A study in contrasts, with photos.

OK, so I am more than a bit tipsy from the two (big, like Rogue big) bottles of Star beer – yes, there is Nigerian beer, and I have peeled off the label to prove it!

Tonight has been a real treat. We split into small groups and had dinner with families in a village outside Abuja. A compound overtaken by the government when they moved the capital from Lagos to Abuja; now they want to sell, but of course they don’t pay their civil servants (current or retired) enough to buy. No electricity except at odd hours. We had the loveliest family; I want to bring daughter Lilian, 26, home with me. We had foo-foo for the first time; unluckily for them, the group’s two vegetarians were in their home, and of course they used meat just for us. All the young people —a family of seven children – are looking for jobs, but there are none to be had. Intensely rewarding, but intensely sad.





Then we came back to our fancy hotel and drank until they closed down the bar.

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Last night and this morning I was feeling so run down and out of my element. Today has been invigorating by comparison. The answer is part climbing back on the Diet Coke wagon, part having a more interactive day.

Early in the morning we drove out to a Catholic clinic near Abuja that provides prenatal care, delivery and general medical care after birth. They also offer HIV testing and treatment (except for condoms) and general medical care. While everyone else was following the tour around, I was able to sit and talk with a mom and her tiny 8-month-old, who had a fever.





Then a quick stop at a rural market, where we happened on a voter registration drive for the April presidential election; getting the registration materials out to voters has been a major issue, so it was good to see it actually in action.





A group of police officers wouldn’t let me take their picture unless I posed with them.



Then our formal press conference with President Obasanjo. It was disconcerting to be on the other side of the media lens; our being there was covered by several television stations and newspapers. And we got our first “swag” – a bag with a polo shirt, coffee mug, ball cap all featuring Nigeria’s outline. What are our ethics rules, again?

Followed by a session with the evangelistic head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, a newly formed agency charged with curtailing the ubiquitous Nigerian corruption. (The stereotype exists for good reason.) If I understand it right, the FBI first alerted them to Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the one who allegedly gave the $90,000 to Jefferson to stash in his freezer. He faces a variety of criminal charges but hasn’t yet been charged; if he happens to win in the April presidential elections, he may be immune from prosecution.

The most difficult thing about covering speakers is the difficulty in translating Nigerian English to American English. They speak quite quickly, in accents influenced by their own history as well as British colonialism … thick and lispy at times, gutteral from the back of the throat at others.

Tomorrow a meeting with Shell Oil representatives – believe me, the questions are already prepared; a visit to the big market; and coveted free time. After that, an overnight trip north to Kaduna and Kano. May not post for a few days. We’ve heard there’s a general travel advisory for Nigeria, but Dad, please don’t worry – we are completely safe and learning so much.

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On my colleagues: Reading everyone’s full bios shortly before we met, I was even more intimidated than when I saw the initial list and their associated news outlets. They all (well, most all) speak several languages, have lived in several countries, have worked with the big boys. I have much to learn from them, and I’m trying not to let intimidation get in the way.

On the other hand I’m not as odd a duck in this group (professionally speaking) as I’d feared. Sadly, that’s because so many “big” papers are cutting back or closing down their foreign news bureaus. Tuesday evening, just after we’d arrived, Roy Greene learned the Boston Globe had decided to cut all of its foreign bureaus. What does that mean for his job as deputy foreign editor?

Most everyone’s completely human, friendly and funny and laid-back. The same gossip and tales and connections we all have, just on such a global scale.

Ron Dzwonokowski, editorial page editor for the Detroit Free Press, was on the same trip to China that Gordon Winters was part of a few years ago. He also shared a fairly unbelievable story about an area county treasurer losing the county’s entire finances in a Nigerian scam.

Roy, from the Globe, used to date London Bridge from our own illustrious J school; he had fond memories of meeting Bud Pagel and visiting Duffy’s Tavern. He also, a decade or so back, worked for the Cambodia Daily, the same English-language paper in Phnom Penh where I was offered a job two years ago and decided to go to New Hampshire instead. (What would my life be now if I’d taken that direction instead?)

June Thomas, foreign editor for Slate, started out as the managing editor (and lone employee) for off our backs, a lesbian/feminist/guerilla newsmonthly collective that certainly helped inform/inspire the Woman’s Journal Advocate I helped edit and paste up way, way back in the day. Very cool.

Didrik Schanche, a foreign desk editor at NPR, is full of such good gossip about names we all recognize. "Didi" started her career as an assistant to Georgie Anne Geyer, whose memoirs I just read. Interesting to hear her gossip about “GeeGee,” and even more so to hear tales of all the big NPR personalities. Who’s not too bright, who’s on the way out, who’s sleeping with whom etc. etc. No, I'm sure they’re all too old at this point; nobody’s sleeping with anybody.

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Newspaper news:
Did we already know this? I read in Monday’s New York Times (“Using the newsroom to represent honesty,” Business, 5C, Jan. 22, 2006) that the World Herald newsroom is the stage for a Plavix ad featuring a fictional newspaper editor.

Actual local newspaper motto:
“The truth is a burden.” – the Daily Truth

Fictional newspaper mottos:

“We don’t make money, but we save it.” – Detroit Free Press

“The joyless pursuit of excellence.” – Boston Glob

Quote of the day (from Monday’s New York Times:)
“The biggest problem is razor burn.” – Stormy Daniels, porn actress/writer/director, on how HDTV’s crystal clear picture is affecting her industry.

Program note:
Check out www.theworld.org for new world tunes; at the end of each news or feature story from around the globe, they promote music from the related country. Carol Hills, one of my favorite travelmates, is a produce for The World.

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PS: Miz K, I am LOVING the Marie Antoinette soundtrack! It wakes me up in the mornings …

PPS: No, I haven’t fallen – yet. Apparently it was Kari’s turn today, in front of all the Nigerian media, ironically over their own power cords. I have, however, tripped, and hope that’s close enough.

Speaking of falls, in the market this morning one entrepreneur was desperate to sell me his lone, long blonde fall (hairpiece). He’s probably been waiting for me his whole life. Should’ve just bought it …