the breeze we felt okay. We picked enough blueberries so that, combined with the ones I picked a few days before with Shawn and Liz, we had enough to make two blueberry pies. The blueberry plants are about 10" high so it was backbreaking work, but it was worth it.

Blueberries

Stay tuned for pictures of the blueberry pies.

My mom and I went kayaking that night down our section of the river. It's a slow, easy river, but has lots of obstacles in it, like logs and sandbars (not that I have photos of any of them.)

This is from an old train bridge that crossed our span of the river. In some spots of the woods you can still see the trail from where the tracks used to be.

So that was our July 4th weekend! It was pretty great to rest and hang out with my family. Tomorrow I will post blueberry pie pics.

Boy Scout hike

2010-06-25T20:20:00.008-05:00

My dad is a Boy Scout troop leader and organized a 5-mile hike on monday. I went with them to interact with the Scouts and took some photos.

Walking through the characteristic sandy soil of our area:

We saw a couple of monarch caterpillars (they make their cocoons on milk weed):

Having a little talk about safety:

This area behind me had been wiped out in a wildfire a couple years ago. It's already recovered quite a bit.

I would like to take this opportunity to announce my support in Ghana for the World Cup - go Black Stars!

Liz and Generations pics

2010-06-25T19:47:00.015-05:00

I was at my friend Cathy's house, where we have our Grayling Peacekeepers meeting. She has an incredible hat collection, and I was particularly drawn to this hijab she got during her world travels. So I tried it on with my sweet Obama shirt that I made my buddy Issoufou give me.

Me, to Issoufou, in typical Nigerien fashion of shamelessly asking for things: "I like your shirt. Give it to me."
Issoufou: "okay, I will bring it to your house tomorrow."
Me: "I was just kidding!"
Issoufou: "I will still give it to you." The next day he brings it, sprayed down with a heavy layer of cologne rather than freshly washed.

Hadjia Crystal.

Okay, next is the dollar sign-shaped cupcake cake I made for work. We had an investment banking day and my boss recruited me to make a cake for it (she requested that it be in the shape of a dollar sign):

And then my friend Liz and I went to a bar in Roscommon. I know, not your first choice for excitement, but we had a blast anyway. Roscommon people can be pretty cool.

Here's Liz. I'm always telling people, "she can drink like a fish!"

Here we are together, trying to imitate one of those old-fashioned serious-people photos (Black Stockings used to live in her house, I believe they were the inspiration for this photo):

We were there to see the local band Generations and these creepy Canadian guys kept hitting on us. This guy was talking to Liz and asking her if she's a "local." And his buddy and I had a conversation where he insinuated that "all I have to do is wink at a guy and he'll know what I want." And he kept talking about his "very lucrative" business outside Toronto. Like that's what it takes to impress me. These guys were basically trolling and had no care whatsoever how ridiculous they looked. Here's Liz's guy, dancing with a different lucky gal:

The band was good, though. I met Logan and Al at Dharma Music while organizing Djam's Drum-building workshop in April.

Logan can talk to anybody and be charming. He's got great stage presence and is a natural performer.

Al is kind of quiet at times but is very charming and funny once you get to know him. He told us about the time he met Fred Bear and that was his introduction to life Up North.

I had just met Ron, he's the lead guitar of the group. He's actually really good and had me impressed with his ability to play Santana covers. Plus he and his wife raise horses and I like talking about animal husbandry with him (like I'm some kind of expert, lol).

Last but not least is Jake on drums. With his curls and charming smile he is like the Michael Jackson part of the Jackson 5 - the cute, young one for all the young ladies out there. But he's actually very talented and I loved hearing his solo act between sets.

Plan B

2010-06-07T20:35:00.002-05:00

I've been doing some thinking.

As much as I love baking, and as wonderful as it is to flex my creative muscles doing it, I think I may put off pastry school yet again.

I've just been thinking about how much I love people and working with them. I've been told many times that I'm a natural teacher. I enjoy learning about other cultures and would like to see more of the world. And I just think there's something more out there for me than baking.

I think I will pursue becoming a TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) teacher. Not only would I be able to visit other countries and learn about other cultures, but I could make some money at it, too. Returning to Africa to teach people English would just be the icing on the cake.

There's a program in Madison, WI (my old stomping grounds) that's only 5 weeks long and you get the certificate for TESL. I'm thinking of enrolling. It would be so sweet to be back in Madison and learning something new.

Niger Journal Entry #2

2010-06-01T21:39:00.003-05:00

This is a continuation of my prior entry on attending Geerwol. As a Peace Corps volunteer I was lucky to have a latrine at my house in the village. Most people don't have this luxury and depend on using the bathroom either in the bush or behind the nearest tree.

Here's something I wrote while I was at Geerwol. Pooping in open public places and pooping in the bush can both be stressful. First, you gotta make sure you don't step on other people's poop that's already there. Then you have to make sure you can squat without people seeing you - if there's anything more exciting than watching a white person, it's watching a white person take a crap. I had a lot of experience in this area, hanging out with Darey and friends for days at a time with no latrine in sight.

If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, I hope this guide helps.

Crystal's Guide to Pooping in the Bush

Find a spot not in eyeview of people and cars (duh!)
Plant feet so that they are uphill from your ass (this prevents bodily fluids from getting near your shoes.)
Remove a shoe and use it to make a hole or just scrape away sand.
Poop. Wash/wipe yourself, being sure to move back a little so you don't accidentally touch it.
Use a stick or your foot to kick sand on top. If you didn't poo in a hole, cover it just enough to keep flies away. You don't want to disguise it too well because someone could step in it before it dries. If you poo'd in a hole, fill the hole back in with dirt.
Wash your hand as well as possible in the circumstances.
Discreetly pull up your drawers/skirt. Get the hell out of there before someone sees you and greets you while your pants are down. [this happened to me a few times. awkward!]

Niger Journal Entry

2010-06-01T20:41:00.019-05:00

This is from when I attended Geerwol in 2009. I was the only white person around. Sometimes being in these situations is stressful, because you don't understand what the other people are saying, and when you see things that are unique/different but that they are used to, you have no one to share the experience with. This can actually lead to loneliness while being surrounded by people. However, my journal kept me company.

In true Niger form, it was hot (over 100 degrees) with lots of sun and no chance of clouds. We were in the scrubby Sahelian land, which has only short, thorny Acacia trees that provide very little shade. Water is scarce, as there are no wells, so we brought a big 5-gallon jug with us. Other people got water from the nearby lake (which animals take baths in).

November 6, 2009. Geerwol.
Took Sonitrav bus to Abalak. Leave in evening to Bagam [the location of Geerwol, out in the bush] and car kept falling apart. We get there late at night.

Hear singing in Bagam which is Geerwol and it goes on all night. Dancers wear bent metal plate chained to one foot and stomp to make it rattle. I try to go to sleep but the tea I drank is strong and I get up and watch the dancing instead.

November 7.
Everyone is up at or before sunrise. I try sleeping in but once I wake up I can't go back to sleep. A scared camel creates a scene by running all around the camp and we watch a horse and camel (plus a big herd of people) chase it.

Early morning dancing and singing.

The camp. Imported western tents are set up as people in traditional robes lounge on mats, pouring tea, eating food, and hanging out with friends.

Chasing the runaway camel.

I love the giant herd of people running after it! You could hear the shouting from far away.

Singing and dancing in the heat of the day.

Now losing my mind because camera shutter piece is missing. [I let Darey's little brother, Bugo, borrow it to take some photos. He dropped it in the sand while the shutter was open, and the shutter got stuck.]

[About an hour later] Ok, it's OK now. [Managed to get the sand out of the shutter mechanism and it began working again, to my tremendous relief.]

Camels continue to entertain me. Just now another camel got frisky and started running around, but people managed to subdue it pretty quickly. And then I saw a guy who opened his headwrap, tied the end to the camel's nose ring, and used it to lead him.

[I drew a picture so I could remember it correctly.]

Soon I will watch Darey help get Bugo ready to dance!

[I didn't actually see that because I was napping, but here's a photo Bugo took of his friends getting ready.]

Darey and I. He's cleaning his teeth with a stick in this photo.

November 8.
Went to bed at 8 so I could get up to see Geerwol in the middle of the night. I woke up at 11 - it hadn't started yet. 2am - I woke up and struggled to stay awake. We left at 4, I think. [This was in reference to the Geerwol, the final dance where the finalists are chosen. The contest goes on for a week before this. The challenge is for the men to dance and sing all night and all morning, without drinking or eating anything.]

I saw women's hair in their profiles lit by the rising sun. The dancers became slowly visible. The old people hooted "woo hoo" as they studied the beautiful men.

The women.

Old ladies admiring the young men.

Soon the voters arrived. It was two beautiful, thin young women who held one hand to the side of their face as if to avoid being distracted by anything in their peripheral vision. The old men who constantly fuss over the contestants selected 8-10 finalists, and attached a tuft of white cow fur to their head. The women somehow indicated the winner and his tuft of hair was removed. The the crowd followed him out and away; to his house, I guess.

Attaching cow fur to a finalist.

The beautiful judges, who picked the winner.

We are having our morning tea and will leave for Teyiss later. Hopefully I will finally see Darey's actual house and cattle.

[and later, apparently a few thoughts I wanted to remember...]
Conserving water by not bathing. Now I understand why in the old days people only bathed once a week.
Camels grazing a few steps from the tent.
Baby horse!

In the Sahel it's hot, sunny, windy and arid. Being at the real Geerwol, which is the most traditional, one can see the warrior resemblance with the feather headdress, red face paint, makeshift "axe," and stomp dance which rattles the foot plate. [the word "Geerwol" means "war" in the Wodaabe language, Fulfulde.]

Wedding cake

2010-05-30T10:40:00.004-05:00

Last night was James and Bonnie's wedding, and I made the wedding cake.

It's a lot of work making a wedding cake. At times it was frustrating, at times disheartening, but for the most part I had a lot of fun. The bottom tier was marble, the middle tier was chocolate, and the top tier was darker chocolate. The marble turned out the best.

I think some people were turned off by the icing, which is mousseline buttercream. It's made with egg whites, butter and white (not powdered) sugar. It's very light and creamy tasting, not like the confectioners' sugar frosting which is very sweet and sugary. To each his own. What mattered was the bride and groom were happy. :)

Transporting the cake was an adventure in itself. We drove to Lovells, not far from Grayling, probably about 15 miles away. However, to get there you go down two-lane county roads. We were driving like 25 miles an hour tops, and all these cars would get stuck behind us. So my friend Liz (she was my date) made this sign and hung it in the back window:

It was pure ridiculousness. It took us nearly an hour to get to Lovells and we missed the wedding ceremony, but the cake made it intact with only one little smudge (we just turned that part to the back). Here's the final product:

It was a fun project, but I'm glad it's over.

Curiosities

2010-05-25T18:34:00.012-05:00

I've been taking walks down my road in the evenings. I've found that since I've come back from Niger I appreciate nature more and notice birds. I used to never notice birds. Now it's like I see them all the time.

Here's some photos of the cool things I've seen while walking down the road.

The new growth on jack pines is known as "candles" because it curves upwards.

I call this "Michigan Millet." It's actually called mullen, but it reminds me of millet because it's got a long stalk that grows seeds. I like the bent one.

I saw this huge, dead bug being devoured by little ants. I don't see many huge bugs here and it kind of reminded me of a cockroach, then brought back memories of being in Niger and using my latrine while fighting off cockroaches with a stick so they wouldn't crawl on my feet.

The new oak leaves are so pretty and colorful.

This is a burl on what I think is a jack pine. I've never seen a "fresh" burl and its color was intriguing. When it dries out it will just look like a big wooden lump.

And what would a walk down the road (or anywhere, for that matter) be without seeing some tent worms? Also known as "army worms," "gypsy moths," and "forest caterpillars," these little bastards will defoliate anything. They multiply and you start seeing them everywhere - on your house, your clothes, your windshield. It's disgusting.

The beautiful AuSable River.

I am reading three books at once - "Kitchen Confidential," by Anthony Bourdain; "Savannah nomads: a study of the Wodaabe pastoral Fulani of Western Bornu Province Northern region, Nigeria," by DJ Stenning, and "The Bone Collector" by Jeffrey Deaver (something to read while at work).

Stressed

2010-05-23T07:33:00.003-05:00

I have forgotten how stressful baking can be. I am remembering being stressed about getting things baked back when I lived in Wisconsin. I remember being this crazy Dragon Lady and freaking out over failed baking ventures and being stressed about baking experiments in progress. I remember Zach (my ex-boyfriend) being like, "those cookies weren't made with love, so I'm not eating them." This week's been tough. Let's just say Dragon Lady made a few short appearances. My apologies to my family.

I'm making a wedding cake for my friends James and Bonnie, and their wedding is Memorial Day weekend, May 29, this saturday. They want a three-tiered cake with marble on the bottom and chocolate in the middle and top tiers. I've made a couple of practice cakes to make sure my marble cake recipe is going to work. I also frosted and decorated one of the small practice cakes to make sure it turned out okay, and it did. So now I'm making all the cakes and sticking them in the freezer until friday. Then I will pull them out, let them thaw, and frost the little buggers.

Practice cake - ignore the flaws. :) I'm just happy I successfully piped the Cornelli lace (it was my first time.)

Yesterday the middle and top tiers were baked and are now sitting in the freezer. Today I will work on the marble bottom tier (14", baby). Things are going pretty smoothly. I'm not getting crazy just yet.

On top of this, I'm trying to assemble cabinets from Home Depot for my bedroom, make a scrapbook of my pictures from Niger, take hour-long walks to keep my ass in control, burn sweet African music CDs and mail them to friends, practice the djembe, and arrange a trip to Muskegon to look at Baker College's pastry arts program.

Djam's Ghanaian groundnut soup

2010-05-13T19:27:00.004-05:00

Yumyumyum, you are going to love this recipe!

"Groundnut" is what they call peanuts in Ghana, by the way. So it's really peanut soup. But wait, "soup" is what they call sauce in Ghana, so in reality, it's "peanut sauce."

Ingredients

4 raw turkey legs with the skin on (or substitute chicken pieces)
3 chicken bouillon cubes, crumbled
Pinch of salt
Ground black pepper
1 large red onion, chopped
1-3 whole habanero peppers, or to taste
3 oz. tomato paste (no more than one half of a small 6 oz. can)
1-1/2 cups natural peanut butter
2 C water
3-4 carrots, sliced
Note: Djam recommends not adding spices (including garlic and ginger) because they take away from the peanut butter taste.

Instructions

Cut the flesh off the turkey legs into large pieces. Don't worry if you can't get it all cut off.
Combine the turkey meat and bones, crumbled chicken bouillon cubes, pinch of salt, some black pepper, 1/4 cup of the chopped onion, and habanero peppers in a large stockpot. Place lid on pot and heat on medium until it begins sizzling. You don't add any liquid because the meat and onions will give off their own juices. Then turn down heat to medium-low and steam 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the meantime, combine peanut butter and tomato paste in a frying pan. Heat on lowest setting, stirring constantly, until it turns brownish red and you see the oil separate and come to the top. This will take a while, like 10-15 minutes, so be patient.

Add 2 cups water to the peanut butter mixture, then scrape into the meat pot. Add carrots and remaining onion and more water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low or medium low heat. Heat, uncovered, about 30 more minutes, or until the oil separates from the mixture and comes to the top. This way you know the flavor has developed.

Before serving, use tongs to remove bones and habanero peppers (if desired).

Serve over hot rice. It's good with jasmine or basmati rice, but any variety will do. Serves 8-10.

New job and drum workshop

2010-05-12T19:34:00.006-05:00

I feel like I should post something. I haven't blogged in a while and I know everyone out there is wondering where I've been. (ha ha)

So yeah, what have I been up to lately? I've been really, super duper busy. The last week of April I went to Midland to train for my new job at the bank. The training was pretty interesting, though for a while I felt like I was in college again and had to think for once. Midland was cool, after training I hung out at the mall and other stores to amp up my professional wardrobe (for an $8/hour job, ha ha). It was hard finding appropriate clothes, as the bank has a pretty strict dress code (it was 4 pages long).

Right when I came back to Grayling, I had to take care of some dire business. Djam was coming to town to do a drum-building workshop, and for a while his friend Tani was going to come with him and they were going to do a show. Before I left town I hung up posters and flyers and handouts about the show and everyone was really excited about it.

And then Tani got into a pretty serious car accident. He was side swiped by a big truck on his side of the car, resulting in a broken arm, broken leg, jaw broken in two places, and broken ribs. Poor guy. He was in a coma, and when he woke up in the hospital he was strapped to the bed (to prevent him from moving his injured limbs) and no one else was around. He thought he was in jail. Naturally the show was canceled, but Djam came to town anyway to do the drum-building workshop. I spent a day running around town letting people know what happened and taking down signs.

Djam and Tom with the Boy Scout drum that he re-headed and fixed up.

Djam leading a drum circle at the local coffee shop.

The drum-building workshop was a huge success. There were four participants and they kept Djam pretty busy with all the steps involved in building a drum. Djam is incredibly patient and a great teacher, so he handled it really well. We provided the participants with an African luncheon as part of the workshop fee: hibiscus flower juice (aka "bissap"), peanut stew with turkey, jasmine rice, and spice cookies. Djam taught me how to make good peanut stew, I will post the recipe soon.

Then I started working full time at the bank (I'm now on my second week there.) That's been going well. There's a lot more going on in a bank than you would actually think, but I like that it's complicated. This saturday marks my last day working at Kmart, and soon I will have wonderful banker's hours with weekends all to myself.

Sun protection

2010-04-23T10:08:00.007-05:00

My skin took a beating from the sun while I was in Niger. I came back to America and saw new wrinkles around my eyes and some lines on my forehead. Nooo!! And I even wore a hat all the time.

Here I am in my trademark hat with Buddy the Camel in the background.

I've been slathering on the sunscreen, but I often forget to reapply and yesterday I got sunburned.

I miss my Niger hat. Yes, it wasn't the most fashionable hat in the world, but it did the trick. I didn't get sunburned on my face or neck even once. But somehow I acquired some more wrinkles, perhaps due to a combination of squinting, aging, and those few times I didn't have my hat on. So now I need to stop that from happening further.

I ordered these hats from Sunday Afternoons.

This will be my bike-riding, walk-taking, doing-stuff-around-the-yard hat.

This is my out-and-about hat:

And here's my fancy hat:

Potential career path

2010-04-22T21:58:00.003-05:00

As excited as I am to go to pastry school, I am also considering other career paths. Yesterday I did a presentation to a church senior citizen group (called the Elderberries) about my experiences in the Peace Corps. After my presentation, a couple of people came up to me and told me I should be a teacher and a tour guide.

I'm not sure about teaching. I like kids, but do I really want to make dealing with them and their shenanigans a career? Also, I've come to realize I'm not much of a disciplinarian. I'm more likely to be an enabler (something I'm working on not doing).

But tour guide... I think I'd like that. Travel to exotic places, do lots of public speaking, put my outgoing and enthusiastic personality to good use, eat interesting foods. That would be more my speed. There's a tour guide school in San Francisco that I could attend. But I feel like I'm getting ahead of myself. I should stick with my original plan of pastry school and add "tour guide school" to my list of life goals.

Baking duds

2010-04-22T21:29:00.005-05:00

Either I'm getting pickier and seeing my baking faults more easily, or my baking's not been so good lately.

I made some mint-chocolate brownies for Chico's Boy Scout meeting. I had some leftover chocolate glaze from my black-and-white cookies (which, miraculously, turned out pretty good), so I figured I'd use a box of brownie mix that's been sitting in the cupboard for a few months (see? Saving time and using products before they expire - now that's smart), whip up some mint frosting, then top it with the chocolate glaze. In my head, they would look like this:

But the chocolate glaze set too quickly before I could even scrape it all out of the bowl, then when I spread it around it started getting all smeared with the mint frosting and there were green streaks all over the place that could not be confused with a nice marbled effect. A few attempts to make it look better resulted in more streaking and the hardened chocolate glaze wasn't cooperating with me, so I eventually forced myself to stop messing with it before I ruined the whole thing. Overall the brownies didn't look pretty, but they must've tasted great because the Boy Scouts wolfed them all down.

Yesterday I tried making the basque cake using this recipe. The guy mentions in his blog post that the recipe had been scaled down to make enough batter for one cake, but I think his math was off. The recipe made way too much batter for one cake and even though it called for 1 lb of pastry cream, his pastry cream recipe only made 8 ounces. I doubled the pastry cream recipe to accommodate the recipe, but the resulting cake had way too much pastry cream in it and was a big, gloppy mess (a huge waste of expensive butter and vanilla). Also there was enough leftover batter to make a second cake. My solution? I sent him a message asking him to check the recipe, then immediately impulse-bought the cookbook he cited.

My black and white cookies actually turned out okay (this is not my picture, but they basically looked the same).

I also made homemade pizza yesterday, and that didn't go so well, either. I used a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven and 475 degree heat. This is normally okay as it creates a crispy crust and cooks the toppings, but this time I amped up the ingredients and used tons of vegetables on the pizza. As the pizza cooks the water seeps out of the vegetables and creates little water puddles on the surface of the pizza. I left the pizza in the oven long after the crust had cooked, waiting for the water to evaporate. However, by the time the water evaporated, the crust had burned - it was completely black. I cranked down the heat to 400 for the second pizza, but the same thing happened. It wasn't as bad that time, but the crust did get scorched. So I need to balance the heat and placement of the oven racks so that the toppings and the crust cook at the same rate.

Tomorrow I'm making chocolate chip cookies for the newspaper guy (he wrote an article about my upcoming African music show) and soon I'm attacking a lemon layer cake. Hopefully that will go better.

Latest baking project

2010-04-21T14:53:00.004-05:00

While I was at my baking/pastry class in Napa Valley, I got to eat all the wonderful creations of the other students. One of the pastry arts students made this amazing cake. It was very simple looking - one layer, no frosting, just powdered sugar on top, and not a chocolate chip in sight. It looked like a plain brown slice of cake with a little custard in the middle.

Although it looks simple, it tastes amazing. I was stuffed from eating my huge dinner and already sampling like four other desserts, but I wolfed down an entire slice of this cake. It just had an amazing richness for looking so plain. I asked the pastry students what it was, and they said it's Basque Cake. I did a little googling and found it's from France and/or Spain. Now I want to make this for my family and friends just to show them its deliciousness. I'm using this recipe.

I've discovered it requires six sticks of butter and 5 eggs. No wonder it tasted so good!

Now I must make it.

African music comes to Grayling!

