A Typical day

Last week, while I was coming back from taking Elizabeth to school, I thought I would take pictures of what I see out the windows of the car each day while driving through the streets of Ikoyi and Victoria Island. It occurred to me that i was starting to take the things I see for granted and I wanted to capture some of the sights that i try to tell my friends and family about. Although, these pictures can't give you the true flavor of actually being here....they should give you pretty good idea of a "typical day" here in Lagos.

Here is a woman selling bread in the morning outside on he street next to Elizabeth's school. I see many women just like her carrying the huge piles of bread along the streets. it really is amazing how they can take the huge pan down from their head, sell the bread and then place it back on their heads again like it is nothing.


















Yes, this is a picture of a bus coming right at us as we were driving back. Remember my previous post about patience? Well, this is a prime example of how impatient Nigerians can be. We ARE in the correct lane...the car and the bus are trying to pass gridlocked traffic thinking they will get ahead...all it does is cause a MAJOR traffic jam. Below is another car thinking that he can just squeeze in...crazy!




















Three Nigerian men on an okada literally weaving in and out between angry drivers stuck in a huge traffic jam.














Here is a crippled man sitting along the road side begging for money.....so many people are like that here...


Below is a picture of a market off of Falomo street....I am sure they would probably only give me the oyibo prices there....by the way, since everything at the market is priced with the bartering system..there are two prices...the Nigerian price and the oyibo price....you can guess which one I get!:) ( note: I would never even have considered going in a market like that when I first moved here...but now...why not??!!)
































Here are some posters which have been placed around the city because the Nigerian elections are happening here in April. I am sure I will be posting more about that when the time approaches.:)

I really am not too sure what this building is, but I see it everyday when I come back over the bridge from Ikoyi to Victoria Island. It says, "Afrika Center Lagos", but I am not sure it has ever been used for anything.

Sorry for the reflection in the picture, but I wanted to take a picture of Ikoyi from the bridge...and we are heading back to V.I. Unfortunately this is the only way back and forth to Ikoyi...so if there is an accident or something else...the traffic can be backed up for hours...

No...I don't know what in the world is hanging out of the back of that public bus....and yes, that is a small girl riding an okada to school....without a helmet...

It still makes my stomach drop to see kids riding the okadas without helmets or riding and okada ...period! I didn't have my camera ready when an okada went by with a woman who had her small baby strapped on her back...

And, finally, no day would be complete without seeing the random men on the side of the road peeing! As a matter of fact, I would think there was something wrong here if I didn't see a man on the side of the road taking care of business!:)

When I talk to my mom and try to describe the things I see here....it is so hard to put it into words. When I first arrived here..I think my eyes must have been as big as saucers and my mouth probably hung open all the time. I am glad I don't have that reaction anymore....it really has been wonderful to have this experience. I think we all can take things for granted in our daily lives...and I had no idea how truly blessed I was to live in the U.S. until I moved here. The newness of Lagos has worn off...but, the realization of how lucky my family is crosses my mind each and everyday. For many people, these pictures are of a far off place that many people will never visit. For me, they are just pictures of a typical day.:)

Patience

Today, after dropping Elizabeth and Jeremy off at school, I needed to stop at the bank ( for the Beach School Foundation). I wish I could bring my camera there to take a picture of the entry way for you because it really looks like you are entering into the set of Star Trek. Seriously, when I walk inside the cylinder which opens on one side while it is playing classical music

