Ok..ok so it has been a while since I have blogged...precisely just over 4 months...WHOOPS...doesn't seem like anyone noticed. So in this entry I am going to give a few updates in my life and i guess life in general around me...month by month.
JULY- Everything on the home front here in Nigeria was fine...busy but fine. i was trying to get all the "end of the school year" stuff finished and in place. A lot of changes were ahead though for the new school year. One of the school branches closed down and was moved to its permanent site of KETU. So July was left unsure of how things would come in September...but I wasn't too worried. Just a lot of drifting and waiting until things came together more clearly during this month.
Sad news from home came on the night of July 23rd. A close family friend to ALL of my siblings, especially my brothers, had been killed by a driver assumed under the influence of alcohol. He had been in his van with his cousin and she only had minor injuries. He was killed on July 22nd late at night, just returning home from a movie with his cousin and my oldest brother Chris, (who was in his own vehicle and further ahead and didn't witness the accident or hear of it until a few hours later). Though my relationship with this friend, Alex Schaap, was not a close one...he was someone i really admired. He had a gentle soul and caring and giving nature. He was witty, clever and funny. He really was one of a kind and it still seems to hit me hard some days. The pain of his death was felt and is still felt in my community back home..especially for my brothers who saw Alex as their closest friend. Being so far away from home has made this difficult to come to grips with as it doesn't seem like a reality. I wish I could sometimes be closer to home to be there for my family in these times to cry with them and talk with them and just sit with them...but alas, I have chosen a life here...and that means the distance will always be there.
AUGUST- August came and so did my plans and excitement for my trip to Cairo, Egypt to see my cousin Clinton and his wife Tara. I have now seen two African countries...but in a way, Egypt seemed more middle eastern than it did African. It was a wonderful trip and I just wish I had more time...but just under 2 weeks was still a good time! I was able to see the Pyramids of Giza and climb a little ways up one of the pyramids. I even went into one to see a tomb inside, a very hot, dank and claustrophobic experience that only ever needs to be done once...but still a good thing to experience. I was able to go to different areas of Cairo, see a variety of things...a sunset sail on the Nile River and a sheesha smoke at TGIFridays restaurant. I was surprised at how "Americanized" Cairo was as I saw many restaurants/food chains such as Starbucks, Second Cup, McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Cinnabon etc. I actually had stomach issues when reverting to eating "Americanized" food, and found that eating a sweet cinnamon bun from Cinnabon caused a great deal of trips to the bathroom for me....guess I am no longer used to those kinds of foods!
During my trip I spent most of my time with Tara, Clintons wife...as Clinton had started work already and Tara would start the week that I left. We were able to bond a great deal and we travelled to stay at a resort on the Red Sea. There I was able to go scuba diving. It has been a few years since I last went in Australia, but I HAD too! Unfortunately I was only able to do one dive and one snorkel due to the time between diving and flying back to Cairo. It was great, but I still want to return to do some more diving for sure!! Since I didn't have as much time as I needed to do all I wanted to do, I had to compromise on some things. Next trip I hope to go to Mt. Sinai and climb to the top and stand on the same mountain that Moses Stood on...as well as Jesus!
At night we would spend time, the three of us, just chatting, playing games of watching movies. It was a lot of fun!! It was a great trip also because I hadn't seen my cousin Clinton in 2 years...the longest time we have gone without seeing each other. But catching up is easy, like we haven't been apart for a day! It was nice to see their lives in Cairo.
Though Cairo was lovely, I definitely prefer Nigeria. Cairo just seemed to be very Muslim. And for a Christian, that can be a tough place to be as it effects what foods and drinks you can get, how you dress and how you act as well...and even as a woman, how you may be treated. I found that even though Cairo seemed to be so "Americanized" many of the cab drivers didn't seem to speak that much English and trying to learn Arabic in that small amount of time, was just pointless. But all in all, Cairo was a cool place to visit and I hope to return this year before my cousin and his wife finish their last year there!
SEPTEMBER- September brought rainy season back and school started. My job has continuously been worked on, trying to stabilize the new changes etc. I now work 3 days a week at the school in KETU. and just last week the schedule was set in place of what exact days I would be there. I am there Monday-Wednesday and teach art to Primary 2-6. There are always challenges that come my way as KETU is more of a residential area that is a little on the lower class side. Its a little more crowded and rough and busy. There are daily challenges but I still enjoy teaching the children art...sometimes i feel as though there is so far to go, but at least I hope and pray I am making an impact and planting a seed. I also take part in teacher training at KETU as well. This runs into my work as well with Juyin. Juyin and I have started training teachers at various schools. We did quite a bit at the beginning of the school year but we have come up with more of a clearer outline of the workshops we offer. Things are still in the beginning stages and we are still testing out the waters and all...but I think it will be good. So many schools need so much help and starting with the teachers is the way to go. So we go into schools and run workshops. I work with Juyin on Thursday and Friday and Saturdays if we have a workshop booked on that day. We enjoy working together and have a lot of fun still.
OCTOBER- Well, since this is still October, I can't write too much as it has not finished. still adjusting to new things and sometimes wish I had a little more stability, but I know it will come soon. I am trying to work on setting up a website and business cards for my photography and have been in "talks" with a close friend of mine about working together on jobs. He does a lot of photo editing and graphics and marketing and design. So we are still in the "talking" stage of that and hope for it to slowly take off. I was sick for a while. Most likely Malaria with some other things attached to it. I was out for a good week! But the Malaria pills seemed to do the trick but it took still a full week before my fever was completely gone. I don't remember the last time I had a high fever like that, no less a fever that lasted that long!
So there are my short updates for the last 4 months. I am planning to go back home for the Christmas break and spend 3 weeks at home. I am so excited to see my family and friends and how much all of my nieces and nephew have grown...also to welcome my brother Matt and his wife Katie's new addition that should arrive just before I do! I am a little worried about how I will deal with the cold weather and snow...especially since I can't remember for the life of me where I had packed my winter clothes back home. I am really wondering, especially since I can feel cold at times here in Lagos, when the rain comes and the weather drops to a cool 26 degrees Celsius....hhhmmm...how will I handle -25C??? I am already making a list of things to do, people to see, things to buy and bring back, and food to eat!!! haha..
well I guess that is about it. As usual life keeps me on my toes and in many other aspects of my life as well...that i don't share here...but I am slowly learning more and more about myself and growing into a strong and confident woman...day by day...or at least i hope! haha! Till my next entry...Odabo (Yoruba word for goodbye)
