TJ and I made it here a few days ago. The flight was perhaps the most interesting I've ever been on. TJ and I guessed how many non-nigerians there would be on the flight - I guessed 16. I was wrong - TJ and I were the only non-nigerians on our completely sold out flight. The behavior of the people on the airplane was pretty shocking. I went to to the back of the airplane in an attempt to find a flight attendant (since I hadn't seen one for at least six hours) to get some water and by then the entire aisle way was completely covered with garbage. I can handle garbage but the dirty diapers were quite bothersome. The airplane was freezing, the bathrooms were destroyed, the odor was horrendus, there were frequent blasts of air freshener to try to mask the stink and the flight attendants gave us a meal and a drink when we got on the plane and made themselves scarce after that. They were not happy about this new Delta flight direct from Atlanta to Lagos and were even less excited about their layover.
After a long journey we arrived in Lagos to complete chaos. I realized that no matter how bad the bathrooms were on the airplane they HAD to have been better than the ones I used at the airport. Two consulate employees met us inside the airport and made sure we got through immigration without any trouble and helped us get out with our bags. We had more stuff than we usually travel with because our friend, Carrie, ordered all kinds of stuff ranging from a computer hard drive to baby clothes and toys to gum & tennis balls for us to bring over. These are all things you can't find here and since Nigeria is the biggest internet fraud country in the world no one will ship here. Once we got outside we found Carrie and the van and driver her company sent to make sure we made it bak to her apartment safe and sound.
Our trip from the airport to Carrie's apartment was a journey in itself. We saw poor villages where the residents don't have running water or a sewage system next to million dollar homes. Traffic is so bad that the streets are lined with guys selling items from cell phone cards to clothes to books about how to treat medical problems when a doctor cannot be found along with a guy selling rat poisoning with dead rats hanging from a stick to show that it really works. There are signs that say, "Pay your taxes!" "No Urinating (which I saw a guy urinating next to) and "Welcome to Nigeria where the happiest people on earth live." We got an introduction to traffic here, although it wasn't until the next day that it tooks us 2 hours to travel approximately 6 miles. There are occassional police stops staffed by civilians who rent the police attire from the actual officers so they can make a few extra bucks. There is also a division of officers who were all fired last year but the gov't didn't (forgot?) take their uniforms back so we have been told not to respond anyone in these uniforms.
Carrie is a 4th grade teacher at the American International School of Lagos, which is essentially the same set up as a university campus. Most of the teachers live on campus and her apartment is surprisingly nice and spacious. We are enjoying her steward who is a great cook and also cleans and does laundry. Carrie also has a driver, Sonny, who takes TJ and I wherever we want to go while Carrie goes to work.
Carrie has students from 13 countries in her classroom and tuition is $15,000 a year, per student. Over 50% of the student's tuition is paid by their parent's company (Exxon, the Consulate, etc). The campus is enclosd by a huge metal security gate and razor wire and always has several guards on duty. The school increased it's security measures after a teacher was kidnapped last year while waiting for the security gate to open.
Our first night here we went to a party at "the Marine's house." Everyone we met here (mostly teachers & consulate employees) greeted us with "welcome to hell." There are supposed to be 7 Marines here to guard the consulate but right now there are only 5. The Marines rent these guys (and a girl) a house here which one of the Marine's told me might be $100,000 a year. The house was nice and fully equipped with a gym, media room, huge full bar, dance floor, strobe lights, pool table, etc. No one can argue that this is a crappy post but they sure have nice accomodation! Carrie is dating one of the Marines, which is nice because then we get to use their bullet proof suburban and professionally trained driver at night. The party was fun but we were ready to hit the hay after a long journey getting here.
I'll fill you in on the next couple of days here soon! I need to go to bed now because I am getting up early to play tennis and then TJ and I are going to the market. It is kind of risky buying souvenirs here because we hear the guards at the airport will search our bags and claim that our purchases are "national treasures" and we need a certificate from the museum to permit them to exit the country. I hope they get lazy and don't check our bags or let me buy the "certificate" from them. What I find amusing is that there is a store just past the security point where all of the confiscated items are sold! People here are pretty creative when it comes to ways to make extra money. I guess we can't blame them though since the average salary is $55 per month and almost all of that goes to transportation, food and housing.
After a long journey we arrived in Lagos to complete chaos. I realized that no matter how bad the bathrooms were on the airplane they HAD to have been better than the ones I used at the airport. Two consulate employees met us inside the airport and made sure we got through immigration without any trouble and helped us get out with our bags. We had more stuff than we usually travel with because our friend, Carrie, ordered all kinds of stuff ranging from a computer hard drive to baby clothes and toys to gum & tennis balls for us to bring over. These are all things you can't find here and since Nigeria is the biggest internet fraud country in the world no one will ship here. Once we got outside we found Carrie and the van and driver her company sent to make sure we made it bak to her apartment safe and sound.
Our trip from the airport to Carrie's apartment was a journey in itself. We saw poor villages where the residents don't have running water or a sewage system next to million dollar homes. Traffic is so bad that the streets are lined with guys selling items from cell phone cards to clothes to books about how to treat medical problems when a doctor cannot be found along with a guy selling rat poisoning with dead rats hanging from a stick to show that it really works. There are signs that say, "Pay your taxes!" "No Urinating (which I saw a guy urinating next to) and "Welcome to Nigeria where the happiest people on earth live." We got an introduction to traffic here, although it wasn't until the next day that it tooks us 2 hours to travel approximately 6 miles. There are occassional police stops staffed by civilians who rent the police attire from the actual officers so they can make a few extra bucks. There is also a division of officers who were all fired last year but the gov't didn't (forgot?) take their uniforms back so we have been told not to respond anyone in these uniforms.
Carrie is a 4th grade teacher at the American International School of Lagos, which is essentially the same set up as a university campus. Most of the teachers live on campus and her apartment is surprisingly nice and spacious. We are enjoying her steward who is a great cook and also cleans and does laundry. Carrie also has a driver, Sonny, who takes TJ and I wherever we want to go while Carrie goes to work.
Carrie has students from 13 countries in her classroom and tuition is $15,000 a year, per student. Over 50% of the student's tuition is paid by their parent's company (Exxon, the Consulate, etc). The campus is enclosd by a huge metal security gate and razor wire and always has several guards on duty. The school increased it's security measures after a teacher was kidnapped last year while waiting for the security gate to open.
Our first night here we went to a party at "the Marine's house." Everyone we met here (mostly teachers & consulate employees) greeted us with "welcome to hell." There are supposed to be 7 Marines here to guard the consulate but right now there are only 5. The Marines rent these guys (and a girl) a house here which one of the Marine's told me might be $100,000 a year. The house was nice and fully equipped with a gym, media room, huge full bar, dance floor, strobe lights, pool table, etc. No one can argue that this is a crappy post but they sure have nice accomodation! Carrie is dating one of the Marines, which is nice because then we get to use their bullet proof suburban and professionally trained driver at night. The party was fun but we were ready to hit the hay after a long journey getting here.
I'll fill you in on the next couple of days here soon! I need to go to bed now because I am getting up early to play tennis and then TJ and I are going to the market. It is kind of risky buying souvenirs here because we hear the guards at the airport will search our bags and claim that our purchases are "national treasures" and we need a certificate from the museum to permit them to exit the country. I hope they get lazy and don't check our bags or let me buy the "certificate" from them. What I find amusing is that there is a store just past the security point where all of the confiscated items are sold! People here are pretty creative when it comes to ways to make extra money. I guess we can't blame them though since the average salary is $55 per month and almost all of that goes to transportation, food and housing.
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