Yola, Nigeria: More Outdoor Markets

I'm in LA right now for a conference, and I'm amazed at the speed of the internet! It took me about 15 seconds to upload each of the above photos, which would have taken about three hours to upload in Yola, Nigeria, where I live and work. I love acknowledging culture shock! I also love being able to smell the sea air and eat Mexican food, but now is not the time or the place to go on about that.

Instead, I wanted to show you more photos of outdoor markets in my Yola/Jimeta area. If you are in the mood to get a shave, find items to practice juju, or buy handmade mats to cover your food so it can stay warm or to give to your friends as gifts, the Yola/Jimeta area has just what you need. Enjoy and spread the love!

Yola, Nigeria: AU Abroad Comes to Nigeria for Summer Service Learning

One brave AU Abroad student showed up in Nigeria to take the opportunity of a lifetime by doing a service learning course at American University of Nigeria. Liz Bayer is discussing her seven-week Nigeria summer experience in her blog, which any study abroad student thinking about Africa in general should check out. Here she's with some enthusiastic kids reading a book that came with a nice gold crown, one of the best (but there were lots of 'the best'!) in the recent shipment for community service. Everyone pictured got to wear the crown while the story was read... and of course, everyone deserved to.

Liz is doing her service learning at the Tulsi Chanrai Mission for Vision eye clinic (I blogged about their pediatric eye camp here) and has already absorbed tons about the community, as well as how Nigerians perceive other Nigerians and their surroundings. She also has lots of opinions about the Nigeria reality/media coverage discrepancy. I love being able to give people an opportunity to be fully influenced by their new-turning-into-the-familiar environment!

Yola, Nigeria: Another 62 Books for Community Service

A big thank you to American University students in D.C, who for a class project sent 62 children's books to me so that they could be used for community service here at American University of Nigeria. Of course, we broke the new and used books in right away, as kids from Karatu Library Foundation enjoyed the shade by reading on their own and being read to by dedicated AUN students. Kudos all around!

Adamawa, Nigeria: Fulani Market Finds

Ok, I have to say I am beyond frustrated with the internet right now, since the third photo in the four posts I have yet to post will not upload! Internet gods, please listen to my plea and grace me with your favor! Until then folks, please enjoy my recent trip to my favorite place in the area, the Fulani Market held every Wednesday a few minutes from Jimeta. It's farming season, so there's even more hustle and bustle there than usual. I came across a man selling some dope swords with very detailed etchings, and my friend Rachel just had to have her picture taken with two young girls letting the public know that they're looking to get married to someone suitable. Any takers? In case you're interested, they are both wearing knitted beanie caps that have beads strung on them, and loads of bling. One love, y'all...

Abuja, Nigeria: American Homemade Cherry and Apple Pie

You know the feeling when in some way you've been put through the wringer and then your friends or family do something in their every day lives that changes you mood or attitude? That recently happened to me when I stayed with friends in Abuja. The hard-working loving wife to a gracious husband and mother of two adventurous children spent all day making pies to donate to a fundraiser for her children's school. The whole house was filled with smells that reminded me of the simple things in life. I wish these photos were scratch and sniff because it was the most comforting, warmest smell - the only thing that could match it would be the smell of rain (yes, I'm still obsessed with rain) ...

Pies made with dedication. Table cloth bought locally (also made with dedication).

Eye Charts: Vision Testing in Nigeria and India

I've been in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, for a few days now and since I'm not much in the know about this place it's been hard to find consistent internet... but now, after over a week, I'm able to post. Lots of things in my life have drastically changed, which makes me think about my vision - for the future, in reference to the past, and most of all for how I want to live in the present. And of course, all this thinking led me to thinking about my mini obsession with vision tests in different countries - the first from Mission for Vision in Yola, the second at a friend's 'office space' (with a nice bar) in Yola, and then Mission for Vision in India. Do you have any pictures of other countries' vision tests?

Yola, Nigeria: Rain and the AUN University Club Pool

The pictures are out of order to the story I'm about to tell, but I'll walk you through it, don't worry...

Some times, looks can be deceiving. Here is the AUN University Club in Yola on a nice day (pics #2 and #3). A few hours later it got even better, because it started to RAIN (pic #1). I can't tell you how nice a cool wind and wetness feels after a strong, beating sun for months on end! A short few minutes later, the rain storm ended (but another one that lasted a half hour or so came a few days later). We've been having such generator problems with any facility related to AUN that now we can't use the pool because the pump won't work on the electricity provided... and the machines and the air conditioners at the gym won't work because it's the same problem. I live for the treadmill, mostly because it's too bloody hot to walk for more than five minutes at a time outside. It's a bit frustrating to be dealing with all of this, but when I see these photos I feel like we are so lucky to even have a facility available to us here like this in such a rural location. I've decided to count my lucky stars instead of complaining of the above and about how I can't post as much as I'd like to these days because of internet problems. Is there something that you've been taking for granted lately?