I thought that it was about time that I updated this and after talking to my Grandmother, and with her using the correct terminology by asking if there were any more ‘blogs’ I got inspired to get this done, even with reports needing to be written this week for school!
So what has life been like for me in Niger these past 2 months? Well it has been hot, sweaty, sticky, smelly at times, uncomfortable and sometimes unbearable and that’s usually before I’ve even left the house in the morning! Although it hasn’t been like that all the time. We have had some fantastic rain storms that are preceded by the wind and sometimes a sand/dust storm, and everyone knows that rain is on the way, and then it hits. It’s fantastic and cools everything down for a while. October is a mini hot season, so the days have been getting hotter, and so has my classroom. We have no shade on one side so in the afternoon the sun streams through and we start to bake. The air conditioner is old and doesn’t make any difference so I don’t bother putting it on and as there is an issue with the power on campus, too many air cons on at the same time can put us into a blackout, and fans are at least better than no fans at all, so we make do with turning the fans up high!! Outside the temperatures have been reaching 40'c and inside is not much cooler. Our house themometer is often reading 35'c, and we were very concerned one night when it said 46'c, but then realised that it had heated up as it was sitting on the fan switch which gets hot with the fan on!!
Murray has been having a fantastic time with the class. He is looking very well loved and I think he might need a bath sometime over the holiday break! He has been going home with a student each weekend and they have come back with some great stories about what they got up to and some excellent photos. One boy even made him a swim suit so he could go to the pool with them at the rec. centre. I am having lots of fun with them all too. Last week we had an excursion to the sand dunes about 1/2 and hour away. We are studying deserts which seems very appropriate for beign out here. The sand dunes are actually only one large dune, but the kids had sun sliding down them and were covered in orange sand by the time we got back to the car. Luckily we have showers at school so found some towels and they could wash all the sand off instead of itching for the rest of the day, and I was very glad when they had their Bible lesson after that as it meant i could go home and have a shower, another benefit of living on school grounds!
We have had some fantastic opportunities for sightseeing on the weekends. One week we went out to a little town called Tera. This was Murray’s first trip out of town, as well as mine. We went with a family who used to live out there and were going to see the family of a friend who had died that w
eek. Tera is about 3 hours west of Niamey. We followed the river for 2 hours then cross
ed the river in a little ferry. It was a
nother hour, driving through lots of little villages and towns. It was really nice to see how people live away from the city. We met a few of their friends, one family who lived in a little grass hut and another family who had a 
little mud brick house. Their kids were beautiful and they were all thoroughly amused by Murray, having never seen a koala before! We did a bit of bush bashing to have lunch under a mango tree (that unfortunately was empty of mangoes) next to the river. We had an encounter with a VERY large 
monitor lizard that chased the daughter of family we came with out of the grass we had to walk through back to the car. And we saw some very interesting sights along the road, like bush taxis packed with people and belongings strapped up high on top, cows crammed into the back of a truck, and plenty of goats, donkey carts and camels.
eek. Tera is about 3 hours west of Niamey. We followed the river for 2 hours then cross
ed the river in a little ferry. It was a
nother hour, driving through lots of little villages and towns. It was really nice to see how people live away from the city. We met a few of their friends, one family who lived in a little grass hut and another family who had a 
little mud brick house. Their kids were beautiful and they were all thoroughly amused by Murray, having never seen a koala before! We did a bit of bush bashing to have lunch under a mango tree (that unfortunately was empty of mangoes) next to the river. We had an encounter with a VERY large 
monitor lizard that chased the daughter of family we came with out of the grass we had to walk through back to the car. And we saw some very interesting sights along the road, like bush taxis packed with people and belongings strapped up high on top, cows crammed into the back of a truck, and plenty of goats, donkey carts and camels.
