Getting into the culture

A lot has happened since I last blogged. I'm going to try to summarize so this post isn't ridiculously long.

I am finished with orientation! I just finished yesterday and it's good to be getting into the ministry now. Tuesday was the last day of planned meals for me. Last Thursday-Tuesday (my first 6 days here) I had meals planned for me. Starting Wednesday I was on my own. I really enjoyed having meals with other missionaries and their families. I liked seeing their homes and eating in a home with other people. It's not so fun eating by yourself. Looking at my schedule, I think I am going to be sharing meals with people regularly. The only nights I don't have something planned are Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. I'll have to see what I can do and who I can eat with. During my first week here (I have been in Jos over a week now!) I ate most of my lunches at restaurants around town. The ones I went to include Elysar, Southern Fried Chicken, King's Bite, and Afri-One. They're all pretty good.

One of my favorite parts about orientation was the cultural orientation with Kauna. I really enjoy talking with Kauna. She knows a lot about the Nigerian culture and what she has to say is very interesting. She took me "downtown" and we walked in the market. The market is a bit overwhelming. There are so many people, sounds, and smells. There are a lot of fruits, vegetables, and potatoes but there is also a lot of food that I don't recognize. Kauna helped me pick out cloth to have my first Nigerian outfit made. It will be worn on Sundays. The outfits here are so unique because you pick out fabric among hundreds of options and design what you want your outfit to look like. Still not sure what design I am going to do yet.

Yesterday was ministry orientation. A lady named Anna-Karen did that with me. We actually ended up spending the whole day together. It was great! We made a tentative schedule and talked about what I might be doing. Here is the sched: Monday - Gyero, Tuesday - Gidan Bege, Wednesday - Gyero, Thursday - Gidan Bege, Friday - Gyero, Saturday & Sunday - Girl's Transition House. She said it is always better to add in activities rather than take away. So we are going to see how this schedule works and how I am feeling and if I still have time to spare, I will add in more. At both Gyero and Gidan Bege I am going to be helping out with the school and hanging with the children. Gyero is a rural village where a city ministries center is located. There are about 130 children there. All of them are orphans. They have house parents at Gyero and there is a school. Gidan Bege is a center in Jos for orphaned boys. There are 14 boys there right now. I will share more on both places later. I am not exactly sure what I am going to be doing at the girl's transition house. Another exciting thing I might be doing is teaching swim lessons. Somehow the fact that I teach swim lessons came up in conversation and it sounds like some missionaries would be interested in me teaching their children. It's not definite but it would be cool if I could use that to help out.

While I was with Anna-Karen we got some suya and massa for lunch. Supposedly it's a pretty popular food here. I also had fried yam and a bean cake this morning. I love trying new food from different cultures. Kauna told me that Nigerians like spicy food. She was surprised when I told her that I like spicy. Most Americans don't.

Last night George, a man who owns a house on my compound, cooked dinner for me and the three other ladies on my compound. It was a Valentine's celebration and it was super nice of him. He's an excellent cook and he makes his own chapmans. A chapman is a type of tropical drink here. We had yummy food, made s'mores in the oven, listened to love songs from movies, and had good conversation. I enjoy talking with the missionaries here and listening to their view of Nigeria and where it's headed.

Today I went to Gyero for the first time since 2012. I remembered a few people and a few people remembered me. I helped Anna-Karen with some things and visited each classroom. I'm going to be teaching a few classes to help some of the teachers out. One of the teachers specifically asked me to teach his writing class.