two full weeks gone by...

so i really don;t have much of anything to say tonight. we went for pizza for dinner and it was good but not like home (obviously). and they had a coffee shop and i got all excited but apparently there are no to-go (or "take away") cups for it so i didn't get any because i would have had like 5min to drink it. poop. but today was another fun day. we went to the airport first thing because our tickets for tomorrow were at the wrong time. then we got lost going to the other navy base. but eventually we found it and this place was way more community-based with a lot more baracks and markets and tons of kids around. then we walked through the streets of lagos which was totally insane, so much so that dooshima was actually worried about me and shared the fact that her reaction times are faster than mine so she needed to watch me. i still don;t know what was different here; more people, more cars, more motorbikes, more people wanting free condoms but that's it; just more. i had a blast. she didn't want me flashing my camera around either which was too bad becuase i really wanted to get a short video of what we were doing and what it was like;total insanity. i mean we were on these market streets with cars zooming around us and motorbikes careerening by and just totally chaotic with our music and their music and muslims scrambling for condoms during their fast (for some reason everyone thought it was weird but i never figured out why) and bread for sale on my left and an auto mechanic/phone card guy on my right and some bystander who made his way into our crowd to try to score some more freebies. and of course i got more sunburned which now feels as miserable as it looks. and then there was the usual round of snaps except this time i was constantly called "auntie" which, here, is an address of respect and familiarity, like ma'am only less sterile. but epopel were actually paying a photographer to have their pictures taken with me! i couldn't get over it. and a lot of them wanted just me and them and told me they would tell viewers that i was their friend from america. it was weird. but overall very fun. and then i talked to the regional hospital commander for a while (who is like an admiral or something) and learned some more about their prevention and outreach programs which was very interesting to me but would probably make for boring fodder in this setting. and then we came back and napped a bit and i read and then we went for pizza and came back to watch movies in the room with dooshima's friend, tessa, who works for USAID, an NGO group here doing hiv/aids stuff as well. we may even be able to squeeze in a quick trip to the market before we leave tomorrow. but we decided to pass on clubs tonight because we were all tired and didn't feel like it. and at least gayathri will go with us to abuja market tomorrow so we can get fabric for dresses. and that's my first two weeks. and tom has now finished taking his step 2 so woo-hoo for him! now he can celebrate his birthday for real!

