Rah rah Michael Moore

Why not blog about it?

So, I went to see Moore's "Capitalism" last night - another great movie from him that does much to anger but not as much to inspire me. At the end of the movie he asks the audience to join him in doing something about it, asks for help from all the moviegoers, but I don't see what's to be done, essentially. Perhaps he should have given us a date and a place to assemble. "Hey, all you guys watching this in the theater right now, meet me on the corner of K St. and 31st ave on May 22, 2010, and we'll kick some capitalist ass...." would have been helpful.....

Good day, but the media 'aint reformed just yet....

yay media reform! late night, really too tired (bah!) after a long day of reforming to post much, but here's some sights from around the 2008 National Conference for Media Reform in windy/rainy/humid Minneapolis, MN...

where it's at...

...do you really wanna touch it?


i dunno if you do i dunno what you're getting yourself into here and now is not the time, nor place, nor venue for this kind of shit.

hi all! back from my about-weeklong trip out of niamey and had a blast and now, already, packing to leave, tomorrow being the last day and all and leaving at 4 am friday actually and its crazy and i dont wanna leave you can't make me you bastards.

trip was great - went east to zinder via dosso via konni via maradi via earth and a total of about a 12-hr drive. First day left at 8:30 in the am...stopped for lunch at to drop off a doggie in konni...then to maradi where we spent the night and i took a photo of a turtle and a lizard (for your eyes only) aren't you happy?

stayed 2 nights in maradi; didn't do too much - slept, ate, went out briefly and stayed up a while chatting. then made the 3-hr drive from maradi to zinder, one of the farthest eastern points where peace corps has people posted.


the hostel was nice, the people were great, the parties were rockin' (do people still say that, rockin'? and if so, does it have a "g"? are there people that know these things out there? help me out) my mother had informed me that word on the street (yo) is that zinder is "where it's at" and i was not disappointed. there were songs from "thriller", there was a new drink created and named ("the dirty carl") there were movies watched, kidney consumed, and there were flying red discs tossed happlessly into nigerien concessions, confusion, hysteria, sweat, dancing, whiskey, fucking rasberry beer...what more could i ask for? what would you ask for? i ask you...

...i even found a damn san antonio spurs shirt at the zinder market. go spurs! (35 and 10 baby)

...but i make no sense now i have quit the word business and dunno why i keep doing this, subjecting my friends and neighbors and such and... so, a few more pics and i'm out...will see everybody soon, hope all is well...

(and i will leave you, instead of debauchery, with pictures of cute little children...you can't go wrong when you start with a turtle and end with children, right?)

this one goes out to all those sheep who survived tabaski...

Another clear, sunny, beautiful day here in Niamey…although the winds have begun to pick up, blowing red-brown dust around.

Today the first woman leader of Africa was sworn in, and that’s all the news here on the BBC Africa. I don’t have a whole lot to report, but figured I should write an update…I don't go online much, so I'm sorry if I'm not emailing y'all so much...I could, and they do have internet cafes, but it just seems silly to go halfway around the world to a 3rd world country and hang out on the internet.

I’ve mostly been hanging out with my mom and enjoying my time off. Lets see…last week, Wed. I think, woke up early and went to the petit marche with Brianna, who helped me bargain my way along…was fun, and a little less daunting than the grand marche. We went out for beers later on or maybe that was the next day, and I got to listen to more PC volunteer talk, which is interesting to me because I’ve never experienced it. It’s funny…no one really knows about Niger, and so no one asks to come here… It’s one of the hardest places to be for American volunteers, just in terms of culture shock, climate shock, etc, so it’s interesting to hear about their reactions when they end up here. During the hot season, the day can start out as hot at 130 or higher right at 8 am, so it’s pretty hot even for hot lovers.

Actually, a new stage (group of volunteers) just got in on Friday, so they are just starting training now…so there’s a whole new group of shock and awe =)

But the people here are some of the friendliest and most generous I’ve met in my whole life. All smiles. And that’s never a bad thing.

Went out a few times during the weekend, mostly with my mom and not out too late. We had a nice dinner and drinks out at a hotel/bar the other night, owned by a French guy and his wife, that was really nice. The guy played guitar accompanied by a djembe drummer, and it was nice to hear some live music. The food was great and the beer was cold. Kate, one of the volunteers here, works at an orphanage and this week I might get to go with her and some of the older kids to the zoo/musee, which I hear is pretty neat (better now than it used to be anyway…) They’ve got some neat Giraffes, etc, but I hear its kinda sad because the cages are kinda small, just like everywhere.


