Carnival Calabar

          On Wednesday, December 26 we carried our chairs and walked two miles down to where the children’s carnival parade was going to be.  We were told it started at 9 am.  At about 3 pm a Cross River State carnival cultural parade went past and then finally the children’s parade came by at 5 pm.  We had to leave at 5:45 to start walking home to make sure we didn’t walk in the dark.  We were down near the part of town we were told to avoid.  Most of the day we were in the shade but we still got really warm waiting for it to start.

                                       These men are holding the cow tail whips which represent strength and power.                      Around their ankles were shells that rattled.

This is one of the groups we paid a tip to.  We have a video of their presentation.

           We were able to see many different tribes represented.  Some of the drums looked so heavy to carry.  We did see one group with brass instruments.  I took a picture of the tuba for my dad.  In Nigeria, it is common to see woman wearing fabric in bright patterns wrapped around them for a skirt with a matching head scarf.  The men also wear the fabric skirt but only for special cultural occasions.  The men usually also use canes when they wear the skirt.

Carnival Culture Parade

Carnival Culture Parade

          Some individuals or groups perform for you and expect a tip.  While Clint was rounding up some lunch for us at the sidewalk cuisine, I had an unwelcome performer.  First, he proceeded to burn his arm with a flaming poker, and then he licked the flame and finally lifted his shirt and burned his chest several times.  I could see the burn marks on his skin he got so close.  Just before this man came up to me one of our drivers spotted me and had come over to say hi.  I was so glad because he was able to tell the man to leave me alone.  I had taken a couple pictures of him before he approached me.  The driver asked me if I was taking a video and I said no.  I was watching him and ready to get out of my chair if he got any closer.  I did not pay him. When Clint was back and a group came by we did pay them for their performance.  They were really good and respectful to us.

Carnival Children's Parade

Carnival Children's Parade

Carnival Children's Parade

Carnival Children's Parade

          Today was the main event, the big Carnival Calabar parade.  We left a little later this time and only had to walk a mile to where this parade was scheduled to go by.  This one came through our safer neighborhood.  We took our chairs again so we had a place to sit.  We did ask how much it cost to sit on the metal bleachers but it was 10,000 Naira which is about $70.  They were shaded but it still didn’t sound like a good use of our money.  We parked ourselves in a transit booth so we had shade.  As the afternoon came so did the local spectators.  We ended up sharing our booth with people standing behind us.  About 5 pm crowds of people were starting to stand in front of us and we politely reminded them where the police had said the barrier was.

I looked pretty bad in my casual tourist collection after sitting for 7+ hours waiting for the parade to start.

Main Event - Carnival Calabar Parade

Main Event - Carnival Calabar Parade

Main Event - Carnival Calabar Parade

          Finally, as it was getting dark around 6 pm the parade came down our street.  We finally got up and moved onto the road so we could see and told the people we had sat there all day to get good seats to see their carnival and planned to see it and take lots of pictures.  Some of the people were really nice about it.  One guy started cussing at everyone else to move out of our way.  The police helped move people back for awhile but when they left the crowd became ridiculous.  I stood on my chair and still couldn’t see.  We decided just to leave at 6:30.  We only saw a small fraction of the parade but the people were starting to act out of control and now it was totally dark.  When we got back to our compound the gate was open and the guard wasn’t around.  I locked the gate when we came in.  I was really glad to be home.  We both decided we had enough of the whole Christmas Festival and Carnival activities unless we are escorted.

          One kind of funny thing happened.  A man came up to us and asked if he could take our picture with some of his friends.  I said sure why not we are taking pictures of all of you.  The funny thing was about five girls one at a time posed between Clint and I and one of them had the nerve to sit on his lap.  I didn't notice it or I would have said Clint needs a tip for that one.  Poor Clint he was a good sport.  Parades are not his thing and then we sat for hours in the heat with nothing to do.  The arm on his chair broke yesterday so he couldn't lean back and relax after that.  Then to top off his day he broke off one of his front teeth.  I am surprised he wanted to smile at all today.

