Mary Ann and Jim are in Nigeria!: Sunday notes

We have been in Abuja for a week or so now, though it feels like a few days. We start the morning most days around 7 - 7:30 with coffee on the back screenporch. An informal breakfast occurs around 9 - 9:30 after showers and the like, usually toast, cold cereal with yoghurt, and/or fruit. Errands and visits might take up the middle of the day, with a planned meal around 2:30 - 3 in the afternoon. A nap or some reading in the hottest part of the day from 3 - 6 PM might occur, with the news and a light snack around 7 - 8 PM to close out the day, with bedtime about 10 PM. And it goes fast!
Several things are planned for our remaining time here. Tuesday we will travel by road to Katsina via Zaria to look in on the neem tree project, described previously. We expect to arrive

Neem tree

early afternoon on Tuesday, spend the afternoon in field trips and discussion, stay overnight locally, and head home Wednesday morning, to arrive early afternoon. Thursday we plan to visit the space / satellite facility here in town, which is in place to provide ground based services for the communications and remote sensing satellites Nigeria has. The communications satellite had a failure this last winter, but it "came with a guarantee" by China, so they will be launching a replacement this fall. There are plans to add backup satellites for both units as well. The remote sensing satellite has been very useful in geological, GPS, land use, and similar work, allowing all sorts of mapping of land, rivers, temperatures, and that sort of thing, and has already exceeded its expected life. Anyway, we will visit the nuclear science gamma radiation center on Friday, where work on sterilization and medical procedures is ongoing. The last 8 years have seen the introduction of all sorts of "seed" technologies which allow and encourage all sorts of other work to begin. It is pretty amazing. It also provides reassurance to donors and investors that Nigeria is a dynamic place where there is strong opportunity for growth and improvement.
Last night, Miriam and Mary Ann were feeling sorry for me. I have had a few days of dancing digestion - just a generally unsettled feeling. So they made some wonderful fried fish with a Zatarain's coating mix supplied by Melinda Wentworth when she was here, some macaroni and cheese built by Mary Ann, and a very nice salad of cucumbers, avocado, and onion with a mild yoghurt dressing. Very nice. I think of myself as a fan of hot spicy food, but even a good thing can be overdone, and I really think that was causing some of my distress. But ...I intend to continue to challenge my system to adapt! Diseye, Ilse, and Hella joined us for dinner, where Hella showed

Diseye and Hella

a bit of uncertainty about her first taste of ice cream, and a decided preference for watermelon. It was a lot of fun, with lots of baby-watching and -passing. We had gone to the grand opening of a new local park, a beautiful place full of local flora, along a small creek, right in the middle of this

large city. It was very nice, and we were able to meet the woman, the widow of a national hero in Nigeria, who had spearheaded the construction of the park. She was a very gracious and kind lady who took a minute to talk with us, and to accept our compliments on the result. It was put together in cooperation with the Nigerian Palm Society, and contains 365 different species of palm, "one for each day of the year". It also includes an extensive nursery, providing stock for people to buy for replanting at home. We've got lots of pictures, which I will try to include.

And Mary Ann on the back deck of the Abuja house, and a few views of the city from the hill where the house is located -