GIRAFFES!! (sunday, sept. 3)

ok just so everyone knows even though i couldnt come to the game yesterday it was the best day of my life!! we got to see the giraffes!!! we had originally been told that there wasnt enough money in the budget for a guide to take us out to see the wild giraffes (the last in west africa) so i was sooooooooo bummed bc i had looked forward to that all week...my teacher Souleyman said at best, keep your eyes peeled you might see them off of the main road leading back from dosso to hamdallaye our training village...wouldnt you know that i was in the last seat on the bus, having have my eyes glued to the bush out the windows looking for the giraffes, AND I SAW THEM!! I yelled giraffes, everyone just freaked out, and the driver slammed on the brakes, we piled out of the bus. They are just amazing and majestic and beautiful and breathtaking!!! there were easily 30 girraffes, about 200 yard from the road; they were all just walking. we slowly walked out there to them and all just milled around amidst them taking pictures and thanking God for such an opportunity. it was just go beautiful you could cry. they werent even scared of us!! i got some of the best pictures, i was as close as 30 feet to the closest one. you just cant imagine!! it was just the best most wonderful thing. you would think giraffes would run from us but they really didnt!! they did stare at us; im sure they were thinking what are these white people doing out here?? haha. i got the greatest pictures.

oh and guess what????? I WAS ON THE RADIO IN NIGER!! heheheh...it was so awesome...we all prepared a little health related sensabilisation and read it out loud in our language ( for me hausa) and will air tonight..so im pretty much famous. haha just kidding. Oh yeah, and my sensabilisation was for what to do if your kid has diahrea, so I said how to do the oral rehydration solution of water, salt, and sugar....pretty much i talked about diahrea on national radio, it was great. My hausa is coming!! Everyone here is so nice....

the day before yesterday we saw a "snake charmer" in the market in dosso....he removed this snakes fangs and there was a big group of people surrounding him that were like in awe (course they didnt know his fangs were removed) So anyway, this guy was selling medicine traditional, that apparently you could use if you were bitten by a snake or a scorpion....all a scam really, im sure it was just like dirt and some salt or something.......anyway i got pics of this mamoth snake!!

Things are going good here...I am getting excited to get out to my village and start doing work...It all depends on my village and the facilities available, but I think I will be doing stuff a lot with the kids and teaching cooking classes for feeding the kids with malnutrition and also hygeine and disease prevention...I am anxious to get out there an see what I will be working with. as i said, i will be going to konni, maradi, or zinder....most likely maradi bc they need a lot of health volunteers out there...maradi was the hardest hit in the famine in niger last year. That will be pretty intense if I go there...from what I've seen, there is food here...but its all bland no nutrition whatsoever food, so its no wonder the kdis are malnourished..its really the exception if the kid doesn't have a belly swollen with malnutrition...its sad to say I've gotten used to seeing kids like that, you would think that that's something you would never get used to.

We also visited a hospital yesterday in Dosso...being here makes you realize all the stuff you ever took for granted in the states, for me it has been food...I've never wanted some decent kind of food so much ever...and also health facilities..There are so few doctors and clean facilities.


oh yeah my little host brother mamansani is home from the hospital!! he is just precious, when i got home, he got up and ran over to me and just jumped in my arms laughing and chattering away...he is just too freaking cute!! my host mother said he talked about me all week long at the hospital. I want to steal this child so badly.


i saw that the dawgs pulled through with a victory !!! yayayya...i saw the highlights of the game today in niamey at the rec center on espn. gary and shelly, i even saw yall in the crowd!! haha just kidding...Ok thanks for reading! love and miss you all!! pray that i get a great village this friday when i find out.
Love lots,
Katie