Three beautiful weeks in Dukawa Land

by Rejoice Lasing (Nigeria)

Making a local connection Nigeria

Anxiously waiting for the car to get fully loaded and head out to Dukawa land, I was filled with anxiety and excitement, couldn't wait to launch into my adventure. I looked through the windows and prayed we get on the road soonest. This will be my first time In Niger state, and I had so many questions going through my mind; will I be accepted by the people? Are they friendly? Will they make a beautiful three weeks or a horrible one? So many thought as I waited patiently for this 7 hours journey to come to an end. And BOOM!!! Here we are, new people, fatigue, dust and all. The day after my arrival I didn’t know where to start from, I was meeting new people, how do I start the conversation? I made up my mind to smile as that will make them more comfortable around me, I tried to get friendly, I asked for help even when I don't need It just so I get to understand this people better. I began to find ways to mingle with the locals because I knew that my work won't be successful if I don't make a connection with the locals. And so I tried to involve them in chats, get them to tell me who they are etc. Work started, and we dived into recording, I was recording and also observing this locals and understanding how to connect better with them. I watched them closely and realized they wanted time to also talk and share thoughts outside the work schedule, and so after recording, at sunset we gather together chats over general topics, and let them do the talking. One week gone and they became more free and comfortable to chats with us, then I began to get Involved In their activities and try to help them out. I try to ask questions and be part of whatever they were doing. I remember watching some of them cook under the tree with limited food stuff and Improvising. They will put the cooked food in a bowl and all gather around to eat. I will sit there and watch them eat. I will ask them to go round the compound with me, and let’s harvest cashew together. Being the only lady amidst 2 guys who came to work, they wanted to do everything for me, but I tried to break those mindsets. I recall one time I went to get water from the well cause water stopped flowing Into the house we were staying, and as soon as one of them saw me, he ran to collect It and get the water for me, but I discouraged that, and respecting the African culture he shouldn't be the one getting water for me, so I rather asked for another bucket and we both fetched the water Into the house. In other to get involved with more locals, I asked for a company to go into the market. While In the market I got to understand the life style of this people more. I got to see how different their market was compared to the one from where I came from. I learnt a lot going into the market that day, which included; seeing a lady on heavy makeup to signify that she was mature enough and ready for marriage, and also seeing some awkwardly dressed ladies which signified their religion to be traditional worshipers. I and my colleagues took out time to visit some of the locals at their houses and ate with them. Rejecting their food was like rejecting them and I won’t want them to feel that way as I wanted to feel accepted myself. I remember them serving us with bean soup and rice swallow, I didn’t like the sight of the food cause this was a new meal to me, I didn’t want to eat but because I wanted this people to feel accepted, I took little from the food. These three weeks where lovely and lesson filled time out, cause I learnt how to adjust and adopt to a new place and get to create Interactions with the locals.