Nigeria

Ndibe grows up in an Igbo community in Nigeria. His experiences there define his values and form his reference point for the things that he experiences in America. After Ndibe emigrates, he continues to describe many episodes that take place in Nigeria, particularly when reflecting on his family history. Ndibe is determined to show Americans that Nigeria is not the primal wilderness of their stereotypes, but is equally determined not to idealize it. He refers to many of Nigeria's problems, including rampant corruption and a history of civil war.

New York

New York is Ndibe's first stop upon coming to America. Chudi Uwazurike, a Nigerian academic, meets him there. The city strikes Ndibe as full of extremes and excess. Ndibe is overwhelmed by the icy cold of the New York winter, by the "dizzying parade of material objects" he sees in Uwazurike's apartment, and by the number of...