Demyst

Demystification, a.k.a. demyst, is the first chance trainees get to leave the PC training site and see what it’s like to be a real volunteer. Current PCVs host trainees at his/her site for three or four days and allow the newbees to observe daily activities and ask all the questions we were too nervous to ask in the formal training sessions. 

My demyst host, Rachel, is an MCD volunteer and has been in country a little over a year. She was a great host: incredibly accommodating and patient, as well as a great cook!

Rachel and me on the back of a truck headed for the regional capital.

The drive out to Rachel’s village allowed me the opportunity to observe some of Niger’s landscape. During the last two hours of our drive (all on dirt road) were really fun. I saw a ton of mango trees, millet fields, and a lot of other beautiful flora I could not identify. I also caught glimpses of large herds of sheep, goats, and cows, mostly lead by boys that looked about six. 

My favorite: cow stampede! 

My favorite part of the drive was seeing a man driving his motorcycle with two enormous tires around his torso. When Sayni, the PC driver, saw me staring wide-eyed at the spectacle he laughed and said, “Welcome to Africa!”

I also got to spend the last night of demyst in one of the PC hostels and meet and socialize with other current PCV’s as well.