Lafiya

Partly cloudy, 80 degrees

"Lafiya" is the typical response to "Yaya ki ke?" meaning "How are you?" in Hausa, one of the 3 predominant languages spoken in Nigeria.  The response, "lafiya" means "I'm well."  It is also the name of the awesome little town (spelled Lafia) about 180 km from Abuja, we visited this weekend.  To give the Abuja-based volunteers a taste of the "real" Nigeria, our placement visits took us outside the bustling city of Abuja that we will grow to love (and probably also hate).  After 4 days in Abuja and 3 days in Lafia, I must say "Ina lafiya" - "I'm well!"

Although we have been staying in a hotel while in training and have not yet been to our apartment or workplace, my feeling is that my life in Abuja will be very different than the Lafia-based volunteer's lives.  While a part of me is jealous that they are experiencing a more "real" Nigeria, not living in the "big" city, the other part of me knows the adjustment to life here will be a bit easier.  Thankfully, I now have friends in Lafia (and the even smaller village of Obie) that have invited me to "come and stay anytime," so I will get to experience the best of both worlds.

The 112 mile trip, which we were told would take 2-2.5 hours, took 4.5 hours and included riding in a cab, bus, car (acting as a "bus"), and on an okadda (motorcycle taxi).  I will write more on transport in another post. This interesting topic deserves more than a couple sentences. 

McKinley, my future roommate, and I, visited our host volunteer's work, the YMCA/ATS farm and Obie market outside Lafia, met loads of wonderful people, and experienced local life in Lafia.  We also got our first good bit of interaction with people in a small(er) Nigerian community.  Although we learned in training last week about customs, norms, and things to expect, I failed to prepare responses to a few questions/statements that came up multiple times, including:

• "What is your number?" OR "Give me your number"
• "Are you married?" Followed by, "Will you marry my son?" OR "You should marry my son"

And my favorite.....

• "I want to go to America"

I'm working on witty responses to these common questions/statements.  Let me know if you have any good ideas.

There were also a number of firsts this weekend, including:

• Sleeping under a mosquito net - hot, yet comforting, in a weird way
• Praying in a staff meeting
• Taking a full bucket bath
• Riding on a motorcycle taxi
• Taking a detour because streets were blocked by masses of people praying
• Being "trapped" inside the house and cancelling plans because of rain
• Eating/drinking local cuisine - no no (warm yogurt straight from the cow), chapati, garden egg, malt beverage, and much more! This will probably be it's own post too - lots to talk about in the food department.
• Getting sick (or a running stomach, as my Ugandan friend like to call it).  This is not the first time I've been sick like this, but the first time on this trip.  I lasted almost 7 days before it happened - I like to think I did really well!
• Watching grown men do the leap frog (yes, the same leap frog we all did as kids) on the side of the road at a road block as punishment for assumingly aggravating the police

While I like to think I live simply at home in the US, I experienced truly simple living this weekend - no running water, no electricity, and certainly no internet. I was completely disconnected as my Nigerian cell phone has not yet been unlocked and my US phone, which will soon be turned off, was running low on battery. When we were not out and about, I entertained myself by writing in my journal - something I'd been neglecting since I arrived - and chatting with my Ugandan volunteer host, Macline. It was refreshing, though at first a little scary and uncomfortable, to be completely disconnected and without a whole lot to do.  I'm starting to get used to it and continue working to be comfortable (and, more importantly, happy) without my normal means of communication and things to do.  Adaptability, I continue to remind myself, is one of the core qualities of a Cuso/VSO volunteer :)

More to come this week as we move in to our aparment (called a flat, for the British-English speakers) in Abuja and get settled in to our lives here.  I've uploaded a few pictures to capture the weekend for those that are visual learners or are sick of reading......

Fulani women doing what they do best - moving.  These nomadic people are trekking to their next home.

McKinley and I with YMCA/ATS farm trainees and families. Note: I did not pinch the cute one on my lap. She was scared of us because of our skin color. Can you see how I sort of look like a ghost?

Lafia market

Drawing attention at the Obie Market.  We were watched (and followed) throughout the market.  I guess this is what it's like to be a celebrity?

Madame Susan - winner of the Female Food Hero award through the Making Markets Work project (sponsored by Accenture). If you look closely, you can see the bottom right badge says Accenture.  Pretty cool to see our name (and impact) in rural Nigeria!