I have been so impressed with the hospitality of people here. I have had a variety of places to stay, but never once have I felt like I might not have somewhere to stay. I already wrote about my first night at the “Doctor”s house. Since then, I have stayed in a variety of places including at a policeman’s house, in the mayor’s office, with a Swiss family and with an architect.
The policeman was a giant of a man named Moussa, living in just in a little bachelor’s suite. His stuff was spread everywhere and his bed was a thin piece of foam layed on the floor with a sheet on it. Fortunately, he had a mosquito net up. I went to bed relatively early while Moussa was watching TV. Then, about midnight I got a tap on the shoulder and a deep rumbly voice said “Hey! Roll over! I’m coming to bed now”. Moussa climbed under the mosquito net with me. Fortunately, I was 90% asleep at the time and didn’t take much notice. Guess I can no longer say that I haven’t been bed with the police!
I can also say that I have slept with the town administration because the next night, my host took me to the newly finished (I think that day… the paint was still tacky) Municipal buildings. The mayor’s office had the biggest door and lock in town, so I guess he thought I needed to be secure. I layed my mat out on the floor and used my backpack as a pillow. For a while, I didn’t think that I would be able to sleep, but a tired body lets one sleep just about anywhere. The good thing about a new construction like that? The mice haven’t had time to move in yet!!!
The next night I ended up in a larger town (Torodi) on market day. It was crazy. Nothing could have prepared me for the insanity of entering Torodi on market day. The streets were so crowded there was hardly room for 2 bikes to ride side by side, yet big trucks were pushing and honking their way through and motos were zipping up and down at break-neck (literally, nearly mine) speeds. Someone said there were Americans living in town and when I asked to meet them, they led me to the house of Tonio and Katrin, a Swiss couple with 2 lovely daughters. They immediately invited me to stay for dinner, and then for the night. The homemade bread was to die for and the homemade Settler’s game was tons of fun! It turns out that they work with SIL here in Niger. The next day I planned to leave early, but spent most of the morning and early afternoon discussing literacy with Tonio. He showed me the 1-hectare farm where he was growing all kinds of things. I learned how to plant manioc and how to harvest it. He has learned his farming methods from reading books and applying the knowledge. His successful fields have piqued the interest of the Fulani people that he works with and they have begun asking questions! Awesome. Not only will his work help them improve farming methods, but it serves an example of how reading can change your life. Very powerful stuff.
Arriving here in Niamey, I called a number that had been given me by Rahilla, one of my students. I suggested to the stranger on the other end of the phone that I since it was already late, that we could fix a time to meet the next day. “Nonsense” said Souleman. Stay there. I’ll come get you. A little while later a luxury Toyota 4Runner showed up. Since it would have been awkward to get my bike into the vehicle, I suggested that I might follow him, so we zipped around the streets of Niamey with me pedalling my heart out trying to keep up, and praying that I wouldn’t hit any potholes in the process. It ended well and Souleman and his wife Nanna took wonderful care of me. He is a young, successful architect and his 18-month old house was beautifully done mixing traditional Niger brickwork with nouveau styles from the west. Really cool. I had a separate guestroom with a high-powered ceiling fan and an en-suite. I was invited to watch Satelite TV on the posh leather couch. It was like another world. They treated me like royalty and although it was a big switch, my body adjusted pretty well!
Tomorrow I am back on the road. Who knows where I’ll end up or who may become my host, but that is what makes it an adventure.
The policeman was a giant of a man named Moussa, living in just in a little bachelor’s suite. His stuff was spread everywhere and his bed was a thin piece of foam layed on the floor with a sheet on it. Fortunately, he had a mosquito net up. I went to bed relatively early while Moussa was watching TV. Then, about midnight I got a tap on the shoulder and a deep rumbly voice said “Hey! Roll over! I’m coming to bed now”. Moussa climbed under the mosquito net with me. Fortunately, I was 90% asleep at the time and didn’t take much notice. Guess I can no longer say that I haven’t been bed with the police!
I can also say that I have slept with the town administration because the next night, my host took me to the newly finished (I think that day… the paint was still tacky) Municipal buildings. The mayor’s office had the biggest door and lock in town, so I guess he thought I needed to be secure. I layed my mat out on the floor and used my backpack as a pillow. For a while, I didn’t think that I would be able to sleep, but a tired body lets one sleep just about anywhere. The good thing about a new construction like that? The mice haven’t had time to move in yet!!!
The next night I ended up in a larger town (Torodi) on market day. It was crazy. Nothing could have prepared me for the insanity of entering Torodi on market day. The streets were so crowded there was hardly room for 2 bikes to ride side by side, yet big trucks were pushing and honking their way through and motos were zipping up and down at break-neck (literally, nearly mine) speeds. Someone said there were Americans living in town and when I asked to meet them, they led me to the house of Tonio and Katrin, a Swiss couple with 2 lovely daughters. They immediately invited me to stay for dinner, and then for the night. The homemade bread was to die for and the homemade Settler’s game was tons of fun! It turns out that they work with SIL here in Niger. The next day I planned to leave early, but spent most of the morning and early afternoon discussing literacy with Tonio. He showed me the 1-hectare farm where he was growing all kinds of things. I learned how to plant manioc and how to harvest it. He has learned his farming methods from reading books and applying the knowledge. His successful fields have piqued the interest of the Fulani people that he works with and they have begun asking questions! Awesome. Not only will his work help them improve farming methods, but it serves an example of how reading can change your life. Very powerful stuff.Arriving here in Niamey, I called a number that had been given me by Rahilla, one of my students. I suggested to the stranger on the other end of the phone that I since it was already late, that we could fix a time to meet the next day. “Nonsense” said Souleman. Stay there. I’ll come get you. A little while later a luxury Toyota 4Runner showed up. Since it would have been awkward to get my bike into the vehicle, I suggested that I might follow him, so we zipped around the streets of Niamey with me pedalling my heart out trying to keep up, and praying that I wouldn’t hit any potholes in the process. It ended well and Souleman and his wife Nanna took wonderful care of me. He is a young, successful architect and his 18-month old house was beautifully done mixing traditional Niger brickwork with nouveau styles from the west. Really cool. I had a separate guestroom with a high-powered ceiling fan and an en-suite. I was invited to watch Satelite TV on the posh leather couch. It was like another world. They treated me like royalty and although it was a big switch, my body adjusted pretty well!
Tomorrow I am back on the road. Who knows where I’ll end up or who may become my host, but that is what makes it an adventure.
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2 comments:
Tonio and Katrine are Amazing! Her bread is awesome! I loved Tonio's farm. It is cool to randomly run across this on the interwebs!
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