Monday, October 02, 2006

Hello Everyone!
I thought it was about time that I wrote you all to let you know that yes, I am still alive here in the fine city of Abuja. That is not to say life has been without its little disasters, of course- those of you who have known me for any length of time will know that that is not my style:-)

I'm sorry it has taken so long for me to write- the internet here is incredibly unreliable, and even the places where you hope it will be on do not always have it. Today I have off for "Nigerian independence Day", so I decided to spend the afternoon wandering around the Sheraton hotel looking for an wireless network that is actually working. I have ended up on the 8th floor lounge- which is actually the most consistent place to go here, and am hoping that no one realizes I am not actually a guest here. Yikes.

On the way over here I had my first experience of being pulled over by the police- well, pulled over is not the best way to describe it. They mostly stand in the middle of the road in front of your car yelling at you and try to get in your car- which is what you should never ever let them do. I have to defense mechanisms that I use with my interaction with the police- I am incredibly nice to them and I pretend not to understand anything they are saying- which isn't really pretending because there accents are often very thick. Anyway, I accidentally ran a light- I didn't see the light because either it wasn't lit up, or it was placed somewhere random. A policeman jumps out in front of me, making me stop in the middle of the road and starts screaming. I make my eyes as big as possible and try to explain that I didn't see the light- It is hard for me to see them here because they are placed differently. Another policeman starts yelling at me to open up my car and let him in- I refuse, just cracking the window a little. They have me pull over, where their superior officer, after I almost am crying starts to tell me something about it being independence day and that I could do something for them and let it go. I pretend I don't understand anything they are saying- but I point to a N200 bill- about $1.50 (because I knew what they wanted was a bribe, which is what all police want here).
He says no and someone yells out a sum like N10,000 Naira- about $70- at that point I say "I don't understand you, I will call the embassy and they will explain". The police officer looked alarmed and told me that I could go.
I don't actually know the number of the embassy, but I know that they think that anyone with connections to the embassy has connections to their superior officers and can get them in trouble. I was actually going to just call my principal, but I didn't have to.

So, this is a small taste of the law and order of this town. It is sad really, people with money or power get away with anything they want, while those who do not have the above things are at their mercy. They get thrown in jail for no reason and have very few rights. I am starting to understand how corrupt some of these roots go. There are certain people who when they have any kind of control over another group of people, seem to just lord it over them- there is a definite class system that is active within Nigeria.
This is not everyone, of course. I have met many lovely people here who have integrity and are not like this at all. However, there is a cultural acceptability to this concept of taking- whatever money, women, power, comes your way.
I feel somewhat guilty that I am somewhat in a cocoon of protection from this aspect of the culture- although I do have to be on the constant alert for being taken advantage of.

On a more positive note- school has been fantastic. I love my students, my classes, and all aspects of what I am doing and what is going on. I have been given a lot of responsibility, and am thriving in it. It is making me actually considering going into administration as my next step. We shall see.

I think I have found a church here- I have been frustrated because I realized that I really disagreed with most of the doctrine that is commonly taught here. I'm realizing how lucky I have been at Lookout the past 6 years. Anyway, the church I found is an inter-denominational church that is very grace-oriented in its teaching, which is unusual here. It is also very calm, which is somewhat unfortunate, but is a reaction to the extreme emotionalism found most protestant churches here. However, what I like about the church is that the people seem so genuine. It is very small, but the members are very involved and serious about their faith. Many of them are from different African countries, and they take their faith and studying the Bible very seriously. I have enjoyed talking with people and really feel that it is the fellowship God has prepared for me.

I think that is enough news for one day:-) Please pray for me- pray especially for my health. I have really not been feeling well lately. My muscles and joints, especially, have been acting up- I'm worried that my degenerative arthritis is taking a turn for the worse, which is discouraging, as most of you know I DO NOT like to be slowed down;-) Perhaps God has other plans. Anyway, the pain is hard to handle sometimes, so I could use your prayers!
I love you all. Take care!

Martina