Category: Uncategorized

We had a fabulous time at Lake Margaret with cousins, Serge and family, and all the kids. I really didn’t want to leave Davis. We took a trip to San Francisco and stopped to visit Tori and John as well as Luanne and Evan. One of the greatest pleasures in life are our family and friends.

After a stop in Paradise to visit Mom and Dad, we came to Mt. Shasta. Milla, Sonja, and Pop are in a new home. Jeremy, Milla’s boyfriend, welcomed us with open arms. The house is quite spacious but there were a lot of people. Nina came down with Peter and Clara. Dina’s parents followed us up and the time went by too quickly. Papa and I talked about life. He still grieves the loss of Nina (his wife) and nothing can take the place of her.

We left for Portland and stopped in Ashland to visit our dear Fulbrights. Lunch was served outside with a fine beer and a walk downtown and the park. We arrived in Portland near midnight. Rajesh and Kshama generously provided us with their condo which is situated in the park blocks and suits us just fine. A wonderful condo.

Helen came down from Seattle to see us. Our time was short but it was so good to see her. Nina also spent a fe days with us. We went to Hawthorne Street and walked the blocks window shopping. Every thing I saw and loved I wanted to buy Dina. So I did (a necklace and a sterling silver daisy ring that doesn’t squirt water). We had a fabulous lunch at Bread & Ink; a cold borshch, pork quesadia, berry bread pudding and lime mousse. We shared a glass of On the Left Pinot Gris and a fine Savinion Blanc.

Nina came with us when we went to visit Kathy and Lee. The house is beautiful. They did a fine job painting and decorating. The garden looks so beautiful. We are lucky to have such wonderful tenants and friends.

I felt self-conscious about the short amount of time I spent with Papa. He is grieving and although it was wonderful to be with so much family, it took away our private time together. Atya was planning to go down and then stop to visit us on her way back in Portland for a few days. I rearranged our dental appointments and the kids and I joined her on her way down.

We are now in Shasta and will return to Dina in Portland tonight. It’s been a wonderful visit. Pop livened up. We brought lots of zakuski and spent time reflecting upon our growing up; Monterey, Carmel, Idaho, Africa, work, mom and Nina. The kids had fun with their cousins and I was impressed with how well Stefan behaved. Not that he is bad but usually he is the most challenging and this time he wasn’t. Milla and Jeremy have also spent a lot of time with us and it was great to get acquainted with him. We shared conversations on medicine, soccer, and family. Atya and Milla made some terrific meals and we drank many a good bottle of wine!

Time to pack up and head back north. I miss Dina. I feel almost as though we spent separate vacations. But our visits with family are important to us and we will spend the last week together before we head back to Africa. And our friends and family ARE the most important thing in our lives.

It’s July already! We had a fairly active June with the kids finishing school and Dina’s Medevac to London. All turned out well; thank God for that! She handled beautifully and I must say I am deeply moved by her grace.

Our neighbors (the Fullbrights) departed on the 4th. For 10 months we had shared some good times together. Our children played and swam, we engaged in interesting conversations, shared stories about our lives, and experienced Africa together. A sadness came over me when they left but I know that our paths will cross again in the very near future when we come home to visit and pass through Ashland.

There was a ceremony at the Ambassador’s residence for the Fourth of July. About 1000 people with dignitaries and Heads of State from the Nigerien government came. The Marines carried the colors to the National Anthem played by the Nigerien Army brass band. The food and beverages were served on the back lawn overlooking the river. We are very well liked here and it was nice to see all the support and participation in the celebration of our Independence.

Fridays are half days and I get off of work at 1PM. Dean came over with the best lunch of beef brochettes, french fries, and garlic rice that his cook makes. Dina finished packing herself and the kids. The driver came to pick them up at 9:30PM. They are now in France and will take the train to Dijon to visit with our Portland friends (The Miles) for a few days before returning to the States to be with family. I will stay here for a few more weeks and then fly to Washington DC for training at FSI. We’ll reunite in California and spend more time with family and friends as we head north to Portland.

Being alone makes me really miss home.

