Friday was ...

... the day Jeri left. She's been flying for a day, now, and will be arriving in Thailand in about 3 1/2 hours. It's quite weird having her gone. Everywhere I go, now, I remember being there with Jeri. I was telling a few of the gals about it and one gal suggested that I find a new place to hang out 'cuz it won't have memories associated with Jeri's visit. Great idea. 'just don't know of any new options.

Jeri really loved a lot about Nigeria. She validated a lot of my feelings that I try to not acknowledge very often -- I think she can truly "feel my pain" about feeling imprisoned on the camp, feeling frustrated with the delays in work, feeling overwhelmed by the trash on the roads, feeling limited in our "fun" options.

But we enjoyed visiting my favorite (and the only) coffee shop/sandwich place. 'went there three times! And we found a new place that actually makes gelato -- GOOD gelato! We went there three times, too! This place is supposed to be a coffee shop, too, but the machine broke right when they opened and no one seems to be able to fix it so they've got to send out to Europe for parts. Oh well, I don't even like coffee!!!

All-in-all, it was FANTASTIC having Jeri here. The residents and workers welcomed her with open arms. She was given farewell gifts and enjoyed a final dinner with a bunch of Spanish-speaking folks. Our friends had planned their vacation in order to get back before Jeri left so that they could fix a real Italian dinner for her. Yes, they are from Venezuela but he's originally from Italy and ... wow ... what a great cook!!! Around the table, though most spoke Spanish, the countries that were represented included Italy, Venezuela, France, Greece, Malasia, Chile, and the U.S. Ahhhh, the international flavor is fantastic!

After Jeri got on the bus for the airport around 7 a.m., I was swamped with work alllllllll day and into the night. Meeting with women who needed to be confronted on their gossiping, meeting with women who were angry with other women, planning parties, meeting new arrivers who didn't even want to unpack their suitcases because they were so disgusted with conditions here, planning for more arrivers, arranging for work to be done around the camp, ... being busy was great, really, because Jim left with Jeri -- for meetings in Lagos. We arranged for her to fly in and out of Lagos. If any of you ever visit -- that's the best airport with the fewest customs corruption. And, we welcome visitors. I just have to realize that it will always seem more empty around here when someone leaves. I miss you, Jerz!