2010-02-28: A fun filled day. Holi, Calabar Tour and Welcome Dinner

Day 3

28th February, 2010

It was a fun filled and exciting day. Some of us went to the Sunday Church gathering this morning. It was impressive to see so many people at Church dancing with so much energy, passion and enthusiasm.

We also celebrated Holi today. I had got colors from India and applied it on the face of my CSC colleagues. I must admit they really enjoyed it and also savoured Kaju Barfi (Indian Sweet).




Holi was followed by tour of Calabar. Calabar is also referred to as "Come And Live And Be At Rest".

Our tour started with Drill Rehab & Breeding Centre. The centre has been setup Peter Jenkins & Liza Gadsby. 22 years back they were on a 10 day Transit Visa to Nigeria and one thing led to another and they stayed to save the endangered Drill Monkey.




We also went to see the Slave Mueseum. It was so moving to hear the story of Slavery by our Tour Guide. There were moments when you are forced to think how can one human treat other human being like this. But I guess, history teaches us a lot of things.

Greg, my CSC partner, finally made it to Calabar this evening. We all went to Ann's place for our Welcome Dinner. Ann had set up a fantastic arrangement and she was so considerate to cook some vegetarian rice and salads for me. We also met our CSC Partners at the Dinner.

Its almost midnight and we finally made it back to Hotel.

Tomorrow is an important day. After 2 days of fun I had almost forgotten that we are here on an assignment. We have to head to Office at 8.15 in the morning. I am so excited but tired. Time to hit the bed.

2010-02-27: The day of the African Night

Day 2

February 27th, 2010 from Calabar

The day started with the Medical and Security Briefing followed by a pictorial presentation of one's career. It was impressive to see, how creative all the people were their presentation. It gave us a good opportunity to know more about each other. We got our cellphones and recharge coupons. Since Friday was a national holiday the banks were closed on Saturday as well. Thus, we could not get our per-diem but Ann Oden was kind to get some money withdrawn from ATM and we got our first installment of Nigerian Naira.

Later we went to Calabar Women and Children's Hospital for our medical registration. Although it was a women and children's hospital the doctor assured us that they will be taking good of care of men as well. :-)

We also went to a supermarket where we got a chance to spend some of our Naira that we got earlier.

In the evening we were taken to African Night, where we got a taste of African Music, Dance, Humor and Food. It was difficult to find something vegetarian among many snails, fish, goat and what not. But I did manage to get some rice with vegetables and I must admit it was not bad. All in all it was a fantastic evening.

The internet connection at hotel is very slow and I am barely able to log on. Hope it will be much better when we go to our Office on Monday. Meanwhile, I am still waiting for my partner Greg to join us. Greg, Kevin and Drew were stuck in US because of bad weather condition. Although, Drew made it to Calabar his luggage did not arrive. I know how it feels as I had the same experience only 15 days back while coming back from Switzerland.

Greg and myself will be working together for Investment Promotion Bureau and Micro Finance and Enterprise Development Agency.

2010-02-26: My first post from Calabar

Day 1

February 26th, 2010 from Calabar

I have a great feeling writing this post from Calabar, Nigeria. This is the first time I set foot on the Dark Continent, Africa. My flight from Kolkata started at 8 and I reached Dubai around 12.30 in the midnight. The view of Dubai at night from the plane was breathtaking. I also got a glimpse of Burj-al-Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. As the connecting flight to Lagos was at 7.30 in the morning, CDS was kind enough to book me a hotel at Dubai Airport International Hotel. Its a fantastic hotel situated right at the Arrival Level in Terminal. It was impressive to see the Dubai Airport so busy even at midnight. There were hordes of people shopping at Duty Free shops.

After a good sleep at Night, met Jamie and Evelyn at the Boarding Gate. We were on the same flight to Lagos. Fromt the top, Lagos looked like densely populated and crowded city. In Lagos, we were greeted with a wave of hot African heat. Kei and Patricia joined us on the flight to Calabar. The weather at Calabar was good with slightly overcast cloud. Much relief from the strong heat of Lagos.

We met our CDS representatives Sara, Jane and Ann at Calabar. On a first glance Calabar seems a very green and not-so-crowded city. Its the capital city of Cross River State and we will be based here for a month working on different projects for Govt. of Cross River. Met the remaining team-mates at Axari Hotel who arrived later through Abuja. The day ended with a team-dinner and a nice chat with my team-mates at the pool side. Surprisingly, there were no mosquitoes even though we were sitting outside. The hotel room is decent with a mosquito-net on the bed. After a long journey of more than 25 hours its time to crash on bed..

2010-02-24: All my Bags are packed and I am ready to Go..

What started a few months back as a dream with my application for the CSC assignment, is coming to reality in a day's time. I am all set to be on the flight tomorrow evening to Nigeria. (Read my previous post on IBM Corporate Service Corps here..)

Sitting in my Office at 6 PM, its almost time to sign off for the day. The final few minutes gives me the chance to reflect back on the past few days and deliberate on the coming 4 weeks in Calabar.

The past few days have been very hectic for me.I came back to India after completing my 2 years assignment at Switzerland. I just had a week and a half before the assignment to Nigeria. In between I had to meet my family, wrap things in Office and packup for the time ahead. The last minute preps are keeping me on tenterhooks and making me both a bit nervous and excited. In 2 days time, I will get an opportunity to meet my team-mates. We are a team of 15 highly motivated IBMers from 11 different countries. For the past 3 months, we have been speaking regularly every Tuesday as part of our Pre-Assignment Preparations. Although, during this time we only talked over phone, discussed various issues on Forums, connected on Facebook, we still feel connected and part of the small "Nigeria 3" Family. Yes, this is the name that has been given to our Group. (There were two teams to Nigeria before).

We got a lot of help from different corners during the Pre-Assignment and I will like to specially thank Kevin our CSC Program Manager and Jenni our Alumni Mentor. They have been guiding us for the work ahead and kept us busy with different activities. Time simply flew and here we are all set to fly....

On a signing note, I would like to say, "All my bags are packed and I am ready to go....."

Keep watching this space for more..