Thursday, February 28, 2008

It’s So Damn Hot

The heat has become stifling, unbearable and quite frankly, mean. NEPA has all but disappeared, so it makes matters all the more worse… I was listening to my ipod when I was reminded of a song written by my dear friend Natalie Fine Shapiro. It has become my mantra, my slogan for the weather here.

It’s so damn hot,
When will the temperature drop?
Where oh where’s the Minnesota cold to cool us all off.
If it were snowing right now I’d run out side and roll around,
But since it’s not,
Take the sheets out of the freezer,
And cool me down.

My body’s dripping with sweat,
My dress is soaked and stuck to my skin.
Will you please carry me to the nearest swimming pool and drop me in.
Below the water’s so wet,
I don’t think I’ll ever surface again.
Feel free to leave me, but if you need me,
I’ll be waiting in the deep end.

It’s so damn hot,
When will the temperature drop?
Where oh where’s the Minnesota cold to cool us all off.
If it were snowing right now I’d run out side and roll around,
But since it’s not,
Take the sheets out of the freezer,
And lay me down.

The sun is frying my brain,
My consciousness is starting to fade.
You people running around the lake have completely gone insane.
I’m gonna go find me some shade,
Drop to my knees and start praying for rain.
And if my prayers are ignored
I guess I’ll keep complaining.

It’s so damn hot,
When will the temperature drop?
Where oh where’s the Minnesota cold to cool us all off.
If it were snowing right now I’d run out side and roll around,
But since it’s not,
Take the sheets out of the freezer,
And lay me down.

I can’t breathe through all this humidity.
I can’t believe it’s only 97 degrees.
I think I need a drink before I faint baby please??
Fetch me a cold glass of Minute Made Lemonade,
Vitamin C guaranteed.

It’s so damn hot,
When will the temperature drop?
Where oh where’s the Minnesota cold to cool us all off.
If it were snowing right now I’d run out side and roll around,
But since it’s not,
Take the sheets out of the freezer,
And cool me down.

-Natalie Fine

Let me see if I can somehow describe how hot it is. By 7 am I am awake, and hoping that the heat will decide to stay away for the day. By 8 am I already have thin coating of sweat across my body. By 9 am I have put my second layer of deodorant on. By 2 pm, I have collapsed on my bed and started praying for NEPA to turn on the fan. By 3:30 pm any thoughts of leaving, therefore moving, have been abandoned for a better idea: lying around. By about 6:30 pm it starts to cool down and I can breathe again. By 8:30 pm I have taken my cold shower, am lying on my bed in my shorts and bra and hoping that the night stays cool, and grants me a peaceful slumber.

Can anyone tell me how hot it actually is? I am so curious… It would be hilarious if it was like 70 degrees.

An ‘Alarming’ Situation

2/26/08

Kerry’s alarm clock began beeping at 5:32 am this morning. Usually Kerry gets it right away, and I don’t even hear it. But this morning was different as we had had a particularly bad night: hot, humid and no NEPA. When the beeping didn’t stop I began to wonder if it was my alarm going off instead of Kerry’s. So I picked up my alarm and held it close to my ear. The sound didn’t seem to be coming from there. So I put it down and closed my eyes. The alarm continued to sound. I picked my alarm up again and turned it off, thinking I must have been mistaken. But the sound kept coming! I was wondering if something was wrong with me. I continued to look at my alarm as if to will the sound to stop. Finally I realized that it wasn’t my alarm at all, but Kerry’s. My immediate reaction was this, “I wish I had a long stick to poke her with”. I really wanted to wake her up, but I was convinced that the only way to do that was by the use of a poking mechanism, not words… The concept of simply telling her to wake up never entered my mind. “If I had a stick, things would be so easy right now”, I thought. Suddenly, the alarm stopped. After about 5 minutes, Kerry got out of bed and started her morning routine. I went back to sleep. Later as I was regaling Kerry with this tale did I realize just how silly the whole thing was.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Hello Onyacha!

