Foreign Familiarity

I have a bunch of pictures I want to share with no particular theme in mind. They were taken with my phone (often through the pick-up window) so I apologize ahead of time for any glares you might find. All photos were either snapped in Niamey or on the outskirts. 

To me, they are sights of home.

Foreign Familiarity.

There are always cattle on the capital's streets. 

 I absolutely love bougainvillea trees. 

She might hate me for putting this picture up, but we had a blast riding in the back of the pick-up. Just like old times. She's beautiful.

 Grocery shopping.

 The local Gap.

The local Starbucks...just down our street. Looks like she is doing homework on the job! I'm thankful she has the opportunity to learn.

These next few were taken on our way to see giraffes--just outside of Niamey.

 Baobab. 'Nuff said.

It's amazing how much women can carry on their heads.

Although these pictures aren't super clear, I still really like them. 

Drawing water from the well.

 Back in Niamey.

 Traffic jam!

 Another Starbucks!

 "Welcome to the Hair-Styling Specialist"

How fun it was to wear colorful pagnes!

Although I did not grow up in Niger, the sights, sounds, and smells of West Africa are similar enough I felt at home nonetheless. The frequent honking and crazy traffic, the dozens of little shops that line the streets, the smell of urine and garbage, the fine sand that gets between my toes and coats my feet with red and brown, the daily reminder of hunger and poverty and sickness, the pick-up soccer games played barefoot in the neighborhood streets every evening, the sweet taste of glass-bottled coke, the toothless smiles of weathered men and women who are probably decades younger than they appear, the mosque boys running around with tin cans to raise money, the swarm of beggars desperate for a nickel or a dime, the bright colored prints on the clothes people wear.... 

These sights, sounds, smells, that are foreign to me because I still do not fully understand them, belong to them, or come from them, are in some great paradoxical way familiar to me because I have seen them, smelt them, heard them since I can remember. They are familiar enough for me to say, they are the sights, sounds, smells of home. 

Free-Roaming Giraffes

Tuesday morning we drove about 60 km outside of Niamey, picked up a tour guide, and went in search of giraffes. Our guide has been at his job for 20ish years and knows the land well. He stood in the back of the pick-up with a long stick, and hanging it over the front windshield, used it to point Dad in the right direction. 

Here Kyle is mimicking the guide. 

Erika and I decided if we would have been in charge, we would have been completely lost in the Savannah, as we bumped our way around thorny bushes, over sandy trails, across dried-out millet fields, and through remote villages. We sometimes wondered if our guide knew where he was going when he led us "off the beaten path" and across the rugged terrain, but he always managed to find another little trail. 

After an hour of cross-country driving, they were spotted. 

Giraffes!

They are graceful. beautiful. wild. free.

The first group we saw were just adults. 

The second group was comprised of three moms and three babies.

Our guide said that several decades ago there were fewer than 100 giraffes in this area and last year they counted 366! Since it's dry season, you will only see a handful of giraffes in one place, but in the rainy season you can see between 30 and 40 in one group!!! 

Here's our guide--the one on the right. (By mid-morning it was only in the upper 80's, so he had on a big jacket and stocking cap! Not to mention, when you're riding in the back of the pick-up with such low temps it can get really cold!)

These are some of the last free-roaming giraffes in the world. All other giraffes are restricted either by fences or by habitat. In other words, these giraffes in Niger live in the same area as people, goats, cows, etc. I find that incredible! Giraffes don't eat millet, so the farmers' fields are safe. How cool to have a giraffe as a neighbor!

It might be kind of hard to see, but these giraffes were right next to a herd of cows that a couple of boys were in charge of.

Again, I am awed at our Creator and His beauty, creativity, and power reflected in His creation.