Museum, Waterpark and Vegetables!!

Another great weekend. I left work early Friday afternoon and went to explore Watt Market in downtown Calabar. Hundreds and hundreds of little stalls selling everything from fish to elaborate party costumes. You want it, we can find it.....or should I say, most things. Still looking for the elusive souvenirs. Nigerians have beautiful wood carvings, bead work, woven bags and pottery.....but it is so hard to find anything in Calabar. I did pick up a few Nigerian soccer shirts....so kids, you now know what you are getting. There is also an abundance of brightly colored fabrics. I have picked up some beautiful fabrics and the tailor is making two outfits for me. Not sure if I'll wear it when I get home, but I can't wait to go into the office here in my traditional clothing!!

Calabar Museum

On Saturday we explored the local museum. So different from museum elsewhere in the world - not only are the exhibits poorly housed but the building is also not taken care of properly. The museum is housed in a gracious old building with many of the original door, windows and fittings. It has been declared a national monument so it cannot be torn down, but with proper care it could be a wonderful example of architecture from a bygone era. Once again we were on the hunt for souvenirs and didn't find much in the local museum store. The search goes on.....

Water Park - note the cloudy skies

Sunday was fun in the sun day. Two of our team members are working on a project at the Tinapa Business Resort. They were able to arrange a visit to the water park complete with wave pool, water slides, pool and spa. Sadly, besides the IBM team, there were only two little girls in the water. Not sure if it was because everyone was at church on Sunday or because nobody visits the park. The morning started out with showers, so we were hoping that the rain would hold off for a few hours so that we could enjoy the park. We actually ended up with a few hours of wonderful sunshine, however, we were not expecting the sun and did not take the necessary precautions. Most of the team ended up with sunburn and the accompanying pain!! Lesson learned....always wear sunscreen....even if you don't see the sun!!!

Aaaaah.....relaxing after a busy week

After a few hours at the water park, we went to the Amber Sun hotel for a meal. Oh what bliss.....they served vegetables!!!! Our diets have consisted of rice (or some other starch) and meat, with the occasional green veg thrown in. I will say that we have been having fruit with breakfast. Anyway, back to lunch......they had such a wonderful array of vegetables that we piled our plates high and ate our full. Mmmmmm....so good. Dessert was fresh fruit salad, plain cake and custard. Back at our hotel after a busy day, we played a few hands of cards and then headed to bed to nurse our tender skin.

Our project is progressing and we are starting to feel a sense of accomplishment. On Monday, we had yet another meeting with a senior government official, this time the commissioner of education. While we had a good meeting, we are struck by the bureaucracy and slow pace at which things move. We are also saddened by the lack of infrastructure and resources available to both students and teachers. For example, there are over 1000 primary schools in the state, yet only one has a computer. Very few of the teachers are even computer literate and have very little access to any IT training. It is not much better at the high school level. Less than 10% of the schools have computers and if they do have them, they are not used because they don't have power or Internet access. When you look at what these children have to deal with everyday, we cannot help but be extremely grateful for what we have in the US.

We are now at the stage of our project where we have worked on the statements of work for the next team arriving two weeks after we leave and consolidating our findings and recommendations. Next Wednesday, we will all have presentations before the governor and his cabinet and then start preparing for departures in the following few days. I am very proud of what we have achieved in such a short time and hope we have made a difference in the state.