A visit to Lafia

I can definitely tell I am somewhere near the equator. To say I felt hot when trying to sleep last night is somewhat of an understatement! Given that the temperature didn’t dip below 30 degrees all night, and there was no electricity to power the fan ( except for a couple of welcome hours when it came on sporadically during the night) , it was not surprising that I woke up sweating like a pig.
So I have now relinquished my title of sun goddess and I am trying to avoid the sun as much as possible…well in the middle of the day at least!
I am in Lafia at the moment, on a placement visit with Marilyn, a Canadian volunteer who has been here for 4 months so she is showing me the ropes ; how to sterilize and work the water filter, how to charge everything electrical you own the moment the power supply comes on in case it goes again, how to wash using a bucket shower, and how to negotiate good deals at the market ! I am supposed to be learning how to cook a typically Nigerian meal too, but she let me off with that last night and cooked me some beans on toast which tasted amazingly great! I have been given lots of spicy food at the hotel since I arrived on Saturday so although it rather goes against the spirit of the exercise, beans on toast was exactly what I wanted! Marilyn has got a handy little campfire toast rack that you can put on top of a hob. Unfortunately she located it in Canada so I am not sure whether toast will be a rare luxury for me here…we shall see!

I have also been excited that you can get Smirnoff Ice in the most unlikely road side bars …even ice cold ones! So that has cheered up the evenings!

I am going to Jos next week which still appears to be a popular place from what most people say so I am pleased I am going there. Watch this space for photos of typical Nigerian street scenes….I should be able to upload them next Sunday.