The “real” African experience

I definitely got spoiled by being in the well-planned Abuja with its nice roads with little traffic, nice restaurants, and relatively low population density for my first week in Nigeria. My second week was definitely more “African” than the first. The agenda for the week was to visit several state offices of the project that we are evaluating and meet with the data entry teams. Unlike the Kaduna office last week, that was air-conditioned and well-furnished, the offices that we have gone to on Monday and Tuesday were without A/C (and it is 90F outside), with little furniture, and one didn’t even have an available electrical outlet. The drive to Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa state, our Tuesday destination, was long and typically African: two-lane road, with lots of bumps, potholes, and broken-down trucks, passing through numerous crowded market centers with people coming up to your car trying to sell stuff, creating traffic jams…and the office driver driving like a maniac. Lafia is basically an upgraded village with a million of street vendors lining the main road and trash everywhere (even our driver, who is from Nasarawa, lamented the surroundings). People were speaking only Hausa (local language) so I was lucky that the driver could get us to the right place.
Our trip to Lagos, the former capital, was also adventurous. The domestic terminal in Abuja is quite a zoo: lots of people; one gate for all departures; no ID shown at any point; water and other liquids can be brought in; you walk to the airplane and on the way identify your luggage, then get patted down before entering the plane; and the best part…the seating is not assigned! It’s like taking a bus in Bolivia---you just pick a seat. The flight was over an hour late, but they did give us a snack, a drink, and a mint (take that, US-based airlines). Lagos is so unlike the Abuja---some of the worst roads I’ve ever seen, tons of traffic (think Bangalore), and generally dilapidated surroundings. The work, as always, keeps it exciting and energizing. Oh, and I got to try panded yam with goat stew, some of the spiciest stuff ever---I ate about a third of it though not to offend the hosts, while my tongue was going numb:)