First Day in Abuja

Thursday was my first full day in Nigeria.  One of the sisters took Kaitlin and I out to see the city of Abuja, which is about twenty minutes from where the sisters actually live. We went to an outdoor market that appeared to sell mostly cell phone and cell phone accessories.  We purchased cell phones, so that we can make local calls.  We also went to exchange our American dollars into the Nigerian naira. Oddly enough not all bills are worth the same amount. Larger bills like 100 and 50 are worth more in naira than 10 or 20 dollar bills.  After we exchanged our money and got cell phones, we went to see a little more of the city.  The sister took us to a store that reminded me of a Costco or Sam’s.  The store had just about everything you could possibly need including Soda! As most of you know I love soft drinks and was very happy when the sister bought some for the convent. I drank one today with my lunch and though it wasn’t quite the same as what you get at home, it was still delicious.  The sisters do not do much shopping at this store, as most food is bought at outdoor markets.

After our outing we returned to the convent for lunch and to rest. It is very hot here, so after a few hours out in the sun a rest is needed.  The heat is like August in Alabama minus the air conditioning.  I’m sure my body will adjust, but I guess for now I will have to learn to live with the heat rash I am beginning to develop.  The rainy season will be here soon and they say that will help. 

Arriving in Nigeria

I have finally arrived in Nigeria!!!  After months of waiting for January to get here and then a couple more months waiting for the visa to arrive, I have finally landed.  I’m going to do my best to blog about my experience while I’m here, but please forgive the many grammatical errors I will surely make.

After many sad goodbyes and many sleepless hours on a plane, I landed in Nigeria Wednesday afternoon (I am six hours ahead of central time).  Both Kaitlin (the other volunteer from Ohio) and I made it through customs pretty quickly and where able to get our luggage and meet the sister with no problems. The sisters in the capital city of Abuja, where my plane landed, only live a short distance from the airport.  The drive was very interesting. We saw lots of people selling things on the side of the road and more dirt bikes then I have probably ever seen. It was nice to finally arrive in the convent in Abuja.  We will be here for a couple days before we make the drive to Enugu on Monday, my permanent residence for the next year.

As I write this it is about two in the morning here and despite the fact that I’ve only slept about three hours in the last 36 hours, I still cannot sleep.  So if this makes no sense or seems like I’m rambling on about nothing then I will blame it on exhaustion.