Fill-in-the-blank

In an effort to avoid talking about Obama and the Peace Prize (I thought the "A for effort" philosophy ended in 2nd grade? [Guess I can't avoid the topic entirely]), let's do a vocabulary exercise!

Fill in the blank with the appropriate word or phrase:

Nigeria is __________. Ready? Go!

One-word responses:
Heartbreaking. Vibrant. Breathtaking. Beautiful. Alive.
Broad. Sprawling. Claustrophobic.
Scorched. (And I'm not speaking geographically.)

Two-word responses:
Public Urination. ('nough said.)
Africa hot.
"Ah-ah" and "Sss, Sss." (Both colloquialisms, "ah-ah" encompasses a range of exclamations, from "No way" to "Be careful." The "sss" or hissing sound replaces the American attention-getter "Hey, you.")

3 words responses:
Phone calls home.
A great disparity.
"She's my aunty." (In reference to any older woman.)
New construction. Everywhere.

Phrasal responses:
Having people think I'm related to any other white person simply because I'm also white.
Sticky hot shadows on burning pavement.
Washing dishes and just hoping you don't get salmonella.
Suffering jokes about marrying a Nigerian.
Bad roads and worse traffic.
A row of buildings: bank, restaurant, bank, cardboard house with a corrugated tin roof and open fire, supermarket. (See "A great disparity.")

I could go on and on--and I probably will, when I learn new ways to complete that sentence.

Fridays are the Best Days of the Week

Oh, how I love Fridays. As a young girl I loved Fridays. As a college student I loved Fridays. Now, as a teacher, I love Fridays still.

This Friday I gave 3 tests, played the Hangman game to help my 6th graders learn vocabulary words, and wore another Nigerian dress to school. Mrs. Opara, the music teacher, took one look at me in my dress and said, "Miss Maggie, someone is going to marry you here in Nigeria!" I'll upload pictures eventually!

This Friday is particularly wonderful because it is the beginning of a 4-day weekend for us! It's the end of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, and the Sallah is a public holiday...one of the benefits of living in a half-Muslim nation!

I've discovered that in moving to a brand-new country, I've come to treasure and celebrate small victories. Yesterday I went someplace alone and it was wildly successful! Before my parents die of heart attacks, allow me to explain: Our school is positioned quite close to a popular restaurant franchise called Chicken Republic. We're so close, in fact, that there's a shortcut leading directly from the front gate of the school to the front doors of the restaurant. Jan and I have popped over there for our after-school lunch occasionally, so I know the way quite well.
I did everything the way I was supposed to: I took only the cash I needed to buy food, I told my fellow teachers AND the guard at the front gate where I was going, I walked directly there, ate my food, and walked directly back. My grand adventure lasted all of 20 minutes, and 7 of those were spent waiting for my chicken sandwich to be made!
It's really not a big deal, but it feels monumental to me. I've never before appreciated feeling independent and safe at the same time.

Last anecdote of the day: Right before I left for Nigeria, my mom asked me if I wanted to take some packages of Ramen Noodles with me. If I remember right, I think I looked at her with self-righteous disdain and said, "Mom, I'm out of college now. I don't want to eat Ramen if I can help it."

Oh, oh, oh, how mistaken I would be.

Here in Nigeria, a favorite snack of adults and children alike is Indomie, which looks like, smells like, tastes like, is prepared like and has the same exact packaging as Ramen noodles. Not only do I eat it, but I bought a case of it in the market. The only difference between Indomie and Ramen is that Indomie provides a flavoring packet and a chili pepper packet, and I use them both. Not bad for a girl previously allergic to any kind of spice!