Ahhhh....Ghana

The resort

Well, Britte' and I just returned from a fabulous four-day trip to Ghana in West Africa. Only an hour by plane from Nigeria, but a world of differences. We booked a room at a recommended resort on the beach about three hours from the airport. We arranged for an airport pick-up through our hotel and shared the ride with our school's superintendent and his wife. The driver proceeded to drive at 80 -100 km/hour (not really sure how fast that is in mph) which felt REALLY fast compared to the cumbersome traffic around Lagos all the time. We were whipping in and out between the cars, passing the slower drivers and narrowly escaping head-on collisions every thirty seconds or so. Britte' of course was comfortably dozing away without a care in the world, while I was fighting to stay awake so that I could face our premature death head-on! Fortunately, we made it to the hotel safe and sound, just a little exhausted. The resort we stayed in is situated right on a beautiful, pristine beach (very unlike the beaches in Lagos, which are covered with trash). The rooms were located in these little, white, bungalow-style buildings, surrounded by tall coconut trees and manicured lawns.  We had access to the ocean and a lovely swimming pool. We were excited to see that they had horses on the grounds that could be ridden for an hourly fee. So, we made an appointment, but of course the guy in charge of the horses didn't show up for our appointment:( They also had a crocodile pond that advertised public feeding times on certain days, but when we showed up to see the event, no crocodile feeding was taking place:( However, on the plus side, we had a working shower in our bathroom which we didn't have to hold in our hand, and the water pressure was wonderful compared to our present circumstances in our flat. The hotel also offered a buffet breakfast which was complimentary and pretty decent fare. For dinner, we had fresh-caught seafood from the local village served up in the restaurant each night.

View from the open-air restaurant.

Dinner: Red Snapper and Fried Rice.

The delightful pool.

On our first full day in Ghana, we took a car to Kakum National Forest. Here we participated in a Canopy Walk. We're talking walking on a one-plank-wide rope bridge 100 feet up in the air! It was a bit scary, but exciting too! It was a work-out trying to stay balanced and upright. Of course, as luck would have it, wouldn't you know, but we picked the one day of the week that is "Free Ghanaian Student Day" at the local tourist sites. This meant that we were bombarded with hundreds of little Ghanaian children dressed in their matching school uniforms. No they weren't calm and quiet. No they didn't really wait their turn. No they weren't any different from the kids back home - except that they were a little surprised to see the white people who were sweating profusely from every pore in their bodies. One little boy got curious enough to strike up a conversation with me. Once I proved to be somewhat safe, his friends joined in and soon I had my own little entourage, following me and wanting to take a picture with me.

Britte' having some fun on the Canopy Walk!

      Seven canopy bridges later, we decided to hike to the nearby waterfall and adjacent lagoon that we'd heard was lovely and a great place to take a swim. We paid for the hike, got introduced to our guide, and headed into the jungle for what we were told would be a short, flat, easy hike. Not true. First, our guide wanted to stop at every other tree or plant to describe what type of tree it was and what it was useful for. This was when we found out that our superintendent is not the most patient man around! It was comical for us to hear him mumbling behind us every time the guide chose to stop. And then of course, there were the attacking ants! Yep, Britte' got attacked by "pit-bull" ants that drew blood when they bit her. Finally....we made it to the waterfall - clearly, a disappointment. And no beautiful lagoon to swim in. Just a murky-looking pool of water. And I'm pretty sure I saw a snake slithering nearby, so no swimming for any of us.

Britte' NOT having fun with the attack ants!

Our gorgeous waterfall and swimming lagoon:)

Eventually, we left the jungle and headed to the town of Cape Coast where one of the famous slave castles is located. What an experience. It's sickening to hear our guide describe the treatment of these human beings who were seen as property. We toured the slave-holding cells where 200 men were held for 3 months time until they were transported across the Atlantic. We went into the cell where they held up to eight women at time who refused the sexual advances of the guards or governor. The really sickening thing was that it was actually better for a woman to allow the guards/governor to rape her and get pregnant because then she would be housed in town with a soldier, fed properly, and was somewhat protected until she gave birth. Then her child would be taken from her, she would be sent on the next boat to slavery in the Americas (North America, South America, or the Caribbean).  Also, they put us in the death room where slaves were thrown for trying to escape and left there to die a slow and agonizing death. The room had no ventilation, sanitation, or light. Our guide shut the door and turned-off the lights with us inside to show us how stifling the room could be. The castle also houses a museum that gives you facts & information about the slave trade. One interesting piece of info I learned was that the tribal chiefs in Africa actually were the middlemen in many cases, selling or trading their own people for a profit. This is something you definitely don't hear about back home. There is now a plaque in the wall of the castle that is a public apology from the African leaders stating that this atrocity will never happen again.

