Sunday August 12, 2013

Well, here we are in Africa, having moved to Nigeria almost one week ago.  The airport wasn’t nearly as bad as we expected it to be (sometimes it’s helpful to have low expectations!).  There was an expeditor from the US Consulate there to meet us, and she helped guide us through and smooth the way.  We were met at the front door by our elementary principal, Bill, and then were taken to the bus.  It was dark by this time, so a little scary for Laryssa as everything really was different.  For starters, it was dark, with very little lighting.  Bill took our trolly so that I could hold onto her.  It wasn’t that crowded… I was expecting it to be like Lahore, where seemingly hundreds of people are gathered outside.  We got to our bus and met our security detail for the evening (big guys with big guns). They were hired to escort us back to the school.  I was kind of glad they were there, as there were a few men there trying to help load the bus (and wanting to be paid), but the security helped keep the peace and got them out of there.  We waited for 1.5 hours on the bus (with AC running) for the other couple who arrived on a flight after us.  The traffic wasn’t bad at all, though the roads leave a bit to be desired!  The main highway was okay, but as soon as you turn onto the smaller roads, there are a lot of very big potholes!  Can’t speed along those!

We arrived at our new home at about 10:30 pm, with our 14 pieces of luggage… and then had to lug them up to the 4th floor.  Lucky for us, everyone pitched in and it was all over and done quite quickly.  By the way, that’s 55 stairs, which I climb on average 3-4 times per day, sometimes more!

In the past week we’ve been out shopping for supplies to the nearby mall (The Palms), which is interesting.  It’s a small mall with a lot of nice stores, including a South African supermarket chain called Shoprite and a general goods store called The Game.  You can find pretty much whatever you need here, though it can be pricey.  For example, a box of Ziplock bags, gallon size, will set you back about $15!  Broccoli is also expensive at about $8 per head.  Once we get a housekeeper (called a steward here), we’ll be able to send him/her to the market to do the fruit and veg shopping.  We also went shopping to a place a little closer to our campus, called Grand Square.  We can walk there in about 10 minutes (Chris and I did that yesterday).  Chris is happy that beer is cheap here:  Heineken costs $1 per can, and large bottles of local beer is about the same.  Coke products are also inexpensive, running about 50 cents a can in the store.

We went to the American Consulate for lunch one day last week, just to see what is available.  They have a nice pool, tennis court, gym, spa and playground, as well as the Commissary, where we can buy our food goods from back home!  They are waiting for a shipment to arrive, so we didn’t do any shopping as the shelves are somewhat depleted.  Hopefully next week!

We’ve had lots of social events in the past week, getting to know everyone.  Lots of very friendly people… Chris has already said a few times how much he likes it here already!  He even has a golfing partner (just need to bring the clubs at Christmas).  Laryssa has made good friends with a little girl who lives downstairs.  Chiara has just turned 6 and has been an excellent distraction for Laryssa.  Chiara’s mom has also been very helpful, taking Laryssa while we shop, get settled, etc.

I finally got into my classroom on Friday, and it was a bit of a shocker.  So grimy and full of stuff!  It took me hours to go through the cupboards and clean them out (both cleaning out old stuff, and wiping them down with cleanser).  Chris took pity on me and came in to help me most of the day Saturday and part of today.  We’re almost ready… good thing, since school starts on Wednesday!