Day 8: Final day with the Nephews

The boys' flight has been pushed back 3+ hours so they don't leave until 3:05 in the morning!  That's in the middle of the night!  (Actually, it's almost morning for their Uncle Tom!)  They will head to the airport at 11:30ish.  The challenge will be to keep their dear Uncle Tom up until then.

We ran some errands this morning, changed some money into Euros, and then went to our campus meeting at noon.  It's always fun to be with the students.  After a late lunch and a short rest, the boys and Tom headed out for the soapstone artist area for a few more purchases.  The Tauregs do such beautiful work.  I always find something there that I just love, which is why I stayed home today and let Tom go.  I took the boys the other day and  I  came home with the purchases!

They made a stop at Lindsay's school from last year.  Lots of digging going on and work to restore the campus after the flood.

We've played several games of Racko in the evenings and we each won one game.

The run that cinched the game for me!

The house will be soon be very quiet again.  We have loved having our nephews here with us  There is something very, very special that happens when someone we know and love comes and shares the dailies of our lives:  laughing at funny sights, walking to and from...everywhere, squeezing into Moussa's taxi, watching in wonder and amazement at cows grazing on plastic and cardboard,  enjoying the uniqueness of the camels, the hippos, the giraffes, meeting our friends and so many other things we have now experienced together.  Such memories we have built together!

They will travel back to their homes now and struggle with how to explain the sights and smells that pictures can't begin to show.  And we will recall details of their time here with us and smile at the memories.

Day 7 in Eight Days with the Nephews

The days are getting warmer, boo-hoo.   I could handle these early January temperatures all year around.

 We had to take our "Sunday clothes" pose before taking the 20 minute walk to church. We are a good looking bunch, aren't we?

We enjoyed worshiping with our little church.   

As usual, we were served rice and beans after the service.

It went down easier for one than for the other!!

I

After church we went to check out "strange noises in the night" in the ceiling/roof chez our missionary friends who live down the street from us.  Nothing found but an all around effort was made.

Day 6 in Eight Days with the Nephews

Today was a quiet day:  sleeping in, taking naps, hangin' out at the house.  Of course, one of us has to cook so that person didn't nap nor sleep in!  

In the afternoon we went to the National Museum, something that our African friends have encouraged us to do for a long time.  We enjoyed it thoroughly.  It is mostly zoo animals, but also includes a large artist market and an open shed with dinosaur skeletons.  Quite impressive.  We bought a ticket for Matthew to take pictures so these are a couple of his photos:

The guys have had 2 evenings spent in dorm rooms at the University accompanied by Tom.  They both say that it has been a highlight of their time here.  Lots of laughing and story-telling.  They had a chance to be with some students who spoke some English so they could share stories of their lives and cultures. Lots of laughter and hand-slapping.

Here are some of  the nephews impressions:  

• Troy's name has been a difficult name to pronounce.  
• We always take our shoes off before going into a dorm room.  
• They all laugh when we say that it's hot here.   
• The dorms are really basic, small rooms for the number of students that sleep there. 
•  No posters, no family pictures on the walls.
• The rooms we visited consisted of 2 single beds with 6-7 guys sleeping in the room.  
•  The students were happy and seemed content, in spite of their meager surroundings. 

Quote of the day, said at the supper table: 

                                       "I can speak French pretty well now."

Any guesses on who said this?

Day 5 of Eight Days with the Nephews

 Day five is drawing to a close.  Tonight is quiet with everyone crunching on popcorn and reading. A game of Farkle is around the corner.

But the day has been anything but quiet.  Today was giraffe day, and what a day it was!  We left around 8:00 with  Moussa, our faithful taxi man.  It's about a 60 km trip out to the place where we picked up the guide.  He needed a spot in the car to help us find the giraffes so the guys took turns riding in the trunk.

It wasn't too long before we spotted a mama with her calf.   But the guide knew there were more out there so we began cross-country driving.  After about an hour of going over hill and over dale, we began to see the heads of a dozen plus giraffes above the tree tops.  There were 18 all together, including 6 calves.  How amazing they are. (Several of the pictures are ones Matthew took.)

What does this look like?  Yup, Troy, the giraffe stalker.

"Is my neck getting longer?" asks Troy as we chews on the same tree leaves the giraffe does. Never a dull moment. 

Oh, how we are enjoying "our" boys here.  Moms, don't worry, they have exhibited excellent manners.  You can be proud.

Day 4 of Eight Days with the Nephews

Another tremendous, fun filled day.  The morning was spent canoeing up the Niger river looking for hippos.  And we found them--lots!  What incredible creatures.  Tom's been singing the kid's song
                         "Hip, hip, hip hippopotamus, hip, hip horray,
                          He made all of us ...
                          In between he had loads of fun, he made a hippo who weighs a ton."

 Remember that song?

At this minute, Matthew is researching hippos.  Here are some interesting items:   

They have been clocked moving at 20 mph.
They are considered to be one of the most dangerous animals in Africa.
They weigh 1.5 to 3 tons.

And we got to see them!  Our canoe skipper (Troy's name for him) stayed at a good distance away to avoid any hippo charges.  Our guide told us that hippos have a phenomenal memory and if you are mean to them, they will remember your voice and GETCHA next time you come around.  Oh, my, scary stuff, but not verified in Wikipedia.


It was a beautiful day for a canoe ride.

 This is the motorized model that we took.

 

 

Mama with her baby born last August.

Quite an animal.

Day 3 in Eight Days with the Nephews

Another glorious day!  It's so fun to take the boys to the places we frequent and let them see what we see everyday.  We about walked their legs off today-from our home to the Grand Marche (downtown market) and then some. But there is so much more to see if one walks, than when one buzzes by in a car.  Plus picture taking is an added benefit.

We walked across the bridge and saw the unloading of another boat from the top.

The washer-men were hard at work, scrubbing the mounds of clothes they have been hired to do.

By the time we returned home, the clothes were hung over the bridge banister, flapping gently in the breeze.

Such a classic!

A "stroll" through the large, downtown market which defies any ability to capture it on film.  You'll have to come visit in order to appreciate it.  Plus a chance to chew on some sugar cane for a mid-morning snack.  Yum!

Back home again, the boys enjoyed their first African coke. Sorry kids, I know you can just taste it about now. But even the caffeine didn't deter jet-lag which made them sleep hard in the middle of the day until we awakened them for the exciting afternoon adventure, the camel ride.

One of our faithful taxi drivers had some friends who would let us take a camel ride.  The guys loved it.  

Getting the saddle on and putting enough layers over the camel's hump was a challenge. 

 They said that the camels can get nasty and bite and they don't like cool weather so the muzzle was in order.

 

Matthew took some great pictures,too!