The diseases you get. Really it isn’t so funny. I have Malaria and Typhoid. Let me just start at the beginning.
First of all, I probably deserve this, because Kerry is eternally getting bit by mosquitoes. Any time of the day I can look over at her and she will be swatting furiously at some little winged creatures. I always laugh, rather cruelly, to be honest, that it is her and not me. The mosquitoes don’t even bother with me. Then we laugh and joke about how Nigeria is so mean to her, with the mosquitoes, mango mouth and heat rash. I have even been so bold as to say, “You will probably get malaria at least once, while I will be malaria free!” I am sure you would agree that I have jinxed myself.
This whole scene has been happening for months now. But add to it the multiplying fatigue and headaches and I was starting to feel a bit run down. Finally, on Thursday, I called my boss and told her I was sick and not coming into school. “Check for Malaria” was her reply. I didn’t. I thought, how could I possibly have malaria? I can count the number of times on one hand that I have been bitten. So I ignored her advice and went to sleep. O, it was not good. I had this pain all up and down my arms and legs, my head was splitting and I was so tired. I just lay in my bed and tried to escape the misery. Half way through the day there was a knock on the door. It was one of the sisters, mad at me that I didn’t tell them I was not feeling well. I described what I was feeling and I saw her lips turn into a thin line. “You have malaria”, she said. Later that afternoon I was escorted to the hospital for a blood test. I also decided to have the typhoid test too, just to be sure.
The next day I went back for my results and sure enough I have them both! I came back to the house, armed with several different kinds of antibiotics to combat the diseases. Now I am taking about a dozen pills a day, and getting better. People keep freaking out about my ‘diseases’. I don’t know why I am putting that in quotations, because I do have ‘diseases’. I guess it just feels funny to call them ‘diseases’. But the truth of the matter is this: I have malaria and typhoid. But I am in no way in danger. I was lucky to have been tested early on while the bacteria were young. I have not suffered most of the awful symptoms that people associate with malaria and typhoid: high fevers, nausea, chills ect. I am just a bit tired, and if I exert myself too much I tend to have a headache and need a nap. Hopefully I will be back to my old self in no time.
Actually, in a little side note… My worrying mother emailed Kerry to ask “How is she, really”? Kerry in her response noted that at that very moment I was sitting in front of my closet, exclaiming in English and Spanish that I couldn’t find my razors. So that is an indication that I must be ok…
To sum it all up, I had a note on my bed from Kerry yesterday: ‘Congratulations on your African Baptism’ it said. You haven’t really experienced Africa till you have malaria and/or typhoid. At least that’s what people tell me.
Monday, May 12, 2008
You know you’re in Nigeria when…
I have been thinking a lot lately what my family and friends would find odd or even scary in Nigeria. So I decided to create a list. These are all things I have gotten used to over the course of the last few months, so they no longer seem bizarre. But to other people, they just might.
You know you’re in Nigeria when…
A small bus meant to hold 12 people actually holds about 20.
When the electricity turns off randomly, everyone simultaneously shouts ‘NEPA!’ (Usually accompanied by shaking fists, at least with Kerry and I)
The rooster starts crowing by about 3 am. Whoever said they start when the sun comes up was lying.
You respond when people call out ‘Sister’ (As in Reverend Sister…)
You hear about 50 people a day calling Nyacha. When that doesn’t get your attention they shout Oibo. If that also fails, they yell White!
You will get in the car with most strangers, since they already seem to know who you are, your phone number, where you live, where you work and who your ‘sister’ is (And all of her information as well).
You no longer find it strange to find whole animals in food. Usually it is a chicken or fish, but it has been known to be a goat head or something.
The torrential rains can start and stop at any moment. One minute the sun will be shining, the next it will be hurricane season in Nigeria. Soon after that, it will be 90 degrees again.
With in a few minutes of getting asked out, or asked for your number, you are then proposed to. Usually this happens to Kerry. As she is ‘unattached’, she can accept numbers and such. I think I am better at being aloof (or rude, depending on how you look at it). As her mothers asked one day, “Is Malika doing a better job of behaving herself than you?’
You dream about the day you will be able to wear long pants again, or even better, a jacket…
You realize that you don’t remember the last time you showered.
You can walk out the front door and pick oranges, avocados and mangoes right off the tree.
You know you’re in Nigeria when…
A small bus meant to hold 12 people actually holds about 20.
When the electricity turns off randomly, everyone simultaneously shouts ‘NEPA!’ (Usually accompanied by shaking fists, at least with Kerry and I)
The rooster starts crowing by about 3 am. Whoever said they start when the sun comes up was lying.
You respond when people call out ‘Sister’ (As in Reverend Sister…)
You hear about 50 people a day calling Nyacha. When that doesn’t get your attention they shout Oibo. If that also fails, they yell White!
You will get in the car with most strangers, since they already seem to know who you are, your phone number, where you live, where you work and who your ‘sister’ is (And all of her information as well).
