CC: Pidgin 101

I have noticed most people who should know how to speak pidgin don't.

Ah, PIDGIN - I remember growing up without being exposed to the ways of this language but all that changed when I spent a year serving my nation.

I LOVE PIDGIN. I acknowledge that mixed reactions exist in relation to it but as for me, I have noting but 'luuuuuuurv'.

Pidgin is to Nigeria what English is to America. Nigeria currently has over 250 ethnic groups, each with it's distinct language, accent and ways of living. Although English is our lingua franca, not everyone has the luxury of attending school and learning about proper english grammar. Here's where pidgin comes to the rescue (playing spiderman's theme song).

Pidgin is a form of English laced with local dialects and variations are spoken globally. Despite its common use; Pidgin is yet to be officially recognised *sadface

Each ethnic group in Nigeria can communicate in this language. Like English, you can guess where a person is from or where they were raised based on their version of Pidgin and the accent they choose to speak it with. Pidgin can therefore determine whether you are viewed as an outsider or one who can be trusted.

For instance;

English - You are coming right?

Let us consider the major ethnic groups -

Yoruba (pidgin) - You go come, abi?

Igbo (pidgin) - Nna, you go come?

Hausa (pidgin) - You go come ba?

My personal favourite is the Pidgin that's spoken in the oil-rich South-South region . It isn't easy to decode and like the people, it is sharp and just plain beautiful:

Bros, shey you dey SHOW????

( I love it!!! Seriously, how does 'come' translate to 'show') *hehehe

Our govenment says pidgin is hampering their progress in education.

I say - One chance.

Here's me leaving you lovelies with some basic pidgin phrases. Hopefully, if you love Naija tunes, this will help you figure things out and you won't be clueless on your trip home for Christmas ;)

How far - How are you

I dey, how body - I am fine thanks. You?

(pronounce 'I dey' as 'Ah day'. meaning - I am fine)

No vex - Do not take offence

Abeg - Please

(Abeg, no vex - Please, do not take offence. The 'A' in 'Abeg' is pronounced 'Ah')

Papa - Father

Mama - Mother

Pikin - Child

Babe - Lady

Fit - denoting ability; can

Maga - Gullible person, one who is taken advantage of and is unaware

Chop - Eat or Spend ( depending on contextual use. If referring to 'Spend', usually in a wasteful or excessive manner)

Examples:

She wan chop my money - She wants to spend my money (excessively)/ 'bleed me dry'

I wan chop - I want to eat.

*the object is usually the clue to what the word means in a given context.

CC: Egg Prawn Rice

Growing up, Rice and Chicken was a staple Christmas dish......we always cooked it to supplement the main course - POUNDED YAM! Lol. Loads of people find it funny when I say we always made pounded yam on Christmas day in addition to rice. Still yet to discover what the joke is *hehehe

Today I decided to make something different and hopefully inspire someone to be creative this year. I went to a Carribean restaurant at the start of curry week and got inspired to make what I ordered at home. Although I did not get the recipe from the chef (understandably), here goes -


Because I was going to post this,  I decided to measure out my ingredients so it's easy for everyone to follow.

You will need:

- 250g of long grain rice

- 80g of frozen peas

- 2 tablespoons of oil

- 1 onion (diced)

- 1/2 of a red pepper (diced)

- 100g of prawns ( if using small ones, you can double the quantity)

- 1 egg

Wash your rice and boil in salted water for 10 minutes. Add your peas and cook for 5 more minutes. Drain and remove from heat.

I placed chopsticks on my plate. We will see why in a bit :)

Put your oil in a heated wok or similar

Add your onions and stir fry for 2 minutes

Add your prawns and stir fry for 2 minutes or until they turn pink

Add your red pepper and stir fry for 2 mins

Push to one side of your pan

Add a pinch of salt to your egg and whisk with your chopsticks

Pour your whisked egg to the empty side of the pan and scramble with your chopsticks

Mix all contents of the pan together

Add your boiled rice and peas. Stir fry over low heat till thoroughly mixed

 

Dinner is served! I can have this on it's own or with a sauce

And there you have it, easy, quick and healthy.

This took me hours to finish because I was listening to some Naija tunes whilst at it :( .... I couldn't help dancing and ended up taking FOREVER to dice my veggies!

CHRISTmas countdown

I love Christmas season.

For one, I love the reason for the celebrations, the holidays and the opportunity it gives to catch up with friends and family.

Infact, Christmas is the only time I can forgive the weather. First, there's fall when nature takes on so many colours - from green to yellow to berry to red to rust to copper to gold to brown.......you get the picture.

Then there's winter where everything is covered in snow and it feels like the world is taking a shower - a very cold one too!

Ah yes, I love Christmas. Lights go up, trees come out, animals (and some humans) hibernate while businesses devise strategies to empty my pockets (without much luck).

With Christmas comes dinners, office parties and family holidays. As such, I will be spending the next couple of months taking you through how I am gearing up for Christmas. I love the season but it can be quite expensive. Hopefully, we will all learn a thing or two to help us have a truly merry Christmas.

Welcome to my Christmas Countdown (CC) series

Womble Love xx

....Yayy!!!

It's officially 2 months to Christmas and I am starting my countdown.

Ukrainian Borscht soup - I already mixed in my sour cream. Love it!

Au'some Nuggets

I am sure by now, we all know I am a foodie of sorts. So little surprise that most of what I talk about revolves about 'belly pleasing goodies'.

I stumbled on this by mistake. My boss (I blogged about here) brought this into work because his daughter did not like some of the flavours as it was a mixed pack.