We had our first market experience on Saturday, and I think that the word Onyacha is permanently etched in my brain. It means white person, and it was shouted at me hundreds of times today from all directions. It was often accompanied with, “Welcome to Nigeria, the land of blessings”. We were definitely a sight to see today as we walked through the small walkways of vendors selling everything from fruit and vegetables, meat, shoes, toilet paper, clothes (both traditional and modern) and pirated music.

There were so many sights and smell all around me. I didn’t know where to look; all I could do was follow my Nigerian guide, who knew exactly what she was doing. I was so overwhelmed that I had a hard time saying anything, but Kerry was not so shy. Every time someone shouted “Hello Onyacha, welcome to Nigeria” she would laugh and say “Thank you!” They relished in her presence, and she relished in theirs.

The streets were very small, and I cannot even venture a guess to how big and expansive that market was. The sisters said we did not even see a fraction of it. But the small streets were filled with people pushing wheel barrows shouting “uzo!” at anyone in their way. The wheel barrow pushers were not going to stop, so if you got in the way, too bad for you. I almost got clipped once, as a wheel barrow was headed towards me I moved, but the wheel got caught in a rut and almost got me anyway…

My first market experience was overwhelming to say the least and so very intriguing. I left the market tired, thirsty, hungry, dirty and ready for a nap. I can’t wait for my next excursion.

‘Wow’ you did laundry?

I did my laundry today, and let me tell you, it was quite the experience… I brought my bucket out to the back of the compound and dumped my laundry detergent into it. I have washed my clothes by hand before, but I always had a scrubbing board or something. This was quite different, and almost strenuous! I was bending over this small bucket, scrubbing away at my clothes. After I got them cleaned and hung up, the wind started picking up, whipping my wet clothes in my face, and scattering my not yet washed clothes into the yard. I ran yelping off after them, all while trying to wipe my off my now dripping glasses and tripping over my bucket and falling into the dirty water in the yard. I was quite a site to see. I am sure if anyone had been watching me, they would have been entertained. And actually, as I told Happiness about it later, she did laugh, and followed that with a ‘wow’.

There are a few things here that are verbal trademarks. One of them is when Happiness says ‘wow’. There is no way to describe her tone as she says it, but it brings Kerry and I incredible joy and laughter. She says it all the time, anytime she is proud of us or astonished by us. We will come home from school and she says, “You came from school?”, we reply with “yes” and she says “wow”. All this is said with the widest eyes and the biggest smile.

Another verbal trademark here is when people say “well done”. It is said in a similar way as “wow”, and used if we have done anything noteworthy, and sometimes even not noteworthy… I will be reading, “well done”. I can be eating, “well done”. How about putting dishes away? “well done”! I once decided to ‘turn the tables’ on my Nigerian friends, and when one of the sisters had baked a birthday cake, I told her “well done”, in the accent that I am so used to now. The sisters burst out laughing, slapped me on the back, and hugged me, so proud of me for picking up on their lingo!

Another thing I am slowly getting used to is when people say “welcome” to me. At first I thought they were saying “you’re welcome” as a response to my thank you. But it turns out they are welcoming me to Nigeria. I have been her over a week now and I am still being welcomed by the women I live with. It is just yet another thing I smile at, and one of the many things I am grateful for here.

