fruit

As one may imagine when living in a new climate, he or she will encounter many new flora and fauna.  As such, I have detailed my fauna discoveries (check out this little F***er I found stuck in a cobweb in my bathroom.  I left him there for three days (he was stuck) before I made Joey throw him away - HE WAS STILL ALIVE) and so I feel I should also pay homage to some of the flora around here.


This is called a soursop.  Nigerians pro- nounce it "show (like cow) - ah - shop."  We found it rather tasteless and slimy.  Apparently it has amazing medical benefits.  Maybe we'll juice it.

Did you know that cashews grow on apples and you can eat the apple?  We got really excited when we cut into the apple and it smelled like starfruit.  Then we ate the fruit which soaked up every last bit of moisture our mouths.  So we now know why those delicious little nuts are so expensive.  First you have to remove the apple from the cashew, roast the cashew to get it out of its shell (because the oil between the shell and the nut is poisonous), and then roast the nut.  Thank God for Planters.

For photos of a more interesting subject matter, click here.

bwari pottery village

What’s worse than turning on the shower faucet and having brown water rush out?  Being in the shower, looking down at the bath water (I hate bathtubs) and seeing it’s brown.  And knowing that you aren’t that dirty.  In fact, you have just been in the swimming pool.  Yes.  Much worse to know that brown water is all over you.  So I’m going to my happy place.  And since there is no Coldstone in Abuja, I thought I’d conjure up a memory of a happier time here.

About a month and a half ago (I had to dig deep), Joey and I visited Bwari Pottery Village.  It’s a short drive outside Abuja, about 40 minutes or so.  We got directions from motorpool before we left:

“Drive on this road about xxx minutes.  Then, when you see a bird on the mountain, turn left.  You drive approx- imately xx kilometers before you turn right.  Then at this building turn right.  The road will curve this way and that way (as he waves his hand back and forth) and then you will turn right again.”

Very helpful.  So after calling the proprietor several times to clarify directions, and assuring my husband even more times that I not only understood what the proprietor said but that we were going the right way down the dirt road, we actually found the place.  And what a treat!  The proprietor took us all over the operation, detailing how they got started, how they make the clay, how they make the glaze, how everything used in the production of the pottery is sourced locally – it really was fascinating.  We even got to see a guy making some pottery. 

Our tour cul- minated in the shop, where we were amazed by the variety of items available, from pitchers and vases to casserole dishes, teapots and decorative lanterns.  We bought a pitcher for ourselves and a few other items to send home for gifts.  Hopefully they arrive in tact!

After buying our pottery we walked across the field to a little hut where we had our lunch  - leftover homemade pizza.  Yum!  We wandered a little farther to check out the giant termite hill and then back to our car.  All in all it was well worth the hassle to find it.  Almost makes me forget about brown showers.  Almost.

You can see the rest of my Bwari photos here.

my husband is an accidental comedian

I'll start with today.  Joey had to go to the dentist.  This is what his pants looked like when he was done.

Joey also baked me a cake for my birthday.  He is a wonderful husband.  Not so much a wonderful baker.  Actually the cake tasted delicious.  It just didn't look so pretty.

You may recall my birthday post complaint about the lizard in my bathroom.  You may also recall one of my first posts here about the lizard in my bedroom.  A. The first lizard was significantly bigger than the lizard in this photo.  B. Joey laughed me out of the bedroom when I appeared with a cup, water bottle and piece of paper.  Note the large mixing bowl and pot lid he brought up to catch lizard #85.

Don't forget the file folder.  Makes all the difference in the world when catching lizards.  Also, don't mind my swimsuits.  They were drying.

My steward is hilarious as well.  The other day I came home and she had braided Moe's hair.  Moe, our so-ugly-he's-cute dog with a mohawk, now had a corn-row instead.  I don't know why I didn't take a picture.  I'm really hoping she'll do it again.  I still don't know how she got him to sit.


