VI. First days in Nigeria

     We went to the marriage registry to make sure they had all the required documents . We made pictures for the file and he needed a bachelor document. We paid to get it and the chief made a meeting to make sure that everything is in order.They asked me my name and my address. I did not understand what they actually wanted until realized they all wanted  money. We made an appointment for the next day. We went back home after spending a few good hours in the car because of the traffic. As our own car was in service with Shino we had to book a taxi for the day. We went to eat at Big Fish that evening. Charles called them in advance to order 2 roasted catfish. I drank Smirnoff ice and Alex and Charles took Star after Star as usual. Bianca became friends with the girls and boys working at the bar and she was spending time talking with them. As usual in evening time  the bar was full and extremely noisy. At the 50 inches wide screen t.v., surrounded with the iron anti theft protection that was locked when they closed, they were playing a Nigerian film. Everybody jumped up from their chairs frightened when we herd a big bang. Not long before this event i red an article on internet about a girl that was shot accidentally by the police and i was afraid for my daughter's life. Everybody went back to their chairs as nothing else happened. Charles later found out they were gun shuts fired up in the air by the police in order to stop some undisciplined drivers. Alex called Kingsley's sister and she joined us at the table. They first brought water in bowls and liquid soap to and we washed our hands and after they brought the big plates of grilled catfish with chips and cabbage salad. Everybody was eating with hand but i was always asking them to bring  fork for me. Most of the times i gave up waiting for them and i fallowed them in using my fingers to eat. The fish was delicious as always. We couldn't finish it so we told the to pack it so that Josephine will carry it home. They had big water basins not far from the place we were eating where you could choose yourself the fish you wanted to eat at a price between 1500 and 3500 naira depending on the size. After a few hours we went back to the hotel and i went to sleep while Alex and Charles continued to drink at the hotel's bar.

V. At the hotel in Festac

   The hotel room where we spend the first days of our holiday in Nigeria was pretty cool . The shower was o.k.  although we had a to wait a little while before hot water would start coming . The bed sheets were clean and the bed was comfortable .The room had a desk with a tv on , a chair and a wardrobe with no door and a few square shelves . The windows had the so called "robber proof " and big curtain . By the window we also had a shabby huge armchair and nightstands on both sides of the bed .  Alex was always setting  the air condition at 18 degrees and i was feeling cold so i had to cover myself with the blanket . The bed was big so 3 of us were comfortable in it . I put the 10 cans of beer that Alex asked to the flight attendant because he thought that he paid enough and he deserved it . I was surprised that they gave him so many beer because i was always feeling ashamed in the flight to ask for too many drinks or an extra portion of food as he did .

   Charles had also a room the same hotel but downstairs . Last time where I went to Nigeria , anywhere I was asking for coffee i dint not find this is why this time i brought enough packs of Jacos 3 in 1 . In the morning i was going to the hotel's bar and asked them to bring me ma cup of hot water so i can drink my morning coffee. After 30-40 minutes , tired of waiting i was going myself t the kitchen , where I always find a black lady doing nothing , and i was looking for a cup and filing it it water to make my coffee . I never understood why it was always taking them so long to do anything . We had the breakfast included in the room's price and if i was going to order for it it would always take them around one hour to prepare it . The breakfast consisted in a  sandwich made with omelette and a cup of milk made with milk powder and sugar cubs and Lipton tea . When they noticed that i drink coffee in the morning they brought 2 sachet of Nescafe instead of the tea. One morning , after one hour of waiting for the breakfast i went to check what they were doing in the kitchen and i saw how there were making the sandwiches : after preparing the  omelette on the kerosene stove , they put it between 2 slices of bread and place it in the sandwich maker on which they placed a heavy saucepan :)) .Bread in Nigeria is sweet . I think they make it with milk and sugar , powder milk i suppose because i did not see much fresh milk . I can't even imagine those thin malnourished cows giving much milk .I think i know now why they mostly eat the head and the tail ,the stomach, the legs  and other things that we usually, Europeans don't because there is not much meat on the bones anyways.