At 2 p.m. I realize that I must get back to the conference in Ile-Ife before traffic gridlock sets in. I got out of the city no problem. I was told that the ride to Ile-Ife should take no more than 2.5 hours, but it took 4 hours. I guess this can happen on the way home from the Hamptons any summer weekend too. However, everyone is driving in the proper lanes on the LIE, and no one is selling Christmas lights to people in cars at a standstill in traffic. It’s still beyond me why they sell Christmas lights when the power is out a majority of the time.
It was during this ride that I received a text from Gbenga with the news that one of the volunteers from the conference had died in a traffic accident on the same road I am travelling. It was a terribly tragic event that took Gbenga away from the rest of the conference. I quickly reviewed the advice I received at lunch that if we get into an accident I should run away so that I don’t get arrested or shaken down for a massive bribe. Fortunately we made it back to Ile-Ife unscathed and with all of my on-hand bribe cash still in my pockets.
I checked back into the Camaroon. Still no internet, but at least they gave me soap this time. I have dinner with Pinka who is a screen writer doing a movie about the life of TV writers, sounding much like “30 Rock” which she had never heard of before. The lights are going off every 20 to 30 minutes, but I am getting good at not paying attention to it anymore and remaining engrossed in the dinner conversation. Tonight they give me my kids’ favorite meal, pasta with butter, a plain dish that I welcomed whole-heartedly. I gave away the fish that accompanied it. We talked a lot about the American presidential elections. Many people I met watched the debates and were interested to hear what party I lean toward.
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