I just talked to my friend Issoufou, from Niger, for about 30 minutes. It was so great, it was like we had just seen each other yesterday when it's actually been over nine months.
We used to talk a lot, back when he had a cell phone. But he sold it to buy food for his family, so I would call other people in the village but wouldn't get a chance to chat with him. Now times are looking up and he bought another cell phone and was able to call me. I was out of town and my mom answered the phone. She used my Hausa-English cheat-sheet we keep by the phone to say, "Zeina is not here. Who is this?" Her Hausa's improving because this time Issoufou didn't have to correct her on her pronunciation. :)
Issoufou is doing well. Actually, the whole village is doing well. They got plenty of rain for their crops and didn't experience any flooding like other villages. That was a relief to hear because I keep hearing on the news about the famine in Niger, followed by flooding that swept away people's houses and ruined their fields. I was glad to hear that Korap wasn't affected by this. I was also happy to hear that other villages nearby who had had problems received food assistance from the government. Thank you, Niger government, for not forgetting the villages.
Other good news - his wife, Omeima, successfully gave birth to their baby daughter, Mariam. She and the baby are both doing well, but she asked me to send her some warm clothes for their daughter for the upcoming cold season. I spoke to Issoufou's mom, and when I asked her if she carries the baby around she said, "No way! She's too white for me to carry around." (some babies are very light-skinned until they get older.) Then I asked her if the baby has a nose (another thing they joke about, not liking a baby because it doesn't have a nose), and she goes, "no, she does not have a nose!" Ha ha. It was great having this sort of banter again.
Then Issoufou shared with me the story of Idi Buzu and his cell phone. He lost it somewhere, probably in the city nearby (Konni). A few days later he called his number and spoke to the person who had his phone. He told the guy, "hey, this is my phone you have. Can I get it back from you?" and the guy was like, "yeah, where do you live?" So Idi tells him, and the guy is in this village about an hour east of ours. So the guy promises Idi that he'll somehow return the phone. Issoufou relayed that they're skeptical the guy will actually return it, but we will see what happens.
Some bad news - this girl, Suyeba, had a baby but passed away during childbirth. Issoufou said the baby's doing okay and other women are looking after it. He mentioned that it's because she had two babies close together, like only a year apart, and it's not good to do that. The woman's body needs time to rest between births. I'm just glad that's common knowledge - now if only people would follow that advice and start using birth control to space out their childbirths. And if only pregnant women didn't fast for Ramadan. And if only there were enough food to feed all these children...
I gotta call a couple more people, especially on thursday when they celebrate Id al Fitr, the festival marking the end of Ramadan.
Oh, and finally, Issoufou asked about Mandy and how she's doing. I said she's doing well, living with her fiance and working and stuff. Then he goes, "what about you? when are you going to find a husband?" and I said, "I met someone and we hung out the other day. I really like him, and we'll see where it goes." And he goes, "what's his name?" so I told him (translated into the Hausa version of his name, Yahaya), and he goes, "I will be praying for you and Yahaya to make it." It was so sweet it brought tears to my eyes.
