the expat bubble

It’s been three weeks and I feel at home, mostly thanks to the wonderful expat community of Abuja.

It’s been intriguing to get to know people from so varied backgrounds. On Tuesday I went running with the director of UN’s development programme, yesterday had a beer with a British telecom consultant & American AIDS expert, tomorrow going to the swimming pool of the central bank director’s adviser and in the evening to the birthday party of a project officer of the Dutch Embassy. The expat community is a fascinating cut-through of a society, and after the five years at TKK, I couldn’t enjoy it more.

Before coming, I was thinking I would really want to immerse into the Nigerian society. And the more I was shocked during the first week to meet so many people who had arranged their life in Abuja to resemble their life back home as much as possible, and with the least possible interaction with the Nigerian reality. The Germans are probably  the worst, with their own self-sufficient, guarded and fenced neighbourhood.

During the second and the third week I’ve learned that it’s really quite challenging to make Nigerian friends. The problem is that the Nigerians I meet casually either ask me to marry them, or at least to arrange a visa to Finland. So far I did not fall in love at first sight!

Fortunately I had a bit better experience last weekend. I went to the Gurara falls with these three great Nigerian girls who’ve studied here and who now work here. I was happy to hear their views to the Nigerian society and just have a normal chat. The expats just love sharing their experiences on Nigeria (mostly on the annoyances), but I’d rather hear it from the Nigerians.

So life’s good over here!

the perfect Sunday

Day trip to the Gurara falls

my new work

There is one thing that I find very fascinating about my work: during the day I get some twenty to thirty emails containing updates or reports on just about anything related to foreign affairs. During the idle moments of the day, I’ve been skimming through the flash appeal for Haiti, meeting memos from UN working groups, world status briefings for our ministers, the formal appeals for Finnish support in some political positions, and of course the post-COP15 updates. I feel like watching a play from the backstage.

My real work at the embassy is more related to economics and in practise, promoting trade. The Finnish Minister for trade and development is coming over in Mid-March, and that will keep me busy. Besides the arrangements for him and the business delegation, I will need to master the relevant Nigerian industries. On Monday I started with the telecommunications. Focusing so much on the economics is a new world for me, too, so I’m happy for the experience.

My work day ends at 4.15pm and then I’m free to do whatever I wish.

40 steps from my desk

urban city life

I’ve lived almost all of my life in Espoo. People from other cities like to tell me that it’s not a real city but just a suburb. Well, they should see Abuja.

And what’s worse, there’s no Helsinki.

Abuja is a grand, planned city in the middle of the country and in the middle of nothing. It extends over huge land area, but there is no center. Just impressive government buildings, wide highways, empty plots, and the suburb neighbourhoods. A car is needed for everything. The local ring road is under construction to cover 8 lanes.

Asokoro, the street to my work

I couldn’t imagine another capital city where the expat community produces an information bulletin listing ice cream bars, cafes and bookstores just because there’s so few of them and they are so spread out that otherwise you’d probably never come across them!

However, there’s one good side to Abuja that covers it all: it’s safe. On my first night I went out with three other girls, and there was absolutely no problem with taking taxis from the street and returning late. I was astonished – I was comparing to Kenya, where this couldn’t be done even in the smaller cities.

Another double-edged sword about this city is its quality of life. Like my colleague said, Asokoro (the fancy neighbourhood where the embassy is located) looks just like Beverly Hills when the sun sets. One could so easily forget about the real Nigerians. Of which 70% live in absolute poverty. It bothers me.

ps. thank you all dear people for the awesome comments! about the hair style.. i’ll have to work on that!

hello Nigeria

If you ever fly Europe to sub-Saharan Africa, you should take the day flight. The desert is amazingly beautiful!

Besides admiring the infinitely different sand formations, I was shocked by the desert’s vastness. Sahara occupies a huge area on the map, but being able to start and finish a movie while flying over somehow gave me the frame of reference.

One hour before landing to Abuja Lufthansa decided to change the flight route. Thanks to EU regulations on total flight hours and the 2-hour wait for de-icying of the wings at Frankfurt, I got an extra visit in Malabo. Never been on a plane before without knowing in which country I’m travelling to!

I finally landed some five hours late, was picked up by the friendly staff of the embassy, and got to the embassador’s residence. Surrounded by Marimekko, Isku, and other Finnish design brands, I felt instantly cosy in this funny way – everything was too familiar for my African expectations!

During the night, with the help of the notoriuos malaria medicine Lariam, I was introduced to the special hair style I would have to have while working for the embassy. The next day I was happy to learn that the atmosphere at the embassy is very relaxed and informal.

So all is well in Nigeria!