It has been almost a months since I was in Lagos. I still miss it everyday! I miss my husband also, but he is always in my heart and I talk to him everyday, so I do know that he is with me all the time. I do not miss him so much that it hurts....all the time, still I miss him that much sometimes.
When I was in Lagos I tried to write a blog or two, but it was impossible! What should I write about? Should I write about the fact that the roads were so bad I have never seen anything like it, and I can tell you that because that is what Honey told me when I arrived, he pointed it out two or three times and I got tired of it and told him I'm used to bad road! As he told me, that is bad roads in the countryside this is the biggest city in the country....I had no answer to that! Or should I write about the fact that the cooling system in our hotel room was on so cold that I actually was freezing in Africa? Me and Honey was disagreeing on the perfect temperature of the room. Sometimes it was too cold for me, sometimes it was perfect for me, and a few times it even became too hot! And when that happened Honey pointed it out that NOW it becomes too hot!
I have so much fun with him! I can totally be myself! Some jokes I make he just hates, but I am starting to figure out when to shut my mouth, and sometimes he makes fun of me and I laugh at that, sometimes I don't like the jokes that he makes. But all and all, there is where I find the cultural differences! In the way to understand a joke! I told him as a joke that he can not do anything about my economic situation anyway and the answer I got instantly made me realize that it was NOT a joke I will ever bring up again! I can tell my friends the same, that they can do nothing about my economic situation, and they would just smile and that would be the end of it.
But now I have got a few questions from people that I have talked to when I got home from Lagos. I will take the one by one, if they keep coming!
How did it feel like when I stepped out to the airport after landing in Nigeria? Wow? I don't even know! I was finally there! I had my head full of the fact that I was missing an address of where I should stay, and what would I do instead. I had it on my e-mail. I asked the personal at the plane, they recommended me to talk to the immigration people....well, I would have to do that anyway! So I asked them, I said I can try and call Honey, so I did. It didn't go through! I tried again, it didn't work, so I told them it didn't work! I was thinking I could probably borrow their phone or something. They asked me to put his number down instead, so I did that! No problem!
I went through the last passport control just like that. Only a number and no address, no problem. I knew I could hire a trolley for my bags, I knew it was 100 naira. On the plain I had heard people talking about 150 naira, so I wasn't so surprised when the lady asked me for 50 naira more. I was only happy that I had enough naira with me. I had like 1200 naira, about 6 euro I think...... It felt safe having that amount, even though I know it sounds little. I knew I wasn't supposed to need more.
But talking about how I feel. I had an experience when I was in amsterdam. I was in the waiting area, it was almost empty, I went to the toilet, was strolling around and when I returned....where did all the people come frome? And not a single white? I usually don't see color. I can stand in a store with 3 personal, about 4 customers, where I am one and two are friends of mine and black! Yes, that happened to me when I got back from Lagos! When I stepped out of the store somebody was calling my name behind me, and I looked back and realized WE HAVE BEEN IN THE SAME STORE? I just told him, "How can I miss a black person here?" So I know I do not notice color. But when I realized I am the only white.....that was scary!
No, I was not scared to go into a country where I would be the only white. Never! It didn't even cross my mind! But standing outside the waiting area and realizing that, that was scary!
And how long did I have this feeling? For about as long as it took you to read the sentence above! I realized this is how black people must feel like when they enter Finland....then I went on a bench to sit and read. When I then entered the plane, there was like 40% white...? Where did they come from? I was so surprised!
It will never stop surprising me.....why do I not notice color??
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