Sunday, November 20, 2011
POP goes the weasel or the power cord
Nigeria has always had serious electricity problems. I never faced too many issues until today. This morning we went through a series of power surges at our apartment. And even though my laptop was plugged into a power cord/surge protector that was plugged into a voltage regulator, I heard a loud pop. After that my power cord no longer charged my laptop. RIP power cord. I just bought you in September. Hopefully the warranty will get me a new one... Ohhhhh TIA.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Paris Photos- Part Deux
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| Beautiful, fog-covered Sacred Heart Cathedral |
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| Jumping for joy in the gardens at Versailles |
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| The Eiffel Tower!!! |
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| Maison du Roi in the Grand Place in Brussels |
A Parisian Vacation- Part Deux
Day 3-
Teresa's knee was acting up quite a bit so Friday morning, I went to do a little sightseeing by myself while she rested at our apartment. I first saw a fog-covered Sacre-Coeur Basilica. It is a beautiful Roman Catholic church that sits on the top of a hill and is the highest point in Paris. As I walked up to the church, I couldn't help but notice the delightful smell of urine that followed my walk up. The church was pretty empty due to the bad weather. The fog covered the tip of the church and made it hard to enjoy the view of the city. I didn't end up climb to the top of the dome, since I assumed I wouldn't be able to see much due to the weather. After munching on a croissant while soaking in the view of the church, I ran off to Les Invalides. Here I did a quick walk through of displays of ancient armor and took a peek at Napoleon's sarcophagus. After that, I wandered back toward the Opera House and back to the apartment. We had to check out of this apartment and move to Hotel Belfast today. After collecting all of our stuff, Teresa and I each bought a mille-feuille and sat in front of the Pompidou Centre to eat them. We never ended up going into the Pompidou Centre but it is kind of a giant modern eye-sore in a city filled with beautiful, older architecture. After finishing our snack, we took the Metro toward the hotel. While on the Metro, a young girl tried to rob me. Initially I had no idea what she was doing, standing so close to me when there was plenty of room on the train, and I had my hands full, so I wasn't paying too much attention. Once I realized it, I just put my hand back on my purse and stared at her. She was like, "Oh sorry." Nothing was stolen- that's the benefit of 1) having way too much stuff in my purse to begin with and 2) not having a wallet. The rest of the way to the hotel went smoothly and we checked into a room with a pretty good view of the Arc de Triomphe if you stick your head out the window. Next, we went to Musee d'Orsay and enjoyed some of Monet's, Manet's, Renoir's and Whistler's works. We got to the museum kind of late, so we were only able to spend about 2 hours in the museum before it closed. After the museum, we ate a not-so-delicious dinner at a restaurant. Then after returning to the hotel, I promptly passed out.
Day 4-
VERSAILLES!!! Saturday, we ventured off to the royal chateau. It was just as magnificent as I imagined. We saw the Hall of Mirrors, the hidden door in the Queen's chambers that Marie Antoinette escaped out of when the mob stormed Versailles, and the chapel. Then we ventured into the gardens. They are so big and we were so tired that we kind of skimped on walking all the gardens. We did see the Apollo and Neptune fountains and the Grand Canal. Unfortunately, the Grand Eaux (fountain show) is only performed during certain months of the year and November is not one of those months, so we didn't get to see the fountains in their full glory. Regardless, Versailles is amazing. I cannot imagine what it was like to be royalty back then, not that I can imagine being royalty now either. Hopefully I'll be able to go back and visit Versailles someday when plants are greener and the statues in the gardens aren't covered. After Versailles, we returned to Paris and got to see the Eiffel Tower up close and personal. The long to go to the top was super long, so we decided to opt out of that wait. Then we walked back toward our hotel and got to see all sides of the Arc de Triomphe. After a brief rest at the hotel, we went back to our old neighborhood in Marais and just wandered. We had the best chicken shwarma in the Jewish neighborhood for dinner and crepes for dessert. It was a packed day!!
