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Abuja, Abuja, Nigeria

Where to begin. I came back from Port Harcourt and I was tired and needed some sleep. Went to work next day and felt pretty bad. Next day I went to the embassy to pick up my invitation to the 17 May party at the ambassadors place. I stayed there for over two hours talking to the people working there. It was good talking Norwegian again for the first time in almost two months. I went back to work and stayed late. My fever was coming and going and I looked of 'malaria' on Wikipedia, and found that I had all the symptoms. After not sleeping much that night, I decided to go to the hospital because I had the symptoms of malaria, and it can be lethal. As I did not want to take malaria pills as I was going to be here for such a long time, I was 99 % percent sure it was malaria. After meeting the doctor, who was a quite attractive woman I had to wait one hour for my results. Off course, I had malaria, but as a special treatment, I also had typhoid fever, which I think is the same as salmonella. This fever is caught by drinking infected water or by eating food washed in infected water. Guess I got a little bit of both in Port Harcourt. The fever is also lethal and 600 000 people die every year compared to more than 3 million from malaria. I had 40 % malaria, which is high, but not dangerously high; my fever was more severe and it was more to be concerned about. I got some pills and went to work even if she recommended me to stay home for some days. Staying at home would just have been boring, so I went to work and stayed on Facebook all day and read newspapers and other stuff. Friday was pretty bad too and I wanted to go home early, but the director finally had some time to talk to me so I stayed put. After waiting for three hours and time getting close to four pm I just left the office after telling his personal assistant that we could do it next week. The rest of the evening, I just watched movies, and luckily, we had electricity most of the evening so it worked out fine. Next day was the same, watching movies and relaxing. However, it was 17 may, Norway's national day and I felt that only sitting inside was rather boring so Actor and I went to Abacha barracks to have some roasted fish. The roasted fish is more or less the only food I really like her in Nigeria, even if I have bought pizza the last week now, as I do not want any more chicken. We went to the barracks early and had our fish. Actor was hung over so I had a whole medium size fish alone, and it was mighty sweet. It is hard to describe, but imagine the tenderest fish you have had, add the best seasoning you know and add some onion/chilli sauce, served with fried potatoes, eat it with your hand and you get the picture. Sitting at the barracks, you get people trying to sell you everything, and I swear that you can get everything you want (except from a pink baby boot, as that is only sold in Zambia). As it is a circular place, they just keep on walking rounds. Therefore, when the same person asks if I want to buy leather shoes for the third time, I was tempted to ask him if he was retarded or something, but I kept it to myself. Walking around we stumbled into a person selling some nuts. I asked Actor and he explained that it was kola nuts. I have heard about it, and it is the Nigerian equivalent of the espresso. Supposedly, one nut is enough to keep you going for a while, so I bought three just to try it out. Actor peeled his and started eating it like it was candy. I took a bite and I can tell you that it tasted like shit. Not literally, but it tasted like chewing on a branch and it was incredibly bitter. I could not even finish half as my mouth was screaming for water. I spat it out and Actor laughed his head of. After the fish, we wanted to go to the place we went to last time, a place called Maraba. It was only later that I understood that this was not in Abuja, but in Nasarawa state, which explained the long ride. We went to the same place as last time but we were earlier this time so it was more quiet than last time. However, as I was sick I did not drink and I was tired and we went home around eight, as I wanted to rest. In an attempt to get more awake I forced down the rest of the kola nut, using malta (a very sweet non-alcoholic drink) to neutralize the bitterness combining this with a power horse, which is the Nigerian red bull. However, one of the two did the trick, because when I got home I was not tired at all. I watched some movies but as the power went out and my laptop went black I tried to get some rest. Not a chance. I fell asleep around five or something lying there listening to this year's first large thunderstorm. That storm was pretty powerful and I was sure the roof was going to disappear during the night. Funny enough, this was the day I chose to wash my only towel and hang it out to dry, and the towel was nowhere to be found the next day, so now I am using my sleeping sheet thing as a towel. As I was lying there trying to sleep I thought that this at least meant that the crazy sect having service just below me in the open would stay home. But what do you know, nine am sharp there were at it again. The same 5-7 people and loud motherfucking speakers and with the pastor that sounded like he was on speed. Needless to say It was hard to sleep in this noise and I had to wake up and go and get some breakfast. When I got back at half past eleven he was still going strong, and I thought to myself: I am glad we have churches in Norway, than we can at least choose to not attend if we feel like it. Later I went to get some pizza as usual. I ordered a medium pizza, but just as I gave the money I told here that I wanted a large instead, as you get a lot more pizza for a bit more money. But it was to late as she had punched it inn. I asked if there were any possibility for her to punch it out and punch it in again, but that was impossible. Of course that is possible but she did not know how to do it so instead of losing face she claimed it was impossible. This is very Nigerian. If you do not know the answer, lie. This is typical for taxi drivers where you arrange the sum in advance, and they just fuck up completely, after they have told you they know the place. Another thing is the urge to ease themselves in public. As I was going to get food, this guy just sat down two meters away from where I was walking and took a crap (po-po) in the middle of the street. It was dark but still it is a major city and I did not see that one coming. There are a lot of small things like that happening, but I cannot write about everything so perhaps I will have a last blogg about general stuff when I get home. I could write a short story about my room where I am staying at now, which is almost like a giant zoo with (white baby) lizards, border beetles (eating up my door), thousands of ants and not least mosquitoes. I could write a book about the stronghold of religion in Nigeria, the funny names of churches and some funny things like a church called living hope and a coffin maker in the same tiny house, about how they talk about Jesus as he is actually in the room and standing next to us (which kind of freaks me out), about the religious screamers in Port Harcourt meeting up every night at a field on campus where they were screaming their lungs out and much more. Another fascinating thing is that girls here all have wigs, or hair extensions (false hair). They change this every week or second week on Saturdays. This makes it hard for people like me that are bad with faces, when I cannot use hair to identify people. This also goes for guys, as they all have short hair, which makes it harder to recognise. So I think there is something to the 'we black all look the same to you white people' phrase, as hear is something that makes it easer to recognise people and white people usually have the same hairstyle for a long time, I have had mine for over ten years now at least. But I will sum up that when I get back I guess. Monday is the official 17 May celebration at the ambassador's place so I hope they have some good food, and not just chicken.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1210774260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1210774260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1210774260/tpod.html Wed, 14 May 2008 10:18:03 -0400 The real Nigerian experience, two months in the land of the black gold