I placed an order with Powell’s Books last Wednesday. On Friday the books left the warehouse and are speeding towards me. I’ll tell you when they get here, just so you can see what it’s like. I’m dying for:

Everyday Fashions of the Thirties as Pictured in Sears Catalogs a Dover book
Rosie’s Walk, a picture book for Stefan
30 Heirloom Projects with Complete How-To-Knit Instructions by Melanie Falick, I love, love, love her Weekend Knitting, in spite of it’s problems,I can’t wait to lay my hands on this.
Around the Year by Elsa Beskow, can’t believe we don’t already have this, and they had a used copy!
Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl. Anybody read this?
The King in the Window by Adam Gopnik, recommended to Camille by the charming 12-year-old Dev, who we met in Rome. It’s about an American boy living in France, and written by the guy who wrote the delightful Paris to the Moon.

I picked up a copy of Pinocchio in Rome (but the book’s in English, c’mon) and started reading it aloud to kids while we were there. It’s great to read a book about a naughty, naughty marrionette, who then feels bad, only to be terribly naughty again. Stefan loves hearing about someone who is so badly behaved. “Read another chapter,” he says. All the chapters are really short, and have spoilers as chapter headings: “Pinocchio weeps upon learning that the Lovely Maiden with Azure Hair is dead. He meets a Pigeon, who carries him to the seashore. He throws himself into the sea to go to the aid of his father.” As Pinocchio says, “Mamma mia.”

Leopold is having a panic attack: his friend from Ghana hasn’t gotten here yet, so he doesn’t have anyone to help him in the snack bar who speaks English. I called around and found two people who might be able to help him, two women who worked at the snack bar in the past. One of them has a job only working on the weekends, and she is looking for other work, so it’s sounding hopeful.

And! One of the three competitors for the snack bar prize has dropped out. Jul, who was suppose to have his debut this week, resigned before he even began. We gave Leopold so much advice this weekend I’m sure he’d like to do the same thing.

Yesterday I drove Camille to her friends house for a play date. As we pulled up to the house, there was an old dilapidated truck parked in front and a friend was standing outside with her cook and housekeeper. A large woman with a big gap between her teeth was seated in a folding chair in front of the vehicle. Two large plastic barrels were out with a weight scale sitting on top of one of them. I tried to follow the language but couldn’t. My friend was asking her housekeeper to interpret for her cook. They took the top off of one of the barrels and it was filled with shrimp on ice! She weighed out the remaining shrimp which came to 5 kilo. My friend claimed 3 and I nabbed the remaining 2 (at 4,000 CFA a kilo which is $8 for 2.2 pounds).

The next barrel also contained shrimp, but JUMBO! These looked like small lobster. We split a kilo (~1.1 pounds) at $5 each. I thought the deal was over and couldn’t wait to race home and show Dina and Leopold. The transaction took about a half hour with negotiating on price and chit chatting. It turns out whenever she has a large catch, she drives up from Benin. If you saw the vehicle, you wouldn’t believe it made it all the way from Benin. No telling how often or when she will come back again. She wrote my phone number into her black book but every page had phone numbers written so it’s impossible to say whether she’ll call or not.

I was just about to leave when she asked if I liked fish. I’m a Pisces for goodness sake! I’ve got 1/4 Latvian blood in me, 1/4 Greek, Russian, and my mother was born in China! I have no choice but to love fish. She pulled out a 4 pound bright orange snapper from the back of the truck, all clear-eyed with clean gills and scales, fresh as ripe strawberries from the morning pick! Oh mama! I could’ve kissed that woman (I didn’t).

I was enthusiastic when I got home. Leopold came over to discuss the weekly menu and I pulled out my treasure, one by one, from the refrigerator. His eyes lit up. He cleaned the fish for me and we separated the shrimp into 1/2 pound baggies so that some could be frozen. The big ones he grilled on a low charcoal fire. Sadly, I was the only one who loved them. “Too strong tasting,” was the general consensus. But not for this son-of-a-son-of-a-son-of-a sponge diver!

My nurse, Paulina, and her husband Ricardo had a reception for us at their hotel (Hotel Ricardo). There were local physicians there who are important to us in emergency situations (two neurologists, an orthopedist, and a surgeon). It was a fine evening with a full 4 course meal. Dyadya Oga would have been proud of me. I managed to loosen my belt twice without being seen and still held my own (liquor that is)! Great wine! The cheese course almost did me in.