( which, by the way, doesn't even remotely go with the ambiance of the bank) you are literally "trapped inside" praying that the other side of the cylinder will open. It really is a miracle I haven't been trapped inside there yet. But, the only thing that always goes through my head when I enter it is ( besides praying that it does indeed open up) " Beam me up, Scotty!" After the other side opened, there are about 5 - 10 Nigerian bank workers who all greeted me with huge smiles, but didn't get up to move. Thank goodness I had been there before and knew which teller I should go to. I handed over my money for deposit, and that went pretty smoothly. Then, I had to make a withdrawal. ( Just a side note, the signatures on a check written in Nigeria have to match exactly...to the point that you would think they were photocopied...but, no one ever signs their name exactly the same way twice. I found this out the hard way a few months back when I forgot to put a curly tail on my s and they rejected the check!) So, I was thinking in my head, " Oh no! What did I do this time?" I could feel the people looking at me...and I was very aware that I was the only oyibo in the building at that time. The lady told me the system was slow and I should take a seat. So, I went over and sat down in a chair which had the leg duct taped on and the stuffing coming out. I just sat and watched the people in the bank. There were about 5 bank workers standing around one of the tellers talking and laughing. I saw the lady who had been helping me walk over and laugh with another man who worked at the bank. I was thinking, "What is going on?" I wanted to just get this done and over with. Being in a bank in Nigeria is not always the safest feeling in the world. Then, I saw a sign which kind of made me laugh...it said " Trust us ( the bank"s name) with your salary." The words "trust" and "bank" in Nigeria just don't go together. I had a smile on my face as I read it and then noticed that a Nigerian woman sitting next to me was looking at me...and I felt funny because I wasn't sure if she saw that I was smiling at the sign. Was she taking that as an insult? My mind started racing. Then, I thought the safest thing to do is just sit there and pretend I had some important e-mails I needed to check on my Blackberry.....funny how, that thing is always lighting up with junk e-mail and this time...there was not even a sale from the Gap e-mail to read. Five minutes passed, ten minutes passed, 15 minutes .....I looked up and the woman was still talking to the other man. Finally, I stood up and told her I needed my check or the money, but either way, I needed to leave right then. I felt like I was going to blow a gasket just watching everyone talking and laughing and not working. A funny thing happened after my little outburst, my money all of the sudden appeared!!! It was a miracle!:) As I was about to walk through the space portal with the classical music to get back out to my car, one of the workers said, "Thank you , my sista!". As the doors to the portal shut, I had to laugh. Just the other night, Jeremy had said ," Thank you , my sista!" to Elizabeth because she handed him a toy while they were taking a bath. ( I think he is really turning into a Nigerian!)

I walked out to the car and saw that Fatai was completely blocked in from all sides. I wound my way through the maze of cars and managed to wedge myself into my car. Fatai got out and I heard several drivers yelling at each other in Yoruba ...I was guessing they were telling each other they had to move because we were blocked in. Fatai got back in the car and said, "Don't mind them, they have no patience."

I thought to myself, patience was what I was going to need today. Patience is something that comes in very small quantities in Nigeria. If you don't move your car 5 seconds before the light turns red( if cars actually stop at the red light)...you will hear about 10 cars honking. If you don't get off a bus 5 seconds before you need to, someone is going to trample you. Maybe people in Nigeria are trying to remind themselves about patience ( or other virtues, for that matter) when they give their children names like Patience, Blessing or Happiness ( you know I am not kidding about that) so that every time they say the name they remind themselves what they should have. All I know was that I was about to run out of it today.

After the bank, I had to go and pick Elizabeth back up from school and when we got back home, she threw a two year old fit because she wanted to take her shoes off before washing her hands ( I have no idea why she was so mad...I hadn't even had the chance to tell her to do either one). All I know is, if she would have been born in Nigeria...her name would have been Patience....so every time I said her name I would remind myself that I needed more.:)

Holiday

Today was declared a national holiday here in Nigeria. It is a Muslim holiday called Mawlid al-Navi. This day is the prophet Muhammed's birthday. Since Nigeria is mostly a mix of Christian and Muslim ( according to Wikipedia, the Muslim religion is dominant in the North, mixed Christian and Muslim in the South west and middle, and primarily christian in the South East and South South) both Christian and Muslim holidays are often declared here. I was mistaken yesterday when I said today was Eid. Eid means "a feast, festival, or holiday". ( I guess it could be called Eid...but that is not the correct name for the holiday today.) We were not very sure about when this holiday was going to occur exactly. This holiday is always the same day on the Islamic Calendar because it goes by lunar phases. But, it varies every year on the Gregorian calendar ( the one we use) because it is based on the solar calendar. Because of the difference in the calendars, the day moves about 11 days every year on the Gregorian calendar. It can also vary from country to country depending on if the moon has been sighted or not. Needless to say, for this type A personality girl, it is still a bit annoying not to know exactly what day a holiday will be declared. We didn't know until last Wednesday, I think, that today was going to be the actual holiday. I am learning a little more all the time about the Muslim religion. Fatai is Muslim and so are many of the other drivers and guards here on our compound.