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Port harcourt, Nigeria

Thursday I was on my way to Port Harcourt, the place was all the white oil-people are kidnapped from. The bus was close so I walked there. We were 12 people travelling, all with pretty much luggage, and the bus company had the choice between an 11 seater and a 14 seater, and if you by know understand Nigerian logic we took the 11 seater, and it was crowded. Luckily, it was only 9-10 hours sitting on top pf each other☺. I was smart enough to get the spot next to a very cute girl on my own age. Her name was Edith and she studied social anthropology so we had much to talk about and I was asking all kinds of questions about Nigeria. Thank to her the trip was rather ok, and I got to see much of the landscape. Nine hours later, I was in the Niger Delta, Port Harcourt. Nine hours is fast as the roads are really bad, but the driver drove as he had stolen, the car, the gas and kidnapped all of us so we were early in spite of heavy rainfall and shitty roads. Edith got me in a taxi to the university and I was on my own. The roads were jammed and there were hold ups everywhere, and the motor bikes flew around us like bees. The road to the university was awful and combined with heavy rain it was hard to see that it was actually a road. I met Kevin, he put me in a room, and we started with the compulsory Campus Tour in his lovely 84 model Toyota, with its special features like a weak battery and doors that open only occasionally. The campus was huge, green and relatively new, like the other campuses I've been at. We sat down at a pub just outside campus around seven and started drinking some beers with some of Kelvin's friends, and we had a good time, before Kelvin and I decided to stroll around campus looking for company. We sat down at a strategic place where a lot of people passed and Kelvin started to work. Kelvin is a campus kid and he has been living there his whole life, as his father is a lecturer. Hence, he knows a lot of people, and even more people know him. Therefore, we just sat there and spoke with people, and as I was one of few white people to be there people actually sat down with us. During this long weekend, I saw one other white person in PH except from at the airport, and that was at campus the next day. The highlight of the evening was a transformator (high voltage thing) which was on fire, something that I would think would be potentially very dangerous, but which didn't seem to bother anyone except me. According to them, there was not much to do with it unless it became a real problem.

Next morning we had some work to do and I have some people to meet. First, we meet with Kelvin's neighbour, who was Prof. Okoko's personal assistant. It was an ok meeting, but as Okoko was having surgery, it was the best I could do. Then we went to department of political science and met a Prof. who sent me on to Dr. Ukiwo, a person I have been trying to reach who works at the centre for advanced social science. So we got an appointment with him later that day. Before meeting with him, we went to see this rap artist, who Kelvin was the manager to. As it turned out I had his hit song on my mobile phone and as he was shooting the music video the following day he asked if I wanted to be a part of the video, which I off course wanted, after all, how many Norwegian people have starred in a Nigerian music video? None to my knowledge. We meet up with Ukiwo afterwards, he was a very nice person, and he promised me to read through my thesis and give me some feedback. When we left the fun started as the car from now on started only 50 percent of the time. At the centre, we got some help pushing us as we stood in a slope. In the evening, we went to a party and it was pretty cool as it was in a backyard and a lot of people (around 150) were dancing the Nigerian way, which is pretty funny. Free beer and food is also a good thing. After a while, we went to another party, which seemed a bit more posh, and it turned out it was an 'all white party' meaning that everyone should wear white, which the three of us actually did. We partied hard and went home around two, after which we watched some movies. However, before we left his car decided not to start and it took Kelvin about half an hour to get it sorted out, as he needed to jump-start it. I just watched and laughed together with a friend of Kelvin. The thing about Kelvin's place is that they are around five people living together and they just sleep in one of the two rooms as they feel like it. So there are always people around and privacy is a virtue. Saturday we were tired and as it was scorching hot, we just stayed inside and watched movies until the sun has calmed down. We had some small trips around, to the river, some oil installations and some of Kelvin's friends before we went to play in the music video. Kelvin has promised to send me a copy when it is finished and I will post it on Facebook when I get it. The filming was down town and the traffic in PH down town is not even funny. In a 3 million people city there is only ONE road into town so the hold ups are crazy. You can try to get trough the narrow side streets, but then you may be there for hours. The worst I have heard was Kelvin's boss who was stuck for four hours not long ago. As Kelvin's car got overheated, as it was old, he needed to turn it of to cool it down, but as there is no space to push, what would happen if it stopped? We would be fucked and people would scream at us for an hour or two. So every time we started again I was relieved. The filming was an in-out thing and it didn't take more than 15 minutes. I am actually a bit exited about it, even if the song is about a rap song with a hidden gospel moral. Basically, it is about a small child who wants to drink beer, because his mum went to 'witchdoctors' to get pregnant, and now she has a cursed child. Very convincing story. Right next to the filming we ran into Kelvin's uncle and guess what he was. Off course, he was a pastor and he told me to be here at 07.30 next morning or else he would be very disappointed. Will it ever end? Kelvin answered yes for me, and the deal was done. How could I refuse? When we drove back, the traffic had eased a bit and we drove around the narrow streets and met some friends of Kelvin. The university is pretty far from the city and we drove a lot every day. The road to the university was bad, really bad and there were potholes and cracks everywhere. That did not stop Kelvin from driving like a mad man. The thing is that his speedometer does not work so he thinks he drives 70-80, when he was actually driving 100-110. We semi crashed twice in bikers during my stay, even if it was the bikers fault, but it was just scary to drive as all drivers drive on the best side of the road until a car comes on that side, and then they all change back. This led to some interesting situations were we got stuck on the wrong side of the road unable to get out. Because if you are stupid enough to get stuck your fucked. Luckily Kelvin is a good driver and he knew how to drive so I was not too scared, but sometimes I got flashback to the old TV games where you are driving against the traffic and you are supposed not avoid getting hit by the cars, only here you only have on life. Especially at night when the loads of bikes were driving without lights were interesting. No wonder there are around 1, 2 million people dying in traffic in Africa every year. The evening came and we were really tired even if we didn't do much. We watched some movies and relaxed.

