Merry Christmas

I want to start by saying I hope you are having a blessed Christmas...

This time last year I was getting ready to go to Niger (West Africa)...frantically I should add. I found out I was leaving the country (for 27 months) less than five weeks before I was to depart. And to be honest I felt a little robbed of spending the holiday season with my family. My last five weeks were spent purchasing everything I needed, packing my suitcases and my home, having a going away party (which included me cooking too), numerous other little things, and squeezed in was my family. The positive of returning home is that I can spend more genuine time with my family, not a "fake" lets throw all of our family activities into the unnatural allotted time. Coming home prematurely was incredibly difficult and realizing this "do-over" has added a bit of silver lining.

I heard from some Peace Corp Volunteers and although they're a little homesick, they had nice Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations. Each celebrated it a little different ranging from spending time with their village to gathering at their local hostel and having as close to a traditional American Christmas as possible. Niger is a wonderful country; the people are welcoming and enjoy spending time with you and learning your culture...which makes being away from home at this time of year easier to bare. Peace Corp Volunteer Barbara told me she had a wonderful thanksgiving. Ready for this...she had turkey. Yes, she had a Nigerian turkey she purchased at her local market; she butchered and cleaned it herself. I was pretty impressed!!! Kevin, also a Peace Corp Volunteer, will have spent his Christmas holiday having a potluck dinner with other Peace Corp Volunteers at his local hostel.

I couldn't help but think about the poverty that Niger has. The United Nations (UN) compiled a list of worlds poorest 177 countries, Niger is 177th, however you could never tell by the demeanor of Niger's people. Not only do the kids make do and play with what's available, but the families are generous and will share whatever they have. I walked to and from my training site in a city called Hamdallaye (pronounced Hum-da-lie), roughly 2 miles one way. I would receive countless hello's (Fofo in the Zarma language), numerous offers of something to eat or drink, not to mention the immeasurable amount of time he/she would spend with me answering questions I had about the language and/or culture. It gives you a genuine realization of what's most important...not those things that are tangible, but in the form of thankfulness for the relationships you have with others.

My wish for you is that you see what the Christmas season has to offer you, not only in the form of faith, but in giving a realization of your priorities and the importance of friends, family, and community. God bless...

I hope, so far, you've enjoyed my photographs! I have been trying to find a source to sell my photographs and I think I've found...Ebay. I take great pride in my work. God has given me a gift to not only see His beautiful boundless world but to capture those moments and share them with others. Take a look...click here http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=thetreasureemporium or click on the link to the right.

Have a blessed Christmas!

Christmas Wish

After hearing from Brittany (currently a Peace Corp Volunteer serving in Niger, West Africa) I read her updated entry in her blog (read it for yourself...click on the link to the left under "Brittany"). She had some very exciting news! After months of going through the steps to have a proposal approved its happened!! Whats the proposal for you ask...well, it enables the Peace Corp to collect money through their website and transfer that ear marked money to Brittany's village for a machine that grinds millet.

Giving the village another means of grinding millet is incredibly important (want to know what it looks like to manually pound millet, look at the photo to your right of the three women). Millet is a primary food staple for the Nigerian people. And by given them a means to efficiently prepare their food, they can use the time for accomplishing other tasks like schooling (the girls are commonly pulled out of school to help w/this practice). Don't just take my word for it, read Brittany's blog and hear it from someone first hand of the benefits of this project for her village.

If you are interested in donating to this project:

1. Click on the peace corp website link to the left
2. Click on "Donate Now" located on the yellow left-hand side column
3. Under Donors, click on "Donate to Volunteer Projects"
4. Choose a Region: Africa
5. Scroll down until you get to "NIGER: Millet Grinder for the village" (if you want additional information, click it to learn about the project)
6. Enter a dollar amount in the space to the right to donate

Is there not a better Christmas gift to give than to enable a girl to stay in school!

Introduction

Greeting! So, where should be start...I was in the Niger (West Africa) with the Peace Corp January of 2007 for two weeks, injured my knee, and returned home for surgery. The entire situation was upsetting considering I felt as though Niger was where I was meant to be. However, I decided to take advantage of this unexpected downtime to work on photography, a passion I had begun a few years ago with photography classes (and advice from my photography instructor who is a phenomenal photographer himself to pursue photography). My goal is to finish my formal education as a Veterinarian and pursue photography on the side (after I re-enter the Peace Corp when my recovery is complete). So, why start a blog?


I want, of course, to use this opportunity to showcase my photography however I also want to use this blog to showcase the Peace Corp and the Peace Corp Volunteers (PCV's) currently serving in Niger. The PCV's are people I personally met and they are doing awesome work to help Niger, the poorest country according to the UN, defeat hunger. When I re-enter the Peace Corp (possably 2008) I will journal my experiences on this blog.

So, a little about me...I am a Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT) and I love life in general. I find at times everything amazes me in nature and animals. My photography focuses on nature and animals of course, but in moments that are spontaneous not staged. I enjoy taking photo's of people too, again spontaneous not staged. This past summer I found myself at the county fair taking photo's of a equestrian event and realized how great it is to capture an image of people with their pets. Since, others have seen my work and have asked me to take photo's of them riding or with their pet...a new interest was sprung!

I hope you enjoy looking at my photographs as much as I enjoyed capturing them!