Since it was a holiday ( the kids were out of school) Guy and I decided to go with two other families on our compound to the beach with the kids. All the kids are about the same ages ( 5 and almost 3) so it is great when they are together.:) The only way to access the beach we are going to is by boat, and fortunately our kids are so excited to get on a boat and see everything.:) I know I have gone out to the beach and posted pictures before, but I thought I would take a few more pictures this time to show you more of what I see as we are going out there and coming back:) The picture to the right is the Lagos Yacht club...yes, you are seeing correctly....there is garbage in the water right there.

I love to go past the port because it is always interesting to see all the different places the barges are coming in from with various shipments. The one above is from Hamburg and the other one is from London. Sometimes, when I am here, I feel a little disconnected with the rest of the world. It is kind of comforting to see these ships from other countries.:)

They do put barbed wire around the outside of the ships to try to prevent any theft from people coming up along side the ship and climbing it. This ship is from Valletta.

These ships are from Hong Kong and Monrovia.

After we pass through the port, the surroundings start to get a bit more quiet. In the small villages around the harbour, fishing is the main occupation of many men in the villages. Another way that the men can bring in money s by dredging for sand. There are many areas around Lagos which are "reclaimed land" which is the process of "reclaiming " land from sea or riverbeds. The men here are dredging sand with a bucket ( a painfully tedious job) and they will fill this boat until it can't carry any more sand and take it to sell it to someone who needs it to build up land from the water.

Here is a small village built along the the harbour.

In the same village as the picture above, you can see men repairing a boat Since fishing is one of the only ways the people in the village make money, it is an entire village who will help one man repair his boat.:)

Lizzy really enjoys the ride out to the beach.:)

When we arrive at the dock, the women and children from the village where we go to the beach come down to greet us and carry our things to the beach hut. I am still shocked that the men of the village allow the women and children to carry our things. They do not do not help with carrying any heavy loads...but that is one of the times I have to take a deep breath and say to myself " I know this is another culture...and I need to respect that." Some of you may be asking, why don't you just carry your own things? That answer is simple. The women and children from the village want to carry our things because it is a way they can bring money into their village. If we were to carry our own things to the beach hut, they would see that as us taking a job away from them. We dash( tip) them for carrying our things.

Here are a few children from the village. I recognize some of their faces from the beach school I help with. When I first came out to the beach, I would look at them and feel sadness. I guess I still feel a little sadness when I see them in just their underwear....but then, I see their smiles....and they are beautiful smiles. This place is their home and they love their home.:) When we arrived there today, Jeremy's friend said ," Where's the ground?" I asked him what he meant. He said," I mean where is the hard ground? How can they live here?" I told him that they don't need hard ground because they don't have a car out here. I think that blew him away that people lived in a place they could only get to by boat.:)

Jeremy and his friends, Olivia and Erik, took a little rest on the lounges.:)

They all had a great time playing in the sand.

The children from the village were playing a game with sticks they made into something which resembled a hockey stick and they were hitting a coconut back and forth. My friend asked them where they learned to play hockey...and they just stared at her...I guess that wasn't what they were playing.:)

Lizzy found a tiny coconut.:)

I took the kids down to the water today, but didn't bring my camera while I had them down there. The waves here are so rough, you just never know when one will come out and sweep you off your feet. Life jackets are a must even if you are only going in up to your ankles.....I am not kidding when I tell you that all of the sudden a wave can come up past your waist when you weren't even expecting it. I wanted to get a few pictures of the water. I like to come here because I know that across that ocean is my family and friends....and it is so peaceful here. There is something comforting about the roll of the waves and the wind that somehow makes me feel close to everyone back home...even though at the time I was standing here today it was the wee hours of the morning and everyone back home was sound asleep.:)

Here is a picture of the covered area where we usually have lunch.

