Saturday
Saturday was the first time that I felt like a resident of Jalingo as opposed to a vacationing person. It was fabulous! My new friend Laura (I think it’s a rule when I move to a new place that I find a friend named Laura!) walked over to my compound to pick me up and took me to her compound, introduced me to a bunch of her friends and gave me some great experiences! We went to the market and picked out a live chicken, it was partially killed and handed to us with tied legs to be brought 10 steps over to be fully butchered. I watched it be de-feathered and cut up placed in a plastic bag and handed over to us. We promptly brought it home and cooked it up! I felt so sheltered that I had never experienced that before.
Then, Laura was cutting it up further and I was embarrassed to say that I had only ever purchased frozen breasts of meat before and definitely had never seen the head put in which I simply decided to not let bother me. When we were eating the fabulous lunch that Laura had prepared (I did help peel some potatoes with a ginormous knife without cutting myself!) on a single burner kerosene stove and no running water, I was asked is life easier here or in the US? Alright, now the obvious response is that it’s easier in the US. There are many more conveniences there to make many tasks like laundry and cooking less work intensive. However, I feel that in a certain way, life is “easier” here in Nigeria...but when I tried to explain myself I was at a loss. I’m still reflecting on that question and I told him I’d get back to him on that question.
After lunch, we went to the gym where Laura’s boyfriend works. I was unsure about what to expect from a gym here in Jalingo and was completely impressed. It’s housed at a hotel and had multiple tread mills, bike machines, ellipticals, weight machines. It was definitely superior to the facility I had at my apartment complex in San Antonio! There was even a machine I had never seen before called a massager machine. You stand on a platform and then it vibrates and shakes out your muscles after a tough workout! It was crazy!
Then, I went to my first restaurant in Jalingo with some of Laura’s friends. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming, and I had a great time!
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3 comments:
Good times! Good memories! Yah, there's nothing like catching a chicken for eating. Really, it gave the term, "running around like a chicken with it's head cut off" a new meaning. It's a real term now! Next time you'll have to butcher the chicken, boil it, and pluck those feathers, it's a neat experience. You really start to appreciate your food! I'm jealous of your cool day!
Yay for new friends named Laura:)
I loved looking at your pictures and seeing your smiling face. I agree with Faith about appreciating your food and of course our refrigeration abilities. WE are truly BLESSED!!!!
Stay safe!!
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