Please send money!

Hello Family and Friends!

PLEASE SEND MONEY! 
Just kidding... everything is great!

We've been here, in our new home (I mean a house as opposed to the city) since Friday, September 22, 2011 about 2:30pm Nigeria time (I think that would be 4:30am PST in the US).  So sorry for the delay in contact.  To be honest, it has been a true whirlwind and adventure.  In fact, there have been so many adventures that I'd be hard pressed to remember them all let alone in chronological order! 

For instance:  Within about four hours from arriving at the house in Abakaliki, we were instructed to shower and pretty-up in preparation for a meeting with the Governor of Ebonyi State (Nigeria is broken up into 33 states each with a Governor who presides over the state much like the President of US & with as much autonomy)!!!  Not only did we meet with His Excellency and the First Lady (yup, that's what their called) but our visit was about three hours wherein Kurt had to present his portfolio and discuss his qualifications... actually, we both did. 

Thankfully, His Excellency was quite impressed with Kurt's portfolio and my experience/knowledge.  It was super cool but extremely scary because it was during this meeting that we found out that we aren't just expected to build roads but that our company has been chosen to build a city!  Yes, you read that right, BUILD A CITY!!! (More on that later)   Since then we have met with the Commissioner of the Interior, the Minister of Finance, the Surveyor General and all sorts of other state officials who must all be worked with in order to accomplish any project here.

Truthfully, it's been like that for days and today, right now is the first down-time either of us has really had. 
Here is a short list of some of the experiences we've had in no particular order:

* Shopped in the local outdoor market which is like shopping in the districts of downtown LA but times 10!

* Rode miles on a VERY VERY bumpy, holey, torn up, pocked road!  Okay, this doesn't seem like much of an adventure but when you need to KEEP your in four-wheel drive all of the time, trust me, that's significant. 

And if you still don't think that's a big deal, well, then let me describe it like this:  Ever been on the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland?  Imagine that feeling of bouncing and rocking hard and fast in a car seat    everywhere you go; that's how it feels.

* Being stopped while driving by heavily armed police simply because the car looks like there are rich people in it only to have them wave you on because you are "white man"!!!  (In Nigeria everyone who is not Nigerian is considered "white man".  I find this very interesting since well, clearly I am not caucasion but I am not offended because it basically means "outsider" to them, not literally white.)

* Finding lizards in the house.  Lizards that are on average 12" long; some have red heads, some have green heads, some with blue or orange and even striped and polka-dotted head!  Oddly enough, I am not freaked out by them as much as I am startled when I find them in the house or on the path in front of me because they're as common as birds.

* The rain storms that are so hard and loud that you can't hear anything or any one even if they're sitting right next to you.

* Learning my new job the second day I arrived.

* Learning that "too much" really means "a lot" or "several"; and that "don'go" though English, means that someone has left the area.

* Driving is a full contact sport!!!  There are no rules only a very thin ettiquette involving a lot of honking and swearing in Ebo or English.  Traffic lines/lanes are merely suggestions when they exist at all.  The boys of NASCAR would not survive a minute!  It is because of this, I have decided that I will NEVER go anywhere without a driver.  My favorite is Yousef but he live in Abuja and not in Abakaliki.

* Private jets are the one real thing separating the classes of travelers because unless you have one at the domestic flights airport in Abujah you will be hearded like chattle.  EVERYONE is pushed and prodded along into this line or that and no one is spared.  Mind you, it's not done rudely but more as a means for keeping a version of order that doesn't seem apparent with the naked eye.

* Having the electricity go out during a meeting with the Governor and realizing that no one even acknoledges it because it is so commonplace.

* Asking if there has ever been any geo-thermal feasibility study done here in order to produce energy and having EVERYONE look at you as if you just announced that you are from Mars and would like to take them there because they've never heard of it but are so facinated by the hope and possibilities of it.

* Learning that it is up to ME to decide if we- the company- will be moving to the two houses that have been "offered" to us by the Commisioner of the Interior (whom I later found out is the son of the Governor).  We toured the houses and they are HUGE and right next door to one another.

* Learning to get use to having house staff.  Every "estate" must have a housekeeper, cook, security guard and a driver and, all live at the estate.  The security guard lives in the security house which is right next to the large wall (with razor wire on top) and the housekeeper, cook and driver live in what is called (brace yourself) the "bush house".  At our estate, we have Mary, the housekeeper; Blessings, the cook; Simon, the security guard and Stephen our driver.  I like them all.  Each are very nice and VERY good workers.

* Getting use to being called "Madame Lady".  'Nuff said.

* Realizing that we need to learn Arabic FAST... Kurt faster than I.

No doubt there is so much more but I am forgetting to share but, truly there is just too much and we've only been here three days.

Okay, just so you know, it has also been quite challenging to establish an internet connection here.  It's not insurmountable but it will take time.  Please be patient.  If Kurt or I don't respond to emails or send emails for a few days or longer, PLEASE DO NOT PANIC.  We are in extremely good hands and are not worried for our safety so you shouldn't be either.  As odd as life here is and as much as we have to get use to, we are also having an amazingly fun time of it. I am assured that our internet connection will improve and we will be able to Skype soon.

We love you all and will be in touch again very soon and will send/post pictures soon.

Much love,

Sydney and Kurt