This is the first celebration day for Muslims after the season of Ramadan, a day devoted to prayer and thanksgiving, so it looked a little different around Jos. For one thing, the normal hustle and bustle of daily living was much quieter this morning since so many people have gone back to their home village on holiday. Muslim or not every person in Nigeria loves a holiday! Most shops are closed, traffic is not as heavy, and things are generally much quieter. Even the Clinic is only open to out-patients until noon and almost everyone has taken the time off to be with their families.
Because of all this I was able to sleep in a bit this morning and wander down to work whenever I felt like it. I went downstairs at about 8:30 to grab a quick breakfast and Baba insisted of walking me the few blocks to Faith Alive. I felt like a celebrity. Baba is the most loved man in this neighborhood (and I believe if he traveled would quickly become the most loved man in the world) so we greeted every person we came into contact with and he checked up on how they were getting along. There is a bit of a language barrier between the two of us, but my sweet little old cook sure knows how to speak without words. He handed me a banana in case I got hungry later and told me to have a good day until we saw each other again at lunch. If only we could bring him home with us!
Emma told me I could take the monstrous book back to the flat to work on instead of in the M&E office/club. I took a few minutes to say Hello to the few workers who were present before heading back home with Adrie. Dr. Onyijiaka (we call him Old School) gave me the compliment of my life when he walked up to me and, taking my hand, told me in his wonderful wise Nigerian accent, “Cait, you are REALLY cute today.” How can you not feel good about yourself when a doctor in his 60s tells you that? We walked home and it was nice to keep working on my project with Glen Hansard playing in the background instead of some Nigerian playboy.
Lunch was followed by a grocery run with Biana and Naomi and I had my first experience with the beggars. I had heard that there is a subculture of young boys in parts of the city who spend all day walking from person to person begging for food. Many of them are orphaned, some live on the streets creating their own family with other children, and still some are sent out by their poor parents or relatives as a way to get some extra food into the home. I didn’t quite know what to do when I was approached by a seven-year-old asking me in broken English if I had anything to eat I could share with him. I had to tell him the truth that I did not. He looked at me with those beautiful big eyes and I felt my heart break as he started to walk away. Biana said that there are a few organizations that have started in the recent past to work with these children and try to give them a better life than wandering the streets day in and day out hoping for a hand-out. I guess part of being in a new place is seeing things you aren’t comfortable with.
When we got back home I did my pilates, enjoyed looking through some pictures on my iphoto, and had a fabulous dinner of curry and fried plantains. I will never get over fried plantains. They are just too good. Tonight’s dinner discussion started with kidney stones (Biana and I were the only two experienced stoners) and ended with embarrassing moments our families caught on tape. The Bairds seem to have a few more than others...thank you Uncle Norm! Oh well, I’m glad people still think I’m cute.
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