Waking up after a welcome sleep for my tired dancing feet, I choked down a few bites of fried fari masa (lit. white corn) that squirted straight oil into my mouth and headed with the others for the short walk to see the village women's large garden. Haoua praised the women as having lots of "Kokari" (effort) as we observed their 800 garden plots, multiple wells with pumps and then later on that day their literacy class.
After leaving the garden we climbed into our vehicles and bounced over the soft sandy roads between villages. One thing the Peace Corps loves to do is to build drama into our programming, keeping us constantly in the dark about things to come. This was no different that morning as we had been told there would be a "Petite Surprise". When suddenly our vehicles stopped and Haoua started cheering and clapping wildly, we looked out and in the near distance saw 7 giraffes grazing on the grass and trees. Letting out girlish yelps, we all grabbed our cameras and scampered out of the Land Crusiers to take photos. The giraffes are not easily scared and let us within 100 yards.
While there are not many giraffes in Niger, they are protected and do not tend to migrate far. Still we were quite lucky to find them so easily. They are slender graceful creatures who move peacefully and quitely through the savannah. Each have unique spots and travel within regions that have available surface water. Being so fortunate to have come upon these beautiful African animals, I felt a swell of Nirvana rush over me and the dream of Africa come true before my eyes.
After leaving the garden we climbed into our vehicles and bounced over the soft sandy roads between villages. One thing the Peace Corps loves to do is to build drama into our programming, keeping us constantly in the dark about things to come. This was no different that morning as we had been told there would be a "Petite Surprise". When suddenly our vehicles stopped and Haoua started cheering and clapping wildly, we looked out and in the near distance saw 7 giraffes grazing on the grass and trees. Letting out girlish yelps, we all grabbed our cameras and scampered out of the Land Crusiers to take photos. The giraffes are not easily scared and let us within 100 yards.
While there are not many giraffes in Niger, they are protected and do not tend to migrate far. Still we were quite lucky to find them so easily. They are slender graceful creatures who move peacefully and quitely through the savannah. Each have unique spots and travel within regions that have available surface water. Being so fortunate to have come upon these beautiful African animals, I felt a swell of Nirvana rush over me and the dream of Africa come true before my eyes.
1 comment:
Kelly, Ken shared your postcard at the Excomm. Great to hear from you and I checked out your great blog. Will Velveeta really survive the trip to Niger? If so, I will send some. You mentioned a big lake. Could you use some insect repellent?
Gina
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