the 13th day

wow am i exhausted! right after we got back to the hotel i had to take a nap! i got up at about 0730, showered, and went downstairs to eat some eggs and rolls. then we went to ojo for the fair. and we walked around the compound with a huge truck that was playing drums and a trumpet and people were singing and stuff while they threw condoms and hiv/aids pamphlets to people. there are really gross pictures in those little books too! and, of course, i got sunburned. i didn;t bring my sunblock because it was in a big container and i thought since i only had a carry-on they'd make me throw it out before getting on the plane. yeah, right. they wouldn't have ever known or cared. and now my face and neck (yes, i'm a bonefide red-neck) are on fire. and that was about it. i'm about to go get some food with dooshima too. but first, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my 26yr old husband! yay! too bad i'm not there and he never got my birthday card because they wouldn't process my cc from a forgein lan acct. o well. any way, i've been making some observations today and now i'm going to share...
-it's a huge deal that a new condom has to be used at each sex act. this is a constant shock and complaint by people
-there's lots of trash on fire here all the time, even in the median. it looks like trash gets dumped wherever and then toasted to take up less space. there are huge feilds like this along the road too; it looks like they get raked and then more gets dumped and set ablaze, repeat...
-a the overpasses there are lots of things going on (besides the cows mingling with the horses) including football (soccer) games, markets, and auto mechanics. they bring to mind the term "shanty town" although i don't really know what a shanty town is or looks like.
-i had to pee and the lady at the hospital walked me off hospital grounds accross a few streets to her apartment in the baracks to use hers after she gave me tissue. and then had to flush with a bucket after. the room was dim and sparse and depressing (to me) although the people were very kind and friendly.
-during my walk to the lav i saw 2 barefoot toddlers as well as big shards of broken glass and a half burried bic razor.
-some walls actually have "no urination here" painted on them. i'm not sure if anyone cares.
-they don't have home deopt here per se but i saw a guy covered to his shins in sawdust at a table saw by the street as well as big wide lots of various sincer blocks and designs and a carry-out service where the attendant will help you position you newly purchased lumber atop your head once your settled onto your hired motorbike. yikes.
-no one on those bikes wears helmets except the ups delivery guy. but on base they have to wear them, it's just that they're hard hats, no dot approved helmets.
-there is a beautiful orange and purple sunset shining into my room right now. it makes my sunburn look really bad.
-people sell the little mesh bags of like 6 hard boiled eggs on the street. convenient for breakfast, i bet. then you just need the bread guy, the mint guy, and then the toothpaste/toothbrush lady. and the plastic water bag guy.
-lots of the people stopped in the middle of the road are just trying to decide if they want to go another way. they just stop and think about it rather than make the wrong turn.
-my power fluctuates a lot. off. on. off again. on? just kidding. off. no wonder everyone hates NEPA and uses generators!
-there's lots of firewood for sale around here. i assume people need it for cooking or something. i have no idea but there are piles everywhere being sold. and lots of people are walking around with big bundles of really long pieces on, of course, their heads.
-today i heard an ad on the radio that said something to the effect of "millions of nigerians eat pancakes every morning that are made with mill flour. now is a great time to buy stocks in flour." ok. can i pay in cash?
-i saw a really pretty bright blue bird today. it was eating breakfast in the trash pile.
-it's funny to looks over and see a motorbike that has a crazy looking 16yr old driving with an older, distinguished-looking business man in a suit on the back. transportation for the masses.
-there are tons of radio ads and billboards for powdered milk. i never knew there was so much difference between all the brands (that i've never heard of).
-plant nurseries are fun with their plastic bags filled with soil and a plant all lined up in neat rows. i really want to get a picture one day. they have lots of common-to-florida plants too like ixora, crotons, crow-of-thorns, various palms, alamanda, and lots of other really common hard wood shrubs. i like the nurseries.
-there are tons of yellow mini buses here; the old vw and toyota ones. i mean, tons. all lined up along the highway (because the don't go til full) and weaving in and out of traffic. some don't have doors or bumbers anymore and most are scratched all along the sides from running up along other cars. our mirror was hit 2xs today.
-the radio plays a lot of really old r &b and new christian music; weird combination.
-there's a lot of pollution here. that's not fog in those pictures; it's smoke. or smog. it's bad.
-i saw a tiny kid, maybe 2, who was picking up each key lime in his display bowl and quickly wiping it off with a towel so it looked pretty. it was really cute and a little sad at the same time.
-palm and banana trees seem to undo all ugliness here. there can be trash on fire while an emaciated steer and child dig thru an unlit pile and if there's a palm tree in my line of sight somehow it doesn't seem bad at all. like the folage softens everything. or offers hope. or gives me something else to focus on. something.
-today i got this awesome shot of a lady getting help putting her wares on her pillow on her head and then suddenly there are all these police pounding on the car window. woops. apparently the picture i took was right in front of the police headquarters and i guess they thought i was taking pictures of them or something. anyway, tori (the driver) can't figure out how they even saw me with the super-dark tint and i didn't use flash. but apparently they have no jurisdiction when it comes to diplomats (that's me) and were called off by their boss after about 20secs (or an hour, as far as how it felt). i felt really bad but they both blew it off as nothing and that was it. took about 30min before i'd take another picture and certainly none with police in them!
-appearances are really big here; everyone looks georgous and carries around big hunks of cash and builds houses barely within (and sometime not even within) their means. i'm guessing that comes from the fact that the only thing that really counts is what's actually yours, in hand, tangible. there is no credit system here and almost no one trusts/uses the banks.
-ads in general are really funny; too happy and smiling and really trying to convince you that "dirt is good" because the cleaner is so easy and fun and great that you actually want your kids to get their clothes diry. uh-huh. very different from our genX, ADD, cool cinematography and crazy round about ways of telling you that you should buy said product. it's really comical to here some of these like macleans toothpaste:"be successful. be important. use macleans toothpaste!" ok!
-people who live here drink water out of these little plastic bags. they bite of the corner, suck out the water, and then drop the baggie. i'll try to get a pic. apparently, though, it's not for forgeiners and they know it. they don't even offer it to me. but do i "want a coke?"
-i was told today that i'm the first white girl these people have seen with a bum. which, apparently requires me to shake it like an african, not an american. i have to "whirl it big." ummm. ok?
-i saw a naked person washing teir clothes in a dirty puddle in the road today. nice.
-apparently americans also don't have short hair. mine has caused many a conversation topice and confusion about where, exactally, i hail from. "why is your hair so short?" because i cut it.
-i saw a sign today that said "happy fasting to all our muslim friends" put up by an african restaurant (that i ate lunch at yesterday) called tantalizers.
-i felt like a celebrity today. everyone wanted to be "snaped" with me! i think i was in every other picture that the photographer took nevermind shakin my ass in the videos they took. even bystanders were calling me to get snapped with them "jess-EEEE!!! jess-EEEEE!!!" "i love america. america is dee best!" "thank you! god bless!" alright already!
-white people must look tired. or weak. or something. like 25 people asked me if i was tired today. and i wasn't. not even a little bit. i wonder what it is about me?
-people also sound angry and fighiting and accusatory when they talk. i think i know why. they use their diaphragms to really force out words from the depths for a really strong, heavy sound. i would only talk like that if i was really pissed but they talk that way whenever they're excited.
-you hear the "kissing" sound all the time and at first i was kind of offended but apparently that's how to get people's attention. everyone does it and it's percieved as nicer than yelling to someone.
-i saw a forklift driving down the road today. a fork lift. like that belongs in a warehouse.
-there are lots of things you can buy from your car; most notably, pruning shears, but also includes all manner of food and drink, socks and gloves, computer software, stuffed animals, dish towels, cologne, dvds, cds, and probably whatever else they can carry.