2010-04-19T13:08:00.006-05:00

I have to say, I'm better at coming up with ideas than actually organizing things. But I'm trying really hard to put on this drum-building workshop and plan a couple of shows for my friend Djam.

I'm working as a liaison between Djam and the local music venues and the music store to make this a success.

The drum-building workshop will be May 1 and May 3 at Dharma Music in Grayling.

On Saturday, May 1 there will be instruction on building drums and includes carving, sanding and oiling the base and heading the drum. There's also a Ghanaian food luncheon featuring delicious tuwo (you overcook rice to make it a mushy paste, then scoop it into balls) served with okra soup. I have some hibiscus flowers to make bissap juice, too. Yum! The created drums will take a day to dry.

Monday night (May 3) we will tune the drums, followed by a drumming lesson from Djam. The cost for the class is $350, but everyone gets to take home their own djembe along with the instruction on building one for themselves.

Djam explained the class to his friend Tani, and now Tani is going to come to Grayling with Djam and they will do a performance here. Tani plays the kamele ngoni, a Malian instrument that's like a cross between a banjo and a harp. He's a great musician with a beautiful voice and I'm excited about the shows. His music is like African blues with a little funk and I think it will be a welcome change from the usual music scene in Grayling.

I scheduled them to play at Gray Rock Cafe and Lounge saturday night (May 1) with a $5 cover charge. Then they'll do a free, family-friendly show at the local coffee shop (Thanks a Latte) on sunday (May 2) from 10-2.

I've submitted the event to the local newspaper and put an ad in classifieds. Now I just have to make some posters and get them hung up around town. Hopefully tomorrow, when I have a day off, I can get started on that.

Djam's beautiful drums.

Tani and Djam.

An interview with Crystal about Napa

2010-04-14T21:21:00.002-05:00

An interview was conducted with Crystal regarding her trip to Napa Valley, California, during the week of April 4-10. She attended the CIA's (Culinary Institute of America) Baking and Pastry Arts Career Discovery course.

Interviewer: Hi Crystal, thanks for meeting with me.
Crystal: The pleasure is certainly mine. I'm so glad I can get my story out to the general public.

I: Would you care for some wine? [holds out a bottle of Folie a Deux's Menage a Trois, a Napa Valley wine]
C: Well, I don't usually mix business with booze, but today I can make an exception. Thank you.

I: So I'd like to start by asking you what the course is about and why you signed up for it.
C: The course is for people interested in learning about careers in baking and pastry arts. For example, working in a bakery or food writing or becoming a pastry chef in a restaurant. I've always loved baking and have considered going to baking/pastry school but wanted to test the waters before plunging in headfirst. So that was the point of the course - to try to make up my mind on whether on not I should enroll in pastry school.

I: And did you come up with a decision?
C: Yes! I loved the class so much that I've decided I'm going to do it - I'm going to go to pastry school, and hopefully this fall. In all my years of college (6-1/2, but who's counting?) I was never as interested in a lecture as I was for this course. I was hanging onto this guy's every word. And I don't feel too guilty about making such a huge jump (from wood products engineering to baking) because baking involves a lot of science, and I'm confident I can transfer my wood science skills to the baking field.

I: Tell me more about the course. What did you do? Did you make food? Who was your instructor?
C: My instructor was Chef Aaron Brown, a really cool, funny, and smart-as-hell guy. He acted kind of laid-back which gives one the impression that he's spacey, but man, that guy is on the ball. You could ask him anything and he'd have an answer. I was totally impressed with him and his vast knowledge of baking. [finishes glass of wine] So here's how the class worked - first we'd attend lecture for about 2 hours, going over each recipe we'd be making and discussing the theory behind it. Then we'd go up to the kitchen and begin working. We were assigned to teams of 2, and were usually given about two different things to complete in the next five hours. My partner and I made:
Chocolate chip cookies and walnut shortbread (where we studied the creaming method),
Lemon meringue pies and tiramisu (making pie crusts, custards, and whipping cream),
Sourdough bread and soft rolls (yeast doughs),
Lavash and pita bread (flat breads made with yeast doughs), and
Chocolate ganache tart and white chocolate-cointreau-coconut bonbons (tempering chocolate = huge pain in my ass.)

I: And what about the other people in the class?
C: There were eight of us, all women. Four of us were between 28-38, and four of us were in their 50s or 60s. The younger women were like me, trying to figure out if they should go to pastry school, while the older women were business entrepreneurs wanting to know more about baking and experienced chefs working on their technique.

C: Oh, and I have to add something. My career discovery class weren't the only people in the kitchen. There were culinary students and pastry students there, too, working on their own creations. Every night I looked forward to dinner, where at 7:00 we'd drop what we were doing and eat. All the food the culinary and pastry students made that day was served. It was just tons of entrees, one after another, taking up two 20-foot tables. The week I was there was "Asian Week" for the culinary students, so I got to eat Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai and Indian food all week. Plus the TAs have to make food just in case the student-made foods don't turn out or are running late, so there were more traditional foods served, as well. And for dessert you could choose from about 25 creations from the pastry class. I had to try at least four different pastries, cookies, cakes, and pies each night. It was amazing.

I: Wow, sounds delicious. I bet I'd gain 50 pounds if I went there.
C: Yeah, I admit I went a little apeshit while I was there, but I think if I were a "normal" student I'd be more careful about not stuffing myself. But since I was on vacation I just enjoyed myself and lived life to the fullest.

I: So are you going to go to school at the CIA?
C: I don't think so. I just can't afford the tuition. As it is, I'm still paying off loans from my first round of college, so I don't want to add onto that too much. I'm currently looking at the Culinary Institute of Michigan at Baker College in Muskegon, so we'll see where that goes.

I: What did you do in Napa besides go to school?
C: Well, I was a couch surfer for the week. I stayed with my friend Anthony and his housemates, who were really cool. I like hanging out with artists and poets and musicians because I feel like they're my kind of people, so I really enjoyed their company. Plus we went out at the end of the week for some dancing, and it was fun to just let loose and have fun (not easy to do in Grayling). Other than that I went to a local museum, ate a great burrito, and did some cooking for my new friends.

I: Did you go wine tasting?
C: No, and I can't believe it. I just didn't get a chance! With my class being from 2pm-8:30pm it just wasn't conducive to taste wine and go to class tipsy. At a normal college that would've been okay because you just sit in class and daydream, but being in the kitchen you gotta be on top of your game to make the best pastries you can. So I was waiting to do it on saturday, but that day there was heavy rain, which isn't good for touring vineyards, and I ate an awesome burrito that unfortunately made me feel sleepy. So it just didn't work out. I bought a $6 bottle of Napa valley wine at the store and called it good.

I: Did you take any pictures:
C: Naw, my camera's batteries died and I never got around to getting new ones. You'll just have to imagine Napa valley with its rolling green hills, vineyards, winding roads, and "quaint" mansions.

I: Well Crystal, thanks again for the interview. It sounds like your trip was a success.
C: Absolutely! And thank you.

Freezing in Napa

2010-04-05T13:23:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I made it to Napa in one piece. It was some serious traveling - first a 3-hour busride from Grayling to East Lansing. Then a night in a run-down Super 8, but near the MSU campus so I found some good Thai food and spent some time hanging out at Meijer. Then a 5:00 bus to Detroit. That was interesting because first the hotel's shitty alarm clock never went off, and the cell phone alarm either didn't go off (I guess the phone needs to be on) or I silenced it in my sleep. So I get up at 4:15 and jump in the shower. I had arranged for a taxi to pick me up at 4:30 and they showed up at 4:20 and started banging on the door and calling me. I'm like, "dude, you're early. I'm coming." So anyway, I make it to the bus station, head for Detroit airport, and then proceed to travel until 8pm getting to Oakland. Three different flights with stops in Colorado and Salt Lake City. Good times.

I make it to Oakland and practically have a heart attack when the car rental guy says they need to charge my debit card an extra $250 as "insurance" in case something happens to the vehicle. So today I am at the library to check my account and make sure there's enough money to cover this little incidental.

I'm couch surfing with a guy named Anthony. His house is freezing. It's about 45 degrees outside and it's the same temperature inside. The house has big single-pane windows and is heated by a woodstove that sometimes is lit. But Anthony and his roommates are really nice and I'm headed to the thrift store to pick up some sweatshirts. And soon I will be going to my first career exploration class. Wish me luck!

A new job and Napa

2010-04-02T21:47:00.003-05:00

I have exciting news!

A few weeks ago, while I was working at Kmart, this customer, the manager from a bank across the street, liked the way I interacted with customers and encouraged me to apply for their seasonal teller position. I took her up on it, put my application in, had a couple of interviews, and... I got the job! I will be starting at the end of the month. The good thing is I get 40 hours a week and $8 an hour (Kmart is $7.40/hour and I get 25-30 hours/week). I will also have a consistent schedule, none of this weird 3-9 pm stuff one day, 9-5 the next.

The bad news is, I actually like my job at Kmart, and I'm worried this job will be boring. And I have to dress up.

But that's also good news, because I love clothes and dressing up. So I'm kind of pumped to go shopping for "business attire." When I was a little girl and thought about what I wanted to be when I grew up, I just imagined myself wearing a powersuit and high heels. I never had an idea of what job I'd be doing, I just knew what I wanted to look like. I'm glad I finally have an excuse to wear a powersuit and high heels.

The bottom line is, I'm going to stay at Kmart, as long as I don't get too burned out. I don't want to burn any bridges there. And I was just starting to get tight with the girls in fashions...

So yeah, that's my latest job news.

Tomorrow I'm going to Napa for a career exploration class in pastry at the Culinary Institute of America. I found a couch to crash on, and it's in a good location and the dude has roommates so it doesn't seem too scary. I'm going to rent a car so I can explore the area. Tomorrow I'll be hopping a bus to East Lansing, then spending the night there and flying out of Detroit City. Hopefully this class will help me find some answers about what I want to do next.

A walk down the road

2010-04-02T21:35:00.006-05:00

The weather has been beautiful here lately, and I'm trying to take full advantage of it.

I took a walk down my road. I purposely didn't bring my mp3 player because I wanted to hear the birds and see the beauty of my surroundings with no distraction. Here's some things I saw:

Mailboxes hit by plow trucks.

There's a state-owned game refuge along one side of our road.

I liked this knobby-looking tree with its shiny new sap droplets.

I love the ground cover - dead oak leaves with lots of dried-up moss. Very crunchy when you walk on it!

And some nice pussy willow down by the riverbank.

Last but not least, my favorite picture:

Packages to Afriq

2010-03-30T21:06:00.008-05:00

I've been collecting things to send to Niger for quite some time. We even had an earring-making party to send to the ladies. I sent the packages out today, one for my villagers in Niger, one for my friend Ma Mouda in Ghana (he takes care of my villagers when they travel there to do work).

To my villagers, I sent:

2 big packages of bubble gum.
About 40 pairs of earrings, plus necklaces and bracelets for the ladies.
A couple leftover euros to buy the kids a soccer ball.
Small bottles of hand lotion.
A WWE t-shirt for Issoufou (only 99 cents at Kmart).
A pair of sunglasses for Malam Ousmane, the village Fulan leader.

Malam Ousmane. I had a secret crush on him. :)

I also sent a few things for Ryo, the local JICA volunteer (like Peace Corps from Japan) who I'm sending the package to - he will then give it to Issoufou to bring back to the village. I had to send the stuff to Ryo because he has an address and my villagers don't. I hooked him up with almonds, granola bars (with raisins, since it's hot season right now and chocolate will melt), and jelly beans.

Petting baby camels with Ryo.

And for Ma Mouda in Ghana, I sent:

$40 cash for him to exchange. When I went to Ghana he hooked me up (let me crash at his place, took me out to dinner, bought me minutes for my cell phone) and now he takes care of Issoufou and friends.
Granola bars (again, without chocolate chips).
Makeup samples and a few headbands to give to the girls (Blackie had to try them on first).

Ma Mouda

I'd like to extend a special thanks to Alanna and Heather for sending me goodies to send to my friends. :)

Couchsurfing, grrr

2010-03-28T19:47:00.002-05:00

My Peace Corps buddies told me about couchsurfing.org, a program that connects people to crash on each other's couches while traveling and, in return, host people to crash on your own couch. My first thought was, "is this safe?" I mean, you sleep on a complete stranger's couch. What if that person is a psychopath or a rapist? But my friend Chelsea assured me that yes, you have to be careful about whose couch you sleep on, but there are ways to check that person out first. You read their profile. People who have already slept on their couch "vouch" for them - "John is a really great guy. I enjoyed hearing his music and his friends were really cool." Also, they can be "verified" by couchsurfing.org, where they contribute some money and their identity and address are verified to be true so you know it's not some creepy freakazoid pretending to be a cute female college student. Also, there are "friends" like in facebook, only in this website you have to say how you know that person. You can use all this to make sure it's someone you want to stay with. Then you send them a message, asking if you can surf at their house, and voila - you have a place to stay and a potential new friend. That's the best case scenario.

I joined couchsurfing.org so that I can find a place to stay while I'm taking my pastry career exploration class at the Culinary Institute of America. The school is in St. Helena, CA, which is right smack dab in the middle of Napa Valley. Wine country, baby! In the past month, I've sent out over 20 messages to people asking if I can surf on their couch. Some never gave a response. Others said they're going to be out of town, or have someone already staying with them, or that their couch is just "not available."

I'm getting frustrated. I'm leaving for Napa this saturday, and I have no idea where I'll be staying. I'm starting to lose my faith in the whole program, as it's not helping me out so far.

The good news is, I have a backup plan. I found a cheap hotel that's only $50 a night. After living in Africa for two years, even the shadiest hotel is probably "not that bad." Hotel's got some cockroaches? Try having them crawl over your foot when you have to pee in the middle of the night. Hotel's got shady plumbing? Hey, at least I can drink it without getting diarrhea. And it includes a continental breakfast. I'll give it a couple days. If I don't have a place to stay by wednesday, I'm booking a hotel room.

Never part of the crowd

2010-03-27T17:50:00.002-05:00

I like my job at Kmart. It's challenging, I get new things to do, and I like interacting with people. But the problem is, I still don't feel like I fit in there. The people I work with, the other cashiers and the customer service people, have their own little cliques going and, as usual, I'm the odd one out. It doesn't matter how long they've worked there, there's this group of people who hang out all the time and even new employees somehow have joined this "club." But I'm never invited. I get that I take my job more seriously, more professionally than others. Maybe they see me as someone different because of that. And I get that I'm different because I'm in my late 20s while they're a lot younger, like 20 or 21. But that doesn't mean that I don't feel left out.

I don't know why I'm so upset. For the most part I don't even like these people. There's the girl with the newborn baby who drops the baby off with her parents and goes out every night. There's the girl with a new scuzzy boyfriend each week, complaining about her relationship problems. And there's the lazy boys who, at every given chance, run off to a corner and "hide" from the management, thus ignoring their work and leaving more for me the next time I come in.

These are some of the feelings I had in high school, where I never felt like I fit in and didn't make connections with most of the people I knew. I've never been a cliquey person, and that's something I'm usually happy with. But every so often I feel left out, and it's lonely.

My time in Teyiss

2010-03-25T14:38:00.012-05:00

My Niger boyfriend, Darey, finally rejoined civilization and was in an area where I could call him. I was so happy to hear from him, and hear how he and his family are doing.

Now who is this guy? I use the term "boyfriend" loosely. While I lived in Niger we had a kind of third-grade romance: we'd see each other every few months, bring each other little gifts, express how happy we were to see each other, etc. When I left he was like, "please don't forget me!" and how could I? I had a lot of adventures with Darey. He taught me a lot of Hausa (my Niger language), he taught me about his culture (the Wodaabe people), he taught me some cultural norms, and we just had fun together.

I first met him at a herders' meeting near Abalak. He is very much a politician, always meeting people, making contacts, trying to get help for his people. He's also handsome, with dark skin, high cheekbones, a straight, long nose, and beautiful white teeth. I also like his polite, soft-spoken manner. Never one to get angry or upset, and always gentle.

We were together for about a year, but only saw each other every few months for about a week at a time. He would come down to Konni to visit me, and a few times when I hadn't seen him in a while, I traveled up to Abalak to see him in his village and to stay with his people.

Staying in Darey's village was so different from living in my village. My village seems rich compared to his. In Darey's village (known as Teyiss), there are only about 5 houses. The houses are made out of sticks and old rags, and some don't even have a roof. The land is dryer as his village is further north, and so the lush, leafy Neem trees that we get in Korap don't even grow in Darey's neck of the woods. All they have are thorny Acacia trees and this invasive exotic tree from Asia that looks like a woody milkweed. You really gotta watch out for those thorny Acacias - the thorns fall on the ground and will pierce your foot right through your shoes. If you want to sit under one for shade, you have to be careful not to get stabbed in your butt and legs.

These people are truly bush. They don't listen to the radio like my villagers because they can't afford batteries. The kids don't speak Hausa (they are Wodaabe and they speak Fulfulde), and flashlights are a rarity. The Wodaabe people's livelihood is their cattle. Some cows have been around for a decade at least, and wherever there is grass, that is where the herders take them. They walk through trail-less, thorny bush land to get water from the wells and find something, anything for the cattle to eat. They camp out under the stars every night, carrying their possessions in a backpack or in calabash bowls they balance on their heads. There is never enough water for bathing. While some family members are herding, others are staying in the village, the homestead. These are the people I stayed with.

In the true Niger tradition, they gave me the nicest bedding - a cot with blankets and a real pillow. At nights we sat around fires (at least there's more firewood up north since they don't have farms), the old men making individual pots of tea, us young kids sharing our own pot of tea. The Wodaabe people are cuddly, young men and young women not shy about touching each other, and I would snuggle up with my friend Mariama as we huddled under a blanket. When darkness really fell, we would go to bed, where I slept warm and comfortable under the cold Sahel sky.

In the mornings I'd awaken to the sounds of fire-building, tea-brewing, and goats and sheep running around bleating. I'd find some kid to fill my water bottle, my Nalgene bottle which never left my side, and use the bathroom (go to some bushes). It's culturally appropriate to walk around to each house greetings its occupants ("a waali jam?" "How did you sleep?"), then taking them up on any offers to have tea or eat food. It would easily take an hour to visit four houses.

To kill time, I'd read a book I'd brought (I remember reading "The Poisonwood Bible" in Teyiss) or do some sewing. When you live with others, you feel as though you have no personal space or time to yourself. Being a visitor can be trying on a person. Plus, I didn't speak their language, so the energy spent trying to learn Fulfulde would kick my ass. I also couldn't take part in conversations unless they were in Hausa, and listening to people speak in a language you don't know gets boring. Throughout the day we'd move our mats around to follow the shade, as it moved along with the sun. At midday they let me stay in the teacher's house, the only building with a roof, so I could get shade.

If school was in session, I'd go sit in class just for something to do and to talk to the teacher, my friend Boubacar. He had each of the kids draw a colorful bowl, then gave me all the pictures. These kids are about 7 years old, so the pictures were pretty cute. I still have them.

One afternoon Darey's grandmother invited me into her little home, a 4' by 8' tent made with a wood frame and rags. I walked in and it was just full of stuff, including a pair of Darey's shoes that I remembered giving him a while back. She laid out a mat and invited me to sit down. Then she laid down, saying she was tired. I realized she was inviting me to take a nap with her. It was so sweet. Unfortunately, I had just awoken from a nap, which I told her, and when she was close to falling asleep I left her on her own. It is not unusual for people to sleep together in Niger - men, women, kids, women and kids. Often grandmas will sleep with a couple of grandkids each night. I remember my neighbor/best friend Rabi offering me her daughter Habsu to use as a sleeping friend.

The beautiful Darey.

One of the old guys, I just call him "Baba" (Dad).

Zamani, who braided my hair and whose house I hung out at the most.

Darey's cousin, I forgot the guy's name. He was just stopping through. Notice the tea brewing on the charcoal stove.

My homegirl Mariama.

The kids! I taught this girl, Halima (the taller one), how to play cards. Jyo'di, the boy, is the little guy in the Niger shirt. And the baby is my little friend Zeina (we have the same name).

How could I have forgotten a picture of grandma?

St. Patty's Day cupcakes

2010-03-25T13:41:00.006-05:00

My dad's workplace had a potluck lunch on St. Patty's Day last week, and he predictably signed up to bring a dessert (he knows how much I love baking.)

I tried to get creative with this one. When I think of St. Patty's Day, I envision corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes (who doesn't?). But those don't really fit with desserts, so I went a little further and thought of Irish coffee - coffee with a shot of Irish whiskey and a shot of Bailey's Irish Creme. I did a little research on Bailey's to figure out how I could replicate its flavors, and learned it's cream flavored with chocolate, vanilla, and possibly caramel and hazelnut. So maybe I could make a cupcake with an Irish cream filling (that you inject into the cupcake using a pastry bag), and with some kind of chocolate frosting.

I made standard yellow cupcakes using a recipe from The Cake Bible. For the cream filling, I made pastry cream, which is basically a thick custard. I flavored the pastry cream with vanilla, a little chocolate, a little coffee, and just enough whiskey to give it a kick. For the frosting, I wanted to try working with ganache, as it's something I have little experience with. Ganache is a chocolate glaze made with heavy cream and chocolate, and works perfectly when making chocolates, chocolate-covered strawberries, and any cake where you want a glaze hanging over the sides that isn't too fluffy like frosting.

Something happened to the pastry cream and it came out kind of thin. I had a hard time injecting it into my goods because it just tried to squeeze out the top of the pastry bag. Even now, I have leftover chocolate-coffee-whiskey-flavored pudding in the fridge, and I'm not sure what to do with it. I've already put it back on the stove twice for additional cooking, but it only helped a little. I'll try stiffening it by mixing in some cool whip, then use that to make a couple pies for people to bring to work.

Injecting cupcakes.

I didn't have cupcake liners, so I tried making some by squishing parchment paper circles into a cup shape. It kind of worked.

Voila! The final product.

Here's how they look on the inside.

Exciting new coat

2010-03-15T00:01:00.004-05:00

The only mild-weather coat ("mild" meaning anything above 45 degrees) is a long leather jacket that I got at a thrift store. This guy I knew in college called it my "pimp coat," and the description rings true.

Since pimp coats are not in style at the moment, I need something to get me through the Michigan springtime. My criteria:

It has to be stylish, so I'd prefer a military-style jacket or something with studs.
The coat must have a lining to stand up to this chilly Michigan weather.
It needs to fall at the hip - anything shorter and my already substantial hips would look bigger; anything longer would look too formal for daily wear.
To complement my shape, I want it to have a belt, drawstring, or tailoring at the waist.

