When All Else Fails, Suck on a Plastic Bag.

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It's been a busy, but great, couple of days here in Niamey so far. It is, really, atrociously hot. Despite my energy saving conscience, I find myself switching on the air conditioner for random 5 minute intervals, just to try and evaporate some of the sweat off of my face. Opening the windows is out of the question, as I would likely be carried away be the uncannily speedy mosquitoes, so circulation is at a bare minimum. At least I unplugged the (newly arrived in my room yesterday) mini-fridge in an effort to make myself feel better.

The meetings that were the impetus for my journey here were successful and now I'm just getting down to the business of documenting it all. Such a distraction might be a good thing, because it doesn't seem likely that I will be leaving the hotel tomorrow. As some of you might know (and thanks for the concern!) there is some recent political excitement here in Niger, as the president is attempting to prolong his stay in office, despite the constitutional 2 term limit. There will be a large "manifestation" (protest) tomorrow, which I hope will stay calm. But, just in case, I think it's better to lay low.

So, I took some time off today, to be sure that I would have a chance to explore the city a little bit before I go. A stop at the national museum was in order, followed by some perusing of the AWESOME art and leather work that Niger is famous for. I cruised around the Petite Marché a bit, as well, and was really wishing I could have taken one of these cook stoves (in the picture) home with me. They are brilliant! But, having had bad experiences with bringing anything stove-like on planes before, I decided against it. Shucks. 

I have happily found a MUCH cheaper (and less packaged!) source of drinking water - they are these kinda funny sealed plastic bags,which you tear the corner off of and suck down. They are 50 CFA per liter (approximately 15 cents) - about 10 times less expensive than bottled water. (Don't worry, Mom, it's still safe!) Given that I've been drinking about 4-5 liters of water a day, that's quite a savings. Do you know what that means??? I get to treat myself to some more gingembre. YES!

Well that's it for now. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed tomorrow and will update soon!