do what you want to do!

remember when my friends and i were extras in an african music video?  the beginning of last year, a friend took several of us to a rastafarian friend's farm which we were supposedly just going to check out... we were so, so wrong.  while we did get a tour of the farm and some samplings of the delicious produce, we were also included in the filming of a music video that he was making.  we went along with it, not really knowing what would come out of it, but here it is!  (our friend who brought us there, a fellow teacher, ended up emailing the video to our whole staff.  thumbs down!  but one of my coworkers was like -- you're so smart, kept the back of your head to the camera at all times.. just what i would do haha)

rain and helmets

today the rain fell so hard.  against the tin roofs, it's nearly deafening.  a man standing two feet away spoke to me, but i couldn't hear him, so he had to shout in my ear so i could hear.  scary, but amazing.

also... today while on the roads, we saw a taxi driver with a helmet on... maybe like a hard hat or armyish type helmet?  when we passed him, he looked up and to the side like this O_O.  haha.

nigeria is a special, special place.

round 2, ding!

back in abuja for round 2 of the crazy life, and not any better at keeping tabs on this blog, but i'll give it another try.

my summer was pretty wonderful.  relaxing, but not so relaxing that it became boring.  immediately after leaving nigeria i wandered around frankfurt for awhile.  saw a lot of the beautiful buildings and was reintroduced to the civilized world.  also took a tour of the rhine river valley and saw/heard a lot of the history behind the old castles.  one oddity: during my trip, i never saw a place to show/give a bahn (subway) ticket and was also never asked for one... and i used the bahn often enough.  weird.  couldn't get away with something like that in ny...

how i knew frankfurt liked me... a local shoe store.  :)

after a day in jersey, i jumped right back on that plane and spent a week in hawaii with my family & adrien.  beautiful, lots to do, need to go back.  had a few weeks with friends and family, and then roadtripped to wisconsin with a nice stop to explore chicago.  another week and a half later, and i'm back in nigeria.  i'm not sure if i was necessarily ready to come back, but here i am.  it was embarrassingly easy to just fall back into the good life and it feels a liiiiiiittle good to be deprived of some of those conveniences.

sunset in hawaii

a woman got into a little tiff with me while on the plane because i put my carry-on right above HER seat since the one above mine was full.  after she boarded and was ready to load in her luggage she would not let up that it was HERS even though some others in front of her had room... so alas, i moved mine.  "welcome back!" said my roommate sara who was sitting a row behind me.  all our bags came through just fine and no problems with immigration or customs this time around.  when we got back to our apartments we lost power mid-unpacking/catching up with neighbors.  it came back on, but only in certain rooms (the living room and my bedroom were not the lucky ones...).  it fixed itself later in the night, but oh... how quickly we were reminded and welcomed back into the country.  people driving the wrong way on roads this afternoon when we picked up groceries was another pleasantry i had quickly forgotten about.  i'm sure i will get reacquainted with many of these wonderful reminders of how easy my life is when i'm in the States and to not take all that for granted.  be thankful for what you have, my friends.

and we're back.

remember when i said i would be better about posting here regularly, and then did the exact opposite?  sorry, friends.

three big things since we've met last.

one: all nigerian schools were mandated to close which would supposedly help facilitate registering millions of voters.  AISA somehow pulled something so we could stay open.  then a newspaper published an article about it, so we had to shut down.  at least instead of having to make up a month of school it was more like 2.5 weeks.  so we had 2.5 weeks off, headed back to minna for a few days of rest and relaxation... and also did a lot of nothing in abuja.  it wasn't SO bad (a bit boring...) BUT we had to make up all that missed time.  school days got extended, we worked a few saturdays (pretty horrible), and now we're done with that.

two: spring break came and went.  here is a pretty wonderful recap of our trip to tanzania...... because i'm too lazy to write one on my own... and because my roommate's is pretty great.... and because she gave me permission to send all of you to her to read it.  :)  but overall - really great time, saw tons of animals and got to see adrien.  was fun to have him experience a little of africa for the first time, although tanzania was definitely no nigeria.

three: elections are in full swing.  there are three that take place over three weeks.  you'll read in the trip blog that the senatorial election was scheduled but postponed for whatever reason (supposedly voting materials didn't make it to the right places in time?).  the senatorial was rescheduled and has come and gone... not too much craziness here in abuja, but there was a bomb in suleja (40ish minutes out?) and rumors of some other violence on roads that lead out of abuja.  since that election took place on the day we were flying back to nigeria from tanzania, we were stuck in the airport for awhile but had no troubles in terms of safety.  today is the presidential and we there is no movement allowed as of 10pm last night until 6pm tonight.  we made stuffed french toast for breakfast this morning and will be getting our work out of the way, watching movies, doing crafts, and swimming to eat up the rest of our time.  restricted movement is a big thing here... the last election for governor is scheduled for the tuesday after easter which means we'll have a really long weekend, but possibly have to make it up on another saturday.  BOO HISS.

about two months before i finish my first year here in nigeria.  crazy how time flies... missing my family a ton, and am super excited to see everyone in june & july.  :)

a few safari pics to end:

sunrise in the serengeti

roarrrr

baboons are pretty darn ugly, but the babies are adorable.