After hours of searching for the coat online, I finally found something I like. Behold, the Hurley Newman YC Jacket:

I'm getting it at zappos, my favorite shopping website, for only $60 including shipping. I can't wait to try it on!

Hummus and pita bread

2010-03-12T22:29:00.008-06:00

When you live in hicksville and you're craving good food, the sludge at the local dives just doesn't cut it. You gotta make it yourself. Last weekend I made Chicago-style deep dish pizzas. Today I made hummus and pita bread.

It actually took some forethought. I had to prepare the pita bread dough ahead of time so it could rise a couple times. I used this recipe to make it. The bread is said to be best when it bakes up puffy, but out of 16 rounds I could only get 2 of them to puff up. I have no idea what makes them do that, but it turns out they don't collapse and then you have this crazy bubble bread that you can't put anything inside of, so I actually prefer the flat ones.

I made roasted red pepper hummus. I used canned chickpeas, but first I removed all their skins.

Ever wonder how chickpeas got their name? I personally think it's because if you look closely at one, its shape resembles that of a butchered chicken. Like those roaster chickens you see in the supermarket.

I attempted to blend the skinned chickpeas in my mom's blender, but it wasn't powerful enough. The chickpeas just sat in the bottom while weird fumes wafted out of the blender's motor. So I moved some of the mixture to the Magic Bullet, which still wasn't able to puree the dang things. After going back and forth between the two appliances, I realized the Magic Bullet had the best chance of pureeing the chickpeas, as long as I added a lot of liquid. It took about an hour to do it, but we finally had some delicious hummus for dinner. Next time I will dig my food processor out of the attic.

Latest purchases

2010-03-08T11:18:00.003-06:00

I got my first Kmart paycheck (a whole $88) and desperately needed a few things. So I went internet shopping.

I checked this book out from the library and it's amazing. With recipes like deep dish pizza dough, lemon squares, and raspberry-coconut cloud cake, I need a copy. I got one used from amazon for $21 including shipping.

My life has seriously changed since I got a Kitchen Aid mixer back in 2006. It makes kneading bread so much easier, and my loaves rise and bake better, too. So I want to try making sourdough bread. However, you have to have a starter to get that nice, sour flavor, and I read that homemade starters for sourdough don't usually work out. So I ordered one from here for $6 including shipping.

Yesterday my dad, Tom and I took a ride to the rinky-dink town of Falmouth, near Cadillac, to go to their amazing meat store. It sells all sorts of local meats and jerky, and we've been talking about going there for a while. The bad news is, the place was closed because it was sunday. But the good news is, we stopped in Houghton Lake, went to this cute gourmet food/meat store, and I scored some salt pork (2 6-oz packages for $1.50 each). Even better, daddy-o paid the bill.

You're probably wondering what one does with salt pork. Well, when you're cooking something and you need to brown meat and onions, instead of putting oil or butter in your pan, you can throw in some salt pork and let the fat melt, then use that melted fat to brown your onions and meat. It gives an extra dimension of flavor to food. Yum!

Now I want to get some juniper berries (they're great in sauces with meat). I tried to get my dad to pick some off the hedges at his office, but he said they may not be "food grade" and he'll just buy some for me. Now we just need to find them. Maybe my next paycheck I'll look some up on the internets.

Since we're on the subject of cooking, I should mention I'll be brining a piece of beef round roast to make corned beef for St. Patrick's Day. It's going to rock! Stay tuned!

The Latest

2010-03-08T09:19:00.007-06:00

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind.

I've been working mad hours at the Kmarts and that combined with a nasty cold last week kind of kicked my ass. Plus our internet was down for a couple days, and when I wasn't working I was making my mom's birthday cake, giving a talk about Peace Corps to some high school students, and having lunch with would-be employers from a local wood products company.

Okay, what do you want to hear about first? My mom's birthday cake? Okay.

I made her a Blackout Cake from an America's Test Kitchen cookbook I got at the library. Blackout Cake is basically rich, dark chocolate layer cake with chocolate pudding filling. Then you "frost" the cake with the pudding, take one of the cake layers, crumble it up, and cover the cake with it.

The picture doesn't do it justice. It was so decadent and rich, the first time I tried it I could hardly finish my slice (and that's saying a lot - I can really handle dessert.) Since both the pudding and the cake were made from scratch, the amount of sugar was perfect and it wasn't overly sweet like you would experience with packaged cake mixes and pudding mixes. Once it sat in the fridge a few days, it just got richer and yummier. I finally ate the last piece last night.

So this would-be employers thing. While I was in college for Wood Science, I met "Maria," a Michigan Tech alumnus and fellow female wood science person. She works for the local wood products company that is here in my hometown and we've kept in touch over the years. I was featured in the local newspaper, which ran an article about my Peace Corps experience, and she read the article and heard I'm back in town. It turns out the company is looking for someone to work for them doing quality control, a 9-month job on swing shift, and they asked me if I'd like to take the position. I had to think about it for a while. First of all, I realized I don't really want a career in wood science. I wish I hadn't chosen it as my major in college, but I'm not being hard on myself because I was just a kid and didn't know what I wanted. The job has good pay, but if I committed myself to a 9-month gig, that could interfere with doing something I really want to do, like going to pastry school or finding a better job elsewhere. Plus I'd be holed up in a laboratory doing monotonous work, and I really like talking to people (which is why I like my job at Kmart). So against my parents' advice (they still have dreams of me being a high-paid engineer, like that's going to happen), I turned the job down. But the people from the company invited me to go to lunch with them to talk about my Peace Corps experience, and that was a blast. I showed them pictures and we laughed and it was a great time.

I'm really trying to share my Peace Corps experience with people in the community, so I emailed the social studies teachers at the high school to see if I could do a presentation for their class. A few of them said maybe the next trimester, when things are less busy, but one guy was available that week. So I went to his Financial Literacy class and talked about Peace Corps and volunteering, life in the village, the work I did, Buddy the Camel, etc. Everyone seemed to love it. I did get a couple of "huh huh huh"s from the back of the class when I talked about how shocking it was at first to see women openly breast feeding their kids - I guess I forgot who my audience was for a second (boob-obsessed teenage boys). Next I'm going to email my parents' friend from the Rotary Club and some language teachers from the high school to see if they'd like a little presentation.

And I've been doing stuff with my parents' church. Friday was the World Day of Prayer, and my parents' church hosted it for all the churches in the community. Unfortunately, since it was on a friday during the day, not a lot of people could make it, but we had about 35 women anyhow. The focus for World Day of Prayer this year is on Cameroon, and since I was the local African expert, I was asked to talk about village life and share stories of the hardships and also the sense of community they have there. A lady brought all sorts of African artifacts sent by her son, who works in Africa, and we were provided with a CD of African-style church music. I wore my embroidered Wodaabe skirt and my mom wore one of my crazy African shirts. It went pretty well.

The next day, Saturday, was my mom's Women of Wisdom meeting. This group is organized by Sister Jean, a wonderful, progressive local nun who is an inspiration to me and others. She organized a drumming workshop where a woman came up from Ann Arbor with about forty drums and we had a big drum circle with games and exercises. Then Sister Jean led us all through a meditative clay-molding session, where we were supposed to mold something from our hearts. I had been thinking a lot about my friends in Niger and the everyday struggles they face, and I let my hands take control. They flattened the clay into a disk. Then I wondered what I could do with this disk, so I kind of played around with it, and when I rolled it, it reminded me of a headwrap. So I molded a little head wearing a headwrap. It wasn't anything special but I felt it really represented what I had been feeling at the time.

After the Women of Wisdom meeting, our friend Bernie led an earring-making workshop to make earrings to send to my friends in Niger. You see, there is a problem with super-cheapo earrings from China containing cadmium, and I know the earrings my villagers wear are from China (cadmium is a hard metal and extremely toxic.) So I wanted to send them some American earrings that would not only be safer to wear but something cool and different from what they get at the market. The problem was, earrings are expensive here. My mom and I have all these beads sitting around and some earring hooks we could use to make earrings, and I mentioned to Bernie the idea of having an earring-making party after Women of Wisdom. So we did it. She did all the arranging and brought in her own beading materials and taught us how to wire wrap. It was super fun, and although only six ladies could stay for it, we made 25 pairs of earrings. My mom and I want to make some more and hopefully I can get them in the mail next week. I'd also like to send a big shout-out to Alanna for thinking of my villagers and sending me a package of wonderful jewelry, lotions, makeup samples and washcloths. They are going to love it!

Okay, I'll quit now. I know this has been a long post. I'll try to make them shorter and more frequent!

I call it coffee

2010-02-22T13:33:00.009-06:00

I developed a taste for instant coffee with powdered milk and sugar while I lived in Niger.

I've never been a coffee drinker - first of all, it tastes gross. Secondly, I don't want to be addicted to anything. You never know when you'll be in a situation where you have to get up at the crack of dawn and function with none of your vices (be it coffee, cigarettes, alcohol, or crack) nearby. And it always bugged me how on Christmas morning we couldn't start opening presents until my dad drank his morning cups of coffee. Plus, it stains your teeth. So I always kind of had a negative impression of coffee.

That was before I woke to hearing animals squawking, the muezzin calling prayer at 5am, and random people showing up at my house before I was ready to get up. And that Nigerien sun is so hot that at times I would wake up with the sun in my face, sweating bullets.

Unexpected wake-up calls aside, I started drinking coffee because I liked the caffeine kick I got from the green tea my villagers drank.* However, by the time my lazy buns got up (at the late hour of 8:00), they were finished with their morning tea and were out in the fields. So I'd have to find my own caffeine kick - instant coffee.

*Green tea is a big thing in West and North Africa. It's brewed very concentrated, so that you get a cupful worth of tea (and therefore caffeine) in a tiny shot glass. The same tea leaves are brewed three times with sugar added each time - the first round is "bitter like life," the second round is "sweet, like love," and the third round is "light, like the breath of death." Past noon I can only drink #2 and #3, as the first round is so strong I won't sleep at night.

A tray with blue ceramic teapot, metal teapot, shot glass, loose tea leaves, and two metal cups for "foaming" the tea (pour it back in fourth and the tea gets nice and frothy).

My friend Feirodji drinking his morning tea. Notice the pot brewing on a charcoal brazier.

Issoufou's all, "have some tea. No, go ahead. Seriously, for the love of god, drink some tea!" (Typical invitation and what happens when you decline.)

So back to my tea replacement. You can get Nescafe just about anywhere, which is, as I'm told, a particularly horrible instant coffee. However, since I never drank "the good stuff," I didn't know what I was missing. I came back to the U.S. and saw some instant Folgers in my parents' cupboard that expired in 2006, so I've been working on drinking it. Last week my friend Issoufou called and I was like, "I just woke up and I'm still tired, so I'm going to make some cafe au lait," and he was like, "Oh, save some for me, I'm on my way over right now." And I was like, "okay, I'm waiting for you." We used to always drink coffee together. Actually, since it's more expensive than tea leaves in Niger, I was the only person in my village who drank it on a consistent basis, and Issoufou would come over in the morning not only for conversation but also for coffee.

Here's my coffee recipe. It's sweet and milky and weak enough that my heart doesn't start pounding.

Crystal's Sugar-High Coffee
Mix together in a mug:
1/2 tsp. instant coffee
2 tsp. sugar
Fill the mug halfway with:
Water
Fill the mug to the top with:
Milk, preferably 2%
Nuke it for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes on high. Enjoy!

Late-Night Cable TV

2010-02-22T09:04:00.004-06:00

Since I have a TV in my bedroom, I like to watch those late-night cable TV shows as I'm brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed. That's also when they have their best shows.

I love catching Throwdown with Bobby Flay - that show makes me want to cook foods I've never imagined cooking, like Spanish paella or arroz con pollo.

The host of Man vs. Food, Adam Richman, has an enviable appetite and enough charm and creativity to make his show entertaining and also rev up my appetite. I'll admit, it's kind of disturbing watching him plow through a 5-lb hamburger - it's such a demonstration of gluttony and the overabundance of food here in America - but I do like when he visits restaurants just to try their signature entree. The way he moans and groans about it makes me hungry. He made a Philly cheese steak sound so tempting that my whole family wanted to eat it.

I'll sometimes catch an episode of Friends or Sex and the City, and sometimes I'll tune in to Millionaire Matchmaker or VH1s Celebrity Rehab. And sometimes when a new episode of a show is shown at 9, it'll be repeated later on, so I'll catch Project Runway or Launch My Line that way.

Niger Coup d'etat

2010-02-18T19:53:00.002-06:00

Wow, I can't believe it. There's been a coup d'etat in Niger.

I googled it as soon as I heard the news. Today at midday while the President, Mamadou Tandja, was in a meeting, a group of soldiers came in and captured him. Now he and his cronies are being held captive at a military camp while a new military-led government reigns.

I hope the people are okay. I hope Niger will be okay. I hope my Peace Corps friends are okay. Is the Peace Corps going to be evacuated? We will have to see what happens. Sometimes Peace Corps doesn't get evacuated after a coup if it isn't particularly upsetting to the country.

Greetings from sunny Cali

2010-02-13T23:32:00.009-06:00

I'm in California, visiting my sister Becky, her husband Fonsi, and their kids Chris and Angie. Our brother Joe is here too, so it's the three of us here together!

So far we're having fun. The kids are really cute, ages 2-1/2 and 1-1/2. Becky and Fonsi look as beautiful as ever. And I'm eating yummy foods, like strawberries, blueberries, and Thai food (more on that later.)

Joe's luggage got lost and the airline said they'd reimburse him for $80 worth of clothes, so yesterday we did a little shopping at Old Navy. I found a pair of black jeans and a black fleece to go with my red K-Mart vest. You would not believe how cold it is working in a big store like that. The personnel manager told me to dress warm, so my first day I wore a shirt and a sweater. It wasn't enough, I froze my buns off, so now I wear two pairs of long underwear, a shirt, and a sweater.

Today we went to Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. The parking lot was full so we parked further down the road and walked uphill to the place. The kids really wanted to walk (and we wanted them to get tired enough for their nap) so we spent most of our time getting there. It probably took 45 minutes to walk from the car to the observatory. Once we made it there, we just hung out in the grass, soaking up the sun, and the kids ate snacks. They were tired enough to allow us to carry them back down the hill.

Walking up the hill with Angie. That girl can move!

Then we went to a Thai restaurant, Sapp Coffee Shop in Hollywood. Becky had watched Anthony Bourdain sample their food and recommended the Boat Noodles with Beef. So that's what I ordered. It was rice noodles and pieces of beef, tripe, and liver meatballs in a rich, spicy beef broth. There were a few pieces of fried skins, like pork rinds, in the dish, too. It was delicious!

Joe and I got the Thai iced tea. It was very sweet, cool and refreshing.

Angie eating her yogurt appetizer.

Chris with his buddy Uncle Joe.

Tonight Joe and I babysat while Becky and Fonsi went to a birthday party. Surprisingly, things went well. The kids didn't get too upset when they left, then we had fun playing with toys, then ate dinner, which they only threw a little bit of on the floor, then successfully got their diapers changed, jammies on, teeth brushed, and off to bed with no crying. Yeah, baby! Tomorrow Becky and the Fonz have a dinner date for V-day so Joe and I get to do it all over again. I hope it goes as well as it did tonight.

Joe took me through some YouTube videos that were talked about while I was in the Peace Corps, like David Goes to the Dentist and the rollerskating babies commercial. Now he's watching the Olympics.

Okay, I'll be back tomorrow or the day after.

Just bumped up a size...

2010-02-10T12:13:00.001-06:00

I seriously feel my butt growing. All that hard work, exercising with Gilad every day (or so) and watching my desserts, just went out the window.

I ate a paczki ("punchki").

Like a filled donut on steroids, this special little pastry comes to local bakeries about a week before Fat Tuesday, as if we Americans need to get any fatter.

I got the chocolate one. It was like eating a cup of chocolate frosting in a tiny little donut shell. My god, I didn't realize a paczki had so much filling.

While I was in the Peace Corps, wasting away from a limited diet of starch and losing weight by having frequent diarrhea, I dreamed of eating a paczki. This was part of my reasoning for eating one today - "just think about how much you wanted one while you were in Niger."

All I can say is alhamdulillah.

For you late arrivals out there...

2010-02-09T21:50:00.002-06:00

From a letter to my former colleagues on my last few weeks in Peace Corps and what it's like to be back in the U.S.

It started November 15 (I remember that date because it's opening day of rifle season in Michigan and we'd get the day off from school. Once a hunter, always a hunter.) I had just returned to my village after spending a week in a village further north, staying with my friends the Wodaabe nomadic cattle herders and attending their annual Geerwol festival. I had just been in my village one night. Usually when I get up in the morning I turn on my cell phone to check my text messages, then turn it back off to conserve the battery, since there's no electricity in the village to recharge it. In the afternoon a guy from the neighboring village about 3 miles away pulled up on a motorcycle and gave me a note. The note was from my friend Jessie, a fellow Peace Corps volunteer, telling me "there was an attempted kidnapping and we are on consolidation. Come to the Peace Corps hostel in Konni." After waiting four hours for a car I finally made it to Konni, which is only 20 km away. I know, I could've made it there faster by walking. Welcome to transportation in Africa.

Once I made it to the hostel I heard the news about what had happened. There was an attempted kidnapping in our regional capital, Tahoua, about 130 km away. At first I wasn't fazed; it seemed like every month we heard news about attempted kidnappings on the border of Mali (presumably by AQIM, a North African terrorist group linked to Al Qaeda.) However, this one was different because Tahoua is not near the border of Mali and the kidnappers were specifically targeting Americans. Peace Corps wouldn't tell us exactly what happened, but through the grapevine I heard the following: A group of nine American Embassy workers was staying at a hotel in Tahoua. The kidnappers, a group of men armed with AK-47s, came into the hotel, pointed a gun at the front desk clerk's head, and demanded that they give them the Americans. Apparently a hotel employee heard what was going on in the front room, quickly alerted the Americans and escorted them out the back door. This affected us Peace Corps volunteers in the region because Tahoua isn't far from most volunteer villages, and if AQIM can go to Tahoua, they definitely can get to Konni, where the Peace Corps hostel is. We were consolidated at our Peace Corps hostel for about six days. No one could leave the property by himself and we had armed police in the compound to protect us from any intruders.

After five days of the Peace Corps and U.S. Embassy deliberating, it was decided Peace Corps would be shut down in our region. None of us could return to our villages, even to say goodbye to our friends or grab our belongings, and we had to move to the capital, Niamey, as soon as possible. I am so lucky my village is only 20 km from Konni because my villagers got to come and see me and we said our goodbyes. A Nigerien Peace Corps employee was given a list of belongings to grab from everyone's house, so at least I could get some of my stuff. The goodbyes were hard; after crying for hours my villagers and I sat around in a depressed, catatonic state.

I went to Niamey, did a bunch of paperwork, saw the doctor and dentist for physicals, got a lot of blood drawn to check for parasites, was given liver-cleansing pills to take in America (for any leftover "aliens" that might be hiding in my gut), and left town November 29. After a chilly layover in France (I didn't have any warm clothing) and a quick layover in Detroit (I ate a Wendy's hamburger!), I finally met my mom in snowy Traverse City, Michigan. I had called her ahead of time to have her bring me a warm coat and some real shoes. The first thing she did was take me to Kohl's, as she had a coupon and it was only good for that day. She wanted to buy me some sweaters but I seriously couldn't pick anything out because of the reverse culture shock I was experiencing. Everything looked the same. Everything looked fine. I let her pick it out.

The first month in the U.S. was strange. I often felt disoriented and confused. Was I really in Africa for 23 months? It all felt like a dream. I couldn't believe how much meat people eat here, I caught myself using the Hausa language a few times, and I refused to wash my hair more than once a week. I remember waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and throwing my legs over the side of my bed, searching for my shoes. Then, every time I went to the store, I saw a bunch of things I wanted to buy for my villagers and other friends. I signed up for an account on Skype (internet telephone) and bought a headset, and ever since I've been calling and communicating with my Nigerien friends. My best buddy Issoufou is in Ghana right now, earning money for his family by doing street manicures and pedicures, and he calls me about once a week. I just sent a package to him including gifts for our villagers (developed photos, keychains, whistles, makeup, jewelry, perfume, and candy). I also taught him how to use my film camera while I was in Niger, and bought him his own camera and sent it to him. It's a good way for him to make money and it benefits the village. And I am so grateful that I can speak to my villagers whenever I want. I just call someone in the village and they pass the phone around. It's wonderful.

I started looking for work and am finding ideas for my next adventure. I've applied for some Peace Corps recruiter positions, but the jobs are on a continuous open basis so who knows when I'll hear anything from them. I'm taking a class at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) in Napa Valley this May for people who want to explore their options for a career in baking/pastry arts. And I got a job at K-Mart, which because of my low living expenses (living with mom and dad) I should be able to save some money to fund my future endeavors. Today I tried my first announcement over the speakers - "Attention K-Mart shoppers..." I've been baking a lot (cakes, bread and cookies), some of which are experiments and some are by request from family members. And I'm arranging to give talks at the local schools and library.

Wish me luck, and salaam alaikum.

Crystal (aka Zeinabou)

My first day of work

2010-02-09T18:25:00.005-06:00

I started my new job at KMart yesterday. It was kind of a disaster and I left feeling discouraged and not sure I can handle working there. It wasn't that the store was a problem, it was just watching those ridiculous training/orientation videos that make you want to shoot yourself in the head. Not only is there text on the screen but you have to listen to someone read it to you and since you read faster than you hear, that voice just drones on and on and on...

And it was freezing in there. I was told to dress warm so I wore a long-sleeve shirt under my sweater, but I wasn't warm enough and wore my coat the whole time. And sitting in the training room, a sad-looking, dark-wood-paneled, poorly-lit little dungeon in the corner of the store... well, let's just say it wasn't warm and it wasn't inspiring.

But hey, at least I got through it.

Today was better. I did a little bit of computer stuff, then learned how to work the cash registers. There's a lot to learn and I certainly didn't learn everything today, but otherwise it went pretty well. The lady training me was really cool and we seemed to hit it off, so that helped, too.

Blackie the Cat's latest obsession is a piece of paper that's on "his" couch. It's actually some crochet instructions I printed up, but he's totally taken it over and sits on it whenever possible. He will also bat at it to move it to the right place to maximize comfort. I think he likes how it crinkles beneath him, must make him feel like he's crouching in the underbrush.

Blackie on his favorite piece of paper. Notice his fleece blanket and red pillow - yes, he owns this couch.