Day 5-
On Sunday, we took the Thalys train to Brussels. It was a bit colder in Brussels than Paris, and my Nigeria wardrobe did not prepare me for a serious chill, so I was a little cold all day. We first found the Grand Place, where the Town Hall and Maison du Rois are. Then we went to see the Manneken Pis (aka the little naked peeing boy fountain). It was a lot smaller and a lot less impressive than I thought it would be. We did a lot of walking around and saw: Notre Dame de la Chapelle, Grand Sablon Square, Petit Sablon Garden, Palais de Justice, Place Royale Square, Palais Royal, and St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral. Then we did a little shopping at Galeries St. Hubert, the oldest covered mall in Europe. Overall, Brussels was nice but a little too cold. We didn't plan out this part of the trip extremely well, so we did a lot of wandering. I did, however, get to enjoy some frites and a Belgium waffle, which were delicious. I spotted quite a few Belgium chocolatier stores: Leonidas, Neuhaus, and Cote d'Or. So much chocolate! After our brief day visit in Brussels, we took the train back to Paris to prepare for our journey home the next day.
Good-bye Paris!!! We flew back to Abuja via Amsterdam on Monday. Paris was amazing; I had such a good time!!!
Teresa's knee was acting up quite a bit so Friday morning, I went to do a little sightseeing by myself while she rested at our apartment. I first saw a fog-covered Sacre-Coeur Basilica. It is a beautiful Roman Catholic church that sits on the top of a hill and is the highest point in Paris. As I walked up to the church, I couldn't help but notice the delightful smell of urine that followed my walk up. The church was pretty empty due to the bad weather. The fog covered the tip of the church and made it hard to enjoy the view of the city. I didn't end up climb to the top of the dome, since I assumed I wouldn't be able to see much due to the weather. After munching on a croissant while soaking in the view of the church, I ran off to Les Invalides. Here I did a quick walk through of displays of ancient armor and took a peek at Napoleon's sarcophagus. After that, I wandered back toward the Opera House and back to the apartment. We had to check out of this apartment and move to Hotel Belfast today. After collecting all of our stuff, Teresa and I each bought a mille-feuille and sat in front of the Pompidou Centre to eat them. We never ended up going into the Pompidou Centre but it is kind of a giant modern eye-sore in a city filled with beautiful, older architecture. After finishing our snack, we took the Metro toward the hotel. While on the Metro, a young girl tried to rob me. Initially I had no idea what she was doing, standing so close to me when there was plenty of room on the train, and I had my hands full, so I wasn't paying too much attention. Once I realized it, I just put my hand back on my purse and stared at her. She was like, "Oh sorry." Nothing was stolen- that's the benefit of 1) having way too much stuff in my purse to begin with and 2) not having a wallet. The rest of the way to the hotel went smoothly and we checked into a room with a pretty good view of the Arc de Triomphe if you stick your head out the window. Next, we went to Musee d'Orsay and enjoyed some of Monet's, Manet's, Renoir's and Whistler's works. We got to the museum kind of late, so we were only able to spend about 2 hours in the museum before it closed. After the museum, we ate a not-so-delicious dinner at a restaurant. Then after returning to the hotel, I promptly passed out.
Day 4-
VERSAILLES!!! Saturday, we ventured off to the royal chateau. It was just as magnificent as I imagined. We saw the Hall of Mirrors, the hidden door in the Queen's chambers that Marie Antoinette escaped out of when the mob stormed Versailles, and the chapel. Then we ventured into the gardens. They are so big and we were so tired that we kind of skimped on walking all the gardens. We did see the Apollo and Neptune fountains and the Grand Canal. Unfortunately, the Grand Eaux (fountain show) is only performed during certain months of the year and November is not one of those months, so we didn't get to see the fountains in their full glory. Regardless, Versailles is amazing. I cannot imagine what it was like to be royalty back then, not that I can imagine being royalty now either. Hopefully I'll be able to go back and visit Versailles someday when plants are greener and the statues in the gardens aren't covered. After Versailles, we returned to Paris and got to see the Eiffel Tower up close and personal. The long to go to the top was super long, so we decided to opt out of that wait. Then we walked back toward our hotel and got to see all sides of the Arc de Triomphe. After a brief rest at the hotel, we went back to our old neighborhood in Marais and just wandered. We had the best chicken shwarma in the Jewish neighborhood for dinner and crepes for dessert. It was a packed day!!