One of the best days I have had so far was our trip out to Koure Giraffe Park. We went with a family who arrived from America about the same time Murray and I did. The park is a sanctuary for the last herd of wild giraffes in West Africa, and is about an hours drive from the city. When we arrived we had to pay our entry fee, our car fee, our camera fee and with our guide, we were ready to go. The guide climbed on top of the 
4x4 car that we had and pointed the way for us with his little stick in front of the windscreen. We drove around for about 15 minutes, pushing our way through bushes and puddles, sure that our guide would be bounced off at any minute. Then we spotted them. A herd of about 15 giraffes grazing on the trees ahead of us. We stopped the car and for the next half hour trailed after the giraffes as they went about their business. We found a second herd after a bit more bush bashing and this time we sat on top of the car and the guide was inside!! We all sat on a mattress that had been strapped on to the roof rack and held on as we bumped our way through puddles and bushes. It was a fantastic experience and the giraffes were beautiful. We were even lucky enough to see some new borns, about 2 weeks old.
4x4 car that we had and pointed the way for us with his little stick in front of the windscreen. We drove around for about 15 minutes, pushing our way through bushes and puddles, sure that our guide would be bounced off at any minute. Then we spotted them. A herd of about 15 giraffes grazing on the trees ahead of us. We stopped the car and for the next half hour trailed after the giraffes as they went about their business. We found a second herd after a bit more bush bashing and this time we sat on top of the car and the guide was inside!! We all sat on a mattress that had been strapped on to the roof rack and held on as we bumped our way through puddles and bushes. It was a fantastic experience and the giraffes were beautiful. We were even lucky enough to see some new borns, about 2 weeks old.
Shopping here is an experience. Most of the time we are lucky enough to go with another lady on the campus who has a car. We v
isit the various supermarkets and get our supplies, then usually eat out for dinner. Megan and I have been getting braver and trying the taxis. They’ll take you to the Petit Marche for 200 CFA where we can get fruit and veg from the street sellers. It can be a bit overwhelming as there are often a crowd of boys who are trying to convince you to buy from them instead, and pushing things in your face. The last month has been even w
orse as it was Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month, so they were all very keen to sell so that they had money for all the parties they have at night. The markets are fun, and we are getting better with our French to try and bargain a bit more. There are lots of leather shoes, bags, boxes. Silver jewellery, beads, batiks and painting, golden giraffes and elephants, wooden animals and all sorts of traditional artefacts that people on the street try to convince you to buy. One of my favourite things to buy has been the local fabric, that then can be made into any kind of clothing you can imagine. The skirts I have had made are a lot cooler than the ones I brought with me as they are light and thin.
I am looking forward to the school term break next week, one school term down already, and then only 9 weeks after that and it'll be the Christmas break. I am hoping that this break will give me more time to do another blog and let you all know what an average week is like for us here, as well as doing some more sight seeing, and hopefully see some hippos.
isit the various supermarkets and get our supplies, then usually eat out for dinner. Megan and I have been getting braver and trying the taxis. They’ll take you to the Petit Marche for 200 CFA where we can get fruit and veg from the street sellers. It can be a bit overwhelming as there are often a crowd of boys who are trying to convince you to buy from them instead, and pushing things in your face. The last month has been even w
orse as it was Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month, so they were all very keen to sell so that they had money for all the parties they have at night. The markets are fun, and we are getting better with our French to try and bargain a bit more. There are lots of leather shoes, bags, boxes. Silver jewellery, beads, batiks and painting, golden giraffes and elephants, wooden animals and all sorts of traditional artefacts that people on the street try to convince you to buy. One of my favourite things to buy has been the local fabric, that then can be made into any kind of clothing you can imagine. The skirts I have had made are a lot cooler than the ones I brought with me as they are light and thin.I am looking forward to the school term break next week, one school term down already, and then only 9 weeks after that and it'll be the Christmas break. I am hoping that this break will give me more time to do another blog and let you all know what an average week is like for us here, as well as doing some more sight seeing, and hopefully see some hippos.
I am also putting together my 3 monthly prayer letter so keep a look out for that one coming your way.
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