The next morning Kelvin called me and I pretended not to hear the phone, but then he came to my room and said it was time for church. I told him I was not feeling to well, which was actually true, as I had only eaten rice and white bread and a lot of beet since I got there. He bought it and let me sleep. Later it was time for the ending of the Premier League, and as Kelvin and his two friends were Chelsea fans I was on my own. We won the league and I was happy the others were not, but they have only been fans for some years so they were not too disappointed. Anyway, we went out to celebrate my victory and the fact that I was leaving the next day. We woke up early next morning, as I wanted to be on time. According to Kelvin, it was a 30-minute ride to the airport and off course, I didn't believe him and we left 50 minutes before I should be there. As I expected the hold ups where crazy, and without Kelvin's crazy driving and taking some illegal move we would have been very very late. The ride took 80 minutes and I gave Kelvin a 'told you so' look. 'Luckily' it didn't matter that we were late, as the plane was cancelled. Off course no on had bothered to tell me about that, so we stood there and looked at one another. The plane had gone for service and they did not know when it would be back. Fuck you very much! All busses had left by now and the only thing was to call other airlines, which are not reckoned to be safe according to western standards. Virgin is the only one that is allowed to fly in Europe and the US, the others are not. Anyhow, I was able to get a new flight with Arik, which was at the other airport, meaning we had to go back the way we came from and buy the ticket, go home and relax before going back later in the day. We headed towards the airport and it seems we choose the wrong way because we got stuck so badly in traffic that it was not even funny. In one hour, we moved 300 meters, and it just didn't seem like we were going to get anywhere, as this was the rush hour. Off course, Kelvin turned off the engine during this and off course, the battery was pretty dead, meaning that we needed to push start. The question is how you do that when you have 40 cm to the car in front and there are hundreds of angry, fed up and warm headed people behind you. The answer is that you wait until the car in front move 7-8 meters and then you push. However, the hundreds of people behind you swear at you because you are not moving, and being a white overheated tired grumpy person did not help. After taking some insults and actually getting the cars started, we (or I) decided not to stop the engine again. In stead, we parked the car and decide to take a bike to get money for the ticket, as you cannot pay with card. Card is taboo down here, hard cash is the thing and you often see people walking around with large bags of money. No wonder people are robbed. However, the two of us got o a bike and the bike driver was around 14-16 (I shit you not!). He was a good driver even if Kelvin was more scared than me, probably because he doesn't know how scared people are when he is driving. There were hundreds of bikes going around the cars that were jammed in traffic and it was very narrow. We had to use our hands to keep the cars away and I saw a lot of cars get scratched only on this 20-minute ride. After withdrawing cash, we drove back towards the car. The police was trying to sort out a major hold up in a junction and one of them actually fired shots in the air to get people to calm down, and we were like 15 meters away. That's Nigeria for you. The traffic had eased up and we got to the airport after an hour. One of Kelvin's friends had taken care of business for me when it came to tickets. As he works for Arik, it became apparent that I would not have gotten a ticket that day without him, as the two other planes to Abuja were cancelled. As we were leaving this white person was making a fuss about something and we decided to check it out. It turned out that he was a CNN reporter and he was coming from Lagos and the federal police (Nigerian FBI) wanted him to return to Abuja with them. He was repeatedly asking if he was being arrested and they didn't say any thing. He turned to me and tried to communicate with me but they took him away, and the last thing we heard was that there were arresting him. So what do you do? Kelvin told me not to do anything as they could do the same with me. I told him very quietly that I would do something. But what could I do. Well, I called the Norwegian embassy and asked them to notify the British embassy. I didn't see anything the next day on CNN so I hope he is ok. I got on my plane after a long day of waiting and sweating, and I was happy to be on my way back to my room. I fell asleep during take off and woke up as we landed again. Actor was picking me up at the airport with a taxi, but after waiting for a long time it turned out he was waiting at the domestic (logically enough) airport 1 km away whereas all flights to Abuja lands at the international airport. So I was back in Abuja after a week away. It was a nice trip even if it is a bit stressful not to have a fixed place and common surroundings. This is just some highlights from the trip, as I do not feel like boring you to death with details. However, I can give some bullet points to fill you in
· ON a relatively small bike there is room for five people, one driver, mum, dad and two small children, this is a funny sight
· Bikes fall a lot and I saw two bikes falling during this week.
· A bath means washing yourself with a bucket of water, which some of you can recall from my early bloging. This is done at least twice a day and I you didn't do it you are weird, as I was because I didn't feel like it one morning.
· The place Kelvin stay is called the 'lost island' after the series as they have a huge palm tree, a cherry tree, mango, breadfruit and lizards and chickens running around.
· There are mosquitoes in the Delta, lots of them and it stings for days when they bite you (I hate them!!!)
· Fast food does not mean hamburger and chips, but rice/pounded jam and chicken/fish, and everything western is very expensive and does not taste very good either.
· The whole university has around 20 computers online available to all the students and they are allowed to browse one hour a day, and if one does the math that could never add up in any possible way.
· This is one of the reasons why people never answer e-mail in Nigeria. I have tried to get in touch with people but there is usually no reply. Like Dr. Ukiwo who never got my mail, but the server never sent me a failure notice
· People found it funny that I was in PH and screamed that they were going to kidnap me, which was kind of cute
· You don't need a license in PH (or Nigeria for all I know), really young boys drive bikes and it is a very dangerous occupation. 99 percent of drivers are men, and there is not pity on people learning to drive, so there are many swearwords flying around between cars.
· People in PH and Nigeria in general are very religious, but only on Sundays between seven and twelve in the morning
· If there is one phrase to sum up PH is would be 'crazy traffic and friendly people'
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1210198560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1210198560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1210198560/tpod.html Wed, 07 May 2008 18:19:50 -0400 The real Nigerian experience, two months in the land of the black gold

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Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

