more from niamey

fo fo! sannu! bonjour! take your pick on what greeting you want - i don't know the ones in tamashek or biri-biri, but i could add those as well. niamey is insane in that way (and typical of africa in general) - everyone speaks at least 3 languages, and they're all interchanged quite frequently. my french is pretty useless actually - i really should speak hausa or djerma. alas.

anyway, here are some shots from niamey - the first is the sunset from our house a few nights ago. so beautiful - and there are quite a lot of trees around niamey, especially the nicer houses, considering we are in the sahara. the second shot was taken from a taxi - quite typical of niamey, that's what a lot of it looks like. spread out, dusty, low buildings - everything quite clean and ordered, just poor by first world standards.

my work at the hospital continues to go well. research has fallen into place and i feel very grateful at the surprising ease of it all. the women at the hospital are lovely and strong and happy despite some of the extraordinary pain many of them have faced. i love being here, africa is a difficult but wonderful place to work in. the people are extraordinary and i can't say enough about niger itself. such a safe friendly place to be! love you all and i'll try to post more pictures soon.

third-world me

hello all from niamey, niger! the local peace corps volunteer showed us a very nice cafe here that has wireless internet access, so i am here with my laptop on lunch break from work at the hospital and thought i'd let everyone know that i am safe in this blessed country. this is a picture of what ali and i like to call the 'third-world version' of ourselves - haha, not exactly the most attractive. but it's insanely hot here (it is the sahara after all): thus the large bottle of water in my hand, of which i drink at least 3 a day. i'm standing in front of the beautiful and luxurious house of dr. ghaichatou, the woman we are staying with here in niamey. she's an absolute gem, i couldn't say enough about her - she cooks us fantastic food every night, even though she works 11 hour days at the UNFPA office's fistula-eradication department. she's hilarious and strong and independent and overwhelmingly generous. that's par for the course here in niger, though - the people are so so lovely. i couldn't say enough about them! so welcoming and kind. my research is going well, the hospital is intense and shockingly sad at times, but i'm so happy to be here.

love you all. i'll probably update again.

a plus tard!

end of hilary term

i said a very tearful farewell to oxford last night. another 6 week term break... my time will mostly be spent in fieldwork in niger, but with brief visits in berkeley and utah before.

here are some shots of the last few days: i had dinner in Christ Church college's hall with a large group of african studies friends. it was spectacular, as you can see. and then last night we all went out to the pub for a final drink...of water in my case :) and yes, that last picture is of my dear german friend toni - i figured he should make his debut on my blog sometime or another. and yes, he was the hardest goodbye of the evening. sigh.

BUT i'm so so excited to see so much of the fam in a few short days! to squeeze all the little ones. :) as for oxford, see you in trinity term...

2 more things to be grateful for

1. the flowers currently in my room, for blooming while i slept last night.

2. the embassy in niger, for speedily getting my passport and visa safely back to me. :) now i can fly to the US safe and sound next week!

kenya

i imagine most people have heard news snippets about the violence accompanying recent elections in kenya the past month or so. if you're entirely in the dark, check out this [oversimplifying, but still helpful] article about the dangerous ramifications of the recent political chaos. dave anderson, my professor, is quoted in the article and has been quite active in the media trying to prevent unintelligent journalism on the issue. people see violence in africa and jump to immediate conclusions of 'entrenched traditional tribalism' and 'genocide like rwanda' all over again. we must put these events in a more accurate historic and local context, or else we simply exacerbate the issues. dave was explaining the other day how kalenjins in the rift valley applauded when the media claimed their actions 'genocidal,' because it put so much fear into gikuyu living among them that they all packed up and left: exactly what the kalenjins intended.

so anyway, this past week at oxford a group of african studies students (mostly kenyans) organised events to raise money for the kenyan red cross - i was asked to be the official photographer (throwback to my days as historian at cerro villa!). here are some shots of the open mic night in my college's bar, and the following night's panel discussion on 'kenya: the way forward' held in rhodes house, one of my main libraries. they were really good events that raised some funds, brought issues forward. the panel discussion was quite pessimistic in tone, unfortunately... we continued discussion at the pub afterwards and there was definite disagreement: dave, having spent so much of his life in the rift valley province, is increasingly pessimistic about the future of kenya (you can see his views in this ny times article). nic cheeseman, another one of my professors, however, felt that practical economic necessities will bring people away from the machetes and into productive life again. it's hard to say, and they may both be right - it's an exaggeration to say the country will fall apart completely (the 1992 elections had just as much violence accompanying them), but economic boom and prosperity are not likely either.

above is a south african gumboots dance performance... and below - that man sitting on the far left is dave anderson

pray for kenya, as it holds so much sway on a continent that has simply been marginalised and beaten up for far too long.

option #1 for post-oxford life

Congratulations! You have been admitted for the M.A. and Ph.D. in History for Fall 2008 at the University of California, Berkeley. Your official letter of admission and other informational materials will be sent to you via U.S. mail tomorrow. We're pleased to offer you admission and hope that you will choose to attend Berkeley.

rare sunny sunday in oxford = photo expedition in christ church meadow

note to self:

when you are enrolled in a masters course at oxford, you can't really take 3-day vacations in the middle of term.

i got back from paris at 2am this morning to a very, VERY full email inbox filled with academic obligations. oh, right - i'm getting a masters degree? i'm going to niger in march? for field research with top fistula surgeons? oh - i forgot in the midst of the boulangeries de paris...

needless to say i've been entirely stressed out today - the "best" little piece of news i got was from dr. idrissa - the head fistula surgeon at the national hospital in niamey asking if i had received permission to do my research from the nigerien ministere de la sante. DANG IT - i completely forgot about such formalities, and have absolutely no idea how to go about getting said permission, since each phone number i try (ever tried calling niger? yes, the country code is 227 - just fyi) is out of service. ha ha ha - this is all happening, and i feel sort of in over my head.

in other news, this lovely hyacinth bulb my friend stephanie gave me opened while i was in france! huzzah! that made me excessively happy. plus paris itself was wonderful - and despite the stresses of oxford life, it was still completely worth the trip. i <3 paris, what can i say. :)

ce week-end

it's supposed to snow in oxford this weekend.

but alas, i will not be here to see it as i will be in paris visiting a dear friend, alice. :) really the only consolation to miss such a potentially beautiful wintry scene.

home!

i got back to oxford a few hours ago - i admit i've rarely been happier to see a place in my life. the break was nice and relaxing (man i slacked off way too much) - and also filled with some incredibly delicious cuteness, as evidenced above. even if max was a little less than enthusiastic about snowboarding... :)

i'm so happy i got to see everyone (except leslie - what a bummer). and i'm also incredibly ecstatic to be here in the UK - i can't stop smiling. :)

i'll update more from oxford when i get the chance.