Carl Zdolsek

After six odd hours the plane from Europe finally hit the runway. The vegetation outside the window lining the runway was lush and green. As the doors to the airplane swung open a wall of humidity and the smell of the tropics hit me. I had just arrived to Lagos, Nigeria. After the normal customs formalities we ventured into the African dusk on our way to the prearranged bus transport into the city. As the bus made its way through the dense traffic, the frenzy and activity of people heading home after a full day at work was discernible. Although it was difficult to see you could sense that this was one of the biggest cities on the African continent and the financial hub of Nigeria. When we passed through the gates and made our way into the main entrance of the hotel my eyes were sore. No doubt the result of a long journey topped off with the fumes of the traffic on the way in.

After a mishap with the reservation, spirits were lifted as I finally received the electronic key to my room. Together with a number of hotel guests I entered into the elevator and pressed the button to my floor. The door closed and we were on our way. As I was getting closer to my floor and preparing to get off everything suddenly went pitch black and the elevator stopped. What now? Was this it? Was this where it was going to end, in an elevator somewhere on the upper floors of a hotel in Nigeria? The conversations in the elevator however, continued as if nothing had happened. Just as suddenly as the elevator had stopped and the lights had gone out they came back on again and we started moving. Thus, it turned out that this was not where it was going to end. It was just the end of another day at the forefront of Trade Finance.

A similar event occurred two days later. We were supposed to enter into an elevator when we realized that it was pitch black inside. No lights. What to do? The elevator still seemed to be working fine and with the only obvious defect that the lights were off. People started entering into the elevator and so did we. Off we went as if riding in a pitch black elevator was the most natural thing in the world.


Yours truly,
Carl Zdolsek