On Sat. we went to the petit marche again (mom and I) and also went plant shopping. Got a whole car load of pretty plants for about $6 US….great deal =) They sell all the plants down by the river (the Niger), where they have these beautiful gardens. (I’ll try to sneak in a pic here) Then accompanied mom to the “Ladies Who Lunch” Sat. lunch, a group of long-time American volunteers (ladies only), which was fun. Went home and planted some plants, then planned out some other parts of the garden and started some seedlings.


Sunday was brunch as usual at mom’s house…not too many PCVs in town, though, so it was just a small group. We had banana bread, zucchini bread and mangos with yogurt. Then we went to the Artisan, an area where a bunch of the leather workers make stuff and sell it….lots of fun and pretty little trinkets, sandals, purses, etc.

One of the ethnic groups here are the Tuareg, a nomadic people who inhabit many places in west Africa (and yes, the namesake of the VW car) They do a lot of leatherwork here and they have amazing camels! Altho they are here in Niamey, they are more common north in Agadaz, the big stretch of desert area in the northern part of the country. I would really love to take a trip up there, and have heard it’s just gorgeous, but I’ve also heard there’s not much point unless you have at least 10-plus days to do it…and I just don’t want to take the time, unless mom could come with (and there’s no way). I’ve also heard that there’s supposed to be a total eclipse of the sun visible from here at the end of March, and that many people are planning trips up there for that…it would be amazing!

The marines came and picked up their kitty cat…they are so macho =) They had an inspection this past week, and are not allowed to have kitties, so they thought it wouldn’t look good if the cat was hanging around meowing for food….”oh, that’s not our cat, we’ve never even seen her before…” as she’s hanging out around the fridge and climbing up in people’s laps. Her name is Little Q-Tip…like I said, they’re really macho guys. A few of them came over for brunch last Sun., and I ended up in a deep discussion about the Beat writers and the peace movement…the marines here are weird! But great…

I’ll probably take my trip up to Maradi next week, when one of the PCV cars goes up there…but I don’t think I’ll make it to Dokoro, where I really wanted to go. Sounds like the only way is via bush taxi, and I’ve just hear too many bad stories in that regard…and I don’t even have the local language skills to say “stop this car…I want to get the hell out!” in Zarma or Hausa. From what I’ve heard, they drive at about 130+ K/hr through desert land on unpaved road, and its just not that safe…plus, unlike the volunteers etc., here, I lack a little thing I like to call health insurance, and I think I’d like to leave more or less in one piece. I’ve heard bad stories. Bad. Still, at least I’ll get out of the capital.

Tonight I ate mangos, did a little shopping, and went out to the bar with my mom and the volunteer crew for some beers to send off a PCV that’s leaving tomorrow….and I think we’re going to the office now so I can send this off. Am also doing a lot of reading, which is nice…right now I’m on a big book, Collapse, which is Jared Diamond’s next book after Guns, Germs and Steel….both highly recommended reading, especially if you find yourself traveling in 3rd world countries =)

Rob – I met a girl whose parents live in Luchenbach, Texas (dunno the spelling)…thought you might be amused by that. I asked if they lived next to the post office, the beer hall, or the parking meter…

That’s about it from me…sorry, not all that exciting! (well, exciting for me…but so hard to put into words the feeling of the experiences, etc) love to all, and I’ll try to send a little sun your way xoxoxoxox

bon fete!

It's a Muslim holiday here today, Tabaski, celebrated 70 days after the end of Ramadan, so everyone is off of work and being festive. From what I hear, it involves a lot of sheep death...promise not to post those kinds of pics.

I'm at the office with mom, who of course, stops for no holidays =) She's such a workaholic, but she's good at it, and it seems to keep her out of trouble. We stopped at the bakery on the way here, which is amazing, and picked up some pan au chocolate. I'm trying to plan a trip out of the capital and into the bush for next week. One of the peace corps staffers is going out to Konni next monday, so i could go there with him, check out konni, and then take a bus from there to Maradi, where megan (one of the PCVs) has a nice unicef house. I could stay there for a night (its about a 9-hr drive up there, so you better make the most of it!) and then take a bus or a bush taxi north to dokoro, where the PCVs i met brian and emily are posted. apparently there's an extra mud hut i can stay in there. So all in all, it would prolly be about a 4-day trip. Sounds fun! (altho i'm a little scared if bush taxis, but i guess if i wanna have a REAL nigerian experience...)I have to try to strike a balance between seeing the country and seeing my mom; she's really busy during the weekdays enyway, tho, so I think next week would be good. So look for some fun pics after that!

