Saturday, October 27, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Still shocked by NGA sometimes!
We had an interesting conversation with our driver on the way into the office this morning. In a nutshell, he believes that he and about 70% of all Nigerians would VOTE for a return to military rule if allowed to do so!
For the average Nigerian, this pretend democracy is a failure and has negatively impacted their lifestyle options considerably! Jide was quick to clarify that they would prefer democracy because they know that it works in other countries but because the civilian government has only meant an increase in corruption at every level of power, he says that this is not really a democracy. In the absence of a real democracy, military rule is better than a corrupt civilian government, it appears.
Under military rule the streets were clean, traffic flowed properly, people obeyed the laws. The schools were high quality and there were public schools that were actually public, with no charges other than minimal fees to the families. The government subsidized many items and there was free trade from the neighboring countries and beyond so prices were affordable on clothing, food, and even non-necessities.
The only negatives that Jide could think of if there was a return to military rule were -- loss of free speech to some extent and the presence of soldiers to keep order.
However, it's interesting that the loss of free speech must not be too severe because he also said that the military government listened to the people better than do the elected officials and responded to their concerns. His examples -- adjusting the prices of bags of cement, fuel, etc. when the people complained -- seemed valid.
Here's a practical way for you to see the differences. This is what began our discussion this morning:
As we ventured out into the jungle of traffic yet again, I was asking Jide how drivers obtain their licenses in the first place (if they even have one!).
Here's the deal -- for N3,500 they can fill out a form, provide a passport photo, sign the form, and the license will be processed. This could take up to 9 months. No driving test. No written test.
However, if they don't want to wait so long ... They can pay N6,000 ($42ish), turn in a photo and a signed form and they'll have the license in 3-4 days! The N3,500 goes to the government (or the gov't leaders) and the rest goes to the people processing the request.
He went even further with his explanation -- Jim and I could each sign an empty piece of paper. Jide could take our signatures and our photos to the office. He could fill in the form and provide our signatures and photos and we'd have licenses by next Monday!
And, a little further. We could get licenses in the same manner for Jeri, who has visited NGA once. And ... for Brad and Joey ... who have never set a foot in this country.
And a 6 year old child could have a license if the person put age 18 on the application.
And ... Jide knows of men who have licenses, get them renewed every 6 years, and have never sat in a driver's seat of a car, don't know how to put a key in the ignition, don't know anything about a gas pedal, ... you get the picture!
What a place is this Nigeria!
For the average Nigerian, this pretend democracy is a failure and has negatively impacted their lifestyle options considerably! Jide was quick to clarify that they would prefer democracy because they know that it works in other countries but because the civilian government has only meant an increase in corruption at every level of power, he says that this is not really a democracy. In the absence of a real democracy, military rule is better than a corrupt civilian government, it appears.
Under military rule the streets were clean, traffic flowed properly, people obeyed the laws. The schools were high quality and there were public schools that were actually public, with no charges other than minimal fees to the families. The government subsidized many items and there was free trade from the neighboring countries and beyond so prices were affordable on clothing, food, and even non-necessities.
The only negatives that Jide could think of if there was a return to military rule were -- loss of free speech to some extent and the presence of soldiers to keep order.
However, it's interesting that the loss of free speech must not be too severe because he also said that the military government listened to the people better than do the elected officials and responded to their concerns. His examples -- adjusting the prices of bags of cement, fuel, etc. when the people complained -- seemed valid.
Here's a practical way for you to see the differences. This is what began our discussion this morning:
As we ventured out into the jungle of traffic yet again, I was asking Jide how drivers obtain their licenses in the first place (if they even have one!).
Here's the deal -- for N3,500 they can fill out a form, provide a passport photo, sign the form, and the license will be processed. This could take up to 9 months. No driving test. No written test.
However, if they don't want to wait so long ... They can pay N6,000 ($42ish), turn in a photo and a signed form and they'll have the license in 3-4 days! The N3,500 goes to the government (or the gov't leaders) and the rest goes to the people processing the request.
He went even further with his explanation -- Jim and I could each sign an empty piece of paper. Jide could take our signatures and our photos to the office. He could fill in the form and provide our signatures and photos and we'd have licenses by next Monday!
And, a little further. We could get licenses in the same manner for Jeri, who has visited NGA once. And ... for Brad and Joey ... who have never set a foot in this country.
And a 6 year old child could have a license if the person put age 18 on the application.
And ... Jide knows of men who have licenses, get them renewed every 6 years, and have never sat in a driver's seat of a car, don't know how to put a key in the ignition, don't know anything about a gas pedal, ... you get the picture!
What a place is this Nigeria!
Monday, October 15, 2007
Photos from Phuket, Thailand
It's taking many days to get any photos uploaded -- SLOW NETWORKS. Please be patient. I'll try to post more that we took from other locations in Thailand.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Vacation has ended ...
So, we're back in NGA. Blogging from various hotel rooms and internet cafes did not prove to be possible and now I'm so behind, I don't know when I can share thoughts from our trip.