New job!

2010-02-05T13:58:00.004-06:00

I am going to be a working woman. With a little help from Joe the HR Pro (my brother), I applied for a job with K-Mart using their online applicant screener (basically you take an exam). Some of the questions were no-brainers: "True or false: it is okay to steal because you see your manager doing it." Some of them were more difficult: "You are assigned to train a newer employee who is always talking about other employees behind their backs and it bothers you. How do you deal with the situation?"

a) Tell your boss you won't train him.

b) Train him, but when you hear him talk about other employees stop training him.

c) Train him, but beforehand tell him you don't want to hear his negative comments.

d) Train him, but when he says a negative comment tell him you don't appreciate it and ask if he'll stop.

e) Just deal with it and get the training over with.

Which would you actually do? Which would you pick to make a good impression on your employer?

Apparently I did a good job on the exam because today I scored an interview and was offered a job on the spot! Not bad for Grayling, where there is no industry and very few jobs. :) I start orientation on monday at $7.40/hour (again, not too shabby considering my low overhead.)

Also, my passport came in today so now I can travel anywhere in world I want to. I always had government-business passports before.

Yesterday's Dinner:
Barley risotto with parmesan
Roasted vegetables - potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, red onion, and button mushrooms with fresh rosemary
Dirt cake

Root beer and dirt cake

2010-02-04T18:36:00.005-06:00

My brother Tom and I have been talking about making homemade root beer since December. He has root beer extract so all we needed was the yeast. For making root beer (and other sodas, and maybe wine and beer?) you need Champagne yeast. I googled it, bought some for $1 each on ebay (with like $5 shipping for a tiny little packet, grr), and it's been sitting in the cupboard for over a month.

Today we finally made the root beer. First we gathered our ingredients:

We poured the yeast and sugar in the empty pop bottle, added the rootbeer extract, then filled it halfway with water. Tom shook it to dissolve the ingredients.

We filled it all the way up with water.

Now we let it sit at room temperature for three days. The yeast will produce the CO2 needed to make it fizzy. Then we just have to refrigerate it so it's cold. We plan to open and sample our homemade root beer monday night. We're also thinking of trying cream soda and orange cream soda.

Tom also requested that I make dirt cake with gummy worms. I found this recipe and went from there, but decided to make homemade chocolate pudding instead of using a mix.

You're supposed to combine cream cheese and butter, then add the prepared pudding. This morning I cooked up some chocolate pudding (using a combination of 2% milk and whipping cream), let it cool to room temperature, then mixed in the room-temperature cream cheese and butter. It came out really rich and chocolatey. Layered with the Oreo crumbs and gummy worms, it was an excellent dessert, though somewhat guilt-inducing (butter, cream cheese and heavy cream, plus all those Oreos?). Since we don't have a trifle bowl I put it in a glass casserole dish and it didn't look too sexy. (don't you like that? "Sexy" to describe a dessert?) I will have to invest in a trifle bowl for when I attempt tiramisu (which will, of course, be made from scratch. I don't do storebought ladyfingers. Not that they'd have them in Grayling anyway.)

Package to Ghana

2010-02-03T18:19:00.012-06:00

I'm preparing a package to send to my friend Issoufou (my best buddy from my village in Niger), who is in Ghana right now. I bought him a camera - this is because while I was in Niger, he used my film camera to take pictures of people for profit. That camera was like $300 when I bought it and there's no way I was going to let him keep it, so I got him a decent camera off the internet for $30.

Next I included a bunch of developed photos for the villagers.
Also, I packed:

Camera batteries (2 for $6 at Meijer).
Christmas candy (on sale at Walgreens for $.50).
Keychains (found around the house).
Whistle keychains for the kiddies (found around the house).
Old pocketknives and nail clippers (found around the house).
Makeup, lotion and soaps for the ladies (makeup and soaps donated by me and my mom, lotion $.50 at Meijer).
Three cute red pleather purses I got from the dollar store for Issoufou's wife, my bff Rabi, and Ma Mouda, Issoufou's friend in Ghana who is picking up the package at his P.O. box (3 at $1 each).
Cell phone holders that fit onto a belt w/attached keyhook (5 at $1 each).
A couple of wallets/change purses ($1.50).
Men's bodyspray, 50% off at Walgreens (3 at $2.50 each).

Hopefully I can get this package out tomorrow. I've been working on it for over a month.

Issoufou with his wife, Omeima. His first wife died from pre-eclampsia while she was pregnant, then a few months later he married Omeima. She had been married before but the husband was psycho so she divorced him.

Ma Mouda, who hooked me up in Ghana - gave me a place to crash, fed me good food, and kept me entertained.

With my best friend Rabi. She's a petite little thang! Notice the sweat spots on my shirt - it was over 115 degrees out.

Taking Buddy to the water pump is always kind of crazy - he gets nervous because it's kind of an enclosed space, not in the middle of a field like the well. He sticks his big ol' head in that little bucket and slurps up all the water.

Tonight's Dinner:
Italian sausage, tomato and fennel sauce served over penne.

A few small successes

2010-02-02T19:07:00.004-06:00

Hey, it's the little things that count.

My dad is a scoutmaster for a local Boy Scout troop. He collected a box of "gently-used" items as prizes to the scouts - things like foam balls, tote bags, tshirts and hats, and Boy Scout pens. He also added an old Goosebumps book that was laying around the house, from when we used to read them. I said to him, "if you want more books we have tons of old Goosebumps books upstairs we could add," and he was like, "I'm not sure how much these kids are into reading so let's just see how this one goes." Well, the kid that won a prize this week immediately snatched up that Goosebumps book, saying how much he loves those books. I was so happy to hear that - kids still read, and they like the books I used to like - and there's plenty more where that came from.
My Dingo shoes came in from Zappos and they're perfect - they fit well, are comfortable, and look great with my jeans.
I'm starting a used-jewelry drive for my women in Niger, starting with having my parents post signs at work asking people to donate their old jewelry to me so I can send it overseas. The reason for this jewelry drive is that I am working on sending a couple of care packages to my village, and while it's easy to get stuff for the guys (perfume, cell phone holders), the only great thing I can think of for the women is jewelry, especially earrings. I stopped by the local K-Mart to see if there was any cheap stuff on sale (the cheapest costume jewelry here is still 100x better than what they have, which is crappy earrings that tarnish in three days, fall apart, and may even contain cadmium), but the earrings at K-Mart were about $3/pair, even on sale. So collecting old jewelry will not only help Americans get rid of their old stuff but also prevent African women and girls from being poisoned. It's a win-win! Email me if you want to send something my way. :) Today was good because one of my dad's colleagues actually donated something.
Last but not least, I found a way to pursue my baking career. I'm going to enroll in the CIA (Culinary Institute of America)'s Career Discovery program for Baking and Pastry Arts in April. The class involves:

Create a variety of baked goods, from classic Italian biscotti to the Indian staple chapatis.
Study the ingredients, equipment, techniques, terminology, and recipes that define contemporary baking and pastry.
Enjoy chef demonstrations featuring specialized baking and pastry techniques.
Discuss the wide variety of careers available in the baking and pastry field.

My friend Mariama, a Wodaabe girl. Whenever I visited my friend Darey's village we'd hang out together.

Last week's adventures

2010-02-01T12:29:00.012-06:00

Last week I boycotted the computer.

I had worked on job applications and done some shopping and research and I was so sick of staring at the screen, I couldn't bring myself to do it again. So I took a few days off and let my eyes rest.

Today I feel energized (from the coffee? Or is it the sunshine?) and am ready to start blogging again.

I ordered a pair of Dingo shoes from zappos. I don't normally consider myself a "western" kind of gal but I like these because they are two-toned and have a low heel. They're supposed to come in tomorrow so I'll see if they work for me. The great thing about zappos is they have free shipping both ways.

Last week I went to my mom and Tom's karate test. They're testing for the red belt (the belt before black belt). Here are some photos:

The judges are deliberating. Only one can continue on towards becoming America's next top karate kid.

Here they broke a board. On Tom's first try he actually kicked the bottom edge of the board and got two deep cuts in his foot and a sprained ankle. Now he's hobbling around on an air cast and I keep teasing him about looking like House.

Last night I made black strap molasses cookies, a family favorite (for everyone but me, that is). It's a depression-era recipe with no butter, eggs or milk. It calls for normal molasses, but my dad prefers the taste of the black strap molasses and my mom has been making these cookies for years.

Today Tom was showing me his Boy Scouts stuff and we decided to put the hat on the cat and see how he looked. Here's Blackie the Boy Scout.

Tonight's Dinner:
Jambalaya with polish smoked sausage

Carrot cake

2010-01-24T18:46:00.004-06:00

This week I:

Turned in two job applications.
Attended the local Peace Group meeting, the only social event I partake in besides tagging along with my parents at their activities. I brought a French sponge cake (a tres difficult cake that came out okay).
Made a successful genoise cake on the first try. :)
Made mango-raspberry crisp, sesame noodles with chicken, and molasses cookies.

Yesterday the new bishop came to my parents' church and they had a potluck. My dad signed us up to bring a dessert (surprise, surprise) so I made a carrot cake. I especially liked drawing on the little carrots.

Tomorrow we're going to TC (that would be Traverse City for all you down-staters) and I'm so excited because we're going to the mall. I'm looking for a pair of shoes - camel-colored booties with a 2" heel. Wish me luck!

Tonight's Dinner:
Ma's homemade 7-grain pancakes with peach sauce
Sausage

Late-night phone call and other things

2010-01-20T23:05:00.004-06:00

My friends in Niger sometimes forget about the time zone difference and call me in the middle of the night (which is morning for them). Since I don't have a phone in my upstairs lair, my mom gets it (since she sometimes gets late-night phone calls for work), then brings the phone to me and wakes me up. Usually by that time the person calling has hung up, thinking I must not be there.

Last night my mom woke me up with a call from Tidjani. He's this cute guy I met my last week in Niger, in Niamey, the capital. We keep in touch as he hopes to come to America one day (what Nigerien man doesn't?) I called him back today and we chatted awhile so that was cool.

I realize I look scary in this photo but it's the only one I have that shows off his great bone structure.

I have photos of other cute guys that I will someday post for your viewing pleasure.

Speaking of cute, what blog post would be complete without a Blackie the cat anecdote? This morning I woke up and he was sleeping on the chair in my room. He was making the cutest squeaky snoring sound. I didn't want to get out of bed because I hated to disturb his sleep. I know, he's spoiled.

The other day I gave him raw egg yolk and he slurped it right down. He loves it!

One more thing - this climate is killing me! My left eye has always been dry, but I thought it was irritated by my contacts. Then I got lasik done, and it was still dry, but I thought it was because it was still healing. Then I went to Niger and it seemed better - going to an arid desert country somehow cured my dry eye? Now I'm back in Michigan and my eye is drier than ever and to make matters worse my skin is oily and breaking out left and right. Ugh!

Pear-Almond Tart

2010-01-20T22:35:00.006-06:00

I requested my dad buy me four pears at the grocery store because I wanted to make some kind of pear-and-crystallized ginger tart (I later saw the receipt and the pears were $4.50. Yikes!) I've been wanting to try a tart for some time, just to get an idea of how it's different from a pie, and I love the combination of pears and ginger, so this seemed like the perfect project.

After the expensive pears sat around for a couple days I figured I needed to do something with them ASAP before they went bad. I looked in the Joy of Cooking (my go-to for recipes) for a pear tart recipe, but didn't find anything. I didn't see a pear pie recipe, either. I guessed there must be a good reason for this - maybe pears don't hold up well in pies, I figured.

After a little internet search, I found the only real tart that uses pears is the Pear-Almond tart, a French dessert. I decided to make that instead, using this recipe.

I got all the ingredients ready - I poached the pears in syrup, made the extremely rich tart crust (that doesn't contain a single drop of water, maybe that's what makes it different from a pie), and prepared the almond filling. All these items required some chill time in the fridge so I planned on baking it the next day.

The next morning, my dad was going to cook up some leftover fries and leftover mashed potatoes for my brother Tom. He puts everything in a frying pan, and as it's heating, he must've noticed something was different because he said, "Crystal, what's wrong with these potatoes?" I realized he put my almond filling in the frying pan, thinking it was the mashed potatoes! I kind of freaked out. Fortunately the filling hadn't melted too much and he scraped it back in the bowl. Whew!

Here's the French Pear-Almond tart:

It was pretty tasty, but nothing too exciting. The almond filling is custardy and sweet like pecan pie filling, but kind of bland unless you get a piece of the pear, which tastes exactly like canned pear. "Kind of like a cookie," my mom said. It's been sitting on the counter for a few days and I'm the only one eating it, and it got to the point where my dad offered to take it to work (those people will eat anything).

Seriously, if you make this yourselves, use canned pears! You end up cooking the fresh pears in a syrup just like you would find in a can, so save yourself the money and the trouble and pick up a 99-cent can of pears for this recipe. I may consider trying the Julia Child version of this recipe - the pears are steeped in a more flavorful syrup and maybe it will be more exciting.

Tonight's Dinner:
Roast chicken with roasted veggies (I thought the veggies were so pretty I took a picture).

Extreme Makeover

2010-01-16T12:47:00.002-06:00

I finally got a haircut today.

It's been two years of boring, split-ended, one-length hair. It felt so good to get it cut and layered and styled. Here's the before and after photos:

From blah...

... to ooh la la!

(what would a before-and-after picture be without better clothes, better lighting, and makeup for the "after" photo?)

Photo tag

2010-01-15T18:33:00.006-06:00

Thanks for the tag, AJ. Here's the 10th photo in my first folder.

This was from December 2008. I was living in Niger, and it was getting close to Tabasky, a big Muslim holiday. It's customary to kill a ram on Tabasky, roast it, eat the meat and give some to friends and the poor.

Everyone in my village liked to raise animals to sell around Tabasky because that's when the city folk pay the big bucks for animals. However, my villagers were poor and couldn't afford to slaughter their own animals, so after they sold their prize ram they'd kill a couple of chickens to eat for Tabasky.

My friend Ayuba kept telling me about his big ram and how much he was feeding it, so I went to his house to check it out. The ram was big, and white, with these cool dark spots on each ear. Ayuba fed him everything from bean leaves to dried beans to millet bran. He was a happy ram, despite being tied to a stick all the time. He couldn't go out herding with the other animals because Ayuba didn't want him to get exercise and therefore lose weight.

The ram let me pet him. He actually seemed to like it. Sometimes when you pet a ram they try to head-butt you, but this one was pretty cool and kept rubbing his head against my hand. He also didn't mind if you touched his back, his belly, his legs, whatever. That's a sign of a full, happy animal.

A few weeks later Ayuba sold him for about 9,000 Naira, which is like $90. Not bad!

Another photo of Ayuba's prized ram. Ayuba is the guy on the right (also known as "dan baki," "black one," in Hausa, because of his dark complexion):

I'll tag my sister Becky.

I don't wanna work

2010-01-15T16:10:00.005-06:00

I've been considering this job opening with the county senior center. I'm not sure I want to start working. I really like doing things around the house and cooking dinner every night. But I'm going to apply anyway. The job market is so poor, especially in Northern Michigan, that probably a hundred people are applying for this position, and who says I'll even get an interview? If they offer me the job and I still don't want to work, I can always turn it down.

Tonight I'm making roasted turkey breast that I brined this morning (brining helps the meat stay nice and juicy). It's been an exhausting week and the weekends here are always intense, so today I "took the day off" and vegged out for a while.

My weekend goals:

Make another genoise cake.
Fill out job application for administrative assistant position.

This week's accomplishments

2010-01-14T22:04:00.004-06:00

I am so excited! I finally got my Peace Corps recruiter applications in. I filled out the same application eight times to accommodate for the positions open in eight different places. It feels so nice to have that off my chest.

The county senior center is looking for an administrative assistant, so I'm going to add that to my job-seeking repertoire. I think I'd be a good AA and I love old people, so we'll see how that goes.

I've also sent in my first passport application EVER (my other two passports were government-issue), something I've been meaning to do for like five years. I ordered this cute pair of boots online and when they finally came in they didn't feel comfortable at all, so I sent them back. I guess that's what you get for ordering stuff from the internets. Someday I will go to Traverse City and see if there's any good shopping there.

The boots that didn't work for me. If you see others like this let me know. I particularly like the short but not chunky and not stiletto heel.

For food this week I've made Shepard's Pie, minestrone soup, spaghetti with meatballs, and tonight, hamburgers. I cooked the burgers in a non-teflon skillet to allow for maximum browning, but the juices burned and created a huge cloud of smoke in the house. Let's just say the fam wasn't too thrilled. Later Blackie came over and licked the splattered meat grease off the floor.

For baking I've made yummy cranberry-bran muffins, chocolate shortbread coconut bars and chocolate chip cookies. Here's the muffins:

Tomorrow's roasted turkey breast and I'm gonna try to make the genoise (foam cake) again this weekend. Wish me luck!

My Niger projects - Part 1

2010-01-07T20:01:00.015-06:00

What did I do specifically?

Well, my village was pretty far south, about 5km from Nigeria, in a lowland area and surrounded by ridges of mesas (that cluster of green trees in the middle = my village.)

We didn't have a problem with sand dunes, desertification, or hardpan. Mostly my villagers were interested in planting trees in their yards and starting mango orchards.

Part 1. The Women's Group, Mundangwara
("we are patient")

I spent a lot of time working with the women's group established by the last volunteer. These women held weekly meetings where everyone paid a contribution to a cash box. About twice a year, each woman was given a loan from the cash box, and paid a monthly interest fee until the balance was paid off. At the end of the year the interest money was split among all the women for a little bonus to use for the holidays.

Some ladies from the women's group with their cash box.

The women's group was provided with a beautiful fenced-in garden space (the former volunteer obtained grants for materials and labor) complete with a well. They were supposed to maintain a vegetable garden during cold season (December through April), but they weren't exactly motivated. They planted peanuts during rainy season (June through September), but this year they didn't get themselves organized enough to actually harvest the peanuts and somebody beat them to it and took them all.

However, they have a space they are free to use for individual projects or as a group, and if they someday want to create a big garden, at least they have a place to do it. In the meantime, a couple of ladies grow hot peppers and moringa trees.

At the advice of my boss, I helped the women obtain loans from a microfinance bank in Konni (18 km from my village) to each purchase an animal for profit. They bought rams, sheep and goats.

I brought in a herder and a large-animal veterinarian to educate the women on how to keep their animal healthy and fatten it up as much as possible to make the most profit. Six months later they sold the animals and paid the loans back with interest.

There were a couple of problems with this project. First of all, the microfinance bank we worked with was slow. They made the women pay money to join the loan program, then didn't actually give them a loan for six months. The guy we worked with continuously tried to sexually harass me and it put me in a weird position. A couple of the women's animals died, but it was for preventable reasons. Lastly, one woman didn't even want a loan, so she gave her money to a friend. The friend gave it to a guy who needed money to travel to Nigeria. By the time loans had to be paid back, the guy hadn't yet come back from Nigeria. The women's group cannot obtain future loans if even one person defaults, so they got his elderly parents to repay the loan.

Part 2. Well improvement project

This NGO (non-governmental organization) came to my village and built a new well. It was great because the well was situated near where all the herders live, and they have hundreds of thirsty cattle to water every day during the dry season.

They were using these small, shallow metal bowls to give each cow water.

None of the wells in my village had drinking troughs and the new well didn't have a decent apron (ledge to prevent sand from blowing inside). I used some project money left by the last volunteer to build a new apron and some water troughs for the animals.

The finished product:

Standing on new well apron with 1 trough in the background.

Buddy enjoying fresh water from a trough.

We later realized the new well wasn't deep enough. The water came up muddy at best and sometimes there wasn't any water at all. Since the water was so dirty none of the nearby houses used it and the women had to walk all the way around the village to a different well when there was one right behind their property!

I organized a group of herders to improve the well, as they were its main users. I hired a couple of professionals to go down inside the well and put mud into buckets to deepen the floor of the well.

If you look closely you can see them in the bottom:

Pulling up heavy buckets of mud:

This cute kid was watching the action:

My friend Darey and I made the workers strong green tea for strength and even sent some down the well in a bucket:

Climbing out of the well:

Group photo!

After this project the well was deeper and had clear, plentiful water. Yay!

More to be continued...

Niger - what I was supposed to do

2010-01-07T18:05:00.021-06:00

Some background:
I was a Natural Resources Management (NRM) volunteer. Most of Niger's population lives along the southern border of the country, and as you go further north you encounter the Sahel, then the Sahara desert. Due to a major drought in the '70s and poor farming and grazing practices, the Sahara desert has been spreading. Strong winds blow away precious topsoil and spread sand over fields. People cut down the few trees they have, resulting in erosion, poorer soil quality, and less animal fodder.

Technical training:
As a NRM volunteer, I learned how to use agroforestry to improve farm soil quality and prevent desertification and erosion.

We learned how to prevent sand dunes from spreading by planting rows of trees or rows of sticks to make a fence that would slow the wind down;

Planting "wind breaks" (rows of trees that would slow down the wind) around fields;

Creating "live" and "dead" fences to prevent animals from eating crops (basically a hedge of live trees or sticks);

The creation of rock "walls" to block the flow of water in gullys (and preventing further erosion of precious farmland);

Special crop planting techniques to reclaim rock-hard soil (hardpan) and to collect maximum rainwater;

Zai holes

Demi lunes

Planting, pruning, and harvesting gum arabic (sap from the gum arabic tree used in cosmetics, cola, candy, and glue);

Grafting trees such as gum arabic, mango, citrus, and desert date;

Planting moringa trees as a food source and income generation (the leaves are nutritious and taste like spinach);

And finally, showing people how to make tree nurseries so they can plant trees in their yard or field.

Stay tuned to hear what I actually ended up doing!

Successful bread and sad bread

2010-01-07T17:50:00.005-06:00

I made "rustic European country bread" the other day, and it turned out great!

What makes it "European" and "rustic" is that it doesn't have any dairy or oil in it. Just flour (whole wheat, white, and rye), salt, sugar, and yeast. It was nice and chewy with a crispy crust.

Today I didn't have such good luck making "American" bread. My dad's been hinting at rye bread for a while, so I gave it a try. This bread had white flour and rye flour in it, as well as butter and milk. Despite leaving it in the furnace room for the entire day it turned out flat and sad-looking.

Whatevs. I may have to mess with the recipe before I get it right.

