Travel and Social Enterprise- two topics where my mind goes when it’s free to roam. Always looking for a new land to explore and thinking of ways to make our world a little bit better, I love the moments when those two joys collide, just as they did a couple summers ago when I had the opportunity to live and work in Lagos, Nigeria.

For the next few weeks I will post recollections and thoughts from this experience, covering different aspects of my summer. Just as this is the introduction to the series, I will begin with my introduction to Lagos.

It was a hot May night when I landed in Lagos. I recall getting off the plane, and going through the visa line only to have some bloke ahead of me step on a discarded packet of hot-sauce. So much for trying to look semi-decent to my employer. I then waited…. and waited…. and waited at the baggage claim, fearing that I would end up setting a new personal record for consecutive days of not changing my clothes. But alas, the bag came.

Soon after, I saw a man holding a card, with my name on it. He walked me outside where I hopped into a car and headed into the night.

As the hot summer air blew on my face, the realization that this was going to be home for the next ten weeks began to sink in. I reflected on how I ended up in Lagos by accepting an internship with The FATE Foundation, an organization that seeks to promote economic development within Nigeria by creating and assisting Nigerian entrepreneurs. That summer there were five of us, (myself, three from Boston and another from New York) each assigned to a young Nigerian company, working to help them grow their business.

As we rode on, the jetlag began to set in. Thoughts of the weeks ahead quickly transitioned to empty minded thoughts of sleep. Upon arriving at the apartment I exchanged pleasantries with Jen and Claire (two people who will play a much more prominent role in the story as it plays out) before quickly passing out.

I don’t recall what I dreamt about that night, but chances are it was much more mild than what the next ten weeks had in store.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 6:36 PM and is filed under Africa, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.