Music is the universal language

Thursday morning came and I knew I wanted to keep singing with my students from the Primary 4A classroom. Those kids have an affinity for singing, and when they open their mouths, I get a yearning to do it too. So I went through my song book and picked some songs I thought I might be able to teach them. I started with Lean on Me, a classic, and easy to learn. I walked into the classroom, greeted with the now familiar greeting, “Good morning Auntie, may God bless you”. I asked the kids if they wanted to learn a new song. The answer was a resounding “YES”! I sang the song through once, and asked if they liked it. They did. So they started to repeat the phrases after me, until they could do it by themselves. I wrote the lyrics on the chalk board and they copied them eagerly. At the end of the 40 minutes, they had the song almost down pat. It wonderful to hear them singing a song which is so special to me, and also putting their own inflections into it, singing with their wonderful Nigerian accents. They were excited to be singing it, and told me they wanted to perform it for morning assembly some day. As I was getting ready to leave they stood up and instead of saying their usual goodbye of “Goodbye Auntie, have a nice afternoon”, they said, “Thank you Auntie for teaching us a song.” It brought a smile to my lips. And best of all, as I was walking down the hall, I heard them keep practicing the song! As corny as it sounds, it brought tears to my eyes! I was so touched that they would sing with me.

One of the wonderful things about Lean on Me is how many places I have sung that song, places that I love. When I was in India, my group sang that song almost every time we traveled to a new site, as a greeting to all the people who welcomed us. We got that song down to a science, and it sounded so good, harmonies and all! Later I found out that the girls who lived at Visthar in India learned the song in Kannada (the language of Karnataka State). As staff as Camp Courage, we also sang Lean on Me to the campers at closing campfire. This song has special meaning to me, and feels so wonderful that I can bring what it means to more people.

Sometimes in our lives we all have pain, we all have sorrow
But if we are wise, we know that there’s always tomorrow.

Lean on me, when you’re not strong, I’ll be your friend, I’ll help you carry on
For it won’t be long till I’m gonna need someone to lean on.

Please swallow your pride if I have things you need to borrow
For no one can fill those of your needs that you won’t mention

So just call on me brother, if you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem you’ll understand
We all need somebody to lean on

Lean on me, when you’re not strong, I’ll be your friend, I’ll help you carry on
For it won’t be long till I’m gonna need someone to lean on.

A Water Problem

Water is a very precious commodity here. To conserve water in the compound, the sisters don’t turn on the water except to fill their tubs every few days. Because Kerry and I are sharing a room, we go through water a little faster than the rest of the sisters, who have single rooms. Every three days or so, the water gets turned on, and we place the giant, plastic tub under the shower head to get filled. We then use this water for flushing the toilet, brushing our teeth and bathing. It is so interesting how this makes a person conscious of how much water they are using.

Normally, when using the toilet, you flush after every use. But here, it would waste so much water, almost 2 gallons every time you flush! And when it rains only every two or three months during the dry season, you just don’t have the resources to flush that liberally. So Kerry and I have adopted the ‘flush only if there is something there to flush’ policy.

In order to flush though, it is not as simple as holding down the lever. Nothing is that simple here in Nigeria. You have to take the top off of the tank, and pour a bucket of water into the toilet, then flush!

Showering here is similar, and doesn’t involve an actual shower, but a bucket of cold water and a small bucket for scooping. It is wonderful how your body can train itself to need things. In America, people feel like they have to shower everyday, and wash their hair that often as well. Here, that would be a luxury that is not available. So I am not washing my hair more than every few days, and it looks decent. I am washing every night though, because people who knew me in India remember that my ‘tan’ after four months took several days of intense scrubbing to wash off… I am determined to not let that happen here! Cleanliness is my middle name!

But, as we are talking about water, calamity struck us on Tuesday night! We were told the sisters were going to ‘turn on the water’ so we could fill our buckets. So we got all ready, and we were really excited. Well, I was excited… Kerry might have just been humoring me… So we turned the tap and water started to fill our buckets. After a few minutes though, it turned from the steady pour to a slow trickle, and finally stopped. The water is out. They tried the lower tank, and that is gone too. Now the sisters have to go to town and buy a tanker of water, which can be very expensive.

