Holidays and Harmattan

So I found out a few days ago that I have a whole week less of classes than I thought I did. I was not aware that end of term exams (worth 50% of the students' grades) were less than 2 weeks away. I thought they were three. And now I'm scrambling trying to do a cumulative review and write said exams in such a short amount of time.

It doesn't help that there's going to be a Muslim holiday at some point this week - two days off. And that's right, we don't know when it will be. That's one of the more frustrating things about living in a country with so many Muslims - you just can't plan when you'll be working or not.

But, Thanksgiving is coming and I'm looking forward to celebrating it here. We've been working on a cornucopia for the bulletin board in the Middle School building and I've been teaching about American Thanksgiving and the traditions we have. It's interesting because I've not thought about our Thanksgiving traditions this much since I was in grade school. On Thursday we're having a half day (unless it's the Muslim holiday) and we'll celebrate as a school faculty. Then next weekend we're having a real Thanksgiving meal with the Americans we know well here in Ibadan (two Nigerian/American families, Karen and Equi, and us three American teachers). I'm looking forward to it, and we even found canned cranberries in the market (that are ridiculously expensive) so we'll be able to have cranberries, turkey, corn, and mashed potatoes. It should be fun!

One last thing to say before I head over to the market today, and that's this: Harmattan is upon us here in West Africa. Basically, the air gets really dusty and hazy, the rains cease, and nights get colder while days get hotter. Overall, I'm excited for the change in season because it helps me to think about the fact that Christmas is coming. And it gives some change to the monotony of the weather here. Every day is pretty much the same, but lately they've been different and that's kind of nice!

Well, I'm off to scour the market to haggle over the price of tomatoes, onions, peppers, groundnuts (peanuts), oranges, and hopefully some sweet ankara. I hope your weekend goes well and that this week is good for you all as you prepare for Thanksgiving!