Halfway

The US Presidential Election 2008 hits Nigeria!

On Thursday evening I was asked to participate as a debater in a Mock presidential debate on campus. I don't think I'm going to tell you whose side I was on, but let's just say it was a lively fun time! There were lights and cameras and a full house (with tough questions of course). As you may guess, most students here are pro-Obama (in Abuja there were even billboards for Obama). For the most part they like Obama because of his foreign policy and let's face it, because he's black. But there are a few devout McCain supporters. It's just kind of funny that the newscasters aren't joking when they say that the entire world is watching this election.

On Friday afternoon, the US ambassador to Nigeria came to visit AUN for the first time. She was very warmly greeted and the cafeteria was decorated and many students and community members came to hear her speak. She (her name is Robin Sanders by the way) spoke on democracy and transparent elections more specifically. I saw today that Foreign Policy said that Nigeria's 2007 presidential election was on of the worst. Anyway, it was a big step forward for the ambassador to visit AUN, and it meant a lot to the university and the community.

Here's some interesting facts about my life here:
-We drink water from baggies (plastic bags that you have to bite off a corner to drink out of)
-cookies are called biscuits (unless they're chocolate, then they're cookies)
-I'm a Chelsea fan
-A friend lent me his guitar!
-The air conditioner in my room is broken
-We have satellite in the common room so the other night I watched One Tree Hill!
-Nigerian music is AMAZING!
-Indomie is the Nigerian version of Raman Noodles (sp?) and we eat it all the time!
-laundry is done by hand
-I ate liver before I knew it was liver
-there is a coffeeshop on campus that doesn't sell coffee... so wrong

Anyway, everything is going really well and according to the calender this weekend is my halfway point! I honestly cannot believe it... (except for the midterms!)
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