Tonight's Dinner:
Ghanaian jollof rice
Coleslaw with salad cream dressing

Black Forest Cake adventure

2010-01-06T17:32:00.007-06:00

Last week I made a Black Forest Cherry cake. It's three layers of chocolate genoise (foam) cake brushed with brandy syrup and whipped cream and brandied cherries for the filling. I used frozen cherries from the store and, since the recipe called for 3 cups of whipped cream I decided I'd try to lighten things up by using low-fat Cool Whip. I know, Cool Whip is full of chemicals and is not as yummy as the real stuff, but I figured it's a little less dangerous for the waistline.

The most difficult part was the chocolate genoise. That damn cake is the bane of my existence! Despite reading various recipes and watching internet videos (thanks for the Martha tip, Alanna!) the first two cakes I made fell flat. I kind of blame it on Cook's Illustrated, because I was following their recipe and they specifically instructed using the paddle attachment to whip the eggs. When I used the paddle attachment the cake fell when I added the flour, so I figured I wasn't whipping the eggs enough. Sure enough, when I switched to the whisk attachment, the eggs got more voluminous and the cake didn't fall when I added the flour. But there's more to bitch about. Even with the successful third cake, the flour didn't incorporate fully into the batter and there were little flour chunks in the bottom. The cake lady, Rose Levy Beranbaum, said in her book this always happens and you just have to pick the flour chunks out with a toothpick, but to me that seems redundant and there's got to be a better way. I emailed the folks from Cook's Illustrated to ask for help with the flour chunking problem, so we'll see if they get back to me.

Each cake required 6 eggs, by the way, so my dad kept going to the store to buy me more eggs. He's such a sweetie.

To make a genoise, you have to have some foresight so that your ingredients are ready.

Two types of flour, sifted onto wax paper.
6 eggs, at room temperature.
Melted butter, at room temperature.
Cocoa and boiling water mixed into a paste.
Pan greased and papered (but don't flour it like I did).

All the preparation and baking failures were worth it when I finally finished it:

I took it to my aunt's house and we all devoured it. It was delicious!

Mornings with Gilad

2010-01-05T09:34:00.004-06:00

Every morning I get up around 9:30 and do aerobics with Gilad at 10. He is this dark-haired, muscular, sexy-accented aerobics instructor on Fit TV, and he is helping me get into shape.

He has two programs, one at 10:00 and the other at 10:30. The 10:00 one is straight out of the 80’s with ladies in high-cut, shiny leotards and scrunchy socks. The later show is more modern, but I prefer the earlier show because Gilad is younger (and therefore sexier) and I find the outfits more entertaining.

I should mention my accompanying diet to go with this new fitness program. I can only have a sweet twice a day, so this means I can’t have a cookie every time I pass through the kitchen. I’m also trying to lower my alcohol consumption, not that I drink a lot anyway, but just trying not to make that second glass of wine a habit.

Since we don’t have a scale I can’t track my weight, but I already noticed my stomach looks trimmer and I feel better about my body in general. I noticed I’m a little crabbier than usual, which may be because I’m tired from the exercise and missing my sugar, but hopefully that won’t be a permanent thing.

Schisto-so-my-ass

2010-01-02T21:48:00.010-06:00

I got a letter from Peace Corps the other day.

Dear Ms. P:

The results of your close of service (COS) schistosomiasis antibody test has been received by the Office of Medical Services (OMS), Peace Corps/Washington. The results are inconclusive and may indicate an early infection with the schistosome parasite. A retest is advised to confirm or rule out this possible infection.

Oh my god, creepy!

So I bet you're wondering what schistosomiasis is. I got some info from Google Health:

Overview

Schistosomiasis is infection with a type of Schistosoma parasite.

Symptoms

Symptoms vary with the species of worm and the phase of infection.
Heavy infestation (many parasites) may cause fever, chills, lymph node enlargement, and liver and spleen enlargement.
Initial invasion of the skin may cause itching and a rash (swimmer's itch). In this condition, the schistosome is destroyed within the skin.
Intestinal symptoms include abdominal pain and diarrhea (which may be bloody).
Urinary symptoms may include frequent urination, painful urination (dysuria), and blood in the urine (hematuria).

Treatment

This infection is usually treated with the drug Praziquantel. If the infection is severe or involves the brain, corticosteroids may be given.

Causes

You get a schistosoma infection through contact with contaminated water. The parasite in its infective stages is called a cercaria. It swims freely in open bodies of water.
On contact with humans, the parasite burrows into the skin, matures into another larval stage (schistosomula), then migrates to the lungs and liver, where it matures into the adult form.
The adult worm then migrates to its preferred body part, depending on its species. These areas include the bladder, rectum, intestines, liver, portal venous system (the veins that carry blood from the intestines to liver), spleen, and lungs.
Schistosomiasis is not usually seen in the United States. It is common in many tropical and subtropical areas worldwide, where it affects more than 200 million people.

I've been thinking about my last months in Niger, trying to figure out what I might have done to expose myself to water-borne parasites that burrow into your skin.

Last January I went swimming in a muddy Niger lake. I went on vacation in Ghana in late September, but I don't recall going in any freshwater lakes. In November I went to Gerewol and walked around the perimeter of a muddy, freshwater lake, though I don't remember making contact with the lake water.

I'm gonna get re-tested and we'll see what happens.

Current projects

2009-12-29T22:26:00.007-06:00

I thought when I came back to America I'd be sitting around the house bored out of my gourd, but that's not the case. I was so busy cooking for the holidays, and now that Christmas is over I'm doing other things.

Cleaning the upstairs closets. My bedroom is upstairs, and the closets are filled with random stuff (mine, Joe's and my mom's) so it's my job to organize them, put things in storage, and clean the closets so I have a place to hang my clothes. This included wiping off over a hundred wire hangars that were covered in dust from a drywall project a few years ago.
Putting all my parents photos in new albums. The albums are falling apart and pictures keep falling out.
Scanning my parents' photos onto the computer.
Working on my baking skillz. Tonight I made lime-meringue pie. The meringue was a huge pain in the butt (fussy!) but it was worth it. The next two days I'm making black forest cake, at Tom's request - chocolate genoise layers filled with brandied cherries and whipped cream. Yummmm.
Oh, and then there's that Peace Corps application I kind of ditched during the holidays.

I'm thinking of starting culinary school this summer. There's a community college nearby and I'd be doing something I love.

Here's two pictures of the cat. He cracks us up.

Rudulph the red-nosed reindeer:

Snaggle-tooth! He's missing his top left fang so sometimes his lip catches on the bottom one. It's freaky.

Tonight's dinner:
Goulash - rotini with a paprika-thyme hamburger-tomato sauce.

Yesterday's dinner:
Split pea soup with yellow split peas (the green ones freak mom out) with cajun-spiced roasted sweet potatoes (they were awesome). Weird combo, but I needed something to go with the soup and the taters sounded good.

Holidays

2009-12-27T18:26:00.009-06:00

For Christmas we had a great celebration.

Djam came to visit wednesday through saturday. He's like a member of the family, as even Blackie loves him! We cooked African food (rice and beans) with Ghanaian sauce (fish and tomato sauce) and Niger sauce (fried onions with oil). We went to church for the Christmas Eve mass. My parents' church has two priests who actually work at four churches and rotate between them. This week was Father Peter, who is from Nigeria, so Djam and I brought him some leftover African food. We thought it would be a nice reminder of his homeland.

For Christmas I got cute earrings and leather gloves from my dad, a jewelry box to hold all my new African jewelry, a Persian ambassador hat from my mom, two wonderful books from Tom (The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Baranbaum and Baking By Flavor by Lisa Yockelson), slippers and a t-shirt from Djam, and a hat, gloves, scarf and slipper socks from Joe and Mary.

Persian Ambassador Hat

I baked stollen using this recipe and it turned out really well. My mom requested these Swedish almond butter cookies, so I made those too, as well as gingerbread people and rum balls. Combined with Mary's delicious candies and fudge, we really had no shortage of sweets around here.

I also tried the Cook's Illustrated recipe for low-fat chicken parmesan. It was amazing. I defrosted frozen chicken tenders and coated them with flour, then egg whites, then a mixture of toasted Panko crumbs and parmesan cheese. They were baked at a high heat to produce a crispy crust, and served with spaghetti with marinara sauce. It was pretty delicious and no frying involved.

For Christmas dinner my mom made roasted turkey, cranberry sauce, gravy, and reheated green bean casserole leftover from a funeral. NO potatoes, NO stuffing. But that was okay because Djam and I supplemented with a Ghanaian dish called Red-Red. It consists of fried plantains with spicy red beans. It was sooo yummy. Here's a decent-looking recipe in case you want to try it yourself.

Okay, new subject. Djam. When I left for the Peace Corps in 2008 Djam and I were somewhat together. Then, while I was in Niger, we broke up due to communication issues. I went to Ghana for vacation late September of this year, and since he's from Ghana I went to his village and hung out with some of his people (although he did not go, he was in the u.s.). This kind of brought us back in contact with each other and I started wondering if we could get back together. When I came back to the u.s. we called each other, and he came for Christmas. I was curious to see if we'd have a spark, or if I'd have feelings for him, or whatever. Djam came and.. nothing. We didn't mesh well and I don't see us having a romantic future together. It's sad because Djam would make a great partner - he's considerate, generous, talented, polite, and shares my religious and political views. However, I don't want to make the same mistake I made with Zach and start something I'm not into 100%.

So yeah, that was my holidays. Lots of food and a little romantic excitement.

My Niger cat Moose trying out my Zeina stocking (Zeina was my Niger name). There's Buddy in the background trying to be in the picture. What a photo hog!

Tonight's Dinner:
Homemade pizza with pepperoni, ham, mushrooms, onion and banana pepper rings

Hello, lover

2009-12-22T11:30:00.004-06:00

I love this Michael Kors Uptown Astor bag.

Problem is so far I can't find it for less than $298.

Edit: I like this one more, and it's cheaper. Now hopefully I'll win the auction. :)

Shhh! Don't tell Tom

2009-12-21T13:16:00.002-06:00

Don't tell my brother Tom, but.. I give the cat treats.

Last night I gave him a little piece of ham. Today I gave him part of my egg yolk. Last week I gave him a piece of boiled bacon I was using for a recipe.

Tom pays very careful attention to Blackie's diet and is concerned about him developing kidney stones and getting fat and who knows what else. But I say, the cat is old (15 years). Let him live a little!

The outdoors

2009-12-21T11:49:00.005-06:00

I just got back from a walk down the road. I had time to think about how different walking is here in the U.S. from walking in Niger.

In Niger, I had to walk about 3 miles to get from my village to the main road. I usually made this walk in early morning, before the sun became really strong. It took me about an hour to make this trip.

The walk to the main road from the village.

Here, I walked to Pollack Bridge and back, about 3 miles. It took about an hour. I made my walk around noon, warmer than early morning or evening. It's about 23 degrees here. In Niger, it was 100 degrees on average.

It was so quiet outside. No animal sounds and I didn't see a single person. It's great for meditating or listening to your iPod. But in Niger I would always run into about ten people on my walk to the road and say hi to them. I'd also see wandering goats and sheep, and sometimes walk through a herd of cattle.

Grazing cattle. The clay structures are graneries.

By the time I got back from my walk today, my face felt frozen and my lungs burned. In Niger, I would be dripping sweat and chugging water after walking 3 miles.

Whereas in Niger I'd bathe to wash away the sweat, here I'm going to shower to warm myself up.

My weekend was a blur

2009-12-20T19:37:00.002-06:00

I can't believe it's already sunday. I was so busy last week:

Cooking. I make dinner six days a week. Highlights of last week's meals include the BEST homemade pizza EVER and Chipotle-style burritos. For the pizza I followed the Cook's Illustrated recipe. First you make no-cook pizza sauce (in a blender, puree canned drained tomatoes, fresh garlic, olive oil, black pepper, and a little salt and sugar). Then when the dough is rolled out you brush on olive oil, oregano, and a sprinkle of kosher salt. Then you spread on the sauce, then the toppings, but not the cheese, and bake on a pizza stone at 500F. After about 7 minutes you sprinkle on the cheese (it's kind of scary, you stick your hand in your extremely hot (500F) oven to do this), and three minutes later you have garlicky, cheesy, fresh-tasting pizza with a nice, crisp crust. Seriously, it was amazing. The secret to making the crust taste good was the olive oil/oregano/salt layer, and the secret to having a crisp crust is using the pizza stone.
Baking. I made cut-out sugar cookies and caramel-chocolate cookies. My brother's Boy Scout bake sale was saturday, so friday night I frosted the sugar cookies and made a batch of cranberry-white chocolate cookies to supplement.
Christmas cards and packages. I had a few projects to finish before I could send out my packages, so I was scrambling to do those. And for the first time I did Christmas cards.
"Helping out" at the Boy Scouts' cookie sale. From like 10am-4pm yesterday we stood in the freezing cold front entrance of the Glen's grocery store selling cookies. My dad was supervising the Boy Scouts and I was there to help, but I spent most of my time window shopping at the Hallmark nearby, visiting the Dollar Store, and going inside Glen's to peruse the magazine aisle.
Socializing. I visited my 90-year-old friends down the street (I met them while I was in college. They're friends with my dad and he recruited me to teach them how to use their new computer, and we've been friends ever since). We chatted for a few hours and they served me Vernor's and Tater Skins. It was fun.
Shopping for Christmas stuff. And I'll admit I was window shopping for when I start improving my wardrobe (see below).
Church. This old guy (my friend) gave me a kiss on the lips!

Tonight my dad cooked this really good ham and I couldn't stop eating it. Combined with my cookie habit this is bad news for my expanding hips and thighs.

This week I'm making gingerbread people cookies, key lime pie, and something with won tons (maybe won ton soup or potstickers). Djam is coming wednesday to celebrate Christmas with us, so that will be fun. Then I'm going back to Madison with him for New Year's.

My wardrobe's pretty sad. I'm doing okay for jeans, but I have NO tops and nothing fashionable. I ordered some catalogs off the internet, ordered a 2-year subscription to Marie Claire for $10, and found I may someday order something from the French Connection. I also want a nice leather purse. Someday.

Today's Dinner:
Dad's roasted ham with mashed potato patties and canned beets

Wonderful world, beautiful people

2009-12-17T11:49:00.020-06:00

Procrastinating

2009-12-16T12:08:00.003-06:00

I'm applying for this Peace Corps job and it requires writing a few short essays. Can you believe it? I finished one but still have four to go. It's so grueling.

Yesterday and today my spirits are lifted. I think I need to get out and get some exercise but it's really hard motivating myself to go out in the snow when I'm used to a nice, warm climate. Today I will once again look for my snow pants. That will be the first step.

Last night I made macaroons and they turned out kind of bad. I couldn't get them unstuck from the parchment paper in once piece and finally just demolished them, then wadded the coconut pieces up into little balls.

A picture of cute Arab kids in eastern Niger:

Last night's dinner: Bleu cheese- and garlic-stuffed hamburgers (my dad's been hinting about it for days) with homemade hashbrowns.
Tonight's dinner: Spaghetti with tomato sauce and garlic bread.

Readjusting to life in the U.S.

2009-12-14T19:09:00.002-06:00

It's really kind of weird being back here and becoming an American again. It's hard to put my finger on what makes it so different, but a few things are difficult for me.

It's hard using the computer for extended periods of time. It's hard writing in this blog. I don't want to check my email. And it's extremely hard to leave the house- I am practically a hermit. Though it's hard to say if that problem stems from culture shock or fear of the climate.

I'm feeling discouraged about finding a career. I read job descriptions and feel I don't have the skills and experience they want. Being in Africa for two years makes me feel like I have a very limited skill set - Hausa language, schmoozing with people, adjusting to a new culture, showing people how to plant trees. What can that get me in the United States? And I really don't want to return to my former career in the wood science industry. I'd rather work somewhere where you say, "you want fries with that?" I'm also weary of working in an office; maybe I'm traumatized because the last-and only-office job I had did not work for me.

I wanted to go into the cake-baking business but when I look at job descriptions for that I feel I don't have the experience they're looking for - making chiffons and using fondant and ganache. Yeah, I can bake and decorate cakes, but I'm no pro. I need more experience.

But there's a light at the end of the tunnel. I have Peace Corps health insurance for 13 months. My parents are making my student loan payment until I can get back on my feet. And I don't have to pay rent or buy groceries, so I'm at low overhead. And I can live anywhere. So here's what I'm going to do:

Bake one complicated (egg-leavened rather than using baking soda or powder) cake per week and decorate with icing.
Continue to surf the internet and get career ideas.
Turn in my resume to Peace Corps so I can maybe get a recruiter job.
Look into working with Hausa immigrants in the U.S.

I'm just not feeling very confident right now. I think I'm in a bit of a funk. It doesn't help that I got my Peace Corps readjustment allowance and it was about what I made in 1 month at my old job. I lost half the money to taxes and health insurance costs. Yuck!

Oh well. Tomorrow's a different day.

What I've been up to (in the states)

2009-12-11T12:01:00.003-06:00

I've actually been keeping really busy.

I get up around 10-11 am and go to bed at midnight. Lots of sleeping!
I make dinner for my family about 5 nights/week. On that note, I was shocked at how much meat people here eat, so I'm trying to lower my family's meat consumption.
Working on my resume. Ugh.
Being really poor - Peace Corps should be sending my readjustment allowance soon (I hope).
Straightening out my student loans. My parents weren't able to defer them this year so I had to make some calls.
Buying and wrapping Christmas gifts.
Hanging out with my brother Tom. At 6'4" he's a gentle giant who is learning to play guitar, has a green belt in karate, is involved in Boy Scouts, moves all the snow in the driveway, and fills the wood stove. And ladies, he's single!

Here's what I've been cooking (Tom keeps me company and practices his guitar for me):

Oven-roasted pork spare ribs with garlic mashed potatoes
Meatloaf with baked potatoes
Bean enchiladas (my dad's like, "these burritos are good!")
Vegetable stir-fry with chicken and curry sauce. I made noodles to go with it because I'm kind of sick of rice.
Tonight, bean soup with sausage and potato.

And here's what I've been baking:

My first attempt at a Swiss roll - a rolled-up chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting (it kind of cracked so will have to try again soon)
Really strong rum cake
Refrigerator cookies (kind of like sugar cookies)
Chocolate chip-oatmeal cookies

This weekend I'm making boeuf bourguignon for my parents' book club Christmas party. And when I run out of things to do, I have a million sewing projects I can do.

Now I need to stop procrastinating and get to work on that resume!

Adventures with Buddy the Camel - Part 2

2009-12-08T22:11:00.007-06:00

Part 2 - The Market

We left off with my friends Issoufou and Idi Buzu joining me on my camel shopping trip. I brought them because a) they are my friends, and b) to ensure I got a fair price on the camel.

We went to the Badaguichiri market, about 50 miles from my village. Market day, thursday, was hot. The market was crowded. Everywhere we went people called out to us, "butourre," or "anasara." (both mean "white person.") Badaguichiri is known for its big animal market, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see why - there had to be about a thousand animals there - goats, sheep, cattle, and of course, camels. You know how they say camels spit? I think they get all foamy-mouthed first, like this guy, and it drips on the ground:

(I stole this photo from my friend Nick)

And, from my experiences with Buddy, they get foamy-mouthed to show off their masculinity, like when there are female camels in the area.

Nick and I walked around looking at camels and goats and marveling at their behavior. I personally like petting baby animals because they have the softest fur.

Anyhow, when Issoufou and Idi Buzu found Buddy, he was on the ground in the crouching position. They asked the seller his beginning price, and since it was reasonable, they found me and brought me over. I petted Buddy and saw how calm he was. And his fur was nice and soft. I walked away but tried to remain in the area so that they could do the negotiations without it seeming like I was doing the buying - when the seller made an offer, Issoufou would walk over to where I was and ask my opinion, and I would respond with a counter offer. We finally settled on a price of about $550. By this time my friend Nichole, another PCV, joined the camel-buying party. I paid the $1 market tax and we led the camel out of the market area to do some talking and arrange transportation.

Well, all this time Idi Buzu was talking to one of his Tuareg buddies from his herding days. This guy was buying a bunch of camels and walking them back to his family's settlement, about 6km from our village. I paid him a few dollars to take Buddy with him, and in two days Idi Buzu and I would meet him and take Buddy home. I couldn't believe this guy was walking 50 miles in two days! Apparently that's normal for herders.

Two days later we went to the village near Idi's friend's house, where I saw Buddy. I was looking forward to riding him, but Idi and I rode a different camel home and merely led Buddy by a rope. It was cool all the same (but uncomfortable! I was riding behind the hump with no saddle, grabbing onto the hump fur for balance. My butt hurt and I thought I would fall off). Next I had to learn how to handle such a huge animal. Every day I would be tying him to his post and hobbling him without getting kicked, taking him to the well for water, and in the meantime trying to figure out how to ride him.

Buddy's first day at his new house.

Idi Buzu taking Buddy out for a test ride.

Adventures with Buddy the Camel - Part 1

2009-12-04T17:12:00.011-06:00

I decided I wanted a camel when I first came to Niger in January, 2008. I heard about other volunteers having camels and thought it would be cool to ride one. I remember a group of us traveling to a village to see a work project and being offered camel rides by one villager. When my turn finally came, the sun was going down, and I fulfilled the prototypical African desert experience by riding the camel into the sunset. Granted, the ride only lasted about 5 minutes and the owner was walking along leading it, but I loved it and started considering buying my own camel.

I always liked seeing the camels in Niger. They are used as work animals, hauling bundles and bales of various materials from field to village, village to city. I like seeing their long necks and knobby legs. And of course, there is some romanticism in seeing nomads in the desert, riding on camels, and the possibility that I, too, could do that.

Nomads riding a camel at a festival up north

Grazing on some thorny acacia trees

A herd of camels in the bush

A mama camel with her baby

I was emailing a former colleague from Madison, WI telling her I was saving my money to buy a camel. To my surprise, she wrote me back saying a group of my colleagues heard the news and wanted to help me. They called it "The Camel Club" and began pooling their money together. I told my mother about it and she spread the word to friends and relatives. The money was sent by wire totaling about $650, plenty of funds to get a camel and food.

Ready to go camel shopping, I excitedly told my villagers my plans. They suggested waiting three months until December, when the camels come back from Northern Niger (camel herders take animals north after the rainy season so they can graze on salt-infused grass. The salt helps rid their intestines of parasites and replenishes their electrolytes). I was eager to get the camel but kept myself busy stocking up on food - about $150 worth of dried bean leaves. To haul the bean leaf bales I had to hire people with donkey carts and camels to bring it in from the fields. To keep the food safe from stray grazing animals, the bales were stacked on the roof of my little mud house and two millet-stalk raised shade structures. I actually had to get the second shade structure specially built to accommodate all the food, and my friend Issoufou and I sprinkled some sort of insecticide on all the surfaces to prevent termites from attacking the precious fodder.

