The Flights Home, Booking Cancelled, Hard Landing and Medical Emergency

Wednesday March 31st we went to the Yola airport for a ticket to Abuja. Arik Airline had no seats so we had to go to IRS Airline. They had cancelled a flight last year when they only owned two airplanes. They now have more planes so the chances of cancelation are a little less. They only had room on the 7:30 AM flight. This means a 12 hour layover in Abuja. The flight is only $100. The next morning I was up at 5 AM to eat breakfast and finish packing.

We stopped at the airport and took this picture. Click it to see the bigger picture. The sign in the center says Emergency Operations Centre. The flight out of Yola was less than one hour late leaving. It was an old Folker F3 that had new upholstery. I think it was a former SAS plane. I prefer Arik Airlines. They have newer planes and are an international carrier. The flight had no problems. The ride from the domestic airport to the International airport was quick and only cost 1000 naira ($6.66).

The 12 hour layover was boring. This airport has little to do. I had lunch in the fast food spots on the second floor. Same food I have been eating in Jimeta chicken and rice but twice the price. found a spot that I could plug in my computer and get on the internet using the cell phone modem.

After 10 hours I went to the departure counters and through the first security check. When I finally got to the baggage check in counter they said I was not in the computer and I needed to go to the KLM office. This was not the first time this had happened to me so I knew where to go. There was a line of people at the KLM office. It seems Delta had cancelled a flight the day before and then moved people to this flight. There were three of us who were no longer booked. I should have called in a confirmed the flight. The lady took about 5 minutes to rebook me on the same flights. So I drag my bag back the check-in counter and back into line. When I got to the front of the line the lady there said I was not in the computer and to go to the KLM office. The lady at KLM was surprised to see me back. Over the next hour I made this trip two more times. The lady at the KLM officed indicated that for some reason the Delta computer was cancelling my booking everytime she booked it. Then I was moved to the KLM supervisor. She went to her office behind the check-in. Came out 5 minutes later and took me to the front of the line. After the passenger that was being checked in she tried to check me in with a manual override. This did not work. So the supervisor had the check-in clerk get the computer to a certain point and stop. She then went to her office and rebooked me. Then had the clerk continue. Delta did not have time to cancel me and I got on the flight. It was now less than 30 minutes before the flight and I had to go through Nigerial Immigration Departure interview, upstairs, then through the second more comprehensive security check. I rushed and got upstairs to find that they were just starting the security check and I would stand in line for another 30 or more.

The flight from Abuja to Amsterdam make one stop in Kano, Nigeria for fuel and passengers. The landing was one of the hardest I had ever had. We bounced and and hit hard again. Bounced once more and made the landing. This being a modern Airbus the computer detected the hard landing and called for an inspection of the landing gear. The pilot briefed us and told us the mechanic had gone to his office to get his computer for the test procedure. Later the pilot informed us that the laptop was broken and the mechanic was going back to his office to get the paper version of the inspections. After two hours on the ground in Kano we took off.

When the crew made the landing announcement they said there was a medical emergency on board and everyone should stay seated until the emergency crew had removed the passenger. That did not happen. As is turns out the emergency was that a passenger had been found with no pulse and cold. A doctor on board said he had be dead for a while.

I had a 4 hour layover in Amsterdam. I got my first cup of brewed coffee in 6 weeks. At security in Amsterdam they put me through the new body scanners. It detected the piece of in my back pockets and also identified a place of suspicion on my chest. This is about the same spot that I have a lump on one of my ribs. I was impressed with the technology. The screen the security people see is a generic outline of a person (I wish I had that kind of build) with I square where the suspicious items are. The flight to Minneapolis left right on time and was only a 1/2 hour late arriving due to flying around bad weather.

Bike Ride

I am in Amsterdam Airport and will try to add this short video. It is part of my bike ride from Bandaguri back to the main road.

Kids Playing.

