Following, we went into the studio and did a 20 minute interview with a male/female duo. They were very hilarious and I just finished editing the video so WATCH IT here.  They played a few songs from the Rumors album, I played a song live on my ukulele, and then we covered a few random topics. It was one of my favorite interview to-date :) I sorta promised them that I would be back in Nigeria in the come year. I hope I keep that promise :)  I was also asked to translate the Uke song into Igbo (the tribe my family is from). I’ll work on that :)

One thing I’ve really come to appreciate over my stay is the hospitality of Nigerians. People go out of their way to make sure you are cared for and I have come across some really giving people. It’s a beautiful thing to watch. I say that b/c immediately after my interview, my uncle and the station manager lined up a show for me that same evening. The SM also put me on the phone with a friend of his who manages a Nigerian UK-based artist, and then spent the evening with myself, my sister, and my uncles taking us to a  few venues – one of them being the impromptu show.  He didn’t have to do that.

One of the things I didn’t expect to come across was the “Collecting” of a dead body on the afternoon of our visit to the hospital. It is custom to dress in your best clothes when you’re going to collect the body of your deceased family member. I caught a bit of that in the 2nd video below. The first video gives a tour of the grounds.

I think my favorite thing about the convent was seeing how people smothered my aunt with love. She’s a bit older and they really take care of her.  She called everyone her daughter or her son, which was very cute :)

It was a rather interesting evening of talking about the differences they notice from culture to culture, intensive language courses before moving, and the reassignments they get every 1 or 2 years. I talked with Alisa, our hostess, about what it is like to adapt to a completely new environment where you don’t know anyone…about how you make a place “home” when you are continually moving. I think that must be hard. I can identify with that to a certain extent.

At the end of the evening I did a 3-song concert on my Ukulele. I’ve only written 3 songs on the Uke. HAHA!  Otherwise I would have performed more :) I gave the Aattaches my business card and copies of my album and got their contact information. They were pretty excited about the prospect of my coming back for a visit. I am definitely NOT opposed to that! Yes!

The evening ended with a smash (literally) as my mother accidentally dropped a bottle of wine on the floor!  Glass was everywhere, but it smelled like a wine cellar. Mmmm :)

So all in all, Thanksgiving was well spent. It is and has always been my favorite holiday. There is so much to be thankful for and in my opinion it is a combination of every other holiday. It’s an occasion that can be celebrated every day and every minute of our lives.

I woke up with the Doxology in my head this morning. I’ll leave you with that:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise him all creatures here below
Praise him above, you heavenly host
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Amen
(audio)

Later that night, Chumumaka, the daughter of the woman whose house we’re at, she and I wrote a song called “Song for a Day”. Actually…it doesn’t have a name.  But we wrote it about my trip from Abuja to Enugu to Umuahia all in one day.  Its a pretty pointless song, but…something fun. Here are the lyrics. I have video and I’ll post this later:)

We landed in Abuja
Then in Enugu
The road was bumpy
The baby was grumpy
Then we came to Umuahia

GLO Cell Phone Comp. Billboard: "Shine your eyes!" - TRANSLATION: Get excited! This is a big deal!

Day 2 ::: The first thing I saw when I looked out my window on Day 1 was a boy taking a picture of himself with his camera phone. Funny!  That will be a great Facebook photo. I thought this to myself. I’m currently in Nigeria with  my mother. My whole family will be here over the holidays, but she and I have the most flexibility in our schedules so we get to be here the longest.  Yes! We’re staying in a city called Abuja, in Northern Nigeria. It’s a very developed city with cement and plaster-built houses, gated estates, and tons of billboards…specifically for GLO, the predominant phone network here. I think they might be a monopoly. Their billboards are literally everywhere. Seriously, its kinda over the top! :)  I took a few photos of their adverts (advertisements) b/c their funny :)
So, in the coming days, we’ll be going to other areas of Nigeria to visit some friends and family, but in the meantime, this is what I’ve learned through the windows of a few different vehicles and a house.

Gas: is currently 65N (Naira) per liter which is a bit under $2 per gallon. Sorry don’t feel like doing the exact math right now, but $7 is roughly about 1000N in Nigeria. And 1000N can buy you a whole lot – like 10 bunches of bananas! Which by the way, i was told I eat bananas like a monkey.

Radio: Nigerian rappers use a whole lot of auto-tune! Yup, they lay it on pretty heavy!  But its fun to listen to :)

Women: You thought a women who goes to college and gets a job is strong?  Nope. Try carrying a baby on your back and then 3-5 gallons of water on your head. All at the same time. That’s strong! These ladies don’t rest for nothing. Reality check!