so i just got back from the cinema with dooshima again. we saw rush hour 3 which was ok funny. the crowd is funny though and i often laugh at different times than the rest of the theatre. but we got food before; her: 3 scoops of icecream and 2 chocolate muffins and i had a diet coke, a sausage roll (which had an uncanny resemblance to a mini snausage like comes out of a military boxed lunch - terrible) and a muffin as well. so not a real dinner but close enough. i have a feeling that she feels uncomfortable taking me places either because of how she feels or, more likely, that she thinks i'll be akward or uncomfortable, which would be anywhere. so i hope i'm not really boring her but i don't think so. we probably will go to a club tomorrow. and i think that's plenty. the only other things i wanted to add were the fact that i totally pay for convenience and that's one thing that isn't really for sale here. i can't go to "the mall" or even something like cvs to get all of what i need and a gallon of milk. that's just not available here. i don't like haggling. i like to know what i want, know where to get it (and a bunch of other things i need), see the price tag, not be harrassed about anything at any time, and then just bring what i want to someone who tells me how much (exactaly, what i have to pay) and then to be able to pay for it with a credit card. so that's my issue here. i can't get what i want, my way. you know, like americans are used to! finally, most of my pictures from today were taken out the window. there are lots of rooftops because i'm amazed by how many there are! and i forgot to turn some so they look sideways but it takes to long to re-upload with ethernet here. and it's a night!

12th day of nigeria...