Merry Christmas

          On Christmas Eve, we walked to the open air market.  I saw two people purchase live chickens.  One lady put the live chicken right into the back hatch of her little KIA car not in a cage or anything.  She didn’t put anything under it.  I bet she will have a mess on the carpet of her trunk.  The live chickens were selling for 2,000 Naira ($14).  I dared Clint to buy one and fix it for Christmas dinner.  He bragged about knowing how to do it but he didn’t buy one.  I probably would have been laughing hysterically watching him and crying for the poor chicken at the same time.  You know that thing pregnant ladies often do, laughing on one breath and crying on the next.

pineapple custard over crepes

          Clint made crepes and pineapple custard for us.  We have both tried to make the custard before.  We see custard for sale at every market.  Both times it flopped because it was either too watery or a chalky paste.  The directions on the container are so vague like the person making already knows what to do.  Well we didn’t.  I found some directions online but it still didn’t work.  This time Clint found a video with no sound.  On the second try he did it.  It is hard to describe.  When you pour the boiling hot water onto the paste you make and just stir a little it suddenly expands into a pudding consistency.  It really looks like magic.  No wonder we couldn’t get it right without the complete directions and the video. 

We were afraid to add too much milk and have it turn runny again so we just quickly put it on top of the crepes.  As I was eating and the custard started to cool it hardened like plastic and kind of tasted like it too.  The left over custard in the bowl almost couldn’t be dished out.  I got a really bad stomach ache later in the day.  Clint admitted he didn’t eat any of it after I told him what mine was doing as it cooled.  I think we will give the rest of the jar away.  We are done trying to make it.

My Santa Stocking

This morning, when I woke up and came out into the living room there was a gym sock on my laptop.  Clint had this silly grin on his face.  He said Santa came and gave us Christmas stockings.  We each received a Lindt chocolate bar.  I had wanted one since we saw them appear on the shelves recently with other Christmas treats.  They were 700 Naira a piece (apx. $5).  I felt pretty spoiled to have one all to myself this morning.  It even had nuts so Santa was being very thoughtful.

Our lovely outdoor furniture

I gave Clint a plastic table and chair set for Christmas.  He got it early so we could enjoy sitting outside during our month long winter break.  This would seem odd except this is the warmest time of year here.  The temperature really doesn’t fluctuate more than about 10 degrees all year long but in the winter months it is the dry season.  The first few months we were here if it didn’t rain during the day it rained at night.  We were told the rains will return in March. 

Clint gave me a counterfeit Scrabble game we found in the market.  The board is made of poster board and the letters are cheap plastic.  The letters easily slide off because the board will not stay flat.  During our first game today Clint drew two letter Q’s.  We should have counted the letters before we started.  Oh well it was fun and we don’t have to use our Internet time to play anymore.  We played a Christmas version.  If you made a Christmas word you added 5 points to your word score.  I had more Christmas words than he did but he still won the game as usual.

For dinner I made an apple pie.  Clint made spam with pineapple, baked potatoes and macaroni and cheese.  It was the best we could find.  I took a plate out to our guard.  I told him I knew it wasn’t his traditional food but I hoped he would like it.  We were told chicken and rice is what they eat.  I think that is what they always eat everyday of the year.  We ate our pie outside and played cards as the sun was going down.  This evening we had a Skype call with our kids.  Tim had stayed the night at Cyndi and Ryan’s house.  Cyndi put on her African dress for us to see.  Tim’s gift is still in the mail.  I sure hope it arrives soon.  We got him a wood mask and a cow tail whip.  We both called our parents too.  It was nice talking to family.  I especially appreciated all the Merry Christmas posts on Facebook.  We are really lonely right now with school not in session and all the other expats gone.  Getting a chance to chat using all our forms of technology has made it bearable. 

Our evening almost ended on a positive note and then we found something horrifying.  We were readjusting the foam pad on our bed and discovered a huge cockroach was under the foam close to wear Clint’s head lays.  It was only moving a little when I lifted the foam.  I think I may have partially squished it when I was kneeling on the bed.  What we don’t know is if it was at some point inside the net with us while we were sleeping.  Either way we were freaked out about it.  The bug thing just never ends here.   Clint wanted to look under the mattress and under the frame after seeing it.  I said, “are you sure you want to open that can of worms.”  What if we saw a whole bunch of them alive under there?  I don’t know if I could ever get a good night’s sleep again.  He said he couldn’t sleep with the unknown.  We did lift them both and look and saw nothing so I guess we both can sleep now.

He was pretty flat but still moving.

Merry Christmas to all and have a good night!

The Carnival Calabar Queen Pageant

          The pageant was Saturday, December 22.  Our activities calendar said it started at 7 pm but did not list a venue.  Last Monday, when we were helping at the school we were told we were going to the pageant.  On Friday, when we walked to the school, we talked to the bookkeeper and he said we could get in by saying who we worked for, but still no venue or transportation information was given to us.  On Saturday, Clint called the Business Manager to ask how we were getting there and when.  Finally we got some answers.  He was picking us up at 9 pm with tickets.  This is how everything goes here.  You just have to sit back and relax and trust it will all work out.  Pre-planning on your part will just frustrate you.  The disappointing thing about this activity was that I had also been invited to a student’s birthday barbecue and I couldn’t go because I was afraid it would conflict.  It ends up I could have done both.  The one good thing is the parent had not contacted me since the last day of school so it was also not completely planned so hopefully my student wasn’t looking for me at her party.  I did not know where they lived or when it was.  I am an organized planner so this all frustrates me but I am learning to just trust the process.

