happy four day weekend to me! it seems that some others back home also have a short work week between labor day and jewish holidays. we celebrate neither of those here, but instead have time off because it is the end of the fasting period of ramadan. eid al-fitr marks this time and we are lucky enough to get off from school for it! yay for staying up late (we took a late swim last night in our pool) and waking up late.. 'happy sallah!' as they say for this holiday.
the eid also brings about the durbar which is a huge, regal celebration. i just googled it to read a little more history wise and found this on someone else's blog who went to the durbar a few years ago [" Nigeria is roughly 50% Muslim, 50% Christian. The North is Muslim, the South Christian, cutting the country in half where the capital, Abuja, is located. Abuja is a new city, planned to be the capital and it reflects the complex challenge Nigeria faces concerning religious diversity. The National Mosque and the National Church are both grand and directly face each other in downtown Abuja.
Before jihad succeeded in the North a pagan festival to honor the town Prince developed entitled the Durbar. The people in the North, as many peoples from the Sahel region of Africa, were tradesmen and made their fortunes large in part due to the horses they owned. A display of vibrant costumes and horsemanship define the day-long parade and finale in front of the Emir's Palace. Today the festival coincides with the end of Ramadan and therefore has become interconnected with Islam in northern Nigeria. "] durbars are held in several different locations at different times, and we had planned to leave at 5:30am today to travel to zaria, about 2 hours away, where one of the biggest and most authentic celebrations is held. long story short, the embassy & high council said that we should/could not go for safety reasons as there was a jailbreak (eek!) tuesday night (see article)! while that happened in an area maybe 5 or 6 hours away from where we are, following their advice and not putting ourselves in an area where we will stick out like sore thumbs and possibly be in danger is clearly the route to go. as much as we'd like to just do as we please, it is always a reality check that we're living in africa where safety is a serious concern. the school, embassy, and even just friends/coworkers in the area know best and are always looking out for us. perhaps next year.
Before jihad succeeded in the North a pagan festival to honor the town Prince developed entitled the Durbar. The people in the North, as many peoples from the Sahel region of Africa, were tradesmen and made their fortunes large in part due to the horses they owned. A display of vibrant costumes and horsemanship define the day-long parade and finale in front of the Emir's Palace. Today the festival coincides with the end of Ramadan and therefore has become interconnected with Islam in northern Nigeria. "] durbars are held in several different locations at different times, and we had planned to leave at 5:30am today to travel to zaria, about 2 hours away, where one of the biggest and most authentic celebrations is held. long story short, the embassy & high council said that we should/could not go for safety reasons as there was a jailbreak (eek!) tuesday night (see article)! while that happened in an area maybe 5 or 6 hours away from where we are, following their advice and not putting ourselves in an area where we will stick out like sore thumbs and possibly be in danger is clearly the route to go. as much as we'd like to just do as we please, it is always a reality check that we're living in africa where safety is a serious concern. the school, embassy, and even just friends/coworkers in the area know best and are always looking out for us. perhaps next year.
on a completely different note, i wore my rainboots for the first time this past saturday. when i was first packing and heard about the rainy season i was completely convinced that i'd be wearing them all the time. the daily rain showers have been heavy, but short-lived (10-15 min) from the time we arrived until about a week ago. now they are heavy and last for awhile. we were headed to a co-worker's flat to see pictures of places they've traveled and celebrate a birthday, and the rain was coming down so i slapped on the boots and out we went. the security guards teased me, but they really loved my rainboots.. :) weather has surprisingly been a lot cooler than i would have expected to the point where i can often be comfortable in jeans (usually during evenings), and have even worn some long sleeve shirts here and there. i suppose the super hot weather will be when i return after christmas and the dry season comes. i hear that during the harmattan i won't even be able to wear my contacts!
well.. some answers to questions and then off to do some cleaning and homework. until next time...
men vs. women: both men and women are seen in the workplace and i haven't seen any type of treatment that has made me look twice. as far as i can tell, things seem pretty fair between the two genders, but i am also in a city that i've been told is not like the rest of nigeria. will keep my eyes and ears open, so stay tuned on that.
meat: meat is pretty expensive here if you want decent quality. when we arrived there was some ground meat in our freezers for us which smelled like butt when we cooked it.. caused some concern haha. i've had the chance to try a few of the traditional dishes here so far and usually they have some type of chicken. whole fish is seen pretty regularly, or suya is common which is pretty much just meat on a stick. so i guess in the typical nigerian diet it is available, but not as huge a focus in the states.
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