Good Afternoon Sir

  Illishan Remo Ogun State, Nigeria
Saturday, February 2, 2008

We arrived at our destination about 22:15 hours. I got out went to the back to get my bags and was told to leave them. Presently two young men came and gathered my belongings and took them up to a room. My body was resisting the evidence of my senses that it was night. After a couple of hours I went to sleep. Somewwhere in the middle of my sleep I started feeling very warm and woke up. The room was dark as night in a cypress swamp. Examination of the room revealed the power was off. Victor had told me that reliable power was a problem in Nigeria. Many places had their own generators and would only run them for 18 to 20 hours per day. I am not easy to get to sleep so I counted sheep, shadows, cricket chirps until I drifted off  about 05:00 hours.
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Then all at once there came a tapping. A persistent rapping at my bedroom door. I wanted to sleep. Quoth the raven not anymore. Room service eggs, chips, fried plantain, bread, Milo, water, Maltex, some variation on potatoes. After eating I looked out the window and watched the students go about their day, lizards chase each other and do push ups, a bird that looked like a crow, sounded like a crow but had a white band about its chest, and cattle egrets stalk prey in the grass.

Eventually was able to sleep again. Woke up on my own about 11:30 hours adn went and asked about the internet. "I'm sorry sir. It is not working." Darn! Went out for a walk and was greeted by almost everyone I met with "Good afternoon sir." From the men a quick bow of the head. From the ladies a curtsy. Upon my return "It's working now sir." Hurriedly I hooked up and it was working, 3 seconds on and 8 seconds off, then 2 seconds and 10 seconds and back again. COmputer coludn't deal with that so it refused to connect. "I'm sorry sir. It has not worked since Tuesday. They should come and fix it by Monday. It was Friday PM so I gave up the thought.