We have been asked this question so many times, and as promised, I'll answer it here. Fortunately, because we both work very full time jobs, we have a sweet gal who comes to help us prepare food three mornings/week. Sarah bleaches all our fruits and vegetables [to kill germs, not to whiten the food! -- editor], keeps us stocked with homemade English muffins, tortillas, and other yummies. (She also spoils Jon with chocolate chip cookies. But since we are about out of chocolate chips—can't find them here—he'll be out of luck soon.) Jollof rice is our staple. It is made with stewed tomatoes, peppers, carrots, beans or peas, spices, a hint of lemon and rice, of course. Kinda like a cross between fried rice and Mexican rice. … read more

Nigeria is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of languages, with about 500 different languages in several major language families with little or nothing in common. The official national language is English but many or most average people without secondary education speak and understand little or no English. There are three other major languages, Hausa, Ibo, and Yoruba, corresponding to the north, southeast, and southwest regions respectively. Most people speak at least one of these, often in addition to a “mother language” from a smaller ethnic group.