Sounds of Niger

So - I started to write a list of song for my brother and I figured others might also be interested to, walla:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgrnVbVI6qQ
(windi windi - kaidan gaskia p.s. most of this video is filmed in niamey so youll actually see places i walk past when im there)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNP8xzknq58
(download the regular version cuz its better its Could You Be Loved - Bob Marley)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3zdIbhhrWA
(Allahou Akbar - Kaidan Gaskia)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL8ULXTcq5s
(Girma, Girma - Faty Niger. This was probably the first song I heard in country and it was always in my head)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnT-uo0s6Pk&feature=related
(This is the soap opera I watch every Mon-Thurs night ... I don't like the video because its set to This Kiss but you get a little taste... I also found clips but they're from the original show which is in Portugese and not French)

A Death on the Road

This morning was a very strange morning. Not in the sense that anything felt wrong but when I think back to the events of the morning, I begin to realize how much of a plan there really is in this life. Ridouane messaged me last night saying he was in Kollo but would be at a bapteme and unable to see me since I was leaving for Niamey. The next morning, I woke up later than planned and I got going with my bags to pick up some papers from the inspection before heading to Niamey. Boubey, a young Zarma man, passed me with his donkey cart and asked me if I wanted a ride into town. I had never used this mode of transportation before and even though it was a little slower I accepted his offer. I saw some of my neighbor kids and they even rode along with us. In the market I saw my counterpart who was supposed to bring me the papers. One of the little girls ran to the car he was in, retrieved the papers, and ran back to me in the cart. I reached the inspection, took a photo, thanked Boubey and made me way back to the road, past the Mosque to find a bush taxi.

I looked up and who else did I see but Ridouane! I was soooo excited. He must have seen me from across the street but I had no idea. He told me that he had forgotten something at his house which is why he wasn't already at the bapteme. I had left early knowing I wouldn't see him yet we ran into each other. Fate can be so sweet ... but also so cruel. After making plans to meet up in Niamey later that night he helped me with my bags into a taxi.

The ride was going smoothly. I chatted with a neighbor and listened to a borrowed iPod since mine is broken. When we were just a little bit away from the Libore payage our taxi pulled off onto the side of the road. I couldn't see much, just cars all off the road. The boy who takes money (Hausa's refer to them as road dogs) was blocking my view since there were no open seats. But we stopped and all I could hear were men around me thumbing their prayer beads rapidly (clink, clink, clink) and whispering "Allah Ahkbar" (God is great in Arabic). They stopped completely and the boy opened the door. I looked out and saw a boy laying beneath a taxi. The taxi was all too familiar. It was the same one I see at least twice a week in Sahara (the neighborhood behind the inspection). I had even taken this taxi once. A crushed motorcycle lay to the right of the taxi. The boy was covered with a sheet, probably borrowed froma woman aboard the taxi.

Never in my life have I seen blood spilled but here I was faced with it for the first time. I felt sick to my stomach and tears welled in my eyes. I refused to let them be spilt too. The men descended and prayed. I stayed close to the car, trying not to luck, but as most of us often are, oddly fascinated. The rest of the ride to Niamey was in complete silence. Everyone seemed spell bound by the finality of death and the unique, unknowningness of fate and life. As to be expected, when face with finality, you start to mull over how special your life is. With time, I hope I think about this image less and less (my thoughts have been haunted all morning) but I don't want to forget it.

Updated Care Package List-ish

So I had an amazing list written out but it's sitting on the floor in Kollo and my parents haven't posted it yet so look for updates but here goes (this is all stuff you can send at any time)

* Magazines (Star, InTouch, US Weekly, People, Cosmo) Don't worry about duplicates because I cut out pictures etc.
* Jack Link's Beef Jerky (any flavor really is delicious)
* Blue/Black Bic pens (pens here suck)
* Scotch tape or double sided tape
* Jelly Belly Jelly Beans (sours, graham cracker, margerita)
* Swedish Fish
* Jolly Ranchers (hard or gummy)
* Orbit Peppermint gum
* Ramen Noodles (chicken, beef, oriental)
* Graham crackers
* Nilla Wafers
* Saltines
* Pistachios (salted)
* Trail mix
* Idohan Instant Mashed Potato mix (I think with parmasean cheese)
* Dry soup mixes
* Drink mixes (gatorade glacier freeze, lime, grape, Propel lemon or grape, crystal lite iced tea with lemon)
* Pudding mix
* Skittles
* Nail Polish (white!!! also clear!!!)
* foot scrub
* AAA and AA Batteries
* Tootsie rolls
* rice krispies treats
* Golden Grahams cereal
* Fruity Pebbles cereal
* Cracklin Oat Bran cereal
* Fruit Loops cereal
* Maple n brown sugar oatmeal
* Sweet and salty Almond granola bars
* Granola bars in general
* Children's toys (i.e. slinky, yoyo, bouncy balls, jacks, anything cute and cheap from walmart... i have a lot of kids in my neighborhood ... by kids I mean free time haha)
* Crayons
* cute magnets
* Mix cds (ipod is broken and neighbors let me borrow their cd player)
* Ranch mix packets (spicy kind is also good)
* spray bug repellent
* any old playstation (original) games you have laying around
* oreos
* honey roasted almonds
* candy canes
* ANY candy really (if you think it might melt ... please ziplock it)
* playtex tampons (plastic applicators please girls)
* any instant boxed meals that you can do with a stove and that dont involve butter or milk (random but i eat the same things every day)
* parmasean cheese
* velveeta mild mexican cheese (ziplock this)
* cross stitching thread (all colors)
* yarn (all colors)
* jiffy pop popcorn
* butter flavoring powder (it exists)
* slim jims
* doritos (dont care if they get crushed because i will eat the crumbs)
* peanut m&ms
* nutty bars
* decks of cards
* twizzlers
* individual tissue packs
* pads with wings
* macaroni and cheese (velveeta shells and cheese too)
* razors without lotion strips
* books (anything from the popular section at walmart or meijers is usually what i like) im into fiction and i tend to be into comedy/romance/or muder mystery stuff
* pretzles (esp sourdough)
* mascara
* small battery operated fans (if you can find them)
* board games (candy land, junior monopoly, trouble, sorry, yahtzee)
* squirt guns, balloons
* scrapbooking materials (books and paper and dbl sided tape)
* weight watchers choc pb bars (also good are the power bar anything with choc and peanuts)
* zattarins red beans and rice
* boil a bag rice
* TUNA
* choc/strawberry poptarts
* parmasean basil wheat thins
* triscuits
* cheese pb crackers (little snack pack things)
* kazoos
* corn bread mix (for when im at the hostel)
* carmel
* sweet, shredded coconut
* reeses pieces
* gummy worms
* trolli sour eggs
* starbursts