VISITING AFRICA
So…the long awaited day…finally arrived…even after all the weeks I had too prepare my bags, at the last minute…I forgot some things…as usual!!! Ha Ha…well maybe it was due to my emotional state…or maybe my memory is failing.
Marcela dropped me off at the GDL Airport and after 20 hours and 55 minutes I find myself writing these lines in the Dubai International Airport…it is the largest and most luxurious airport I have ever seen!! The flight here was full but fortunately I was able to get an aisle seat…which made things a little more comfortable .
It is the first time I have seen Arabs up close…their vestments impeccably white and neat…and the fine embroidery on their clothes (the women) drew my attention…among the passengers there were also a lot of Indians…with their tunics and flowing dresses.
Something that also surprised me a lot …was the technology of the plane on which we traveled…owned by the Emirates Airline. ..every seat had a screen and a master control with which the passenger can control everything…(Music, internet, events, news, movies, weather…real time status of the flight, exterior cameras…etc etc…)…I won’t even tell you about the first class seats!! All they lack is a professional masseuse at their side to attend to them in case one of their extremities falls asleep (any extremity!!!) Ha Ha Ha
The first thing that comes to mind…is the irony of going through so much technology…so much luxury…so much grandeur (Dubai) in order to get to my destination…which is exactly all the opposite.
DAY 1
After 35 hours of travel…al I want is to get into a horizontal position….I have finally arrived at my destination…the city of CALABAR in Nigeria…I arrived…quickly unpacked…took a shower…and I met on the terrace with the rest of my fellow adventurers…They have arrived from different parts of the world…Australia, USA, Belgium, Poland, Canada, UK, India…and I…the Mexican…
The first surprise was that no one was as I had imagined them!! Even though I had known them through the photos we had shared through the IBM directory, not a one (except maybe my colleague from India) was like I had assumed…(funny isn’t it???)…The one I imagined tall, is short, the one I imagined fat was not…the one I imagined sedentary was a real athlete!!!…all judgments…..!!
We talked for the rest of the afternoon…everyone sharing their flight adventure in getting to this destination…everyone checking out everyone else…
Later I arrive at my room and turn on my computer…to my great surprise, in a few minutes…I was connected to the wireless internet…and I can get on the web…I decide to contact home through the computer and it responded on the first try…and here I am!!! Talking on the phone to my whole family…through my computer…from one continent to another, with a 7 hour time difference, and thousands of kilometers between us…The surprising thing is that I am doing it from a place where it is assumed that there is no constant energy service…there is no drinking water…there exists no development and nevertheless…it was easier for me to connect from here…then I have ever experienced in a developed country…there is no doubt…the world is flat…the world…has shrunk…the world is unique.
My son sends me an internet link and I start watching the game between Mexico and El Salvador…and I fall asleep in front of my screen…knowing that finally Mexico…will be in Africa in the World Cup…
DAY 2
Today I got up early…I put my tennis on and went for a run…in the vicinity of the hotel…for the first time I experience the sensation of being absolutely different then everyone else…everyone here is black…I am someone that every one turns to see…I am the strange one…the one that stands out by the color of his skin…
I start to run and look at the people…the majority travel by motorcycle…all are young…all are thin..tall and strong…the children and many adults say hello to me as I pass by…I wonder who that fat pale guy running in the street is?…(I imagine the children ask themselves - ) …They don’t know but they really don’t care…they simply smile and wave…moving their hand…using their smile…it is early and already the humid heat is here…
For the rest of the day our group meets and we are taken to see the city, in a government vehicle…we meet various people that tend to us very well and in that way we have our first encounter with the city of CALABAR…a guide explains to us a lot of things…I barely hear him…I am absorbed in looking at the people …seeing the places…the city is full of dirt streets…old houses most of them with tin roofs…the women draped in their tight multicolored dresses…which allow you to see their impressive physiques…tall…strong…with small waists and impressive hips…many men are standing at the entrance to their homes with bare torsos…showing their black skin…and muscles that many of us dream of having…
We visited many places…but the ones that impressed me most…were a plaza where a Nigerian flag waves…and a small museum, practically empty, that is called The Slave Museum…there, a group of foreigners from many parts of the world…were reminded how in that era…the men, women and children of this place…were imprisoned…mistreated, sold and enslaved…something which filled us with great human shame and left us speechless…
At this time I have taken 350 pictures…mmmma a little low for my standards…but…I think it is because of what I am seeing…it is hard to take pictures of what I see.
Now..to sleep…tomorrow work begins…tomorrow…will be a new day..
Greetings to all…
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