I was standing next to someone's fishing boat when I took this picture of the waves rolling in.

We brought some lollipops for the children in the village. They love them, and I think it is a great way for Jeremy to learn how to share with others. The great thing about Jeremy is that so far, he hasn't asked me why some of the kids are only in their underwear. I don't know if that is a good or a bad thing.....I prefer to think that he just knows that everyone is different and different people in different places look, act and talk differently.:)

We stayed at the beach for a few hours and then packed up to head home. We walked back through the village to get to our boat. Here is a picture of someone's home in the village.

Here is a picture of the the Ishahayi beach school. This is one of the schools that the Ishahayi Beach School Foundation has supported. This school is very close to my heart. Since becoming a member of the Ishahayi Beach School Foundation, I go with other members of the foundation out to the school about once every other month to see the teachers and students and find new ways to help them:)

These two little guys were standing off to the side of the path. I think they had heard we were handing out lollipops and were waiting their turn to get one. I wish I could just pick them up and take them home with me...they are so cute.:)

Here is another house in the village...behind the fence.

Here are more children from the village. They had followed us out to the boat dock.

This little girl is carrying her baby bother ( I did have to ask her to make sure it wasn't her own baby) around on her back ( which is a typical way of carrying a baby around with you here in Nigeria). It is amazing to me that there really isn't a sense of adolesence here in the villages. A person is either a child or an adult...and this girl is seen as an adult by her family who can take care of her baby brother.

Heading back down the baot dock to get back on the boat.

Tired and happy kids ready to head on home.:)

Lizzy just couldn't keep her eyes open any more.:)

Here were some more men who were dredging for sand to sell....I really cannot imagine having this job.

Here is a picture of one of the many ship wrecks I always see when we go out to the beach. I am not sure, but I think that some people from the nearby villages who have thier own boats may live on these abandoned ships. The ships literally just sit there in the water and rot.

On the way back, we also saw another barge... heading back to Greece, I think.

I had to try to get a picture of the market under the bridge ( I promise I will get a better picture of it another day). This is the market where Hapiness goes to get all of my produce. I try not to think about that every time I go over that bridge to take Elizabeth to her school!



And shortly after the market under the bridge, we are back at our comfortable flat. I know I just posted about this the other day, but I still feel like today I also saw two different worlds. Just thirty minutes away from where I am living in Lagos, there are people who live in a village only accessible by water whose only means of income is through fishing. They have no indoor plumbing and no running water...and I am sitting here typing this post in my air conditioned flat with a cool glass of water I just poured from my water cooler.

Jeremy told Guy the other day "People are the rainbow of life. Everyone comes in different colors and they are all beautiful!"" He learned this at school from his fantastic teacher. I thought to myself today as I was looking at the people in the village with their smiles....at the risk of sounding too much like a "Pollyanna" ...that is so true. Never did I think I would ever feel a connection to people in a small village through a school I help with. Never did I think I would be walking on a beach on the west coast of africa. I have to say that living here has truly opened my eyes to the beauty in people from many different places.:)

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you! I hope you are surrounded by your dear ones today.:) Here are two of my three Valentines while they were opening their Valentine goodies this morning.:) ( Which were smuggled in in my suitcase after the winter holiday.:) Thank goodness for Target!!!)

I had to go to a small bakery nearby for some pita bread to make pita chips to take to the beach tomorrow ( Tomorrow is a national Holiday of Eid here in Nigeria. It is a Muslim holiday that I will be posting about tomorrow) It was even decorated for the "Day of Love". I had to take a picture of these teas when I was was walking through the market section. You know you are in Africa when you see "Typhoid Tea" and "Anti Malaria Tea"!!!

