Email #1

8/24/07

Family and Friends,

Hey, its me, writing from an internet cafe in a village about two hours from our training site. We arrived here yesterday and will leave for another village tomorrow. We are on our tech trip where we learn a lot more about our specific jobs and projects as community health agents. It is hard to believe that I have already been in Niger for 4 weeks! It has already been such an amazing and eye-opening experience so far! I have been places, met people, and seen things that very few people are able to do so I have been thankful for that. Gosh, there is so much going on here during training that I am exhausted by the time I get home and am usually laying down at about 9.

I really am loving it out here though; it suits me well and I know that I will be able to do some amazing work here. As you all can imagine I take my camera everywhere and the photographic opportunities are endless! All of my fellow trainees are amazing people and I have already formed many strong bonds. It is hot here but I have gotten used to it as well as the everyday routine of taking a bucket bath, using the squat latrine and sleeping under a mosquito net outdoors. The lack of what I know as good food has been the hardest thing to adjust to. I rarely get meat but I have eaten more rice and millet than I ever have cared to.

The training has been great and I have picked up the local language quite well. We will swear in and become volunteers in another month or so and then we will be sent to our different sites which is exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. This is the first time I have been able to get on a computer and it will probably be some time before I can access it again. Please please please write me a letter or letters because that helps so much when the days are tough and I am missing home!

Please write AIR MAIL and PAR AVION on the envelope and make sure to put the letter in a plain envelope as well as write letter 1 for the first one you send and so on. Also, if you feel inclined, add a newspaper clipping or any interesting news from the States as our access to US news is very very limited! Also, if you guys feel especially inclined, a little care package would mean the world to me! Include anything you like, but especially snacks and a book or magazine.

So I will sum up a few of the higlights and lowlights of the trip thus far, but feel free to ask specific questions in letters and I will have plenty of time to answer them. The scenery is amazing and everything is green now that it is the peak of rainy season. There are these amazing mesas that we hike up and spend time on, either taking pictures during the day or hanging out by the fire at night. The storms are amazingly powerful yet beautiful. The people are extremely generous and warm and I have spent many afternoons just sitting by them and enjoying their company.

The poverty is something that you have to live in to realize its extent. Never have I seen so many malnourished children, some even so malnourished that their skin hangs from their body. The health care system is horrible so I know that I will have my work cut out for me. There is trash everywhere and sanitation is not something that people understand.

All in all I am loving it here though, don't get me wrong. You just have to keep a positive attitude and look at the brighter side of things. I have already learned so much about life and about myself.

I have to run now and make it back to the hostel. Please write me letters because my internet access will be limited. I love you all and miss you dearly. Much love from Niger, James.