A view of the slave castle in Cape Coast, Ghana.

Our next full day in Ghana was spent mostly relaxing by the pool, trying to get a tan (or just a slight burn in my case). There was a wonderful breeze coming in off the ocean to keep us cool. This is what I imagine heaven being like. The only rift in our day was when we decided to take a short walk through the authentic fishing village next to the resort. Our friends had walked through the village the previous day and had no problems, so who would have known that we would experience anything different. On our short walk about 100 feet into the village, a girl walked out of a hut balancing a large bucket on her head, she walked past me and....grabbed my butt! I was taken aback just slightly, but managed to stop and look her in the eye while saying "Excuse Me?". She just smiled and walked off. We did not venture any further into the village, but turned around and headed to our retreat near the pool.

Mud hut in the butt-grabbing village.

For our last day in Ghana, we joined our friends for a highly vigorous walk into town (about 2.5 miles from the resort) in 90-100 degree heat. I swear I slathered the spf 50 on, but still managed to get red as a lobster. We made it safely through the butt-grabbing village and onto the main road to town. Along the way, we were overwhelmed with these adorable little Ghanaian children who upon seeing us began to chant in unison, "Good Morning, How are You?, Have Fun, Good-Bye!". It was very cute and obviously the extent of their English taught to them in school. Many kids got brave enough to come and touch us on the arm or leg and some even began holding our hands. We eventually made it to the fish market in town, walked up to the fort on the hill that overlooks the lagoon and the other slave castle and then turned around to head back to our paradise of a hotel. Our leader, the superintendent, asked if we'd like to walk along the beach on our way back, and we all heartily agreed. We passed hordes of villagers who were panning for gold and were surprisingly actually finding little flecks of gold in the sand. Eventually, we reached a spot where the beach turned into low rocks that you had to hike over to get to the next stretch of sand. It was then that we discovered Poop Rock...literally, we were walking through their pooping grounds, their toilet! And Britte' was in sandals! Britte' did not find it amusing at all and had a few words to say to our leader! We finally, made it through without any misplaced feet or falls and back onto the road to the hotel. I went straight for the shower, Britte' went straight to the pool to soak her feet in the chlorinated water just in case:)

Village Life - clay ovens for smoking local caught fish.

View of Slave Castle in Elmina, Ghana from the fort on the hill.

More village life in a fishing village.

A memorable, and mostly relaxing time was had by all! Unfortunately, Britte' checked her luggage and got her iPod and cell phone stolen:( This didn't surprise me because that was my exact thought when the flight attendant explained that our flight was slightly delayed due to there being "too much luggage" that needed loading into the cargo-hold. Should a seen that coming!

No Movement Day!

Today is yet another No Movement Day! That means that we aren't allowed out on the roads from 7am to 4pm today. the reason for the restrictions is that there is some sort of vote happening today and to stem any protests, riots, violence, etc., they (the government) make everyone stay at home (I believe the locals can walk to the nearest voting center). No businesses are open and you can get arrested for going out on the roads if you're not careful.

So, today we slept-in, ate our typical lazy-day breakfast of french toast, and then headed over to the school compound to watch a movie on the big screen in my classroom! We were hoping it would get sunny so we could lay out near the pool, but there was yet another big lightning storm last night and the weather hasn't cleared up since then.

It's nice to have an excuse to do nothing all day though!

It's Been A Busy Week:)

So, it's been a busy week, but it's weeks like this one that get us that much closer to our next little vacation! Thursday & Friday were our first Parent-Teacher Conferences in Africa. It's so much more exhausting than at our old school. For starters, ALL the parents come! Well, I had 23 out of 24, but most of my conferences had two parents which is different (in my experience). Furthermore, these parents are educated and make sure you know your stuff. They walk in with journals and take notes from your conversation! These parents ask meaningful questions (for the most-part) and are very specific in wanting to know about each aspect of their child's social & academic skills and behavior. And they are so gracious! I can't tell you how many parents ended the conference thanking me profusely for all that I do! As a teacher, it makes you feel really good about your choice of career. It also makes me realize how screwed-up American society is with their blame-it-on-the-teacher mentality! Many of my students are from around the world and their cultures put education at the top of their priority list - it's refreshing to not have to fight with children about why they need to do this and why they need to try their best, etc., and to then receive the support of their parents unconditionally! I'm starting to see why so many teachers enjoy their time here.

