All the fine young cannibals.

The absolute best part of living in Lagos is the people you meet. Lagos is a huge city with an estimated population of between 15 and 20 million people. That's just the city, mind you, not the entire country (although I imagine about 90 percent of Nigerians live or work in Lagos). But the ex-pat community is small. As a result, you run into people when you are out and about. And even if you don't know someone, you know someone who knows them. It's like six degrees of Kevin Bacon, Lagos-style.

Saturday night, I attended a party thrown by a couple who have lived in Lagos for 11 years. They know EVERYONE. (And they have the most beautiful colonial-style home with wrap-around veranda and tropical garden, but that is slightly off-topic.) The guests were from Nigeria, France, Lebanon, Israel, Greece, UK, USA, India, Poland, Indonesia, South Africa, Germany, Australia... the list goes on.

And everyone gets along really well. There are no cold shoulders, no gossip. Just friendly faces and camaraderie. I've always been under this naive American impression that people from other countries were different. Inherently different, and we wouldn't have much in common. The truth is, we are inherently the same, all very human. All very much God's creatures.

I have a friend with a theory on why most ex-pats you meet in Lagos are likable. Her theory is that Lagos is "self-selecting" because only a certain kind of person would move here. This person must be flexible, open-minded, tolerant and a bit adventurous. So when you meet a new person, you meet a kindred spirit. I think it's a good theory.

There are certainly nicer places to live, but I think you would be hard put to find a place with nicer people.