Religion is pretty much everywhere

As we were driving through town, I happened to look out the bus window and see this sign!

To the market to see a Blacksmith!

This week’s trip took us into the town of Ifè to see a blacksmith. It was such an interesting process.  In Yorùbá culture, the work of a blacksmith is fulfilled by men only.  The reason you see a woman in the picture is because she is operating a man made machine which heats up a hot bed of palm oil seeds.   Like Americans use coal, the blacksmith uses the seeds from a palm oil tree to create an extremely hot space where he heats his blade. With the hot blade, he then pounds and creates various objects: knives, axes, smaller blades, etc. They did not wear gloves nor any sort of protective gear.  Not surprisingly, they worked quickly and with precision.  

Can one survive without pizza?

In Ifè, it is not easy to find pizza.  In fact, it is almost as challenging as learning to speak the Yorùbá language! In the beginning, it was easy to talk about our favorite American foods and feel satisfied without actually eating them.  At the start of week 5, we had a break down.  We were determined to order pizza, no matter the cost.  Once I got a hold of a pizza boy on campus, we submitted our order: 4 cheese pizzas.  Not knowing what to expect at all, we were full of anxiety and high expectations.  Once the pizza boy reached my house, I sprinted to meet him I was so excited.  When he first got out of the car, I thought to myself, “Where’s the pizza?” My heart sunk. He was in fact holding our four pizzas, but they were TINY.  We were expecting something similar to a medium/large size American pizza. At this point, I had to laugh.  We knew it wasn’t going to be similar to American pizza, but we just couldn’t allow ourselves to have anything but high expectations.  In spite of the size and the outrageous total cost, we enjoyed the pizza and crammed in front of a friend’s computer to watch Pirates of the Caribbean. 

Friday Afternoon

1)      On Friday after class, a few of us hiked up a mountain to unwind from the week.  Once we reached the top, the girls gathered for a picture!

Atop the Mountain!

Surprisingly, I have done a great deal of hiking on the trip.  AWESOME! The hiking experiences have made for sore legs and blisters, but great views from the top nevertheless.  On top of this mountain, there is actually a church.  The first time that my friends and I climbed to the top, there were 2 women up there praying and reading their bibles.  As greeting is the epitomy of Yorùbá culture, we walked over and greeted them.  Once we began speaking in Yorùbá, they instantly laughed and began asking us questions.  Within a matter of minutes, one of the women was telling me to bring her to America.  Although not unusual for us òyìnbós (white people) to hear this request, it made me sad to think that the only reason they began talking with us was because our skin color signaled a free ride to a land with more opportunity.  Being an òyìnbó in Ile-Ife has definitely had its challenges, but I must remember that sighting an òyìnbó is a rare thing for many Yorùbás to experience in their lifetime.  What have they got to lose by asking me to take them back to America? In spite of this, I came away with some great photos, and I had the opportunity to practice speaking the language. It was a great end to a particularly hot and long day. 

cloth+tailor=outfit!!

In Nigeria, people can go to American like department stores to buy clothes , but it is still VERY common for people to buy fabric and take it to a tailor.  To start, Nigerians do not like to dress like one another.  They  take pride in picking out their own cloth which will eventually be sewn into an outfit.  It is very rare to see two people fashioning a similar design; it is even more rare to see two people wearing the same cloth. The picture of the various fabrics is just a sliver of all that is offered.  Not only are there different patterns and designs, there are various types of cloth.  They wear “ankara” which is similar to the fabric used to make a quilt, but they also wear lace, batique, and tie-dye.  Tailors are generally men, however, women also work as tailors.  The tailors here are diligent and extremely talented .  I drew a picture of the dress and skirt that I wanted.  In 5 days, what I had drawn on paper had come to life.  When converted to US dollars, I paid approximately $25 for both my dress and my skirt…even after the tailor altered a few things that I didn’t like.  

Cultural Performance: Ile-Ife

Courtesy of a primary school in Ife, our group was treated to a Yoruba cultural performance by children age 6-12.  They were fabulous little dancers and singers.  They started the program by singing Nigeria’s national anthem. Then, they performed a play which was followed by a series of different dances.  All of the children performing wore traditional clothes and jewelry.  Because kids all around the world are the same, a handful of them had dirty butts and kneecaps from playing in the dirt.  In spite of the hot weather and lack of wind, the children put on an excellent show! *In Yoruba culture, it is common for people watching the performance to spray the performers with money.  Often times, people from the audience give the performers small denominations of naira, (Nigerian currency) such as 20 naira or 50 naira. In light of this, I danced my way towards the group and paid my dues * The show was great until the announcer invited all of the students to the center of the playground to show off our dancing skills, or lack thereof.  I was a bit embarrassed at first, but within no time, I got my groove on and started shaking my butt like alongside the 6-7 year olds.  Those kids out-danced me, HANDS DOWN.  