As my journey started at 6 I had to wake up at 05.30 to be sure that I got on time. That was hard as I ended up going out for some beers with Actor, and that ended around half past twelve. Earlier that evening I tried to post a blog at the local cyber café, but after trying to log in for 45 minutes I gave up after getting into an argument with the people owning the place, as I felt it was wrong to pay for something that I didn't get. They didn't seem to care, so I uttered some Norwegian swearwords as I left the place. After Ibiza we went to another local joint, called Black one café, as Actor wanted catfish pepper soup. After drinking some beers we were one our way home and I noticed that the hair saloon was still open, at 23.30. As I never have had an hair cut while being tipsy I decided today was the day. I got in and started negotiating the price, and ended up at 800 naira (5 US$). He started cutting my hear with a 'sheep cutter' and after some seconds I started regretting the whole thing. He was used to Afro hear, and he poked the thing in my head with impressive strength and it was kind of painful. It was pretty bad after a while and I asked him to shave of the whole lot, but he reaffirmed me that it was going to be good in the end. After instructing him how to do it with a scissor we finally made it look decent, even if I had to cut a bit of my own for it to look ok. The thing is that my hear is so soft and he was used to afro hear so he was used to have resistance, which my hear didn't give him. But I look fine now after I went home and fixed it later that evening.

Tuesday morning I was at the bus place at six as it said we should be. It may not come as a surprise that the bus actually left seven thirty. Most people showed up at seven. At 07.25 they decided to start fixing the bus, after it had been standing there since I got there. WTF! So at 08.00 we finally started rolling. I have described the trip before and I will not do it again, but only a few details. On the web page they say that the bus has a "A 100-km/hour-speed limit", which is a big fat lie. We had some crazy drive passes at 140 km/hour and as the roads are shit it was pretty hectic. The bus is small one, but still a bus, and 140 is gambling. Taken into consideration that I have seen some heavy crashes here in Nigeria, it was very interesting. The bus dropped me off somewhere in Nigeria, and told me to take a taxi. I had no idea where I was so I thought that 250 naira would be enough, but it turned out I was pretty far away from the university, and it took 30 minutes to get to the place. Did not do much that evening, but I printed out my thesis for next day, as I was meeting Dr. Stephen Lafenwa. The printing cost me 1500 naira, which is a lot I Nigerian standard.

Next morning I went to the university and meet up with Lafenwa and after chatting with him for 30 minutes he had to give a lecture. He promised to look at my thesis and come back to me next week, and to give it to another Dr. who is an expert on ethnic militias. After that I meet up with two sociology students I meet the night before and we chatted about Nigeria and Sweden as one had been accepted to a master there. Some students have fun shaking mangos of a tree close by and people were standing below catching. It was kind of cute, BA, master and PhD students climbing trees looking for mangos. Campuses in Nigeria are usually very large, and there are taxis inside the compound. Walking from one end to the other would take around half an hour or more. There are trees everywhere and except from run down buildings the place was beautiful. The rest of the day I did little of importance. Kelvin, the guy I am going to see in Port Harcourt wrote me and said that Prof. Okoko was in the US for eye surgery, but they would try and get someone else for me to speak with. Kelvin said he should try and get one of the leaders from MEND to see me, a name you Political science students should know... So I am not sure what is going on, but I guess I want to go to the Delta no matter what, as it is important to get a feeling of how things are. During the day I walked around Ibadan and got an impression of how the city is. You get a lot of attention walking around as a white person in the backyards in Ibadan and loads of children asking for money. The city is very lively and it feels very safe during the day. During night however, the city turns dead. No light, no people, just darkness. So safe to say, I keep inside during night and went for night surfing at the local cyber café, 300 naira for the whole night, from 22-06. So tomorrow at seven I'll set of for the Niger Delta, and I am pretty exited I might sayJ
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1210085580/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1210085580/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1210085580/tpod.html Tue, 06 May 2008 10:55:54 -0400 The real Nigerian experience, two months in the land of the black gold

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Abuja, Nigeria

So the weekend was just ok. Friday was a slow day and I just stayed at home and wrote, mails and stuff. Saturday I went to Ibiza to watch united and it was almost empty. Nonetheless there were about 100 people, meaning that my estimate that is was 500 was completely wrong and it was probably over a thousand during the champions league matches. I had arranged to meet with Egghead and some friends at Abacha barracks around six. I took Actor along and invited two girls as well, Hawa and Angel. Actor and I was there European time, half an hour early and the rest was African time, an hour late, so we had already eaten our fish which by the way was just as good as last time, and I traded my French fries for Actors fish so I had about a kg fish☺. Egghead had four friends with him and Angel came after a while so we were a good group. We drank and laughed and sang along with this guy with a guitar. I sang Elvis, in the ghetto, and he played some kind of melody, but definitely not Elvis. We had a lot of fun and he didn't want to go, as we were the only ones that actually liked him, so he stayed for a while. Didn't stay too long, as everyone except me was due in church the next day.

Next day I woke up at nine, and guess what the service was on, and the same procedure as last Sunday. Screaming, shouting, and hallelujahs were flying and I was thinking: Will it ever end? It did end, only after 2 and a half hours. I actually snuck a peek and I was surprised that there were only six-seven people. In addition, around 12 the next service started some hundred meters away in the hotel next to us so I decided to call Egghead and seek refuge. So I went to egghead and this time I found my way on my own. It was supposed to be electricity in Eggheads area that day, but they had not had a blink of it the whole day, so it was pretty hot. We had some good conversations about politics and I got to explain my theories about Nigeria, which is really useful for me. After a while, we decided to sit outside as the neighbours had a party. It was a 'one year after my husband died' party and it was mainly women from a minority tribe in the east. They were dancing and shouting, as African women do. It was very nice and we had much fun watching them. Off course we had beer and the kids were running to the small local place had picking them up for us as we went along. Around seven, this other guy was going home so I joined him. It had started raining so when we took the bikes we got pretty wet, but as it was 25 degrees it was not the end of the world. The poor biker was shivering and he did not find it amusing at all. Back at my place, I watched 'who wants to be a millionaire' Nigeria. The funny thing was that when people asked the audience for help, the audience had no idea the three times they asked for help, and this were pretty easy questions which I knew the answers to, but it was pretty funny.

