ok, i'm off on another trip... but before i go, here is the link to my pictures from Peace Corps and my travels after.
the show is meager right now, but trust me that my efforts have been diligent. i have a few thousand pictures and am trying to put them up as quickly as possible, in a logical and interesting fashion.
hope you enjoy!

FOOT PRINTS

p.s. i still get mad when people hand me things with their left hand! grr... i guess the reintegration is going a bit slow on that aspect. but otherwise, i think i'm back to being a New Yorker. i've been spending a decent amount of time on the train and nothing will acclimate you to NYC better than the mass transit experience.

I was on the train the other day and remembered that the bus and train ticket systems in Brussels and Geneva were pretty much on an honor system. everyone is expected to buy their tickets and there are machines to check your ticket before you board, but no barriers to enforce that you actually do. For example, both systems have tickets available and machines on the bus or near the stairs that you take to reach the train waiting area, but no turnstile or gate to make sure that you do before boarding. how crazy is that? imagine that in NY - ha!

ok, til next time!

I totally do!!

SURPRISE!!
Bonne arrivée à moi!! I arrived in NYC a few days ago to give my mom the best, happiest shock of her life. I asked her to pick up a friend of mine at the airport and host her for the night, but little did she know - she was picking me up, too! So, here is the picture of my terribly shocked mom at the airport a few nights ago. At least it was true that my friend did need a place to stay! And, that is the bag that i lived out of and lugged around all through West Africa, North Africa and Europe for the last two months. I think it started out as about 15 or 16 kgs and ended up as 20kg by the end of the trip. Not too bad!

It was so great to be back in NYC and know that I am completely done with my two years of Peace Corps service! When I saw the lights of NYC at night from the airplane window, I was transfixed by the beautiful lights and the sight of my hometown! A man in the seat in front of me said, "Isn't it lovely?" and the woman across the aisle from him replied in her charming Irish brogue, "Oh, it's just the best place in the world." "Amina," I thought to myself, which is the response to a blessing in several different Burkinabé languages. Though I finished with my service and had been travelling for two months, it was only upon seeing NYC that I realised that my Peace Corps service was truly and completely done. It was a thoroughly satisfying feeling. I left with no regrets, glad that I did indeed finally make it through.

Though, some parts of me still operate like a West African. I am annoyed when people hand me things with their left hand. I wonder to myself why they are so rude and then realize that it's ok, they are not being offensive or unhygienic. Or, still feel the need to ask someone how they are before asking for directions or help. In West Africa, you greet someone and inquire after their family, health, crops, etc... before getting down to whatever business you have with them. If not, they'll probably just lie to you or ignore you completely because what you did is really that offensive to them. Here, I just think to myself, "uh, Jenni, no one cares..." Also, I still feel the impulse to speak to strangers and service workers, like waiters and bus drivers, in French and then I remember that everyone speaks English and would probably think I'm just some lost tourist if I address them in French. Mais, en tout cas, peut-être, ç'est un peu vrai...

Thankfully, travelling around Europe for a few weeks took the edge off of arriving in the land of plenty. Morocco and Europe were my opportunities to marvel over the conveniences and luxuries of advanced development. Now, I am in NYC and am just glad to see friends and family and enjoy all the things that are special to me here. Tomorrow, one of the most exciting things on my agenda is to go to the library! I can't wait! I can't wait to go there and be surrounded by books upon books upon books! I perused the shelves of a charming English-language bookshop in Paris, but unfortunately did not get to just dive into piles of books as I would have liked. I'm looking forward to checking out any good new fiction to get myself lost in or some public health resources so I can further contemplate this field that fascinates me now and give some context to so many things I witnessed or participated in as a Peace Corps volunteer. The newest Salman Rushdie book is at the top of my list, as he is one of my favorite authors. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!!

