First Rain

I stayed awake as the clouds grew higher and higher, having not yet fallen asleep since sunset, and the temperature began to drop. The girls started scrambling and the men slept until the last minute possible. The winds hit a peak and a dusty rain came through the mosquito net as our grand frere woke us up to get inside before the heavy rain came. We scrambled to get all our things inside and talked like children in the basement during a tornado. The chariot spider from earlier that day was still in our two room adobe house. Lying down listening, I heard teh iron doors being berated by the wind, dust, and rain, and my two American roomated Mark and Alan tried desperately to locate the spider - who was as big as a lens cap. The loud sound of the shoe smacking the wall was the symbolic finale of the night. An hour or so later the winds died dwon and the room swealtered. The iron windows were opened and every precious breeze provoked a deep breath by me, savoring the cool feeling on my skin. Very hot. An incredible storm of chirping crickets and frogs filled the night air with sounds to sleep by. The first rain of our journey was one I will never forget.

First Night

A warm reception starts with a handful of smiles. Never before had I imagined the possibility of a goat riding a motorcylcle. During dinner the first night I talked to a nice lady who mentioned that the formateurs heard adn saw our plane flying low overhead, and they rejoiced. I am close to being convinced that the people of Niger really do appreciate the work the Peace Corps does in their country.
My sleep came in two shifts. The first four hours were interesting and the dreams at least partially involved snakes and bugs. I woke up when my houseman Ouessani coughed. He roled over under his mosquito net and I started to hear the swelling and fading of the bugs, frogs, and eventually donkeys. The bugs and frogs seemed to be in an effort to synchronize their rhythms, always getting close but never quite arriving. The donkey waited until the crickets died down to start his provocative he-haw. The starts were visible through the mosquito net. The big dipper was no long visible but I saw a constellation that looked like a large T, something I've never noted before. Lying there I was imagining the endless possibilities of what my villagers might design in the starts and give interesting names. I thought I might ask my friend Metasabia if she knew what the T was. She had pointed out Venus as teh sky slowly turned from pale blue to dark. Finally I drifted off to sleep after 2 hours or so of stargazing, and thinking.