Happy New Year

It is my one month Las Gidi anniversary today. Alright, it was two days ago; but taking various internet connectivity issues into consideration, that's semantics really. I have almost finished unpacking my ten suitcases. It is strange to think that all my worldly possessions fit into a few cases and I thank Virgin Atlantic from the bottom of my heart for having the most admirable, equitable, cost-effective, and efficient extra luggage charge policy in all the sky.

You will notice that the last time I blogged properly was 2007. We won't go just yet into the why's and wherefore's of my downward blogging spiral, but I promised myself that I would get back on it from January and I thought what better time than a month into my new life in Nigeria.

Decisions are funny things, and like investments, you only know after time has elapsed whether they are sound or not. From where I stand, moving home is one of the best decisions I have ever made and though some people have warned me that it'll soon wear off, I know for certain that it will not. Not least because I have seen more of my family in these 30 days than I have ever done in the last 7 years combined. For some people that might be reason enough to call it quits and flee, but I cannot think of anything more delightful.

People ask me all the time why I moved back and how I am finding it. I have noticed that those questions fall into two distinct camps. Those who are asking as part of conversation and those who are gagging for an opportunity to infer some of their unfortunate colo-mentality ideas onto your life.

Person A: How are you finding it?
Person B: How are you FINDING it?

Person B always asks the question with a slight look of puzzlement as though 'it' i. e. moving back to Nigeria is the most preposterous idea in the world. Ergo, if I were you I would have stayed there, sha. I have met other Person Bs who have themselves recently moved back, and who roll their eyes and complain a lot. They carry on like they are moments away from being conferred some sort of national honour for bravery and long-suffering. They annoy me.

Person B often goes on to ask how I am coping with the mosquitoes, the weather and the food. It is as though I am expected to play up the part of the wilting ajebo who is prone to fainting spells and indisposed to eating pepper. Someone asked me if I took anti-malaria medication in preparation for my arrival here and so I busied myself with swallowing saliva so I wouldn't tell her just what I thought of her little question.

It tickles me no end because I would be ashamed of myself if I ever became one of those people with airs and graces who has to pretend to be too good for their own natural environment. Was I not born and raised here before I moved away? Anyone who knows me knows that I am a lover of good food, whatever the cuisine. There is a place in my heart reserved for certain Michelin Star chefs, and I am even prone to whipping up my own something-fancy-a-la-this-or-that; but in bread terms, I would rather a loaf of freshly baked Agege bread than Brioche any day. And at the Radisson's Christmas Day lunch, I shunned the salmon (plenty of that where I came from) had eight giant peppered snails instead. There, I said it. Bite me.

The only real thing I miss about the UK is my contract phone - knowing that I had a huge monthly allowance which was paid for by direct debit - and I didn't even have to think about it. I despise having to top up my credit and I live in perpetual fear of running out. I know I can get a post paid line, but since Airtel has shown me that their main order of business is to suddenly and randomly deduct arbitrary amounts of credit from your line (I'm talking N1600, people) whether or not you have made any calls that day, the last thing I want is to be post paid because then they may decide that they can slap me with a series of imaginary numbers and I will be forced to pay. So Pay as You Go is my only complaint.

Largely, it has been incredible fun, and so emotionally enriching too. Last weekend, as I listened to the Fathership and an Uncleship in hot debate over something or other, it dawned on me that I have missed out over the years on this fount of collective wisdom. Wisdom! There are threads of understanding that I have encountered through conversation and through observation; I have seen the import of things I previously dismissed, and vice versa. I am beginning to feel my perspectives on life become more informed, better resolved, and more optimistic than they ever were.

I am so happy to be home, and I look forward to striding out into the rest of life from this vantage point.

I wish you all the best of God's blessings as we set to work on this much awaited 2012.

Lots of love,
Emz
xx