I’m back home in Saratoga Springs. It’s great to be home but equally bittersweet
as this unique one month experience with 14 fellow IBMers who are now friends
is over.
To recap the last few days, following the presentation of our projects to the governor
of Ekiti state and others on Wednesday, several government officials hosted a
farewell dinner for us that evening. The evening was complete
with the typical formal ceremony we grew accustomed to, an excellent African
band, and a Nigerian dinner. On Thursday
we made the 5 hour drive from Ado Ekiti to Lagos and visited a local market for
souvenirs. That evening the IBM Country
General Manager of Nigeria and one of his staff took 5 of us out on the
town. We visited a place called Freedom
Park, had a couple drinks there, and then went to a local club. It was a long but fulfilling last night in
Nigeria. Friday we visited the IBM Lagos
office, met with the local employees, and packed our bags for the journey home.
Some things I took away overall about life and work in Nigeria:
Some things I took away overall about life and work in Nigeria:
-
First
and foremost, the quality of the local people was amazing. All of us were impressed by those we
interacted with and the level of hospitality we received.
-
Our
work projects were for the most part successes if judged by client
satisfaction. Of course the true measure
won’t come until later down the road.
-
The
common morning greeting was “How was your night?” We all smiled when we heard it.
-
I
never got used to the extra hard mattress in the hotel we stayed at. Turns out hard mattresses are common there,
but they are not for me.
-
I
slept under a mosquito net in the hotel every night but not sure it was
needed. Really didn’t even see any
mosquitoes, which was a pleasant surprise.
-
We
had security everywhere we went. Lots of
guns around. It was precautionary, we
felt safe and would have preferred more freedom to roam about at will but it
didn’t work out that way.
-
Power
outages are incredibly common and frequent.
You get used to them even though they can be annoying.
- I couldn’t stop perspiring! The very hot and humid weather makes it
difficult to stay cool.
-
It
was fun to sample Nigerian food but the variety is limited. I won’t eat eggs, chicken, chips (French
fries), or rice for a very long time.
Speaking of food, one of our favorite expressions towards the end of the
assignment was “Go pound a yam!”
-
On
one of the trips I got a Nigerian name.
It is Ehindero – which means “the end is good”.
- The fact that Nigeria is not a
tourist destination made the trip that much more authentic and unique for
me. So much of what we experienced was
new and unexpected.
-
Did I say the people we met were
amazing?
In conclusion, I reference a blog post by a teammate, Rodney Cornelius, who
eloquently represents the feelings of so many of us who got to participate in
this special experience. http://www.rodneycornelius.com/blog/?p=1401
The IBM
Corporate Service Corps is an extraordinary program and I am grateful to have
had the opportunity to participate. Thanks for reading!
Nigeria #ibmcsc
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