the air is heavy, sweat is easy, and poverty is common. machine gun carrying mobile police, or mo-po as they’re called, ride with us everywhere... it is company policy. i have not ventured outside of the 15 foot walled, barbed wire draped compounds... with the expectation of traveling to other compounds. the little i have seen on the roads... i understand, there are no stop signs, no red lights, and no real driving laws. i have been in a few traffic jams, where an intersection was full of cars. people arguing about who has the right of way or who hit who. there is no electric power in the area (port harcourt). the electrical power supply is extremely limited, so the only places with power, run on generators. twice a day at the office, power goes out as the generators switch workloads... at night the hum can always be heard.
as grim as the above might sound, it is just a normal day. the streets are always full of people, walking to and from. motorcycles dodge in and around cars. horns honk constantly as a type of turn signal. at night, the streets are still full, seen only through the lights of the vehicles.
work has been constant. 12 to 15 hour days are the norm. sunday is a slowest day of the week, with work closing around 3:00 pm. tonight is my 4th night of a 29 night trip. the many different nationalities that work here are interesting. hungarian, indian, american, scottish, philippine, english, native nigerian, and many others i’m unsure of... seem to be good people. some make a career of working abroad, other just started, and some are unsure if it’s for them. as all might agree it has pro and cons. family life when they’re home is great, time away is difficult, but the one characteristic that most seem to share is strength. it takes a strong person to live in a difficult situation, work 7 days a week, and stay gone from their families for months at a time.
for me, so far... the work has been a good experience, but the environment has been even better.
