Attack of the Flying Ants, The Ramadan Conundrum and other stories.

[Afternoon prayer in Niamey]

Yesterday, as I arrived the radio station on my shiny anasara bike, I felt multiple stinging sensations on my neck. I was being attacked by ants. The small black ants of Niger pack a punch. A single bite will sting for several hours and remain visible for several day days. This time of year, some members of the colony develop wings and leave to mate and start new colonies. Everyone at the radio station found the event amusing and said it would make for a good story. The event also makes for a good analogy to how I was feeling at the time. I was also being stung by Nigeriens.

As I mentioned in my last post, I started fasting for Ramadan. For starters, virtually everyone in the entire country is fasting. As result you can’t buy food on the street and consuming food and beverages in front of people just seems rude. In addition, a lot of people asked if I was going to do it and suggested that I give it a try. The first few days were great. People were supportive and glad that I was doing it. During those first days I apparently just got luckily with who I crossed paths with. On Friday no less than 7 people gave me a hard time. Why am I fasting? There is no reason to fast if I’m not praying 5 times a day. I can’t pray because I’m not a Muslim. At that point explaining why I was fasting became a lot more difficult than explaining why I was not so Saturday I slept late and told everyone that I was done fasting. Of course then the inverse happened. People were disappointed and said that all the people that were not supportive were stupid, etc. It was a no win situation. So what was the result of all this? I’m fasting again. If anyone gives me a hard time I’m just going to tell them to have patience – kala suru. Fasting just works out better. I get more work done since I stay at the radio station with everyone else and honestly eating a big breakfast and dinner is fun for the time being. I had more pancakes for breakfast today.. Yummy! Friday night I had another nice meal including fresh partially dried dates. Most of the dates here are extremely hard and dry so it was a strange sensation to eat cold fresh ones.

This week I’ve also started working with a local artist. I’m try to help him gather photos for a portfolio or possibly a website. For the most part he works with calabashes, dried gourds. He makes beautiful lamps, vases, various containers, and even statues and musical instruments. He also produces music and makes jewelry. Some photos of his work are below.

Yesterday I finally got my correctly sized pants back from the tailor. He did a very good job replicating my favorite pants I brought from the states, which unfortunately now have a hole in the rear. While the kid from next door was at my place playing a game on my cell phone, I got him to take a picture. I should have another very cool shirt waiting for me in Niamey when I go on Tuesday. I’m looking forward to the break from Dosso. I will also get a chance to see a lot of the volunteers that I came over here with. Later!