The Past 2 Days In Review...

6-13-09

Today was our last day with the EKU group. The morning was spent shopping for souvenirs in the market. I can’t wait to go back! Bartering is very common here, so it was fun to try to see what kind of “deals” we could get. Apparently, it’s also common for vendors to say that they will offer a “special baturi (white person – not in a derogatory way) price” which tends to be double of the actual price, so our driver stayed with us to keep us informed of what was, in fact, a good price and what was outrageous.

We also went to a Fair Trade store where bartering doesn’t happen. Basically, people from surrounding villages make things to sell at the store and then the money goes back to them. The prices were really reasonable, and I think we all found some great things.

6-14-09

Today we went to church in the Village. Most of the service was in Hausa, with a bit of English scattered throughout. It was such a neat service though. They had some really cool instruments that they used and did a ton of singing! I’m not sure if the instruments were real instruments, or just really creative ways of making music. Either way, I wish I could have recorded it.

It was also really sweet to see how they take offering. They give out of joy and not out of obligation. Offering is taken about 4 times each service, and it’s this big thing where people sing and dance all the way to the front of their church to give their money. At the end of the service today, the preacher announced that there was a man present who was in dire need, so a special offering would be taken just for him. Even though these villagers had given already, they were able to sacrifice a little more just to help out this man. It showed a true sense of community that I feel is rarely seen in the US. It really was amazing.