We received the forms for our Nigeria Visas on Thursday from the school. It took over a week to get them and they were sent with an express service. It turns out we had to pay for the Visas and then will get reimbursed. It was $340 each not including the FedEx charges we had to pay to send them to New York and back. We had to send them to processor who then takes them to the Embassy. We talked to the school secretary about the delay for the Visa and she will change our flights accordingly if we do not receive the Visas before Wednesday.
We received an email from FedEx that our apps were received on Monday. Our flights are now scheduled for Friday. Although it has been nice having one more week with family, friends and my garden we are missing out on time to adjust to living in Nigeria before we have to report to the school. Our principal said it will take a full week to get used to the time difference and the heat and humidity. The new flight plan includes a small plane for the last leg of the trip. We are only allowed one bag a piece at that point or we have to pay a large fee. I went to the bank today to get the $100 bills for exchanging currency. They had to be crisp ones that are at least 2007 or newer. I didn't think this would be difficult but the bank didn't have a lot of them. We will receive the equivalent of $500 each in the local money when we arrive which is for purchasing things we need right away. Our paychecks will be in US funds.
The heat has really been awful this past week. It is making me a little nervous. I get nauseated so easy when I am over-heated. One advantage is the heat may help me lose weight from a loss of appetite. We heard there is an exercise gym too. I asked my daughter what is appropriate to wear. She lived in Uganda for four months for a college semester abroad. She said wearing shorts is a problem but being pretty bare on top is okay. I picked up some lightweight shawls to wear with my sundresses just in case. I only threw in one pair of shorts. My principal said I could wear capris at the school. Poor Clint has to wear long pants.
We were told the utility company and generator are both off between 1 - 4 am each night. We were instructed to keep all windows and doors closed and locked at night so I hope it will not become unbearably hot. I sleep with a C-PAP machine to breath at night because of snoring. We purchased an electronic battery back-up device to use in Nigeria. It weighs a lot but it will keep my machine on when the power goes off. I tested it the last couple nights. It lasts for 3 1/2 hours and then beeps and shuts down. The outlets are 220 volts and we have 110 volts here in the States so we also purchased some converters. I just hope we don't fry my battery back-up or C-PAP because that would be very expensive to replace. Before my C-PAP machine I used to take naps in my car during my lunch break so I really need it.
