Merry Christmas!!

We are almost done with IST, in service training...we've got to go to lots of sessions and learn lots more about the work we're going to be doing...I've gotten lots of baby weighing carnets that i can give out to the women when i go do baby weighings when I get back, and we have lots of posters, etc. now to show people what we're actually talking about when we're giving health lessons...

On Saturday, me and most of my friends will take the long busride east to Maradi where we will spend one night, and get our mail and packages, etc. then on Christmas Eve, we will go a little further east out to Zinder to celebrate Christmas...Should be lots of fun...I think around December 30, there is the second biggest Muslim holiday of the year, Tibasci in French or Sala Baba in Hausa...It occurs 70 days after the end of Ramadan and I learned and have since forgotten the meaning of the holiday, I guess I should look it up before I go back to my village!! But anyway, each family that has the means to, kills a sheep, and they pretty much just eat meat for days until it runs out...My villagers have been talking about how much fun it is since I have been in El Kolta, so I think it will be fun to be there then.

Oh yeah! This was funny, at least to me, the other day, I got to the hostel in Maradi a day early, before anyone else, so I put in a CHristmas CD and sat down and was writing some Christmas cards, and am feeling all CHristmassy, and at 6:00, I could hear the call to prayer from like 3 different mosques near the hostel...talk about surreal, to be listening to "Silent night" and the prayer call at the same time! Anyway, it made me giggle and I wished someone was there to laugh at it with me haha. Oh yeah, and my other favorite moment that I'm not quite sure will be funny to yall bc of cultural reasons, ok so in Niger, everytime you enter someone elses concession or yard, or another room, you're supposed to call out "Salaam Alekum!" (Peace be with you) and you dont enter until they say "Amin. Alekum Asalaam!" (Amin, and Peace be with you). I think its a Muslim thing but I'm not sure, the words are in Arabic...So before I left my village, some of my neighbors whip out this doorbell, that when you push it says "Ding dong! Salaam Alekum!!" Anyways it made me laugh so hard that they just straight up gave it to me and i nailed it up to my door, its pretty funny.

Oh yeah, I will be coming home sometime in late June for around a month!! I can't wait!!!

ok so I need help!!! Lots of people have asked for ways that they can help out here and what they can send for my work or to the people here and I finally have some stuff up that yall can send if you want to or have the means. I have been making lots of plans for my girls club and all the stuff that I want to do, but I'm working with very few resources...These are the things taht would be WONDERFUL if people could send:
A Frisbee
Soccer ball (deflated)
Pump for soccer ball
Long jump rope
Beads for them to make jewelry and stuff
Coloring books
Glitter and glue
One of those blow up globes would be perfect
World map, Africa map, or Niger map (folded up, I want the club to be about geography and learning about the world too, these girls just have no concept)
ALso, we need tshirts!! (I want the girls to have a tshirt we can wear to every meeting, and also for when we have soccer games with other PCV's villages. I can get the tshirts custom made here, and they are only $4 dollars per person, if you want to pledge a certain amount, that would be just awesome...also, just to send american dollars if just the best bc i sure can't cash checks here..There will be about 25 girls in the club, so I need about 100 dollars, and I know the girls will just DIE if they have the club tshirts)

And basically anything else that you think a bunch of teenage girls would enjoy doing!! If you want to send any of these things, maybe just make it as a comment on the blog so others will know not to send the same thing you sent...also, you can email me at marpcvs@intnet.ne to let me know, and I can tell you if someone has already sent that or not.

Please send to:
Katie Prescott
BP 226
Maradi, Niger
West Africa

Thanks for reading!! Hope everyone has a great Christmas and eats lots of good food ( : I miss you all!!
Love lots, Katie

Also, my pictures are up on Webshots.com, username: Katiepafrica and password: elkolta
There should be new pictures up soon!