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http:// --> Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Obituaries Weather Archive Hot Topics Forum Photo Gallery Past Readers Polls Revels Etcetera Backpage O-Zone Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad Online Games Movie Preview September 11, 2006 So much worse than I thought By Jennifer Margulis Tidings Correspondent Before we leave for West Africa, James reads everything about Niger that he can. He also reads literature: "The Palm Wine Drinkard" (a Nigerian novella from the spirit world) and "I Get on the Bus" by Reginald McKnight. When people ask, he says he's looking forward to visiting Agadez (an oasis city in the Saharan north that has adobe architecture and camel caravans but is sometimes off-limits to tourists because of political unrest), seeing the last herd of West African giraffes, and learning to play the molo. Since this whole Africa thing was my idea from the beginning I'm surprised when James comes into the kitchen to ask me with a chuckle if I know that Niamey International Airport has no scheduled domestic flights. "You're really doing your homework," I say. "Are you excited about going?" "I'm working on it," he answers. Anxious about health and safety, he's been battling his own inner demons since I learned I'd been awarded a government grant to spend a year in Niger, the poorest and least developed country in the world. "I'm afraid you'll be unhappy," I admit when we fall into bed after a long day of chasing kids, packing, and finishing writing projects due weeks ago. "I'm going to try hard not to be," he says. "It'll be hot," I say. "And you hate the heat." "I know." "And there'll be bugs," I say. "You hate bugs." "I know." "And everyone puts okra in their sauces-- " "--And I hate okra." "I know." "But I'm going to make the best of it," James says. Two days later we finish packing the house, which we've rented to four students who are anxious to move in, and we throw ten 50-pound bags of stuff and seven carry-ons into the one-way rental car. It takes five more hours to leave town. Five minutes after we leave 5-year-old Athena and 2-year-old Etani pinch each other and shriek. Five minutes after that (technically we're not out of Ashland) one of the kids cries, "I have to go pee!" We repack our bags at my uncle's house in Berkeley. The night before our airplane leaves I discover the house we've rented is emptied of the previous tenant's stuff but still devoid of beds, a stove, a fridge; and the landlord has refused to paint it. My computer dies. I call Western Union to wire more money to Niger. Then I finish two long-overdue articles for a parenting magazine and pack food for the plane. I go to bed at 1:00 a.m. and wake up at 5:00. We arrive in Niger 25 hours later. "I'm sweating," 7-year-old Hesperus moans as we step off the plane onto the tarmac. "Is there air conditioning?" An embassy van takes us to the house. The floor is covered in the light orange dust that's everywhere in Niamey. Cockroaches scurry out of the corners and lizards slither over the walls. There's water damage on the walls, which are filthy and full of holes. A desiccated lizard head bedecks the storeroom. One of the three bedrooms smells strongly of urine. The bare kitchen has cabinets that are rotten. The fans are broken, there's no hot water, and malarial mosquitoes buzz in our ears. I've spent $600 on this place already. We have nowhere else to go. None of us can sleep. James is wound up so tightly I can feel the coils in his chest from the outside. "Remember how you said you'd make the most of it?" I say. "I know," James answers miserably, "It's just so much worse than I imagined." Jennifer Margulis is the author of "Why Babies Do That: Baffling Baby Behavior Explained," which makes a perfect gift for any new mom. Read more about her adventures in Niger next week. Current Comments: You are so brave! I look forward to following your story. Michelle O'Neil - Lynchburg, VA - September 12th, 6:18 PM Leave a Comment: Advertisement: Advertisement: Paid Advertising Inkjet Printers Student Loans Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Advertisement: Copyright © 2006 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.