Briefly -- UAE was a disappointment. Due to Ramadan, most stores and all restaurants were closed during the day. Strangely, the fasting causes most people in the area (who seem to be quite secularized) to just re-arrange their schedule. They sleep a lot of the day and then feast and party until 1 or 2 a.m. The malls were actually open until 1 a.m. each night! The average person actually GAINS weight during this month of fasting because they eat so much after sundown! I realize now, duh ..., how much history adds to the charm of a place. So, I really didn't appreciate much of UAE because most construction that's more than 10 years old is being demolished and everything seems to be a sea of concrete, high-rises, etc. and the skyline is dotted with cranes for new construction. It's a booming area, no doubt about it. And "silly money" is tossed about without a care in the world. But it seems to be a bit of a shaky economy -- propped up by glitz and glitter and quite possibly booming dangerously fast -- just our opinion! We didn't have much time in Dubai -- it's definitely prettier than Abu Dhabi. Anyway -- just a quick review!
And now on to Thailand ...!!! I'll cut through all of our tourist comments and stories of the gorgeous beauty, terrific elephant rides, amazing orchids, beautiful mountains, clean green everywhere, charmingly polite people, gorgeous coastlines, stunning beaches, enchanting caves and coves, luscious gardens, abundant fountains, mugginess all-round, ... and tell you the most important part:
Boy asked Jim for Jeri's hand in marriage and they are now officially engaged. I'll attach a photo from the night Boy proposed and gave Jeri her ring. I took some photos the next day on Jeri's camera that are their "engagement" photos and I'll post some when I get them from Jeri.
Jeri starts a teaching job at a great international school on Monday in Ubon. This is the area Boy was raised and the area where they will live. Boy has a two year commitment to the Air Force that begins 1 November. With the school schedules for Joey and Brad/Karissa and with other travel parameters -- the wedding will be early January in Ubon -- probably between 5th and 10th of January. They have to wait until Boy gets his leave finalized in early November. 'very exciting times for all of us! God is allowing so many little details together to come together with such ease -- we are so grateful!
We love Boy, actual name -- Sarawhut Chapootorn -- he and Jeri make a great team! Their long-term plans are to stay in the Isan area -- the poorest and most unreached-by-the-good-news-of-Jesus area of Thailand. They want to do missions work in small villages. Right now, Jeri's renting a lovely three bedroom house for just pennies and she's having fun getting it all fixed up for married life! They'll have running hot water, even -- something they might not have later on when in the smaller villages. What an adventure!
So, this means that our Christmas plans have totally changed and we won't be getting back to the U.S. at all in 2007. We'll Christmas in Thailand with Jeri -- Joey will join us there. Then, others who are able, can join us for the wedding. If you'd like to be a part of the wedding celebration -- let me know! It's going to be absolutely gorgeous -- after all, this is the land of flowers and beautiful gardens!!!
Briefly -- UAE was a disappointment. Due to Ramadan, most stores and all restaurants were closed during the day. Strangely, the fasting causes most people in the area (who seem to be quite secularized) to just re-arrange their schedule. They sleep a lot of the day and then feast and party until 1 or 2 a.m. The malls were actually open until 1 a.m. each night! The average person actually GAINS weight during this month of fasting because they eat so much after sundown! I realize now, duh ..., how much history adds to the charm of a place. So, I really didn't appreciate much of UAE because most construction that's more than 10 years old is being demolished and everything seems to be a sea of concrete, high-rises, etc. and the skyline is dotted with cranes for new construction. It's a booming area, no doubt about it. And "silly money" is tossed about without a care in the world. But it seems to be a bit of a shaky economy -- propped up by glitz and glitter and quite possibly booming dangerously fast -- just our opinion! We didn't have much time in Dubai -- it's definitely prettier than Abu Dhabi. Anyway -- just a quick review!
And now on to Thailand ...!!! I'll cut through all of our tourist comments and stories of the gorgeous beauty, terrific elephant rides, amazing orchids, beautiful mountains, clean green everywhere, charmingly polite people, gorgeous coastlines, stunning beaches, enchanting caves and coves, luscious gardens, abundant fountains, mugginess all-round, ... and tell you the most important part:
Boy asked Jim for Jeri's hand in marriage and they are now officially engaged. I'll attach a photo from the night Boy proposed and gave Jeri her ring. I took some photos the next day on Jeri's camera that are their "engagement" photos and I'll post some when I get them from Jeri.
Jeri starts a teaching job at a great international school on Monday in Ubon. This is the area Boy was raised and the area where they will live. Boy has a two year commitment to the Air Force that begins 1 November. With the school schedules for Joey and Brad/Karissa and with other travel parameters -- the wedding will be early January in Ubon -- probably between 5th and 10th of January. They have to wait until Boy gets his leave finalized in early November. 'very exciting times for all of us! God is allowing so many little details together to come together with such ease -- we are so grateful!
We love Boy, actual name -- Sarawhut Chapootorn -- he and Jeri make a great team! Their long-term plans are to stay in the Isan area -- the poorest and most unreached-by-the-good-news-of-Jesus area of Thailand. They want to do missions work in small villages. Right now, Jeri's renting a lovely three bedroom house for just pennies and she's having fun getting it all fixed up for married life! They'll have running hot water, even -- something they might not have later on when in the smaller villages. What an adventure!
So, this means that our Christmas plans have totally changed and we won't be getting back to the U.S. at all in 2007. We'll Christmas in Thailand with Jeri -- Joey will join us there. Then, others who are able, can join us for the wedding. If you'd like to be a part of the wedding celebration -- let me know! It's going to be absolutely gorgeous -- after all, this is the land of flowers and beautiful gardens!!!
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