No pictures for this post, though I do have a few interesting ones coming up. It takes a while to adapt to being here. It depends on where you come from, the Indians and Philippines adjust quickly, the over weight white boys from Seattle, not so fast. It is regularly in the 90's (yes F) here and the humidity is often higher than the temp. For the first 3 weeks I came back to the house for break and had to change all my clothes. Not so bad now, but when I come home it will be interesting, for the first time I will be the cold one in the house.
Another thing I need to make clear is that I am not really seeing Nigeria. I am seeing Onne Camp, and the work sites. I don't get to go anywhere else. There are the "Troubles." Damn shame, this is a beautiful country with wonderful people. Hopefully I will be around long enough to get past the BS.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Going to work
Surveying in Nigeria is not like working in the States. First off is a fundamental change in mind set. In the States, equipment is cheap and people are expensive. In Nigeria it is the other way around. Manual labor is easy to acquire, but equipment is expensive. But as it always seems in my career, fortune has smiled on me. I work with a team of intelligent motivated people. To be honest, I have worked more than a few jobs in the US where I wish I had these guys.
But let's talk construction. There are w few OSHA inspectors I would love to bring here, just to watch their head explode. Take a look at this:
Yes, that is indeed my survey crew 4 meters in the air, with the only fall protection being a belief in God. But it gets better, take a lok at this:
You have to look closely, but yes, those are workers climbing over the edge of a 7 storey building to drop on the scaffold. The good news is, from what I have seen your average Nigerian is as graceful and body aware as a ballet dancer. I have watched a man walk down a 2 inch wide wall carrying a load for 40 feet, and not even consider how hard it was. The more I know them, the more I like Nigerians.
But let's talk construction. There are w few OSHA inspectors I would love to bring here, just to watch their head explode. Take a look at this:
Yes, that is indeed my survey crew 4 meters in the air, with the only fall protection being a belief in God. But it gets better, take a lok at this:
You have to look closely, but yes, those are workers climbing over the edge of a 7 storey building to drop on the scaffold. The good news is, from what I have seen your average Nigerian is as graceful and body aware as a ballet dancer. I have watched a man walk down a 2 inch wide wall carrying a load for 40 feet, and not even consider how hard it was. The more I know them, the more I like Nigerians.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
First Impressions
Before I go any farther, it is quite clear I need spell check. If you did not understand what I was trying to say in previous posts, well tough luck, I am not editing them, I think such things should be as they are written.
There are things you notice when you first get here, the first is perhaps the smell. It is always hot and humid here, the vegetation is lush, but short lived for the most part. That translates into a background of, not really rot, but the smell of over-ripe vegetable matter.
Next is bugs. I don't have any pictures yet, but damn. I regularly see ants over an inch long, and the no-see-ems are in almost visible clouds. The result is these guys:
Meet Chester. He and perhaps half a billion of his relatives keep the bug population down. Honestly, these guys are everywhere. We are building a 7 storey office building, I have seen them on the top floor. I found one, about an inch and a half long in my shower. And their name? Redneck Lizard. Honestly. Reminds me of some guys I met in New Orleans. But they were not nearly as useful.
Next topic. Damn it is flat here. Like living on a pool table. It is out of sequence, but here are a couple of pics from the top of a 7 story building:
and 180 degrees...
My house is just a bit down the second driveway on the left. Prodeco brings "architecture by Xerox" to a whole new level. Most of the things they build are from their precast concrete legos.
Now for something different. There are a few pluses for being here, one is PRAWNS! Okay, this is $6.00 of shrimp:
Yes, five of them, and they are the size of hot dogs. Tasty too.
There are things you notice when you first get here, the first is perhaps the smell. It is always hot and humid here, the vegetation is lush, but short lived for the most part. That translates into a background of, not really rot, but the smell of over-ripe vegetable matter.
Next is bugs. I don't have any pictures yet, but damn. I regularly see ants over an inch long, and the no-see-ems are in almost visible clouds. The result is these guys:
Meet Chester. He and perhaps half a billion of his relatives keep the bug population down. Honestly, these guys are everywhere. We are building a 7 storey office building, I have seen them on the top floor. I found one, about an inch and a half long in my shower. And their name? Redneck Lizard. Honestly. Reminds me of some guys I met in New Orleans. But they were not nearly as useful.
Next topic. Damn it is flat here. Like living on a pool table. It is out of sequence, but here are a couple of pics from the top of a 7 story building:
and 180 degrees...
My house is just a bit down the second driveway on the left. Prodeco brings "architecture by Xerox" to a whole new level. Most of the things they build are from their precast concrete legos.
Now for something different. There are a few pluses for being here, one is PRAWNS! Okay, this is $6.00 of shrimp:
Yes, five of them, and they are the size of hot dogs. Tasty too.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Welcome to Onne
My first night in Nigeria waas spent in the Intels Camp at Aba Road. To be honest I don't remember much. I showered, ate, showered again, and went to sleep. The next morning was my rip to Onne, where I will spending the next 74 days.
The next step was getting my house, which is in fact an apartment. So withiut furterh ado, pictures of John's House:
The living room
The Dining Room
Yes, they are in fact the same room.
The Kitchen
And the bedroom
Now an interesting little fact about the term "house." No expats, even the ones who have been here quite a while, refer to these places as home. They are all "my house." And the convention comes quite naturally. When an expat says "home" you know where he is talking about.
The next step was getting my house, which is in fact an apartment. So withiut furterh ado, pictures of John's House:
The living room
The Dining Room
Yes, they are in fact the same room
The Kitchen
And the bedroom
Now an interesting little fact about the term "house." No expats, even the ones who have been here quite a while, refer to these places as home. They are all "my house." And the convention comes quite naturally. When an expat says "home" you know where he is talking about.
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