My Attempt at Yoruba

Okay, it went something like this. I got into the car yesterday, and I thought I would show Fatai some of the Yoruba phrases I "thought" I had learned.

me: "e ka le, Fatai"

Fatai: "Madame?"

me: "e ke le, Fatai."

Fatai: "Ma'am" ( a little more confused)

me: "e ke le, Fatai "(really loudly this time as if that would help him know what I was saying)

Fatai: a blank look

me: "Oh, alright...I was trying to say something in Yoruba." ( I pulled out my little book with some Yoruba phrases in it) I was trying to say "good evening".

Fatai: "Oh, yes, madame. That is what you said....i just didn't think you would speak Yoruba to me."

We both had to laugh.:) I am trying to learn some phrases in Yoruba (one of the tribes that is prevalent in Lagos). Good evening is pronounced eh-kah-lay and spelled e ke le. I just thought I would share that with all of you. Have a very good evening.:)

A few more pictures from Nigerian Cultural Day

Here are just a few more pictures from Nigerian Cultural day.:) The last picture is a group of dancers from Edo State in Nigeria. Edo State was the highlighted state of Nigeria this year for Nigerian Cultural Day. (Just FYI We live in Lagos State.:)

Nigerian Cultural Day

Today was Nigerian Cultural day at Jeremy's school. Tomorrow, Nigeria will celebrate its independence from Great Britain 49 years ago. October first is declared Nigerian Independence day and the children do not go to school. All the government offices are shut, and most people do not go to work. But for today, we had a lot of fun learning about different things in Nigeria. This morning, we all got dressed in our Nigerian outfits. (Everyone was supposed to come to school in traditional Nigerian dress. I bought material from Dupe..she was in one of my posts a while back. I found a tailor and he made Nigerian clothes for all of us...even Elizabeth). Fatai even measured Guy's head and made him a traditional Yoruba cap to go with his Yoruba outfit.:) Happiness used some of the extra fabric I had from my dress to tie a head tie on my head.:) Since it was so hot today, I had Happiness stay at home with Elizabeth. We are in the dry season now in Nigeria, and it is so hot. Elizabeth would have been miserable. Jeremy and I went downstairs to go to school. Fatai was in the car waiting for us. We walked down the stairs to get in the car and I heard a security guard say," The oyibo is African!!" They were smiling, and Happiness says that Nigerians like it when oyibos wear Nigerian clothes. I hope she was telling me the truth, but I have a really weird feeling they were just laughing at me.:)

When we got to school, it was so neat to see all the children and the parents dressed in Nigerian clothes. Jeremy's day was full of different activities: story telling ( which was terrible), raffia hat making, Nigerian dancing, and a closing ceremony with a fashion show of African dress. The children even got to shop at a small market that was set up on the school grounds. Traditional Nigerian food was provided for the children: chicken and rice with plantains and suya (spicy grilled beef on a stick). I love suya...unfortunately I found out this is the food most Nigerians are cooking when I see the trash cans on fire.:)

The school was decorated in the colors of the Nigerian flag: green and white. Guy was even able to come and see Jeremy at school today.:) It really was amazing to see so many people coming to the school for this cultural event. So many people, so many colorful clothes and so many interesting activities...it made me feel happy about being in Nigeria...at least for today.:)

Our African Art

Here are some pictures of our first piece of African art we have bought here in Nigeria. We purchased them from Happiness' husband, Nathaniel. He is an artist who works here in Lagos. The painting on the left is called "The Joy of Independence". He told us the inspiration for this painting came when he married Happiness. It is a celebration of being able to have your own rules and not having to listen to the rules your parents have given you any more. In this painting, the woman in the white skirt is the focal point. She is the bride. The rest of the villagers are celebrating because she has passed a test. In some very rural tribes in Nigeria, the chief will hang a live chicken around the neck of the woman who will be married. If the chicken lives, then it is a reaffirmation that she is a virgin and can get married. However, if the chicken dies, she is not a virgin ,and she is cast out of the village never to be married. Happiness assured me she didn't have to go through the "chicken test" when she was getting married.:)

