Back in Jos!

Well I have officially been introduced to the Nigerian way of life...almost every single aspect. The road trip was a huge adventure and after so much had happened we just had to laugh about it all. Here is my attempt at a summary! On the way there we got a flat tire and then our spare was bad, we then witnessed armed robbers get arrested, got stopped by a road official who wouldn't let us pass, and then sat in traffic for over three hours-in blistering sun. Once on the campus in a town called Okada we met with many different students and got a lot of interesting interviews. I had sardines and margarine on bread-for breakfast. Yum! The good news is, they have ice cream here so I enjoyed some chocolate that night. :) There was no running water which proved interesting in the bathroom. The next shower you take, enjoy a few extra minutes for me!
I thought the trip home would be more mild than the way up, but the enemy really wanted to shake us up. It rained the entire day which caused the roads Benin City to flood. We sat in traffic there for about three hours and only got a little water in the car. Which Bola then told us was parasitic and my feet started burning. Derek developed a rash of some sort but Colin seemed healthy. A few hours down the road we got in another three hour traffic jam.
Apparently the road officials had stopped a trucker and broke his windshield so he decided to block the road when they released him. Since every Nigerian driver is impatient and attempts to drive around anything in their way a two lane road had four lanes of traffic from each direction in a gridlock. We had to stay the night in Abuja since we had over six hours of delays.
Overall the trip so far has given me a taste of Nigerian driving and their time-if you say be there at seven, it will be at least eight before anything happens. I am growing tired of chicken and rice, I think we have had every variation possible.

Tonight, back in Jos, we had actual spaghetti with pineapple Fanta. It was a wonderful change of pace and just what I needed. We are all becoming more comfortable around each other and I am looking forward to the weeks ahead. Colin and I will change housing on Wednesday. Please pray for a smooth transition and safety in our new 'home'. Also pray for good opportunities with ECWA and that we can really help those is need.