One day I'm running a 5 mile turkey trot in 20 degree temps through the snow. 24 hours later, I walk into a Nigerian wall of 90 degree temps with 80% humidity. I'm not sure the human body was meant for such transitions. Since I did not take a camera on this quick, sit-in-meetings trip, words will have to suffice.
Departing the airport defied logic. It was hot, the immigration line made no sense, the driver appeared at immigration, disappeared and then finally reappeared outside customs, and customs waived us through without taking our forms. I had met two consultants in line for immigration who were going to the same campus, which was nice considering the confusion. In addition, our car was called back to the airport so we could switch to a larger vehicle to go pick up several people at the Lagos guesthouse who had been forgotten all day. The plus side was an unexpected trip through the city.
I am spending the first three days on the research campus of one of our partner centers. They have sub-centers in several other countries but are headquartered in Ibadan. It is a huge, beautiful, serene campus, except for the air raid siren that announces work breaks throughout the day. This morning I managed a run which took me through a tree lined residential street, down to the lake and back through the experimental cassava fields. It was a bit sweaty and buggy.
Needless to say, impressions of Nigeria will be limited to the airport, the 2 hour drives between Lagos and Ibadan and to the campus. Though, as our meeting runs an hour behind, as one of the consultants said: in Nigeria, everything happens in its own time.
Departing the airport defied logic. It was hot, the immigration line made no sense, the driver appeared at immigration, disappeared and then finally reappeared outside customs, and customs waived us through without taking our forms. I had met two consultants in line for immigration who were going to the same campus, which was nice considering the confusion. In addition, our car was called back to the airport so we could switch to a larger vehicle to go pick up several people at the Lagos guesthouse who had been forgotten all day. The plus side was an unexpected trip through the city.
I am spending the first three days on the research campus of one of our partner centers. They have sub-centers in several other countries but are headquartered in Ibadan. It is a huge, beautiful, serene campus, except for the air raid siren that announces work breaks throughout the day. This morning I managed a run which took me through a tree lined residential street, down to the lake and back through the experimental cassava fields. It was a bit sweaty and buggy.
Needless to say, impressions of Nigeria will be limited to the airport, the 2 hour drives between Lagos and Ibadan and to the campus. Though, as our meeting runs an hour behind, as one of the consultants said: in Nigeria, everything happens in its own time.
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