I tried to figure out how much water we use here. Every few days the water gets turned on, and we put our big black bucket under the shower head to fill up. Kerry and I think that maybe we can get 20 gallons of water (that is probably over estimating too) into our bucket. And the water in that bucket will be used to flush the toilet, wash our hands, face, feet, brush our teeth, and wash our hair and bodies for about four or five days. That is insane, especially when we think about how much water we use at home! To flush the toilet at home takes about 2 gallons of water. So, the water that we use in five days here would only last for one day of toilet flushing back home. It is insane to think about really.

It reminded me of when I was younger, maybe fifth grade or something; there was this rumor that we were going to have to ship water from Lake Superior to Mexico, because they were running out of water. I don’t know if this was true, and it really doesn’t matter. But my reaction was ‘no’! I really thought that they must be wasting their water, because, how could you ‘run out of water’??? Now I understand, and I know what it feels like to conserve water, and really how lucky we are to have had such an abundance of water.

Nigerian Children

I have been working at the school the past week, and the children are amazing, lively, and full of energy. At first they were scared, and wouldn’t come near us. But as they got to know us better they became more outgoing. Our interactions with them are a game now: chase the onyacha’s (white people) and see who can touch them the most. They also like to mimic our every move, and follow us constantly…

During the afternoon break, I decided to go and play with them, to try and get them more comfortable with me. They stood in front of me, whispering, and giggling, but not doing anything. I asked them if they would sing for me. They nodded fervently. They broke into a Nigerian-ized version of Jingle Bells. I laughed, as Christmas was two months ago, and we are in the season of Easter now. So I asked them if they knew any other songs beside Christmas songs. They nodded again and started singing I want to wish you a merry Christmas, not understanding me. As the musical session went on, they added movements to their songs, singing songs in English, French and Igbo (the language of Enugu state). I tried to do their dances with them and they laughed so hard that they fell on the ground. Soon I started doing my own dances, which they loved and copied immediately. If anyone has actually seen me dance, I am sure you are shaking your heads right now, saddened by all of these new dance moves making it big all over Nigeria. Soon it will be a West African craze, and it won’t be long till they reach America I am sure… But soon after I started dancing, the running commenced, and I was being chased all around the field in front of the school. I tried to explain to them the art of ‘tag’, but instead of them chasing each other, they just kept chasing me, hoping for an excuse to touch me. Duck Duck Gray Duck was also lost on them.

The next morning after our field extravaganza Kerry and I each went into our own class rooms, to hang out with the kiddies. I asked the kids to sing to me again, because I knew they liked it, and it is a good ice breaker. They would sing a song, and I would respond with a song. I sang You Are My Sunshine, which was a big hit. Some of them already knew it and sang along with me. It was a moment that I wished I knew how to play the guitar are thought of my dad. When he was in the Peace Corps in Morocco, he would teach English to his students by way of Bob Dylan. I hope that music will be just as much a part of my time here in Nigeria as it was for him in Morocco. I am going to sing with them every day, and hopefully, they will teach me something about music!

A Trip to the Hospital

Kerry and I had just made a journey into town, to go to the supermarket for some items. On our way back we passed a mob of people of the expressway, trying desperately to flag down any car that was willing to stop. Sister Helena pulled the car off to the side of the road, but she was wary of stopping. She said that often if you help in these situations, if you bring someone to the hospital, you have to stay with them. And if something goes wrong, then often the person who tried to help was blamed for the accident. I think she was also concerned for Kerry and I, who have only been here about a week. In the end, she decided it would be best to try and help in what ever way she could. She told Kerry and I to stay in the car while she went up to the Nigerians and find out what was wrong. At this point, people were running at full speed towards the accident, word around here travels fast; a woman was screaming and wailing as she rain towards us. Coming from the opposite direction of the crash, she cried ‘na my son, na my son’. We thought, maybe her son was the one in the accident. We waited for a few minutes, and then the mob started moving in our direction, led of course, by Sr. Helena. Two men were carrying a young woman, maybe in her early 20’s, she was bleeding heavily from her right leg. I strained to see what had happened to her, and it wasn’t until later that I saw what happened.