I was talking to Happiness today and she was telling me that her brother would be getting married in the upcoming months. I thought since today is Valentine's day, what better question to ask than how the marriage process works here in Nigeria. She told me that it is different for many different groups of people in Nigeria, but for her tribe, Akwa Ibom, and other groups in the east of Nigeria, she could explain the process to me.

The whole process is broken down into three steps:

1) The first step is called the "Introduction". This is when both sets of parents ( the bride and groom's parents and families) formally meet. The groom supplies all the drinks and food for the get together and at that time, he also needs to present 10,000 naira to the father of the bride to obtain "The list".

Yes, I was wondering what was on "the list" also. It is a list of requests ( demands) that the bride's family has made for the groom to do before he can marry the bride.

2) The second step is called "The Bargaining". You know that nothing in Nigeria is done without bargaining....so why would a marriage be any different? This stage is when the groom comes back to the bride's family and "bargains" the demands made on the list from the bride's family. In addition, the groom also pays the Father of the bride an "entertainment allowance". I asked Happiness if this amount goes towards the wedding ceremony. She told me "NO!" very emphatically. She said that that money is for her father to do with as he wishes...it really is for his own entertainment! I started wondering , what in the world was on "the list". She laughed a little and started rattling off the list to me:

1) The Bride price ( what the groom will pay the parents of the bride for the bride) if it is a first daughter, typically the groom will pay about 100,000 naira

2) 2 goats ( for the wedding ceremony)

3) 1 hen

4) 10 tubes (pronounced tubas) of yam

5) 2 bags of salt ( to be given to mother of bride and shared with women from village)

6) 1 basin of pepper ( to be given to mother of bride and shared among the women of the village)

7) honillias ( not sure about the spelling) 3 sets of six yards of Nigerian wax fabric

8) drinks for mother and father of the bride

9) Groom must pay for 10 packs of cigarettes, 1 foot ball ( soccer ball), assorted drinks, and 1500 naria to be split among the boys from Happiness' village

10) Groom must pay for assorted drinks, 5000 naira, hair weaves, and assorted make-up for the girls from Happiness' village

11) Her grandmother receives 10,000 naira and one of the fabrics

12) Brother receives 15,000 naira and a suit made for him and new shoes

13) Her dad receives a walking stick, hat, and chief clothes ( her dad's father was a chief in her village) and a suitcase, and the amount he has paid for her schooling so far

14) Her mom receives one of the fabrics ( typically George) on the day of the wedding, a handbag and shoes

15) Her sisters receive new clothes for the wedding

3) The final stage of the marriage process is the actual wedding ceremony. For this part, neither set of parents pays for the ceremony, it is all paid for by the bride and groom. At this part of the process, the goats are killed and cooked at the reception afterwards. Happiness said they had their ceremony at her father's home( near Victoria Island) and her friends and family all brought food to eat. They just had a big party which Happiness and her husband paid for. She said that since the groom has to pay for so much, there is saying that he won't leave her too quickly after he has spent so much money on her.:)

She also told me that it is tradition to go back to your village and have a ceremony there, but her husband hasn't saved up enough money for that yet. Since her father's father was a chief and her mother was the daughter of a chief, Happiness is considered a princess in her village near Eket. ( I am really not kidding...who knew we had real princess in our home?) I do have to say, though, that there are many village chiefs in Nigeria and many people who are of some "royalty" from their individual villages. So, if she has that ceremony while I am here...I would really love to go...of course I would have to bring security.:)

So, there you have it...an eastern Nigerian wedding (Christian)ceremony. I have to say, it is very much different than anything I have ever seen, experienced or even heard of....but isn't that what makes life so exciting? Meeting new people and experiencing their different cultures is what puts spice into life. When I told her that my dad paid for my wedding...I think her jaw dropped on the floor. That concept was so foreign to her. Today was just another day that I was able to take a look into another facet of the vast culture that makes up Nigeria.:)