belletammy

Sometime this year, I started to look more into meditation and mindfulness. I was looking to reconnect with myself on a certain level, and I knew what I needed to do. My god mother and her husband are mindfulness meditation instructors and naturally I turned to them. My god mother gave me two books written by her husband on the subject. And guess what! He signed them, whoop whoop! Happiness and How It Happens: Finding Contentment Through Mindfulness Mindfulness and Compassion: Embracing Life with Loving Kindness

Unfulfilled dreams Crumbling houses Trapped bodies Dwindling hope Shelling Bomb blasts Chemical poisoning Abductions Agony Pain Blood Tears Madagali Aleppo Bria Juba Authorities Opposition Citizens Mediators World leaders Diplomacy Ceasefires Results Somehow, hope keeps us going...

Last Sunday was such a lazy day for me. I literally could not get out of bed. It took such will power to finally do so around 2pm. I was starving but didn't have the strength to do any major cooking. I looked in my fridge and there were vegetables staring back at me. I knew that if I didn't use them, they would go bad so here is what I cooked up. Ingredients: - About 8 carrots - 2 green bell peppers - 3 onions - Garlic - One cucumber - A table spoon of olive oil - Salt Cooking time: 30 minutes

I went to the cinema after work yesterday. I wasn't sure of what I wanted to watch although I looked at the film list. I got into the lift and a preview of Oloibiri was showing, it caught my attention and my decision was made! I will try not to reveal too much for anyone who might want to watch it but I will mention a few scenes. This film did not just hit a nerve, it jacked and pulled every nerve in me. I shivered as I watched, literally. I cry when it comes to films but in this case, there were too many sensations and tears were far away.

The next day was my birthday and we planned to do some more site seeing but had no real plan. I walked into t he bathroom and returned to a beautiful pair of shoes and a set of perfumes from my travel buddy. I tried the shoes on in my towel and did modelling which just cracked Bukky up!  Smiles for the new year Yo Peace, positivity all the way...

Sometime in June, my friend and I started to plan our next holiday. We eventually settled for the U.K. She had never been there, but as I have been so many times, the only condition for me was to visit a place I had never been to. I mentioned to her and that I had never been to Scotland, so that seemed like our travel destination. We had to plan around our work schedules which was not the easiest thing but October was the best we could agree on .  She arrived in the U.K. a week before me and went around England but we both met in Edinburgh, Scotland. I found us a host through Couch Surfing who was super nice. He picked us up from the central station so that was a good start . We warned him that there might be a scream moment as we had not seen each other in about 5 years and live in different countries. It was a great to final l y see her . 

I’m sitting here at Nsimalen airport, which is bereft of activity, an airport of a country far smaller than my country, but which seems to have more functional facilities than the airport in the capital of my great country.  I am looking at my suitcase, the proof of my three months stay in this country and wondering whether I should be feeling this way.   One friend asked me last night if I cried saying good bye and another asked if I was sad leaving. My response to both questions was laughter. I had music on so loud like I was celebrating my departure.  Usually before trips, especially after living in a place, I have knots in my tummy but this time I was numb, no feelings whatsoever.   I didn’t have much time to see the best of the place but I sure saw some part of the bad! In the short time I stayed here, this country didn’t grow on me at all.    I’ve checked in and I am sitting in the lounge, there are still no nostalgic feelings and thankfully, the staff at t

I was out with friends and it was an informal gathering, so of course we were all free to tease each other. We jumped from one topic to the other, and the banter just went on. We were on the topic of food and milk came up, I mentioned that I hadn’t had milk in a while.   In response to all the whys, “I am lactose intolerant and I have irritable bowel syndrome”. I got such an incredulous stare from some of the people I was having a chat with. What do you stand for or who are you really, some stares seemed to say. Then there was a barrage of comments and questions. “I thought that was only for white people?” “With you, I only hear sicknesses that I hear on TV.” “And it’s not just her but in her family, some people are allergic to sea food, nuts and other things.” “What kind of food do you eat apart from all these oyibo dishes?” “You do not eat enough, you don’t eat pepper, you eat all these salads and vegetables.” “You are too punctual and exercise too much when you are not even

I woke up fine but at some point, I started to feel funny. I dismissed it at first but it all seemed to go downhill from there. I started this new work out so I thought that my body was simply adjusting to that. I was hungry and had started work without breakfast which I do very often. I went back to get myself something to eat then continued work but my whole body was revolting. I had a light headache, I was slightly dizzy, my tummy was in a state I could not describe, I felt cold but hot at the same time then my temperature had gone up. I spoke at this point, I told the residence manager that I didn’t feel well. I asked for a home malaria test kit and took the test, it came out negative. That was a relief as I had way too much work planned for the week to fall ill. I was meant to travel the next day. I knew getting to a good hospital would be in the capital so I was slightly worried. She asked what my symptoms were, when I explained, she knew just what I needed. The first th

If you missed the first part, please read it here   This was what the room looked like . I find the best in every situation, so here, there was clean water. It wasn’t brown but clear and that was amazing to me, given the circumstances. There was no phone network in the two villages where we would be working, but there was constant light. I hardly used it but it was comforting to know.  The room consisted of a bed, a table and a chair