Day 5-
On Sunday, we took the Thalys train to Brussels. It was a bit colder in Brussels than Paris, and my Nigeria wardrobe did not prepare me for a serious chill, so I was a little cold all day. We first found the Grand Place, where the Town Hall and Maison du Rois are. Then we went to see the Manneken Pis (aka the little naked peeing boy fountain). It was a lot smaller and a lot less impressive than I thought it would be. We did a lot of walking around and saw: Notre Dame de la Chapelle, Grand Sablon Square, Petit Sablon Garden, Palais de Justice, Place Royale Square, Palais Royal, and St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral. Then we did a little shopping at Galeries St. Hubert, the oldest covered mall in Europe. Overall, Brussels was nice but a little too cold. We didn't plan out this part of the trip extremely well, so we did a lot of wandering. I did, however, get to enjoy some frites and a Belgium waffle, which were delicious. I spotted quite a few Belgium chocolatier stores: Leonidas, Neuhaus, and Cote d'Or. So much chocolate! After our brief day visit in Brussels, we took the train back to Paris to prepare for our journey home the next day.
Good-bye Paris!!! We flew back to Abuja via Amsterdam on Monday. Paris was amazing; I had such a good time!!!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Paris Photos- Part Un
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| See? Shiny tip. I didn't realize Teresa had taken a picture until after I got back to Nigeria and looked at all the photos. |
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| Maxim's!!! I found it. |
A Parisian Vacation- Part Un
Nigeria is pretty much divided 50/50 when it comes to religion (maybe a little more leaning toward Islam than Christianity). And Eid al-Adha was celebrated on November 6th this year. As a result, the 2 days after Eid were public holidays in Nigeria. Then since we work for the US government, we also celebrate US holidays and Friday, November 11th, was Veteran's Day. As a result, the country director made the decision to close the office on Wednesday and Thursday too. This allowed for employees to travel back home and take some extra time to relax (especially nice since people have been pulling extremely long hours to finish off important projects and reports). As for Teresa and myself, we realized that we wouldn't have much to do for a week, so we decided a vacation was an order. After lots of brainstorms on places to go, searches on Google, and talking with family/friends, we decided to go to PARIS! So we worked the weekend of Eid (working on Saturday and Sunday was not especially thrilling but putting in the extra hours helped catch up on work) and on Monday. Then on Monday night, we got on a plane and flew off to Europe.
We arrived in Paris around noon and made our way to the first place we stayed. This trip we split up our stay: 3 nights in a rented apartment in the 3rd arrondissement and 3 nights in a hotel right by the Arc de Triomphe. The apartment was wonderful. Small but the perfect size for the 2 of us. I would defnitely stay there again if I went back to Paris. After we got our key to the apartment, we settled in and decided to go wander the city. During our exploration we saw the Place de la Bastille, which is just a big roundabout, the Colonne de Julliet, the Seine, the outside of the Louvre, and the Paris Opera House. It was a lot of walking, but it was great to just see the city.
Full Day #1:
On Wednesday, we had a packed day. In the morning, we spent quality time in the Louvre. There's so much to see there! We only made it through 2 parts of the museum (it's split in 3) and essentially whizzed by everything we thought was important. In the end, I bet we missed a few important pieces of art (but I guess that just gives me a reason to go back again). After the Louvre, we sat at the edge of the Tuileries Garden and ate lunch. I had a delicious quiche and Orangina. Then off we went on a walk along the Seine and then over to La Sainte-Chapelle. It was beautiful inside! Currently they are working on restoring some of the stained glass, so some of the glass was a bit dusty. We tried to interpret the different glass panes because they are all supposed to tell stories from the Bible, but honestly we should have brought binoculars or I simply need better eyesight. They were a bit difficult to decipher. Regardless, it was breathtaking. After Sainte-Chapelle, it was onto Notre Dame, which was also breathtaking. We managed to climb the towers… all 422 spiraling steps (I got a bit dizzy) to enjoy the awesome view of the city. Then from Notre Dame, we journeyed into the Latin Quarter and found the Pantheon to say hello to Victor Hugo and Marie Curie. After that whirlwind, we wandered back across the river and to our neighborhood in Marais. I enjoyed a wonderful dinner of confit de canard and a sugar crepe for dessert. It was a crazy first day. My feet hurt so bad by the time we sat down for dinner, but it was worth it!!!