The two men placed her, and themselves, in the back seat of the car, while Kerry, Helena and I got into the front. We drove to the hospital. I couldn’t believe the bravery of this woman, who didn’t make a sound. We navigated the Nigerian traffic and bumpy roads until we got to the hospital. When we reached the hospital, the road became bad again, and our car had to go over a huge rut, which caused the girl to shout in agony. The hospital grounds were hard to navigate, and signs for emergency were basically non existent. Finally, the nurses and doctors came out with a gurney and helped the woman on to it. As she came closer I saw that her leg was badly fractured, and her bone was protruding from her shin. As they wheeled her into the hospital, I wondered what would happen to her. It makes me so proud to be living with such extraordinary women.

On the way home, Helena said “Well that was an exciting bit of adventure for your sixth day in Nigeria”, and I was thinking the most interesting thing I was going to write about was the biscuits I bought at the super market.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

The first glimpses of Nigeria

It was dark when I got off the plane, so I couldn’t see much. But my senses were on overload. I could smell the garbage, pollution and the food. I could feel the heat and the saturation in the air. I could taste the sweetness in the air. Finally, when my eyes adjusted, I could see what was happening. The traffic was insane, and anyone who thinks they have experienced bad traffic before, please come to Nigeria! It took us a good 25 minutes to leave the parking lot, just because of how tightly the cars are jammed in… Then it was another story completely when we got onto the road! How do you spell Chaotic? We I think it starts with a Nigerian driver, who has no fear, then add no road regulations and put in a little over population and you maybe can start to imagine it. The motorcycles just dart among everything and everyone, nobody wears helmets, and seatbelts? Just forget about it. When it was light the most amazing thing I saw was color. Color was everywhere. In the food, the outfits, the cars. I was astounded by the fabrics that people were wearing.

Dust dusty road…

This is the time of the year called the Harmattan, and it is when it is so windy in North Africa, that the sand from the Sahara blows all the way down to Nigeria. Everything is sandy and dusty, and nothing escapes from it. We will find sand inside ziplock bags and in our toothbrushes. Kerry and I took a walk yesterday and the amount of dust on our feet filled a bucket of water black when we washed them later. As we walked, the spaces immediately surrounding us were filled with the dust we kicked up, some times it was hard to breath. And when a car or truck passed us, we would have to stop because we couldn’t see or breathe at all. It was so dusty today that you could not see beyond the compound walls into the city. People have a hard time functioning when it is this dusty, people seem to stay inside.

We live at the end of a long dirt road. To get outside the compound, we ask Eddie (who has the most amazing disposition) to let us out. Then we start the long dusty walk down the long dirt road. On either side of us, as far as you can see is construction. Everywhere you look there are houses and flats being built. They all are in various stages of construction, and many seem to have run out of funds, so they have stopped. One of the things I loved was the scaffolding. When I think of scaffolding in the US, it is all metal and screws (you almost need scaffolding for the scaffolding…). Here, it is made of bamboo. It almost looks as if it is part of the building. At the end of the dirt road are heaps and heaps of garbage, which pile up and then are burned later. Dozens of little goats scale the mountains of garbage, eating scraps.

We drove down the dusty dirt road today to buy our cell phones. We were lucky enough to have Sr. Theresa and Boniface (the school gardener and sometimes driver) take us, to ensure we got a good price. We drove through Awk, which is a smaller town right on the outskirts of Enugu. Enugu was very crowded and it took a long time to get to the place where we bought our cell phones. It was very hot, but the breeze from the open window felt amazing! There were small run down buildings as far as the eye could see on either side of the car, selling anything from food, minerals (pop), clothing and minutes for cell phones. The cars were packed together and the honking of horns seemed to never cease. People ran across the street with out looking for cars, and motorcycles darted in and out, having no concern for any of the massively bigger cars and trucks bearing down on them. The motorcycles carried up to five people each, nobody was concerned at all about falling off.