Monkey sighting!

I know, I know....it's been awhile!

Yep, that sign says "crocodiles"!

One of many monkeys we saw:)

Last weekend one of our friends with two small children asked us to accompany her and the wee ones to the Nature Reserve located just outside of town. The reserve houses various birds, primates, and reptiles native to this part of Africa. Within steps of our car we got to see a giant tortoise up-close and personal. We then marched through the swampy jungle, on a raised boardwalk, passing mangroves, palm, and cashew trees, while keeping our eyes peeled for monkeys and crocodiles (as the sign warned us). Every once in a while, you'd hear a crashing sound coming from the treetops and a monkey would grace us with it's presence. I tried to be quick with the camera, but I didn't want to miss the opportunity to see the monkeys in "real life" as opposed to behind a glass window at the zoo. There was also a giant ladder that scaled up the side of a tree, from which, if you chose to climb, you could get a great view. Kinda cool! 

Hola Barcelona!

Just got back from four fabulous days in Barcelona, Spain! Here are some of the highlights:

Our trip began with a 2 hour drive to the airport, a pleasant surprise after being told it could take up to 4 hours. So, now we're at the airport at about 5pm and our flight doesn't leave until 11pm. After standing in line for a few hours, and being told we were in the wrong line about 5 or 6 times during those hours, we got checked-in and were set to go. We spent the next several hours in the over-priced (a standard element in Nigeria) restaurant with our fellow colleagues who were traveling to Munich for the tail-end of Oktoberfest.

At some point during the many security stops, and before the full-body pat-down, Britte' was asked what the bulge in her pocket was, and to everyone's amusement in the near vicinity, she innocently pulls the bulge out and says "socks" like it's an everyday occurrence:) This got the attention of the Scottish guy standing nearby who became our buddy throughout our flight and navigation through the London airport. If you didn't think that was funny, you really needed to be there to witness the scrutiny and facial expressions of this exchange:) And of course, we bee-lined it to the Starbucks for our first taste of home in 2 months! It was delicious.

Finally got to Barcelona, and had to manage the Metro system on 2 hours sleep in the past 30 hours. The funny thing is, it didn't get much better even after no sleep-deprivation. Every time we got off the subway, we inevitably chose the wrong exit to leave from and found ourselves on some random street corner looking around with a big, fat "I'm a tourist, and I'm lost" tattoo on our foreheads.

We stayed at a fantastic little B & B away from the tourist zone for the first couple of nights. They served a great breakfast, and there was a fan in our room to help drown out my loud snoring that Britte' had to endure for four days! As luck would have it, I came down with a nasty cold almost simultaneously with our arrival in Barcelona. So, not only was I a great companion to hang-out with, but their was further sleep-deprivation in store for Britte!

For those of you who haven't been to Barcelona, the one must-see is La Sagrada Familia. It's the famous cathedral in the middle of Barcelona, designed by Antonio Gaudi. It is by far, the most unique and beautiful church in all of Europe (at least in my opinion:)!

Me in front of La Sagrada Familia.

Amazing interior of the cathedral.

Alternate facade of the cathedral.

During our visit, we also tried to tour the Picasso Museum, but the day we chose to go was the one day of the month that is free to all visitors and hence, the line was 1/2 mile long and we chose to instead go shopping in the neat little shops surrounding the area. This is also when we had the opportunity to try "churros and chocolate", a snack or breakfast food that is basically doughnuts and thick, pudding-like chocolate. It wasn't very good, although, I should mention that this is more traditional in Madrid, not so much in Barcelona, so next time I'm in Madrid, I'll have to try it again!

Churros and chocolate

Salvador Dali is also a pretty important artist in the Barcelona area, so one of our days was spent riding the train 2 hours outside of town to enjoy? the Dali Museum in Figueres. For those of you who don't remember who this guy was, think of the famous paintings with the melting clocks. His work is bizarre! I've included a few pics (the tamer works). 

A picture of ??? Can you see?

An upside-down boat raining glass tears.

One-legged person with dancing croc.

