Just outside of the church compound (Sonitan)
One of the bigger mosques in town
Feb. 13, 2008
Wednesday, 1:49 pm
Week 2 of language school is almost halfway done! It’s been fun, and I’m really learning a lot. Of course there is always more to learn.
This past week we’ve received some new students! Two girls from
It’s really cool to see how the missionary community out here is kind of in transition and has changed (for the better, I think). Since Danja is pretty isolated, there haven’t really been too many younger singles until now. Now there are about six of us shared between Maradi and Danja. Way cool!
Feb. 5, 2008
Tuesday, 1:05pm
Day 2 of language study. We just had a 3-hr morning session and are meeting back up around 3pm to review and practice speaking more.
A long-time missionary named Mark Larson has come out to Maradi and will be teaching the Kraus family (a new short-term family who will be working in Galmi at the hospital) and I for the next two weeks. It’s great that we get to have him, and then he will try to hook us up with a local teacher to continue our study.
Hausa is different from English in many ways. The big ones I can think of are these: sounds, tones, and pronouns.
There are a few different sounds than we have in English. These are called “hooked” or “implosive” consonants, which kind of involve sucking in air as you say the sound. So they have “k” and hooked “k”, and the same with “d” and “b”. You could say the same word with a hook, and it could mean something totally different. They also have a “ts” sound, which I guess is also implosive, but is some combination of saying “t” and “s” at the same time.
Also, there are three basic tones: high, low, and falling. Same as above, if you say the wrong tone, but the same sounds, the word could mean something totally different. For example “ciki” (all high tone) means “inside”, while “ciki” (with a low tone on the last ‘i’) means “stomach”. And the thing is, there’s not really a rule on tone, so you just kind of need to memorize how words are said.
Pronouns carry most of the meaning in a sentence. If I said (in Hausa), “Becky went to school,” it would make no sense to a Hausa speaker. I would have to say, “Becky, she went to school.” Then that would make perfect sense. The verb “to go” stays the same, but the tense is attached to the pronoun. So “she,” depending on what was added to that root word, would tell me if it was past, present, future, or whatever. Pretty cool.
I would appreciate your continued prayer as I try to learn this new language. There is a lot to learn, so pray that I would use my time wisely and really absorb as much as I can. My supervisor at
Feb. 1, 2008
10:31 pm
I’ve been in Maradi since Monday, and I’m really enjoying it. The first few days were spend cleaning up the house and unpacking, organizing, etc. (Can you believe it? My room is actually organized…) We even went shopping in town and got enough food to last for a month! Of course, all we’d be eating would be oatmeal, millet, and bread, but it would work, right?
Aaron is a great guy to live with. It really worked out that we could live together and encourage each other while we’re here. I’m looking forward to this year. He grew up in
Oh yeah, and I have my own room! I don’t think I’ve had a whole room to myself in the past 5 years or so! It’s quite nice.
The thing here is that it is harmatan season. It is very windy, which kicks up a bunch of dust all over the wahzoo! So every day there is a new fine coat of dust on everything in the house. Good thing I don’t have allergies too bad, or else I’d be dead by next week. (not really, don’t worry Mom…)
So here are some pictures of the house I’m living in. It’s pretty basic, but it’s great.
Toilet...don't worry, that stain was already there...
Jan. 27, 2008
Sunday, 12:15am
(I guess that’s technically Monday now, isn’t it?)
Tonight I saw my first Caesarian section ever! In fact, it was my first real surgery in the OR that I’ve observed. Anywhere.
About 9:30pm tonight the French doctor here at Galmi called and said he was going to do a C-section and Matthias (another short termer I’ve been staying with) and I could come watch! So we walked over to the hospital, changed into scrubs, and were ready for action.
Yes, I'm a dork.
The girl was only about 15 years old, and fully awake! They gave her a spinal block (anesthetic), covered her up, and the doctor started cutting. He just sliced right through all these layers of skin and tissue like they were nothing! It was nuts! And it didn’t even bleed that much. Finally he got to the uterus (as I’m typing this I’m realizing I probably shouldn’t go into too much detail here) and cut it right open. He stuck his hand right in and all this fluid started pouring out! Suddenly there was a baby’s head, it was crying, and then it was completely out, just like that. Snip, snip, the cord was gone, the baby was gone, and I was left staring at this gaping hole in a 15-year-old girl! Unbe-stinking-lievable!
The doctor showed us these white things which I think were the ovaries, and then he stitched her up. Layer after layer until she was good to go. They cleaned up, pulled down the sheet, and wheeled her out. Done. Finished. Like it was no big deal!
Flung from the womb!
Oh yeah, and after Matthias and I got back to our place we were kind of hungry. He had this truffley, jello/custard thing he had made for dessert that went all wrong. Turns out it looked just like the inside of a 15-year-old girl…and we ate it!
This is the trifle...compare with above pictures...
Yummy in my tummy...
(Matthias and I)
Jan. 26, 2008
Saturday, 10:39 pm
I just arrived today by bus in Galmi, where SIM has a hospital, airstrip, and about 10-15 workers. It was a good 7 hour ride and I was the only white person on the entire bus! But it was way better than I expected. About halfway through the ride a guy pulled a bunch of little baggies of yoghurt out of a cooler, and started passing them out. I was totally not expecting snacks by the “bus-ride attendant,” but I tried them and they were pretty darn good.
So finally I reached Galmi, hopped off on the side of the road, and they had my backpack waiting for me with this one Nigerien guy. I said in French, “That’s not all!” because aside from my backpack I had a little wooden stool that I had bought in Tera that was still in the bus with the other luggage. The bus guy just kind of pointed at the other guy and then hopped back in the bus. Next thing I knew, the bus was hauling away with my stool, while I was just standing on the side of the road, dazed and confused.
There wasn’t anything to do really, and it turns out that my baggage attendant doesn’t speak French or English, and I sure as heck don’t speak any Hausa! So I just followed him along as he carried my backpack down the road. I didn’t really have a lot of options at this point, and I was still a little sorrowful over my poor stool that was probably 10 miles down the road by now. Thankfully he knew where to go, and I was safely at the SIM compound!
It was quite an experience, and helped me to understand even more how important it is to know the language!