My house, stacked with animal fodder

Next I had to think about how I was going to select a camel and buy it for a good price. Being a foreigner was not in my favor when it came to buying things. People assume that since you're from America/France/Germany, you are loaded with money and can afford to pay the ridiculous prices they quote. But Peace Corps volunteers don't get a lot of money, and since I speak the local language and barter for my goods, I consider myself more of a native than some French tourist. As integrated as I may feel, the seller would still see me as a rich white person, and I didn't want to mess around with talking the seller down from the "white person price" to the "real price." Plus, I've never owned a large animal in my life and have no experience working with large animals, so I needed help selecting a good, healthy camel. On top of that, I was advised by a fellow volunteer that if I get someone to help me buy the camel, to make sure it's someone I trust and who isn't talking with the seller on the sly, prearranging a sale in order to get a cut of the money.

I asked my close friends in the village who could help me buy the camel. My best friend, Issoufou, whom I would trust with my life, doesn't know much about camels, but he wanted to come for the adventure. For camel expertise, I was advised to talk to a guy named Idi Buzu ("Buzu" in Hausa means "Tuareg person." Tuaregs are traditionally nomadic camel herders in the Sahara.) Apparently Idi Buzu, who is about 24 years old now, lived with Tuaregs for 13 years while he was a kid. He learned to speak their language and herded camels for months at a time. Recently, however, he gave up the nomadic lifestyle to get married and settle down in the village. I consulted with a few people (including my other best friend, my neighbor Rabi) to see if he seemed to be an honest guy, and they said he did. Plus, if a villager were to double cross me, word would get around and he would be subjected to public humiliation. Seriously, a white person comes to Niger to live in a village, help people learn skills and earn money, and someone has the gall to cheat them? That's just bad karma (or, as my villagers would say, that person is just not afraid of Allah!)

My right-hand man, Issoufou

Idi Buzu

So it was determined that Idi Buzu and Issoufou would come camel shopping with me. I offered to pay all transportation and food costs, as well as give them per diem for whatever expenses they incurred on the way. We would travel to Badagishiri, a large village about 70km away, on wednesday, where we would stay the night with my friend Nick, a fellow volunteer, then check out the market thursday morning. Assuming we found a camel worth buying, we would load it into a bush taxi (large pickup truck) and ride with it to Konni, the town 18km from my village.

Idi Buzu and Issoufou

Stay tuned for the next installment to hear about how we found Buddy, how much he cost, and the unexpected way we got him back to my village.

I'm Back

2009-12-02T17:31:00.002-06:00

Back from Niger after being kicked out due to potential terrorist activity. I came back monday night and already having new experiences.

Trying to adjust to life in the U.S. Actually, it's not as hard as I thought it would be, but it sometimes feels surreal. I can definitely see the differences in how Americans treat strangers, customers, and friends.

Yesterday we went to the convocation of the new bishop in Gaylord. It was amazing. There was an archbishop from Rome who came on behalf of the Pope, and 2 Cardinals showed up, as well as about 20 bishops and 50 priests. Lots of tradition and a great celebration. And how often do you get to see a priest go through the process of becoming a bishop?

On the plane I watched Julie and Julia. I was inspired to make beef bourgoignon and it turned out really well.

Tom and Blackie the cat have been keeping me company. It's weird how everything is the same.

When I get all my pictures loaded onto the computer I will post some and include some great information about my (almost) 2 years in Niger. It was amazing. It's hard to think about it really because my mind is overwhelmed with readjusting to life in America.

letter from Crystal 09/20/08

2008-09-23T13:12:00.003-05:00

Wow, thanks for your email! I'm so happy to hear that you and the Youth Group are interested in helping me with my camel project and learning about the work that I'm doing here in Niger.

I don't know what to say, there's just so much. So I guess I'll just start at the beginning. I've talked about joining the Peace Corps since I first learned about it in college. Before that I had always wanted to go to Africa but didn't know how to go about it. The application process was lengthy - I started applying in November of 2006 and finally received my assignment in September of 2007, then left for Niger in January of this year. I had to write essays, obtain letters of reference, hand in transcripts, and undergo two interviews, not to mention filling out the huge application online. Once I was accepted, I had to get medical and dental clearance and get boosters on my vaccines (yellow fever, measels, polio, diphtheria-tetanus). The medical people in Washington D.C. are very picky about the medical forms and sometimes I had to make multiple trips to the doctor's office to make sure everything was filled out correctly and all the signatures were there. After that I waited - and waited - for about 4 months before I was finally told where I'd be going and what sort of work I'd be doing. So let's just say the application process was long and required dedication.
>
January is part of "cold season" in Niger, so when I stepped off the plane (directly onto the tarmac) I wasn't shocked by the heat (not yet, anyway). I remember going into the airport and waiting in line to go through customs, and I had to go to the bathroom so I found a toilet nearby. However, there wasn't any toilet paper, or any paper towels of any kind, only a water bottle next to the toilet. I was like, "uh, how do I do this?" and just kind of splashed water on myself. Little did I know that I would get used to using my hand and water instead of toilet paper. Anyhow, there are no paper products here so whenever you wash your hands you let them air dry (which doesn't take long in this arid environment) and you blow your nose using the "snot rocket" method and your shirt. Good times!

From the airport in Niamey (the capital), we drove to Hamdallaye (pronounced "hum-da-lie," the Islamic/Arabic equivalent of "Hallelujah") the village where the Peace Corps training site is located. I remember looking out the window as we drove down the road, seeing clusters of people standing and sitting outside mud huts, naked children waving, and lots of trash - black and white plastic bags in huge piles, tangled in the trees and bushes, blowing across the road (now I know that that road goes through a "landfill" and most of the roads don't look that way - thank god!).
>
Training lasted about 10 weeks. We lived with a host family in the village and visited the training site monday-saturday, 8-5. The training was really intense. Our days were peppered with: Learning Hausa (or Zarma) Medical sessions where we were given vaccinations (rabies (x3), meningitis, hepatitis A and B (x3), typhoid) and learned about all the sorts of diseases and infections we can get here (malaria, schistomiasis, AIDS, amoebas/bacterial dysentary, skin infections, bites/stings, mental health and peer support, etc.)Nigerien and Islamic culture, Technical training (where I learned about working with trees and the natural environment to improve the quality of life for people)
> The training site overall was like a mini-America, compared to what came after it. We had three meals a day with meat, salad and fruit. There was running water, toilets, showers, electricity, and TV. The buildings were made with wood materials instead of the usual mud brick. People spoke english.

> We learned about what a Peace Corps Volunteer's job is. The Peace Corps has
> three basic goals:
> 1. To learn about other cultures
> 2. To teach people about our culture
> 3. To help people in some way or another through work
>
> My work as a Natural Resources Management volunteer is to show people how to
> use trees and other natural resources to improve their way of life. For
> example, we use agroforestry. If you have a field of millet, you can plant a
> nitrogen-fixing tree in your field and nitrogen (fertilizer) will permeate
> the soil and over time will improve the quality of the soil. Any tree of the
> Acacia species would be considered nitrogen-fixing. The trees are also good
> because grazing animals and birds will eat their leaves/seeds, and the
> animal's poop/pee further helps fertilize the soil. Niger is windy, and the
> wind can blow away the layer of top-soil in the fields, which is where the
> most nutrient-rich soil is. So a way to stop that from happening is to slow
> the wind down by planting a line of trees on the edge of the field to act as
> a windbreak. When people don't want animals grazing on their crops they can
> use thorny branches to make a fence to keep them out, or they can plant
> thorny trees along the edge of their fields. I help people by providing them
> with seeds and plastic pots to make a nursery, then they can plant the trees
> in their field. There's also a tree called Moringa that's a great source of
> nutrition - it only takes a few months to grow to its most beneficial size
> (breast height), and when you cut off the leaves and eat them, they taste
> like spinach. They are full of vitamin A and I think have protein, too. I
> try to educate people about these trees and with the women's group have
> planted about 160 for them to harvest and sell. The baobab tree is another
> tree whose leaves are really tasty and nutritious - people pound the dried
> leaves and use them to make a sauce, and it's my favorite sauce, it's so
> yummy. The government just built a school in my village, the first one ever
> (yay!), so I plan to work with the kids there to start a nursery and then
> sell the trees before planting season next year. This is a good way to
> educate the kids about planting trees and also teach them skills that could
> come in handy for making money when they are grown up. I was also trained in
> anti-erosion techniques and fixing erosion problems, but in my village that
> doesn't seem to be a problem. Also, I was trained to learn how to tap gum
> arabic, a very important tree. It's like maple trees where you tap the tree
> to get syrup, but with the gum arabic it produces a thick, gummy substance
> (hence its name). If people grow it and harvest the gum, it can be sold to
> an exporter, where it will then go on to the western world. Gum arabic is an
> important ingredient in Coca Cola, cosmetics, and candy, and the market for
> it is huge. If my villagers were able to sell it, they could make some good
> money. However, in order to get gum arabic you need a low water table, and
> my village area has a high water table, so we wouldn't be able to sell it.
> However, the tree is an Acacia with really nasty thorns so it would be good
> to plant anyway around their fields!
>
> Once training was over and I swore in as an official volunteer (March), I
> moved to my village east of Niamey near the town of Konni, right on the
> border of Nigeria. My village is called Korop, and it's a small,
> conservative bush village of about 400 people of the Hausa tribe and Fulani
> tribe. Hausa people are known for their trading, and even in my tiny village
> there are people selling wares such as carved tool handles, rope made with
> palm fronds, ladles and bowls made with dried out squash, beds made from
> millet stalks, and small foodstuffs like sugar, tea, salt, and sauce
> ingredients. Sometimes there are young girls selling cooked greens, fish and
> millet pate (or tuwo in Hausa) with sauce, depending on what's in season.
> The Fulani people as a whole are nomadic but in my village they stay pretty
> much year-round. They are known for their cattle, and herd cows during the
> day and trade milk with the Hausa people for millet to cook for themselves.
> There's a few butchers in my village, too, and about three times a week I
> see them selling delicious roasted meat - either cow, goat, or sheep.
>
> Beautification scarring and tattooing is abundant here. Women have scars
> that go out from the sides of their mouth in a triangular shape, or
> sometimes along the ridges of their cheekbones. It's often in intricate
> designs and is really very cool. Men often have a series of 5-6 lines going
from the corners of their mouth to their ears. Some people just have a
> couple of lines just beyond the corner of their eye. In the old days, people
> used scarring to distinguish what tribe they were in, but now it's just used
> for beautification purposes. The Fulani women in my village make the most
> beautiful, intricate beaded necklaces, chokers and earrings. Even the boys
> wear earrings, which is very uncommon here. Because of their Islam religion,
> women and teenage girls keep their heads covered with a brightly colored
> cloth. They make long wrap skirts with a big piece of fabric, and wear baggy
> tops that cover their shoulders and upper arms. I have been seeing women
> wearing long skirts for so long that if I read a magazine and see women in
> short skirts it's more noticeable than it was before. Of course the Peace
> Corps encourages volunteers to be culturally appropriate, so I wear long
> skirts and baggy t-shirts or tops. I usually wear a hat, though it's more
> because of the sun than to be culturally appropriate. Because I'm white and
> non-Muslim, it doesn't matter if I keep my head covered. The men wear normal
> clothes, though they're a little different from what we're used to in
> America. Many clothes here are from Goodwill or Japan/China, so you might
> see someone in a Green Bay Packers sweatshirt and really funky stonewashed
> bell-bottom jeans. I also see a lot of what looks like dress pants, and
> they're usually plaid. On friday, the big prayer day, if the men have a
> boubou they wear it. Basically it's a Muslim-style knee-length tunic worn
> over pants of the same material. There are also embroidered pillbox hats
> that are considered highly appropriate for prayer. The kids wear
> hand-me-downs. Sometimes just a pair of underwear, sometimes just a t-shirt.
> Once a kid is about 7 they start wearing pants/shorts/skirt. Often the
> clothes are rags, all torn up and faded. When my shirts get too worn out to
> wear I will give them to a kid, who I'm sure will get plenty of mileage out
> of them. Everyone wears cheap-o flip flops from China (the equivalent of
> 50-75 cents in US). My nice Chaco flipflops are often admired ("wow, these
> are strong! How much are they in America? That's a lot of money!")
> The people here are known for their sense of humor. I have so much fun
> chatting with my villagers - we talk and laugh and joke around. For example,
> my next door neighbor and I were wondering where my cat was, so she
> pretended she had a cell phone and held her hand up to her ear and pretended
> to call him. She was like, "Kitty Kitty, where are you? Crystal wants you to
> come home. Oh, you're in the bush with your girlfriend? Well, come home
> soon. Okay, see you later." If I go to the neighboring village (1 km away)
> and there are kids who've never seen a white person they often start crying
> and run and hide behind somebody. But people think it's funny to carry the
> kid over to where I'm standing just to make him cry more. I try not to take
> it personally that they're so scared of me. Despite being ridiculously poor
> and barely keeping themselves fed and clothed, the people of my village (and
> most likely the people of the whole country) are amazingly cool with how
> little they have. If I go to someone's house and they're eating food, they
> will offer me the largest portion and insist I eat it, even if the rest of
> them don't get as much. They can fix just about anything that we in America
> would throw away. At the beginning of rainy season, while this year's crops
> were still growing and everyone's granery was just about empty, all they ate
> (well, drank, rather) was fura, a millet drink of steamed millet dough
> stirred with sour milk and spices. That's it. They drank it because it uses
> very little millet and they can trade with the Fulanis for milk. Since they
> were also working in the fields, just about everyone lost weight. Now that
> the crops are grown, they are eating tome (millet roasted on the cob), tuwo
> (delicious millet pate) and lallame (a sweet, hot millet drink) and
> everyone's happy and hopefully regaining some weight.
>
> There are some definite differences between men and women here, culturally.
> I don't know if it's because of Islam or Nigerien culture or a combination
> thereof. The jobs of men and women are clearly divided - the women tend to
> the house, pound grains, cook food, raise children, and carry water from the
> well. The men are responsible for providing the family with food, retrieving
> the food from the granery, structural upkeep of the house and other
> structures, and providing their family with money. There is really no work
> here in Niger, so the majority of men in my village go to Nigeria or Ghana
> during the off-seasons to find work. I think they go for adventure as well
> as to find money. These men would probably never get a chance to live in a
> city, yet they get to spend a few months in Lagos or another large city in
> Nigeria and make their money selling firewood, meat, or doing street
> manicures/pedicures. They eat rich food (which to them is rice and pasta)
> and get to see something new for awhile, then bring back money for their
> family (including their parents), providing a cushion in case a child gets
> sick or they run out of food. On a personal level the differences can be
> more offensive to us Americans. As a woman some men refuse to shake my hand
> due to Muslim customs. When I did a demonstration the other day about making
> a compost pile, I was informed the men and women would have to come
> separately because they can not go to this sort of thing and stand together.
> The women in my village seem pretty shy about approaching groups of men, and
> I noticed men eat and socialize with other men and women eat and socialize
> with other women (however because I'm different I'm considered kind of
> androgynous and get to socialize and eat with everyone). I wanted to bring
> some women to the nearby town, Konni, for some work with a microfinance
> center (basically a bank for poor people), but the men in my village were
> not comfortable with their wives going there. I think maybe they want to
> keep them isolated so that they can't see how things are better in other
> areas, and maybe they're afraid their wives will run off with another man.
> Male volunteers can't visit the homes of men unless the man himself is home,
> so it is often hard for them to find a way to socialize with the women.
>
> I thought since you're a youth group you may want to learn a little about
> other religions. So I will tell you what I know about Islam, and what it
> means to my villagers.

> Muslims pray five times a day; at sunrise (about 6:30), noon (2:00),
> afternoon (4:00), dusk (around 7:00), and night (8:15). At each of these
> times the Iman will do the prayer call, which is sung in Arabic. In my
> village, since there's no electricity or generator, he just belts it out as
> loudly as possible. It pretty much translates to:
>
> God is most great. God is most great.
> God is most great. God is most great.
> I testify that there is no god except God.
> I testify that there is no god except God.
> I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God.
> I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God.
> Come to prayer! Come to prayer!
> Come to success (in this life and hereafter)! Come to success!
> God is most great. God is most great.
> There is no god except God.
>
> We learned about the 5 pillars of Islam during training. They are basically
> what every good Muslim should do:
> 1. Believe that there is only one god (I believe this was more imporant back
> in the day when people had animist/pagan beliefs and believed there were
> multiple gods)
> 2. Prayer
> 3. Giving to the poor
> 4. Fasting during Ramadan (actually occurring right now)
> 5. The pilgrimage to Mecca (Saudi Arabic), only if they are
> financially/physically able to

> Why these things are important:
> It is said that Mohammad is a prophet. Back in the day (the 4th century)
> Mohammad was approached by the angel Gabriel, who brought him the message of
> god. These conversations occurred for a period of time, and they were
> written down and now make up the Koran (the Islamic bible, basically). He
> spread the word about Islam but eventually he and his followers were told by
> God to migrate to evade persecution. For this reason he went from his home
> in Mecca (the holy city) to the city of Medina. Ramadan is a celebration of
> the first month during Gabriel visited Mohammad and takes place the 9th
> month of the year by the lunar calendar. During Ramadan, while the sun is
> up, Muslims are to abstain from:
> 1. Food
> 2. Water
> 3. Intimate relations
> It's hard. I don't even do it, though I can see that the hot Niger sun and
> hard work in the fields makes it difficult for people to do. Of course, the
> elderly, ill, pregnant/nursing women, etc. aren't required to do it and
> those who can make it up later in the year are encouraged to do so. It is
> meant as a means for self purification and for people to gain spiritual
> insight. Also, they are more able to sympathize with those who are hungry
> and will have greater appreciation for what they have. I may try it for a
> week next year, when I hopefully am more used to the climate here.
>
> A few other things: People always pray facing the direction of Mecca (east),
> and the praying involves a lot of standing, kneeling, and sitting (sounds
> familiar, right? ha ha!). The few people who know how to read and write
> write out text from the Koran in Arabic on wooden boards, since paper is
> expensive and rare. They also have a way of making ink using wood ash and
> sap from gum arabic. Conversations are very much speckled with references to
> God and Arabic words have pretty much found their way into the Hausa
> langauge. For example, if someone says they want something to happen ("I'm
> going to the market monday to sell my goat"), you answer with "Allah make it
> happen," as a way of saying you hope it happens and goes well. Whenever you
> enter the yard of someone's house, a store, or a crowd of people, you
> announce your arrival with "assalamu alaikum," which means "peace be with > you" in Arabic, and they will answer with "alaikum salam" which means
> something like "and peace to you." If you tell them something amazing, the
> answer could be "Allah sarki!" which means "God is chief!" If you're eating
> food and you're full, you say "Alhamdallalahi," which like "praise be to
> God" in Arabic (it's perfectly acceptable to belch at this point).
>
> I never mentioned the climate. It's hot. The sun is really, really strong,
> but the good thing is because it's so dry here if you go in the shade
> there's like a 20 degree temperature difference. Also the good thing about
> the heat and sun is that things dry really quickly - if I spill water on the
> floor in my house, it will disappear in 5 minutes. If it's a sunny day, my
> laundry will dry outside in an hour or less. If I wash things like flour,
> rice, beans, etc. and need to dry them out before storing, I can lay them
> out in the sun. Also it's a good way to dry fruits and vegetables, and they
> make a delicious sun-dried jerky here called kilishi. There are basically
> four seasons here:
> Hot season (120 degree days), April-July
> Rainy season, July to September
> Mini hot season, September to November
> Cold season (gets down to 50 at night!), November to March (really strong
> winds and very dusty)
> The hottest month is May, the rainiest (and most mosquito and therefore
> malaria-infested) month is August, and I've yet to see what the coldest
> month will be. Some areas of the country are hotter than others, and
> fortunately my village is nice and cool (in comparison). For example, during
> hot season some people don't even sleep on a mattress because it's so hot at
> night, but I was able to use mine and still survive. We also have to drink a
> LOT of water and for this reason Ramadan would be very difficult for me.

> My daily life: I get up around 8:00 from my millet stalk bed covered with a
> mosquito net. I go to the bathroom in my latrine (where you squat over a
> hole), then wash my face and hands. I take down my bed (it's outside and the
> sun will eventually ruin my stuff if I leave it out), drink water, and eat
> breakfast, which is either oatmeal with sugar and powdered milk or bread
> with peanut butter, if I happen to have bread. I leave my house and see my
> neighbors, my best friend Rabi, who is an amazing woman (will describe why
> in a bit) and my neighbors Ige and Isa, the old couple who take care of
> their deceased son's two daughters and whose other son, his wife, and their
> three kids live in their compound (very normal to live with your parents
> here). Around 10 someone comes over, usually young men, and they play cards
> or we listen to American music on my mp3 player with speakers, and when it's
> not Ramadan we sometimes drink tea. We chat, I ask them questions about
> Hausa or work or just Niger in general, sometimes they help me fix things in
> my house (for example, if my mud roof leaks they will climb up on it and fix
> it by hammering the mud back into place). Lately since it's rainy season
> I've been pulling weeds in the area of my larger compound. You have to pull
> weeds because they are home to mosquitos, and you don't want mosquitos
> infiltrating your house. Wow, that's back-breaking work that really makes
> you appreciate lawn mowers. I do laundry, wash dishes, put things away,
> sweep (using pieces of long grass tied together as a broom), etc. At noon I
> go inside my house and rest until 2, then I make my other meal of the day (a
> huge portion of rice with oil and salt, macaroni with oil and spices, or
> spaghetti with tomato sauce if I'm feeling motivated). I pay my neighbor to
> bring me water (the well is pretty far away and I'm too much of a wimp to
> make repeated trips that far carrying a heavy bucket on my head), so she
> usually brings it over in the afternoon. I then fill up my water filter and
> fill my bathing bucket so the water can warm in the sun. If I don't have
> work to do I'll sit in my house and read or just chill, since the afternoons
> are hot. In the evening before the 7:00 prayer I try to go out and see
> people, but sometimes I get distracted and don't make it. Then after the
> 7:00 prayer I hang out with the men outside the mosque (which is this area
> where the village store is and where people sell food) until the 8:15
> prayer. Then I bathe (using a bucket and a cup to dump water over myself),
> set up my bed and mosquito net, close my windows and put things inside if it
> looks like it might rain, and go to bed.
>
> Speaking of going to bed, it's getting late and I realize this email is
> HUGE, so I'm going to wrap things up. It's very sweet that you guys want to
> help us. It's difficult to say what would help my villagers the most,
> because their main concerns are staying fed, having a little money for
> emergencies, and keeping themselves clothed and healthy. One thing that I
> think would help is condoms. The birth rate in Niger is something like 8
> kids per woman, and the population is growing fast (food shortages now and
> in the future are a huge concern). Also, with the huge number of men working
> in Nigeria, a country with the second-largest population of AIDS in the
> world (I think), if those men are less than faithful to their wives, which I
> hear they are, and aren't safe about it, they could easily contract
> something. Another need would be medicine, and though they sell tylenol in
> my village, not everyone can afford it. And maybe antacids, since people are
> always complaining about having indigestion. Just a few suggestions, though
> I know they would be grateful for any sort of help. Photos of America, such
as people, animals, houses, towns, etc. are also very exciting (I try to
explain that the sheep in America are raised for their fur rather than for their meat, and they get a huge kick out of that).
>
I am looking forward to hearing from the students in your youth group! Any sort of questions they have or certain things they want to hear about, I'd be happy to help with. Take care, and tell Father Nalley hi for me!
>
> Crystal
> (aka Zeina, my Nigerien name)

New info on Camel Club

2008-09-08T00:21:00.001-05:00

Meeeooowww!

