Reaching out...

Although my freckle count is up to frightening levels, I remain as pale as only a girl from the Irish West Coast could… So every now and then a kid feels compelled to touch me. Touch me and then run for their life in giggles!
When I look at photos I realise that I am usually the palest person in the room so it’s probably not such a surprise. So I feel a sneaky grope and turn around to see a little person retreat into a group of other wide-eyed little people waiting for my reaction. This is especially true in church where I’m a sitting duck and get grabbed and prodded by my small neighboures more than any church-goer should!

Street life...

One of my favourite Nigeria observations was made by a fellow volunteer, Erin. She said that what she loves about Nigeria is that if you sit down on the side of the road sooner or later everything you need will come to you. Nigeria is full of traders and the streets are one big market. Traders walk up and down selling all kinds of food, drink, fruit, papers, phone cards, jewellery, dvds, music, too many things to name. What you need is never very far away… The streets are hives of activity rather than just passageways between locations – it’s a nice philosophy, I think.

Keeping up with all the news...

I have been a little behind on the news front over the past few months as I don’t have the same access to papers and internet here – but I always catch up eventually. Ivor Callely, CIA prisons in Europe, Man Utd wiping the floor with Liverpool… Oh yes, it’s important to keep up with the news (hope ye aren’t having any such difficulties in Oz)...

Freckly knees...

Afraid my tanning Christmas didn't come to much. Was excited that I got a bit of a colour down South until I had a proper wash and discovered in was just sand! All I got for my trouble was some newly freckled knees...

My first breakdown...

Well it was only a matter of time - the taxi I was travelling in last week broke down on the way from Abuja to Minna. Smoke bellowing from car engines and stranded bewildered-looking passengers are a common sight on Nigerian roads. But with 11 passengers (including 3 little boys & a baby) and a mountain of luggage safely transferred into an even smaller car we were off again! Just a 3/4 hour delay, a record I think!
Taxi life is as entertaining here as anywhere in the world. Have been informed that the Irish "are tough" (based mainly on the inclusion of Roy Keane among us) and that vsos "are mad" (just to be here at all). See opinionated taxi drivers are a global phenomenon...

Blending in...

Although I'm feeling more and more at home all the time every now and then I'm reminded that I stand out a bit! During our hols I took a stroll to town to get breakfast one morning (on the tiny sand island of Tarkwa where there are no roads) and I still nearly managed to take a wrong turn. But I heard voices emerge from 3 or 4 different compounds shouting some variation of "no oyibo, go straight"! Clearly I wont be getting up to any quiet mischief in this country!!

Back again...

5th Jan. The journey home took 12 hours which was brutal! But it was a great trip and an insight into the rest of the country. I live in Hausaland (Minna) and we visited Yorubaland (Tarkwa) and Igboland (Opobo). There is a fascinating diversity of culture, landscape and weather in the different parts of Nigeria. I look forward to seeing more over the next 2 years...

Resolutions and Masquerades...

01 Jan. There is a New Year festival held in Opobo each year but as New Years Day fell on a Sunday it was postphoned a day this year (which was expected by everyone except us!) So we made a good start to the year and went on a walk through the rainforest on Jan 1st (this was never a resolution you understand so there was no question of continuing this healthy living...) We started with a boat ride landing in 2 foot of mud (!), visited a school that our vsos are involved in building, had a 2 hour trek through some beautiful rainforest and finished with a 20 min (eternal) canoe ride back - not my favroite bit!
The Masquerade festival went ahead on the 2nd (and might still be going!) Groups gather in wonderfully colourful costumes and move around town playing music and dancing. If you encounter them you must pay a small fee for safe passage! King Jaja V of Opobo was kind enough to greet (and feed!) us. A great day...

(Pics: Masquerades and my knobbly knees on our walk)

New Years...

30 Dec. We travelled south to Opobo for New Year (minus Jan who had to return for home for work). Opobo is a small town on an island south of Port Harcourt and the drive took 10 hours (and a 20 min boat trip!) We met Tanya enroute, and then Pete, Mary, Charles, Kevin, Kay and Indar who had spent Christmas in Cameroon (the old vsos were able to get re-entry visas but us newbies were not). It was great to meet some new faces and new year came in with a blast (Nigerians seem to love sparklers/fireworks even more than us!). The only slightly worrying bit was when a chap with a gun slung over his shoulder fired off a couple of shots in the air. But my mind was completely put at rest when someone said "oh it's okay, he's a policeman"!!!!!

(Pics of the gang (!) and Opobo town)

Christmas...

25th Dec. Christmas dinner consisted of rice and chicken eaten with a plastic spoon on the beach - not an image of paradise that Id have dreamt up before, but pretty close as it turns out! We opened our Secret Santa gifts in the evening after a day of haggling for them on the beach. Adorned with tinsel, and feasting on pringles and wine, we rounded off the evening playing cards. A thoroughly unique Christmas!

(Pics: Buying clothes on the beach and Secret Santa)

Tarwka Bay...

On Christmas Eve the six of us (Jan, me, Kim, Simon, Tammie & Kate) travelled to Tarkwa Bay, a small beach on a sand island south of Lagos. Its completely different from the Nigeria I am used to – a quiet place with no roads or footpaths, just LOTS of sand. Tammie and Kim had arranged for our accommodation on the beach – a big wooden house with 3 double bedrooms and a big lounge area. It was very basic (generator at night as there’s no electricity on the island, no running water etc) but perfect for us (our own space 3 mins from the beach). ‘Our spot’ on the beach consisted of 6 deckchairs, 2 canopies and 2 little tables surrounded by traders, swimmers, goats, food stalls and a world of activity. We spent 5 days soaking up the sun, taking the odd dip and doing very little else…

Christmas travel...

23rd Dec. The journey from Abuja to Lagos takes 7-10 hours (depending largely on the disposition of the person you ask!) so Kate & I decided to treat ourselves tp a luxury ABC coach - comfy seats, air-conditioning etc. We were booked on the 10.30am bus but were still sitting in the terminal at 3.30pm... and no one seemed very surprised except us! We managed to keep our sense of humour for the first 3 hours or so, but got increasingly worried at the 4th and 5th hours rolled around. We really didnt want to travel in the dark cos thats not very clever here! Anyway we stuck it out and left at 4pm arriving in Lagos at 2am. Our bus driver was a great help getting us a taxi (for an exorbitant price but we didnt care at that stage. The taxi driver reckoned it was protection money because of the hour but didnt specify whether the protection was for us or for him!!)

A holiday to recover...

Sallah was celebrated here last Tues and Wed so Minna shut up shop for a week. This is the wonder of living in a multi-religious country (all my fellow countryfolk) - a veeeeeeery long Christmas/Sallah break. After years of requesting a "holiday to get over the holiday" in vain, this year it actually materialised. Excellent!