My Zarma is coming along ok but its hard to know when to pull it out - I've got the hi's and bye's and greetings down, but it seems silly to use it at the market, because if they start trying to give me numbers and prices in Zarma i wont have a clue!...i can barely get them right in french.

i also started learning a little bit of Hausa as of yesterday, because that's what they mostly speak where i'm trying to go next week (norhteast of here) and i'd like to be able to meet and greet and be nice. a lot of hausa is a lot like arabic, but some of it sounds like hawaiian to me....hello is Sannu, to which you respond yawa sannu, and the most typical greeting goes...
Kuna Lahia, to with you respond Lahia Lau....it's really pretty, actually. don't know how well that come accross on a blog!

So many thoughts and sensations here but few words for them...in any language.

Humbling sums it up pretty well...to be laughed at; to not be able to understand what the fuck is going on. It can be strange, but overall its a great feeling, because i feel like so often americans don't get to feel that...and having things easy all the time, I feel, makes you just a little less human somehow.

I'll just say that the weather is beautiful and i wont say it again, because the weather doesnt change much here..its the cold season, so itll stay clear skies and sunny (highs around 95, lows around 65) until around may/june, when itll be the rainy season. It's crazy to think that its just not going to rain for months. really no need for a weather channel!

I can't believe how many people here in Niamey have cellphones, and how well they work. I mean, they dont work everywhere out in the bush but, seriously, my phone didn't even get reception at my grandparents house in N. Wisco..so! Yesterday one of the volunteers told me a story about a town that got a new cellphone tower a couple weeks back, and so a bunch of the villagers ran out and got cellphones...and they worked real great except...they forgot about the fact that the town has no electricity yet so once they ran out of power they couldn't charge their cellphones to use them...OOPS! Sometimes technology moves too fast

Anyhow, I don't have any cool pics to post right now, so i'll end this and not make it a big ugly block of text (which it prolly already is) And Robbie...don't expect me to come back quite so tan as you were hoping..it really is muslim and conservative here, and so pants/skirts above the ankle and tank tops are not really kosher...i might have a good farmer tan tho!

Much love to everyone; hope 2006 is treating you all well so far xoxoxoxoxoxkatya

fo fo

What an amazing place filled with amazing people! It’s now my 4th day here and I’m having a blast! The landscape is beautiful, if a little dry and dusty, and the weather is gorgeous. The people are friendly; they’re so happy if you’re even trying to speak their language and learn their culture. Their clothes are beautiful.





My layover in Morocco helped me practice my French, but they speak so fast there! And besides, most people here speak the local languages, either Zarma or Hausa. So, I’m learning Zarma…or not so much learning I guess, but I can meet and greet and generally get around. It’s a great language…hello is “Fo fo” (think momo, but with f’s), to which you respond, “N’goyya.” Then you get into greetings that go on and on and on…how’s your health? How’s your family? How’s your home? How did you sleep? You really can’t overdo the greetings, I’ve learned. Shopkeepers and people who are generally more educated also speak French, but in the bush its pretty much Zarma or Hausa or other local languages.

I haven’t had much culture shock; I was speaking to some of the Peace Corps volunteers about the shocks they had when they arrived, and I dunno if its because I was around when I was younger, or if its just how I am, but not much surprises me and I feel pretty comfortable. When I got here my general attitude was basically, I’m here now, not there, and it’s cool. If anything, the hardest thing for me to get used to is the way they treat animals. Here, as in many parts of the world, animals are for work and not companionship. They beat on the donkeys, and aren’t friendly to the dogs. Dogs are for guarding, not petting, and they’re scrawny as hell.

They do have some funny superstitions; for example, if you meet a woman with a baby, you’re not supposed to fawn over it or tell her its cute or pretty or handsome. Instead, you’re supposed to say “he’s ugly” or a local saying that means “he wont do” apparently because they’re worried that evil spirits will take them away if you say it’s cute.

It’s dry season here, so the mosquitoes aren’t bad at all…I’m not even using a net at night. It’s also “cold season” which means it’s only around 95 degrees during the day, and gets down to around 65-70 at night. Yes, to people here, that’s really cold season. At night people are all bundled up in their clothes, and during the day they regularly remark how cool it is. It’s great!


