I've officially been back in Nigeria for one week now. It isn't totally accurate to say that I was anxious to get back, but I was certainly ready to be reunited with my husband and get back to "normal". Spending a month in the states was like being in a very clean, sweet smelling dream. But it was just a vacation from the realities of life here in Lagos. And at the end of every vacation, I always feel the urge to get back home. To my hotel. Ha!
My trip back was pretty uneventful aside from the 4 hour delay our plane experienced at the Houston airport. I'll take a delay at an American airport ANY DAY, over one at Murtala Muhammed International Airport. Apparently, the plane we were originally scheduled to use was having problems with the flight control computer, which sounds pretty important, so another plane had to be prepped and brought in, causing the delay. To me, this sounds perfectly reasonable and just, however, some of my travel companions thought this was outrageous. It's been my understanding that Nigerians aren't even having a meaningful conversation unless they are using raised voices. It's not yelling, it's just speaking loudly and being very animated. I felt terrible for the poor souls charged with manning the desk at our flight terminal. These very patient employees were subject to an onslaught of upset Nigerians who were tired of waiting around for our plane to be made ready. It didn't help that the employees kept updating us with the seemingly never-ending stream of tasks they were completing to get our *new* plane ready: safety checks, loading entertainment, checking the engine, catering the plane, transferring luggage from the old plane, and dusting the cobwebs off since it hadn't been used in years (ok, that last one isn't true but that's the impression they were giving us!). So it's no wonder that people were getting fed up. And every time they announced these tasks, it was conveyed that we should be loading in 15 minutes. We were probably told that we were going to be leaving in "15 minutes" 10 times. And then, when it was finally time to board the plane, they announced that if we didn't all get on and seated within 20 minutes, they were going to cancel the flight. You can imagine the pushing and shoving that occurred to get to the gate. When we all did manage to on the plane, they told us that unless individuals travelling in economy class agreed to go without pillows and blankets (because they hadn't arrived yet), then the flight really would be cancelled due to the flight crew reaching their maximum allowed time working and they couldn't wait any longer. Andddd, chaos ensued. Fortunately, the tardy pillows and blankets arrived right after this announcement was made, so the crisis was averted and we were able to take off.
I feel like I should mention that the airline did issue everyone aboard "appreciation" gifts for being so "understanding" during the delay. Which was really nice of them and well-deserved because it was a pain.
Otherwise, the flight went smoothly, and since we were running 4 hours late, the pilot was able to get us here in just 10 hours instead of the usual 11 hours 45 minutes. I don't quite understand how they can just decide to do this, but I was grateful. After arriving in Lagos, I spent a nice hour waiting for for my bags to arrive. Travelers to Lagos typically bring a LOT of bags, so there was a large quantity of bags to be unloaded, and 1 of my 3 happened to be near the last to come off the plane. This was only somewhat of an inconvenience since the baggage claim area is not air conditioned and gets quite stuffy with hundreds of people milling around. After successfully finding all of my stuff, the customs process was again, very easy and I had no problems getting through without having my bags searched. That makes me 3 for 3 at having no problems with customs at the airport. That also makes me very lucky.
In my absence, the climate in Lagos changed. The harmattan is definitely over and I can finally see blue skies again! They were such a welcome sight in America and I'm glad that they're continuing over here. What a simple joy that I so often overlooked back home. We are getting very close to the rainy season here, which means slightly cooler weather - think 80's instead of 90's, and a few very impressive storms. The good thing about having to rely on generators for power instead of NEPA (National Electric Power Authority -- otherwise known as Never Expect Power Always), is that we don't even really notice or worry about bad weather knocking out electricity. So that's one positive aspect of an otherwise really annoying situation.
We also lost the channel Animal Planet while I was gone. Boooooo!
It's good to be home!
No comments:
Post a Comment