But the most important thing that happened was that Egghead's friend Kelvin wanted me to come to Port Harcourt, in the Niger Delta. It is a large city with around 5 million people (or more) and known for its hard environment. He said he could get me to a meeting with Prof. Okoko, who is the leader of the biggest organisation in Nigeria, consisting of hundreds of different groups in the Niger Delta. He is a political scientist, and it would be very beneficial for my thesis. The embassy and my family are not as exited as me, but then again I know what I am going to and Kelvin has arranged to take good care of me, and I am sleeping at campus, even if that is not as safe as it sounds, as Nigeria's universities are ridden with gangs and clashes. But I'll stay out of trouble. The Niger Delta is actually one of few places in the world the Foreign affairs recommend not going to, together with Iraq, Colombia, Southern Afghanistan and Darfur, but as long as I stay with the locals, I will be fine. Oye, Egghead's friend also said he got get me a friend of his to be a kind of bodyguard for me, but hopefully I won't need it. However, it is always good to have the option Firstly I am going back to Ibadan and I am going to meet some professors at the university there. As this was decided yesterday I don't have any where to sleep or I don't know where I am going, but I guess I'll find my way. I've been in Ibadan, which is around 7-8 millioni people, but then again that is a pretty straight forward city, known for email fraud and not violent crime. If you ever got an 'Nigeria mail asking to give away your bank account number, I can bet you it was coming from Ibadan. So I have some interesting days ahead, and I hope I will meet some interesting people and .not any bad guys. I'll take the 8 hour bumpy ride as last time and hopefully I will get a better seat than last time. Time will show, so stay tuned for more happy days☺
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1209718560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1209718560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1209718560/tpod.html Fri, 02 May 2008 05:00:13 -0400 The real Nigerian experience, two months in the land of the black gold

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Abuja, Nigeria

Not much interesting this week either, but perhaps the weekend will be more entertaining. No one came back to me with feedback about my thesis, so that week of waiting was was pretty much in vain. Instead of writing and reading I have been applying for some jobs, but the jobs I'm looking for requires 10 years experience, so it seems kind of hopeless. Guess I'll get something, and if not I'll leach of the state for a month or two. So this week has been more about football, and on Tuesday I went down to Ibiza and watched the United game with Actor, the guy who runs the hotel. The place was packed and I counted no less than nine plasma screens in the whole place. The win did well and I am already looking forward to the 21 May, and I just need to buy a fake United shirt, as the copy is almost as well made as the real stuff and a fraction of the price. Next day was the Chelsea- Liverpool game, and that was crazy. Most Nigerians are Chelsea fans, and when Chelsea play they go all the way. I would guess that around 80 % of the crowd were Chelsea fans, making about 400 people. So when Chelsea scored they went absolutely bananas, throwing plastic bottles and plastic chairs in the air! They went even more crazy when the ref blew the whistle and the victory was final. This was my third time in this place and people already know that I am a United supporter, which is kind of nice. Guess you cannot hide away when you are the only white person among 500 blacks.

Wednesday morning I was also in a rally against Robert Mugabe together with Egghead, who is the leader for the Nigerian bar association. The Zimbabwean consulate is just 250 meters from our office so I thought it would be fun to join in and do something for a good cause. We were not more than 70-100 people, as Abuja is not the place for demonstrations. Nevertheless, we had posters with different slogans and the press was there, and I had a sign saying that Mugabe must go; you cannot rule a country without living beings. The leader for Nigerian civil society groups were allowed to talk to the Consul after we had been chanting for over half an hour. Most important the leaders got on TV and got the message out that Nigeria condemns Mugabe's actions. More important, I was on Nigerian TV for a third time, possibly because I had my Zambian shirt on, and people thought I was from Zimbabwe. Thursday was 1 May and a public holiday, just what I needed as my days has been really busy... I sat outside my room, read a novel about Nigeria, and enjoyed the cool weather (below 30 early in the day). Later I got a text from Ngozi and I was sure it was about church, but actually, she asked if we should go to the movies, which I had hinted the day before that would be a good idea. Hence, I did not have to go to church and got to see a movie instead. The movie, called Bad Money, was awful, but I guess I could not complain. Inn addition Ngozi was in a grumpy mood, and just wanted to go home and sleep after being at the market all day. The funny part was that she did not run around herself. She actually told different people what she needed, she just sat in a chair and said yes, and no while different sellers showed her their products. When I got back Actor wanted me to come along to have catfish pepper-soup, but I declined as I felt like chilling and working a bit on the thesis. I have flicked on it the last week as I am waiting for feedback, and I hope I get it soon, or else I am going to be pretty upset. I found out that I only got three weeks left, time flies I must say.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1209377820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1209377820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1209377820/tpod.html Mon, 28 Apr 2008 06:20:45 -0400 The real Nigerian experience, two months in the land of the black gold

