Halloween Scares and Surprises

Many exciting events happened this past week.  Of course, Wednesday was Halloween, so of course we pulled off a little celebration with masks and candy, courtesy of Hannah's mom, who is visiting this week.  More importantly, it's also now November, so I can listen to Christmas music without being judged.  So although lyrics like "Jack Frost nipping at your nose" don't exactly go with the blistering heat we've been having, I'm having no trouble getting into the spirit as usual.  And to answer the question I know all three of my sisters are asking, yes, I am listening to "Do They Know It's Christmas?", and fully appreciating the irony that I'm in Africa where there won't be snow this Christmastime.  Ok, Christmas tangent over.

As I mentioned, Hannah's mom is visiting us for the week, and has gotten the chance to see what our day-to-day lives are.  Charity has been spoiling us with our favorite foods for dinner all week because of this (plantains, fried yams, fufu, banku, okra), and Hannah's mom herself has been spoiling us with delicious lunches and special treats brought from home (Halloween candy in all its glory: Snickers, Milky Way, 3 Musketeers, Butterfinger, and REESE'S-oh mon dieu).  It works out perfectly because Erin and I are doing our data collection this week, so Hannah has free time to spend with her mom while we've been out in the field.  Hannah will do her data collection next week, once we are done, since she needs to use my translator and Erin's driver for her work.  So I've been doing a lot of running around, since I'm collecting data both at the local school and at students' homes.  I finished all of the interviews yesterday for my qualitative data collection, and will finish translating the last of them today when SR, my translator, arrives in the office.  The last five weeks here will then be filled with analyzing data and developing my thesis paper.  I can't believe how fast the time has flown! Here are some pictures of kids eating waatse (rice and beans) and fish stew at school for lunch, as well as a couple of our recent dinners this week: 

Jollof Rice with chicken

Fufu, yummm

I also mentioned Halloween.  We had masks and candy to take to the family on Wednesday night, and weren't sure how the "scary" masks would go over.  Elvis started sobbing when he saw Hannah wearing the Frankenstein mask, but Ema and the rest of the family loved them.  They took great pleasure in scaring Elvis with them-even Charity donned one and chased Elvis out into the yard:

Charity chasing Elvis with the mask

Notice the red speck that is Elvis all the way across the yard, where he stood sobbing for half an hour

Also, we had a Halloween surprise as well-Lovelyn came home from school on break!  We were so glad to have our "little sister" home for a few days, and she picked right up where she left off, admonishing us for not finishing food and telling Elvis the most outrageous lies to keep him in line.  I know it probably sounds like the entire family is really mean to Elvis, who is only three, but he is a handful and very stubborn.  He also just loves any kind of attention on him, so even when his mother is scaring him with a candy snake or Lovelyn is telling him that a man with a cutlass will come and take him away at night if he's bad, he is simultaneously terrified and gleeful at being the center of attention.  He marches around like a little man and bosses everyone around, so when they get the chance to knock him down a peg or two, they seize the opportunity.

Attitude, as usual

Lovelyn back home with her nephews!

I don't even know with this kid