Nigeria has been an interesting place to reside with the recent strike and protests. I have seen the resilience and optimism of Nigerians in Kaduna and continue to enjoy living and working in a country with such wonderful people. With the national and international media doing a good job of reporting all the negativity and politics, I wanted to share a few highlights of my experience being here during this time.

• Afternoon walks with my housemate Silvester, which always turned into adventures. One day we started a bit late and were out just past the 5pm curfew when soldiers arrived in our neighborhood to enforce the government-imposed curfew. We quickly turned the corner and walked briskly back home in order to avoid having to frog jump all the way back (which was the rumored punishment for being out after curfew). We were innocently trying to find fresh produce after being shut in for several days, though it was, of course, our own fault. We came across pigs eating from a pile of trash, ducks on a roof, puppies under an old car, and people hanging out on the back roads trying to continue life with some sense of normalcy.
  

  Neighborhood pigs

• I was grateful for the unexpected time at home to practice yoga and rest. I happily wiped the harmattan dust off my yoga mat twice a day to practice and connect and learn.

• Silvester and I (and sometimes neighborhood friends/colleagues who dropped by) flipped through magazines, read books, discussed work and future aspirations, and laughed together.

• I learned to cook! This was definitely my biggest accomplishment of the week. Since all we could find as far as produce were tomatoes and onions, I got creative and learned to make some delicious meals. I also made chapatis with wheat flour and spices. I put too much ‘pepe’ in my food, which is the result of learning to cook in Nigeria.

• Brewing tea from the local ‘zobo’ flower (hibiscus/roselle) with fresh ginger and pineapple peels (and lots of other tea) was especially nice and very relaxing.
  

  Making 'zobo' (hibiscus/roselle) tea with pineapple and ginger- yum!

• After three full days and nights without any electricity, we also ran out of water. Of course this ended up being a good thing because we discovered we have a well in our compound and had fun using it with our neighbors.
  

  Discovering and using the compound well with my lovely neighbors Peter & Victoria

• The strike was sensibly put on hold for the weekend, so I took the bus into town and enjoyed a strike/’curfew lifted for a few daytime hours’ party with my incredibly hospitable expat friends. We spent the day eating, drinking, talking, and dancing in the garden.

My wonderful Kenyan housemate and colleague Silvester (in Lafia)