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Thursday, September 29, 2011

It Keeps Getting Better...


No, not really...but if you know how sarcastic I am...you'll understand what I mean:)

Before you read this post, you may want to settle into a comfy chair...it's a long one today................

It's raining again...and today I woke up, sent Fatai a message that I would be taking Elizabeth and a friend of hers to school on Ikoyi, and got Jeremy ready to catch the bus downstairs ( to his school).  The morning seemed to be going okay and then, I went downstairs... (insert DA DA DA ...getting louder and lower with each DA!)

There was no car; there was no Fatai; but there was a Jimoh ( my friends driver) with both car seats for the little ones in the back of his car.  Given that I haven't been having the best few weeks here....I could feel my blood starting to boil.  Just the other day, I had told Fatai that my friend's driver would be taking Elizabeth to school and to please put the car seat in my friend's car.  When I came out that day, Elizabeth's car seat was  nowhere to be found ( and neither was Fatai!)  So, today I had a car seat...but it was in the wrong car....are we ever gonna get it right?  So, of course, I pulled out my phone and proceeded to dial his number and I had no service...nada...zip!!!!  I saw that the text I had sent him never went through either....so I guess it wasn't really his fault...but I just needed someone to feel the brunt of my frustration.   I went with my friend's driver to take the kids to school since it was "my day". 

(Just in case you're wondering, Fatai did show back up and told me he was stuck in traffic taking Guy to work).  After that, I had to go to the network office for my cell phone to figure out what was going on.  Yesterday was the last day to "register" your phone here in Lagos. I am really not sure why we have to do this, I have heard rumors that it has something to do with an unofficial census, others say that it is a way for the Nigerian Communications Commission to combat crime?  I have no idea( and I have done no research on the subject)....but I went ahead three weeks ago and registered in the parking lot of a local grocery store here.  Then, I was worried it didn't really register so I went back on Friday and sat in traffic (and a huge line) to verify.  They said " no problem!"  I was worried because if you don't register, your service would be shut off.  Living here without access to your phone is a scary prospect....actually, it gives me shivers just to think about it...you just never know what can happen here. But, alas, all my good efforts to "do the right thing" were to no avail.  My service was cut off today anyway, and the real zinger is my network office couldn't even tell me why.....they said, "Sorry, madame, it is a problem with the network."   "What the #$@!?", I yelled," But you are the network...THAT IS WHY I AM HERE!!!!" Okay, so I didn't really yell that, but I was sure thinking that in my head and hoping the man was picking up on my telepathic vibes. I am pretty sure he wasn't though because I don't think his face flinched at all when he looked at me...

 I did what I was supposed to, and I was still without service in this crazy city.  They told me it should be fixed by sometime after midnight tonight..I guess we'll see...

On the way back to my building, there were two trucks in front of my car when we were trying to get back inside the gate.  The guards were yelling at the drivers and the drivers were yelling at the guards something in Yoruba.  The guards for my building kept putting their hands up to tell us to wait.  I was pretty fed up at that point and just got out of the car and walked a little ways down the dirt road and walked through the gate...in the rain...no umbrella...with no cell service...

I went upstairs quickly (I decided to chance getting in the elevator even though the power was out...AGAIN!!!) and tried to pack my suitcase for a trip which we are leaving for tomorrow (but couldn't because the power was still off, and I couldn't see in my closets). I tried to send emails...but couldn't because the power went out 7 times in the 40 minutes I was up in my flat and our UPS's can't keep up with the outages anymore....so the modem and router kept going out...

I got back in the car again to go across the bridge to get Elizabeth and her friend from school.  At one of the stop lights, I saw just a fist come up to my window and knock on it.  I knew exactly who it was.  I couldn't see his face, but I know he was there.  There is a man ( not that old..maybe 20) who walks around on his hands and one leg while the other leg swings free in the air and is all shriveled.  He was begging for money. I don't even know if it is the same man I had  have seen before (because I just couldn't bear to look at him again...it is just so sad)...there are so many people like that here...