so today i came to lagos, the old capital city. wow. just, wow. so it was crazy starting off; i had to check out, then no one picked me up so i had to call. then we didn't have plane tickets. or money. so we got the money when the accountant got in and then drove to the airport and bought tickets there. so we only ended up about an hour behind schedule. the plane ride was only about an hour and they even served a meat pie for breakfast. then we went to meet our driver (in his armored embassy suburban) and went off to the kenyan embassy so dooshima could get her visa for another training out there. and it was totally nuts! the rain was coming down in sheets and the wind was blowing so crazy and the cars were just driving wherever. and the roads were horrendous! there were humongous sections just gone and it didn't even matter because the water was so high from flooding and poor drainage that you couldn't see anyway. i think there were more cars broken down than not! but the guy was annoyed about all of the traffic and took like zillions of back roads and kept doing u turns near jams and spent a lot of time stopped at turn-offs with his hazards on "deciding" if he thought there'd be more or less traffic one way or another. it was total madness. but we went to the embassy with no problems and then off to see the site of the health fair, which is at a naval hospital in ojo, part of lagos. and that was relaxed. there were a lot of military med people and everyone had lots of questions about how the us med training programs are set up and how it's different in the military and all. mostly the actual meeting was terribly boring because it was just logistics about who's soing what where and all. and it sounded like they were just really unprepared. like, they didn't even know if they had a tent to set up (which they would need) or have a back up plan for the rain (since it IS the rainey season and rains every single day). but we got out of there ok and headed back to check into our hotel. and it took 3hrs to get there! it was not very far; maybe 30 miles but it was really torture. sometimes the traffic would just sit for like a half hour and not move even a tiny bit. it was the absolute worst on victoria island and got much worse the closer we got to our hotel (we're staying at a place called camelot). and so dooshima and i checked in (after we threatened to leave because they had no reservation for me, didn't want me to stay without my passport and then i had to count out N70,000+ in N500 notes. i had to have dooshima help me because i was too flustered. and after dumping our stuff off (i have to climb 3 flights of stairs...) we had the driver take us to a "mall" for dinner and a movie. i had an egg, cheese, chicken bun with fries and lots of spicey hot sauce and then we went and say "the legion" which was very entertaining. then we called a cab and came back and i found out i have free ethernet in my room! horray! but i'm really tired right now so may wait until tomorrow to really write about stuff. now it's time to get some shut eye...

day 11? hump day

i know it's nearly impossible to see, but this is the famed italian cow. if you look just at the fence post with the blob around it you will see a small blurry thing which is the cow. we were driving really fast and it was cloudy and my window had dark tint. excuses, excuses. so today was sort of different. dooshima gave a class on male and female condoms to the office people and it was really funny. we had to come up with 5 rules before starting (like "be respectful" and "turn phones to vibrate") and then came up with a penalty if any were broken (pay N500 to the accountant) and then a "spokesperson" had to sign off showing that the group agreed. it was interesting. and then we started talking about condoms. and i was surprised at how little everyone really knew about how much protection they offer, the manufacturing standards, how to store and use them properly, etc. and there were lots of comments about social/religious implications since polygamy is traditional, historically, among the tribes (and still practiced amongst muslims; check out this link for evidence... http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyid=2007-09-19T122758Z_01_L19141837_RTRIDST_0_OUKOE-UK-NIGERIA-WIVES.XML) but is still "practiced" by christians in the manner of taking mistrisses. so there was lots of talk about how to get rid of the evidence without anyone finding it later i.e. best to flush in the toilet or throw on the ground in a busy alley, like by a hospital. i thought that was really weird. and in general everyone seems to speak really loudly with lots of exagerated motions and wide pitch fluctuations. it's really very dynamic when people are "discussing"; a cacophany more or less. but it was fun to be a part of and dooshima was really funny trying to act out how to use a female condom. and then there was another fairly boring meeting about upcoming events and budget issues. and then we ended up working too late and couldn't go to the market because it was about to close! :-( apparently it closes around 5pm (rather early!) so there's no way we could have made it after the meeting. so i came back to the room and pretty much packed up my stuff and then dooshima and gayathri came and picked me up to go for dinner at a new cafe called sadamanders. and it was really fun! the place was really cool and trendy with fun decorating, kushy chairs and couches, a library and internet. we ordered dinner and desserts. i had a spicey chicken pepper soup and a chocolate almond cake. it was delish. but the best was the caupccino!!! it was incredible! especially since i haven't had one for like 2 wks! but it was a really nice evening and we were there for almost 3 hours! very fun. and gayathri and susan may fly down to lagos for the weekend to go out with us after the health fair. i have to get up early tomorrow to check out and go to the airport. then when we get to lagos we'll run around until we're sure the fair is all set up to go and we'll go check into our hotel on the island. and that's about it. i guess i'm just really too drained to think much right now. more later. and hopefully i'll have internet at the hotel there and can keep up with this. otherwise there will be a lot of reading to do on sunday! until tomorrow...

