Josh is very popular with the Nigeriens everywhere and his popularity grew when he started learning the Hausa greetings and engaging everyone he saw in conversation. Hausa language and culture is rich with greetings; you can't get anywhere without going through a long string of questions and answers with each person you walk by.
Each of these greetings is usually answered with a positive response. For example, if asked about your tiredness (ina gajiya) the appropriate is response is that you have none (babu gajiya). Later in the conversation you may find out that they're dead tired. The appropriate reply to 'ina aiki' (how is your work?) is 'aiki da godiya', that you're thankful for it whether you are or not.
Josh's efforts and friendliness have been rewarded by many nicknames:
1. Maigida: is the word for husband, but is literally translated into 'owner of' (mai) 'the home' (gida). I am often greeted in the morning with questions about how Maigida is doing and well wishes for him. People often request he make his way to the hospital to greet them every few days and shake their hand.
2. 'The Twins' and 'Mr. Happy': Josh works with our friend James on the compound and they are often seen together, making them known as The Twins. The few english workers in the shop can be heard asking where Mr. Happy is whenever James is seen alone! Once, James' wife Deb has been asked where her two husbands are.
3. Maigashi. This means 'owner of the hair', which I think is pretty self explanatory. He may be the only man in the whole country with long hair!
4. Tantie and Tonton: We have a little friend named Samuel here who has started calling us Auntie and Uncle. His mother, Saratou, is the adopted daughter of two missionaries here and she is running her own ministry out of her home in the village. She deserves a whole blog post of her own, so stay tuned!
