Day 27: Laziness Is Asking Someone To Brush Your Teeth.

I woke up to Musa walking down the hallway to bring us water from the well. He comes once a week to haul buckets with well water up to the second story for our bathroom and kitchen. We have asked him to let us help on more than one occasion but have grown to find that Nigerians find it incredibly rude to impose on their hospitality in that way. He doesn’t want us to feel like we need to assist him, he wants us to appreciate this gift he gives us. That has been difficult for me to accept because I am one who always feels the need to repay people for whatever they have given to or done for me. So this morning I applied this new way of thinking while eating breakfast and instead of insisting I lend a hand just took the time to talk to Musa when he was done bringing up the water and thank him for his service. He laughed and told me he is glad we are becoming more Nigerian.

 

            Today was the last day of feasting after Ramadan so, like yesterday, things were pretty quiet around the neighborhood. We walked to the Clinic for a little while and ended up helping Dr. Chris round up his three out-of-control children for a good part of the time there. Passing an apartment complex that is in the midst of it’s final completion I witnessed one of the most outstanding pictures of community. I will always kick myself for not having a camera on me. There were huge piles of rocks and dirt on the street being shoveled by teenagers, carried by able-bodied men, and transported to three levels of people who were working together to put this building together. On each level there must have been thirty men and women, working hard with huge smiles, singing as they went along. They stood on wooden planks out along the far side of the structure; probably not the safest environment but no one looked afraid. Who needs to hire construction workers when you live in a neighborhood?

 

            We made it back for lunch followed by another lazy afternoon of reading, Pilates, and long conversations. Kristen and Jon both worked in the Boundary Waters region near the Canadian border so I always enjoy hearing their outdoor adventures. It’s also fun to hear what life looks like in different parts of our country. It is so diverse! I really enjoy being with the Draskovics and know that once they go back to Fargo we will still be hearing quite a bit from each other.

 

            Baba cooked us “Special” dinner which ended up being a delicious meal of rice, veggies, meat, fried plantains, AND a fruit cobbler. A huge meal to end a lazy day--perfect! We made things even better by sitting around and watching an hour of America’s Funniest Home Videos before heading off to bed. Not the most productive day here, but definitely one that adds to the adventure of Jos.