When we finally reached our destination, we got our first lesson in Nigerian bargaining. We went into the first shop and Sister Theresa asked to see the cheapest Nokia cell phones. The shop owner pulled out one and said the price was 6000 Naira. With out even pausing to think, Sr. Theresa said “No, 4000.” There really was no beating around the bush there. They haggled for a little while, but the shop owner wouldn’t budge past around 5500 naira. So we went next door. The same thing happened there. The shop owner gave a price, 5500 naira and Sr. Theresa again, just said ‘No, 4000.’ This time the shop owner was more flexible and we eventually got the phones for 4700, including the sim card.

On the way back, we passed a bus full of children from the Notre Dame Primary School, on their way home. They are starting to familiarize our faces, and recognize the onyacha (white people), just as we are starting to recognize the onyoji (black people). So they became very excited, and waved, yelling with giant smiles on their faces. I have never seen such smiling faces. They light up when they see you, and if you are forward enough to wave or say hello, they are just beside themselves with glee. I am so excited to get to know them. The thing about Nigerians, is they never seem to stop laughing. They laugh constantly, and sometimes for no reason. In these few days that I have been here, I feel as though I have met some of the happiest people on earth.

Sometimes I feel so stupid, that I need people to help me go shopping and I wish I could just say, let me do it. But then I realize that the saying ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ is true. I did have orientations in India and Morocco, and it was when I was leaving that I was so used to doing things. But when I got there, I did need help. I have to keep reminding myself of that when I want to be independent. I have 10 months here, so soon enough, I will be able to do these things by myself.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Nigeria is calling my name!

Yay! I am finally leaving!

Before I start, I just want to thank everyone for helping me. As I posted last month, my computer decided to go and keel over. I was very sad, but thanks to some very good friends, I was able to get a new computer! I just wanted to thank Paul and Nacy Moran, who read my blog and helped me to pay for a 'new' used computer, which works very well by the way! And I also wanted to thank Steve Shapiro, who was amazing and found me a good, used computer, negotiated the price, made sure it was up-to-date, and sent it to me. With out the help of you three, I might still be sitting with out a computer! So Thank you, also thanks to Randy and Therese Olson, my wonderful aunt and uncle who recently donated to Notre Dame! If anyone else had donated recently, thank you so much, and you will be hearing from me soon!

The time has come for me to finally leave the country. I leave for Nigeria on Feb. 12th at 6:00 pm. The only reason I feel comfortable saying this is because I got the plane ticket! It is physically in my hand, and now I am going! It has been a bit of a roller coaster for me over the last month, staying in Baltimore and having such an uncertain future. And now, even though what I am doing is not crystal clear, I am excited to finally be moving towards helping in Africa, which is all I ever wanted to do.

One of the projects I will be working on in Nigeria is called the 'photovoltaic project'. This project was started by the Sisters of Notre Dame and has been taken to Nigeria and the Congo. In this project, The Sisters of Notre Dame created a 25 system grid of photovoltaic power panels that purify water for homes, schools and health care centers all across Nigeria and the Congo. The sisters have estimated that in these two countries; 7,000 people will be helped by this project. I am excited to work among the people in this project. If you are interested in learning more about the project, please visit this website: http://sndden.org/sisters-of-notre-dame-de-namur-pvproject.html

I appreciate all the wonderful things people have done for me, and the support that people have shown me over the last few months. It is undeniable how lucky I am to be supported by all of you. As I head out on this adventure, I hope I can get continued support from you through supporting the Notre Dame Mission Volunteer Program. Anyone who wants to continue their support and donate again is so very welcome to do so! There are a couple of ways to donate. You can donate online at http://ndmva.org/Donate/index.htm

You can also donate by sending any money (made out to NDMV) to:

Notre Dame Mission Volunteer Program
Emily Van Oeveren
403 Markland Ave
Baltimore MD 21212

and make sure you are donating on behalf of Malika Heiller!

