Things I don't think about anymore

Today I got a text from the woman taking care of Luke, saying he needed more warm clothes. So I hopped in my minivan, ran out to Walmart, stopping by Starbucks on the way to get a chai latte, and I picked him up a couple new pairs of trousers and a cute Mickey Mouse sweatshirt, all for a whopping total of $45.99 (not including the latte).

Oh, if only it were that simple.

Instead, I went to the used clothes market at Katako, really just a glorified thrift store with a million stalls to choose from, often all selling the same sorts of things. My parents' driver/gardener went with me to make sure I didn't get cheated on the prices, and we had a grand time. I think I looked at about 50 different pairs of trousers before we found four pairs that looked about Luke's size and weren't torn or stained. This included two pairs of jeans and two pairs of other trousers. Finding sweatshirts was even harder. Luke's a tricky size, with long arms. Again, we probably perused over 40 or 50 sweaters, sweatshirts, and long-sleeved t-shirts before we finally found two that would fit Luke. (I was trying to go for something bigger than he is so that he can still wear it in a month or two.)

Finding sweat pants was a real challenge. I have no idea what they're called here, so I just held up his sweatshirt and asked for trousers of the same type of material. We found some at the second shop we went to, but they were either too small, too big, or missing the drawstring. What a headache! We finally found two pairs that were just barely bigger than his current trousers. I sure hope they fit. But even if they don't, he won't actually need them for very long. The weather will probably warm up in February sometime.

So I got six pairs of trousers and two sweatshirts for a total of $17.50. Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!

On the way to take the "new" clothse to Luke's current residence, I stopped at the seamstress to drop off two pieces of fabric I got for Christmas. Now, I do have lots of Nigerian clothes, but since I delivered, they either don't fit right in the bust, or I can't wear them at all because they're dresses, and I need to nurse Timothy. So I sat and had a nice chat with our seamstress (of 15+ years), Martina, who was shocked and tickled to meet Timothy. (She hadn't ever seen me pregnant.) She greeted me in traditional Nigerian fashion, asking after my mom, my dad, my sisters, my husband, my auntie Mary, work, etc. Finally, I told her what I wanted with the pieces of cloth, and she knew exactly what I meant about nursing clothes. Yes! She took my new measurements, wrote everything down, quoted me a price, and then said farewell greetings in Tiv (David's language, and therefore mine, too). Altogether, it was a nice little meeting, and the two dresses will cost a little less than twenty bucks. Not bad at all.

So I came home at the end of our little outing, having taken Luke his warm clothes, and I thought about the morning's accomplishments. Katako is amazing. You can find anything there if you look hard enough and have plenty of time to spare. And it's so easy here to just pop out to the seamstress or tailor and get a new outfit made. How cool is that?! There are definitely perks to living here (not to mention the fact that my parents have a driver...). Yep, this is home, and I'm happy being here.

...for now.