Ekaro...

that means good morning in one of the major Nigerian languages...Yoruba. Now that I am in the South, the major tribe background here in Lagos is the Yoruba tribe. When I was in the North around Jos and Abuja, it was Hausa. But now that most of the people around me speak Yoruba, I have decided that I too want to learn this language and am slowly learning a few words and phrases here and there. I know it will still take a while but if a lot of the people around me are constantly Engluba or Yorubish (a combo of English and Yoruba) then I might as well learn. It is a very interesting language...as are most Nigerian tribal languages...but Yoruba combines some difficult letters together such as KP or GB...and some others...(I think) and with the GB sound it is like you have to stick your tongue to the roof of your mouth while you also stick your lips together and then open both quickly moving your tongue down and back to make want sort of sounds like a BA sound...but you can actually here the G in front of that BA sound. Anyone confused yet?! Well I am learning slowly to reshape my tongue and mouth as I learn. There is also often a silent H in many words so spelling sometimes is not always easy. For example the name SOLA is actually pronounced SHOLA. Guess each language has its secrets! When told from Juyin, my good friend and Boss, to be able to distinguish the differences between each of the 3 main Nigerian Tribal languages, its all in the tone. Yoruba, she explained was a low and deep throaty language. Hausa was sing songy and lovely and Ibo was just really fast. I hope I remembered that correctly! So for all of you out there...there you have it, your first introduction to some of Nigeria's languages. 

Speaking of languages, Pidgin English is also a main language. Though it isn't seen as an official language, everyone knows how to speak it...it is a must especially when relating to people in the market or on the road for most of the time they may not speak actual English or your own tribal language, so to meet in the middle, Pidgin English (also known as Broken English is spoken. This is one language that for a time now I have been able to understand...but really can't speak it. Some of my friends just laugh when I try because I add too many extra things to my sentences mixing everything up, its quite funny to them I suppose. I have to actually use Broken when talking to my gate man. He is actually Hausa and since I only know a few words and phrases, we use broken. Its quite funny because he will call me when there is NEPA (this is the power or electricity) so that he can shut my generator off and so that I can switch my power box to NEPA. I will take a picture to show you what I mean by this. So when my gate man Douda calls, he simply states "Na NEPA" meaning, there's light or NEPA. sometimes I call to tell him to "OFF AM" which means "shut it off" (my generator that is). Sometimes I say "I dey gate" which means "I'm at the gate" These are the simple phrases and there are much more complicated ones...but as I said, I can only understand them and not speak these or write them properly....maybe one day.

Talking about a gate man I am sure is very strange to many of you...well its a common thing here if you live in a compound (which I do) and there are also guards or gate men at my Estate gate. This is generally more for at night to monitor who is coming in. It is nice to have a gate man....any little errands that you need help with or something, you can just ask them to do it for you. I try not to do this that often, but if I run out of phone credit, and have not yet taken my bath, I admit that I don't want to wander down the road looking all scrubby to buy credit...but hey, all Nigerians are JUST as guilty! :-) Its also nice because I barely have to turn my generator off and on. The main reason for this is because I would have to take 3 sets or stairs down to my door, walk to my neighbours and turn my gen off or on. Douda (my gate man) is only about 20 feet away. So really people, I am not truly that lazy...but when light can come any time of the day or night...its just more convenient! 

I am not in fact at all lazy. Yesterday I was awake at 4am and since there was light, I decided to wash my dirty clothes, the kitchen clothes and towels and my bedding. I have a little portable washer and though the thing is only about 3 feet high and 2 feet wide....it works wonders. So just when all of you thought I would be washing my clothes all by hand or paying someone to wash them (which is the norm here) I am actually doing it myself and yes, there are still items that I wash by hand. I also take a lot of pride in my place and each week do a thorough cleaning. This consists of using a broom that is kind of made of reeds or sticks wrapped tightly at one end to sweep my whole house...including sweeping the carpet. I even attempted to mop my front stairwell...but I think I have to get a special broom for that one. After I sweep, I mop. Then I do the kitchen and bathrooms. It is quite tedious because I find that I mop at least twice since the dust from the air gets everywhere and is always tracked in by my feet as well as my guests. But for the most part, I enjoy the cleaning. 

I am really beginning to feel completely comfortable and confident here. I live near a little corner store type thing and bakery. I also buy my bananas and veggies from a local roadside store...Fatima is the name of the lady who sells to me and each time I buy from her, she is really inquisitive about Canada and what its like there. She is a lovely lady. I am completely used to the stares from people and now even laugh at some people especially when they might trip or run into something because there are staring at me. One night a car coming into my estate gate as my friend Lara and I were waiting for someone, was so busy staring that they drove into some tires in the middle of the road to divide lanes. We got a kick out of it!

I am still pretty independent here. I can go places alone and I even have started to drive a bit. My car is not yet ready for me...but one day as I started Juyins car (my boss) she suddenly looked at me and said "ok you are driving!" and that was it. I drove from the school to my place. Since then I have driven 2 more times. The last time was quite funny. Juyin sat in the back with her baby and I drove. Here many people have drivers and the passengers always sit in the back if that's the case. So you can imagine the stares! We were laughing because we knew people were confused and thinking "what is this? Does she have an Oyibo driver?" (Oyibo=white) So now I will just get my international license which allows me to drive here without police hassle. Anyone can get their license and not test is needed. Funny right?! 

Well I think I should leave now before I turn a simple blog entry into a novel. There is just so much to say, but I don't want to bore anyone. So till next time.