Cars/Traffic: You really need to be a good jaywalker in the city because cars will kill you. I repeat: you will die! New York City drivers would be scared to drive in this place.  And it doesn’t really matter what side of the road you drive on as long as you keep moving and trust that everyone else will do the same. Also, the potholes, when you get out of the immediate city and into smaller towns, are monstrous! They put US potholes to shame  :)

Punk Palace: Is owned by a man named Charlie Boy! He is a famous musician in Abuja. He has a multi-colored sign on the outside of his house with a skull. He also has two motorcycles mounted by his gates. I took a photo of the place, which I’ll post later. I would have liked to meet him. hehe :)

The Eagles: This is the name of the football team up here (football as in soccer). There are 3 eagles, actually. Baby Eagles – the under 17 team. Flying Eagles – the amateure team, and Super Eagles – the professional team. Way to stay organized on the names! :) I’m hoping to go to a real, organized football game before we leave the country.  By the way, soccer (the real football), is and always has been way more interesting than American football. Just a fact :)

Oh! Also, i saw a red-headed lizard do 8 push-ups!

”I’ll tell you what I want what I really really want. Yea tell me what you want what
you really really want. I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna…I wanna really really really wanna…”

Man, that song was so hot! You should’ve seen us! We were hardcore fans! Until this day I don’t think I’ve ever gotten so excited about a song. We were bouncing all over that plane! As our luck would have it, that song played multiple times and on multiple stations during our 8 hour flight.  But we had it covered.  We would more or less keep watch over the radio like security guards, scanning back and forth from station to station…and once we heard it, we’d alert the other.  That is a good memory!

p.s. the clouds are lovely up here :)

A few weeks ago I posed this question on  Facebook: Do you ever worry that you are too comfortable?  Most everyone answered “Yes.”

Over the past few months I’ve been really worried about this – this comfort. Things aren’t perfect…but I have no right to complain. And if I did (I do), I’d have no right to expect better. My life is just plain comfortable…and for some reason this really makes me uncomfortable.

What does this mean?  Should I get rid of my car, sell some things and move into a smaller apartment? Eh…maybe. Should I go do something “uncomfortable”, like spend time in “rougher” parts of the city that I don’t normally frequent. Not quite.  Should I jump ship, move to a new world, and live on a dirt road with stray chickens, houses made of mud, and roofs made of straw? Yes, actually, that’s not such a bad idea. But that doesn’t exactly solve anything.

This evening I listened to a friend, Jay Slocum of Jonah’s Call, on the radio. He talked about humility…which, in its purest form, is meekness or lowliness – the act of lowering oneself. When all was said and done, after listening to the broadcast and after a long, very quite drive home from a distant gig, I’ve decided that the greatest sin of our generation is not excessive consumption of technology or  any such thing. It is narcissism. We are absolutely fascinated with ourselves. And for what? For what reason?

I always joke that Facebook is: “The greatest conversation I’ve never had.”  I can ignore people when i want. I can respond when I want. I can delete a comment when I don’t like what i read, and I can know more than I want to know about any given person that I don’t actually know. And if you and I both think about this, if even for a few seconds, we can’t ignore the fact that its just twisted! Wrong!

What does a selfish nature demand except convenience, customization, and comfort? What would it take to readily and happily make room for inconvenience and discomfort? What would it take to really know someone – to ask them about themselves and to genuinely care in that moment and for all future moments?  Why is this hard to do?

Like I said, I’ve been meeting some really interesting people through the front window of my apartment. Today, as I worked on a new song on my ukulele, an older man, probably around 65 took a detour on his way to Synagogue.  I think this because he looked Jewish, and because there is a Synagogue by my house, and because I live in a Jewish neighborhood, and because it is the season of Yom Kippur, and also because he greeted me with Shalom.

This particular man stopped but made no attempt to pretend he wasn’t stopping for the music (like my last audience). In fact, this man looked directly at me and then walked directly up to me. If not for the window, we would have been an uncomfortable  (a very uncomfortable) 2 feet apart.

me: hi!
man: Shalom, what is your name?
me:  Hi, its Joy!
man:  well, you’ve brought Joy to my day!
me: thank you
man: “Joy, beautiful spark of the gods/Daughter of Elysium/We enter fire imbibed/Heavenly, thy sanctuary/Thy magic reunites those/Whom stern custom has parted/All men will become brothers/Under thy gentle wing.”

He started to sing Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”. Haha! I wouldn’t have been able to tell this from the lyrics, but I caught the melody. And then later on, i decided to check out the lyrics. I’ve never really listened to the lyrics before. Very cool stuff!

me: that was nice. thanks
man: your husband is very lucky
me: thanks ( i said this hoping not to give any indication that i am not married. i knew what was coming next)
man:  do you have a husband
me: actually…no
man: maybe I could  be your husband?

I kid you not! This is the actual conversation! I wanted to say, “Umm…but you’re like 65!” but instead resolved with “I’m sorry, there’s someone in the picture.”

The man began to walk away, but returned within 10 seconds…then he walked away again, but then returned again.

man: i’m gonna remember this house.

Oh crap! I got a little worried. He pulled out a business card and a pen from his pocket and began to write down what i think was my address (i’m not entirely sure though). He was looking at the door though. He lingered for a few more minutes. I lingered at the window making sure he left.

Make-a-friend-by-the-window didn’t exactly go how I expected this time around. :)