We did more shopping than anything else while on our little holiday. The main street in Barcelona is called Las Ramblas and it's a series of designer shops in a one-mile stretch. It was a lot of fun to people-watch. It seems as if Spaniards all have great style, and all the women have terrific hair (a sore subject with Britte' and I who in our present environment/climate can't find the right way of "doing" our hair - we look pretty scruffy most of the time). We found the time to frequent Starbucks a few more times and even stopped in at  McDonald's once or twice:)

We made it back to Nigeria right on time, stood in their "customs" line for a long while, and then panicked a little when we realized we forgot our immunization cards which you are required to carry in addition to your passports in order to get back into the country. The female guard stopped us on our way out the door and tried to inform us that without our immunization cards she'd have to take us to the hospital to get immunized, at which point, we grabbed our passports out of her hand and told her "absolutely not, good-bye" and then we walked out the door. Phew! She was really just hoping to intimidate us into giving her some money to pay her off, but we handled it like pros, and our driver was waiting just outside the door, so away we went! 

It was actually a relief to get back to our flat and exclaim "We're Home!". Weird how it actually feels like home even with our completely barren, white walls, and lack of decor. We were welcomed back with running water and power, clean dishes, and clean laundry, so things are looking up!

Thanksgiving will hold another trip - this time to Ghana - just a short hour-long flight west. Stay tuned for more adventures!

Oh....Gross:(

Just enjoying a cup of tea (acquired during our layover in London's Heathrow airport this week) and found this squirming on my kitchen floor...

Yep, that's our first cockroach - about 2 inches long - oh, how I hope he's the only one!

Nigerian Culture Day!

The much anticipated Nigerian Culture Day came and went today! Everyone was right when they told us we'd be exhausted (and we cut it short, ending the day an hour earlier than usual).

This is an annual event that the school puts on to celebrate Nigeria's independence. This was the celebration of their 51st year of independence from Great Britain.  The day was filled with native tribal dancing & music, skits depicting a traditional wedding, gobs of Nigerian food to sample, a market to shop for arts & crafts, and numerous activities for the children to partake in throughout the day. The kids had a great time, although they were a bit tired from standing for so long to listen to the speakers. And it was a hot day! It was even more fun to see everyone dressed-up for the occasion. Some were dressed in traditional clothing, others - not so traditional, more fashionable. As you can see from the pics, my outfit is more traditional, Britte's is more fashion-forward:)

Our Nigerian outfits!

Wedding dance.

Traditional tribal dance.

Relay races for the high school kids.

Now, we're off to Barcelona for a few days of rest & relaxation! Adios, amigos!

Arrrrgh!

We've had no water for the past three days!

Power has gone out like 50 times in the last week.

The shelf on the inside door of our refrigerator fell off and a full bottle of Teriyaki sauce just crashed and exploded on our floor, which we can't really mop because there's no water (see beginning of post).

Have to shower at the school in the locker room.

Desperately needed laundry done for our trip to Barcelona this weekend, so had to hike it over to the school flats and impose on someone yet again.

Had to have my entire class checked for lice today - always fun!

It's been a frustrating week to say the least:(

On the plus-side though, we've found three Starbucks coffee houses within about 8 mins. of our B & B in Barcelona, so guess where our first stop will be:) Barcelona is becoming less and less an exotic local for sightseeing and culture-intake, and more a slice of normalcy that we desperately need.

Thank-God we got our passports back from the embassy in time. Unfortunately, a slew of teachers headed to Munich for Oktoberfest have not received their passports and may be stuck here for our first long weekend in two months. I'll be praying for their sanity. Maybe I'll bring them a little Starbucks back from Barcelona.:)

Friday is Nigerian Culture Day at school. Stay posted for a run-down on our first Nigerian event!

Why it's so much fun to be an adult...

This week, my kiddos took a writing assessment, similar to the MSP writing test. The prompts are not a secret, so it's ok if I share it and the student responses with you.

My third graders were asked to write a persuasive essay on the following prompt: Which is more fun - to be an adult or a child? I read through my students' work and jotted down a few of my favorite lines. I was surprised by their answers and that so many of them chose being an adult as more fun. Here's what they had to say:

It's more fun to be an adult because...
1.  They get to have a beard and shave!
2. They don't ever get bossed around!
3. They can go to Lady Gaga concerts.
4. You can be a rockstar!
5. You're never too short to ride on a roller coaster!


On the flip side, I had one extremely funny comment about why it's so much more fun to be a child...

"You don't have to get married and kiss and all that yucky stuff! Uggh!"

Oh, how I wished I still thought like these kids!

Invasion of the Ants!

Sorry, everyone. I know it's been awhile since I've posted much, so I'm catching up on what you've all missed over the past two weeks tonight.

