What did I learn in Nigeria?

Right before I left a good friend asked me this question and I was not in a good place to answer, too much Gulder. But it is a good question and deserves an answer. So:

• I like Pepper Soup, it comes in a variety of versions and heat levels (from mildly hot to Oh! Damn!!!). I sampled several, enjoyed them all.
• I like Stew, usually red and hot with fish or mutton.
• I don't like Mellon Soup.
• I am not fond of Garri, it isn't bad, but it isn't good either. It reminds me of poi, if you are born into it you probably love it. I also never mastered the "roll it into a ball and dip it" technique. I stuck to rice.
• Nigerians are the friendliest people I have ever met. They make Seattlites seem down right withdrawn.
• The US is a very wonderful place to live.
• Liability lawyers do more harm than good.
• When you buy a gallon of gasoline you before you complain about the cost you need to think about how much it cost the people of the country who sold it to us.
• There are a lot of good people in the world, even if they are a small percentage of the population.
  

Leaving Nigeria

Well, for now, I am out of Nigeria. I have a few more poss to write different ideas and thoughs about my experience. To be honest, from my perspective I never made it to "Oyibo" because no matter how hot the sun got I was still fresh fish. But I did learn a lot, and I will try and summarize that soon.

Coming Home!

I come home for leave in 10 days. In many ways I am settling into the life and the work here, but being away from family and home is still hard. Thing is it is hard for all the expats, this is not an easy life, as my boss put it "You have to be crazy to be here."

I am learning a lot by being here, about Nigeria, about the world, about the US, and about myself. As the ideas come together I will try and put them here, for now it is just an expanded sense of perspective. It isn't just the travel, I have always believed travel can give you a wider view of the world, but what I am gaining is coming from working side by side with Nigerians everyday, beginning to learn how they see the world. That is a different thing altogether.

Sunshine

Well there is no two ways about it, Nigerian sunshine in the dry season is brutal, simply brutal. With no protection from overcast, etc. you are in the direct heat of the sun from 6AM to 6PM. We used to brag about being able to cook an egg in the sunshine in Phoenix, here you could roast a pig. Damn.

Time for some random photos

It has been awhile since I posted, work has been a bit hectic and the days here have a way of blending into each other. So to provide some entertainment I though I would post some random pictures:

This is a local gas station. Now Nigeria has more conventional style gas stations, but they are kind of far between and rarely actually have fuel. So most locals buy their fuel from the black market.



This is the company store, well actually half the company store. The selection is a bit... limited. I planned on including some pics of the store I prefer, just outside the camp gate, but the ladies inside did not want their picture taken unless they had a chance to dress for the occasion, so that will have to come later.



This is a local village directly across the harbor from the Federal Lighter Terminal here in Onne. I am hoping that the current security situation resolves its self and I can visit places like this. A few of my staff have expressed an interest in inviting me to their homes, but we all know it can not happen right now. Shame.





This is the local video store, conveniently located right outside the gate to my office. Wide selection, low prices (500 Niara per disc, or about $3.25), and a friendly exchange policy. Honestly the Nigerian entrepreneurial spirit is something to see, there are hawkers beside the road and damn near anything can be turned into a small shop.



And this is the deli across the street.



The next picture is a bit sobering. This is a gas flare, it burns 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To give it some scale, it is almost five miles away from where I took the picture. The energy wasted could provide power for all of Onne. Sad.



And finally here is a job hazard I haven't had to really deal with before:



Random herds of domestic livestock just kind of wandering around, often they have a herder or two, usually preteen boys, but not always. They just go where they please and everyone accepts it.

I will work on making more frequent updates, including more pictures.

Going off the reservation

Got the chance today to see some of Onne Village. It is a much different place than what you see from the road, wish I could just take a walk thru it. Yes, it is still a third world country, but you getthe sense of good people working hard to improve their lives.

Back to Nigeria

Well, now that I have been back here for two weeks I guess I should talk about it. Getting on the plane is hard, very hard. I like my work, have made some good friends, and the living conditions are fine. Thing is my family is the most important thing in my life and being separated from them is unpleasant at best. But enough whining.

The trip back and forth is long. Door to door Onne to Seattle was 27 hours, the trip back was 24. But it is easy travel. The food is decent, the drinks are free, and on the long leg from Seattle to Paris there is a selection of entertainment. One note, if you make a connection thru Paris don't plan on picking up a snack in the airport without spending serious change. A package sandwich and two beers cost me $40. Crazy.

Thanks to the contributions from my wonderful inlaws, Bob and company at Kuker-Ranken, and of course my wonderful wife Carol, I was able to bring back a bunch of survey field tools and supplies for the crews. It was a lot of small things, plumb bobs with gammon reels, Write-in-Rain-Notebooks, and such. Thing is it made a huge improvement in the moral of the crews. Their work here is hard. By American standards they are totally unequipped and receive minimal support. It is a situation I hope to improve. Change will not be easy, equipment is hugely expensive and technical support almost non-existent. But hell, good work is often hard.