Only in Nigeria

I think I've given up asking some questions. Every time I make an observation, I get funny looks from the people around me. Like the day I was in traffic and I asked "Don't people know the roundabout rule?" or when I asked "How come the roads don't have pavements?". So I have decided to stop asking. It doesn't mean I have stopped observing though, it just means I am making a mental note in my head to jot down later.

I'm currently reading Teju Cole's book, "Everyday Is for the Thief" and it rang so true, almost as if I wrote it myself. His descriptions are so vivid and the observations about life in Lagos are on point. I guess some things may not be so obvious to someone who lives in this wonderful city, but to outsider eyes, there are many things that immediately strike you as odd or interesting. If you haven't read it, I would encourage you to do so.

Well apart from that, I'm enjoying Lagos with it's many ups and downs. I feel like I have to "re-learn" my culture. Which is something I find really strange. While living in England, I felt like I was trying so hard to hold on to everything that made me a Nigerian. But now that I'm back in Nigeria, I feel somewhat like an outsider. And I haven't even been away for that long! I can imagine that there are other people like me who feel that way, who have been outside the country for much longer. Do you experience a culture shock when you went back home after a few years? I don't even know whether that's a good or bad thing.

I think a lot of people who migrate don't know or expect the full extent of changes they will go through in a foreign country. You know you experience a different climate, different food and so on. But you don't really expect the changes that happen within you. How you start seeing things differently. How you start adopting the view and cultures of your new surroundings. And then suddenly when you visit your home country you feel like you are seeing things for the first time.

Well I would end my little moment of "deep thinking" here. Just until I come back online. Stay blessed and favoured!