I'm Back!

Hey everyone! I'm back in the States! I arrived Dec. 10 to Charlotte, NC for a day of debriefing, then on to the cold and wintry California. It's great to be back and I had a wonderful year in Niger. Now it's time to restart life and adjust back to this American culture. Wow!

Thank you so much to everyone for all of your support over this year. It has been so wonderful and I wish I could see you all and catch up with each one of you. But until then, we've at least got this blog, eh?

So what's next, you may ask? Well...

My plan is to go to graduate school this next year, starting in Fall 2009, to study Physician Assistant Studies. The Lord has been confirming in me the desire and need for me to go back to school, and I am confident in this next step. Please be praying that I will hear back from the schools and that He would lead me to the right place.

This Spring, however, I'm going to community college and taking some prerequisite courses, and working part time. I'm living in La Mirada, near where I went to college, and have had the opportunity to get plugged back into my church here.

Thank you for your continued prayers! Here are some pictures.

Saying goodbye to some of my friends in the pharmacy.

Goodbye to Harouna and Mati, my good friends!

Oh yeah, and I got my long hair braided into corn rows just before I left to go home! Kind of a surprise for my parents, that's for sure!

Bye bye, Niger!

Might I also add, I missed my flight from New York to Charlotte, so ended up having to spend the night in the airport on my Nigerien mat, nearly freezing to death in the dead of winter...

Yay! Back home at my parents' house for Christmas, with my dad's cousin Rhoda, who was visiting from Northern Ireland.

Baby "Chooks"

So my chickens (or "chooks" as those from Australia and New Zealand would say) decided to have babies! Well, only one of the hens, actually, but one morning I walked outside and found four new chicklets chirping away in the coop!

They are so adorable. I decided to bring them in the house to play with them one day, and to protect them from the other hens who had decided to break one of the eggs and try to eat the embryo inside - I have no idea why. It's really fun being able to have chickens and raise them. Too bad these ones hatched right before my departure back to the States...

Exploring the new terrain of my bed

Eating millet seed off of the dining room table

One of them decided to be on lookout duty!

What a fun day!

Hausa word of the day:

kaji (with a high tone at the end) - chickens
ka ji - you heard

My Little Buddy

One of my inpatients in the ward was a little boy named Hassane. He came in with burns all over his legs and hips as a result of boiling water spilling on him, and was in a lot of pain. With burns across a joint there is always a risk of contracture, so Aboubacar and I did some physical therapy with him to stretch out the joints and get him mobile.

Well he ended up healing very quickly and well, which is always great. This little boy ended up following me almost everywhere I went around the hospital, just staring at me with his big eyes. Oh yeah, and he didn't wear a stitch of clothing either! He was such a cutie and just got discharged last week from the hospital.

It was fun being able to make friends with little Hassane, and I hope he grows into a good man.

Helping Hassane out of bed to do a little running.

Doing some hip and knee stretches

Those big eyes are just adorable, aren't they?

Hausa Word of the Day:

toya - to burn

Bush Meat!

So our guard Asisu knocked on my door the other night, and asked me to quickly come outside. Wondering what it was, I rushed out with him to find that he had captured two live "bishiya" or hedgehogs! He told me that we were going to eat them, and I figured since I'd never tried hedgehog before...why not!?

Then he proceeded to show me how to make them pop out of their protective spikes, how to kill, roast, de-spike, gut, cook, and season them. Man was it cool and just so you know, hedgehog is pretty darn tasty!

Curled up and scared out of its mind!

Isn't he cute?

Good coals...

Asisu and I, mouths watering!

Skewered!

Chopped up and ready to eat (bones and all)!

Hausa word of the day:

'bishiya' - hedgehog
naman daji - "bush meat" (this refers to wild animals found out in the "bush", I don't know how else to describe "bush")

Making Juice!

Last weekend I made juice from plants in my farm! The plant is called the 'yakwa' plant, and the buds are used to make a hibiscus juice called 'sobo'. So I went with my friend Laura to harvest some of the buds and make juice!

Let me take you through the process:

First, locate the buds...yes. Then you pluck the entire bud and chuck it in your sack, or 'buhu'.

This is me, chucking the buds into my backpack...

And Laura chucking them into her 'buhu'.

After bringing your sacks full of buds home, remove the outer petals to be dried. This may take a while, but it's worth it.

Once you've removed all the petals, lay them in the sun to dry out.

After they're dried, boil them up in hot water, and you will get a nice hot, red juice. Add ginger and sugar as desired. Pour over ice to serve!

Cultural Note:

When I told people that I planted 'yakwa' (this plant) on my farm, they thought it was hilarious! Apparently women plant 'yakwa', since it's kind of girly. I guess a similar comparison would be like me planting a giant rose garden!

Anyways, I didn't care because I like this 'sobo' juice. Call me culturally insensitive, but I'm happy I stuck to my guns and planted the "girly yakwa". So for future reference, if you're ever thinking about planting 'yakwa' on your farm, be aware of the cultural implications...

Mom and Em's Visit

It's true! My mom and sister came all the way out to Niger for a visit! They were only in country for about two weeks, but I was able to ride the bus to Niamey and surprise them at the airport when they came.

They really enjoyed their time and it was so good to see them. Mom had worked for SIM as a short-termer 30 years ago in Niamey, Niger, and had not been back until now! We were in Niamey for a few days and then made our way out east, stopping to visit some other missionary friends at Galmi Hospital before reaching Maradi.

It was fun for them to see what life is like here and also to be able to help out in the hospital at CSL Danja. I'm so glad they came and I think they had fun too...

One happy family (except for Dad who had to stay in CA)

The bus ride...

Yes, Mom, we are in Niger!
(Actually this is a craft center for family members of patients to make things to sell)

Sister and brother...happy to see each other!

On their last day here in Danja, we were able to be there for the birth of a new baby! Severine is the nurse who delivered the baby, and Emily was there to help too! (She's a nurse, ya know...)

Hausa Word of the Day:

majinya - nurse

Birthday Party!

Yeah, so it was my birthday this past week, and Mom and Em were in town to celebrate! We had a really fun party at my house, with roasted meat, games, and a lot of laughter. Aaron and I celebrated our birthdays together, since we're only two days apart, and we had a blast!

The group of us...

This "culturally sensitive" relay race included Aaron and I dressing up as Nigerien women, cooking an egg, and feeding it to someone. Not my proudest moment...

Opening gifts from the Williams'...man they're great!

The birthday boys!

Hausa Phrase of the Day:

"Barka da haihuwa!"
"Greetings on your giving birth" (this is said to a woman after she has given birth to a child)

Note: I once said this to a fellow worker thinking it meant "happy birthday"...boy was I wrong!