adventures in minna

a diary of life in minna, nigeria... and a way to keep tabs on me!

Thursday, August 25, 2005

How big is your head...


My helmet arrived today - one of the more surreal moments in my preparations! All Nigeria-bound volunteers bring a helmet so they can avail of the motorcycle taxis in the city.

So now I know that my head is 56cm in diametre - that's bound to come in handy one day...

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

About Minna...


It has been difficult to locate information about Minna, the city where I will be based in Nigeria... but here is a little bit (Niger State is the large green state in the midwest of the country)

Minna is a city (population 150,000 in 2000) in west central Nigeria. It's the capital of Niger State, one of Nigeria's 36 federal states.
Cotton, guinea corn, and ginger are the main agricultural products of the city. The economy also supports cattle trading, brewing, shea nut processing and gold mining. Traditional industries and crafts in Minna include leather work, metalworking, and cloth weaving. Minna is also the seat of the Federal University of Technology (FUT), that is located in Bosso.
Minna is connected to neighboring cities by road. Abuja, the capital, is only 150 kms away. Minna is also connected by railroad to both Kano in the north and Ibadan and Lagos in the south. The city also has a small airport.
Archaeological evidence suggests settlement in the area dates back to about 47,000-37,000 years ago. Muslim culture filtered into Minna by way of the ancient Saharan trade routes and the city contains many mosques and Muslim organizations.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minna"

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Training skills...


I had my second training session in Harborne Hall last week - in training skills. It was alot more fun than I was expecting! No more boring seminars from me then - I will have any trainees running around the library causing chaos (although they will probably be a little less competitive than my fellow trainers/trainees proved to be, you know who you are!)

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Sr. Chris...

My uncle introduced me to a soon-to-be neighbour this weekend. Sr Chris works in a clinic in Fuka which is a short distance from Minna. She was fundraising in Limerick for her work with The Medical Missionaries of Mary. What a small world!
It was great to hear about Sr Chris' experiences - and she tells me that I will have plenty of Irish (and Limerick) neighbours!
http://www.medical-missionaries.com/index.php?article=tour%20nigeria

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Blonde no more...

In anticipation of the Nigerian sun saving me a fortune on highlights - I'm back to my original hair colour (ish...). It's funny that in a summer of momentus changes leading up to my time overseas, this is the one I write about - vain girl that I am!

"I'm not offended by all the dumb-blonde jokes because I know that I'm not dumb. I also know I'm not blonde." ~Dolly Parton