Another year gone by

And so it was, the arrival of the last day of a year that I eleven months ago already considered to be the worst year of my life. It is surprising how fast time flies and how little (or much?) you seem to get done! Is it only a feeling or do the years pass quicker the older you get...? Anyway, celebration was due and I had prepared - with good assistance from Sofia - some of our standard Garvi New Year's Eve dishes for the very first time in my life! And guess what? It was all edible!

In true Nigerien style, Sofia and I had done the uniform-thing again, although we had designed our dresses slightly differently... (=the charm of having your own tailor!)

The guests arrived and the food seemed much appreciated. And yes, there was enough for Josef as well, even after Sofia had helped herself...

After dinner, we played Myers will Run like Arrows - a computer game that my brother made for me several years ago and which still tops the chart!

Then it was time for the last snack of the year. Sofia and I retreated to the kitchen to make some glögg à la Niger (made of malva). And voila, our little end-of-the-year-feast!

A good ending to the hardest but also in retrospect the most challenging and developing year I have ever experienced. When midnight arrived, we were on the phone skyping with my parents and my sister in Sweden (my mom was let out of hospital and could celebrate New Year at home). Technology makes distance seem so much smaller, but sometimes you still wish you could just cross the ocean in a click.

Ishtar

Introducing 300m races

Today we introduced a new sport at the race track: short-distance races, 300m! The thing was that when Yaronbaba and I went riding in the bush yesterday, he actually managed to get some speed into Snövit, so she obviously wasn't as bad as she made out to be on the track. Sahara on the other had already shown me her gudu (she just won't do it at the track either), so I had come up with a way of making it fun for the mares. So a new distance was introduced today, and boy did we have fun!

You wouldn't believe all the wind there was that day! It certainly took your breath away... But it was quickly "down to business", with professional jockeys on amateur horses: Yaronbaba & Sahara versus Bala & Snövit...

Sofia had a hard time deciding on a favorite between our two contestants... "Who's going to win, you said? I don't know! Either it will be Sahara... or Snövit... or both!"

Because it was such a short distance, we would be able to carry out more races, but because the point was to make the mares like it - not dread it, I decided we would stick to two rounds today and see how it went. You'd be surprised, but they set off like real racing horses and fought equally to the finish line - Sahara winning with a head or so...

The jockeys were happy when they returned and the mood was a combination of anticipation and cheerfulness!

As for the second round, Snövit beat Sahara with good margin. This was where Snövit's racing spirit overtook Sahara's in her quest for fame and glory, while Sahara on the other hand was content doing her own thing. Very unlike Arwen, I must say!

Now, the camera failed in quality but today (maybe it was just too windy...) but even a seemingly ruined (black) photo has potential once you let Photoshop do its trick...

Ishtar

Training the Stubborn & the Lazy

Today, the Snowman and I had our very own scheme planned. He had recently bought a new horse and wanted to try it out, so I suggested that we race the three of them together: his newly bought who had the speed but lack the endurance, Snövit (the lazy but well-developed mare) and Sahara, my stubborn one...

Being one jockey short, the Snowman asked Chinada to ride Snövit. My ex-jockey cockily stated that he was certain that with this (lazy) mount, he would beat Sahara and her jockey (who has now replaced him and taken over his job). I said nothing, but thought to myself "You wish!"

However, more horses asked to join our party, which was not exactly the intention (we'd be racing on a whole different level!) and soon they were eight all together.

Chinada of course was quick to trade Snövit for the best mount!

After three jump starts, they finally set off, and Snowman and I were equally interested in our mares' progress, or should I say lack thereof...
Chinada won with a good margin on his black stallion...

... while Sahara and Snövit competed for the last position. In the end, Sahara won with a horse length, but it did not look very convincing, but then again, Sahara has been trained to run behind Arwen, so it was no surprise that she did not mind cantering over the finish line. I, however, knew that she could do better, and this provided me with a new challenge: how to get the lazy one (Snövit) and my stubborn darling (Sahara) to actually enjoy the game!

After all, it has always been much more challenging (and inspiring) to start as an underdog!

Anyway, Sahara was an eager mount and we worked on turns for a while, just for fun.

I even took Snövit on a second round, but now there's a horse that will run without passion!

A cheerful mood was set however, and Bala played out, making us all laugh. I was thrilled, because I had always taken him for being the serious one, and suddenly, neither Snowman, Sofia nor I could stop laughing...

Then, all horses had been ridden and Yaronbaba followed me into the bush where awaited a wonderful thirty minute full-gudu ride - my favorite!

Ishtar

Sofia & Donja

Picnic on a hilltop

Today, we drove to a hill situated just north of Zinder and a very nice picnic. We call it a mountain, but that's because it's as close to mountain as you can come in Niger.

The view was breathtaking and after we had charged our batteries with Christmas cakes and warm tea (it's cold here, for being in Niger!) we wandered around and just enjoyed the view... Hope you do to!

I forgot to say that we spent most of the time singing The hills are alive. Perhaps a sign that Sofia and I have been watching too much Sound of Music perhaps...?

Ishtar