This is a picture of a picture so the quality isn't very good.

          This is the sixth year for the pageant.  The winner gets a car and 2 million Naira (apx. $13,000) in addition to other gifts.  The goal of the pageant is to convey the Mothers Against Child Abandonment (MACA) message.  

Children are our heritage.  Cross River State is a land of alluring beauty and amazing potential.  When a baby is abandoned and left to die in dustbins (garbage cans), toilets and other places that erodes the dignity of mankind, the land is denied that potential.  Join us and save a child today.

The queen’s primary role is to be an ambassador of this MACA message by preaching the dangers of pre-marital sex to teenagers, who are usually victims of unwanted pregnancies. All the proceeds from the ticket sales to this event go directly to fund the MACA projects.  For example, the Baby Refuge Home we went to this past week.

We sat at the table saved for our Surefoot school group.

Last year's queen introduces this year's princesses.

          We arrived at the venue which was called the Arena.  It is a new building farther north than our school campus.  The entrance was all decked out like the entrance to the Oscars.  We were treated to the same invasive security check you get at the airport including the pat down.  There was a red carpet and off to the side a camera crew was interviewing guests.  We were invited to interview but I quickly realized we were very under-dressed for the occasion.  That was important information we were not given.  Luckily, I had dressed up in my best dress but Clint had just worn his work clothes.  The business manager had on a tuxedo with a bow tie.  He was not in the car when his driver picked us up or I would have suggested Clint run back in and put on a dress shirt and tie.  I didn’t want us to look bad as ambassadors of our school so I declined the interview.  Clint thinks we had our pictures taken at least 40 times inside but hopefully we didn’t look too shabby.

The presentation of Cultural Costumes.

Although there was no swimsuit presentation, I believe some used their cultural costume as a way to display themselves.

          We sat at a table near the middle so we had a great view of the stage.  Our table was set for a dinner.  I told Clint I bet it will be chicken and rice.  I was partly correct, I had fish and rice and he had chicken and rice.  Rice is a huge staple food here.  We also had the famous pepper soup we had heard about.  I tried to look like I was eating the soup but after only one real spoonful I was not going to swallow any more of it.  It tasted like I put a spoonful of dry pepper in my mouth.  I was so glad we had eaten dinner unaware of food being served at the pageant.  The amount of drinks were interesting, first we received bottled water, then soda pop, juice, and finally a bottle of wine.  They definitely kept us hydrated but no dessert was served.  I need to learn not to look for it.  Dessert is a rarity here.

          The 30 contestants were from all over Nigeria but they each received a title of a famous tourist attraction in the Cross River State where Calabar and the carnival are located.  As part of the pageant we were first introduced to each princess as they came out all wearing the same style of dress.  Next, they each made a presentation about a different region of Nigeria by wearing the historic cultural clothing and speaking about the significance of the different parts of what they were wearing.  I was so amazed by how different each one was and this was just a representation of Nigeria.  Most of my pictures are of the princesses in their costumes.  I wish our program had included what each princess said about what they were wearing.  Interestingly, we found out what the significance of the cow tail whip is.  This is one of the gifts we had purchased for our son for Christmas.  The person holding one is the royal figure in a tribe.  It stands for strength and power.  Several of the costumes included one of various lengths.

Awards were given by some of the sponsors.

Our new queen was crowned.

          After the evening wear competition, the top ten finalists performed a talent which had to be related to the MACA theme.  So most of the ladies sang a song, did a skit, or gave a speech.  One chose to spray paint a poster.  It was a bit odd to say the least because she used stencils.  Not what I would call a talent.  Finally, the top five were chosen and then the queen was crowned.  In between the main events we listened to a comedian, saw a dance act and heard two famous singers.  It was 2:30 in the morning when we left the Arena.  Clint and I were both puzzled as to why the event was not started earlier in the evening.  We were really tired when we pulled into our compound but it was an exciting night. 

          I believe the Carnival Calabar officially begins the day after Christmas.  You can find out more by going to this website: Carnival Calabar
There are two parades coming up this week one the children will be show-cased and the other one the adults will be.  It will be filled with music, dancing and elaborate costumes.