Less than 3 days to go...

Well, I have my ticket and visa in hand (after three visits to the Nigerian consulate, one of which involved a hilarious group trip to an internet cafe with several Nigerians applying for passports, to fill out a Byzantine maze of online forms....), I'm mostly packed, and am getting myself mentally ready for nearly three months in northern Nigeria. Very happily, it seems I have a place to stay in Kaduna, the main place I'll be based this trip, with an ethnusiastic sociology Ph.D. student at ABU named Kwase. She seems very smart and serious - she's offered me a significant rent-reduction if I bring her books on research design for her thesis. I can't wait to meet her and get settled in Kaduna.

This is my first blog, so I haven't quite figured out what sorts of things to post here, but my plan is to check in every few days with research and general travel adventure stories from the field. If my last visit to Nigeria (for two months in summer 2006) is any indication, there should be plenty to share.