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Abuja, Nigeria

After not doing much useful in the office this week, only applying for some jobs (internships), one in New York and one in Skopje, Macedonia, while waiting for feedback from Aliju, the director, my supervisor in South Africa and Alvarez, my previous supervisor. Friday was my last evening in the hotel and I decided that I should so something a bit more fun than sitting alone in the room, so I went to Hilton hotel to play blackjack (BJ). I only brought 150 US$, and thought that was a reasonable amount to lose. I started of pretty good, and was soon in 350 $, but I got to eager, and in stead of my usual system where I win small pots the whole time, I started loosing some big hands. And not surprisingly, two hours later I was broke after getting some bad 12 hands (worst you can get). I think 'carma' wanted me to go home early and not get hooked on BJ again, as I only got THREE BJ in the time I played, which is remarkably little, almost incredible. It should be said that the biggest sum I have earned on BJ was 3000US$ after starting with 600US$. So I went home and packed up my stuff. Next morning I left for my new place. I got in and started packing out. After getting settled I went to Wuse market to pick up a shirt I had a tailor make for me. It turned out he was not on job, so my effort was in vain. After walking around I decided to go watch the United game at a place called Ibiza. I think it was 75 % Chelsea fans and as United lost, it was just to get out as soon as possible. Actor the person who runs the place I am staying at came towards the end, and he asked me if I wanted to come along to have some food. He was going to Abacha barracks, the place Olly highly recommended to me. The place was out of town so we took a taxi. The place was really cool. It was like a food court, with barbeques in the middle, and they only served fish. Huge seasoned juicy fish. Actor picked out a type of fish that he knew was very tasteful. We got this gigantic fish, probably 1, 5 kg and fried potatoes. The fish was one of my best fish dinners ever as it was so well seasoned and juicy that I am out of words. We were able to finish all of it (except the head, which I don't like). It goes without saying that we ate with our fingers, as is the custom in Nigeria. After dinner, he asked if we should go a bit further out of town and have a beer in this 'cool place'. We had been drinking since two and it was 40 degrees, so we were thirsty and off course, we went. This cool place turned out to be some kind of township, or at least a very rural area. Just crossing the street was a story in itself, and after 2 minutes, we barely made it. The place was filled with bars, exclusively plastic chairs. We headed towards Actor's place and that was the one filled with the cutest girls, which was ok with me. Actor did not like beer, so he was drinking 11, 5% wine like it was water. I stuck to beer as one of us had to be able to find the way home, even if I had little idea where we were. After a while, Actor was getting pretty drunk and as he was attending church early next morning, and that fact that I did not want to get to drunk in this area, we decided to head home. We got a taxi all the way home, which was pretty far, even further than I was last weekend. Back home the electricity was out, and the bar was out of bottled water, so I had to drink three fanta to quench my thirst.

On the church front, Ngozi has invited my every Sunday, but I have always found an excuse not to go. Even, Ochi, a woman in the office has said that I HAVE to come to church with here, but I have declined very nicely, several times. I guess church is the place to meet people in Nigeria, but I have some issues about attending church, and I would feel like a hypocrite if I went. Even Actor went to church on Sunday, and he was pretty wasted the day before. Nevertheless, it turned out they had Sunday mass on the lawn just below my room (max 15 meters from my room). Am not I the lucky one! They even had a synthesizer and a set of drums, and of course LAAAARGE speakers. Therefore, even if I go to great lengths to avoid going, they come to me, which is funny in a twisted way. Therefore, I got my share of 'Jesus loves this and Jesus hates that' and at least a 100 hallelujahs. Next weekend I think I will have to go out of town in order to church invitations from keep on coming, perhaps I'll go to Jos of the Niger Delta. Moreover, they are not only Christians ,but they interpret the bible literally, and it goes without saying that that Adam and Eve was the two first people, and that the world was created in seven days. Those of you that know me know that I can argue pretty well against this, but I do not do that here as I do not want to be impolite. But I can promise you that it is hard to be a humanist/ neo-Darwian down here, and If I started to explain them what it is all about, I do not think they would even try to understand. Hence, I keep my opinions to myself.

In addition to this, the restaurant is closed on Sundays so I had to find a place to have breakfast. After walking forever, I found a Chinese place that was really expensive, but I needed food so I took it. In the afternoon, I got to know the area a bit better and I strolled around this green area right next to the hotel. I am glad I moved here as the area is really nice, even if the hotel room is shit and 'clean' is not a word I would ever use to describe it, but it is cheap so I don't complain. It is also further from the office, but closer to pubs and bars so it is easier to go out and see football and so on. And when I thought the church craziness was over it took a new turn. I sat down to have the left overs from the Chinese food on the back side of my room, enjoying the view. Then the guy living next door came and said hello. Of course he was a pastor. Nonetheless, he was a very nice pastor, not the preaching one, but a more reflected and pragmatic one. And this type of Christian I can handle. And this would probably have been ok, if it was not that Ngozi came over. She is VERY religious, and she had been in church all day and even spoken with her pastor about things going on in the church. Nonetheless, she started talking to him about churches and stuff, and I tried my best not to reveal my dislike of churches, when she asked if we perhaps should go to this pastors church (Thursdays at 18.00) as I always sleep on Sundays when she invites me to her church. I have 4 eyes ayes on me, and what do I do? I collapse under pressure and reply: Suuuure that would be... nice. So now I have a mission to get an appointment for Thursday. The question is, will I be able, or will I find my self in church for the first time in 4 years? Read the blogg on Friday and you will find out
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1209121860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1209121860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1209121860/tpod.html Fri, 25 Apr 2008 07:15:22 -0400 The real Nigerian experience, two months in the land of the black gold

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Abuja, Nigeria

Not much has been going on lately and I have not bothered writing. However, on Wednesday I went for the conference at the Hilton Hotel. I got there early and sat down and waited. The meeting was not as big as I thought it would be and I was kind of surprised. As the room filled up they started to call people up to the high table, meaning the big shots who are supposed to know what they are talking about. I recognised some of the people from the last conference and they recognised me as well, probably because I am white:). Then all of a sudden I heard my name, or at least something that sounded like it. It turned out they wanted me at the high table with the party leaders and chairmen. Well, I couldn't say no, could I? So after filling the table we started the discussion which was about the same topic as last time, how to change the 1999 constitution and the electoral system. I have some strong opinion about this, and as I was the only academic, I actually impressed them with my knowledge. I have discussed with John in the office that I want to write an article about how to reform the electoral system, so I was well prepared. I suggested a double ballot system with first part the post and proportional representation as they have in Germany, and urged the parties to work together agaisnt PDP (the ruling party)in stead of fighting each other for power. I also worked together with this other party leader (with a PhD) about strengthening civil society, and the other party leaders did not see the usefulness of a strong civil society, and I tried to explain that it is probably because Nigeria have never had democracy and don't know what to look for. All in all it was very much fun and I received cards and phone numbers from many people. I went to the office after the meeting just to send some mails, while I waited for the gala dinner. It turned out that this was the event Kofi Annan should have come, but he pulled out due to a busy schedule. The dinner was supposed to start at seven, but due to African time it started at nine. But nonetheless, I was able to discuss with the politicians in a more formal tone, and to say what I wanted to say. We agreed on some aspects, but for some reason I think that they are captured by the system, and they only see what they want to see. I invited a girl for the dinner, Hawa, who I meet at Eggheads party. The dinner started at nine after we had waited for ages for one of the senators who were getting the award. It was the West African leadership award ceremony that was awarded, and it was actually a big thing. Three senator were there and a bunch of media people. But the night dragged on and it lasted for ever, and I was so hungry. Dinner was served at ten thirty! And I ate for four people as I was starving. The dinner was superb and by far the best dinner I have had in Nigeria. So that was the evening I did not meet Kofi Annan, but maybe next time:) This weekend I am moving to the other side of town, which is much more lively so i hope to have some stories over the weekend. Take care everyone
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1208858400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1208858400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1208858400/tpod.html Tue, 22 Apr 2008 06:05:01 -0400 The real Nigerian experience, two months in the land of the black gold