I have always liked this soup/sauce but I don't enjoy it when it is prepared in certain ways, with okro for example. I have made this before but decided to try it again. I read a few methods of preparation and got some ideas of how I wanted to make it. Ingredients : - chicken (I had four pieces) - 3 onions - garlic - 5 tomatoes - 1 pepper - seasoning cubes - salt - groundnut paste - palm oil/groundnut oil/vegetable oil - crayfish - a pinch of curry - carrots - green bell pepper

If you missed this p ost From One Place to Another , please follow the link as that will help to put things in context :-)  We set out as early as 7am, we w ere going for a week. It was a rainy day and as we drove out of Bertoua, I was told that we would be driving on dirt/untarred roads for the rest of the trip. We finally took the turn that led onto the dirt road and gosh, nothing could have prepared me for that level of bumpiness. We drove through mud and deep pot holes, I gained a lot more respect for people who have jobs as drivers. The dexterity with which the car was handled, I would have come nothing close to it. I counted the hours, I tried to get my mind to wander but it just wouldn’t, every part of me was involved in the bumpy ride. My insides were turned over and over again, my body rocked back and forth violently as the road determined. We had a loo break in between and I jumped out of the car just not to feel constricted by it because I didn’t like the car very muc

There have been different instances of Nigerians living abroad saying such horrible things about Nigeria. We must understand that when the media reports certain things, they are blown out of proportion. Everything makes the country seem unappealing in every sense of the word to return to. However, bear in mind that with the media, no news is good news! In the light of this, a friend and I were chatting and we were talking about some of the crisis that are ongoing in certain parts of Africa. We ended up having a lengthy chat about the crisis in Central African Republic, at a point she wrote AFRICA! I asked what about Africa, then asked her simply if the United States where she currently lives in is any different. I asked her if people were not being killed in broad daylight with not much being done about it. I asked her if she had had to go through the painful speech with her sons of how to behave and how not to behave in public. I asked if she had warned them not to

I was shown how to make this dish and I found it delish! I will definitely prepare it again. Ingredients: 1) Leek 2) Basil 3) Celery 4) Green bell peppers 5) Parsley 6) Onions 7) Garlic 8) Tomatoes 9) Eggs (I used 2) 10) Ginger 11) Minced meat 12) Seasoning cubes 13) Salt 14) Carrots 15) Green beans 16) Potatoes 17) Tomatoes 18) Mustard 19) Black pepper 20) Lemon juice I know this is a long list but it will be worth it... The amount of ingredients you use will depend on how many you are cooking for.

Whenever I move to a new place, at some point I tend to look for a place of worship. These days that should not be so hard as there are churches at almost every corner. Well, it takes me time to settle in a church as I do not necessarily agree with every practice. I have to feel comfortable to some extent with what happens there and the church should be able to respond to my need for a church. Otherwise, no thanks.   I think I have spotted about five churches around the area I live, I spotted a Baptist church and decided to go there because from my knowledge of Baptist churches, they are somewhat conservative, which is my preference. A mix of everything is not bad but shouting gets to me. 

I have not been consistent with the food section of this blog, for that I apologise. I saw a photo of one of Chrissy Teigen’s dishes and it was one I knew I would definitely like to try. I cannot give any references to the recipe for it because all I saw was a photo. I looked at the ingredients and I would say it’s a dish for any day, it is super easy. The quantity of ingredients you use will depend on how many people the dish will be prepared for. I made this for one, so didn’t need much. At the end, it could serve two. Slight modifications to the photo I saw though. 

I woke up in a confused state, I was panicking, but my panic lasted for probably two minutes. I had no recollection of where I was, so I lay still, trying to remember. This is the fourth bed I have slept in in seven days… I have been working in Eastern Cameroon since the end of June. There are a few border towns that have seen an influx of people from Central African Republic due to the conflicts that have been ongoing. Not to mention the other parts of the country that share borders with other countries dealing with various conflicts! There is a full blown humanitarian crisis and there are needs at different levels that have to be met. During my last field trip, we drove into a place and I was unsure of what it was. It looked like a residence, but I figured that the owner might have built more rooms, then opened it to the public. The rooms were so small, then I opened the door that led to the bathroom. The bathroom was narrow, I would probably not be able to stre

She finds it silly but her heart skips a beat each time she sees him walk through the door.  Each time they sit to talk, they go on and on. They get on so well that she could swear that they knew each other before their meeting. They tease each other and share hearty laughter. They carry out tasks with such synchronisation, they don’t even have to think about it because it comes to them naturally.   The first time he made her chase him because he withheld information, she knew she would like this to happen with "the one". She loves to play and that’s a part she would not be willing to give up. She loves that about him. Each time they went out, they were referred to as a couple based on assumptions. She sees the gentleness in his eyes, she sees a glint of fire when he looks at her. However, she noticed that he always avoided holding her gaze. On that day when their eyes locked, his words were “wow, you are beautiful”. The words came out before he could cat