Yesterday was a day of lounging around. I feel a bit more like myself because I got a good night of sleep finally. Slept in, listened to some podcasts, messed around with this new cell phone. I tried to go to the library but found out that because it was a national holiday (Founders Day) the university was closed.
I went and had lunch at the Sasakawa Guest House restaurant. Jollof rice with a piece of chicken and salad - a standard, pictured below. It was actually very good. I will go back there. I started talking to people who sat down near me and just asking questions. That felt good to just make myself do that. Once I found out the library was closed, I walked around campus to get a feel for it on my own. That also felt empowering. I realized that I need to figure out the taxi system here...eventually I will.
After my walk, I came home and relaxed for a bit. It felt extremely hot, even though it's apparently was only 78 degrees. I can't understand why that feels unbelievably hot here.
In the evening, John and I went and had dinner and drinks at the university faculty club house - pork and French fries, pictured below. That is a cool place - it's just for faculty to go to chill and relax; it has a restaurant, a bar, a coffee shop, and Wi-Fi. We had an interesting conversation about lots of things, but mostly music stuff. It's cool because he just got back from spending 6 months in the US on a grant of some type. We have a lot in common so there is never a dull moment in talking. Mostly because I just ask him a ton of questions about everything and he is happy to chat. But also because we are both clearly outgoing and I think he sympathizes with the fact that I am new here so he is making sure I am comfortable and have a friend.
Then I came home and texted with a couple of friends for quite a while. It's surprising how comforting it is to text with my friends the past couple of days. I prefer that to talking right now because I'm still quite homesick and feel like I would probably start crying if I got on the phone with anyone. So having substantive text conversations have been great. I love that my friends are so in touch though - it makes me feel very loved and supported. At the end of the day today, I felt more comfortable, relaxed, and hopeful being here. Every day is a bit better. John said is surprised at how quickly I am learning the ropes. I told him I want to figure out the taxi situation soon, so he will help me with that.
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