Monday, March 29, 2010

The Real African Experience.

My 12-day in Africa was definitely the most extraordinary travel experience I've ever had. I traveled mainly in 3 major cities in Nigeria - Lagos, Abuja and Kano, three very different flavor of Nigeria. The idea of this first African trip for me is not to see the monuments as a tourist, but to experience the authentic Africa, see where the local people live, work and play. It was an eye-opening journey, full of curiosity, excitement, surprising and sorrow. During this visit, I have visited several youth educational institutes, small hospitals, massive slums and an UN Millennium village. I gave lectures at two national universities and also had quite a few conversations with local artists.

I especially would like to thank Jonathan Fanton, the President Emeritus of MacArthur Foundation; and Kole, the head of MacArthur Foundation office in Nigeria for giving me this amazing opportunity to visit Africa and for arranging such a meaningful trip for me.

Below are some of the photos I took in my trip.










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