Two weeks ago, we had torrential downpours for almost 2 straight days. The ants apparently thought God was flooding the earth once again, and sought higher ground, IN OUR KITCHEN!

After walking into the kitchen one afternoon, I found hundreds of ants swarming all over the floor. We couldn't figure out where they were coming from. They were tiny (like sugar ants) and there was nothing left out to attract them, so we didn't know what to do. Eventually, we put on our shoes and did a little stomping dance on the ants to kill them all, but they kept coming....so we found on-line that we should "sprinkle" Comet on the areas that they were in. We liberally sprinkled the Comet throughout the kitchen, and it helped to some extent, but not completely. The next day, we made a trip to the store and purchased some Raid, which seemed to do the trick...Until the next day when we got home from school and now the ants had migrated to even higher ground and were now coming in through the windows and climbing all over our counters, in the sink, and pantry. Ugh! We sprayed a lot more raid, and now they seem to be gone. Phew!

Pizza anyone?

This morning before leaving for work, I had Britte' write a quick note to our cook to make us a veggie pizza for dinner tonight. Just got home, found the pizza in the microwave, and this is what we found....

Yep, that's peas & carrot pizza -mmmmmm:)

Note to self: Specify the type of veggies you want on your pizza when in Nigeria.

Woohoo....it's Saturday!

So, we just got up a little while ago (actually Britte' got up sometime around 6am this morning - I may need to start warming up a bottle of milk for her and sending her to bed again:). It's a glorious Saturday morning and we are reveling in a hot cup of coffee and sitting on our computers while the power's on and the internet is working!

It's been a busy week! Of course being the somewhat OCD people that we are, we have both volunteered to be the team leaders of our grade levels, so we have a meeting every other Monday after school. Tuesday was Back to School Night ,  Collaboration meeting on Wednesday, Thursday night I cooked a darn good lasagna (which takes awhile), and last night we just sat in front of our laptop and watched a new Jane Eyre movie (with subtitles in English b/c the sound on these bootlegged movies isn't great). We're getting ready to go out on a walk this morning to explore the grounds of our apartment complex, and then we'll be back to check out a tailor who may make us our Nigerian Culture Day outfits! Don't worry - there will be pics!

Just got back from our walk and now we're ready to go to the pool over at the school. What a glorious day! It's hot, really hot. Britte's got her bikini, and I've got my SPF 50, so I think we're set!

Shopping Anyone?

Last weekend we got our first taste of a Nigerian market! As Nigerian Culture Day is coming up and we've been told that everyone MUST have a Nigerian outfit made, a large group of us teachers planned an outing to a huge fabric market to shop for supplies. We stuck out like a sore thumb! But is was fascinating and fun! It's very crowded and hot, and diesel generators are running all over the place, so the smells of the diesel, mixed with the body odor, and maybe a little urine (I may have stepped into a puddle of urine coming from a small child peeing on the sidewalk - watch the attached video!). It's much like being at a large market in Europe, except you can't blend into the crowd. I enjoyed perusing through the hundreds of stalls looking at all the beautiful fabric. I eventually purchased a piece, not for making an outfit out of, but to have pillow covers, placemats, and napkins made from. Britte' was ready to leave after an hour or so, but for someone who loves shopping at places like Ross, it was like searching for treasure! Can't wait to go back!

"Don't scratch the car or I'll beat you!"

These were the words that the driver said to a little beggar girl who was plastering herself to our window. We'd been invited over to another teacher's house for dinner. This teacher is a local hire and her husband is an important dude at one of the local oil companies here in Lagos. To begin, when the car arrived, we were introduced to the driver, but there was another guy in the front passenger seat. So, I asked him if he was a friend of the driver and he quickly stated that he was a private police officer, hired as security protection for our teacher friend and her husband. It was only then that I realized he was sitting with some sort of automatic rifle pointed down between his feet, while keeping his finger on the trigger! I didn't (and still don't) know if I felt safer or more insecure at this realization. Never the less, we were safely whisked away to her beautiful home where we enjoyed a lovely dinner. Later on, her driver took us to the grocery store and on the way you often see children and adults begging on corners, in front of stores, or walking up and down the narrow space between moving vehicles on many main roads. This little Muslim girl saw us (two white women) and immediately came up to our window and began fake crying and begging for money. We 're getting used to this as it happens pretty often. Unfortunately, our driver was unable to ignore, and he rolled his window down part way and told the little girl to get off the car or he'd beat her! We were a little shocked and felt a little chastised ourselves, not knowing if it was OK to talk in the back seat - it sort of felt like we were little girls in the backseat of our father's car and he'd just told us to shut-up:(

