first motorcycle ride

so this is a little delayed, as it happened last weekend and it is already the end of this weekend... but i need to write it down so that i don't forget!

last weekend was a super long weekend because of the eid [muslim holiday marking the end of ramadan] which went a little like this:
thursday - cleaning, errands, school work
friday - school work, more errands, poker night (i was always the last girl standing, and even won a little money the second game.. woot!)
saturday - some returning teachers (IT bryan, 5th grade lana, hs social studies jordan, 1st grade jessica, hs lit gordon, and hs math dusty rose) invited leif & i to take a little adventure with them.  they were doing research because they want to float down the benue (ben-way) river in a boat eventually.  this trip was purely for informational reasons to see if it was possible, how much it would cost, how long it would take, etc. and leif & i were just along for the ride and to see some more of outside-abuja-nigeria.  we drove through nassarawa and after about two hours could not drive any further because the rode was washed out.  the only way was to take a motorcycle/ukada?.  it cost us N1000 each way and we rode three people to a bike.  we were initially told it would be about a half hour ride, but that was a lie... so for an hour (each way) i sat squished between our nigerian ukada driver and leif which was interesting.  at least i was secure on there, but i was definitely sore the next day.  we drove through lots of areas that were just pure green, and also several small villages.  when we did arrive in loko, we saw the river which was awesome, and were also followed around the whole time we were there by literally at LEAST 50 children.  non-nigerians don't go through their village often i suppose, and one of the first things a man told us was that he would show us where one of "our" people were buried - the only white man who had lived/died in the village.  we also met the cheif and emir of the village which was interesting.  overall, the experience was really cool and i'm glad that i got to see more of the "real" nigeria as many people have told us that abuja is not really what the rest of nigeria is like.  eventually when we got home, leif and i went to the vlisco fashion show which was a fundraiser for our school.  sara and a few other teachers/parents were models in it, so it was fun to go support them.  have lots of pictures and ideas for some dresses that i want made now :)
sunday- 5th grade brian, another returning teacher, took us (sara, leah, matt and i) to gurara waterfalls which was about an hour away.  took a little hikey hike and ate lunch there.  was pretttty cool.

so many adventures and things seen in such a short time already!  love it. :)

the eid + JAILBREAK + rain

happy four day weekend to me!  it seems that some others back home also have a short work week between labor day and jewish holidays.  we celebrate neither of those here, but instead have time off because it is the end of the fasting period of ramadan.  eid al-fitr marks this time and we are lucky enough to get off from school for it!  yay for staying up late (we took a late swim last night in our pool) and waking up late.. 'happy sallah!' as they say for this holiday.

the eid also brings about the durbar which is a huge, regal celebration.  i just googled it to read a little more history wise and found this on someone else's blog who went to the durbar a few years ago [" Nigeria is roughly 50% Muslim, 50% Christian. The North is Muslim, the South Christian, cutting the country in half where the capital, Abuja, is located. Abuja is a new city, planned to be the capital and it reflects the complex challenge Nigeria faces concerning religious diversity. The National Mosque and the National Church are both grand and directly face each other in downtown Abuja.

Before jihad succeeded in the North a pagan festival to honor the town Prince developed entitled the Durbar. The people in the North, as many peoples from the Sahel region of Africa, were tradesmen and made their fortunes large in part due to the horses they owned. A display of vibrant costumes and horsemanship define the day-long parade and finale in front of the Emir's Palace. Today the festival coincides with the end of Ramadan and therefore has become interconnected with Islam in northern Nigeria. "]  durbars are held in several different locations at different times, and we had planned to leave at 5:30am today to travel to zaria, about 2 hours away, where one of the biggest and most authentic celebrations is held.  long story short, the embassy & high council said that we should/could not go for safety reasons as there was a jailbreak (eek!) tuesday night (see article)!  while that happened in an area maybe 5 or 6 hours away from where we are, following their advice and not putting ourselves in an area where we will stick out like sore thumbs and possibly be in danger is clearly the route to go.  as much as we'd like to just do as we please, it is always a reality check that we're living in africa where safety is a serious concern.  the school, embassy, and even just friends/coworkers in the area know best and are always looking out for us.  perhaps next year.

on a completely different note, i wore my rainboots for the first time this past saturday.  when i was first packing and heard about the rainy season i was completely convinced that i'd be wearing them all the time.  the daily rain showers have been heavy, but short-lived (10-15 min) from the time we arrived until about a week ago.  now they are heavy and last for awhile.  we were headed to a co-worker's flat to see pictures of places they've traveled and celebrate a birthday, and the rain was coming down so i slapped on the boots and out we went.  the security guards teased me, but they really loved my rainboots.. :)  weather has surprisingly been a lot cooler than i would have expected to the point where i can often be comfortable in jeans (usually during evenings), and have even worn some long sleeve shirts here and there.  i suppose the super hot weather will be when i return after christmas and the dry season comes.  i hear that during the harmattan i won't even be able to wear my contacts!