I tried to load this video from the internet cafe in Jimeta it failed. It uploaded at the Abuja Airport using my Modem on the MTN network. I have a few hours seating here so I may produce another video and post it.

Girl Pounding Guinea Corn in Bandaguri

Medicine Tree Seeds

The Neem Tree is also called the medicine tree because most of its parts are used for some kind of traditional medicine. They are also a valuable shade tree. They are an evergreen with regular leaves (not needles). The leaves are constantly falling and new ones growing. I the heat of the dry season they provide shade in areas where no other shade trees can grow. They are all over the compound I live in.

I had been picking up the seed to see how hard it is to make Neem Oil which sells for a high price in Natural Foods stores. It is used on the skin. The school kids saw me picking up the seeds one day and started to help me. My little pile multiplied as their little fingers are more efficient at picking up the seed. Late Farah told about a lady that makes Neem Oil. She brought her over the other night and we discussed the process. They use the wet process that makes a liquid oil. I bough a 3 ounce bottle for 200 naira ( $1.25). What I have seen at Lakewinds Coop is more of a one ounce container of creamy butter for around $10.00. I gave her all the kernels I had removed from the seed shells since the pile on my porch was bigger than I could handle.

The trees fruit at the end of the dry season. The birds and the flying dogs (fruit bats) seat in the tree and eat the sweet fruit and drop the large seed on the ground. My pile is a tiny fraction of the seeds around the compound. I would bet I could get 10 gallons of seeds from the trees on this compound.

The girls noticed that I was opening the seeds and taking out the kernels. Friday I looked out the door and they had found some rocks and where crushing the seeds to separate the kernels from the seed. This was their last day of school for this term. So they made a big mess of seed shells and crushed kernel. I slowly picked through the mess for the next four days. The shells will make a good mulch to hold in moisture. Many insects stay away from the Neem products because it is known to make them infertile. Natural selection has left the bugs that stay way from the Neem trees.

Tuna Fish Salad Sandwich

This is some of the things in my cupboard. I have finished the oatmeal with two breakfasts left to go. The Vienna Sausages and beans made beans and weanies a couple of nights ago. The Heinz vegetable salad mixed with tuna chunks makes three tuna fish salad sandwiches. I have a bowl of the it in the freezer. The freezeer only gets power a few hours per day so it will stay cold but may not freeze. Lately, we get power from the national grid from around 1AM to 5 or 6 AM. Then I am connected to the generator at the Jimeta Catherdral. They have programs most evenings so I get generator power for a couple hours most nights. Last night there was no program at the church so I had no power. The 4 bottles of water in the freezer I had managed to freeze last week, when the weather was cooler and the Cathedral had programs everynight are thawing out. They are easier to drink that way.

Saturday, Out for a Walk, One-Eyed Buffalo

I am having trouble with uploading pictures. So I will post this without pictures and try to edit it and add the pictures. The internet cafe I use has always given me problems posting pictures and movies do not post at all. It is Wednesday morning 3:00 AM. I have Yakubu's Zain Modem and the internet is working and I have power from the NEPA. So I am making final changes to the work I have been doing the last 6 weeks and adding pictures to this posting.

This morning was a cool morning with cloud cover. I decided to take a walk out the back (north) of the compound. I have been out the back gate a few times but always headed south back to the main road. Today I stayed on the backstreet and headed east toward the tool store that had range poles for surveying.


My first surprise was to find a technical bookstore. It is like a small student’s bookstore. Many of the books were published in the late 2000’s. They had two copies of Environmental Geology the sixth and eighth edition. The 8th edition was from 2008. The text on project management was from 2006. It was a good thing that I had only 6,000 naira on me or I may have spent some of it on books.


