Today

...was a great day!

February is Reading Emphasis month at ICS, and grades K-12 are participating in D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything And Read), in which students drop whatever they're doing and read a book they've chosen (one appropriate to their own reading level). Grade 6 is my most out-of-control class, but today the kids settled right down with their DEAR books and it was silent--completely!--for 20 minutes. I was so shocked I honestly left the class to get my camera. When I came back--still silent! When I took a picture and a video--still silent! I could have cried for happiness.

Next was Grade 12. I've been struggling with this Brit Lit class,--blamed on a lack of interest and respect--but I put on a brave face today, determined not to let their antics ruffle me. A student affected this fake accent just to mess with me, so I mirrored his speech so he could hear how ridiculous he sounded. He gave up. Miss Maggie: 1, Grade 12: 0.

The rest of the morning was spent out of class for Sports Day Practice. I get a little intense about competition (a massive understatement) and my throat is scratchy after cheering on the Red Draco team this morning! We're number 1, not 2, not 3, not 4. We're gonna win, not lose, not tie the score...

The entire morning was punctuated by clobbering hugs from Grade 2 students. Niyi jumped me about 5 times. Feyi, Ugonna, and Seun fought over who got the frontal full-body hug. Getting loved on by 8-year-olds has to be one of the greatest feelings in the world.

As the morning practice wrapped up, one of the kindergarteners tripped and fell. She burst into these choking little sobs and I picked her up to examine her hand. The palm was intact - not even a grass stain - but I kissed it anyway. It totally worked. I'm not even a Mom yet and I'm kissing owies to make it all better. Oh man I love my life.

I can't wait to see tomorrow, because I loved today.

I have a social life!

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back my social life! After an extended absence, featuring several instances of lesson planning on Friday nights and various weeks of going only to work and straight home, I'm pleased to announce that my extroversion has made a long-awaited appearance!

All joking aside, I spent Friday afternoon at the home of a lovely American coworker. She's been inviting me over since August, and we finally got around to it! Mrs. C is married to a Nigerian and has two delightful young boys. It was so wonderful to spend the afternoon and evening in the midst of a family. We had lunch - some delicious Nigerian rice and plantain and chicken - and the boys kept bringing me balloons to blow up for them. It brought me so much rest to talk about adapting to culture and staying in touch with family and making long-term decisions that affect everything.

Saturday morning Jan and I made our way to another friend's home. Their daughter is currently at Wheaton (my alma mater) but spent Christmas visiting her parents, who work for the U.S. Embassy. They made us brunch (Waffles and fruit? Sign me up!) and then we spent a delightful afternoon at their pool, chatting and catching up on everything Wheaton.

It was so refreshing to speak with someone who feels such a deep love for all that Wheaton is, as opposed to some of the disillusioned, jaded Wheaton "survivors" I spent the last year talking with. I share this young woman's appreciation for the ways Wheaton has shaped us as individuals and helped us grow, and it felt something like closure for me to reminisce on my Wheaton experience, reflecting on the positive, instead of the negative. The sunshine and 92 degree weather only sweetened the conversation. (Don't worry, Mom, I wore sunscreen!)

This morning was church, and though Sunday mornings look a lot different than it did in August, what with the absence of an official pastor, I know that God is still present in our continually-changing community.
I give thanks today for the blessing of a church family: people who noted my absence and welcomed me back, people who nodded with understanding when I said that leaving home this time was infinitely more difficult than in August, people who asked eagerly if I will return next fall because they want me to come back. People want me to come back. I am wanted here.
As difficult as it is to leave behind the familiar and come back for another 6 months in this place that is not home, it is easier knowing that my presence is desired, and that people will miss me when I leave (and come June 18, I will leave).

On that note, I have not decided yet if I will return for a second year. Some days I lean one way and some days I lean another. Making an objective decision is impossible--emotions are implicitly involved--so prayer is my method. I am praying that God will reveal His plan to me. You may agree with me in that prayer, but I will ask that you do not pray that I will come home (or, conversely, that I will stay).
I'm serving a holy God in a place that makes me uncomfortable, and I'm finding joy and fulfillment in that obedience. Obedience, then, is my primary objective. If obedience means Nigeria, America, or the Galapagos Islands, I will follow where He leads. Pray, please, that I will be obedient, whatever that means for my future trajectory. Thank you for praying. It is sustaining me in this Hot Season.

