On the Road Again

After two short flights and two long ones, I was in northern Nigeria. You would think that during my seventeen hours in the air I would have watched at least one decent movie. My transfers in Calgary and Amsterdam were short, which was good because both cities looked to be really cold. The amount of carry-on luggage that people lugged on to the flight from Europe to Africa was almost as impressive as how much checked luggage was unloaded at the other end. My flight to Abuja arrived in the evening, but I still had enough time for a couple of beers with some new MSF colleagues and for a few hours sleep before catching the next morning’s flight to Sokoto.

When my flight landed in Abuja I was surprised that quite a few people had applauded. You could tell that they were happy to be home for the holidays. In contrast, the next day when I arrived at the Sultan Saddik Abubakar International Airport in Sokoto there was no cheering. It was probably for the same reason. After the tractor deposited our luggage at the terminal I quickly connected with the MSF driver (it wasn’t difficult as I was the only white person there) and we made our way to the office. At that point my one journey had come to an end while another had just begun.

Nigeria is a new country for me, this is my fourth mission with MSF and I find that there are many comforting similarities between the postings that make it relatively easy to adapt. As I’ve settled in at the office I’ve had a real feeling of déjà vu as there were many familiar sites, such as the white MSF-emblem vehicles parked outside, the determined rumbling of the over-matched air-conditioners, the disheveled Finance Coordinator’s office, and the fact that the national staff tend to dress better than the expats. I have very quickly come to feel at home.