Need caffeine? Try a kola nut

Kola nut is a caffeine-containing nut of two evergreen trees of the cocoa family. The kola nut has a bitter flavor. It is chewed in many West African cultures, individually or in a group setting. It is often used ceremonially, presented to tribal chiefs or presented to guests. Naturally, I tried it. I DID NOT like it.

Akekoo ni mi (I am a student)

School? Oh yeah, the reason why I am in Nigeria.  Classes are going fine.  I am studying the Yoruba language.  Ironically, my teacher here in Nigeria is one of my teachers from Madison! It’s a small world? On a typical day, we spend the morning speaking, reading and listening to Yoruba.  We learn A LOT of vocabulary.  I need to spend more time studying, but I have been distracted. Besides, I forgot my flashcards. How am I supposed to learn my vocab? The early afternoon is spent with a conversation partner.  Ellie, a classmate of mine, and I have a conversation partner who is a student at Obafemi Awolowo University.  Her name is Feyi.   She studies Yoruba, therefore, she is an excellent resource for all of our questions.  I don’t know her well yet, but I get good vibes from her.  She is a friend, rather than a teacher.  This makes speaking Yoruba much more comfortable for us.  During our time with Feyi, we walk around campus and talk.  It is my thing. I love it.  After that, we have lunch.  Most days, we trek to “New Buka” which is 2 blocks of various Yoruba restaurants.  New Buka is organized in the same way that a food court is set up in a mall, but there is not a common area for everybody to sit and eat. New Buka is cool, but a few of us have discovered places and people much more interesting.  Behind New Buka, there are a bunch of stands that serve the same Yoruba food, but for much cheaper.  The conversation is usually better too.  As with many things, you have to dig a little to find the local treasures.   So far, we have found a little place with all of our favorite food as well as a woman who sells oranges.  I am so happy that we have discovered these places within the first week.  I am saving money and improving my speaking.  Although the Yorubas love their food spicy, I have managed my way around the Pepa! Needless to say, I am eating well!

                                                (left to right): Me, Feyi, Ellie   

FOOD=DELICIOUS

The food here is high-quality.  Just about everything is fresh.  Organic, natural, chemical free…blah blah blah. That is how Nigerians live.  You go to the market to buy your fresh lamb, chicken, watermelon, beans, vegetables, whatever…then you go home, prepare them and as my host dad says, “Bon Appétit!  Unlike America, Nigeria has a food culture.  They have many common dishes.  A few of them are dodo (fried plantains), egusi (vegetable) iyan (pounded yam), jolof rice (rice), efo (vegetable), eja (fish), adie (chicken), akara (fried bean cake), ewedu (green slime that resembles some sort of Bill Nye science experiment gone wrong), eran (meat), suya (grilled spicy meat), and a whole lot more.  In short, each meal is tasty, fresh, and filling.  As an Oyinbo, (white person) it is common for Nigerians to charge us more for our food. So far, I have only had one semi-confrontational meal, but my friend argued her way through to the appropriate price.  It is a popular view held among Nigerians to believe that ALL Oyinbos are wealthy...haha, everyday is interesting. More to come on the subject of being an Oyinbo in Nigeria.

Here are a few pictures of common Nigerian cuisine: YUM (when not too spicy)

                                               Joloff rice pelu adie (rice with chicken)

                                              white rice peul iyan (white rice with goat) *REALLY SPICY

                                                      dodo (fried plantains)

                                                        egusi (leafy vegetable)

                                                              cabbage (cabbage)

