Dr. Sanwo (Ola is her first name) came by today. She brought a bootleg copy of a popular Ghanaian movie "To Love a Prince" to play on her portable DVD player. This consumed my attention for about 2 hrs while she surfed the web regarding iPhones and Blackberries (Nigerians are very technology oriented) on my laptop. In short, my general impression of an African movie is that there is love (sometimes a bit irrational), there is violence (the jealous friend had her engaged friend blinded and paralyzed because the friend took her desired man), there is some ridiculous component (a dead fiancee ghost taking the body of a recently killed woman to help her fiance love again, as if the prior example wasn't slightly ridiculous) and there is definitely attitude. Lots and lots of attitude. Even though the film was set in Ghana with Ghanaian actors, I could see themes of African culture in clothing (colorful, beads, headwear) and customs in greeting (curtsying when meeting someone which is frequently done in Nigeria; children bow when meeting elders). If this has piqued your interest, don't worry, Ola kindly gifted me with bootleg copies to take back with me so we can watch it when I get back to Chicago.
Here is the cover.
Ola and I hung out for quite a bit. Lots of chatting about this and that. I hope we keep in touch after this trip. A few random things I learned:
* Housing subsidized in the UCH complex have varying degrees of running water. There is plumbing for running water throughout the campus but for whatever reason, many apts no longer have running water and rely on jugs of water. On days she's cleaning and cooking (and flushing the toilet), Ola may need up to 8 large jugs of water. Imaging carrying 8 large jugs of water up 3 flights of stairs. Ugh. This trip has definitely made me appreciate running water!
* Rent in Nigeria is calculated for a year. For a 2 bedroom place (possibly with or without a generator or running water; appliances, fans, air conditioning are usually supplied by each renter) in Ibadan, rent can run between $1000 to $2000 a year. If you want running water and need it put in, you can get plumbers to put in the hardware and a reservoir out back for $700 USD.
* Residents in Nigeria get paid about $2000+ a month and attendings get paid about $3000+ a month which is about a US resident's salary. I think if I remember correctly, the salaries of attending physicians are fixed and not based on their specialty or additional responsibilities at UCH.
* When Nigerians travel to and from the US and abroad, they do as my parents do when they travel to and from Taiwan. Pack as much stuff for every person they are going to see including any specific requests. For example, an Ipad that would cost about $500 in the US costs about $900+ by the time someone buys it in Nigeria.
Tomorrow, I'm going on a day trip to Lagos to go to the birthday party of the sister of a Nigerian physician from Chicago who helped me arrange this experience. Since it's a lunch birthday party, I think I'm going to wear my short African print dress and put on lots and lots of DEET. Pictures to come. I'm crossing my fingers for a safe car drive there and back the same day.
As an aside, I have been reading online new outlets (CNN, Chicago Tribune and NY Times) to information about what's happening in Chicago, Nigeria and the rest of the world since I have no TV. (BTW, the Nigerian presidential elections today were very peaceful; next election is in 10 days for governorship.) In my browsing, I finally read Dr. Atul Gawande's essay in the New Yorker, Letting Go - beautifully and thoughtfully written. Well worth a read at some point.
To end on an uplifting note, the insect bites on my face are basically almost gone!
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