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Photo of Orion by M. Williams
Permission granted
Man, using the "Beefish Bits," black beans, and taco seasoning that you sent, I celebrated Cinco de Mayo in Niger. I even put on some Buena Vista Social Club to add more Latin flavor. And right now I am enjoying some limeade, courtesy of a small, perfect lime I bought at the market, and a spoonful of sugar.
It's really a beautiful day today; the sky was so clear last night, no dusty shield between us and the stars. I have been tracking Orion's progress as he dips closer to the western horizon. It was a comfort to find familiar constellations here. And now that I see so much of the sky, maybe I'll learn some new ones.
A can of sausages
Honey mustard
Chelsea And Jessica in the Konni hostel
Dried fruitDried veggies
Dried eggs
Nuts, trail mix, anything crunchy
Jerky (SlimJims are good, too; take'em out of their box & tuck into corners of the care pkg)
Cereal (Cheerios, Chex, Granola, Grape Nuts...)
Ketchup
Spices, sauce mixes (see below), soy sauce, Thai boxed foods, Indian spices, HOT SAUCE
A big thing of seasoned salt (we salt our food, then sweat it all out)
Mustard, honey mustard!
Parmesan cheese (or other nonrefrigerated cheese)Cheeses like they sell at Xmas, which don't need refrigerationPackaged tuna (or cans, which can be re-used here)Packaged chicken
Real bacon bits
Packaged meat in general (although I'd caution about the waste thing-- the tuna packages don't burn very well, so they're a bit troublesome to dispose of...)Dried faux-meat (This stuff is surprisingly good)Coffee (a BIG one with coffee drinkers-- you can't get it here. just nescafe)
Things to flavor water (powdered drinks) CrystalLight individ packets fit in corners of pkg
Emergen-cee (immunity boosting supplement)
Underwear (cotton)
Anti-itch products (Aveeno, cortisone, anything for heat rash/bug bites)
Batteries (AAAs power most headlamps)
Wind-up flashlight that doesn't use batteries is a good gift
Magazines w/news of pop culture in US (trashy zines we would never usually read)
Children's picture books
Movies (all hostels have dvd players)Music (some folks have laptops and can transfer songs on to others' iPods for them)Peanut m&ms (regular m&ms are great too)'Just add water' cookie mixes (I've personally never heard of this, but someone here swears by them)
Peat pellets for starting seeds
Seeds that will grow in a hot climate (tomato, eggplant, collards, cucumber, beans, peppers, melons: seeds can be hard to find in Niger, and quite expensive)
Memory card for camera (of course you have to know what model the camera is. An extra card is nice b/c it makes it possible to take some video footage, and maybe even send it home)
US stamps that can be put on letters that are mailed by people coming back
Don't worry about the "import taxes" that you may have read about on some blogs, quoting erroneous information about ridiculous amounts of money that volunteers might have to pay when claiming their packages. The duty I have had to pay has never amounted to more than the equivalent of 2 US dollars. Sooo worth it.
Several volunteers collaborated to make the above list; it might be of special interest to families and friends of new volunteers. I (mom) added the dried eggs because eggs are hard to find where J lives, and they are such good protein for a great price (80 eggs for $10). Other big hits in the packages I have sent include the small items that she used to like to "borrow" from my desk: glue, tape, pencil sharpener, paper. I sent an inflatable beach ball world globe (cheap from eBay), a children's French picture dictionary (Usborne), a Unicef children's book with great photos (Children Just Like Me), books with farm animals, a Hausa dictionary, a book of n. hemisphere star constellations, and a map of Niger. Jelly bellies survived the hot trip, as did an outdoor thermometer. Graham cracker and Oreo pie crusts (plus instant pudding mix) were a nice surprise; acidophilus was an early request. Knorr's Pesto sauce, taco seasoning, soy sauce, and Indian sauce mixes made the trip. ( I found soy sauce in a plastic bottle, but anything that might break or leak should be put in a sturdy zip lock baggie.) And what a great place to which I can happily send stacks of National Geographic.
Cheapest way to send a package: get a Flat Rate box free from the post office: there are 2 sizes that you can send for $41.95; there is a larger size costing $53.95. They can weigh up to 20 pounds. No such thing as "surface mail" anymore. Be sure to get the right customs form for it, declaring things in a general, uninteresting way, "school supplies" for example, so that it will be unlikely to be tampered with.
How long does it take to get a package to Niger? To Peace Corps Niamey addresses it seems to take a bit longer than to some of the outlying regions. It takes, on average, 3 weeks for a package to get to Konni. Then the volunteer has to pick it up. Allow one month.
Things NOT to send: peanut butter, rice, elbow macaroni, anything made out of millet. No sunscreen (provided by PC)
Care packages are really really really appreciated by PC Niger volunteers. Thank you to those of you who have sent packages!!
Sampler from Harmony House Foods
3/24/08
Was yesterday Easter?? I think it may have been. To celebrate I just pulled out the bag of jellybeans you so thoughtfully sent me, mom. They are so GOOD. How can anything so small be so pretty and so good? My god, I think I never enjoyed a jellybean more in my life. Should I be concerned that they still haven't melted? What's in these things?
Host family looking at books (& stencils) from a care package sent from home
I know that by any official standard (or for that matter, unofficial), this is poverty. But when I am living with it, around it, among it, the word "poverty" just doesn't seem relevant. It's beside the point. I mean, who has time to ponder it when there are 8 mouths to feed? I write this kneeling on a woven mat that I got at the market yesterday. It is 7:45 PM, dark; the moon is high and bright, though only half full. I have a kerosene lamp for light; huddled around it and me are three breathing, giggling, curious kids. Ibrahim (3) is quiet, and he follows me all over, greets me after school, loves the soccer ball, rarely wears pants, and is currently laying next to me, alternately watching my face and playing with sand. Aissa (8) is holding Abdi (1). She got her hair braided today and says it hurts her head. She works hard, does the family's laundry, babysits, plays with me, teaches me. She is learning to write and enjoys looking at my books. I love her; she is bright and sweet and doesn't ever let me light my lantern: she does it for me. Haoua, my host mom, is 26 years old. Twenty six!! I am 25! Haoua is beautiful. She, like all the women here, wears fantastically colored skirts, shirts, and head wraps. She wraps Abdi to her back, where he is quiet. (He's been afraid of me until yesterday, and now he smiles instead of cries when he sees me.) Haoua gets up at 6:45, starts a fire to make breakfast and get warm, and spends the day cooking, visiting neighbors, cleaning (ie washing pots), and nursing. She is a patient teacher, although my Hausa is still so poor that it is challenging for me to thank her proportionately for all the help she gives me.
Now, Aissa is approximately 6 inches to my left, looking at my Hausa manual; Ibrahim is at my right elbow watching me write, and Haoua is sitting next to him nursing Abdi. The light from the cooking fire is starting to dim, so everything outside of the glow of my lamp on the sand is dark. I can hear laughter (Nigeriens love to laugh!) and conversation and crickets. During the night I hear Afropop radio, dogs, the occasional donkey (my neighbor has 4, living 25 yards from my hut), and sometimes roosters. It gets remarkably silent at about 3 AM. I think the silence wakes me. I don't mind; it is mysterious and still novel.
Photo of Orion by M. Williams
