I have taken the idea for this blog from a new friend who just arrived in Niamey from America a month ago. I thought that this was such a good idea and wondered why I hadn’t done it already. So here is a list of things that I now find part of my everyday life and seem very normal to me now, but would have been quite strange when I first arrived. (Thankyou to Lori as I have stolen some of her ideas)
=Sharing the road with donkeys and camels
=Dodging goats and sheep on the road
=Driving on very bumpy dirt roads (only the main roads are paved)
=Greeting everyone I see with "Bonjour" or "Bonsoir" or Fofo (Zarma for hello)
=Having to go through 4-5 different greetings when you meet someone before you do business; how is your family? How is your work? How is your health? How is your house? etc.
=Having to buy fruit and veg outside on the street and be surrounded by 4-5 other men trying to sell you more potatoes or bananas.
=Sharing the road with donkeys and camels
=Dodging goats and sheep on the road
=Driving on very bumpy dirt roads (only the main roads are paved)
=Greeting everyone I see with "Bonjour" or "Bonsoir" or Fofo (Zarma for hello)
=Having to go through 4-5 different greetings when you meet someone before you do business; how is your family? How is your work? How is your health? How is your house? etc.
=Having to buy fruit and veg outside on the street and be surrounded by 4-5 other men trying to sell you more potatoes or bananas.
=Saying ‘non merci’ over and over but still they don’t seem to understand that you don’t want to buy a 4 foot sword sword.
=Having to wash my veg with bleach water before eating any of it
=Rinsing all of my dishes in bleach after washing them.
=Watching movies and TV shows on my laptop with earphones because the fans are turned up to high in an effort to keep cool.
=Realising that a movie that came out 3-4 years ago is new to most of the kids.
=It’s the height of the week when someone comes in from America with a new DVD.
=Making calls home through my laptop via Skype
=Being able to do video calls home that don’t cost me a thing. (Good ol' Skype!!)
=The best tasting bread is baguette (loaf bread too sweet)
=Ice-cream, costing over AU$10 a tub – so don’t bother!
=My feet are always dusty and dry and need to be washed again before going to bed as pick up more dust around the house!
=Have to use moisturiser on my feet every couple of days as they get so dry.
=Lip balm is even more important than in Oz as my lips dry out so quickly.
=Houses are surrounded by high walls and have guards in front of the gate
=Cows, goats and sheep "grazing" in trash dumps on the side of the road.
=Speed bumps made from compacted dirt that needs to be replaced every few months as it wears down.
=Lizards everywhere!!
=Trying to work out what an item is on the supermarket shelf by deciphering the French.
=People carrying rolled up rugs, buckets of fruit or veg, clothing, electrical appliances, sewing machines, and other things their heads.
=Guys selling mobile phone recharge cards at stop lights
=Stop lights that don’t usually work
=If I want cheaper yogurt, I make it myself
=On a roundabout, the cars/bikes/motorcycles coming in have the right away (mostly but there are 2 roundabouts where you have right of way once you are on, you just need to remember which ones so you don’t crash!)
=You don't get pulled over for speeding, but for not using your blinker.
=Taxis are everywhere and are used more like buses and have certain routes they follow and cram as many people as the comfortably can into them
=Church services are performed in at least 2 different languages and usually last 2-3 hours minimum
=Lines on the road don’t mean much and driving instructors actually teach them to drive straddling the line on a double lane road.
=Dust so think in the air that you can look at the sun without hurting your eyes, and I feel like I haven’t seen the real sky at day time for months.
=Call to worship can be heard from nearby mosques as I get up.
=As can the lions roaring from the zoo across the river
=Driving by groups of men kneeling to pray
=Mosquito repellent is a must have
=Coke comes in glass bottles with caps that need to be pulled off, the bottles are collected and swapped for new ones (well recycled ones – they get refilled and often look very well used)
=I go clothes shopping at a tailor, I choose the fabric and design the outfit and take it to him and 3-4 days later I have a new outfit, complete with matching head wrap.
=The sound of fans whirring accompanies me wherever I go.
=Cockroaches that seem to like my house so much they have moved in.
=Having less than 10 kids in my class (how will I cope with 28 again?!)
=Power that goes off fairly regularly
=Having a lady come and clean my house and wash my clothes once a week – I am very thankful of Linley.
There are many more things that have become part of normal life for me in Niger and I feel very blessed to be able to experience them and will miss all the things I do and see when I return home in 3 months.
=Having to wash my veg with bleach water before eating any of it
=Rinsing all of my dishes in bleach after washing them.
=Watching movies and TV shows on my laptop with earphones because the fans are turned up to high in an effort to keep cool.
=Realising that a movie that came out 3-4 years ago is new to most of the kids.
=It’s the height of the week when someone comes in from America with a new DVD.
=Making calls home through my laptop via Skype
=Being able to do video calls home that don’t cost me a thing. (Good ol' Skype!!)
=The best tasting bread is baguette (loaf bread too sweet)
=Ice-cream, costing over AU$10 a tub – so don’t bother!
=My feet are always dusty and dry and need to be washed again before going to bed as pick up more dust around the house!
=Have to use moisturiser on my feet every couple of days as they get so dry.
=Lip balm is even more important than in Oz as my lips dry out so quickly.
=Houses are surrounded by high walls and have guards in front of the gate
=Cows, goats and sheep "grazing" in trash dumps on the side of the road.
=Speed bumps made from compacted dirt that needs to be replaced every few months as it wears down.
=Lizards everywhere!!
=Trying to work out what an item is on the supermarket shelf by deciphering the French.
=People carrying rolled up rugs, buckets of fruit or veg, clothing, electrical appliances, sewing machines, and other things their heads.
=Guys selling mobile phone recharge cards at stop lights
=Stop lights that don’t usually work
=If I want cheaper yogurt, I make it myself
=On a roundabout, the cars/bikes/motorcycles coming in have the right away (mostly but there are 2 roundabouts where you have right of way once you are on, you just need to remember which ones so you don’t crash!)
=You don't get pulled over for speeding, but for not using your blinker.
=Taxis are everywhere and are used more like buses and have certain routes they follow and cram as many people as the comfortably can into them
=Church services are performed in at least 2 different languages and usually last 2-3 hours minimum
=Lines on the road don’t mean much and driving instructors actually teach them to drive straddling the line on a double lane road.
=Dust so think in the air that you can look at the sun without hurting your eyes, and I feel like I haven’t seen the real sky at day time for months.
=Call to worship can be heard from nearby mosques as I get up.
=As can the lions roaring from the zoo across the river
=Driving by groups of men kneeling to pray
=Mosquito repellent is a must have
=Coke comes in glass bottles with caps that need to be pulled off, the bottles are collected and swapped for new ones (well recycled ones – they get refilled and often look very well used)
=I go clothes shopping at a tailor, I choose the fabric and design the outfit and take it to him and 3-4 days later I have a new outfit, complete with matching head wrap.
=The sound of fans whirring accompanies me wherever I go.
=Cockroaches that seem to like my house so much they have moved in.
=Having less than 10 kids in my class (how will I cope with 28 again?!)
=Power that goes off fairly regularly
=Having a lady come and clean my house and wash my clothes once a week – I am very thankful of Linley.
There are many more things that have become part of normal life for me in Niger and I feel very blessed to be able to experience them and will miss all the things I do and see when I return home in 3 months.
No comments:
Post a Comment