Her reaction to our new garbage can was also comedy gold.  After cleaning up one too many messes in the kitchen courtesy of our dogs, I ordered an infared garbage can. You wave your hand over it and it automatically opens.  No germs.  Wonderful.  Well our steward was beyond amazed.  "Wooooow!  Oh wow! You oyibos think of everything!"  Then she asked us if she could bring the neighboring steward over to see it.  Um, ok?


Finally, I believe this to be one of the funniest pictures I've taken since arriving in Nigeria.  Apparently, as the token white people at the wedding we attended, one of our roles including holding babies and posing for pictures.  This little guy was only ten months old.  As they shoved him into my arms, Joey exclaimed "He's adorable!" 

He got very concerned looks from the mother and grandmother.  "He's HORRIBLE?  O he said the baby was horrible-oh!"


"No!" said Mr. Comedian.  "I said he's adorable!"


Sighs of relief were breathed by all.  Except me.  Because I was still holding the very adorable, very heavy baby.

a better day

Wow - thank you so much for all the kind comments!  Sometimes I feel like I'm being so negative and then I feel guilty about being negative which just makes me even more negative.

Today I'm trying to be positive. 

Last weekend we upgraded our internet service to wireless.  It's wonderful because 1. I am no longer chained to the desk in our "bonus room" (notice the more frequent blogging?) and 2. it is fast!  Welcome back streaming videos!  And what amazing combination does wireless internet and streaming videos produce?  Yoga on demand by the pool.  Yes, that's right, this afternoon my yoga mat, laptop and I headed out to the pool and sweated through a yoga class from my favorite yoga studio (www.corepoweryoga.com) in the States.  I believe this is going to tremendously improve my mood.  Granted, the computer battery died right in the ending stretches (my favorite part) and I had to switch one of the videos a few minutes in because it wasn't streaming properly, the bugs were rampant, and I could hear Moe yipping from his kennel half the time (thank God I am the only one in our neighborhood who doesn't work full-time and no one else was home), and the Nigerian compound staff kept walking by, staring, wondering what in the world this oyibo was up to today, but all-in-all, I got a hot yoga class and I feel good.

27 and a day

I realize after visiting an orphanage where kids need shoes and band-aids and books that my complaints are exceptionally trivial and frivolous.  I am going to complain nonetheless.

Seriously, is it too much to ask to sit down on my toilet in my bathroom in my house and not have a lizard staring back at me?  Or how about turning on the faucet in the shower and not having brown water rush out.  Is that too much to ask?  Is it too much to ask to come home and not find a cockroach in your bedroom?  Or sit at the computer and be distracted by the gigantic ant that just fell on the mouse?

Is it too much to ask to have a romantic dinner on your birthday with your husband?  Because last night he attended a reception to which I was not invited.  Luckily the woman who I consider to be my closest friend here is also persona non grata (read: not FSO) and so at least I didn’t have to be alone, but I still really think it sucks that I didn’t get to see my husband until at 8:30 pm on my birthday.  Like the person for whom the reception was held a) knows Joey, b) cares to know Joey, or c) would have even noticed if Joey wasn’t there.  But who am I to ask?  I am just Joey’s wife.  And I have a birthday every year.  Not like it was my first birthday out of the US and my first birthday where my family couldn’t call me to wish me happy birthday.  It’s okay, I didn’t want Joey around anyway…

I’m just really feeling negative.  Hence my not blogging much lately because they’d all sound the same way and that’s no fun to read.  I realize that I need to change my attitude and that I’m not going to be happy until I do that and I realize I have so many things to be thankful for, including a husband who I know would have rather hung out with me on my birthday and running water and a generator and my dogs and my health and a supportive family, not to mention an amazing trip to Europe planned, etc., etc.  I did end up having a really enjoyable dinner with my friend at a nice restaurant (even though my risotto cost $30 and my martini $20).  I received many touching birthday emails and lots of Facebook well wishes too.  I have some great stories and pictures from our trip to Lagos for the wedding and the last month.  I just have to stop feeling sorry for myself first.  I'll get there...

