Nigeria at a Glance

Some random pictures for you to enjoy...

These lizards are seen all around town. Such vibrant colors!

The ring road-- a highway that circles the city. We are driving towards the stadium. (white dome seen in the background)

Waiting for business

Home Sweet Home

See...Jess really does wear pj pants around the house.

Mango season.

Can you believe the size of these things?!

During the mango season we've enjoyed mango upside down cake, mango sorbet, mango salsa, and mango smoothies. We'll be sad when the season is over.

Rasta Farming

Last weekend, we visited a sustainable farm with our friend Brian.  Rubens, the caretaker of the farm is a Congolese Rastafarian who travels throughout Africa teaching others how to farm sustainably.  He gave us a tour around the farm and then took us on a hike around the property. The paradise that he cultivated and his unique and peaceful personality made for a wonderful experience.  

Cashew fruit

Brian eating a cashew fruit.  (Rubens in the background)

Cashew nuts and the cashew fruit.  

The fruit is full of water and almost tastes like a green pepper with a sweet after-taste.  If you were to open the cashew nut without roasting it first, the cashew juices would permanently tattoo your skin.  

Palm seeds.  

Nigerians take these seeds and make palm wine

The farm's watchdogs.  

These 3 month old puppies were so friendly and followed us all around the farm.

Log harvesting.  

On our hike, we saw people chopping wood and rolling the logs down the hill.

Abuja mountains

Abuja in the background

Beyond Abuja

Last weekend, we had a four day weekend due to the Eid holiday. We have been wanting to get out of Abuja and explore a little bit, so we took full advantage of the extra days off. On Thursday, after sleeping in, we ventured out to Bwari village. Bwari is about 45 minutes outside of Abuja and what seems like a world away. Traveling to a village is an eye opening experience. Living in Abuja sometimes makes us forget that we do indeed live in a third world country. As you leave Abuja, the roads begin to deteriorate and eventually turn into dirt roads. The traffic is unbelievable due to the commute of so many service workers working in Abuja. Abuja is a very expensive place to live, so very few actually live and work in Abuja. Most Nigerians working in Abuja live at least 30 minutes outside of the city, with most living more than one hour away.

Pictures from our trip

A lady sifting through the trash. This is not an uncommon scene, even in Abuja

This must take lots of practice! The first lady is carrying a load of sticks.

A shower facility

Notice the sign and the burning trash...ironic

This is exactly why we DO NOT eat Nigerian beef!

hauling sticks

Farmers market

stacked yams

mechanic shop

You would not think that this scene is common, but it is. We see cars burned and burning ALL the time.