My flatmate Jan decided she wanted to go to Egypt during our Easter break. I helped her through the process of running around town, getting airline tickets, booking hotels online, getting a visa from the Egyptian embassy, etc. It was a whole lot of planning crammed into about three days and in the end, she got it all done. I'm very happy for her - going to Egypt is something she's always wanted to do - even though I'm not going with her. (No thanks, I think I'll just hang around home, veg at the pool, do some touristy shopping, and wake up without an alarm for the next 10 days.)
Friday was a half-day at school because of the start of vacation. When we closed at 11, I took Mercy out to lunch and a movie at the Silverbird complex (almost a mall - almost.) We laughed together when we walked into the building because it felt so much like we were playing hooky.
After watching Alice in Wonderland, we came home, changed clothes, and headed back to the school for a high school party hosted by the Student Council I advise.
Yes, I was a chaperon for a high school party. Yes, it was a dance party. Yes, my students are the best high-school-aged dancers you've ever seen. And yes, I joined them for one song...because when Kevin Rudolf and Lil Wayne say "Let it rock," you gotta rock...dude.
Even though the party ended at 9, it felt like 2am when I got home. As I was getting ready for bed, I noticed a small bug in my sink. As I got closer, I thought That's not like any bug I'VE ever seen before. Until I realized IT WAS A BABY SCORPION. So yeah, I killed a scorpion in my room last night. No big deal. (My only fear is that Mama Scorpion is also in my room. But let's not go there.)
Fell asleep, woke up sweating in the middle of the night (electricity had gone off), kicked off the covers and fell back asleep. Woke up this morning, still no electricity. Got into the shower, no water. That's a first, folks. No power, no water. No shower. (If that grosses you out, I'm sorry. Sometimes the stars just don't align and you don't get a shower in the middle of Nigeria.) Any other Saturday it wouldn't have been a big deal, but today was my first Nigerian wedding. Thankfully Kleenex Cottonelle wipes work in a pinch!
Benedicta, a coworker from school, got married today. Mrs. O offered to take me with her, although she was only going for the reception. Let's review the concept of Nigerian time, shall we? The wedding was to start by 11, we planned to leave by 12:30. The wedding started at 11:30, we left by 1:15, drove clear out of town to a region called Kubwa, and still caught the last 10 minutes of the ceremony!
Side note: Kubwa is outside of Abuja city limits. When we turned off the main road into the neighborhood of the church, Mrs. O turned back to me and said, "Welcome to the real Nigeria, Maggie." She was right - it was very different from Abuja. It just felt different. It looked different, too.
Back to the wedding. When we arrived, it became apparent that I would be one of 3 white people present (and all 3 of us were ICS staff). Lots and lots of stares, folks. I didn't feel so insecure, though, because at least I was wearing a traditional outfit in the wedding cloth.
You see, when a couple gets married, they designate one or more cloths as their wedding cloths. A friend of the couple buys many bolts of the cloth and sells it to the guests, who have individual outfits made. It's kind of like setting a dress code, except most of the guests will be wearing the same pattern in different styles, reflecting their individual personalities.
There was a great turnout by my coworkers. It was nice to see everyone in their element, and to compare how we had all made our outfits. As soon as I can get a
After the ceremony, the wedding hosts led us out of the reception hall, up a steep and winding staircase to a small, unfinished rooftop room. They seated us in the ubiquitous plastic chairs and brought us water, sodas, then chicken, jollof rice and coleslaw. Mrs. O told me it's actually their way of treating us as honored guests, but I would have preferred to sit down in the reception with everyone else. After an hour or so, we left, having just briefly seen the bride. It was a little strange, admittedly, but still a great chance to see some more of Nigeria's cultural landscape.
I have two more weddings to attend in the next two weeks (another coworker and a friend from church), so I'm sure to get my fill of weddings! I have sweet outfits for those weddings as well.
By the way, when we got back from the reception, there was both power and water - praise God! Apparently, the transformer just outside our compound caught fire in the night, and one of our phases was affected. It was the phase that controls the water pump and the outlets in our house - ceiling fans and lights still worked, but not the A/C or water taps. How strange!
I'm grateful for this next week of REST. Consider it an extended Sabbath. Amen and amen!
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