And, sleeping in has been so great! I know - my body knows - that I don't have to get up, get on a plane, bus or train to travel to a different country within a few days and it's quite nice! I spent Saturday morning in bed reading one of my favorite books, the Rabbi's Cat by Joann Sfar - it was wonderful! Hot showers and oh, bubble baths are the best! This morning, for breakfast, I made breakfast burritos (well, my own Jenni-style version...) with two kinds of cheeses, spinach and CORN tortillas - YUM! I know that it might not seem like a big deal to you, but oh damn, how i missed all those things! Everything is just so yum, yum yum...

Well, I think I've gone on for long enough. Before I go, let me thank all of you for reading my blog these past two years. Thank you for your emails, care packages, texts, prayers and warm wishes. It was definitely one of the toughest experiences I've been through and it would not have been possible without the support of my loved ones back home and my loved ones in Burkina.

Thank you thank you thank you soooo much.
So, now that I'm done, let's celebrate!! Woohoo!!!

live from brussels!

but to rewind for a second: paris was lovely! i had a wonderful time and got to meet up with one of my dearest friends in the whole world and her husband. i was so content to be in a big city, free to roam around (because there are places to walk to and things to see), eat delicious food, experience the culture of museums and cathedrals and do as i please! it felt so familiar in comparison to all the other places i've been so far, yet still a setting that i had vague remebrances of. as i told my friend who was a Peace Corps volunteer in Burkina with me and has been my travelling companion, people must look at us oogling over all the comforts and luxuries of Paris and think that we are two Americans awed by French culture, but in truth, we are more like two kids from a Burkinabe village rediscovering the developed world. there are so many little things that we had forgotten about during our two years in mud brick huts. every little thing is such a joy to us. eating is the most amazing new adventure, amongst all the others that we are experiencing.

We went to Notre Dame, had a picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower, strolled around the Latin Quarter, watched the sunset from Sacre-Coeur, savored delicious sorbet across from the Louvre, etc... i saw the Mona Lisa as up-close-and-personal as it gets at the Louvre and i'm still unimpressed. any art historians want to give me an education? on the fashion front, leggings were all the rage in women's fashion and i am still undecided about whether i think it is acceptable to wear stockings in lieu of pants. i'm thinking: no.

i arrived in brussels yesterday by a quiet and comfortable train from paris. coming from paris, the city seemed a little dingy and dull from first glance but that was too quick of a judgement. after a day and a half of wandering, the city is pretty cute and manageable. the train and bus system are relatively small. overall, i am charmed. additionally, the city is quite foreignor-friendly as most people seem multi-lingual: french and flemish are the functional languages, but people also speak english and i've strained my ears to understand what i can of the many spanish conversations that i overhear. however, aparently, there are no cybers anywhere, as it has taken me a whole entire day to track this one down! the fast food restaurants have real, well-cooked, balanced meals served deli-style. it's delish! my body is happy to be well-fed (and well-clothed, after a much-needed defense-against-the-cold shopping trip in paris! hehee...).

ok, enough of my random ramblings... i'll post again if i can find another cyber. i've really wanted to upload photos, but haven't found a cyber with a reliable, fast connection. i guess that will wait until i am home in NYC. sorry, kids, i really do want to share my pictures.

be safe and take care. à la prochaine!

p.s. i am already shedding my west african french accent. to mourn or not to mourn?

assalaam alaykum! marhaba bikum!

it is 4am in my beloved Fès and I am listening to the morning call to prayer which is the last chance for Muslims to eat until sunset during the holy month of Ramadan. Yesterday, i left Essaouira (the windy city, as the t-shirts proclaim and the forbidding beach affirmed) and was only a little tired after a full day of travel, but unfazed as both the bus and the train left on time and reached their destinations in a timely, safe manner - this is an improvement on my recent modes of transportation. Today, i managed to fall into the nocturnal Ramadaan schedule of my hosts, which is to sleep most of the day and then spend the night socializing and eating to prepare for the day of fasting ahead.

this evening, we drove around Fès a bit and i must say that it has grown in the last few years. the main boulevard was always the most flashy and impressive part of the New City, but this glitz has grown exponentially with new hotels, complete with uniformed bellhops, and sidewalk cafés every few meters. i revisited my favorite part of Fès as i walked through the old medina, down the streets i knew and even past the little alley that leads to the house i used to live in. at the risk of recycling old metaphors about returning to a cherished place, i will say that it was as though time had compressed itself and i felt no difference between the steps i took today and those of several years ago in these same streets. Fès really is as lovely as i remember.