I read a book in the car while I was waiting because I got there about 40 minutes early...but always have to leave early because the traffic is so unpredictable.  I fell asleep while reading the book and scared myself awake to find Fatai in the driver's seat sleeping right next to me!!!!!!! What a frightening picture that must make to see my driver and me sleeping in the front seat of the car while I am waiting for Elizabeth's school to get out!!!!! Yikes!!!!!

Got the kids and drove back over the bridge and got stuck in terrible traffic trying to get to our building.  It turns out that the traffic jam was caused by some man who was wearing an official looking uniform but actually looked like he was trying out for a Russian ballet troupe from all the twirling he was doing in the  middle of the dirt road...

Got back home dropped the kids off and then had to meet a friend of mine who I have been trying to meet for the last month for lunch.  The timing just never worked out.  I was already late when we arrived at the restaurant....and Fatai drove me inside what looked like a construction zone.  We kept driving around following concrete trucks and dump trucks.  Well, all I can say was that it looked like a construction zone because IT WAS A CONSTRUCTION ZONE!!!!!   I realized we were in the wrong place about one second before we even entered, and said to Fatai," I can't believe that they let us in here!!" He said, " Maybe they thought you are a worker, Madame."  I looked at him while he was driving and really thought he had to be kidding...but he wasn't...he never even flinched.  ( Mental note: I need to work on my style if my driver thinks I can pass for a construction worker.)  We got out of the construction site and finally found the restaurant to meet my friend....

After lunch , I figured my luck had been so bad today that I wasn't going to chance going anywhere else.  So, I looked out the window at all the cars driving down the road by my building and I thought about that man who knocked on my window today.  I thought to myself," Does his mother know he has to beg for money? And, if she does, how does she feel about that?" I can't imagine being a mother in a situation like that and having to have your son beg for money. How would that feel??
 I can't think about that....that hurts too much.
 Then, I thought about a paragraph I read in the book I was reading today ( Book number 6 in The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series : In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith) 

He writes:
"There was so much need, even in a fortunate country such as Botswana; it seemed as though the reservoirs of suffering were never empty, and no matter what progress was made, there would always be people for whom there was no job, or no place to live or not enough food.  And when you became aware of these needs, especially if they were being felt by those who had a claim on you, then it was hard to put them out of your mind."

You only have to insert Nigeria where it says Botswana.  I realize that every country has needs and needy people...but I had never seen anything like what I see here everyday until I moved here. Last week, one of the cleaning ladies got on the elevator, and when I looked down at her feet, she was wearing the slippers I had thrown in the trash. I wouldn't even give them to Happiness because they were so worn out.   I don't know what is going on in my mind these last few weeks, but please bear with me if you can.  Maybe it is just that there is so much need here, and I don't know if anything I can do can even begin to help all the needs I see here everyday.  I used to feel that I found my niche by helping at the beach school...but is that enough??? I'll work my way out of this funk...because that is all it is...a funk.  Now, let's wait and see if my cell phone works soon!:)  Until tomorrow...Ayo ni o!! ( cheers!)

2 comments:

  1. Hey Meredith. I usually enjoy your posts but they are becoming a little predictable recently. I know Nigeria's probably different to what you are used to but can we please get a different perspective from time to time? Maybe if you looked at things through different eyes that might help? 150m+ people live there and they all can't be that miserable.

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  2. Bridget, have you ever lived in Lagos? Or a third world country? If you have, I would love to hear your perspective. I am finding that after over two years here, I am starting to really see all the need here. I am trying to document the ways I feel about living here, and they are not always going to be happy and cheery...the truth is, there is a lot of sadness here also. There are 150+ people living here, but most of them are destitute. I am not miserable, I am trying to help here how I can. I have been feeling down lately, but will work out of this funk. I am sorry if you feel my posts are predictable...but that is how I have been feeling lately. Merredith:)

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