I never thought it could happen, but I woke up in Africa the other day and said, “It’s cold!” We have had more late rain and it cools everything way down. I’ve worn long sleeves twice now! It wasn’t utterly necessary but it was comfortable. It is still very hot most days, so we welcome the late rains; especially the farmers. Because the rainy season started late, the hayni crops (millet) weren’t able to mature. The farmers are hoping that the late rains will help the hayni mature, otherwise they won’t be able to use it. It will all be a waste. No one can remember when it has ever rained this late before. At first, we were all surprised that it’s been raining as late as it has, but now we will probably be surprised when it finally does stop! Wow, it seems like the seasons are changing everywhere…
Last Monday we had a really full day. We went farming in the morning with one of our guard’s families, then later in the afternoon one of his kids had a really high fever of 103 degrees or above. We went out with his wife and kids to pick beans (very similar to green beans) around 8am. We got to ride the donkey cart! It was so much fun. It’s all wood and flat. On one side is a removable side panel to help hold everyone/everything in. So we loaded up the sacks, bowls, and 6 people: besides the two of us, there were our guard’s wife, their toddler daughter, and their 5 and 10 year old sons. Hamma, the 10 year old, was cracking us up; he was driving the cart and every once in awhile he would urge the donkey to run fast, causing the cart to be bumpy and make you feel like you might fall off. His mother didn’t like him going fast and would fuss at him to slow down every time. I wasn’t much help because they made me laugh every time. She would chuckle, but she definitely didn’t like going fast. When we finally got out to the farm, we realized the younger brother had forgotten to put any shoes on before we left. There are little stickers everywhere out there, and while we were walking toward the beans, he had to keep stopping and picking them out of his feet. Whenever he decided he didn’t want to be tough and pick the stickers out anymore, he would ride on my back as we went from place to place to pick beans. Sometimes he would stay on my back while I picked beans. That was fun and interesting; mother’s out here have their babies on their backs pretty much all day long. They walk and work with their babies on their backs. Because of it, the kids are pretty good with piggy-back rides since they know how to stay on. So while I was picking beans and expecting him to fall off whenever I bent down, he stayed on my back for a good while. Some days we feel very African, and other days it is very obvious that we are all-American! That day I felt African. Until he pointed toward some bushes where I was picking beans and said there was a snake. I backed up very slowly as I asked him where it was. He just kept pointing toward the bush. I moved some of the stalks around and never saw or heard anything. I think he might have been telling me to watch out because that would be a place most likely for a snake to be. He may even have seen one there before and figured it might still be there. If he really did see one at the time he told me about it, I’m just glad I didn’t run into it. Back home all I run into are bull snakes, so they don’t really bother me. But there are mambas here and I googled them before we came out here. Don’t google them… not something you want to picture in your head, especially if you plan on coming to Africa! Lol
When it was time to stop picking beans, we were told to wait with the kids while their mother finished up what she doing. While we were waiting, one of her friends came by and put some of the stuff she had been picking in a pile next to the donkey cart. We continued to wait for awhile and sometimes the kids would holler, “Hurry up Mom! Amina and Halima are tired!/Amina and Halima are hungry!” The kids, of course, were the ones who were tired and hungry; Crystal and I could have worked longer! They’re so funny; we enjoy every minute with those kids!
By the way, I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned what our African names are: I’m Amina and Crystal is Halima. They call me Amina since it’s so close to Amanda, and a friend of ours in Niamey just decided one day that Crystal’s name was Halima, so it stuck.
When their mom came back to the donkey cart, I helped her put everything we picked into the huge sack, forgetting that her friend had put some of her stuff next to our bean pile. We started putting her stuff in the sack too, and luckily she was only a few feet away talking to someone so she was able to notice and remind me of her stuff. She was laughing as she asked me, “Amina, why are putting my stuff in the sack?” I said, “Alhanna! Alhanna! Ay dirgan! Ay dirgan! (I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I forgot, I forgot!)” Thankfully everyone was laughing and we pulled her stuff back out of the sack and put it on the cart and dropped it off at her house for her since she was walking. Whew! I almost helped our friends steel someone else’s crops! Yikes!... That could have turned out bad!
Later that afternoon when we came back for our literacy class, Hamma was very sick and had a high fever. His whole body was extremely hot and he had the chills and a bad headache. He ached so bad it was making him cry; and he doesn’t cry. Since our supervisors were out of town, we were glad that an M couple had come up for a few days to visit. We asked if they could drive us over to the doctor to take a look at him. She suggested we take his temperature first. We had already been cooling him down, but he was still so hot. I ran home to get the thermometer and a cooling pad one of my “grandparents” from back home had sent with me. When we checked his temperature, it was 103.4, and he was only slightly cooler than he had been earlier, so his highest temperature may have been around 105. Pretty scary. We got him to the doctor, who we found out speaks English; which is nice to know in case we ever have to go and tell him what’s wrong. That could be pretty hard to do in another language! He checked Hamma’s temperature again and it had cooled down to about 100 degrees. He gave him some Tylenol and Malaria medicine. By the next day he was fine and back to his old self. He sure scared us though!
I did run into a little “accident” while we were taking care of Hamma. As I was on my way to our house, I saw Hamma’s baby sister standing between her house and our supervisors’ house. She had been with her dad next door, so I picked her up to take her back to her mom. When I picked her up, one of the neighbor ladies said, “Nafisa toosu!” She was telling me that Nafisa had gone to the bathroom on herself. About then I felt something on my arm and thought it was just pee. When I looked down I saw… well, it wasn’t pee… I started laughing and put her down and took her hand instead and walked her over to her mom. After I cleaned my arm up, I started back toward the house. One of our little girl friends saw me leaving. She said my name, then started laughing at me. I laughed out loud, wondering how many people would know about it by the time I came back. Haha
We are back in town for the week. Crystal has Malaria again and also a bacterial infection. She’s doing ok, just not a very comfortable situation. We’re waiting for everything to get cleared up. We’re definitely ready to head back to Ayorou, though! There’s not a whole lot to do here, and we are anxious to continue with our literacy classes. The students are still doing so well, we hate to have to leave them for a week. But we would much rather have everything cleared up for her and have her healed so we don’t have to keep coming in. It’ll be good for her body to be able to rest this long.
Well, we should be heading back to Ayorou after the weekend. Should be back in Niamey around Thanksgiving time. Continue to keep us in your thoughts as our classes are coming to an end, we will be having to say goodbye to close friends, and are trying to stay healthy. Things are going very well, and I trust they will continue. There is a lot to look forward to! We are excited for what will happen before we leave. See yall soon! Take care!
