Day 1 and 2 in Niamey

I have officially been in Niamey for 2 full days. So far, I have evaded jet-lag, which has been great. Here's a little bit of what I have been up to with the parents.

Wednesday morning I set out with Mom and Dad to go look at their house. To be culturally appropriate, I never go outside without a long skirt.




It was fun to meet some of the neighbors by my parent's new house.





When you get thirsty, cold bags of water are only 10 cents (25 francs) at the nearest gas station. To open, you just bite off a corner and spit it out on the ground. This afternoon, I found a childhood treat of frozen bagged yogurt. It was the wrong brand, but tasted just divine. Nothing like a bag of cold strawberry yogurt--although my favorite is vanilla. It's best frozen, but I couldn't wait that long to try a treat I had not enjoyed for 6 years.



After visiting Sahel Academy, the school where I will be student teaching, Mom and I walked on the sidewalk back to the house.



My favorite thing I saw on our walk home:



According to one of our taxi drivers, when the weather turns cold, camels get mean and tend to bite a lot more often. Already, I have seen several camels wearing muzzles. I hear they spit, too. But maybe that's just a rumor...

Have I mentioned how wonderful it is to be back in African culture? It's been so interesting learning what makes the people groups in Niger different from those in Burkina Faso. In one country alone there are hundreds of different people groups, each with their own unique language and lifestyle. I realized, despite the similarities, my heart still longs for Ouaga.

Last night, several times I had tears in my eyes. I think it's due to being back in a familiar culture that was home for SO LONG and still not feeling at home. Oh, how I miss Ouaga--the familiar streets, stores, and especially the people. I thought perhaps Niger would bring some closure to what I left 6 years ago, but now I'm not so sure.

On a lighter note, this evening I saw some people I knew from my Ouaga days. My seventh grade year at FES I wrote a Christmas play that we all performed and this girl, Caroline, was in it. I was also Caroline's "secret angel" for an activity we did. Now, she's a senior in high school at Sahel Academy. How fun to re-connect.