The first weeks in NIgeria have primarily been marked by one thing - creating a livable home. Solving the everyday challenges has been a survival course like no other - even the Finnish Military Forces would envy it. As well as being a challenge, it has definitely been a joy. Nothing compares to the feeling of making a creative solution to a problem and seeing it concretely improve your life. Fixing the lock of your door with a piece of metal, found from a pile of trash. Cutting kitchen towels from a rug you found from the backyard. Etc, etc.
Ok, maybe I am giving a wrong picture here. The life isn't actually super difficult for everyone here, and the place I am staying in is not particularly poor. It's just our house. As it happens, my boss / roomie is an extremely busy man, working on average about 18 hours a day. When I go to sleep, he's still sitting in the dark living room, in the light of his gadgets. When I wake up in the morning, between 6.00 and 7.00, he's sitting in the same place and position, staring at his screen. It's just that he is such an adaptable and devoted person that he doesn't need to sleep more than a few hours, eat, or keep breaks from the work. Household matters are definitely not too high on his priority list.
When it comes to survival, the one absolutely irreplaceable resource has been the neighbors. They have been extremely helpful. In the neighboring apartment lives a group of six local guys, mostly recent University graduates. And also the Spanish girl, who is an intern like me. Quite hospitable folks, all of them. For example, when on the second week we ran out of tap water for 4 days, we borrowed their water. Same thing with cooking gas - this week I have been cooking my meals in their kitchen. Naturally, it works both ways. When they run out of water, we lend them. And of course, we always charge mobile phones and computers in each others apartments, depending on which one has the blessing of electricity.
And finally, some pics from the house:
Our backyard. (It's a lake after raining.)
Front yard. We live in the right side of the house, our neighbours in the left.
Kitchen facilities. We dont own a table for cooking.
My room (including all furniture).
Our precious generator.
Mika!
ReplyDeleteKuulostaa mahtavalta. Kaikesta on ennenkin selvitty ja ennenkaikkea opittu. Toivottavasti pääset myös oikeasti auttamaan ja miettimään asioita konkreettisesta! Jes!