Journey to Gembu!

Since arriving in Jalingo, I’ve been told about Gembu. It is located in Taraba State on the Mambila Plateau, which I vividly remember seeing on a map as I was reading the World Book Encyclopedia article in the Wilton Public Library before leaving. Needless to say, after listening to countless people rave about it for months I was both excited yet slightly doubtful that it was as wonderful as people were claiming. Regardless, I was eager to finally see it for myself!

I went with two friends from school, Asper and Helen and a driver. We left Friday morning and spent most of the morning driving to the base of the plateau. We stopped to have lunch at this little “restaurant”. I have eaten at enough of these “dives” to know that even though the look dilapidated, austere, and a little scary I have never been disappointed with the food! It’s also entertaining to hear from my friends the incredulous comments of the other customers in the restaurant that I’m not only eating there, but I’m eating tuwo and soup with my hand!

After lunch, we proceeded along the meandering road up to the top of the plateau. The change in elevation provided the most delightful reprieve from oppressively hot and sticky weather! Soon, we were surrounded by rolling mountains, towering eucalyptus trees, roaming cattle sans herdsman (up here, the cattle are smarter and can find their way home each night!) and a delightfully cool breeze!

We visited the Highland Tea fields and factory. This whole new experience is detailed in the pictures and captions. Then, we went to the Mambila Baptist Hospital which is locally and aptly known as the “Bush Hospital” because it’s most definitely located in the bush. While we were there, we were invited to participate in the going away party, known here as a Send Forth, for one of their doctors. It was nice to get to share in the celebration and have a mini-worship service!

My friend Ezekiel is from Gembu, so although he was unable to come along, he connected us with his brother. He walked us around town and took us to their parents’ home which was fun. The language barrier was a bit of a challenge, but we were able to manage. A few times it was pretty funny because I would say something in English, then Helen would translate my American English into Nigerian English pronunciation, then his brother would translate that to Hausa so that his parents could understand. This system isn’t exactly conducive to long, in-depth conversation, but it worked!

Sunday morning, Ezekiel’s brother led us on an excursion to a “near-by” village that can only be reached via motorcycles. The experience is what I would term indescribable, but I’ll try!  These so-called roads were actually more like uneven, rocky paths that wound up and down, around mountains, through valleys, next to small farming plots. As I was gripping onto the back of the seat of my motorcycle with one hand, I was holding my camera with the other hand trying to somehow capture the passing women trekking the 12km to Gembu, banana and pear (avocado) trees, and the majestically green and pristine beauty that was surrounding me on all sides.

Then, we reached the Donga River. It can only be crossed by canoe, so we each boarded a canoe with our motorcycle, driver and poler. Yep, I felt like I was riding in a gondola in Venice, except it was better because we were able to buy fresh bananas from a man sharing our canoe and gaze at mountains along the way! We made it to the village safely, met the village chief, toured their water distribution system, see a school, church and eat some delicious and ginormous avocados before returning back to Gembu and heading back to Jalingo.

I felt so incredibly blessed to have experienced this excursion. People here in rural Nigeria never travel for pleasure, only when the trip is absolutely necessary. Therefore, when I returned, I realized that many of the people who had told me about Gembu had never actually been there themselves! It was a wonderful opportunity to see, feel, smell, and taste the delights of this luscious place created by God!

Here's the link for pictures!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=63882&id=501312909&l=97991

Pictures!

I just visited Gembu this past week and had a terrific time. I finally understand why Taraba State's slogan is "Nature's Gift to the Nation"...it was beautiful, green, cool, forested with eucalyptus trees, mountainous...pretty much amazing! I LOVED it! There will be pictures from the excursion soon.

Here are some links to pictures from the last few months (finally facebook and blogspot are working at the same internet cafe...it's a miracle)!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=54508&id=501312909&l=a0fa7
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=61701&id=501312909&l=f8c53

Black-eyed Peas, Dates and Spam

There have been some other missionaries from the US here recently which has provided some people to be able to provide a little American perspective on things which I had lacked for about 5 months. Here is one conversation:
Missionary: "How do you like the black-eyed peas?"
Me: "Ewww...black-eye peas?! I haven't seen anything like that here!"
Missionary: "So you don't eat the beans here?"
Me: "Of course I eat the beans...they're delicious especially mixed with the rice!"
Missionary: "They're black-eyed peas."
Me: "Who knew?!"