geography 101 (otherwise known as day 10)

here's a map of nigeria in case you wondered where stuff is here...

so this is kind of a shock but i'm already half way though my rotation here! i have only one whole weekend here and the morning of saturday the 29th before i leave. in some ways i'm really happy because once home i'll have a car and starbucks and, most importantly, my husband! but there are so many things (obviously) left to see and do here! i was invited to take a trip to the mountains next weekend and i can't go because that's when i leave. but it's ok. at least i get to go to lagos. so this is interesting; lagos is reportedly the 2nd largest city in the WORLD after mexico city and is the largest in africa. there hasn't been a census here since the early 90's but based on water usage there are at least 20 million people (with a more accurate guess at about 25). the population of the whole US as of july this year was reported at just over 300 million and there's only 1.5 mil in manhattan for some comparasins. lagos is also supposedly considered the most dangerous city in the world. we're not staying in mainland lagos though; the city is comprised of a series of islands linked by landfills (LOTS of trash!) and we'll be staying in a nice hotel on victoria island which is one of the richest areas in the country. so it's funny because we're staying on an island but have to drive thru lagos to the far side outside the city limits (so i'm told) to go to the health fair! nuts, but it's ok with me; i'm pretty much just along for the ride. except, get this, so dooshima (the girl i'm going with) says there won't be anything in particular for me to do, just general helping out as an extra body, unless they ask for a representative to give a speech! isn't that funny? she doesn't want to do it so she told me that'll be my job! lucky for me i don't get nervous around crowds, even when i have no idea what i'm talking about. it'll be fun; at least then i'll have a reason to be noticed. so i have no pictures today. nothing notable happened. i went to the gym and then to the office where my computer screen took a shit and they gave me a loaner (so i have full-time access again afterall) and all i really did was chit-chat and look at new computers online. and a little reading about hiv/aids. and i stole that nice map of nigeria from some web site. maybe lonely planet? i can't remember. and we didn't go to the market today because it was yucki again. so we're trying again tomorrow but now we have a plan; gayathri and dooshima and i (and whoever else, i guess) will leave work at 4:30pm at the latest and go to the market for an hour or so before going on to salamanders to celebrate dooshima's 30th birthday. apparently salamanders is a brand new swanky coffee and cocktail bar. sounds fun, anyway. then i'll get up early on thursday, after packing up all my stuff the night before, because i have to check out of the hotel. yeah, can you believe it? it makes sense i guess, but's still annoying. so when the driver picks me up for the airport in the morning i'll have my stuff all packed and whatever i'm not bringing to lagos will be stashed at the office til i get back on sunday and check back into the hilton! whatever. it's expensive to stay here so makes sense to save that extra $500 or so. especially since they're giving me N100,000 (~us$800) to go to lagos. in cash. so we have travel and per diem alottments at usuhs too but here they pay it all out in advance. in CASH! it was funny because i asked dooshima how much money i'd need and she's like "didn't you get the letter? we're getting all that money before we go. how else would we afford it?" hmmm. i don't know. we use our government travel cards and get reimbersed? silly me. people here are still burying cash in holes in the backyard and unfortunately sometimes that's the safest place for it. there have recently been all these local news stories about the "attractive ladies" that work for the bank and have to meet quotas for accounts opened. they apparently do "anything" for a new account and it also counts if people just switch accounts from other institutions. so as you can imagine it's a lot of paperwork and screw-ups, never mind prostitutes working for the bank! but that's not a bad story at all. another news story from today was about a man caught having sex with another man's wife (by her clever husband, no less) who was beaten within inches of his life and is now in a coma. apparently the adulturer has been dressing as a woman and goes to the wife's house when her husband goes away on business. but this happened up north, the muslim (or local hausa tribe) area where the eye-for-an-eye justice prevails. other random daily news stories talk about NEPA (the electric company that never works) and corrupt government officials and about the golden eaglets who won the under-17yr old world cup in soccer last weekend. big deal around here. so that's about all. i'm still kind of grumpy about my whole computer situation but it's sweet that they're letting me use another in the meantime. and my cold is almost gone too. and i get to wear jeans for this trip to lagos which is cool since i actually have a pair! hmm.. i guess that's it. i ate a bowl of soup, a roll and a banana for dinner with 2 cups of decaf nescafe (so, so bad). and i'm just reading and relaxing. it's nice. and now i'm done til tomorrow...