Day 2:
We arrived in Paris around noon and made our way to the first place we stayed. This trip we split up our stay: 3 nights in a rented apartment in the 3rd arrondissement and 3 nights in a hotel right by the Arc de Triomphe. The apartment was wonderful. Small but the perfect size for the 2 of us. I would defnitely stay there again if I went back to Paris. After we got our key to the apartment, we settled in and decided to go wander the city. During our exploration we saw the Place de la Bastille, which is just a big roundabout, the Colonne de Julliet, the Seine, the outside of the Louvre, and the Paris Opera House. It was a lot of walking, but it was great to just see the city.
Full Day #1:
On Wednesday, we had a packed day. In the morning, we spent quality time in the Louvre. There's so much to see there! We only made it through 2 parts of the museum (it's split in 3) and essentially whizzed by everything we thought was important. In the end, I bet we missed a few important pieces of art (but I guess that just gives me a reason to go back again). After the Louvre, we sat at the edge of the Tuileries Garden and ate lunch. I had a delicious quiche and Orangina. Then off we went on a walk along the Seine and then over to La Sainte-Chapelle. It was beautiful inside! Currently they are working on restoring some of the stained glass, so some of the glass was a bit dusty. We tried to interpret the different glass panes because they are all supposed to tell stories from the Bible, but honestly we should have brought binoculars or I simply need better eyesight. They were a bit difficult to decipher. Regardless, it was breathtaking. After Sainte-Chapelle, it was onto Notre Dame, which was also breathtaking. We managed to climb the towers… all 422 spiraling steps (I got a bit dizzy) to enjoy the awesome view of the city. Then from Notre Dame, we journeyed into the Latin Quarter and found the Pantheon to say hello to Victor Hugo and Marie Curie. After that whirlwind, we wandered back across the river and to our neighborhood in Marais. I enjoyed a wonderful dinner of confit de canard and a sugar crepe for dessert. It was a crazy first day. My feet hurt so bad by the time we sat down for dinner, but it was worth it!!!
Day 2:
The next day, we ventured back to the Louvre and said hello to Mona Lisa. She is way smaller than I had thought she would be. It was almost anticlimactic after seeing all these giant, a lot bigger than me paintings. After our second trip through the Louvre (there were a lot more people there this day), we walked through the Tuileries Garden. I bet it’s a lot more beautiful in the spring and summer, but the trees were pretty naked and most plants were dead, so it wasn’t the most mind-blowing walk. After the walk, we went to the Musee de l’Orangerie (forgive me if I end up spelling anything completely wrong, my French is nonexistent). Here we had the delight of viewing Monet’s water lily paintings. AMAZING! I love Monet and it was great to see the art up close and personal (though I continue to wonder if the real stuff is on display or just really good fakes). After visiting with the impressionists, we checked out the Place de la Concorde and the giant obelisk- it has a very shiny gold tip. From there, we took the Metro to the St Germain neighborhood and did a little window shopping on our way to the Luxembourg Garden. Along the way, Teresa’s knee started acting up, so we sat in the garden for a while. No, I promise I did not do a Tanya Harding and send someone to beat her. It just started to hurt, so we decided to take things a little slower. The day before we had been tourists on speed; it wasn’t hard to take it down a notch. After the garden, we visited a few chocolate stores. I will always have my knowledge of chocolate and wonderful experiences from Gourmet Boutique, so chocolate stores have a certain appeal. I was advised to check out Pierre Herme and Patrick Roger, which we did. Very nice, very expensive chocolate! After that, we continued our chocolate tour back over by Place de la Concorde and visited Maxim’s and Michel Cluizel. Once we were all chocolated out, we had a late lunch back at our temporary home. Our evening was spent shopping and wandering around our neighborhood. We managed to squeeze in visits to the Le Palais de The and Kusmi stores (2 tea companies I’m familiar with thanks to GB). It was topped off with a delicious honey and nut crepe. I love Paris!
More to come...
Friday, November 4, 2011
It's November!