We all tried it and all I can say is being the youngest, it naturally ended up with it me :D

 

The box contained 48 individual packs filled with small chewy nuggets. I have to warn that these are quite small and should be considered when giving to children.

I won't call this snack completely healthy but it is a good alternative to regular sweets and can serve as a decent treat. It also boasts of less sugar and fat than most fruit packs.

The best thing I like about this fruit snack is how easy it is to fit in a lunchbox. It will definately work for kids and adults alike.

I must mention that, although the brand is American, this particular product is made in China.

.....singing off key....

Yes, that was my experience with my tummy!


I got invited to a friend's birthday and as ususal I didn't eat anything. It's not like I wasn't tempted by all the food there. Trust me, the variety was astounding! ... I was so distracted by all the food on offer that I didn't get to take pictures even though I brought my camera along *ahem!

Where was I?

Yes, I was about to tell you how much of a fussy eater I am. I grew up in a home where my mum always cooked. I just never had a reason to eat out and till date, I find it hard to do so. I am getting over it though as I can now eat at restaurants et al (one of the benefits of boarding shool - story for another day).

On this particular day, as was my norm, I did not eat anything - just because I couldn't eat. My friend noticed and got upset insisting I eat something as there was so much food and she wanted me to try some of it. And so, I gave in......now I think of it, I should never have budged. I can however console myself as a life lesson has been learnt.

I wrapped up a meat-pie (see here) and decided to have that for dinner when I got home. I am eternally grateful for that decision because I got home, had said dinner and minutes later, I felt funny. I brushed it aside thinking 'Ah, you are still getting over your illness'. Anyway, I headed off to bed and the next thing I remember was - I am awake. I looked out of the window and noticed it was still dark outside. I checked the time and it said 2:51am? So what woke me up?

That was when I heard it and my heart sank. My heart sank because it was painful to hear, bear and uncomfortable. My tummy was singing. And the worse part of it was that all the notes were OFF KEY!!!!!.........I don't want to imagine what would have happened if I had eaten at the party, miles away from home *shudders.

Needless to say, sentiments aside, it's not happening again. One sleepless night is enough for me *yawn......and just so you know, my tummy did not stop being upset till well after 9am! *shuddersagain

Web Image

Pakoras and Mango dip

Here's what I am having for dinner.......and this time, my favourite dessert tagged along - CHEESECAKE!

Hi, I'm Naija!

Heeeheehee

I was going to publish an entirely different post until I stumbled on this video my friend shared on facebook.

In the video, some Nigerians based in the United States of America were being asked questions about Nigeria and they had no clue :S


For me that is worrying! Lol. If there is anything my friends and colleagues all know about me is - I'm NAIJA!!!! To the core, bone and everything else in between.

They say if you want something done, do it yourself so I am going to school you all on Nigeria. I thought a good place to start was to answer the questions asked in the video.

1) How many states are in Nigeria
Ans: Nigeria 36 states and Abuja - the Federal Capital Territory. Some literature say 37 but Abuja is not classified as a state so that answer will suffice anywhere.

2) Who is the Vice-President of Nigeria
Ans: Mohammed Namadi Sambo. I made sure I found out this information when he came into power as his name is rarely dropped in political circles. I just had to know for my knowledge bank, who my VP is.

The most hilarious comment was when someone said - Jonathan took over as Vice-President after Atiku died........seriously though!

Nigeria is in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean. The three largest and most influential ethnic groups in Nigeria are the Hausa,Igbo and Yoruba.

Nigeria is Africa's leading oil producer and plays a prominent role in African affairs.

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and is listed among the "Next Eleven" economies, and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations (And NO! Africa, was not, is not and will never be a country. Why do people think that? I am honestly interested and would love to know)

Nigerians are resourceful people who love their food, family, dance and culture......everything is a reason to PARTTTYYY!! Little surprise we were rated the happiest people on earth in a 2010 Gallup global poll. Admittedly, we have our rough edges but then again, what nation doesn't?

I love to try new things, experience new cultures and start new projects. But I have to confess, no matter where I go, what I do and who I become, my introduction remains - Hi, I'm Naija! ... By the way, remind me to tell you the story of 'Naija'.

....Birthday blues

So my birthday's just been and gone and guess what - I was ill!

I spent the entire day cooking, cleaning and then more cleaning before I finally got home and fell asleep. Yep, you heard - or rather read - right. I spent the latter part of my birthday asleep.

To be fair to myself, I should have seen it coming. I guess my body had had enough and decided to shut down under all the stress I had put it through. What better way to pay back than on my birthday eii? Lol. So yeh, I have been ill and off work as well. Between receiving remarks about how I must have partied hard on my birthday hence the illness and messing up my work because I refused to stay at home when I should have, I don't know which was worse.

On a merrier note, I just got my final pressie in the post and what can I say but - TOTALLY CHUFFED!

My 'pwetty' pink roses

My white roses

My lilies!!!! Still in their bulbs!

5 days later and yet another one blooms! My lilies!!!

Final Pressieeeee!!!!! Boss Lady things!!! Leather upper, wood in sole and fur lining!!! Winter isn't looking too bad!!

First attempt at a bun! After my last hair post, I've been rocking 2 strand twists

Side view. Opted for a low bun for work-life

Assessorize!!! Animal print scarf from Primark £3.00

Boss Lady bun! Lol

Goose fair!!!

So for the first time ever, I decided to attend the annual goose fair. Off I went travelling down to see what it's all about.

As you would expect, I made sure I filled my belly before I headed out.......did not want to be tempted into spending too much money! :D

Simply tap her head and she starts rolling her hips. Lol