Well, my adventure here in Nigeria is coming to an end. It was a great experience and I'm a little sad to be leaving. There are so many places we didn't get to visit and so many things we didn't get to so, since this visit was primarily to celebrate Yinka's mum's birthday.
This will not be my final post, as I will be posting the pictures from my trip once I am back in the states. I'll probably have some afterthoughts to share as well.
So, for tonight's posting, I'll focus on some of the major highlights of my trip.
1. I had the opportunity to meet Yinka's family.
Although Yinka lives in the states, the majority of his family lives elsewhere. Everyone was in Nigeria to celebrate his mum's birthday, so I met his mum, all of his siblings and their significant others, a lot of aunties and uncles, cousins, and so many friends. It was nice to meet people who Yinka has spent the majority of his life around. The blessing is that everyone has been so welcoming, I've felt like I've been on vacation with my own biological family for the past week.
2. I visited the Motherland.
On some level, I've always had an interest in the African continent. I always thought I would visit one day, but never truly believed it would happen. I wasn't too keen on flying across the Atlantic Ocean, so flying here was a bit overwhelming. I guess things happen in life that push closer to our dreams and force us to conquer our fears. A year ago when Yinka and I first started talking about me taking a trip to Nigeria, from my mouth I stated that I was going to take the trip, but in my mind I definitely had no intentions to take this trip. Oh, but time made a change and as God would have it, I actually visited the Motherland AND I have hopes to visit again, Nigeria and other countries, as well.
3. I've experienced life in a different culture.
Nigeria is quite different than home, but not in a bad way, just in a different way. I had to adjust to variable electricity and water issues. On most days, the electric went out at some point, but there was only one day when we lost power completely. Because of the heat, the power losses tested one's faith, but I gained quite an appreciation for the Nigerian experience. Prior to this experience, I had no clue what it meant to rely on a generator for daily use as a power source and I definitely had never seen an invertor. I'm thankful and I wish we, as Americans, didn't take the things we had for granted so much!
The people here are quite ambitious...there are small businesses (in some shape or form) everywhere you go. I'm not saying I would buy something from everyone here, but I give people credit for having drive. In addition to ambition, people here in Lagos are quite stylish (I'm bringing some Africa attire and fabric back with me). I will definitely have to step up my game the next time I come here...
I also had some interesting food experiences. Last night I ate snail, which wasn't all that bad, a bit chewy, but rather tasty. Throughout the week, I've been challenged to try new things...there is very little fresh milk here, so I had powdered milk with my cereal in the mornings. This was especially difficult for me since I only drink skim milk, but I survived. The other dishes I had were okra soup, goat stew, fried rice, jollof rice, moi-moi, meat pies, bangar (??) soup, eba, and pounded yam. Some things liked a lot, others were just so-so, but I didn't go hungry and am getting some recipes to take back to the states with me. I've gotta cook for my man, you know.
I'll post more of the highlights of the trip once I'm back in the states. I may post briefly tomorrow because I don't leave until midnight Nigeran time (6pm EST). We'll see how the day progresses though.
It's been a great trip. I'm so grateful to God for this opportunity. Please keep us in your prayers tomorrow as we begin our journey back to the states. Please pray for God's mercy and protection as we travel.
Best!
-DMW
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