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Abuja, Nigeria

It has been some slow couple of days, and not much to report. Guess many things happen, but I'm tired of writing about everyday things, as it cannot be much interesting for you guys to read it. On Saturday I meet with Wale, the author I meet on the plane. We meet at Drumstick, a kind of KFC place. He started talking and soon revealed his ignorance about things. The book he had written was not yet published. He game me a copy and asked me to read it and be critical. It took me one minute to see that it was, pardon my French, a useless book. The first thing I do when I check a book is to read the references, and of the few references were from the bible and Wikipedia(!). The book is called God and Nigeria, and is about Nigeria's economic situation, and it is as far from academic as it gets,filled with lists and tables which does not do any good except taking up space. Therefore, you can imagine my thought, when he proclaimed that he thought that he could win a noble price. He was dead serious and I had some problems keeping my cool. Nonetheless, he is a nice guy and I appreciate the effort, but I promise you to donate a kidney if he wins the Nobel price in literature.

After that I went to the market, which is a very busy place on Saturdays. I walked around and tried to find a nice shirt, but they don't have the nice ones, as the one I bought in Zambia. Because I'm white, people were pulling me all over the place and trying to show me their place. And it is incredibly annoying when people say that they have the exact same shirt, in fact a whole shop of them, when it turns out they don't have anything else than cheap copies of western clothes. It has to be said that it was 45 degrees and blue sky so I was sweating like a Christmas goat (the Nigerian version of the idiom). After giving up I decided to buy some materials and get someone to make it for me. I good a really good price and was asked to come back on Monday to pick it up. Moreover, when I picked it up on Monday he was just finishing it, and it was actually nicer than I thought it would be. So I got a very nice Africa shirt for less than 20 US$.

In the evening I just worked on the thesis, the whole evening, and by Sunday afternoon I actually had a first draft of the whole thesis. 100 pages included everything. I was kind of proud and I feel that I at least would be a B if I handed it in tomorrow, so that is nice. Now I have send it to the Director, my supervisor and my former supervisor for feedback, and I'm hoping to get loads of them.

Sunday afternoon I went to see Egghead, who lives outside Abuja in the rural areas. I took a taxi with a friend of him and got there around five. The electricity in rural areas is generally absent, and as it was around 45 degrees, it was hotter than hell. Egghead only had Guinness so that's what we drank. In the beginning it was very slow and we were just chilling, but as the electricity came back and the fan started working we started dancing. Coinciding with this was the fact that we were drinking Norwegian Linie Aquavita, hence people were getting a bit tipsy. It was a very simple place and loots of kinds hanging around. After a while, all the kids were invited in, as Egghead is a nice guy, who takes care of the kids in the area. After w while young and old were dancing together and it was very nice. I meet many nice people and I had a really great time. Around eleven, it was time to go as people very working the next day. Two others and myself took motorbikes for 10 minutes to get to a taxi central, and it was nice. In Norway, I would be scared, here it is just normal. You drive in 70-80 km/h without helmet and there is very little light. In addition, it is unheard of to hold on to the bike, and you sit with your hands on your thighs. I guess it helped being tipsy.

Monday morning it was time for surgery. 9 o'clock it went down the 300 meters from the hotel and signed in. It costed me 6000 naira, or 60 US$ to remove the lump. I thought it was going to be one doctor with a knife, cutting me up while I was sitting in a chair, but no. There were at least 6 people there, and I was a bit uncertain if it was a heart transplant or removing of a lump they were going to do. I was a bit uncertain about the whole thing, and when they gave me local anaesthetics and I kind of lost my hearing I almost freaked out, but I kept my cool and 3 minutes later they were finished. They told me to come back every day to address my wounds, but those of you who know me, know that I am not going to do that, as I am my own doctor and can do that myself.

In the evening I went to look for another place to stay, and Alex in the office tipped me about this place called Abuja long term stay. It is pretty far away from the office, but then again, taxi is ridiculously cheap so it really doesn't matter. So this place is 1500 naira a day instead of 3000 which I pay now. I have to admit that I like the place I'm at now, but this new place is more of a lively place, as people are staying for longer time and there are more students. Always good with change.

On a different note, I have a standing invitation to go to the Niger Delta. Egghead has contact within the Ijaw Youth Council, which is the overbuilding for the Niger Delta ethnic militias. I really want to go, and I think it should be very safe as I am actually are going to see them, and not to steal their oil. I am going to ask my parents if they thin it is ok with them, and explain that it is safe. However, we will see how things go.

