Day Nine: Some Stories of the Nigerian Police

So I have talked about how the Nigerian Police or as we call them, our guards, are around us at school and on our drives to and from the hotel at all times. At first I was hesitant to have these men around thinking they would bring negative attention to us, but I have grown very fond of them.

They work so hard and are on duty at our school location 24 hrs a day, sleeping in chairs and having no food and water...but they are so excited to have us here.

The highest ranking officer in charge is Paul, he wears awesome glasses and has a great sense of humor, they all do..except for a few that seem to be the enforcers (meaning the guys with the gigantic arms) Anyway today Paul got his friend to come to school in the morning and take a picture of a few of us together with him (and it was a film camera mind you) and by the end of the day he had his friend bring copies of the pictures for everyone, such a nice guy.

Mike, Jaks, Jake, Ernie, guard, Joe, guard, me, Paul, Carolina, Travis, James, Nick

There are so many of these guards around us all the time...and at first I was a little intimidated by these military esque men with AK47s in their hands at all times, I have never seen any of them put down their gun ever....and the first few days as a barrel of a gun would swoop past my direction i found myself ducking and moving out of the way, but they are so casual with their guns...to the point where we HAD to ask that there were safeties on their guns. But now I seem to barely notice their guns...they are so accustomed to having them, and as the heat blazes on and they has gone hours with little to no water they line themselves up in chairs legs open AK47 between their legs and chin resting on the barrel of the gun...if they feel comfortable with their chin on the gun, I can get used to seeing guns guns guns.

Oh and I must say they have the most fashionable uniforms i have ever seen. One i love the green beret and two their pants are so beautifully made with intricate seams and basically yeah I want a pair of those pants. I'm hoping to convince Paul to give me a pair by the time I leave.

**and I had my first mango in Nigeria today, and it was delicious...thanks to Pablo for getting them for us!

Day Eight: Working Hard & Swimming Pools

Everyone is officially here from New York and LA...we got in our last shipment of teachers yesterday and start our first day of school tomorrow.

We did quite a lot of work over the last few days, carrying and unpacking 108 boxes full of equipment, setting up classrooms and troubleshooting (a lot). Turns out our facilities lose power quite often...not the best thing for a film school. We also had a smoking dvd player today and need to figure out how to trouble shoot that for class tomorrow...but yeah I can't go into too much detail tonight as I am tired of thinking of it now and need to hop in bed....

But the best thing I have ever experienced and will continue to do every day after work while I am here is jump in the pool after a long days work...sorry all you New Yorkers, but it is absolutely amazing!

our hotel pool*

I also just want to take a moment to talk about the 300 hundred Christian Nigerians that were slaughters this morning in a village about 3 hrs from here called Jos. This was a religious retaliation from some Muslims, who suffered a similar fate by the hands of some Christians a few months ago. You can read about it here. This conflict will not and has not put me in any type of immediate or future danger, so you don't need to worry about that, but this fighting and brutality is something that is such a reality here.

a man selling drinks on the high way*

*pictures taken by Eliana Alvarez

Day Six: Highway Driving & Meet Penelope

It feels like its been a long day, and we have our first day of really hard and long work ahead of us tomorrow (manual labor = working on my guns). So I'm keeping this short...

Driving on the highway in rush hour (notice the cars driving the wrong way on the other side of the road)

Meet Penelope, she is the hotel monkey and has probably the saddest face I've ever seen. I vouch to visit her every day...I think I'm in love.

Must get some needed rest. Good night all!

Day Five: Moving on Up or Out

Last night we were informed we would be moving to the Sheraton so that we could all get our own rooms, as promised by Del York. So we packed up and loaded several vehicles full of people and suitcases to what will now be our home for the next four weeks, the lovely Sheraton, Abuja.

The hotel will be a good fit for us, as it is not full of the political, business men that the Hilton boasted, making us constantly feel underdressed...But of course because we were in a luxury hotel for a few nights we got a little used it it....so some adjustment time will be needed, we (I) am happy to call this home...but of course I'll be happier when the man comes and fixes my air conditioning...

Alex waiting in the lobby of the Sheraton (happy now, alex?)