All Is Well

I've received several e-mails and Facebook messages in the past few hours asking about our status after the recent bombing in Nigeria. To put your minds at ease (Moms:)) we are perfectly fine. The bomb occurred in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria, which is several hours to the north - we've not ventured there yet (nor are there any plans to do so). I don't think we are at any risk, as our superintendent didn't even feel the need to mention this incidence to the staff yesterday during our full day of training. We happened to hear about it in passing from another teacher who'd been on-line yesterday morning. The US Embassy also didn't send any security officers to debrief us, as I would expect if there was rumor of a bombing to occur in Lagos. Really, it feels just like being in the US when a bombing happens in another country. Life continues without much interruption. Sad, but true.  This morning, we slept-in and are now enjoying a sunny, Saturday morning. The only absence this morning is the constant blaring of horns from the highway behind our apartment - this is because today is "Environmental Saturday" which occurs on the last Saturday of each month. It is a law that nobody is out on the roads/sidewalks from 7:30am - 10:30am. Our principal and his wife actually got arrested two years ago for going out on a jog during this sacred time (not having been briefed of its' existence). They got out of a 100 day jail sentence by paying the judge the equivalent of $75! Anyhow, we are safe and may even go out after 10:30 to see the beach or go to the local mall to see a movie! Happy day! Missing you all!

What in the world?...

Guess what? Sometime last night, the water just ran out! No, a pipe didn't break...the water actually ran out! There apparently is a tub of water that sits up on the roof and when it's out, you're out! Don't know when we'll get more. So, no shower this morning, and deoderant doesn't cover the stink. Gotta walk over to the school to shower or take a pee until it's fixed.

This is Day # 17. I wonder how often this will happen.

On a positive note...
This week I've been giving my 3rd graders little mini activities to gauge their math skills and I'm relatively blown away! My kiddos created a bar graph, labeled the scale, wrote 5 detailed sentences about the data, can tell time pretty well on an analog clock, can add and subtract multi-digit #s without regrouping, and some even know their multiplication facts up to 10 x 10! I asked them to work in groups of four to complete a Venn Diagram, and they did, without arguing, and everyone participated. I asked them to write a 5 sentence paragraph about an important event in their lives, and many of them wrote a page or more, with capitals, periods, pretty good grammar, etc. I'm wondering where to even begin with them. This should be fun!

The Things They Didn't Tell Us...

Disclaimer #1: These are in no particular order, just random thoughts this evening.

1. Excessive mold
2. Everything smells (see #1)
3. The power goes out everyday.
4. All the insects jump!
5. No water pressure.
6. Washing machines suck!
7. Groceries cost an arm and a leg...
8. All the groceries are expired (and yet...see #7). (e.g. Honey Bunches of Oats=$25)
9. Stewards aren't all they're cracked up to be:)
10. No one is ever on time.
11. Even with all this money, technology still brings daily headaches.
12. You can't get sour cream.
13. Must carry a purse full of Naiyra just to buy a round of margaritas at the local "Mexican" restaurant.
14. Although everyone speaks English, you still can't understand.
15. So much miscommunication or lack thereof.
16. Classroom size: tiny!
17. Caps on class size are not a guarantee!
18. Must disinfect...well everything!
19. You never quite feel clean enough.
20. Although this list could be twice as long, we don't want to sound like complainers, so no #20! Ha! Ha!

Disclaimer #2: Sorry, but the power has gone out 3 times in the last few hours, we're working 12 hours a day, and still don't feel like we have a handle on anything. We just needed to vent. Won't happen again!