here's a link for lagos state (whose capital is lagos city) in case you're curious http://www.lagosstate.gov.ng/web/lagos/home and another one that's probably better because it's not managed by the government http://www.lagoslive.com/map

just an aside; i just got drunk dialed! mary, the girl i met last night was looking for me in the bar and couldn't find me so called! i told her we'll hang out when we are both back from lagos on monday (coincidentally she'll be there this weekend too). but right now they're all drinking and she wants to go spend money. i think i'll wait til later to go see her!

ninth day

wow. so today was about as boring as can be and i felt crappy with a sinus headache and ALL DAY there was some really loud annoying construction work going on downstairs of the office. i spent a lot of time typing and playing online and was looking forward to going home and resting. but then at like 4:30pm i decided i shouldn't be a weenie and so i texted george to see if he wanted to go to the fish place for dinner. and "yes" was the answer, so at 6pm i met him out front and we caught a cab. and get this; the driver didn't want to take us to the place (other side of town) and so as soon as we got outside the gates of the hilton he made us get out! yeah! so then we went through a few more cabs til we found one that was a reasonable price and we were on our way. until george tells the guy "you can't go this way, it's closed." and he goes anyway. then the road is closed and he says "ok, we're here." "where?" we're totally at a road block by an intersection in rush hour. and the guy totally refuses to take us any farther! completely weird! so we get out and weave through the nuts-o traffic (they turn 2 lanes into 4; who needs pavement?) and there are no empty cabs because it's 6:30pm and so we have to walk another 1/2 mile to the restaurant! the cabbies here are retarded! luckily we negotiated the mud, potholes and trash without incident and even though i almost lost a limb to the random motorbike zooming by WAY too close, we made it safely back accross the highway when the fish place was in sight. so we get to this little market place that's just outside the mogadishu barracks and snake through the tents to get to the fish place. and it smells amazing!!! a really thick grilled meat smell. i'm like pavlov's dog at this point! so i order a legend and a fish n chips and george gets a coke and a fish with NO PEPPER! he hates all the pepper on stuff here. and we're just sitting in these mismatched plastic lawn chairs at these tables that are all just kind of pushed up together to make a sort of long table row and taking in the scenery which consists of phil colins on tv, lots of lounging locals and a huge open grill being tended to by over a dozen people with nothing but whole fish laying atop the coals and wood chips. it's an awesome sight; especially when they fan the coals and then these huge clouds of smoke rise up around everyone and obscure our dinner-to-be. next come the bowls of water, one for each of us so we can dip our fingers in and wash off. and then the fish!! the huge whole fish complete with fat steak fries, shredded cabbage, and a whole pile of hot peppers and grilled onions. and the best part? NO SILVERWARE!

we get to eat the whole meal with our fingers!! that made the food taste better already. but it certainly didn't need any help; it was delicious! soft, tender, moist and HOT! i just grabbed a fin and pulled. there was a little meat on the end so i ate it. and then i dug for more from the hole i just made. and i continued my way down the length of the spine careful not to chomp on any bones and sure to scoop up plenty of spicey peppers with my meat. and when one side was clean george helped me rip the backbone right out and then i had a whole 'nother side to dig into. and dig i did! i ate the hell outa that fish! i have never, physically, eaten anything quite like that and it was fantastic! scooping up cabbage and peppers and bits of fleshy fish and eating it all right from my fingers; delectable! it was totally enjoyable, really. i never thought whole fish could taste so good! i even ate most of the skin (it's loaded with a peppery rub; didn't wanna miss out on that flavor-fest)! and when it was all over (i really picked it pretty clean) we rubbed our hands with cut limes and rinsed them in the bowls. and the cost? for beer, coke, and two fish n chip dinners? us$7. yup. the taxis there and back cost as much! in fact, the coffee we had back at the hilton cost MORE! so once the tab was settled i went to take some pictures which george told me is "snap". i should ask people if i can snap them. as in snap a picture. and it was totally successful! i "snapped" a lady tending the grill,

