One month ago we were still in Jos.
The one statement (with a question attached) I hear most often is: "I bet you are so glad to be back, aren't you?" I think the first few times I was asked this I looked like a deer in headlights. I know that I am expected to say, "YES!" but that isn't always true. Many days, more often than not, I am ready to go back home, to Jos. Then I am reminded that this is to be home now, and the adjustments are more difficult than I thought.
Don't get me wrong, I love all of the perks of the States:
constant electricity
clean tap water
a never ending variety of food
friendships rekindled
close to family
ease of driving
But, I also miss so much. Such as,
Sarah, my sweet Nigerian sister
glass bottled cokes
fruits that were so sweet
adventures at every turn
busyness of life
pounded yam and red stew
contentment with little
and most of all, dear friends.
Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.
4 comments:
If I kept a blog, I would have posted something similar a few weeks after getting back. Everyone seems to expect me to not only be glad to be back here in the States, but also to be glad to get out of Zambia, or to them, it's all 'Africa'. While I am happy to see people again, and there are many nice things here, leaving Africa was not at all a pleasant thing, and I still miss it a lot.
Anyway, I guess I can empathize with you...
and SHISHA!!!!
lol... i miss the old days
I'm crying, remember when people said this to me. I graduated from Hillcrest in '94, and came back to the States. Brown outs, and riots had been the order of my day. Nigeria was in the news here in the States because of the slow steps towards democracy, matched with violence as is the normal way.
"Aren't you so glad to be back?"
No, I just left my home! The place I've known and loved for many years. It might be dangerous, it might be different, with more risk, but it was home. It was beautiful, breathtaking, and real. It was filled with flowers, and laughter, stinky markets, and amazing cloth.
Today I have a deep appreciation for the freedoms granted to me but the US. Today I'm glad I live here. But there is still that gut wrenching grief that I had to leave the country that I loved.
Hey, Mrs. P.
I just read this and it's so touching. We all miss you here in Nigeria, but God wanted you back in the states. Hope you come back soon!
-Henrietta
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