                                        ice cream  *made with REAL sugar* It's not as sweet, but still refreshing

Blessed with an AWESOME host family

     My host family is freaking awesome! To give you an idea, my host siblings and I were singing “Party in the USA” last night. Apparently Miley Cirius knows no borders.  Truly, I could not have asked for a better family.  I have a mother and a father.  When I speak to my host parents, I usually refer to them as Miss Ajibade and Dr. Ajibade.  I also have 3 younger siblings—2 sisters and 1 brother: Bisola (15) Tofunmi (13) and Samuel (10).  They are all soooo funny.  They also help me with everything.  One of my favorite parts of Nigeria so far has been spending time with my family.  I think this is because they make me feel like I am at home here in Nigeria.  Also, their personalities are quite similar to my siblings back home.  Tofunmi is just like Mary.  She is sweet, yet sassy.  She is really smart and has an outstanding work ethic.  She knows how to push her sister’s buttons like any good sister does.  Bisola and I are quite similar as well.  She is a bit quieter and less aggressive.  She is the oldest girl.  She hates Math and loves to talk.  She is understanding and compassionate. Although she doesn’t snort, she loves to giggle.  Samuel is Joe.  He is hilarious and he LOVES video games.  When I am with them, we always have a good time.  He always wears a happy expression and his handwriting can be equated with Joe’s.  When I am with them, we always have a good time.  Without them in Nigeria, I would be lost. The dad, Mr. Ajibade is also much like my dad. He thinks he is funny…and sometimes is J He loves to walk around without a shirt on.  He drinks coffee and loves to goof around with the kids.  Although Mr. Ajibade does not garden, he eats ONLY fresh food.  He would be in vegetable heaven on the Marx homestead, just as dad is. Basically, I have an outstanding family who treats me as one of their own.  Just yesterday, my host mom said, “It feels like we have known you for such a long time.”  (Insert big Anne grin)

Life is good. The internet is not. (E se fun suru re): Thank you for your patience!

I must start this post by apologizing. Prior to leaving the states, I excitedly proclaimed that I was going to keep a blog—updated every few days or so.  Believe me, I know that it has been 12 days since I have written anything L The way the internet works here is simple.  Sometimes it works, and sometimes it does not.  Who decides this? I’ll get back to you on that one. Enough said. Accept my apology and read about all the cool happenings of my first few days in the great Ile-Ife, Nigeria!

To start, it is hot in Nigeria.  How hot? Speaking in Fahrenheit or Celsius, I have no idea, but the fact that I am CONSTANTLY sweating should give you a good idea of what it’s like.  It doesn’t matter if I am inside or out, clean or dirty; my body resembles one of those water bottles that makes a puddle on your desk after just a few minutes of being filled with cold water. My initial appreciation for the warm and sunny climate no longer exists.  At just day 12, I see the sun and curse to myself (inside of course).  On the flip side, it is rainy season in Nigeria.  This means that it rains almost every day.  When it rains, it POURS.  I love when it rains because 1) I love the smell  2) it cools off for the rest of the day and 3) it makes for perfect sleeping weather.  Side note: Sleeping has not been a problem at all.  Mom says that she used to have to wake me to feed me.  Some things never change. That is how good I’m sleeping. 

TIRED, CRABBY AND A LITTLE BIT SALTY

I am safe, but I am not happy.  Currently, I am sitting in the hotel room of an airport just 5 miles outside of Atlanta's airport. Yesterday, I boarded the plane from Minneapolis to Atlanta with my friend Megan Manion...all was smooth. We then sat in Atlanta's airport for about 4 hours. We boarded our plane at 11:40pm as scheduled...We then spent the next 4 hours sitting on the plane while some little man futzed around with wires/cords/etc. The pilot's voice came over the loudspeaker announcing that it was no longer safe for us to fly to Lagos because he was about to be on overtime and that's illegal for pilots. Blah, blah blah. Sadly, we all slumped off the plane at 3am. Frustrated and tired, we all re-routed our flights until today at 5pm. The Delta airline had no hotels, but Sally, another UW student, had talked to her mom earlier in the day and she booked us a hotel just in case things went awry...and THEY DID! Thanks to Sally's mom we shuttled over to the hotel at 6am...sleepless in Atlanta :( After a quick visit to the Waffle House, the 5 of us then shared a bed in the hotel. We are currently showering/getting ready for the day. Our flight number is 9871 and we are on schedule to leave at 5pm which will put us in Lagos at approx 11am tomorrow. Luckily, everyone going on the trip is in Atlanta now, so we will be travelling as 1 big group. A few people had delays/stuck refueling/etc, but now we are all together. We are with the director of the program now, safe and showered. PLEASE ENJOY THE PICTURE ABOVE AND SOAK UP THE FRUSTRATION AS WE WAITED FOR OUR SHUTTLE :) 

Nigeria

I am going to Nigeria! Time to freshen up on our African geography. (Nigeria is in red)