Ok, well, i'd really like to write more but i am tired, so any more details on Maroc will have to wait.

Greetings from the country where "Waaw" (sounds like "wow") is how everyone says yes! Wolof, the most widely-spoken local language in Senegal is hard for me to get in my head. With many aspirated sounds of Arabic and common words with Fulfulde (or Pulaar, as they call it here), my brain is never quite sure what is the meaning of the words that are coming through my ears. Though my new Wolof vocabulary is limited, it is of course versatile and efficient. I know how to say yes (Waaw), no, thank you, how are you?, i am fine and you are weird. Not too shabby, huh?

Great things to celebrate: On Friday morning, i took my last journey on transportation in West Africa! From here on out, it's airplane, baby! Whooohoo! On Friday, the ride into Dakar from Thies took more than 4hrs... for 70km! Quite appropriate for the two years of amazing adventures on decrepit modes of deplacement that I've experienced. Through the flooding that has drenched the outskirts of Dakar, we got the scenic route, squeezing our 7-place taxi through residential alleyways and puddles the size of kiddie pools. It was an absolute mess, but most commuters were quite courteous to one another - alleged, that is because we are in the month of Ramadan...

In my travels, I am moving slowly up the development ladder, from Burkina, to Mali to Senegal, and I have been amazed by the small increases in development and comfort. Most of the taxis are in better condition that any of the taxis I was used to in Burkina. (Though, they often still fail my three mirror check.) In a few days, I am off to Morocco. I am excited to go back after 4 years. I studied Arabic in Fes during college and had a great time. So, I am looking forward to returning and seeing what's changed.

ok, until next time! Ciao!

I suppose that I should get a new blog title since I am no longer a Burkinabe bebe...!
I have been free for exactly 25 days! No more worrying about Peace Corps rules, vacation days or having my professional and personal life too uncomfortably overlapping with each other! But, no more living life in Fulfulde and French, hanging out with my family in village or having the most flexible, unstructured job I will ever have. Ca va aller, as they say.

So, what did I do in my last few weeks? I finished up my last project, a girls camp for girls who were at the risk of failing their national primary school exam. (Check out pictures) I prepared myself for my many good-byes. I spent time with my family in village. Sincerely, I slept a lot, too. It's been an exhausting two years and the last few months were excessively tiring...thus, excessive sleeping. I think that I subconsciously decided to make up for all the sleep deprivation I've accrued since I was 11. School was over, all of my projects were finished and everyone was out in the fields planting during the day, so I'm took advantage of all this free time and slept like I won't be able to sleep again until I enter retirement. And, it was great!

I also started meditating regularly, working on focusing on the present moment and the things right in front of me. My living situation, as you all know, was the ideal place for such an endeavour. I had no distractions - at all, no electricity or anything to entertain myself but whatever came into my creative mind. You would think that such emptiness would make this practice that much easier, but it's surprising how the need to move, do and prove something is so persistent. Life in Burkina was so much slower and less stimulating than any situation I have ever experienced before. I've been a New Yorker since birth and have been on the move, setting goals and pursuing dreams since I was really young. It took great amounts of will and strength to overcome certain habits and ways of thinking and to give in to the pace of life.