Picture Child for Starving Teachers of Nigeria

The other night, our downstairs neighbor walked into our dining room while Britte' & I were munching on some divine chicken nuggets and very large bowls of mac n' cheese.  Her immediate reaction was to laugh hysterically and call Britte' the picture child for starving teachers of Nigeria! Apparently, she was scarfing down the mac n' cheese like it was going to be taken away from her! I promise, I DO feed her!  Unfortunately, we are still just trying to get by at this point and haven't figured out exactly which types of foods we can and cannot get, let alone which ones can we afford (a head of lettuce in the grocery store was $15.00!). But, all will be well soon enough... we have just hired a stewardess (that's a cook/housekeeper). During the interview with her, I had an out of body experience in which I felt like we were a scene straight from the book called "The Help" - I just finished reading it. So weird to be a white woman, hiring a black woman to do the chores we don't want to do. And there is a definite class distinction here. The Nigerian folks refer to themselves as "the workers" and they will not even eat at your flat even if they are there all day long, unless they have your direct permission to do so. Many of them also bring a uniform to wear while they are working, and then change back into their street clothes at the end of the day. Our cook's name is Janet and she seems very sweet. She doesn't speak really clear English, nor does she cook much American/westernized food, so we have to provide her with recipes of what we want her to make. Last night she made chicken enchiladas (with everything except the sour cream, which you can't get here). They were pretty good! Thursday she'll be back to fry us up some plantains and make Nigerian beans (at least that's what I think she said, so I'll get back to you on how that goes).

Well, yesterday was the first day of school and we survived! I honestly wasn't even tired at the end of the day. School starts rather early for elementary (7:25am), and there's no planning period before school, so the kiddos are coming into your room at 7:25! We did several getting to know you activities until 10:00 and then my IA (that's my Instructional Assistant) whisked them away to PE for 45 mins., and then immediately to Computers for another 45 mins. That was followed by a 30 min. lunch/recess period. When the students returned I had 2 more hours to entertain them with classroom expectations and little projects, and then it was time to go. The parents were very welcoming and gracious! Before school even began, one parent stepped into the class to give me and my IA a "sweet treat" as a sign that we'll have a sweet year ahead of us - the treat was a large bag of assorted cookies, shortbreads, gingerbreads, and a bottle of Italian wine! Wowzer! Britte' didn't get anything:( But I shared!

I'm sorry, I know I haven't written much in awhile, but the last week or so has been kind of crazy! I promise to get some pics up soon with a few more stories of life in Nigeria!
                                                                                               ~Toodles!

Scratch that! Just uploaded a bunch of photos of our flat and my classroom, but they are under the entry entitled "And the Adventure Begins...". Check them out. There might even be more to come tonight!

Washing Machine Goes Buck-wild!

Anyone ever try to wash their clothes in a foreign country? I swear it wasn't this hard in Europe. But here we are trying our handy-dandy washer/dryer combo for the first time. First of all, it's in the kitchen, which may be perfectly normal, but not for most Americans. We were smart in that we only placed one towel and a nightgown in the contraption to test it out. After really looking it over, and of course there's no user's manual, we thought it'd be no problem. We push the start button and realize we've chosen a mode that will take 3-4 hours, so we cancel the load and try it again, and again, and again...nothing really helps bring that number down. So, we go ahead and start the machine and let it do it's thing, hoping for the best! Much later that evening, we arrived at our flat to find that our washing machine had danced it's way into the middle of the kitchen, wrenched the water hose out of the wall, and drained water all over the floor under the refrigerator and such.  Apparently, during the spin-cycle, our machine goes buck-wild! We eventually got all the water mopped up, and set the washer back in it's place, but sadly, can't get the stupid machine to work properly. So, today, on our only day of rest, we are currently spending a few hours at another teacher's flat washing and drying our very dirty clothes! This one incident describes our first week here in Lagos quite aptly!

FOOD

We were under the impression that American food would be hard to come by in a third world country, but Britte' & I have been to numerous shops in the past few days, checking out the selection and prices of those items and have been impressed at the large number of westernized products available: Hershey's syrup, Comet, Clearasil, Raisin Bran, etc. The list goes on and on! That being said, most of our self-provided meals have been Top Ramen - it's like being in college all over again! Last night we actually baked a cake (Betty Crocker in a box) after finding out that we were expected to bring something to share with the staff for our first day at the beach! Although a little put out seeing as we barely can fend for ourselves yet, we managed to whip up the cake mix in a pot that Britte' fortunately brought with her, and bake it in our new oven (only after making a guess at how many degrees Celsius is 325 F).  Britte' just about had a stroke when I used regular tap water to mix the cake! We had quite a laugh, but now that it's been frosted, she's excited to eat something comforting:)

And the Adventure Begins...