Hi mom and dad!

Check out the message below from JoAnn at FPL. I was so happy to see that this message was in the bulletin, I almost cried. Looks like progress is underway! From asking three different people I'm getting the impression that a female camel old enough to make babies would be about 225,000 CFA ($750). I know that's a lot of money. I'm sure I can save $250, the FPLers raised $260 as of the last bulletin announcement, so maybe you, my friends in Madison who don't work at FPL, and fellow G-towners and members of the fam could come up with the rest. If not, don't worry; it will just take a little extra time for me to save the money myself. My former colleague JT came up with the name Amber, for Madison's Capitol Brewery's famous "Amber" beer.

Speaking of names, my villagers were really excited to hear that you guys are (hopefully) coming in March. Some name ideas for you:
Aicha, Adamma, Zara, Hadiza, Medina. I personally like Medina.

Back to the camel - if you could get ahold of people in our family, let them know that if they want to make a contribution to the "Camel Club," they can send a check to:

Forest Products Lab Credit Union
re: Camel Club
1 Gifford Pinchot Dr.
Madison, WI 53726
608-231-9200

Yesterday marked the first day of Ramadan. It's got to be tough - no eating or drinking from sunup to sundown for the entire month. People look tired and thirsty.

Okay, hungry so going to go eat something. Take care!

Love,
Crystal

09/04/2008

2008-09-08T00:16:00.000-05:00

Hi mom and dad!

I came to the hostel a few days ago because I was feeling nauseated for a few days. Any time I ate something, I felt like I would vomit afterwards. However, the doctor told me to take Phenegren and while it made me sleep all day yesterday I am back to normal again (yay!) and ate a ton of food to make up for being hungry for a few days. The problem was probably the fura I drank along with a small amount (one handful) of cooked greens in my village. Normally that stuff doesn't cause a problem, but amoebas run rampid during rainy season so that's probably what did it. No more fura and no more village food for me! (well, at least until rainy season's over)

Today I took a bush taxi up to Tahoua to go to the bank. Yes, we have to travel 120 km to go to the bank, it's crazy. But I look forward to going to a "bigger town" because there are certain groceries there we don't have in Konni (cheese, canned meat/fish, vanilla extract). The trip was pretty uneventful, though on the way back what should have been a 2-hour trip ended up taking 4 hours due to a flat tire, plenty of stops on the way to pick up passengers, plus the driver stopping and talking with people he knew.

Oh my god, I had the best breakfast today! I found dried blueberries in the hostel refrigerator and made some blueberry pancakes with bacon! It was amazing. Thanks again for the awesome bacon! Oh, and saw the soy sauce recipe below. Hmm.. will think about that one. Well, life in the bush can be pretty uneventful, so it may be a good experiment someday anyway.

Regarding the camel... Uncle Ron is the best! I will definitely write him a thank you note. Wow, with his contribution the search for camel money is just about over. They started a special account for the camel at the FPL Credit Union, so if you guys were to send the money there they could wire it all at once through Western Union. Make the check out to FPL Credit Union, with the memo regarding "Camel Club." I'm getting her at a market in a town near Tahoua, the heart of Tuareg land (they're the people who are known for their camels), so the question is once I buy her, how will I get her to Konni? I've seen camels in the back of bush taxis, so I suppose we could do that, and there's always the chance of riding her back, though that could take a few days. I will ask some Tuareg people for advice.

Other than that.. yeah, going to visit the microfinance bank tomorrow to ask some questions for my villagers. I hate going there because the guy always hits on me and asks me to marry him. Ugh. What would be a total faux pas in America is perfectly acceptable here in Niger, so the best I can do is say I don't want him and am tired of hearing him ask me. Also going to the vet office (okay, vet for cattle) to see about some worm medication for KittyKitty. I saw him poop the other day and there were squiggly little worms coming out of it; it was disgusting and I can't stop seeing an instant replay of it in my mind, so yeah, gotta get some meds for my little beastie. Saturday will head back to Korap to hang with the people.

Okay, take care! Tell Dad and Tom and Blackie hi for me!

Love,
Crystal

Crystal's Camel

2008-08-26T01:04:00.000-05:00

Ok, so it seems that Crystal is wanting to raise money to buy a camel for her village. She will use this camel to transport large/heavy items for her tree planting project, and if she is able to buy a female camel (they are more expensive) she will have it mate. Of course she will donate the camel to the village once she has finished her service with the PC.

My mom (Ruth) is collecting money for those that are interested in donating. She will send the money via Western Union. You can send a check or money to my mom:

Ruth Pilon
1175 AuSable Trail
Grayling, MI 49738

Thank you!

letter from Crystal 8/6/08

2008-08-08T15:08:00.000-05:00

Hi mom and dad! How's it going? I got your second and third packages, the ones with the Hausa book (awesome!!) and delightful baking items in it, a couple weeks ago but haven't had a chance to email you 'til now. I don't make it to Konni very often and even when I'm here there's usually other people using the computer and also the power sucks. There were protests in Niamey with Nigerlac, the power company, because of all the power outages we've been having. Now a nice company in China will be in charge of providing us with power so maybe it will be more reliable (?). A new package from you just came in today, along with one from Aunt Sue and Uncle Ron, but I haven't opened either of them because I am saving it for tomorrow. I like to prolong the excitement. I got a letter from Grandma and a package from Uncle Dave and Aunt Sue (lots of chocolate! yum!) and also one from my friend Liz in Madison, so I am feeling the love big-time. Also my former colleagues at the Lab want to collect money to help me buy my camel. It's something like $300 so if you know anyone willing to make a contribution I plan to send the Lab ppl a list of email addresses to contact. It's just too hard for me to email a lot of people from here. We can't do multiple-recipient emails because the computer gets all jacked up or something, so it's just easier to do it from America.

I want to start a chicken coop (bird flu? what bird flu?) so am asking Joe and Mary to research it for me. I want eggs. Also want to make cheese so am going to ask former colleagues from lab to visit dairy school at the UW there in madison and see if they can collect info for me, and even the correct enzymes to make something like cheddar. :) I've made a compost pile in my yard, planted some beans (black-eyed peas to you), planted the awesome flower seeds you sent me, though they haven't come up yet, and would like to plant some tomatoes. I love my village, but have to admit there are times where I don't feel like hanging out with people or speaking in Hausa, and on those days it is best to do my own little projects.

My health is great. No bacteria now for something like 2 months! Yeah, baby. And no colds to speak of. Just bug bites and heat rash. I take some kind of steriod at night because the bites are so itchy I can't sleep (Aerius, I think it's Allegra tho am not sure).

Found some nail polish at the Peace Corps hostel in Konni (that's where I am using this computer) and put it on some of the girls and young women in my village. My friend Lamirra is this spunky, 17-year-old married girl who makes the best fura and gives really decorative henna. One day I am going to bring some "American" clothes to the village (tight jeans and a tank top) and have her put it on (in her house, of course) and then she will probably dance around and we will laugh about it.

How was your trip to CA? How's little Angela and Christopher doing? How's Becky and Fonsi? Is Myra still there? I hope everyone is healthy and happy. I would love to see some pictures. I need to send them a letter to congratulate them on the arrival of their newest family member. :)

Below is a portion of an email I sent my colleagues. More stuff on village life.

Thanks again for the packages! You have been so awesome about it! Perhaps you could send an LED accompaniment to the mini mag-lite you sent me? The batteries only last 2 nights with the current bulb. :) Thanks so much!

Love always,
Crystal

The weather is nice now. Since it's rainy season it does get down to a nice, chilly 80 degrees! At night I use my sleeping bag, so it must be down to 70 at that time. The only problem with rainy season are all the darn bugs! There aren't many mosquitos, but when they come out you have to be careful not to get malaria. It breaks my heart to see kids so riddled with fever that they can't even talk, they just lay in their mother's arms and whimper. Fortunately people can usually scrape up enough money for medicine, so that's good, but it's still so sad.

Village life is good. Hausa is coming along and while progress seems slow I feel like I am more able to understand what people are saying and that makes me feel good, especially when they're talking about me and I can eavesdrop! The millet and sorghum plants are getting nice and tall so hopefully we'll have a good harvest next month. Oh, and next month marks the beginning of Ramadan, so my villagers will be fasting from both food and water for the entire cycle of the moon. I think I'll try it for one day as a "cultural experience" and see how it goes. The old people are already fasting, though I'm not really sure why. They still work in the fields, too. It's crazy.

People are hungry. Since their graineries are getting low, they only drink fura. Fura is a drink where first you add water to millet or sorghum flour to make a dough, then wad the dough up into a 8" ball. The dough is cooked in a pot with a couple inches of water to steam. Then it is pounded to separate it, then put in a big calabash bowl where sour milk and spices like cayenne pepper are added. Millet, sour milk and pepper... not my idea of a tasty lunch, but once you drink it a few times you get used to it and it's not so bad. So yeah, my villagers drink fura and go out into the bush and find leaves and cook them. Some of those cooked leaves taste bitter and nasty, but just add a little MSG and if you're hungry enough you'll eat it.

The men work hard in the fields, hoeing the soil around their plants for 8 hours a day, and it's back breaking work. I know this from experience because I did it for, like, 10 minutes. The women and children pick grass and other tasty greens for the animals at home. The animals can't go out in the fields because they'll eat the crops. Some kids go out and pick grass and sell it to people.

The women's group I work with is growing peanuts in the garden area. We also planted 160 moringa trees from seed (it's the amazing "you eat the leaves and they're full of nutrients" tree and it will grow to the perfect size in about 3 months), have our little pau plastique nursery going (80 dan tahoua trees, an Acacia, which is N-fixing and so is good in fields and you can also eat the seeds like millet, and 20 baobab trees), and hopefully the gum arabic we planted in their fields will come up. Also I am working with the Ministry of Environment to get some fish for our seasonal lake. It would most likely be a type of tilapia that would grow to full size in 2-3 months. The money for the fingerlings would come out of the women's group's caisse and then if they sell some fish they will make a profit. Fingerlings should be 5-10 CFA each and full-grown fish are sold for 100-150 CFA each. Also working on paperwork so that women's group can get an account at a microfinance bank so that in the future they can get a loan to buy their own piece of land. Right now they do their gardening on a piece of land "donated" by the chief of the village, and the last volunteer in the village applied for grants to get funding to build a fence around the land and dig a well in the center, and then the chief went ahead and planted mango seedlings everywhere. Way to take advantage of the fence and well. So the women won't be able to use the land for very long. The lesson learned is that whenever someone "donates" land make them sign a document and bring it to the mayor's attention (the mayor is in a larger village).

Now that I've been around for a while the kids aren't so scared of me. Whenever I go somewhere a group of kids will yell my name "Zena! Zena!" until I turn and greet them. And sometimes they come to my house. Any sort of empty box, bottle or bag makes a great toy for a kid, and I let some kids go through my trash and it was like Christmas for them. Empty pasta bags, soap boxes, a used razor (which I saw like 6 people using later on), anything with a label on it that had a picture, all of it was exciting to them. Sometimes kids come to my house and refuse to leave, and I've learned the best way to handle it is to pick up a stick or a millet stalk and wave it in a threatening way and they will scatter like flies. Works every time.

letter from Crystal 5/01/08

2008-05-01T22:24:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone! I am taking a few hours to catch up on my email-sending. I tried sending this a couple weeks ago but am not sure you received it. :)

Love,
Crystal

See canned letter below and update below-below:

Life in Niger is going well. I'm feeling pretty good about what I'm doing
here. I have been at my village for a month now and it's wonderful -
everything I hoped it would be. It's small, about 400 people live there, and
a lot of them are kids. I am so lucky the previous volunteer had a chance to
explain to everyone what it's like to come to their village not knowing
their language and living in a way very different from that in the States.
They are really understanding and patient with me, are always excited to see
me, and treat me with the utmost respect.

My typical day:
Get up at 7:00 to the sounds of a) women pounding millet or sorghum in their
big mortars and pestles, and b) sounds of animals (cows, donkeys, chickens,
guinea fowl who are really annoying). Yes, I sleep outside because my house
is just way too hot at the end of the day.

7:00-7:30: Wash face and hands, fold up bedding and put it inside
7:30-8:30: My neighbor comes with my water, which I pay her to bring from
the well. The well is kind of far away and there's no way my poor wimpy body
can handle carrying THAT much water on my head for such a long distance. I
pour it into my big clay pot and fill up my water filter (a 3-gallon bucket
sits atop a 5-gallon bucket with a spout on the bottom. The water is poured
into the little bucket and drips through the filter to the big bucket.) I
eat bread with peanut butter and raisins for breakfast, provided I have
bread. If I don't have bread, I cook oatmeal with raisins and peanut butter,
powdered milk, and sugar. If I put a lot of sugar in it it tastes like a
monster cookie! A little note about food - I eat rich people food. My
villagers mainly eat tuwo (pounded millet or sorghum, or corn if they have
the money) with sauce made from leaves and onions and seasonings. It's
pretty good and filling. They eat the leftovers for breakfast. During cold
season there's usually some garden vegetables like lettuce, cabbage, and
carrots that they can eat, too. They make this awesome salad - it's lettuce
or cabbage with kouli-kouli (if you have peanut butter and you extract out
all the oil, you are left with kouli-kouli- lowfat, delicious and a good
source of protein), cassava flour, a little tonka powder (ground hot
peppers), salt and ginger, tossed with oil. Mmmmmm... Okay, it's morning, I
just got up, and I'm a little hungry. Ha ha!

8:30-11:00: If I have chores, I do them now. Sweep my house and concession
(concession is the area surrounding my house. It's like a small, walled-in
yard, granted a yard without grass or anything. Most people do their daily
activities in their concession because it's hot and there's no wind inside
the house. The typical concession has a millet-stalk shade hangar, cooking
area, a walled off peeing/washing area, and an animal area where they tie up
their donkeys, goats, sheep, camel, whatever.) because if I don't sweep I
may get a (gasp) chariot spider - a fist-sized spider that scorpions ride
on, not kidding - or a snake or red ants.. scary! So yeah, I sweep under my
millet-stalk bed and around my latrine with a broom that is basically a
bunch of long grass tied together with a string. I wash my clothes if I need
to, refill my water bucket in my bathing area so it can get warmed by the
sun during the day, wash dishes, whatever.

Usually people swing by in the morning to say hi - my neighbor Rabi, my best
guy friends Issoufou and Issya, sometimes my friends want to play cards so
we play cards (this crazy Nigerien game that's kind of like euchre without
trumps; hard to explain) and listen to Nigerien and Nigerian music on my
shortwave radio (the best investment ever! Now I can listen to the BBC and
it is wonderful to have an inkling of what is going on in the world -
elections in zimbabwe, the olympics and tibet, the us housing market.. good
stuff).

11:00-2:00: This is "me" time. I take a nap in my house (by now the sun is
so hot that it's cooler inside), eat lunch (macaroni with vegetables or
tomato sauce or powdered milk sauce or a PB sandwich or rice with beans and
fried onions), read, write in my journal, whatever. Sometimes Issoufou's
wife has him bring me food, which is nice, or Rabi brings me some cooked
beans.

2:00-5:00: Sometimes I put off chores until now. Sometimes I walk around the
village greeting people and hanging out with them. My favorite are the old
guys who hang out in the middle of town, the "town square", if you will.
It's where the mosque is, the 2 "shops" (they're tiny and hardly have
anything), the chief's house is nearby; basically it's a 40ft x 40ft area
shaded by a couple of trees right in the middle of town. The old guys lounge
around on mats or just in the dirt and move around during the day to stay in
the shade. Whenever I walk by they shout greetings and sometimes if I'm not
going anywhere I sit with them and we talk and they help me with my Hausa,
which is sometimes hard because some of them don't have teeth. Or I go to
the well and talk to the women as they pull water, or I head over to the
Fulan encampment and work on my Fulfulde. The Fulans are another culture of
people here; in my village we have the Hausa people and the Fulans. The
Fulans speak both Fulfulde and Hausa and herd cattle. If you google Fulans
or Fulani or Hilanche maybe you will see photos of these beautiful people -
they wear beaded jewelry and have their hair in different braids than the
Hausa people. The men grow their hair long and fluff it out afro-style. The
kids' heads are shaved except for a little pouf in the front and one in the
back. And the men and boys wear these long purple tunics over pants and
these very traditional-looking, pointy straw hats. They often carry around a
big stick to use for herding cattle. The Hausa people and Fulani people both
have beautification scarring on their faces, which is also beautiful,
especially on the women.

5:00-7:00: Make dinner or eat stuff people bring me - tuwo, rice, whatever.
Hang out. I don't know. Stuff. Run around talking to people. More of the
same thing. My work here is basically learning Hausa and hanging out with my
villagers. Sounds easy, I know, but it's actually really challenging because
speaking Hausa can be exhausting, and when someone's trying to explain a
word to me and I'm not understanding.. it's tiring, really. The worst is
when I go to baby-naming ceremonies or weddings where there are women from
other villages. They don't understand that I've only been in the village for
a little while and that I'm still learning Hausa, and they speak to me
really fast and are impatient when I ask them to repeat themselves and then
they announce, "she doesn't know Hausa." Or, most recently, women from a
fellow volunteer Balkissa's village said, "Balkissa speaks Hausa but SHE
doesn't." Fortunately my neighbor Rabi always sticks up for me; she is
wonderful, but at first I took it personally and started feeling bad and
that these people are basically saying I suck and I don't try and then felt
crappy. But I came up with a better solution, and when I found myself in
this situation yesterday, I just told them, "hey, have patience. Hausa is
hard." And they seemed to accept that.

7:00 is prayer time, so I hear the Iman making the prayer call and I have to
go home. From 7-8 I get ready for bed, laying out my mattress and bedding,
and after the dusk prayer (usually 8:00 or 8:15) I bathe (out of a bucket),
brush my teeth, whatever, and if I'm feeling up for it I go out to the town
square and hang out. There's usually a lot of village men there buying
cooked meat from the butcher, hanging out talking, whatever. Then I go to
bed!

I got a kitten a couple days ago. His name is Kitty-Kitty, because my
villagers are just really proud of the fact that they know that word (from
the last volunteer). He's cute. He meows a lot. He's playful. He'll be a
good companion, I'm sure.

Yesterday I traveled from my village, Korap, to Konni, the "big town" where
I do my Peace Corps business. Sunday we have a regional meeting so I'll get
a feel for what's going on here, and saturday I'm going to Tahoua - the big
city! - to do some banking. I've never been to Tahoua so I'm pretty excited
and hoping to hit up an al hadji (rich person) shop and get some American
groceries. Korap is so small that you'll probably not see it on google maps,
but you may see my neighboring village, Fari. It's 1km from my village and
is a bit larger. Nearby also is Rafi and Gazurawa.

My trip from Korap to Konni was eventful. My friends Issoufou and Issya
walked with me the 3-4 miles to the main road, Issoufou insisting on
carrying my bag (gotta love Nigeriens!). We were on a bush road when this
big dump truck came zooming down the road toward us. It slipped in the sand
as it boomed around a curve and ran off the road maybe 40 feet right in
front of us. It was heading toward us sliding sideways.. pretty scary... but
please don't worry too much, I'm being careful as much as possible!

As for health, I've had bacteria twice in the last month and have had to
take Cipro. No problem.. I know I'm bringing it upon myself when I eat
village food like salad and leaves and stuff. It's not too bad but usually
involves a fever, which can be scary and kind of sucks. And I've had a few
colds, mostly because of the strong wind and dust that blows around here.

Okay, I'm going to wrap this up now.. I'm getting hungry and my computer
tolerance has certainly dropped since I've been here.

And now for an update:
I went to a possession dance. Although Islam is big here, animism is still present in many ways. A neighboring volunteer's village had a possession dance so my friend Issoufou and I went there to check it out. There was a fenced off area where the dance took place, and deep inside, beneath a tree, there were musicians playing the eeriest music on traditional instruments; a calabash drum with broom-like drumsticks and a reedy instrument playing a melody. It was dark and there was a strong wind. The people dance to the music, which attracts the spirits, and eventually they become possessed. You can't really tell when someone's possessed, at least I couldn't. They just danced. But people gather around them and ask lots of questions, fast spit-fire style. The spirits know everything, and when someone's possessed they can relay that knowledge. So people ask things like how the growing season will be, their family's health, etc. It was really interesting and exciting.

