Trip to Abuja

Last week we headed down to Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, to meet with some people as well as to have fun. Abuja is a unique city, especially in Africa, because it started out as a planned city. A couple decades ago they decided to move the capital to Abuja from Lagos, so they planned it and built and are still building it according to a plan. We had a great time, enjoyed the sights and pretended to be tourists for a couple days.


We had dinner with some friends who are a UK/Nigerian couple. We met and hung out with them when we first arrived, and we had such a great time from the moment we met! We went over to their house the night we arrived and the wife was making Nigerian food. This was me trying my hand at pounding the yam to go with our soup. First she boiled the yam (it's different from American type of yam, but essentially it's a big tuber) and then she took that big stick and began beating it. The pounding mixes and softens the yam to where it becomes the consistency of mashed potatoes. She is quite good at it, but I still have a long way to go!


We visited the Arts and Crafts Village to look at local art, clothes and crafts. This area is where the artists are located. Each hut has a different artist selling their work. I bought a cute little picture, and we will definitely be visiting again to buy some more paintings. These huts are built like some traditional huts that you see in the countryside here. In the background you see a large brand new building. That's a beautiful mall, so in this picture you see the reality of life here. The traditional contrasting with the modern.


We hung out at the mall a little bit. We checked the movie theater schedule, browsed a bookstore and watched people bowling. Even when we were here seven years ago, we never dreamed we would do those things here. Abuja is really changing and new things are popping up everywhere.

On Friday evening we joined up with some new friends to hang out at an outdoor restaurant. Uche was super excited to go there because they're known for their grilled fish. Not being a fish person, I had eaten a burger (my first burger since we came) at another place. Uche also ordered this dish, it's a stew like dish made of goat head. Yes, you read that correctly, goat head. Uche would pull out pieces and identify the piece he was eating, such as an ear or the tongue. Needless to say, I didn't even get close to it!! He said it was delicious, and I guess I'll just take his word for it, cause I don't plan on ever trying it!

During dinner this guy came by to show off his skills. We were impressed! I kept telling Uche not to use the flash on the camera cause he might cause the guy to drop everything, but the guy was a pro and performed his juggling/balancing tricks without incidence!