one week here

crap. i feel like absolute crap. had tons of trouble sleeping because i couldn't breathe. and even though this morning i found that i had stashed some sudaffed in my pill box (actually and old altoids tin) i still have a miserable sinus headache. but that's ok, since it's a weekend and i can do whatever on any schedule. today was nice though. i got up around 10 (sooo nice to sleep in!) and made some tea and had a banana and the quiche i bought last night. it was a strange quiche. really! i'm pretty sure it was filled with salmon and cooked cucumber and pretty much without cheese, just a sprinkling on top. but that buttery crust always tastes good. i guess it was just that i thought of "normal" quiche like with ham and tomatoes and cheese and whatever other yummies are around. but it was ok. it kept me full, anyway. so i read a bit about the religious groups in the area and then sent a ton of emails to school people about all of my schedule changes i want to make and about going to liberia and all. after that i did some calisthenics before taking a nice shower. today, susan's son was having a birthday party and dr singer was coming to pick me up at 2:30 which slowly turned into 3p. so i took advantage of the sunny day and extra time and wandered around a bit. first i visited the gym which is quite nice and i'm a bit sad i listened to the people who spoke down about it; it's great and open 24hrs. tons of cardio and weight machines. all i could ever need, anyway. then i walked out to the pool and saw where i can get a lovely orange hilton towel and the plastic lounge chairs that were strategically placed in the shade of nearby grass-frond umbrellas. then down to the handball, squash and tennis courts. no one was out there though, probably because it was very warm and the sun was really intense. then i hear the "chop chop" of machetes and decided to peer over the hilton's wall and have a looksie. so there were a few men clearing out underbrush, for what purpose i don't know. i snapped a quick, incognito picture and you can almost see one of the men if you look hard enough (like those 3-d pictures of dots that used to be so popular).

there was a bit of a gravel trail along the wall so i followed it, listening to the birds (some i recognized and some, of course, i didn't) and watched some of the most gorgeous butterflies float over the blooming bushes. then, to my left, i noticed what looked like craft huts, lots of these little grass-roofed buildings with numerous nigerians lounging about and a few carving or working with clay. some sort of "local art" kind of store-ish place. i mean, i'm still at the hilton so it's gotta be one of their things.

i continued to follow my path and said hi to the guys laying on the ground, resting in the heat, as i snaked behind this little faux "village". after i couldn't go any farther on the trail (there was a locked gate; i had hoped it would be a circuitous trail that i could run in the mornings) i turned around and decided to stop in to see some of the stuff being made and sold here. so it was really quite interesting. there was a little of everything that could be construed as "local art" from clothing, carved ivory, dyed cloth, pottery, metal and wooden figurines, jewelry, sandals, everything. the people were friendly, "go inside! look!" so i did. there was a lot of neat stuff. some of the things i liked most were little metal (brass?) lizards, carved, hinged mancala games, carved wooden angel xmas ornaments, fabric arts, paintings and silver jewelry. there was also a potter with mugs and bowls (i could actually use a bowl about now for my instant soup) and i probably would have bought something on the spot if there had actually been an attendant. i'm pretty sure it was the only hut i went into that there weren't at least 3 people laying on the floor to stay cool. i debate whether or not i will go back tomorrow for a bowl. my concern is a. it will be really expensive since it's at the hilton and b. all the other artisans (or traders as it were) will expect me to buy stuff even though i said i'd be back before i left for good in a week or 2. it may not seem like a big deal but everyone really remembers me here. and i do want to get some more stuff, i just hoped i could find a bigger selection and cheaper wares at a market, which i won't probably go to til next week. but then there was this weird stuff; pictures made from butterfly wings. i'm not sure how i feel about it. they have to use like zillions of the wings to make these things and i'd like to think they're raised and harvested for just that purpose but something about it just feels wrong. anyone else have a comment on that? there were butterflies in display cases too which i'd love to have but really, is that the wrong message to send? like the ivory carvings. they're these tiny little whitish bits of hardness that are carved with an "african" pattern and i really hope they're plastic and not real ivory. i just can't justify supporting that. and according to all these guys (i asked at every hut) the stuff here is either crafted on premesis or acquired from locals in other towns in nigeria. i'm not sure, but that's what they say and i have no reason to believe otherwise. another funny thing was all the nativity scenes. lots! i'm telling you, these people ooze religion. they say "something very sepcial you will love. it's beautiful" and then they point to the jesus, mary and joseph setup complete with wisemen and livestock and all. tara is definitely getting one of those from me for christmas this year! and then beads too; there's these really cool glass beads and i'm like "are these glass" and they say "no, beads" and i try again with another string "these beads are made from clay?" "yes, they are beads" great. at least we're speaking the same language, right? seriously. another funny thing is that some of them gave me their cards and in the address it says what hut number they're at. funny! i did like a lot of the stuff though. hopefully i'll find more when i go to the market. if i feel brave i may go tomorrow to get a bowl, we'll see. so dr singer calls and he's out front waiting for me so i hurry my butt back up to the entrance and hop in his subaru. and off to susan's. she lives in one of the "international" ex-pat complexes. apparently if you're american and work here the us embassy picks out a "safe" place for you to live depending on the amount of people in your family. susan has her husband and 2 kids and lives in a pretty big townhouse. her son's been in country for just a month and already there are a ton of kids here who've shown up for his birthday party bearing gifts. there are lots of other international kids here too and they all seem exceptionally outgoing and sure of themselves. i mingle and meet some of the other people who are associated with other agencies like usaid and the cdc who are partners with us in some respects. it was nice. and a lot of the people from the office brought their wives and kids so it was fun to see them all in that context. i got a lot of hugs from people and a lot of kids climbing on me too. and the food was great! there was this super-spicey fish (whole) which i'm so glad i tried, and like mini meat pies, yams, rice, fruit, and 2 cakes. i had a small plastic cup of wine to wash it all down with as well. and i found out joanna is jewish! pretty cool but i wish i'd known earlier since she went to an isralie compound to celebrate rosh hashanna (or however it's spelled). but that's all. then we left and i came back here and suffered with my sinus headache and i downed a cup of tea and then a nescafe and started a new book by a nigerian writer. and how cool is this; i can use the back of my titanium spork to open and close the window! i was so happy i figured that out! but it's still really cold in my room. it's drafty when the window is open (creates a suction that pulls more cold air in from the hall instead of letting the warm air from outside, in) and even though i baracade the door jam with blankets and towels it still doesn't help. it's just perpetually cold. curt suggests it's a ghost, ghandi in particular. hmmm. so now i'm sneezing and my face really hurts but i think i'm going to get to some more reading. i'm not sure what's on for tomorrow; depends on how i feel and if i want to be brave. right now my big goals are to go to the gym and do my laundry in the sink. ambitious, i know!

(about the pictures: the 3rd is a papaya tree which you see all over the palce here, 4th is laundry drying on a palm near the "craft village" and the last is of kids at the party but since i don't want to post some cute kids' pictures online for the world to see, it's dark. i just wanted to get out the idea that there were a bunch of kids, all different nationalities.)