another tending the coals, and one girl who was just friendly and curious. they were funny! they wanted to get lots of pictures taken and then look at them all! and the funny part is they rarely would smile when i went to "snap" them. so they look pretty somber even though they were laughing with me and being really friendly. so that was my fish place experience. and then we had to try to get a cab home. but it's dark and there's no one around (unlike the hilton where there are always 3 or 4 taxis hovering just outside the door). but there's a bus stop nearby and we figure standing there will get us a little closer to a taxi and maybe if we stand close enough to the road people will notice our glowing white faces and stop to give us an over-priced ride back. which is exactally what happened. but this guy didn't kick us out before our destination and the car was much nicer and newer than most of the other cabs. so once back we headed to the hilton's piano bar for some real american-brewed coffee (which was actually brewed by a nigerian, but at least wasn't nescafe!) and while george is away from the table a girl walks by and asks if she can join me. "sure". so he comes back and wonders who she is and i have no idea so once the coffee comes we start to investigate. turns out she's a student from lagos who's visiting her childhood friend from germany (who's staying at the hotel) and has had too much wine and needed a break from dancing. we get to talking and find out she has a 1yr old baby named peace who's living with her sister and brother-in-law. while she was pregnant and getting ready for her wedding her husband-to-be was killed in a car crash. pretty tragic. and now she thinks she'll only be able to get married if it's to a non-nigerian because, here, a child with no father is like the worst thing. it's not like just having a step dad, apparently it's worse than being strangers. in any case, it's very hard to make things work in that situation. but the girl is really warm and talkative and will be around for then next week or 2 and we've exchanged numbers and emails after she invited me to her friend's wedding back in her home village. it's in october though so i told her i probably wouldn't make it. but seriously! she was so nice! everyone here is. and after an hour talking with us and drinking coffee she felt much better and went back to dancing. and i felt it was appropriate to say goodnight and come back up yo my room to relax and reflect on my evening. and to think earlier in the day i didn't want to do anything! tomorrow, if it doesn't rain, we may try to go to the market for a bit at lunchtime which would be really fun. and if i'm not too tired i may call mary or kahlil to see what they're doing. and then on wednesday evening we are going out to celebrate doshima's 30th birthday (which we just found out was yesterday) before we head off to lagos on thursday morning. i'm having a lot of fun even though it's a lot of work too. but now it's time to try to get some more sleep...

day 8

another lounging day, and perfect since i've been feeling kind of crappy. next weekend i will be in lagos so i need to feel good then! but i got up at a nice time (0830) and read a bit before heading off to the gym. i swear, the only place i feel totally at home in this country is in the gym! so i spent like an hour and a half there. but here's a sad bit; so i thought "wow, i'm running really fast and it feels so easy! woo-hoo for me!" until i saw the treadmil flash KM/hr instead of MILES! doh!! so i totally was running at a really easy pace which is why it felt so easy! boo. but it was a nice workout anyway.

