The Niger River

The Niger River is so dirty that you can do headstands if you care to pay the price. The bottom is about 4 inches of mud that sticks like glue.
We went swimming there on Sunday with the 23 boarders, Auntie Phyllis, and Mr. Chukwuma, the boarding master. I liked trying to swim past Mr. Chukwuma and Barua, one of the leaders who is also the tallest. In the shallows there is no current, but where it’s deep, if I treaded water I’d be at the other side in minutes. My favorite part was having mud fights. The boarder kids were screaming and yelling and beaming the whole time. On the shore, on this extremely hot day (110° F), the kids whose parents had waterfront property just stayed dry and watched! I think we agreed to go every week so I look forward to next time.

Baby Calf

I actually got to see a baby calf get born; I hope I have a chance to see another one. Jibree, the herdsman for Hope Academy, came up and told us “cowoo don’t born” (cow did give birth) so we rushed down to see the new cow. There was no calf… only two hooves sticking out of Momma cow’s bum. It looked painful! The calf’s neck was bent backwards, and the front legs came out forward. Jibree had to really pull on the hooves to get it out. At first the calf looked like it was dead before Jibree did C.P.R. on it by putting his mouth over the calf’s nose and blowing into it a few deep breaths. We named it Masquerade, because it looks like it has a black mask on its face, but the rest of it is white. It tried to stand, but fell. It couldn’t walk for a day, but the next day it was up and running. I could carry it forever if the mom wasn’t overly protective, as in charging you and trying to kill you.