So, we've been in our flat for 3 nights and we've got a long list of everything that breaks, falls apart, leaks, or just plain doesn't work - it's becoming quite extensive! *Think "Money Pit", the movie from the eighties with Shelley Long and Tom Hanks!! My favorite was when at 10pm, the door knob to my bedroom broke from the outside, locking me out! Our neighbor, and my 3rd grade colleague, was able to help and get it open without too much stress. Britte' and I have learned rather quickly to laugh at all the funny, weird things that happen or at what people here do and say. The people getting us through these first few days can be rather frustrating - one of them has a tendency to get annoyed with us and laugh at our "stupid" questions (don't we all teach that there's no such thing as a dumb question?) and another acts as if we are the most affluent and privileged people on the planet, tipping everyone for everything, and throwing money around like it's confetti. You never quite know what to expect! We got one of the leadership to take us to a sort of "secret" market for phones in Lagos - we were given the impression that it was an open market where upon seeing a white person, we'd be flocked with salesman trying to pawn-off their crap for exorbitant prices. When we got there, we were sent in with our leader's driver (also making us a little nervous), but were soon in a one room store with only a few handfuls of people, no one even really caring that we were white, and all the phones displayed with prices. Britte' didn't get the pink one that she wanted, but it's all good - we now have phones (although no minutes, because you have to buy the phone, sim card, and minutes all separately, and they need your passport info, pics of you, and your fingerprints-sheesh!).

We also got into our classrooms today! They smell a little...well, gross, to be honest - it's all the mildew:( But they do have normal desks, tables, chairs, etc. We have Smartboards, document cameras, MOUNTED projectors (that's for the McCarver folks), and thankfully AC! We had a mini intro to what  to expect this morning, receiving our class lists (I have 23 kiddos/ Britte' has 16), curriculum guides, etc. And (McCarver folks, you'll love this...) we are required to post learning targets as well as maintain a swift page throughout the year! Not too bad! For those of you who remember Pagia from 2nd grade a few years back, she's here, teaching 2nd grade for the 5th year, she's married to a Nigerian, and has a 7 month old baby girl and another on the way!

There's a huge social aspect of international school life that one has to get used to. We went out with a large group last night to a "fancy" restaurant. It was expensive, but at least we could eat everything on the menu and not really worry about getting sick. There was even a live band singing their renditions of Louis Armstrong's greatest hits! Fun! Tonight we've been invited to the Marine House for games or something, tomorrow we are having a glass of wine with some of the single ladies at one of the admin's houses, and on Sunday I'll be heading to the school's beach hut for some fun in the sun, a BBQ, and some shopping at the local market.

Britte' and I have decided we couldn't have done this alone...it's only been a week, but we may have had a break-down if we didn't have each other!

Oh, and Bill, no one's put a machine gun in our face...yet...but, yes, we've seen quite a few of them!

I know this is a day early, but congrats to Kyle & Sara on their upcoming nuptials!

Welcome to Nigeria!

We've made it! All went well with our travel to Lagos. We got all of our luggage and there weren't any major delays. We made it to our new home last night (Tuesday) around 6:30pm where we were greeted by several staff members and fed a spaghetti dinner. Many of you already know that the high school campus and new staff apartments did not get finished as planned, so we've been given a flat across the street from the elementary campus. This is great for the reason that that we won't have to commute each morning and afternoon, but on the flip side, we're not in a completely secure location and have been told to lock up our valuables in the school safe:( Also, as we were informed last night, these apartments have not been lived in in the last 2 years and were totally trashed until last week! They've furnished the 4 bedroom flat with beautiful couches, dining set, coffee & end tables, queen sized beds with new mattress, a large rug and dressers. That being said, everything is covered in a light coating of dust and grime, and it smells a little funky, too! This morning, I took a shower, but we don't have shower curtain rods, and it's a hand-held shower, making the experience quite the endeavor! The water sort of just trickles out or as Britte` described in my favorite quote of the day, "it's like someone peeing on you!"

Today, we got to take our first trip to the mall! There was a KFC, Nike, Converse, Fossil stores and many other places to get normal westernized items. We spent 30,000 nira today on dishes, glasses, silverware, a few cooking materials, pillows, door mat, and a few cleaning supplies - that's the equivalent of $200! Everything here is a bit more costly than in the states, but we'll make do.

The weather is pretty tolerable at this point. It gets pretty muggy, but hasn't been much more than 80 degrees temp.-wise. Last night there was even a little lightning storm, which after more than 35 hours of no sleep, I slept right on through!

Well, now we're off to a pool-side BBQ with the rest of the newbies! Ta-ta for now!

Welcome!

Well, we're Africa-bound in 6 days...it's gone by so fast!  Right now, we're doing our best to consolidate our lives into 10 pieces of luggage or less! Keep track of our amazing adventures through this site. We'll update as often as possible. We board our flight to Lagos on Monday, so please keep us in your prayers.