Mom, someone brought packages from Niamey last week and yours wasn't included. I'm starting to feel a little nervous that maybe it's not going to make it, but I will see when I get to Niamey in two weeks. Becky and Joe/Mary - I got your packages, almost at the same time! Joe/Mary, I already wrote you a letter about it but am too lazy to type it (this keyboard sucks), but I really loved the photos and your awesome letters and the LifeSavers and condiments. Mmm... real ketchup... :) Becky, I shared the People magazine with my homies at the hostel and it was definitely gobbled up by everyone. I really enjoyed it, especially reading about New Kids on the Block and the pregnant man. Totally weird. And then I ordered fries from the local restaurant and ate them with In 'n 'Out Heinz ketchup and it was great because ketchup here tastes like crap. And the trail mix and sesame yummies.. I'm just holding onto those until I get back to my post. :) If you guys feel like sending me more condiments, feel free. The local restaurant here sells hamburgers and fries (though not the same as in US of A) and I can get mustard and mayo at the store but not good ketchup and no relish, either. OMG, I miss relish. Now I'm thinking about brats. I really miss pig products. Could you please send me a brat with saurkraut, relish, chopped onions and mustard? Thanks, I appreciate it. I didn't think to include pig products on my blog survey about what food I'd miss the most. So far it's not meat, it's not chocolate, it's not fresh veggies (because we still have them), but I'm hurting for cheddar cheese and pizza (which I could make if I had something other than laughing cow cheese but I don't) and pork. I'm pretty sure a strong, aged cheese like Tommy's sharp cheddar would make it through the mail. (hint, hint) Becky's package made it here in 2 weeks. And crackers. Wasn't a huge fan in US, but want them here, maybe because of the salt. I eat so much salt it's insane. You have to when it's 120 outside every day and you're chugging liters of water. And while you're thinking of sending me stuff, mom.. maybe you can think about seeds. Just stuff some in an envelope, wouldn't be too hard. Whatever you think can handle strong sunlight and crappy soil (I know you're familiar with crappy soil!). Rainy season's coming and that's the time to grow things. I heard sunflowers grow.. it'd be cool to try blackberries if you think they can survive. Whatever you think would work. Or desert plants, like aloe or whatever Becky has there in Cali (cacti?). Hook it up, g-funks!

Okay, so maybe this is the time to mention visiting your daughter/sister. Mom and dad, if you can make it, I'd recommend coming at the end of hot season (the hottest time of the year, ha ha) or during the rainy season next year as that's the time where there's no strong wind and dust. Mom, I would really worry about your asthma with the crazy wind we get. So yeah, mid-April to August would be ideal. The scary thing about rainy season is that I've heard there are mosquitos, but hey, you guys are from the woods; I'm sure you can handle it! The storms are supposedly intense (not that wimpy Michigan drizzle) so we'd have to chill inside my tiny little house during them, but I know you guys are hard core and can handle it. And for the rest of you! Once you get here you'd need $100 tops per person to last 2 weeks. I know flights are expensive, but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see a developing country and you would never forget it. Christopher and the new baby could stay with the 'rents, you guys can take a romantic camel ride in the savannah through mesas and beneath the setting sun.. it would be a great way to celebrate your anniversary next year. ;)

All right, I'm going now. I love you and hope to hear from you all soon! Feel free to share this letter with whomever you like.

Love,
Crystal

Crystal's letter 3/13/08

2008-03-13T21:53:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone!

I'm alive... and finally can access the internet!

I won't have internet access within 400 km of my post, so don't count on me sending you too many emails from this address. However, my Peace Corps email address is konnipcv@intnet.ne just make sure to put my name in the subject line so it will go to me. I can check mail from the peace corps address in Konni, which is 12 km from my village, it's just that it's a dial-up situation and the computer doesn't always have electricity and I can't accept huge videos or photos. But I'll be able to check that email pretty often; it's just that I can't surf the net.

I have a cell phone. I've tried texting all of you but haven't received a response, and that could be caused by a myriad of things - the shady cell provider here that doesn't always work, or you may have to check with your cell provider to see if you're able to receive international text messages. My cell # is 011.227.95824898 It's free for me to receive calls and messages, so contact away! Mom and dad, could you give my # to Djam if you talk to him soon?

Mom, I got Aunt Sue's package yesterday and it was AWESOME! It was a rough day because we had our final language proficiency exam (LPI) and I'm also suffering from a cold (stupid wind kicking up dust everywhere) so I did a lot of sleeping and then struggled through my exam. But Aunt Sue's package made me smile and I loved the candy and my host family was really impressed with the bracelet she gave me. Today we got the results of our LPI and I passed! I'm surprised because 8 people out of 33 didn't pass, and I thought they would just go easy on everyone and let us all pass no matter what, but they didn't. So I'm lucky to have passed my exam. :) Now I speak Hausa at an intermediate-mid level. Ya yi kyau!

Okay, so I'm wondering if you could grant me a huge favor. When I send you letters or emails, could you copy/paste or type them into my blog? I'm going to give you all access to it. I want to keep my friends and family updated but it's really hard when I never have access to the internet.

As for life here... it's great! We're almost done with training and I'll be swearing in tomorrow, friday, night. I love Niger. The people are wonderful and the food is somewhat good depending on who's cooking it and you definitely get used to a different way of life. I wish I could give you tons of details but I really need to update my blog now! Mom, I'm hoping my camera is on its way here. :) My new address is:

Crystal Pilon, PCV
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 89
Konni, Niger
West Africa

Love,
Crystal

Alive and kicking!

2008-03-13T11:20:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone, I'm back. For a few minutes. I had to wait three hours to use a computer with internet access, so here I am! Hopefully I can finagle a way to keep in contact more often, but it's not easy.

Niger is great. It's hot, it's sunny, and I've had some good adventures so far - riding a camel, seeing giraffes in the bush, riding a bush taxi (imagine 30 people crammed in the back of a small-size pickup truck), eating Nigerien food (rice and sauce, gristly meat, tuwo), learning Hausa, climbing mesas... it's been fun. Tomorrow I'm getting sworn in as a PC volunteer (yay!) so training will finally be over. Then I'm moving to my village, which has about 600 people in it and is 12 km from the nearest market. Good times!

I can't stay long, but I thought I'd drop a line. Hope everyone's doing well! I would love to get some mail from you all!

It's gonna be a while

2008-01-09T11:32:00.001-06:00

I'm here at staging in Philadelphia, and I learned that while we are training in Hamdallaye (pronounced "Hum-da-lye".. and while we're talking about pronunciation, I should mention that the capital of Niger, Niamey, is pronounced "Knee-emm-ay") we won't have access to computers or telephones for the first six weeks. So this is the last you'll hear from me in a while.

I've learned the answers to some popular questions that I didn't know before.

Vaccinations - Hepatitis A and B, rabies, yellow fever, along with MMR, tdap, and Polio
Will I be alone? - yes, I will be alone in my village. However, a fellow volunteer may be in a nearby village.
Languages? - I don't know what language I'll have to learn, but it will be either Hausa or Zarma. If I get to my site and realize people are speaking a language different from Hausa or Zarma, I'll get some training in that, too.
Training - so we'll get to Hamdallaye and spend 10 weeks there learning about the language and local culture. Then we'll go to our individual posts, spend some time there (a month or so?) then come back to Hamdallaye (I think?) for more technical training.

About staging (that's where I'm at now) - there are 34 people in my group, all of which are forestry or agriculture volunteers. The oldest are a couple of married couples that seem to be in their early thirties, and everyone else is in their twenties. These people are awesome! They come from all walks of life (from an art major to a veternarian to an economy major), but they all have done something forestry-related, whether it be working in a nursery or managing an apple orchard. I think I'm the only one with a specific forestry-related degree. I'm having a great time hanging with my peeps - everyone is upbeat, excited, creative, and has the same anxieties as me (i.e. learning the local language), and it's so great that we have something so major in common. The energy of my fellow trainees is refreshing and a bit different from people in at my old workplace (no offense, FPL-ers).

The Peace Corps has done a really nice job with the staging, too. We cover a lot of boring topics (Risk Management, Policies, etc.) but they make it fun by including a lot of games and activities. My favorite was when we split up into four groups (music, writing, art, and dance) and each gave a performance about a Peace Corps experience. Since I suck at dancing and wouldn't consider myself a writer or artist, I chose the music group. We grouped with the dancers and played a song using random materials from around the room (water glasses, ice bucket, Nalgene bottle) while they did this KICK-ASS dance. We only had about 20 minutes to get our performance together and I can't believe they came up with such a great, choreographed dance in such a short amount of time. Everyone was really impressed.

Tonight we are leaving for Niger. I'm excited. I'm nervous. I'm happy to be around such wonderful people. It's going to be a blast! Hope to talk again soon.

Peace Corps Girl

2008-01-06T17:51:00.001-06:00

Me with my Peace Corps haircut...

Wearing my Peace Corps clothes...

With (part of) my wonderful family...

Au revoir!

Packing List

2008-01-06T10:17:00.000-06:00

Luggage

Camp Trails Blackjack backpack

Duluth Trading Co satchel
Tote bag for carry-on
Some kind of duffel bag

Clothing

Windbreaker
3 pairs underwear (black)
3 pairs black socks
3 sports bras (not white)
My three favorite t-shirts - my yellow "Hair" t-shirt, my green "So-Co Music Fest" tee, and my red "United Way Day of Caring" t-shirt
Two beautiful collared Duluth Trading Co. nylon-poly shirts, given to me by Kolby (light blue and light green)
One pair of lightweight khaki convertible pants/shorts
Two long skirts (khaki and navy blue)
One fleece sweatshirt
One pair of jeans
One Sunday Afternoons adventure hat and a Peace Corps baseball cap
Bathing suit

Shoes

One pair Chaco sandals
One pair Merrill tennis shoes w/ Superfeet insoles

Personal Hygiene and Toiletry Items

Hand towel
Small camping towel
Three-month supply of medication
Soap container with Aveeno oatmeal soap
Pantene travel-size shampoo and conditioner
Various Burt's Bees travel-size lotions and creams
Earplugs
Q-tips
Toothbrush, travel toothpaste, Glide floss
Hair ties
Tweezers and nail clippers
Facial lotion with SPF 45
2 disposable razors
Compact mirror
Tampons and maxi pads

Kitchen and utility

Pocket knife
Can opener
Two 1-qt Nalgene water bottles
Zip-loc bags of various sizes
Twist ties
Length of rope
6 clothespins
Scissors
Lithium AA batteries for digital camera (12) (would bring less but not sure if lithium batteries can be found in Niger)
AAA batteries (12) (don't take up much room)
LED light keychain
Whistle
Watch
Mini maglite flashlight with LED bulb
Sewing kit with extra safety pins
Bandana
Cooling neck wrap (you soak it in water and it stays cool)

Sleeping

Sleeping bag
Two full-size flat sheets, in maroon
One pillowcase

Misc items:

35 mm camera with film
Extra 35 mm camera battery
Digital camera (broken right now but parents will send it when it's fixed)
2 memory cards for camera
USB digital camera-card reader
Cards and stationary
Stamps
Calendar of Michigan scenes
Manila envelopes (6)
Padded small manila envelopes (3)

Items for spare time:

Books - romantic poetry, book on Niger, random paperbacks from the garage
Playing cards
One cross-stitch pattern with thread
Small photo album filled with photos of family and friends
Harmonica
Travel journal
2 composition books with gel pens
mp3 player (contains 2 folders - one with reggae, the other with Bob Dylan, Elvis, Grateful Dead, R.E.M., and Elvis Costello)
Mini speakers for mp3 player
Gnome Away From Home

Peppad (my long, yellow pillow thingy that I sleep with)
Color-by-numbers kit of animal pictures (using colored pencils)

If I have the room:

Pajama pants
Dalai Lama book (hardcover)
MRE (ready-to-eat military meal)
Food

The Peace Corps will provide:

First Aid kit
Bug dope
Sunscreen
Mosquito net
Screens for windows
Gas stove
Money

To my AGD girls...

2008-01-05T22:58:00.001-06:00

I must be in a sentimental mood tonight. I've finished my work for the day (writing a million letters to banks, HR people, etc. and starting the packing process) and now I'm having a beer, listening to Law and Order, and reading my friends' blogs. A lot of big events have occurred in my girls' lives, and I'm so happy to have been a part of them.

I am going to miss all my friends so much. I know that when I'm in Niger and not having good internet opportunities I'll be wondering what you all are up to...

AJ, I will miss seeing pictures of Ava and Noah! I've always appreciated your sense of humor and will miss your funny posts. I will also miss seeing Ava and Noah get older.
I can't wait to see what Peanut (Alanna and Jocko's baby) looks like! I am so glad Alanna will finally have a chance to be a mommy. I will also miss Alanna's awesome sense of humor and funny posts and pictures of Zippy.
I will miss hearing about Skrubby's adventures, whether they be at wildfires across the country or working on her house in MN. I will also miss seeing your great pictures (especially of the cute guys)!
I'm going to miss hearing about Cat's life in Houghton with Brenty and Bradley and baby #2. I regret that I won't be able to see pictures of baby #2 while I'm in Niger.
And then there's the newlyweds, Dana and Josh. I hope to see more from you two in the future! :) I like hearing about your adventures in Seattle. You guys would be "the" couple to hang out with because you are so much fun!
I think Danielle is living what sounds like a great life in Colorado. I wish I could come out there and visit and you could teach me how to ride. :) If you come to Niger, I bet you could ride a camel!
Diana and Jason, congratulations on the birth of your new son, Bret! He is adorable and I love hearing your mommyhood stories, Diana. You will do a great job being a mom!
Erika, I wish I could write like you. You are so clear, so concise, and so witty. Being an independent, smart woman, I know you will be successful in this world, both as a working woman and as a mother to Alex. I know things will go well for you and I will miss your bus-riding stories and pictures of your cute little one. And good luck with those vegan cakes.
Erin, your kids are absolutely beautiful and I will miss reading stories about your life. I am totally impressed with your dedication to philanthropic activities. There should be more people like you in this world.
FB, even though you don't post often, when I read your posts I can imagine you telling the story on the AGD couch. I always get a kick reading about your latest experience and like the pictures of Cali.
Heather A., I have always appreciated your funny stories and your perspective on life, and I love the pictures of Carter all decked out in stylish clothes (and Lulu, too!). I also like hearing your travel stories, like how the American food in Spain is all wrong. Congratulations to you and Kus and best wishes to you both.
Heather S., I like hearing about your life. I barely knew you in college but over these last couple of years I feel like I've had a chance to get to know you through your blog. You are a strong, independent woman and you deserve only the best. I also love owning a house vicariously through you.
Yay for Jackie, the future Mrs. Joel! Congratulations to you! I am so amazed that both of my freshmen year roomies are settling down already. :) You are a brilliant woman and I know you'll make it far in the world.
Jericho, I'm so sorry I won't be able to make it to your wedding next year. Congratulations to you and Kevin! It's about freakin' time! I will always remember your crazy sense of humor, your cat Ringo (and the time I stepped on him) and hanging out in Chicago. You guys should honeymoon in Niger. You know it's your dream to hang out in a mud hut.
Jenni, I love your witty sense of humor and your fun-loving spirit. I also think you are very smart and totally dig your quirkiness (i.e. the potato chip experiment). Have lots of fun in lower MI and good luck with Brad.
Hi Jori, I doubt you're reading this, but I just wanted to let you know that I love you and Souva and am happy you tied the knot (though I'm sorry I missed the wedding). I can't wait to hear about Baby Souva.. hopefully there will be one by the time I get back in 2010. So get to work on that, you two!
And to Kara and Josh.. wow, the parents of two beautiful and much-loved baby girls are having another! Let's just hope it's not going to be twins again.. that could be quite a handful (and a lot of bedrest for you, Kara). Congratulations to you both and I'm sorry I won't be able to see a picture of your little one when he/she is born.
Karen, you are a seriously talented, motivated, and driven person. I love the fact that you took the extra time to go to college after MTU to become an architect, and on top of that you have a business! Someday when you are a famous designer I hope you remember all the little people...
Katie and Josh - I love hearing about your lives and love the pictures of your house. I'm so sorry I had to miss your wedding last summer. Katie, when you finish your book I would love to read it. I'm going to miss your great blog entries.
Laura S., I am sorry I will have to miss out on a chunk of your and your family's life. Your children are beautiful and it sounds like you and Case are doing really well down there on the farm. I love the piglet pictures in the spring! You are an awesome, down-to-earth woman with a great sense of humor and always a good piece of advice.
Lesley? Lesley, are you there? I know we haven't heard from you lately, so hopefully moving to Wisconsin was okay for you (you know, Jeffrey Dahmer and Ed Gein are from there and who knows how many other crazy people, ha ha). Anyway, I think you are an awesome person for taking care of foster animals and yeah, keep reading.
Maria, your life sounds like so much fun that I'm sure I will wish I could be living vicariously through you while I'm in Niger. And I'm sure I could.. if I only had a computer with an internet connection! So in the meantime, I will have to daydream about what kind of jetsetting adventures you are on (Hawaii? Colorado?) and wish I could be there with you.
Mel, you have always been my mom in my mind, though you now have some little ones of your own. I remember with fondness the good times we had in college (watching bet sigs play hockey, hanging out at phi kaps, french onion soup at the Library) and you will always be a part of those memories. Your boys are beautiful and you make an awesome mommy!
Melissa, what am I going to do without my daily fix of Justin pictures? He is such an adorable little boy and I will miss seeing him grow. I love the witty captions you come up with, too. You and Rob are awesome and I'm sad that if you give Justin a brother or sister I won't be around to know!
Randi! You are one of the sweetest, most caring people I know. You would drop anything to help a friend in need, and that is a rare quality in a person. You are deeply loyal to your homies and I respect that. Thank you for all your support. I'm sorry we didn't get together more often when I still lived in Wisconsin. I hope that by the time I get back you and Mark will be engaged! :)
Laura Sk! It's so cool that you are blogging about your life in Washington. It's so amazing that you went on to get your PhD before the age of 27 (or 26?). You were always serious about school in college but had time to have fun, too, and I respect that. Don't let the jerks get you down - remember that you are not worth the bullshit and by the time I get back maybe you will be with a good one.
Sonya, you are a beautiful person and I've always admired your love for animals. I'm glad you guys adopted Olive and maybe someday you and Ben can tie the knot and make some babies of your own. ;)
Stephie, your job sounds like so much fun! I can just see you out there partying with the parents of your kids and all the old guys trying to hit on you.. Anyway, congratulations on finding a great guy and having a great job. It sounds like your life is going really well. You have always been optimistic and that's something I admire in you.
Yeimy, you and Scott are like the story-book couple. He's sweet and romantic, you are beautiful and successful... I'm happy I've had the chance to get to know you by reading your blog. I think your next trip should be to Africa!

So yeah, that's my message to all my college ladies out there. I'm going to miss you guys. You've always been so supportive and given me advice when I needed it most. I know it's important to have a support group that you can turn to, and I feel like you are it.

Love,
Crystal

If you want to send me stuff...

2008-01-05T18:37:00.000-06:00

This will be my Niger address:

Crystal Pilon
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 10537
Niamey, Niger

However, it will change in March. I will keep you posted.

I don't know what you should send me, because right now I have no idea what I'll want or need. I'm trying to take care of that right now as I'm packing! However, by reading other Peace Corps blogs (like this one), these items are popular:

Cheese
Meat
Drink mixes and packaged spice mixes (like mac & cheese powder, lipton soup powders, etc.)
Any kind of pictures
Padded manila envelopes
Nice toiletries
Trashy magazines (my favorite magazine, though it's not trashy, is Vanity Fair)
Dried fruit and veggies
Fast food sauce packets, any kind
Peanut M&Ms and Rolos (the only chocolate that can withstand the heat!)

Oh, and a few pointers about sending stuff to Africa.. the mail system in many African countries isn't as, how do we say this.. "private" as the one here in the U.S. If you send something and don't want people going through it and stealing stuff, make sure to put it (a) in a tampon box, (b) in a box with maxi pads laid over the contents, or (c) when you are describing the contents of the package, say it includes "important Christian materials" or "pencils." If people see that the contents are "food, digital camera, film, etc." they will probably want to steal it. Also, I read that boxes are taxed a lot more than envelopes, so if you can get away with sending something in a padded envelope you will probably save some money. My dad mentioned how his colleague would open a box of mac and cheese and empty it into a manila envelope to send to her kid in the Peace Corps.

Another thing - I also heard if you write on the box "Sister Crystal of the Church of Grayling" (or whatever) and write things like "God bless you" and "we missed you in church last week" and other religious things, people will assume I'm a boring missionary and there won't be juicy goodies in the box worth stealing. :)

No guarantees on updating my blog while I'm there, but if I can, I will!

P.S. Note to all you Google Reader users.. you should check out my real blog page for updated info and a cool poll!

Wrapping things up

2008-01-05T18:09:00.000-06:00

You wouldn't believe how much work it is leaving your life in America for over two years. Can you imagine paying all your bills, working with your health insurance company to get a 3-month supply of medication, stopping automatic payments from your checking account, selling your car and canceling your insurance policy, giving someone Power of Attorney, filling out a living will, and canceling anything else that you tend to on a regular basis? It's been crazy. And on top of that, people want to hang out with me, call me, and perhaps expect me to write them letters before I go. Unfortunately I don't have time for that.

A lot of crises have come up, too. A week ago I didn't think I was going because the USDA didn't do their job of sending my official government passport to the Department of State so that I could get a new passport for the Peace Corps. It finally went through monday, but I'm still not a guaranteed "go" yet. Yesterday I didn't think I was going because Forest Service Human Capital Management didn't do THEIR job and I wasn't going to have the required 3-month supply of medication for my trip. Fortunately my parents were willing to fork over $500+ to buy my medication at full cost. Today I'm ticked because the guy that was supposed to buy my truck fell through, and now my truck's in Ohio and I still owe $5000 on it. And the heating element in our dryer died, so it takes 4 hours to dry a load of laundry.

I guess my parents have their work cut out for them, dealing with the guy in Ohio. But I think I'll have a whole new set of things to worry about next week! And a lot of excitement, too.

Tonight's Dinner:
Homemade pizza cooked on my new Pampered Chef pizza stone

FIRE UP PILON

2008-01-03T20:46:00.000-06:00

"FIRE UP PILON" - that's the subject of the email I just got from Zach (a former boyfriend of mine, for those who don't know). He would say that to me in just about any situation, whether it be getting ready to go to the store or just randomly as I'd walk by.

Speaking of firing up, I can't say I'm too fired up about Huckaby winning the Iowa caucus. He seems like a real fruitcake. As for Democrats, I like them all. I'd be happy if a democrat won the election period, regardless of who it is (though Obama is my favorite).

A quick family poll revealed that the majority of Americans think John Edwards is cuter than Barack Obama.

Anyhoo, I'm getting fired up for my trip next week. I spent the day redeeming the wonderful iTune giftcard my sister and her family gave me, and then I loaded up my mp3 player with lots of good songs. My finances are kind of taken care of; I think I will see if I get more of my paycheck tomorrow and hopefully will have more things arranged before I go (otherwise my parents will have to pay some of my bills).

Lastly, some pictures from my trip to CA:

My nephew, Christopher, had his first encounter with Santa.

He's so cute!

His mama's cute, too.

Chris with his namesake:

Tonight's Dinner:
Seasoned rice
Oven-baked chicken tenders
Green salad with avocado