It turns out that I eat a lot of Indian food here. We sometimes even get delivery to the office from a local restaurant. It comes complete with naan, rice, and a samosa. However, I'll confess Haandi's in Kampala still has a very special place in my heart, especially with all those desperate boda boda rides trying to get there before they closed.
It was a long week of work. But now it's Friday, so that means I can lay in my bed and watch the next episode of Grey's Anatomy that Teresa so kindly downloaded for me.
A few observations I have made:
Nigeria Pidgin Lesson of the Day:
Wahala = problem/trouble
It was a long week of work. But now it's Friday, so that means I can lay in my bed and watch the next episode of Grey's Anatomy that Teresa so kindly downloaded for me.
A few observations I have made:
- All drivers here honk excessively. If you're driving down the road and you pass another car, HONK. If you're turning left, HONK. If you're turning right, HONK HONK. If you think the driver in front of you is driving too slow, HONK HONK. If you are stuck in a traffic jam, HONK HONK HONK. If you're driving down the road and there are a few cars in front and behind you, HONK HONK HONK. So... my conclusion is if you drive here, you need to drive with one hand on the wheel for steering and one hand permanently honking your horn. There are some mornings I'll get into a taxi and the taxi driver drives happily along, HONK HONK HONKITY HONK HONK. And I am just not the brightest ray of sunshine afterward. There IS humor to be found when your overzealous driver's honking horn sounds like a dying goat.
- So far my favorite taxi rides have been in the jankiest cars. Not saying ALL my favorite taxi rides ever will be in janky vehicles... just the ones I've been in so far. I think it gives the taxi ride more character...
- Listening to sheep baa during your meeting for an hour just makes things a little more interesting. And I have come to the conclusion that sheep make more of a meeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhh sound rather than a baaaaaaa sound which is what I learned when I sang "baa baa black sheep". Then when your roommate walks into your room an hour after you get home from the meeting and asks you- "Do you still hear a sheep?", you know that sheep really made a lasting impression (There are sheep all over Abuja right now because of the Eid al-Adha holiday coming up).
- Packages from home can really cheer you up after you've had a bad day. Thanks Mom and Dad!!!
Nigeria Pidgin Lesson of the Day:
Wahala = problem/trouble
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Weeeeee BEST CHINESE FOOD
Imagine a really full, satisfied, happy four year old. Squeals, rolls around on the floor, clapping, giggling. Yes, that would be me. Pretty much had a winning weekend here in Abuja. We kicked off Friday with the best meal I've had in Abuja yet. A woman I met at yoga brought Teresa and me to an undisclosed, pseudo-restaurant. It's an impressive place, but not open to the public. You definitely have to know someone to get lunch or dinner: my friend from yoga knows the manager of the restaurant- Uncle B. Wow... pretty much got our socks blown off. Potstickers, chow mein, short ribs, fresh homegrown Chinese veggies, CHICKEN FEET, & SQUAB. It was like I died and went to heaven. This meal was probably the first time I've been totally satisfied and full since I've gotten to Abuja (not saying I don't like Nigerian food or subsisting on crackers, but there's something to be said about eating the foods that you are most familiar with and associate with home). After a faaaaaantastic meal (and not having to pay because everyone is way too nice), Teresa and I went to our first US Marine party. The US Marines have a house here where they used to throw parties every other Friday night, or so, for the US embassy people and pretty much the whole expat community. However after the UN bombing, security was heightened, curfews were enforced, and the parties were cancelled. When Teresa and I first got here, all we heard about were these parties- great place to go, relax, meet people in a secure environment, etc. This Friday, they held their first party since the bombing. It was good to meet new people. The music was a bit loud, so it was hard to actually get to know anyone as you're screaming into their ear. But it was fun. We even spotted our mentor that evening. And don't worry, the Marines were true gentlemen. After kicking everyone out (cuz the party ended at midnight due to curfew still being enforced for the Embassy employees), they drove Teresa and me home in their armored SUV to ensure that we didn't get into any trouble on our way home.
