You know you live in a crazy place when events like this take place…

Marion is washing the morning dishes at the kitchen sink where she has a view of the road surrounding our compound. This view always provides some sort of entertainment and this morning was non other then “a parade, Mommy come quick, there is a parade!” I rushed to see the instigator of her happy cries. Sure enough a procession was in action with drums and trumpets and people dressed in matching yellow vests, chanting some rant. It took a few rounds of the compound for me to understand what was really happening...no parade my dear, somebody at our company is on strike! Of course they barricaded our compound! And the only people who made it into the office were the workers who live on this compound, as there is an entrance from the inside walls!

Now I would have expected a call from my dear husband informing me that we are on lock down, but no such call came! I am sure his morning went something like this...

Roger arrives at work and no body but a couple expats were in the office. Roger is delighted with the quiet and wonders if the rapture happened and he was left behind to finish up his work...Roger silently thanks God for his understanding of deadlines and promptly gets to work. Giddy with joy at the silence and no interruptions, in his happiness he forgets to call me and fill me in on the excitement.

I have some good friends who know me and know Roger and guessed I would have no idea of what was going on (predicting that Roger was jigging a happy dance in his office). I am now informed that this should last a few days and that it is just a grand show to demand some extra somth’en-somth’en!

I would love to take a picture but am rearing on the safe/avoid conflict side. I am wishing for the blasted ‘parade’ to turn the volume down or better...off!

I also think I need to take my daughter to a real parade so she will never confuse a Nigerian strike for a parade again!