When I did finally figure out how to slow down, I learned so much about myself - just from this one aspect of my life in Burkina. I learned to appreciate small accomplishments and to put some space in my mind between the reality around me and the incessant, internal commentary that shapes it. Well, at least, I'm trying to practice these things and hope that I can carry them with me wherever I go next in Life. In the end, I am grateful for my Peace Corps experience. It wasn't easy but if I really think back, it was what i asked Life to give me. I wanted a challenge, I wanted to be pushed and to be made into something new. I am sure that I can't see all the ways that it has affected me, changed me and re-created me from still-so close a distance.

I do know that the experience i gained in my village will forever shape so much of what i think about development - for better or for worse. More concretely, I was able to gain hands-on experience with public health issues on the rural village level. I had always been interested in international development/politics, but the interest was without a solid focus. From my perspective in village, the lack of control of their health was one of the greatest obstacles for my villagers to progress and shape their own lives. Also, the mentality that something as crucial as health is beyond their control cripples how they view their lives and the agency which they have to improve their situations. the lack of understanding regarding illness tranmission, treatment and prevention leaves them more vulnerable than just simply being sick. After my work in village, I am looking forward to seeing how much further I would like to pursue this new interest in public health. So, we'll see where this takes me...

But for now... all this Life-pondering is on hold. Right now, i'm in Senegal, enjoying the chance to travel without the worry of vacation days, living out of my backpack and just soaking up wherever I go with no better purpose than to just be there. and, it's great! I went from Burkina to Mali to Senegal by bus, so i have been slowly crawling up the development ladder. it has been an adventure. The place where I'm staying right now is the home of a friend's sister and has running water and wireless internet. oh, Life is good. I went to Dakar for a few days and it was so soothing and familiar to be back in a big city. The simple things make Life good. oh, Life is very good.

It's been great to have internet access and no longer be isolated and incommunicada in my little mud brick hut. (though, i must say it's odd not having a cell phone. i should probably relish this. when again in my life will a cell-phone-free life be possible or desirable?) I've been able to write emails and catch up on news, especially in regards to the American presidential race. Here's a little bit of presidential economics that I found quite interesting.

Ok, well, this entry was just to inform you all that i made it. I did the two years and I made it! it's an experience behind me now and I've got amazing travels and wonderful things ahead of me! So, i'll update again soon with details of these travels and hopefully some pictures, too.

And lastly, happy birthday to my beautiful sister!! XOXO

Once upon a time, the birds held a conference. The great bird-god, the Simurgh, had sent a messenger, a hoopoe to summon them to his legendary home far away atop the circular mountain of Qaf, which girdled the earth. The birds weren't particularly keen on the idea of this dangerous-sounding quest. They tried to make excuses - a previous engagement, urgent business elsewhere. Just thirty birds embarked on the pilgrimage. Leaving home, crossing the frontier of their land, stepping across that line, was in this story a religious act, their adventure a divine requirement rather than a response to an ornithological need. Love drove these birds as it drove the mermaid, but it was love of God. On the road there were obstacles to overcome, dreadful mountains, fearsome chasms, allegories and challenges. In all quests the voyager is confronted by terrifying guardians of territory, an ogre here, a dragon there. So far and no farther, the guardian commands. But the voyager must refuse the other's definition of the boundary, must transgress against the limits of what fear prescribes. He steps across that line. The defeat of the ogre is the opening in the self, an increase in what it is possible for the voyager to be.

So it was with the thirty birds. At the end of the story, after all the vicissitudes and overcomings, they reached the summit of the mountain of Qaf, and discovered that they were alone. The Simurgh wasn't there. After all they had endured, this was a displeasing discovery. They made their feelings known to the hoopoe who had started the whole thing off, whereupon the hoopoe explained to them the punning etymology that revealed their journey's secret meaning. The name of the god broke down into two parts: "si," meaning "thirty," and "murgh," which is to say "birds." By crossing those frontiers, conquering those terrors and reaching their goal, they themselves were now what they were looking for. They had become the god they sought.

