Uniformed Shakedown

Dec. 9, 2009

Did our first day of filming yesterday at the Berger Car Park. It went very well, but MAN was it hot! Shooting hand-held under a scorching sun in a car park made me sweat like a pig. Went inside to shoot an interview and we had to shut off the AC for sound reasons, but this resulted in the subject (and the rest of us) to begin pouring out sweat like leaky faucets. My hands were so damp it was hard to keep the camera steady.

Today was devoted to running errands and paying off the local police -- seriously. We got stopped, for no reason except for the fact we run around in an SUV, and had to pay off three different sets of police. Not cheap, a little intimidating, and utterly ridiculous. So much crime in this city and those charged with stopping it are actually engaged in it.

I'm more and more impressed with Adis' communicative abilities -- he's gotten us out of several tough situations, but even the locals find his driving a bit disturbing (fists pounding on the hood at "crosswalks" etc.). And let me tell you, from the little I've seen, it takes quite a bit to offend the residents of Lagos with your driving. Adis is truly one in a million.

Food and beer still good, weather fantastic, people very friendly.

Tomorrow we resume filming and we'll be interviewing the Big Man of the Lagos car trade, which should prove quite valuable for our project.

More later.

Dec. 7, 2009: no Nigerian word for "yield"

My introduction to the vibrant and fantastically confusing city of Lagos began with my inability to keep track of how many car accidents I most certainly thought we were going to get into during our morning commute to the car markets of the city. Sit in back, buckle up and take it all in in the name of "cultural experience."

Adis drives exceptionally well, but outside of this particular cultural context his style would not go over well with Mass. State Troopers.

Made our initial contacts with the "Big Men" of the Lagos car importing and modification industry, all of whom are enthusiastic (today) about our project. We commence filming tomorrow.

Finishing off my first full day in Lagos at an artsy hotel lobby/bar, with some visiting artists from Denmark and Bangladesh. We transitioned from a talk at the Lagos Center for Contemporary Arts with these folks over to the hotel, and now the drinks are flowing as we converse under the soft noise of whirling fans.

Food is good, beer is cold, weather is warm -- despite the local idea of traffic control, not much to complain about.

More later.

Departure Day

Looks like snow is heading to New England, while latest weather reports for Lagos have the temperature hovering around 90 degrees F. Better pack shorts and t-shirt in my carry-on.

Night before Departure: 12-5-09

Gathered at The Dirty Truth in Northampton for a sendoff the night before leaving for Lagos, Nigeria.

Good friends and well-wishes and more than a few humorous comments about coming back in one piece. All in all I'm very excited about the adventure.

Packed (mostly) with meds, documents, camera gear and a boat-load of energy bars and vitamin C.

Looking forward to making the next entry after arrival in Nigeria.

-- Kevin