Final Destination: Yola

So I finally made it to Yola (a small city on the east side of Nigeria near Cameroon)! I got off the plane and what do I see? A man carry six dead chickens in his hands... Welcome to Yola! It's a very rural setting, but friendly people and beautiful landskape. The roads/paths aren't too bad and the dirt is vibrant red. The university is very nice. All of the buildings are brand new, each is open air with courtyards inside. I live on North Campus which is about a ten minute walk but the main campus area. My room is sufficient... Everyone I've met here is really nice but I'm struggling with names (they're definintely not American names) and because I meet so many people everyday. It's going to take time to get adjusted, but already I'm starting to feel comfortable.

Some more things I've learned:
-Everyone here holds hands, girls with girls and sometimes guys with guys, more to come
girls don't shake guys right hands
-patience is a way of life
-everyone says "are you serious?" after every story in the amazing nigerian accent
-football is played on dirt
-shuttle buses stop for everyone unlike in dc where you will be running and the driver will see you but he'll still drive away
-everything comes with rice or potatos

Abuja

I have finally arrived in Abuja, Nigeria and it has been an unbelievable few days in the city. Originally our group of four was supposed to head out to Yola on Thursday, but our flight was delayed until Sunday which was cancelled, so we don't know when we will be able to leave, but soon I'm sure. This delay, while unexpected, has been unexpectedly wonderful. Humans are beautiful beings, and we each have the ability to share in that innate beauty. I have met some incredible Nigerians here through friends of friends of friends, and they have taken such good care of us. It just proves to me that everything is going to better than okay here in Nigeria.

When I first grasped that I was really here, all I wanted was to go home. But once I got to see the city and how new every street, every face, every opinion is, I felt more at home. I came to Nigeria with some definite ideas about how life here would be. Most of them were incorrect, but some of them held true. While all of the infrastructure has been better than what I expected, there are frequent power outages enough so that at night the new street lights were unlit and new buildings are built using wooden scaling shells. There are a lot of poor people which I was expecting (80% of the country). But really it isn't the 'Africa' that comes to mind, even though we know better. Now, I am in the capital city, and I've only been here for a few days so I don't pretend to be an expert however here are some random things I've noticed:

-lizards
-Nigerians are statistically the happiest people on the planet
-driving laws are nonexistent
-Nigerian accents can be difficult to understand, but sound like calming music
-rice and meat is a solid meal
-there are no american chains of any sort here
-any car can be a taxi
-wuse market is better than beachwood mall!
-native wear is not looked down upon
-tribal, regional and religious identity is important
-the pop comes in glass bottles
-soccer is important, properly so!

the big departure

so... I'm getting on a plane today (well I guess three) and I'm flying to Nigeria. how crazy is that????