After our move we drove back into town to have lunch. On the drive I started talking to our driver, Pablo, who is from Cameroon, about the driving laws. There are no stop signs or lights or really any traffic laws. Everyone drives fast but not ridiculously fast and people really seem to let people have the right of way, but its definitely intimidating to watch. So as Pablo took our vehicle through the center medium and "flipped a bitch" in front of some cops I had to ask him,

"Do police write traffic tickets here."

"Traffic tickets?"

"Yeah like for speeding or wreck-less driving?"

(laughs) "No, no."

"Well what about for drinking and driving."

"Oh no we aren't supposed to that. I think they maybe just make you sleep on a cot for a bit."

Pablo making a very legal u-turn through the center medium

a bad example (the picture not the dress)of the beautiful traditional dresses women wear

the new view from the Sheraton

Day Four: Beyond the Compound Walls

Today was the first day I got to leave the Hilton compound and see some of Abuja...mostly the inside of a grocery store and a lot of the city flashing by us from a van, but it was still exciting to see a little bit of the city...but of course our hosts made us drive past the police station and pick up two armed guards to take us around again...I haven't figured out if this makes us stand out even more...I'm guessing yes.

almost all the women/men carry everything atop their heads

we went off roading for a bit

a very popular cooking oil in Nigeria

the central mosque in Abuja

Today almost everything was seen from the car window, so I'm excited for a chance to walk around the town soon...hopefully go to one of the public markets...oh and start working, cause we have a lot of work to get done to prepare for the school program that starts next monday, and we have yet to be shown our facilities...maybe tomorrow...

Day Three: Hotel Living

Most of the day was spent at the hotel, which is a bizarre compound of its own. It is walled off and protected on all sides, with one main gated entrance and is seemingly self sufficient. There are about 5 different restaurants, a casino, bars, night club, shopping mall, swimming pool and lots of business people. Everyone is extremely friendly and dressed so beautifully. The woman wear very form fitted colorful traditional matching tops and long skirts (I need to get some good pictures of this to show) and the men are either dressed in suits or are Muslim men dressed in linen pants with long matching shirts (again need to get some pictures).

We were unable to leave the compound, as I have come to call it, this day, but as I was feeling really sick still I was able to rest.

my first african animal

We had a great dinner and afterward met with Linus, the man running the program, and Stephanie, the woman running the program who also happens to be one of the top Nollywood Film actresses, I hope to watch one of her films soon....We were told we would hopefully start setting up the program the next day, as long as our equipment went through customs...

I got a very full and much needed nights sleep for the first time in a few days!

Day Two: Arriving in Abuja

We arrived about 5:30pm on Monday and made it through customs quickly, in fact a man from the government was waiting for us and escorted us through the line. There was a brief moment when he took our stack of passports and walked away, shit everything we were told not to do, give away your passports. He eventually came back, but seemed hesitant to give us back our passports.

Once we got outside the airport we were surprised to see a convoy of military escorts, a long with our guides and representatives from Del York International, the school we are working with here in Nigeria. The convoy was about 3 police cars, a van for our luggage, a van for us, and a military truck full of guards with guns. We were told later that we didn't have all of this because we were in danger but merely as a sign of respect and welcoming, just as an important official would receive coming to visit. Also must not forget that we had a photographer and videographer shooting everything...apparently we will be getting lots of mentions in the local papers...

the guards on the back of their truck in front of our van

The drive to the hotel was about 45min and so we got to see the outskirts of Abuja while it was still light out, but the sun went down and it went down quickly, from what seemed like a bright afternoon light to total darkness in about 15mins. We saw a lot of small villages, and what looked like a crowded market place, there were also a lot of small controlled fires (something I don't know anything about yet, but will have to ask someone next time I see one), and then we drove into the compound that is our hotel...(which I will have to go into more detail about in another post)

the gates of the hilton, taken this morning

Once inside we waited for our rooms, which we are now sharing..hello roommates! But Carolina and I are a good roommate fit, as she, just like myself, needs to have a tv or movie on to fall asleep every night. Anyway....once we got to our rooms we were told to come downstairs in 10min for dinner by our hosts....and all I (and everyone else) really wanted was a shower and a bed. Another photo op began...

Salami, Ola, Alex, Carolina, Nick, Mike, someone, Mike, Ada, Me, Ernie, Joe, someone

We were treated to a very american (Hamburgers & fries) dinner and introduced to my new local favorite beer, Star Beer, and then finally were able to get some sleep. Long day(s).