You no longer find it strange to find whole animals in food. Usually it is a chicken or fish, but it has been known to be a goat head or something.
The torrential rains can start and stop at any moment. One minute the sun will be shining, the next it will be hurricane season in Nigeria. Soon after that, it will be 90 degrees again.
With in a few minutes of getting asked out, or asked for your number, you are then proposed to. Usually this happens to Kerry. As she is ‘unattached’, she can accept numbers and such. I think I am better at being aloof (or rude, depending on how you look at it). As her mothers asked one day, “Is Malika doing a better job of behaving herself than you?’
You dream about the day you will be able to wear long pants again, or even better, a jacket…
You realize that you don’t remember the last time you showered.
You can walk out the front door and pick oranges, avocados and mangoes right off the tree.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Fridays in Awkunanaw
Every Friday, Kerry and I go to Awkunanaw. We really love it there, and miss it since we have moved to the Nwodo community. Here is what a Friday looks like for me.
My alarm goes off at 5:50 am on Friday morning. I roll out of bed and dress, eat some food and get ready to catch the bus. By 6:20, Kerry and I are walking out the door. We walk to the bus stop and wait with the hordes of other people hoping to go to the village. A small bus rolls to a stop in front of us, calling La-out, La-out, Garicky! (This is translates to New Layout aka the bus we need to take to Awkunanaw) Everyone crowds around the bus. By the time we are all in, there are about 20 people in a bus designed to hold 12. On a good day the bus will not fall apart (though some days it is unavoidable... Ask me someday about the day when the seat broke and the door fell off. The conductor then put the door on top of the bus.). Nigerian roads leave something to be desired, so imagine with every bump in the road, comes a bump on our heads. After about 45 minutes or so, along unimaginable roads, we ask the conductor to pull over and let us out. We hand over about 60 Naira (the equivolent of about 50 cents)and start to walk to school. From where the bus drops us off we should have a 15 minute walk to Notre Dame school. But usually a random car, filled with our students) will pull over and give us a lift the rest of the way.
At school I work in the Nursery Library, tutoring kids and testing them on their reading and English skills. When I am not in the library, I try to go to some classrooms and help out. At noon, I meet with the kids of primary 4A and sing with them. It is a highlight of my week here. We sing for about an hour, and they love it! Right now we have mastered 'Lean on Me', and we are working on 'Seasons of Love' and 'The Hokey Pokey'. They even sang 'Happy Birthday' on the phone to my cousin Grace a few weeks ago. They were so excited to talk on the phone to America.
One little girl, Chidemma, is a love and a dear. She is the most amazing girl I have met here! Everyday, she comes and hugs me, often handing me notes. She is always well behaved, for me and Kerry, who is teaching English. She will often scold the little miscreants in the class, and then apologize profusely for them later. She is the light of my life! School ends at 1:30. The children run around and hug us and say goodbye, always hoping we will come back on Monday instead of Friday.
My alarm goes off at 5:50 am on Friday morning. I roll out of bed and dress, eat some food and get ready to catch the bus. By 6:20, Kerry and I are walking out the door. We walk to the bus stop and wait with the hordes of other people hoping to go to the village. A small bus rolls to a stop in front of us, calling La-out, La-out, Garicky! (This is translates to New Layout aka the bus we need to take to Awkunanaw) Everyone crowds around the bus. By the time we are all in, there are about 20 people in a bus designed to hold 12. On a good day the bus will not fall apart (though some days it is unavoidable... Ask me someday about the day when the seat broke and the door fell off. The conductor then put the door on top of the bus.). Nigerian roads leave something to be desired, so imagine with every bump in the road, comes a bump on our heads. After about 45 minutes or so, along unimaginable roads, we ask the conductor to pull over and let us out. We hand over about 60 Naira (the equivolent of about 50 cents)and start to walk to school. From where the bus drops us off we should have a 15 minute walk to Notre Dame school. But usually a random car, filled with our students) will pull over and give us a lift the rest of the way.
At school I work in the Nursery Library, tutoring kids and testing them on their reading and English skills. When I am not in the library, I try to go to some classrooms and help out. At noon, I meet with the kids of primary 4A and sing with them. It is a highlight of my week here. We sing for about an hour, and they love it! Right now we have mastered 'Lean on Me', and we are working on 'Seasons of Love' and 'The Hokey Pokey'. They even sang 'Happy Birthday' on the phone to my cousin Grace a few weeks ago. They were so excited to talk on the phone to America.
One little girl, Chidemma, is a love and a dear. She is the most amazing girl I have met here! Everyday, she comes and hugs me, often handing me notes. She is always well behaved, for me and Kerry, who is teaching English. She will often scold the little miscreants in the class, and then apologize profusely for them later. She is the light of my life! School ends at 1:30. The children run around and hug us and say goodbye, always hoping we will come back on Monday instead of Friday.
Friday, May 2, 2008
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