When we got back to our hotel room, there was a live African band playing right across the street. I kid you not. Lots of drums, a xylaphon, and singers. This place makes Las Vegas seem tame.

Does anyone want to hear me complain?

Trying to get the internet. Ask a million people what they did. Most people had a phone line that was $6 an hour, but they were usually overcharged and the line worked only sometimes. Someone knows someone who has another system that costs $80 a month, and they are streaming radio. an admiral is visiting so we can’t ask the one person who might know. Ask again. Get a phone number. Amina, the saintly nurse in the med unit, calls the number for me and tells me where to go. I wanted to go yesterday, but they are closed from noon to 3:30 or maybe it’s 4 and I didn’t make it.

Called the driver by 11:00 so I made it to Sahelcom today. With difficulty and an unsmiling clerk, I signed up for something. Paid my 25,000 cfa at a different window. Then discovered that it was the system that is $6 an hour on a telephone line. It’s all they have he says. God. Amina says a friend of hers works for another company and tomorrow she will call and get the information from him. Arrgg. Meanwhile, here I am at Peter’s computer, waiting for our sandwiches, kids are stapling together packing peanuts to make necklaces, crowns, boats and fish.

I really need to go the store today. For some reason, we are having a hard time having enough food. I need dinner ideas, beyond pasta. Kids won’t eat chicken. Beyond pasta and chicken, I don’t know what to cook. Okay, quiche. Potatoes. I’ll try those things.

I ordered the newspaper to come by mail, but we haven’t gotten it yet. It’s one of the things that Peter and I agree we miss the most.

In other news: I am on a committee to produce a short film for the ambassdor about life in Niamey. Having been on the film committe at PFS and since I have imovie on my computer I am the most qualified person here. l’ve been here a week, so I’m an expert on Niamey. A portion of the movie will be titled Sahelcom and it will be me, there, Michael Moore-style, unsuccessfully trying to get the internet.

Special note for west-coasters: The bottom picture is taken from the Washington Monument out one of the teeny-tiny pinhole sized windows you can (barely) see at the top.

What a special hell the pack out was. I am still tired of deciding whether something goes to storage, or to post by air or by surface. Or should we bring it with us to Washington? I really don’t need anything except contact lenses and money; I stuffed a two-years supply of contacts in my bag and I hope I don’t live to regret my other decisions–leaving the todler bed behind was painful, and why did I throw away the butter dish? Oh well.

We are now bien installer in the Washington Suites on Pennsylvania Ave, room 913. The room is great, very sunny and has high speed internet, a zillion tv stations, and all kinds of food kids like downstairs in the breakfast room. Yesterday was Peter’s first day at work, his first day ever of going to work and not seeing patients. Camille and Stefan and I wandered into Georgetown, stocked up at Barnes and Nobel (Camille is reading Harry Potter IV, but stops to read some American Girl mini-mysteries, she often has her nose in a book and Peter and I are thrilled. Reading can be such a solace.) Stefan got a “Things that Go” book. I got The Moffats to read outloud, it’s nice, funny and reassuring, just what you need when you’ve thrown away your butter dish. And watched the car you brought your babies home from the hospital in drive away from the airport departure curb without you.

When Camille’s adorable french babysitter Najet got her belly button pierced I asked her if it hurt. She said, “Oh, not like when I got my nose pierced! Zen I was screaming, Stop! Stop! I don’t want it anymore! And zay say too late! Eet’s done!” I think that may be me now with this foreign service thingie.

I’m reading the Pearson’s account (again.) One woman there grew up in the Foreign Service and had been in the Foreign Service for ten years and she said Niamey is the only place she’s ever had a breakdown. I guess I’ll have to remind myself that it’s not New York, but if I can make it there, I can make it anywhere.

On the other hand, I correspond with a Foreign Service spouse who says Niamey is her all-time favorite post, and she wishes they could go back. And she had a post in Paris. So go figure. I am hoping I’m shipping enough books and can get the kids to school and back and go for swim and visit Peter at work and somehow keep it together. Must send pool chemicals. And order all new 220 applicances? I don’t even like appliances, but now I’m realizing how fond I am of my mixer and toaster. Oy.

This could also be 2 and half weeks of no Peter and a rainy four-day weekend talking.