Joey and I volun- teered at an orphan- age in Abuja yester- day.  I'm not sure if it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be because my standards have dropped considerably since moving here or because I've been so desensitized over the last three months or what; regardless, I definitely have to say it was my most rewarding experience since moving here.  Joey and I definitely plan on visiting on a more regular basis and my ultimate goal is to improve those kids' lives, if only a little.  It was the first time since moving here that I actually felt like I could contribute something; like there was a good reason for me to live here for the next two years. 

The playground

The first thing I noticed was an adorable little boy with a huge cut on his ankle.  Luckily, I carry a first-aid kit in the car, so we were able to get some Neosporin and a band-aid on it.  Simple first-aid supplies would make a world of difference for those kids.  Their playground, which consists of rusty and beat-up, if not completely broken, old equipment donated by the British School several years ago, also happens to be covered in feces from the goats and cows that are raised on the property, and I can't even imagine the infections that must ensue from open wounds mixed with fecal bacteria. 

Also on the playground

The kids' arms and legs were coated with mosquito bites, scabs from scratching those mosquito bites and scars from the repeated scabbing and reopening of said mosquito bites.  I got a quick peak into their bedroom, which looked like some cribs with mosquito nets, but considering how bad the mosquitoes can get in our air-conditioned, well-built house, I can only imagine what it gets like around dusk in their hot little building.  Pre-treated mosquito nets and even some fans, preferably battery-operated because the electricity is so unreliable, to help with some circulation would help tremendously. 

Once I got past the basic health concerns, I noticed the kids' shoes.  It's not like the kids don't have shoes; they do.  But none of their shoes seemed appropriate and certainly only few of them actually fit.  The same little boy with the cut on his ankle went to put on shoes (note I did not say "his shoes" - they don't have their own shoes, just a cabinet of shoes from which to choose), and couldn't find a matching pair.  He ended up with a blue flip-flop that was slightly too small on his left foot and a green flip-flop that was at least three sizes too big on his right foot.  He was happy as a clam as he waddled out to the playground, but I was more than disconcerted.  Especially because I'd been told that large donations of clothing had been made in the past, only to have disappeared by the next visit.  How do you even begin to address that problem? 
 

This little girl slept on the floor the whole time we were there. 

 So then, last in importance when you have health concerns and shoes that don't fit, but still incredibly sad when you consider these are just children, is the lack of toys and books.  All I saw was a small stack of dusty plastic tricycles in the back of the room.  No crayons, no books, no balls, no games.  So I am going to build them a library.  There's a space in the administrative building and even if the kids can't read right now, without access to books they certainly aren't going to learn.  And I believe that not only is there far less incentive to resell donations of books, but the power of reading and learning gives these kids the best chance to improve their lives.  I haven't figured out any of the logistics yet and I have no idea where to begin, but by the end of our time here in Abuja, I'm bound and determined those kids will have a library.

Click on the photo to see the rest of my pictures.  I didn't publish any recognizable pictures of the kids to my blog just in case of safety/legal concerns.

day trippin

A few weeks ago I tagged along with a friend of mine on a day trip to a little village in Kaduna State. She coordinated a donation to benefit this village's medical clinic.  Before the donation, the medical clinic consisted of a tiny hut with two beds; babies were born right next to where AIDS patients were treated.  Thanks to this donation, they were able to expand the medical clinic to its own building with three separate treatment rooms.  The improvement really was astonishing.  I felt very lucky to get to watch the ribbon-cutting, and I was also pretty proud of our government's donation because I could actually see how it will make a difference. 

The hut in the foreground is the original medical clinic.  The new clinic is in the background.  And yes, I accidentally walked into that ribbon.  (The side was still taped on after the front was cut!  And the attendees thought it was hilarious.)

 

I feel like I should also mention it was my first exper- ience without running water.  They had to teach me how to use the bucket to flush the toilet - which I'm still not sure if I did right.  Crazy the things you take for granted.

Here's the link to the rest of my pictures from that trip:
https://picasaweb.google.com/100586084762366858227/20110218?authkey=Gv1sRgCNKo1ZT5up_nVw&feat=directlink