me & adrien :)

 

third grade...

third graders are really fun.  they are really willing to learn, super eager to please, and full of questions (both good and bad).  third graders are also really exhausting.  they are still working on ignoring people who bother them, not being tattletales, and being responsible for their words, actions, and belongings.

we're half way through the year and i think i've adjusted from teaching my middle schoolers to teaching my third graders.  i REALLY miss the older kids, particularly the 8th graders.  i was young and cool to them, and they could talk to me / ask me for help and advice about school and non-school related things.   third graders just see me as still being too old to comprehend (which i get, but is not as fun).  teenagers also understand that they are typically slackers and can do better than they do.  they also can take and give sarcasm which makes life as a teacher a little more fun.. or for the most part at least (i did make a kid cry once when i played along on a joke and i guess he was more sensitive than we realized... oops.)  most third graders don't get sarcasm yet, and would not be able to hold back the tears.

surprisingly enough, even though those middle schoolers have disgusting raging hormones, and can be unpredictably mood swing-y... i think i'll be headed back to that age range when i'm back in the states.

hey, 2011.

happy 2011!  celebrating new years seems to be less and less exciting to me with each coming year.  i'm not sure why (maybe because i'm getting older?) but i guess as reflection goes... crazy to think about how much you can experience in a year.  this time last year i was in the midst of becoming an international teacher candidate.  i went to an insane job fair, got a job, finished off my time at south river and said goodbye to my students/co-workers, got a million shots and prepared for life in a different country, said see ya later to friends & fam, picked up a good portion of my life and moved to AFRICA (still surprises me sometimes),  and am now trying to sort through teaching 3rd graders while figuring out life in nigeria.  whirlwind, much?  

a new year is upon us, but maybe not so happy in abuja -- a fish bar in our city was bombed right around the new year.  i was still in the states when i heard about it, and luckily nobody i know was hurt... but it obviously gives me reason to worry.  much of the violence we hear about typically occurs in jos, nigeria which is several hours north of us so to hear the news of the bombing in abuja made me a bit nervous to return, but things seem okay thus far...  please keep me in your thoughts & prayers.  on a happier note, looking ahead: i am very excited for 2011 and much of the traveling i know i'll be doing (nigeria, tanzania, germany, hawaii)!!

while home was and always will be wonderful (saw a lot of friends/fam, ate a lot of good food, stocked up on goodies to bring back), it is kind of nice to be back here.  my roommate is still back in the states and unsure of when she'll return, as she managed to mess up both her ankles, so it is a little quiet and lonely, but i'll get used to it with time.  i like that the weather is warm, i'm back in my apt, and reacquainting myself with life here. with that comes being back to crazy traffic and getting stared at everywhere.  the immigration man asked me if i knew his friend, jackie chan, when i was going through line at the airport.  haha...

merry christmas and a happy new year!

within the few days of being home, i've already had many "you should write more often!"s so here i am.  i am going to TRY.  :)

i left abuja on monday night, and was supposed to land for a layover in frankfurt at 6am but due to snow, they had closed the airport.  we landed in zurich and were not allowed off the plane, and didn't get to frankfurt until several hours later.  at least it gave me some time to catch up on movies!  once in frankfurt, i found out that my flight was canceled so stood in a re-booking line for 4.5 hours (fun!... they did give out free kitkats though haha) and luckily did not have to spend the night in germany as many others did, but got one of the last seats back to newark.

it was still mid to high 90s back in abuja, so yes - the weather is cold, but i am making do and have not gotten sick yet!  the snow is nice, but also foiling plans to see friends in the short amount of time i have back in the states.  a lot of people have been asking if i have any special plans, but really i have just been, and plan to continue, enjoying the conveniences of life here in the states.  the one out of the ordinary thing will be seeing the broadway musical 'fela' with my family, which is based around fela kuti, a nigerian musician who pioneereded the afrobeat movement and was also very present in human rights & politics.  this is the same guy whose book publishing/reading i attended while in abuja, so it is very fitting! :)

hoping everyone had a very merry christmas, as i did, and that everyone will have a happy new year.  2010 is ending, and so it this post so to end, here is a list:

10 things i will enjoy doing at home because such activites do not exist in abuja

1. seeing friends, fam & adrien!

2. going to target, shoprite, ac.moore, and other such shops

3. watching football w/ my poppa bear

4. eating reasonably priced ice cream and stocking up on goodies you can't get in the buj like chocolate chips!

5. going to a restaurant and not having to wait an hour after i order to get my food

6. having a VARIETY of GOOD restaurants to eat at!

7. getting a hot shower EXACTLY when i expect/want it

8. driving civilly (although it makes it seem a bit boring at times...)

9. plugging things straight in the wall without having to worry about blowing anything/one up/out

10. drinking and cleaning fruits/veggies w/ tap water and not having to have miltoning (veggie santizier) parties...

these are just some of the things that i have taken for granted before experiencing this completely different lifestyle.  i think i may even miss it a bit and will be ready to return to nigeria when the time comes, but am definitely enjoying these two weeks at home with loved ones and simple pleasures.