-Salman Rushdie, "Step Across this Line"

setting out on the voyage to Ithaka
you must pray that the way be long,
full of adventures and experiences.
...

be quite old when you anchor at the island
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to give you riches.

Ithaka has given you your lovely journey.
without Ithaka you would not have set out.
Ithaka has no more to give you now.

poor though you find it, Ithaka has not cheated you.
wise as you have become, with all your experience,
you will have understood the meaning of an Ithaka.

"Ithaka", Cavafy


three months left to go...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

(i know it's - what?- three weeks late, but better late than never, no?)

the terms of my service are until august 2008, therefore, i am down to my last six months of Peace Corps. unbelievable. Still focusing on my two main projects: health classes with primary school girls and girls club at the secondary school.

because i am not actually a health volunteer and have no public health training, i have been reading everything i can get my hands on to assess the needs that should be addressed in my health sessions and how to plan them. i recently read a book, "Dancing Skeletons" by Katherine A. Dettwyler, which was a great illustration of so, so many of the health obstacles i see everyday in my village - the poor nutrition of families, lack of varied diets, poor maternal health leading to sickly children, etc... Not everything corresponds to my experience in Burkina because her research takes place in Mali (even though the book is subtitled Life and Death in West Africa, it's really just Child Heath and Nutrition in Mali... but that's so much less dramatic), but it was wonderful to be able to contextualize my very overwhelming experience in Gorgdaji with the work of a nutritional antropologist in a similar West African country. You can read it to get an idea of how very basic the health and nutrition needs of my villagers are.

So, with my primary school girls, i have been working with them on hygiene because many people in my village are not aware of the connection between proper hygiene and better health, specifically through illness prevention. later in the year, i would like to address malaria because so many people are so often sick with malaria but dont take the proper precautions. information is available but the people do not know how to incorporate these ideas into practice. maybe if the children start to learn how to do things differently, then maybe one day there will be adults who do things differently. since the age range of the girls is so huge, 8-13 years old, i try to make the class as interactive as possible. we sing songs, read stories, discuss pictures of poor hygiene and anything else i can think of to avoid having these children just memorize some information, rather than understanding how specific concepts are releveant and important to their lives and maybe someday change their behaviour. i have no idea if i am making any impact at all. and i will never know.

since classrooms are typically so overcrowded, girls are often disadvantaged and teachers are overwhelmed and/or ridiculously unmotivated or discouraged, i aim, at the most minimum, to be able to give the girls attention and guidance they would not have the opportunity to experience anywhere else. i make a point of having the class applaud girls who participate and the class as a whole recognize when they've done something well. also, i try to get the girls to encourage and help each other. my last health session evolved into a small reading group after the class was dismissed. about 7 or 8 girls stayed behind to read the book that i had presented in class, so each of them got the chance to read about half the book by themselves, with my almost undivided attention, going over every word with them. you have no idea what a rare opportunity this was for these girls. it was wonderful.

at the high school, we have talked about how to make good decisions, such as, what are the steps one takes when they have something difficult to decide, who can be resources or role models, etc. we also discuss behaviour and characteristics that will help the girls succeed in school and in life. the girls are engaged and fun to work with. when i started to work with them at the end of the last school year, i focused on theatre activities just to get them to open up a little and do something different. they really enjoyed it, so i was thinking maybe i could incorporate some of that into what we do now, maybe as role plays. next semester, i hope to add AIDS/HIV education, since they are a very vulnerable demographic, and maybe some reproductive health, but only with the support of the health clinic staff.

ok, i have 5 minutes left at this computer, so even though i had more to say, i'll leave you all here. thanks for reading. thank you for all your support and love, mailed, emailed or just telepathically beamed to me from such long distances. i need it and appreciate it so much. thank you.

below is a picture from inside my house. i have mud brick walls which i chalk up with pictures and quotes when my insanity strikes me. the quote is from a book i recently read by V.S. Naipaul, called Between Father and Son. I really enjoyed it.

oh, no! 1 minute left. Gotta go!