well.. some answers to questions and then off to do some cleaning and homework.  until next time...

men vs. women: both men and women are seen in the workplace and i haven't seen any type of treatment that has made me look twice.  as far as i can tell, things seem pretty fair between the two genders, but i am also in a city that i've been told is not like the rest of nigeria.  will keep my eyes and ears open, so stay tuned on that.

meat: meat is pretty expensive here if you want decent quality.  when we arrived there was some ground meat in our freezers for us which smelled like butt when we cooked it.. caused some concern haha.  i've had the chance to try a few of the traditional dishes here so far and usually they have some type of chicken.  whole fish is seen pretty regularly, or suya is common which is pretty much just meat on a stick.  so i guess in the typical nigerian diet it is available, but not as huge a focus in the states.

Corruption

so i've been thinking a lot about what i wanted to write next... and am leaning towards less of a "this is what i've done in the past week" and more towards a "this is what i think about the situation here"... and what i think is that this place is incredibly corrupt.  i know that things back home are corrupt, too, but i guess i'm just less used to / more aware of the corruption i see here.

i've read and been told by others about how nigerian politicians who are high up just find ways to launder ridiculous amounts of money - one guy was found to have four billion us dollars, but there's still a highway named after him here and the people are still outrageously poor.  also the first lady is currently under investigation for embezzling some fairly large amount of money when she was a governess.  what i see in abuja is not even the worst of the worst in nigeria, but there are just people all over the place scraping for everything/anything and it's sometimes depressing.  we've seen a lot of shanty towns when driving outside the city, but we've also seen our security guards and women right outside our apartment complex dumping out bags of garbage (sometimes ours) to look for who knows what - anything really, i guess.  the concept of official recycling does not exist here, but people have told us it's ok because anything you throw out will get recycled by people who go through your trash.

money also plays a huge role in how the police system functions which is a big issue here.  they make about $7/day and compensate for this by pulling over anyone they want.  they can often bully people into giving them money so the drivers don't have to go into the station or end up with a ticket.  they are also known to reach into your car through open windows, unlock/open the doors, jump in your car, and order you to drive places while figuring out what you have that they can take.  matt and leif both have cars here which has been the main mode of transportation for the five of us, and we have yet to be pulled over, but are making bets on to who/when it will happen first.  many people have advised making rolls of small bills to just throw out your window as far as possible so that they scramble for that while you drive away.  a bit intimidating, and it's come to the point of almost being an entertaining, but still nervous, guessing game for us.

i'm not really sure where i'm going with this, and i'm sure there are many other countries who faces similar, if not worse things... but it's just so seemingly blatant and out of control.  having people come up to us at markets on scooters because they are supposedly crippled (we've heard stories of them later getting up and walking around), or people with missing limbs banging on our windows while driving... i guess it just opens my eyes to how sheltered a life i've led.  it clearly makes me grateful for how and where i've been brought up... but now i am so ready to see more and other parts of the world and how they function.

i have a lot of other thoughts in my head about this, but am not necessarily sure how to articulate them so that will be that for now... but a few answers to questions that were asked from last time...

water: not supposed to drink.  have friends who went swimming in a lake and got parasites (eek!)  sara brought a filter to attach to the sink and we also boil our water.  lots of stores also sell bottled water.

weather: it's been surprisingly cool here - like.. jeans and a t-shirt is completely bearable.  it rains like crazy EVERY DAY and our power also goes out daily, but the heat is not bad at all.  there are air conditioners at the school/apts.  sometimes on weekends when we go out to markets and things it gets a little rough, but we are pretty spoiled in comparison to REAL nigerian life where they are too poor to have air conditions and generators.

bugs: not bad so far, but it's the wet season.  when the dry season comes around it will probably get a lot worse.  i've gotten a handful of mosquito bites, and there are lots of flies, ants.. to the point of being annoying, but not unbearable.

goodies: i could definitely use some goodies from the U.S., but everybody says you can't send care packages here without it costing an arm and a leg to actually get it once it arrives in nigeria, IF it arrives.  they put ridiculous duties on things and when you question it, they lower it.. so it's obviously not legit - just more people who don't make enough and trying to get by.  so thank you for the offer, but better not to waste the goodies/money.  just fill me up when i come home! :o)

faux pas: don't try and bargain or even converse with people before asking about their family and asking, "how was your night?"  to us it may seem intrusive and nosy, especially if speaking with a stranger, but it's considered rude to NOT ask (and even multiple times if you pass someone several times.. like in the 'halls' at school, which by the way are not hallways at all - everything is out in the open!)  even though things seem really run and down and dangerous here sometimes, people are actually very friendly and basically anybody will smile and greet you if you are smiling and greet them.  if you walk down a 'hall' at school and don't greet whoever else is walking past, it is considered rude.. which has been something to get used to while i'm still in my early morning sleepy mood/mode.

OK i feel like i've been typing forever.  comments, please :)  BYE!