Also, my address (for mailing me lovelies) is this:

Malika Heiller
Sisters of Notre Dame
14 John Nwodo Close G.R.A
PO Box 3777
Enugu
NIGERIA

As far as I know the best way to send things is in small padded envelopes. And everything gets checked by customs officials (possibly corrupt ones) so don't send anything that could be seen as valuable. When I was supposed to be serving in Kenya they gave us a tip (and it may or may not be universal). The volunteers said that when you are filling out the customs part at the post office, write 'first aid'. Legally, Customs officials are not allowed to take first aid materials from packages...

I am thrilled to finally be leaving. I am going to do my best to keep my blog updated for all who are interested in staying in touch and hearing about my time abroad.

Many thanks to all of you, and I hope you hear from me soon!

peace,
Malika

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Africa, here I come!


So, since I am leaving for Nigeria soon (the 12th now, not the 5th...) I thought I would write some about what I do know about Nigeria, and what I know about where I will be going... We are still waiting on our Visas, which will hopefully be ready on the 5th. It has been quite the process getting the visas, so we are just trying to keep our fingers crossed. If all goes well, we WILL be leaving on the 12th! If I am delayed any longer, I may just hop on a plane...

First of all, I am going to be arriving into Lagos, which is in the south of Nigeria, along the Gulf of Guinea. From there, we will take a 6 or 7 hour car ride to Enugu, the state where we will be living. Enugu is a state in South East Nigeria. Just outside the city of Enugu is a small village called Awkunanaw, where Kerry and I will be located. There is a community of sisters there who we will be living with. The sisters run a primary school in the village, and Kerry and I will start our volunteering there. As we get more comfortable, we can branch out and find even more opportunities to serve.

Last week, Kerry and I met with Sr. Eucharia, a nun from Nigeria who is studying in DC. She was exuberant and so full of life and energy, that I was filled with excitement for the upcoming trip. She told us all about where we will be and what it is like there. One thing she said really struck me. She had been talking about violence in Nigeria with an American sister, who was worried about two young, american women traveling to Nigeria. She replied with, "I have been in your inner cities, I know dangerous. Nigeria is no more dangerous than any place here."

She described the people and said that is why people must travel to Nigeria. The people there are amazing. Full of life and color and joy that is unmatched. If they are anything like Eucharia, I don't doubt that she is right.

Another thing she made sure we knew about was the heat... It is hotter than anyone can possibly imagine. An American sister we talked to who has traveled there said it is 'blistering, unbearable and undeniable heat, like we cannot even imagine', she said to take the coldest Minnesota winters and basically invert them. I googled the climate in Nigeria, and it looks like a good day will be at least 100 degrees, and a cold day will be in the 80's. It is those days that the Nigerian sisters bundle up in sweaters... Good thing I am bringing lots of sunscreen!

Of course, I am excited most about the music! She said that music is everywhere, in everything. I am hoping to find a community in Nigeria that I can sing with. Even listening to the music will be more than enough.

I also found a quote in my West Africa book by Lonely Planet that says, "Chaotic and exuberant, yes, but never dull. If you don't visit Nigeria, you can barely say you have been to Africa".

Here is some information I found out about Nigeria. Nigeria has thirty-six states and one Federal Capital Territory. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast lies on the Gulf of Guinea, part of the Atlantic Ocean, in the south. The capital city is Abuja. The people of Nigeria have an extensive history, and archaeological evidence shows that human habitation of the area dates back to at least 9000 BC. The Benue-Cross River area is thought to be the original homeland of the Bantu migrants who spread across most of central and southern Africa in waves between the 1st millennium BC and the 2nd millennium AD. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the eighth most populous country in the world with a population of over 140 million. The number of languages currently estimated and catalogued in Nigeria is 521. This number includes 510 living languages, 2 second languages without native speakers and 9 extinct languages.

Wish me luck, and hopefully the next time you hear from me, I will be in Africa!