IST

Hello everyone!! I'm in Niamey right now getting ready for In Service Training. I am excited to see all of my stagemates and have fun doing more American type things like going out to restaurants and shopping!! I have a few things to talk about today that I haven't had a chance to comment on in the last month because I haven't had access to the internet.
A few weeks ago a couple of volunteers and I were just finished with a radio show and waiting for a bush taxi at the tasha. We were all 4 sitting on the edge of a prayer ring, which consists of a few cement bricks stacked about 3 high in a rectangle. The volunteers I was with were Allie, Will and Lachlan. We were just sitting and talking when a man walked up to us and addressed the guys in french/hausa and started telling them that he was sorry, but "the women" had to move, it was ok for the boys to sit where they were, but Allie and I would have to get up and sit somewhere else. I asked him if it was ok if we just sat in front of the bricks instead of on them, but he said no, and we all just awkwardly sat there not knowing what to do. Eventually Allie and I got up and so did Will and Lachlan and we walked across the street and sat against a building. That was the first time I felt discrimination at all for being a woman. For the most part, being a foreigner in Niger puts us in a different category and no one really treats us different than the guys. It was a crazy experience that I think I needed to realize what women here actually go through. I have never felt like I was less than anyone else, and I still don't, but I realize that women here are shown every day that they aren't able to do the things men are, and I guess it's shown me very blatantly what I need to work on here in my village. Thanks for listening!!