The painting on the right is called "My Dream". This painting is supposed to represent the dream Nathaniel had of finding a woman who could stand in his place when he is not there. I am not too sure if I can see that in this painting or not, but Guy and I really liked it and it looks great in our hallway.:)

Nightmare in Dream Plaza

On Monday night, Happiness made her really good lasagna. As Guy, the kids, and I were eating, suddenly, Guy stopped chewing and preceeded to remove something from his mouth. When he looked at it, he discovered it was a broken nail. I have to say that was the last thing I thought I would ever see in lasagna. Apparently, when the person at the gorcery store ground the meat, a nail fell into the meat or the machine was breaking and a nail fell in???? Who knows??!!!! I told Happiness about it in the morning, and she was very mad at Dream Plaza ( the place she had purchased the meat). We had brought meat with us from the U.S., but we were told the ground beef was safe to buy here. So, those of you who are a little worried about us eating the meat over here, don't worry too much. Happiness is going to go after them. I wouldn't want to get in her way. She had me put the little nail in an envelope and she is going to take it to the store and tell them what happened.:) ( When Nigerians get angry, they are VERY loud and VERY expressive.) Dream Plaza sounds like such a nice and relaxing place....it won't be such a happy place when Happiness is done them...they will feel like they have been in a nightmare!! ha ha!!

Jeremy's First Soccer Game

On Saturday, Jeremy had his first soccer game. We woke up and started getting ready. Thank goodness that this Saturday was Sanitation day. ( This is a day when the people in Lagos have to clean up the areas around their homes. if anyone besides police and doctors are found on the street, they will be arrested and taken to jail. Funny thing is, I didn't even notice a difference.) So, instead of his game starting at 8 a.m. (yikes!!!) it started at 11 a.m. I got Jeremy's shin guards and soccer cleats out. Immediately, Elizabeth wanted to put on the shin guards. She looked so funny running around the flat in shin guards and her sundress. Jeremy liked wearing his cleats because they made a tapping sound on the floor. When we had to leave, Elizabeth was not happy about taking the shin guards off.:) When we got to the field, Jeremy received his uniform, and Guy helped him put it on. Jeremy ran off onto the field ( he is the smallest one on his team) and started practicing kicking the ball into the goal with his friend, Jake. Guy and I were watching Jeremy and his teammates practicing when I noticed a small little girl in a pink sundress running out onto the field to kick the ball. It was Elizabeth!! I had to run out and grab her...she thinks she is one of the big kids.:)

When the game started, it was like watching a herd of tiny horses run on the field. They all just chase the ball around the field. Jeremy was hilarious, he kept picking up grass and looking at it in his hands and trying to show it to Jake who was trying to follow the ball. Jeremy paid no attention to the ball at all for a long time. Then, a light bulb went off, and he started to run in the crowd with the rest of the kids on his team. We were so happy to see him running around with the kids on the field. Then, all at once, Jeremy was crying. One of the children on his team had accidentally run right into his face. Needless to say, Jeremy was crying and didn't want to go back and play again. So, after half time, he sat out and and kicked the ball back and forth with Guy. Elizabeth, on the other hand, kept trying to run back out onto the field to take her brother's place. At the end of the game, Jake came over to Jeremy and told him that he had gotten hurt also, but he had stayed in the game. When I asked Jeremy if he would play again next week, he said," Yeah, I'll play soccer with my friend, Jake." So, will it be the makings of a future soccer star??? Who knows. But, for right now, we'll work on no crying during soccer.:)

The Nigerian Door Lock

A few weeks ago, I was riding in the car with Fatai. We were in a traffic jam (of course) and we were behind the truck you see in the picture. I think I was sitting there for about 4 or 5 minutes before I realized that I saw two hands holding the back doors closed. Why fix the doors when you can have someone stand in the back of truck and hold the doors shut??? Crazy!!Just one more thing you will only see in Nigeria!