A similar situation happened with "palm nuts". I really enjoy them because they're one of the few really sweet foods here. I was nervous to eat them at first because they aren't peeled first, they're just eaten. Clearly, I've become a little daring! I bought them for the people from Nebraska who were here visiting because they're so good! As I was sharing them, they told me, these are dates. Really?! I didn't think I liked dates, but I love these little guys.

My parents sent me spam in a care package. Now, I have been truly enjoying the packets of tuna, loving the vacuum packed salmon and found the canned chicken pleasantly delightful especially when seasoned with Rudy's seasoning, but I was skeptical about spam! However, there was a recipe suggestion on the tin to make an egg mc muffin concoction, so I decided to give it a shot! It was surprisingly decent! I had never eaten spam before, but I feel that it was an acceptable sausage substitute...and it's produced in Austin, MN, so I felt a little closer to home this morning. :)

Progress

Oftentimes, progress seems slow. However, it’s kind of exciting when you can see marked difference! I had the opportunity to travel with some missionaries who have been here from Nebraska out to the villages of Bagarmi and Garbabi, which are two places that I visited on my initial tour o’ Nigeria when I first arrived.

Last Sunday we traveled to the small village of Bagarmi to attend worship because one of the churches in Nebraska has a partnership with it. When I had gone there in August, we had celebrated the well that had been installed and this time the church had been upgraded from a dirt floor to a cement floor! It was also fun to recognize some familiar faces.

Then on Tuesday, we went back to the Bible training school in Garbabi. There, we had identified the place where a borehole well was to be drilled. The students were all having to haul water from a river multiple kilometers away where the illness, River Blindness, runs rampant. This time, it was so exciting to be able to see the joy that the students are all receiving from having a hand pump well making clean water much more accessible to everyone! It was also neat that many of the people remembered me from back in August!

While many people may have the opportunity to come and do short-term work, there are really some great blessings that can only come with being somewhere for an extended period of time. These simple projects have all come to fruition over the past 6 months that I've been here. It’s pretty sweet to partake in the celebrations!!

‘Barrow Pusher

I remember the days when I could turn on a faucet and drink the water. Now, I must buy bottled, rather sachet, water. One can purchase a large bag containing 20 mini-bags for under a dollar which is really a lot cheaper than buying bottled water and just as safe as long as I buy the right brands. However, it’s kind of amazing how fast I can go through a bag. I was getting tired of running out of water at inopportune times, so I decided to ask my friend, who cooks outside my house, if I could borrow her wheelbarrow to get multiple bags at one time from the store down the street. She graciously agreed, so I started off.

I didn’t really think about the image this would create. I just knew that I needed lots of water and the wheelbarrow seemed the most expedient way to do it. However, as soon as I started out down the road and saw the look on the peoples’ face I knew that I was doing was counter-cultural. Upon further reflection, I realized that only the lowest level of society pushes wheel barrows. Everyone who saw me or passed me couldn’t help but laugh.

There’s a really strong culture of hierarchy here and the idea that any white person, who is highly revered within society, would push a wheelbarrow is crazy! I successfully got the water and successfully entertained everyone that I encountered. Good times!

Carolyn Carter: Trend-Setter

Yeah…who ever thought that would be a phrase uttered or even considered by anyone!?!? Alas, it has been brought to my attention that I have unknowingly started a new trend amongst the running community of Jalingo. Because of the necessity to run at freakishly early times (when it is still pitch dark without street lights), I have been carrying a little flashlight with me. Since I can pull the “I’m a foreigner” card here, I wasn’t too concerned by the fact that I had never seen another runner carrying a light. I simply wanted to avoid breaking an ankle (I’ve heard from fellow friends living in Africa that it’s not fun!) by falling into a pothole and provide a way for vehicles to avoid hitting me. However, I was recently alerted by my friend that if I look around other people are now carrying flashlights when they run in the morning. He’s right! Wow…I don’t think I’ve ever started a trend before, but I’m glad that my initial one promotes safety first! :)