Crazy Hazy Days

The weather is definitely changing in Abuja. Firstly, the rains have stopped. As a result, things are dusty and dry. Secondly, I can't see the rocks anymore. Every morning on my way to work, we cross a bridge and looking east, I can see Aso Rock in the distance. The view is magnificent, and really starts my day off on the right foot. Lately, though, I haven't been able to see it at all because the mists hang so heavy in the air. "Mist" is just a euphemism for dust, but it does remind me of fog.

My weekend has been full of school, as usual. As you all know from my previous complaints, Friday was a working holiday at ICS. The kids didn't come in, but we had a day-long meeting and got home only slightly earlier than usual. Then this afternoon, the PTA put on a Family Day Out at the local Palmetium (park/plant nursery). They sold food and had a jumpy castle (I don't know what else to call it!) for the kids. It was even nice to see my students outside the classroom in a more relaxed setting.

On that note, it's still strange to me to be on the flip side of the teacher-student relationship. When I was a student (pre-college), I rarely saw my teachers outside of school. The proverbial "seeing your teacher in the grocery store" scenario never happened to me, but I think it would have been weird. I try to keep that in mind as I interact with my students...how many of them were weirded out by seeing me in jeans today?

This upcoming week is another Muslim holiday, so we won't have school on Thursday or Friday. I'm giving 5 tests on Monday, too, so I really only have to plan lessons for 2 days this week. It might not seem like a big deal, but trust me, these are the simple joys in my life these days.

I'm keenly aware that Thursday is also a holiday back home, albeit for different reasons. If memory serves me, this will be the very first Thanksgiving holiday I have spent without my family, and I'll be missing the fellowship of Mom's kitchen on that day. I'm going to make the best of it, however: Jan and I have decided to host our own Thanksgiving dinner at our flat and invite some of our neighbors.

Planning a holiday meal in a country which does not recognize said holiday poses some challenges, but we're making do. Turkey is almost impossible to come by, but some church friends have access to the U.S. Embassy's recent shipment of holiday turkeys (yep, all the way from the USA!), and we should be getting ours tomorrow. I don't know how big it is, but we're paying $56 USD for it, so I hope it's a good size bird!
Our menu so far includes: mashed potatoes, corn (out of a can; the Minnesotan girl in me just died a little), vegetables, dinner rolls, Jan's homemade stuffing, and an apple pie (we couldn't find pumpkin, but there's nothing as American as...). Mrs. O volunteered to bring Nigerian cranberries and ice cream to go with our pie. If I can track down a can of cream of mushroom soup, I might try a green bean casserole, too. We're also going to pay through the nose for real butter, but I'll be darned if I'm going to make mashed potatoes with anhydrous milk fat and emulsifier!

It may very well feel like going through the motions, because what is Thanksgiving without my family and American football?, but it is still a good practice; I have much to be thankful for this year. God has blessed me with comfortable surroundings, a solid job, Christian community, and the ability to communicate with people back home. Nigeria is definitely at the top of my list. Not getting malaria is a close second, however.

Prayer Request: My work permit/re-entry visa has not arrived yet. I've been told I'm at the whim of the Nigerian government, which doesn't make me very comfortable. Please pray that I will hear back from the consulate this week in regards to my visa. I really would like to go home for Christmas.



3 weeks from right now, I'll be on a plane. But who's counting?

Chocolate

I'm not really that kind of girl. I don't crave chocolate, I don't need it on a daily basis. It is not my once-a-month drug, if you will. It's nice, and I'll eat it and I will enjoy it, but I don't feel the driving urge to seek it out and consume ungodly amounts.

Then I went 7 weeks without it.

That's right. I've eaten no chocolate since arriving in Nigeria, and honestly, I didn't really realize I wasn't eating it. Nigerians traditionally don't eat sweets (candy bowls and cookie jars do not exist here), which means chocolate is sold in specialty shops at very high prices. And I really can't justify spending money on candy at my age.

Enter Milka Alpine Milk Chocolate.

This stuff will change your life, folks. One of my expatriate friends, C, was in Germany on business last week and he brought back gifts for everyone. Jan and I received the biggest bar of chocolate I've ever seen. It went straight into the freezer and I more or less forgot about it.

Until 10 minutes ago.

And now the hum of the freezer sounds suspiciously like my name.

Vanity

Forgive me my vanity, but I just blow-dried my hair for the first time in 7 weeks.

And it is glorious.

That's all. I should be doing my work, but I'm not, so there's nothing new to tell. Except my hair dryer...mmm. Love it.