What the house looks like

Photogchic asked about the house that Nettus and I will be moving into in a few days. The best way to give a picture is of course to upload one, so here you are - specially for you!

It's a medium sized house the size of a Swedish apartment, but that's good. A bigger house would only be more expensive and take more time to clean! It's a bit run down, like many things are in Africa, but that's what makes it such a good project! We won't be rushing things though, because full time work commences on Monday. Looking forward to that more than anything else right now!!

The garden is nice and full of potential (another of those Ishtar mottoes!)-

... and the best thing is that I'll be moving my girls in with me!

Well, they won't actually move into the house, but I don't think Arwen would want that... She likes her sand and her playmate Sahara.

Well well, got to rush, the clock is ticking and I still have a lot of important little details to tick off from my ToDo list before I go. But the ToDo is actually shrinking!!! I didn't think it would happen, but Nettus and I got together yesterday and got 90% of the packing done which is something I normally do a few hours before I leave. Now I've been spending the morning going through important [mahi manci] papers and will pop over and have lunch with my family, before I head into town for some last minute errands. Can't believe we're leaving tomorrow, or rather, some time tonight.

Take care you all, and see you in Niger!
Ishtar

Leaving soon

Only a few days left until Nettus and I arrive in Zinder, which will be really green at this time of the year. Despite the humidity, it will be a treat (for the eyes!) to watch Niger in its green cover and although the rainy season isn't going to last for that much longer, it's been so long since I experienced it that even just a couple of weeks are precious.

That said, we will arrive on Friday evening and start work on Monday, so we'll have two days to try to get our house in order - at least to the point where you can move about freely and not have to crawl over any furniture in order to reach the bathroom...

I don't know when I'll have the time to ride, but I do know that I'll be quick to walk over and give our whinnying girls a hug. Don't know how soon I can move them in with us, but we'll just take one day at a time - the African way...

Ishtar

Time for tea

I'm such a coffee person (a habit I picked up when I began teaching), but there are times when I really long for tea. Not the Lipton type that you drink with friends on a cold dark Swedish winter night waitning for warmer days.

No, I long for the Nigerien type of tea drinking. The one where you go socializing and a friend or neighbour brings out the coal, the mint leaves and the precious sugar. The one that takes ages to reach perfection and which is served in small quantity but with such rich taste that one sip is amply sufficient. That is the tea I am longing for right now.

Unfortunately, musing has little effect on reality, so in the meantime, I will continue drinking coffee (literwise, or it seems...) and do the best I can to complete everything in time so that on Thursday next week, I am on that plane going south. And when I get the opportunity to enjoy that "glass of tea" with the good company that follows, I will let you know.

Ishtar

Soon and very soon...

Only nine days left until I leave (according to my own blog countdown)! I wonder if those nine days could have extended hours so that I will have enough time to get everything done before I leave...?

I had a good laugh when Facebooking earlier today. A South African blogger thought that his ToDo list was "so long it should be published as a book". I have a similar ToDo list stashed away somewhere on my computer. I am very much aware of its existence, but not so much of the details, since I stubbornly refuse to open it up (I have a tendency of adding more things to my ToDo list than I mark off as "done"). I am already aware of the numerous things that need to be done before I leave, but looking at the whole mass will only blurry my vision and motivation to get any task done at all. So right now, I'm concentrating on the little things (kind of becoming an Ishtar statement lately) and my only drastic decision so far has been to not take on any more payable work before I leave even though I still need the money. But there are only nine days left (most of them already booked) and I need the time to get everything prepared and in order. Can't leave any Ishtar mess behind!

But seeing one can always look at the glass as half full or half empty, I choose to tell myself that there are still nine whole days left! Imagine that - so much time!!! And all of a sudden, I feel sooooo much better. :-)

Cheers!
Ishtar

Departure approaching!

Today, I called the Nigerian embassy, and hurray, our visa applications are about to be signed and sent back to us! (Need I mention that I got nostalgic talking to a naija person again?) You always need a few days of marginal, to see that you got the right visa and that your post office didn't forget to inform you that your recommended package has arrived. I've had all sorts of adventures happening to me just as I am about to leave, but my years of youth seem to be over as I no longer long for that "extra thrill"... I just want to get down there without too many complications!

That said, it shouldn't be long now before Nettus and I are back in the pulsating city Kano, where we will stay for a short while before heading 6 hours north to Zinder, Niger.

Being big on continuity, we will (hopefully!) stay at the same hotel as always-

... and if there is no Teem (soft drink) available that particular week, I will settle for have a Chapman.

36 hours after leaving Sweden, I hope we will have arrived safely in Zinder, our final destination, where some major projects awaits us. The place is totally green now, as my brother and sister-in-law inform us, making the picture above slightly misgiving as it was taken several months after the rainy season (when the grass had dried). But you get the picture. In two weeks time, Nettus and I will be living and working in the second largest city of the least developed country in the world. In case I never told you, Zinder is a large city if you consider the space it takes up, but there are only about 360,000 inhabitants. Which is great for a girl in love with the outback!

Before any of this happens however, I have about a million little things to do: one of which is to contact KLM and see why the tickets haven't arrived yet... Will be thrilled when I can put all these administrative details behind me and get to work with the things that really matter!

Hope you're all having a good week!

Ishtar