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...