and then it was laundry time! before i hopped in the shower i started some clothes soaking in shampoo and bar soap (nice, i know) and then once i got out, i rinsed and hung up all my stuff. i did 2 "loads"; lights and darks. it was super-sweet. the picture is of in my shower where the towels normally hang. now all of my stuff is spread all around the room though because there's not enough airflow in the bathroom (no fan). some stuff has dried and some probably will be another day. no wonder they said bring synthetics! i'm glad most of my stuff is. so that was my exciting morning which was topped off with a breakfast/lunch of yogurt, banana and peanuts. and then i ventured down to the pool. i picked a nice lounge chair far away from the pool where i could read under a wooden umbrella. the chairs have these big cushions that are really comfy! so i read a bunch and snapped like a pic or 2 and debated about my bowl. so i had a plan; at home at an art festival the bowl i wanted would cost like us$12 so i decided i wouldn't pay over N1500 (which is equivalent). woo-hoo! i'm so prepared with my bargaining plan! so i'm walking down the path (and drenched in sweat! it's 3pm and i swear the other 2 hours i was out here were fine, breezy, almost cool!) and as i get to the "village" i run into this skinney, tannish-but-not-black guy who sticks out his hand "hi! are you staying here?" so i shake and chat and find out his name is kahlil (and he's annoyed that no one in nigeria can make that kghhhgh sound that tom makes when saying things in hebrew) and he's just finished his master's degree a month ago in lebanon and is here looking for a job. huh? yeah, he says the job market is much better here than in lebanon. wow, that's pretty bad. but he's staying with his sister and her husband and kid in wuse 2 which is a nearby district of abuja (3min by taxi). so he offers to walk with me as i look for my bowl so i'm not alone and he can help me haggle, if i need it. i am thrilled! it's so nice to be able to look around with someone else so i'm no a lone target! i tell him that my husband is here with me but that he works all the time so i rarely get to see him. white lie but i think it's a reasonably appropriate one.

so i find my bowl! and get this, we ask how much and the answer is only N700! so we say no and drop it lower and he goes to N500 and we push a little more and he doesn't give. apparently that's how you know if it's a good price; if they let you leave after the last offer your price was too low. so i'm totally happy to pay 500 (us$4 or a little less) and practically skip outta there! and kahlil thought it was too much. so we part after i have my bowl (i'm so happy!) and he gives me his number in case i get bored since he doesn't do much during the days without a job and all. so i walk. i go the other way on the gravel trail hoping to find a long, interesting walk and am disappointed because it ends into a spread of red mud at a huge concrete structure which probably houses the millions of generators or something. i think about just stepping over the puddles and continuing on sans trail but then decide it's just not how i should do things here. so i snap some pix of the pretty flora and make my way back to my room with my treasure. and seriously, that's about it. i read more, take care of rearranging my laundry for better dryage, and make a cup of tea. and the evening wears on and after surprising my mom with a phone call from NIGERIA!! (onesuites's soft phone which is downloadable and only costs like 1 cent per min!) i decide that rather than be more adventurous it's time to make use of my purchase. yes! (fist pump.) so i warm up with an orange for an appetizer (they have too many seeds though) and then open my envelope of minestrone soup with croutons. so fancy! after reading that it only has like 100kcal i decide to chuck in a mini can of chicken for good measure. so this is kind of funny; the name on the soup package is "CUP of soup". i didn't need a bowl afterall! yeah right. i couldn't fit a whole delectable meal in a tiny 6oz tea cup. and anyway my bowl totally rocks! so after a few minutes of soaking in the boiled water, i taste. get this; the croutons are totally crunchey in the middle! i'm sure that means they're loaded with some horrible, cancer-potentiating perservatives but i think it's fun! and my spork is awesome because i can jab the chunks of chicken with it or just scoop up some of the salty broth.

it's funny, when i opened the package there was this scent and i totally was like 19 again and living off various "add water and eat" foods like ramen and lipton soups and whatnot. the company that makes this soup is "batchelors" which makes it extra amusing. so my dinner cost like us$1 instead of $25 if i went downstairs to a restaurant where it's not authentic anyway (c'mon, chinese? really). but i'm on the "phone" with tom and he's having a beer so i check out the mini bar and a frosty brew is just N500 which is only about us$4. that's less than what i'd pay at home in a bar! so i think it's reasonable and grab a legend extra stout, which is locally brewed (hinekin and guiness are also VERY popular here) and it's pretty good. a little sweet compared to a guiness extra stout but still, for $4 and i didn't even have to get out of the chair? tastes better already! and that's that. so i just hung out all day and did me stuff; reading, gyming, pool, bowl, soup, beer; is there any more a girl could ask for? maybe a super target. kidding. not really, because most of them house starbucks. but then it wouldn't be nigeria in 2007 would it?