Nigeria Journal: Living in a tropical climate

Living in a tropical climate is not easy. The weather patterns here are binary: there is the humid and (according to deranged-Nigerians) “cool” rainy season and the dry and blistering hot dry season. The rainy season corresponds to our spring and summer, while the dry season runs through the fall and winter. The pattern of pounding rain, changing to otherworldly heat does a number on buildings and roads. When a road is paved (and I’d say about 45% are), within about 6 months, inevitably, huge sections of it get washed out. The ground upon which they lay the asphalt is very sandy and porous. Water is able to get beneath the road, erode the soil out from under tar and gravel, and just rip HUGE sections of the pavement away. For those roads that are not paved, the pulverizing drops of water create massive potholes and craters. Unfortunately, the quality of materials and the expense of construction equipment lessen the durability of nearly all structures: houses, bridges, high ways, and stores. There are buildings in Owerri that look as if they’ve been through a
war and about 100 nights of the most violent rain you could imagine. Roofs are covered in green mold and sagging. If the structures are made of sheet metal, the steel has oxidized and turned a dark brown. Wood loses its luster in about a week, becoming warped and water-logged. Bricks are made of compressed soil/sand, which disintegrate after a few days of rain. Paint doesn’t last, it’s hard to keep the floors clean, and electricity is sporadic. A building that is 5 years old looks as if it is 20. It’s a harsh climate. But one the Igbo people flourish in and love

I realized last night that I share my quarters with more than just the occasional cockroach. While staring at my ceiling fan waiting for sleep to overtake my tired eyes, I noticed quick, squiggly movements out my peripheral vision. The creature was moving left-to-right at an almost unbelievable pace, making it look as though it was slithering up the wall. Not knowing what to make of my guest, I turned on my flash light and pointed the beam directly at it. The animal (or bug) froze. I got close, hoping that I was not about to come face-to-face with some godforsaken centipede with fangs and poison glands shooting acid into my eyes. Instead, to my delight, I looked into the wide-set eyes of an adorable lizard! It was tiny. So small that for a second I thought it was a salamander. It’s features were soft and it had TINY little claws. Its skin was blue and almost translucent. You know, in all honesty, I’m not too sure it wasn’t a salamander. Anyways, I was happy to have him/her/it in my company, as I’m sure it eats plenty of disgusting bugs that if left to their evil machinations would have made their crawling way into my bed and bitten my feet.

I also have a mouse living under my bed. Each night, before I sleep, I search for the glint of its eyes in my flashlight beam. I’m always disappointed. And yet inevitably, at 2:00am, when I have to relieve myself, the mouse is scurrying along the edge of my room or clinging to the screen door. We’ve had a few run-ins where I’ve tried to grab him with my hands or throw a bucket on top of him, but each time his speed is just too much for me. I have to admit that instead of being revolted, I find our encounters comical. Mice, although dirty and carriers of disease, are cute. I can’t bear to kill one with my own two hands….