The 9th good thing about Northern Nigeria: the village children LOVED to have their picture taken

From the minute we arrived in their village, we were a magnet for many villagers, but especially the children.

The crowd quickly gathered and the children crowded in with us to the house where the potter would demonstrate her craft.

The children were fascinated by the white baby in our group. Many reached out to touch the baby, and finally the mother allowed a child to hold the baby. The other children looked on. some with stares and others with giggles.

Some of the girls were shy about asking for their picture to be taken. (These girls still giggled when I showed them their picture)

Other girls stared right at the camera.

This boy repeatedly asked for me to take his picture -- sometimes by himself...

And sometimes posing with a friend.

Sometimes the children were stiff and formal ...

And other times they were playing around when the camera was on them.

This boy was running through the market area rolling a bike wheel rim with a stick. He kept running in front of me, wanting me to get his picture. He was very good at keeping that wheel going.

Children weren't the only ones wanting their picture taken. This man pointed at my camera and then at himself and he sat up straight on his motorbike while I photographed him. He got a big smile when I showed him his picture on the back of my camera.

We had a crowd walking us back to the bus when it was time to go.