I’ve spent my first few days getting over jet lag (wasn’t bad, really), meeting some of the Peace Corps volunteers, and getting to know my way around. The volunteers I’ve met are really nice and helpful; the locals are really impressed by them because they tend to be the only foreigners in the country who actually learn the local dialects and can speak them pretty well. Only some of the volunteers are based in Niamey (the capital, where I am), and the rest are out in the “bush.” Of all the Peace Corps volunteers in the world, they’re some of the only ones who still live in huts while they’re here…in most countries, they live in pretty nice houses, but out in the bush they live like the locals. I’ll post a pic here of one of the PCV’s huts…The bush can be pretty remote; one of the volunteers lives in a village where she has to walk 17 k. to get to the road where she can get a ride into town. They do s projects like community and woman’s gardens, AIDS awareness, and getting people access to clean water via wells.




We went to visit Sam, one of the volunteers, on Thursday, out in the bush, and that’s his hut. It’s pretty snazzy…he’s got 3 windows, it’s all made of mud and brush. Very roomy and comfy. Sam’s village is about an hour and a half or so away from Niamey. We also visited Bali Yara (not sure on the spelling), another village where there’s a Peace Corps hostel. The main hostel is here in Niamey, where the volunteers stay when they visit the city, but there are 3-5 others around the country as general meeting points for the volunteers.


Afterwards, mom and a couple of the volunteers and I went out to a bar and had a couple of beers and saw a great sunset, then went to the Senegalese restaurant, which was amazing. Things are cheap – I think we paid about a buck for big beers, and maybe 2 bucks or so each for diner. The money is fun because its big – 2 bucks is 1000 CFA, so it makes you feel rich! The food here is great, and you can get a lot more fresh veggies than I thought would be possible…and they aren’t as scary as the doctor who gave me my shots made them sound…and I’m not dead from it yet, or even a little sick! (although I hear the volunteers here have one of the highest rates of diarrhea in the world)



Driving is crazy…a lot of the streets aren’t paved and if they are they aren’t exactly level. Drivers have to navigate people, bikes, cattle, camels, chickens, goats and dogs.

Everybody wants their picture taken, but I’m still kinda shy on pointing and shooting at people; I’m sure I’ll get over it. All the little kids want you to take their picture, and they want a copy to show off. Everybody’s an entrepreneur….they want to open your door, watch your car, etc. for a few cents.

Most of the locals are Muslim and there are mosques everywhere. I love hearing the call to prayer again, even at 5 in the morning.

People are so friendly and helpful and happy, but it’s hard to forget the poverty here. It’s totally different from what you see on tv, though, I assure you. People are not generally miserable, even though they may be poor and they may be hungry. They get by, and they take one day at a time. It’s one of the poorest countries in the world, and life goes on.

This weekend mom and I plan to hit the big market, and do some shopping (did some this morning… the market is fun but crazy, and soooo big!…I think I might have to start at the petit market next time!) Oh, and my Christmas present was a beautiful djembe….it sounds amazing! (and I’ve got a pic of that, too.) Apparently one of the volunteers here has adopted a lion cub, so I hope to get to go meet and play with it next week. I also want to get out of the capital and spend a night or 2 in the bush at some point soon; pound some millet and gather water from the wells….have a real experience. My Zarma is not great but I think I can basically get around, especially out in the bush where things are a bit slower.




It’s one of the Peace Corps’ birthdays today (Sat.) and we’re going to go to the nightclub, which sounds pretty wild by all accounts. Last night we went to the bar by my mom’s house and then down to Chateau Un, and stayed out till around 3 or so…delicious grand bierre Nigerian!

So, fo fo to all friends and family that are reading this. I’m having lotsa fun and had no problems on the trip. I’m safe and happy and warm. Best wishes to everybody, and kala ton ton (see ya later).

seasons

where did they go? It's November in Wisconsin, and it's 70 degrees???

so, michelle and laurel are both gone from the farm now and it's just me (and rob) and occasional cameo appearances from duncan, erika, and jody. it's a different job, without co-workers. seems somehow more like work, but i'm still enjoying it thouroughly. months ago i was wondering what farmers would possibly have to do in novemeber (isn't everything dead by then????) but no. we have lettuce, spinach, lotsa other greens, broccoli, scallions, kohlrabi...the list goes on. it's a beautiful time to be in the garden.

as the world continues to spin out of control, i've re-contracted the wanderlust virus - a highly contageous and suprisingly not rare strain that everyone should watch out for. i wanna go off. travel. do stuff. someone recently and cruelly informed me that i could get to hawaii for $90 and sit in a field of guava trees. evil. a whole damn axis of it.

this whole thing could be a lot more interesting if i had a digital camera. i'm generally anti-digi cam, but then i could show you pictures of broccoli and the graveyard i went to on halloween and maybe - just maybe - even my new pink slippers.