All in all, very slow times, but then again I'm here to work and not just to fool around☺
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1208423340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1208423340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1208423340/tpod.html Thu, 17 Apr 2008 05:11:36 -0400 The real Nigerian experience, two months in the land of the black gold

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Abuja, Nigeria

After getting back to Abuja I was happy to be back in my hotel room, I guess I'm kind of a creature of habit. The next morning I went to the office early in order to send some mails and get things sorted. I called to invite Wale and Kelechi, the two businessmen I met at the plane, to the conference. Wale actually came whereas Kelechi was stuck in a meeting. The meeting started at nine and the room was pretty full when I got there. Leaders from the largest parties, except PDP (the biggest and most corrupt party) was present. During the lunch break I was interview by a magazine called prime leader, about my view on Nigeria and the future of democracy (which is actually what I'm writing about, so I think I made a pretty good figure). As thanks, they invited me to a talk at the Hilton Hotel, which is by far the best hotel in town. The main speaker I s Kofi Annan, so I think it is going to be very interesting. The meeting was ok, but some of the politicians seem to like the sound of their own voice more than I could appreciate. The meeting dragged out because of this and I decided to go back to the office to finish an application that was pending. The position is as a project manager in Liberia, and it is a part of the Carter Foundation. The position is about creating awareness about democracy and building peace. I have no idea whether I am a good candidate or not, but if I do not apply I will never get it. Back at the office I just wrapped up some loose ends and went home around six or so. At seven, I got a text from Ngozi (the intern in my office). She is a pretty girl and all the guys try to hit on her. The text said that she should have left when I left to avoid the incident that happened. The meeting lasted until eight and she didn't want to carry the books back to the office, and she asked this guy in the office if she he could drive her back, but he suggested that they took the book to his place which was closer. When they got there, he tried to make a move on her, and when she refused, he refused to drive her back or take the books to the office. Luckily, someone from the office picked her up, but even if she was crying, she did not tell anyone. This might not seem as much, but unfortunately women down here are treated like crap by men. Most men are chauvinists and especially towards women on the lower steps of the carrier ladder. As Ngozi is an intern (not by choice as all graduates must have an internship after ended graduation), she cannot quit and she begged me not to say anything in fear of reprisals. It is very sad, but hopefully it passes over.

Wednesday morning I went to the local hospital. It was not anything serious, but I have an infection in a fatty lump on my forehead, which is now really big and makes me look like an unicorn (engjørning). I paid 150 naira (1,5 US$) for the consultation, but then again I had to wait for over an hour just to hear the doctor say come back on Monday to cut it off. He prescribed three types of tablets, and funny enough I am supposed to take paracetamol three times a day. That rather makes me worry a bit about the level of competence, because I do not need painkillers/ fever reducers because of an infection in my forehead. Nevertheless, I guess everyone can make a small cut in a fatty lump anyway, even if he does not know how to prescribe drugs. In addition, I got a bag of yellow pills without getting much information when and how to take them, so good advice is gratefully accepted. Back in the office, things were slow and I am not going to bore you with details. I worked on the thesis from seven in the evening to almost one in the morning. I now have 28 000 words (out of 30 00), and still needs 4-6000 words, which means that I'm at least not struggling to get enough words. How good it is, is another matter. I hope they can give me some good feedback at CDD before I go home.

By the way, it seems like the comment button works now so please post a comment and celebrate that it is up and running again;)
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1208244900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1208244900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/oyvindsandve/2/1208244900/tpod.html Tue, 15 Apr 2008 03:36:17 -0400 The real Nigerian experience, two months in the land of the black gold

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Lagos, Nigeria

I woke up at half past seven in order to get to an early start. I was supposed to meet Gani Adams at two, but I hoped to meet him earlier as I had to be at the airport at 16:30, two hours before my flight left to pick up my ticket. For those of you who do not know who Gani Adams is (the most of you I guess), he is the leader of a socio-cultural organisation with around three million members, fighting for more independence for the biggest ethnic group in Nigeria as they feel left out of the power equation. He is a much known person in Nigeria and he is also very charismatic. Hence meeting him was very important for my thesis. I had gotten directions from this guy from Lagos, and I can assure you that I would never ever have found the place without his help, cus Lagos is huuuuge. I took a bike to a taxi park some km away and found a car ready to go. They tried to fuck me over, but I started screaming and shouting like all Nigerians do, and they gave me my 200 naira (less than two US$). The drive towards Lagos was ok, but as we got to Lagos the traffic started to jam and as it was early morning smog was lying over Lagos like a carpet and it felt like eating gasoline. The driver dropped my off somewhere in Lagos, and I had no idea whatsoever where I was. I had no idea which part I was in or how far away I was from the centre. I struggled a bit to find the right bus, as I really did not want to get lost in Lagos. After I found the bus and got off some 20 minutes later, this old man showed my the OPC office, and he refused to take any money for it. I arrived at 11:30 so Adams was not there. I sat in his office and read a bit while waiting for him, as I was two hours early. He came at one and we greeted. It was a bit awkward at the beginning, but after a minute I felt more comfortable. Adams was really big, and did not look like an academic, rather more like a 'boy from the hood'. He took off his sandals and put his feet on his massive desk. We started the interview and he talked and talked, and I had some problems making him answer the questions, and he seemed a bit annoyed when I had to stop him from drifting too far away. He was very loud and used his hands a lot. I taped the interview so if you want you can hear it later (only for people who are especially interested). After the interview we took some pictures and he gave me two of his books, which he signed to me personally. All in all that was really cool, and he was also impressed with me taking public transport to the office, as that was not easy to find (as I already knew). Found a taxi to take me to the airport and I got a taste of Lagos and one word sums it up: Chaos. The roads were packed and people were hanging out of the window screaming at each other. Everything was jammed and when the police put on their lights it didn't help as there was no way to give way, hence the police pretty much got stuck as well. After 45 minutes I got to the airport and I was able to change my flight to 17:00 instead of 18.30, which was really nice as I was tired already. Went trough the security check with a scalpel and lots of fluids and a pair of scissors, which was ok cus I had no plans of hijacking the airplane anyway. The guy next to me borrowed my book during the flight, as I wanted to sleep. We started talking and I took Olly's advice asking if I could get a ride back to town as a taxi is 4000 naira (35 US$). Turned out he was an insurance broker and an economist and he had read a lot about the Scandinavian countries and he had written a book about Nigerian economic development, which he wanted to give it to me. I have to say that I tend to meet just the right people. I joined him and a bank director and we had a hefty discussion about Nigerian politics, the American economy and nationalism. As gratitude I invited them to the conference we have tomorrow at CDD about the Nigerian constitution, and they really wanted to come. So that concludes my first Nigerian adventure, and I hope for more. I have been recommended Jos, which is a small (less than a million) city north east, and it is on a mountain plateau. Perhaps I will go there next week, we will see. Still going strong, and as I'm writing this Chelsea has just fucked up against Wigan and the trophy really seems to have found its way to Old Trafford this season as well.
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