I made my way across the next main street east of the compound without being hit by any of what I call the Chinese mosquitoes. Blue smoke puffing Chinese motorcycles. They go every which direction and obey no rules. Most have two or more people on them. I just want to swat them like mosquitoes. I decided to continue down the back streets and found a "one-eyed buffalo". This is what they are called in Korea. It is a large diesel powered roto-tiller that has a seat and a rear wheel. They can be driven down the road pulling a cart, connected to a water pump or or even till a farm field. This was the first one I have seen here. Its tiller had been removed and a welding coil had been mounted above where the tiller was. When the machine shop needs something welded they drive out their one-eyed buffalo and use it for arc welding. They men in the area were amused when I called it a "one-eyed buffalo". Then I showed them the single headlight and it did the work of a water buffalo in Korea. I asked the men if these are used on the farms around Adamawa and they said yes. I asked where and they said on the Governor’s farm. They did not know of any other places.


I continued by walk to the tool store and looked at the range poles. When I looked at them, the quality was poor and the shopkeeper wanted 1,200 naira ($8). I was not sure I wanted to pay that much for something only had one use for. So I continued my back street trek. Heading further north to the next street north wondering what other surprises were waiting for me. I found a borehole with a hand pump and a sign saying it was a 2006 federal government project (N09.28105, E012.45306). The sign was beaten and rusted and the pump was not functional. that was no surprise. This pump is in a more residential area and would be a good candidate for repair. Since it is in a large town it is the responsibility of the Adamawa State Water Board. Of course it would not surprise me if the local water sellers broke the pump and that it would be broken again as soon as it was fixed.


I headed back to the house to get my camera and found my last surprise of the morning. There is a laundry shop about 100 meters north of the compound. I have been hand washing my clothes at night in a bucket. Last year I trekked south to a laundry about a 1000 meters away. I stopped using them after the first load of clothes smelled worse after washing than when I took them in. This laundry wants 150 naira ($1) to wash a shirt and pants. But if I brought them in on Monday I would not get them back until Thursday or Friday. I might give them a try next trip. I leave on Thursday.


After photographing the bookstore and the "one-eyed buffalo" I headed to the Specialty Hospital to meet with the "Spring of Hope", HIV support group. They hold their meeting the last Friday of each month. Today they had the doctor in charge of monitoring and evaluation of TB and Leprosy programs in Adamawa State talking to them about infectious diseases. It was mostly in Hausa but I could catch the drift of what he was saying as he switched back and forth from English and Hausa. The support group had a lot of intelligent questions and he gave them straightforward answers. After he finished they had a group photo with the doctor and then I was asked to say a few words. I told them what I was doing in Nigeria and gave them the standard “teach a man to fish, and help him to get the equipment to fish but I won’t fish for him” speech. Them I told them how glad I was to see that they have support groups and understand the importance of helping each other. I also told them that it is good to ask doctor’s questions. It is their health not the doctor's so it is good that that they understand how to protect their health. We then had lunch and I paid 1500 naira for an annual membership in Spring of Hope. They use the dues to rent an office, for conducting awareness campaigns/outreach and for emergency loans to group members to buy drugs needed to fight the opportunistic infections that many HIV positive people have to fight.

Some of the ladies said "We will never go to America. But now our picture will."

Farah (pronounced far-ah) james is their leader and a local activist on many matters. She found out she was HIV positive when her husband died of AIDS. At the time she was pregnant and passed the HIV to her baby who also died. She no longer has a paying job. She was a teacher but the stress of full-time work and fulltime activist was too much. So she quit her job. She is like me just doing volunteer work. But unlike me she does not have savings and a IRA. Her latest venture is to start a young women’s group for the Lutheran Church. She is headed to Jos with representatives from the other diocese to discuss how the church could start this new group. She used to live in the house that I have been living in. It is basically, falling apart. She decided to live with her Mother rather than keep spending money on fixing up a 60 year old mud brick house. I found out that she is hosting the women of the Lutheran Youth Encounter in her (or her Mother's home). LYE is a singing group that has been traveling Ghana and now Adamawa. They will be performing in Minnesota and Wisconsin sharing their travel experiences in May and later this summer.