Saturday was our weekly run to Wuse Market with the guy from the Taiwanese Trade Mission (same guy as last week). He's so nice to be willing to drive us to the market and accompany us as we attempt to haggle our way around. We managed to buy a Sam's Club sized amount of toilet paper, so hopefully we'll be set for a while on the TP front. We also got some more fabric to make curtains for our bathrooms. We didn't have curtains before, and I'm pretty sure our neighbors from the penthouse could see into our bathroom... Not exactly ideal. At the market, young boys try to follow us around with empty wheelbarrows. They want to wheel your stuff around for you while you shop for money. As a true Midwesterner, I think I can do it myself and can never bring myself to actually hire someone. I know it'd be nice to help them since they want to earn some money, but the independent, I-can-carry-this-myself, I-could-use-the-workout mindset takes precedent. So imagine me, lugging my Sam's Club, almost as big as me thing of toilet paper around. Probably should have gotten someone to take a picture... I'm still trying to figure out if I can become truly African (because I saw this in Uganda also) and carry stuff on my head. I've only gotten as far as walking 5 feet with a notebook on my head. I think I have a ways to go before I can carry a giant thing of toilet paper on my head.
This morning, Uncle B invited Teresa and me to breakfast at the Hilton Hotel. Pretty upscale eating. We had pastries, fruit, and slices of salmon, duck breast, roast beef, prosciutto, and cheese. Very delicious. Afterward, Uncle B brought us back to his place at the hotel. We hung out, took a nap, and watched some TV, while Uncle B did some work. After Uncle B drove us home, we just spent the afternoon relaxing. I read a bunch of stuff for work and played on the internet. It turns out 5GB of data is actually a lot more than I thought it was, so I have quite a bit of data for internet left before the month comes to a close and I have to buy more internet. Tonight, Teresa and I went back to eat at the restaurant. Potstickers and tofu. Nom nom nom. My belly is so happy. Uncle B also gave us 40 frozen dumplings to take home and make on our own. He's been so kind and willing to help us out. My stomach is forever grateful to him.
Nigerian Language Lesson:
Oyibo (which originated from Igbo which is pronounced Ee-bo, not Ig-bo) = the Nigerian version of Mzungu = White Person
Saturday was our weekly run to Wuse Market with the guy from the Taiwanese Trade Mission (same guy as last week). He's so nice to be willing to drive us to the market and accompany us as we attempt to haggle our way around. We managed to buy a Sam's Club sized amount of toilet paper, so hopefully we'll be set for a while on the TP front. We also got some more fabric to make curtains for our bathrooms. We didn't have curtains before, and I'm pretty sure our neighbors from the penthouse could see into our bathroom... Not exactly ideal. At the market, young boys try to follow us around with empty wheelbarrows. They want to wheel your stuff around for you while you shop for money. As a true Midwesterner, I think I can do it myself and can never bring myself to actually hire someone. I know it'd be nice to help them since they want to earn some money, but the independent, I-can-carry-this-myself, I-could-use-the-workout mindset takes precedent. So imagine me, lugging my Sam's Club, almost as big as me thing of toilet paper around. Probably should have gotten someone to take a picture... I'm still trying to figure out if I can become truly African (because I saw this in Uganda also) and carry stuff on my head. I've only gotten as far as walking 5 feet with a notebook on my head. I think I have a ways to go before I can carry a giant thing of toilet paper on my head.
This morning, Uncle B invited Teresa and me to breakfast at the Hilton Hotel. Pretty upscale eating. We had pastries, fruit, and slices of salmon, duck breast, roast beef, prosciutto, and cheese. Very delicious. Afterward, Uncle B brought us back to his place at the hotel. We hung out, took a nap, and watched some TV, while Uncle B did some work. After Uncle B drove us home, we just spent the afternoon relaxing. I read a bunch of stuff for work and played on the internet. It turns out 5GB of data is actually a lot more than I thought it was, so I have quite a bit of data for internet left before the month comes to a close and I have to buy more internet. Tonight, Teresa and I went back to eat at the restaurant. Potstickers and tofu. Nom nom nom. My belly is so happy. Uncle B also gave us 40 frozen dumplings to take home and make on our own. He's been so kind and willing to help us out. My stomach is forever grateful to him.
Nigerian Language Lesson:
Oyibo (which originated from Igbo which is pronounced Ee-bo, not Ig-bo) = the Nigerian version of Mzungu = White Person
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