I can hardly believe that my time here in Yola is melting away! The past few weeks have been a big turning point in my semester and I honestly feel like I am finally starting to accomplish what I came here to do.

When I first arrived, it was obviously a huge shock. I was meeting tons of new people every day, dealing with just normal differences in how life in Nigeria works versus in the US, and I was getting through my classes. It took time to get acclimated to all of this new stuff… I found myself just jumping in and making life here my new norm. The electricity would switch off and I wouldn’t stop a beat, a herd of cattle would cross the road and I would just continue the conversation. Obviously in my head I knew that this was way different than anything I’d ever experienced, but I felt that it was better to integrate rather than dwell on how strange everything was. But during the past few weeks I have come to a point where I feel very comfortable with my surroundings in so much as I can recognize the beauty of this place, but also see the system that holds it back.

I was frustrated with the fact that inside the university walls it’s fashion and drama and you step outside and it’s underfunded schools, poor living conditions, no electricity. I still haven’t gotten used to that contrast in lifestyles but most of the students here don’t see it because in reality that is just how it is here, maybe it’s wrong, but in their minds that’s just how it is.

This being said, most of the AUN students want to make a good and powerful impact on Nigeria. Whether it’s government reform or entrepreneurship, each individual has their own plan for how they can change Nigeria (and in most cases make some money in the process). I’m no pessimist… just a skeptic.

I didn’t come here to criticize this place and how it works. I wanted to see how Nigerians view their country and the world. I wanted to learn from them, see from a different angle, but most importantly incorporate those new ideas into my understandings of the world. And I just finally feel like I’ve started to reach this point!

In other news, I was officially accepted to study in Buenos Aires, Argentina at la Universidad Torcuato di Tella this coming spring! I’m very excited about it, but momentarily drained and ready for a little break.

Classes have been going really well. Would you believe that I have a university scheduled final exam on a SUNDAY??? And they call this an ‘American’ university! These next few weeks are going to be full of final research papers and presentations. But I came to the realization last night that I would rather get a B in a class and hang out with people and see what’s left to see versus sitting inside and getting an A. But, hopefully it’s not an ‘or’ situation.

I had the opportunity to do some pretty fun stuff last weekend. I went to the market alone for the first time! I went to a nearby farm to go horseback riding. I ate masa (a pancake like bread that is delicious). I rode an achaba (a motorcycle taxi). So funny thing, I told my roommate that I had never had malaria and she couldn’t believe it. Malaria here is the equivalent to the flu essentially because people here can afford to get meds. It is only scary if you get it and aren’t near a place to buy medicine or if you cannot afford medicine. Thankfully, I haven’t been sick at all since I arrived here.

I hear there’s snow back in the good old midwest… If it makes you feel any better, it’s in the 90s here. Ha ha ha.

A Word of Advice: Flipflops from the market will break at the most inconvenient times. Better to resist the temptation of buying them in the first place.