Relieved….Happy…..Hopeful

Just a quick entry to commemorate the occasion….  It has been a great night.  I hung out in Dosso with some of my best friends here in Niger.  We made pizza, calzones, and soft pretzels.  We created our own electoral maps and hung some cool posters from designforobama.com.  My friend Kaylee decided to knit a hat for me while waiting for the results, just in time for “cold season”.  We listened to a mix of BBC and NPR via a very cheap sattelite radio I got a couple months ago.

BBC was requesting emails and calls from around the world concerning the election.  Here’s an email my friend Mike sent.

Hi, we are Peace Corps Volunteers serving in Niger listening to the BBC World Service on shortwave.  We live in small rural villages without electricity or running water, far removed from American politics, and it has been amazing the past few weeks to see the interest among Nigerians in the US presidential election and the possibility of a man with Kenyan roots to become the next US president.  When we tell our villagers that we are supporting Obama, they smile and say that his leadership will be good for peace and stability for the whole world.  It is a testament to the importance of this election that subsistent farmers in one of the poorest countries in the world are discussing its outcome and praying for an Obama victory at their local mosques.

Despite all the enthusiasm from locals for Obama, a lot of them told me this morning that they didn’t think the US would actually elect a black president.  I’m glad the American people have proven them wrong.  America has passed the “ultimate color-blindness test” and we’ve shown the world that we’re not OK with the actions and policies of the Bush administration.  I’m hopeful that this is the first step in putting America back on track to helping create a better world for future generations. Oh, yes I’m the talened artist responsible for that beautiful electoral map….