Random observations
Some of the things that I either thought of or noticed while I was in Nigeria (keep in my mind my perspective is that of someone who had not visited in almost 15 years):
- Roosters crow all day, not just in the morning as I previously thought.
- You really feel cheated if you don’t bargain. Elo ni ijale? (How low will you go?/What’s the lowest price you’ll take?) became my favourite question to ask while shopping.
- It is not cool to be seen around town wearing (gasp) those plastic flip flops.
- Sleeping in is a foreign concept where I stayed. I was never able to sleep past 8am and I was considered a late riser. Boo!
- It’s very important to show respect for your elders, no matter what you’re currently in he middle of. I found it funny how someone talking to me would automatically kneel or greet their elders in mid-conversation, without missing a beat of the convo.
- I expected more accidents given the haphazard driving I witnessed (more on that another day) but I didn’t see any car accidents the entire time I was there (lol maybe due to the constant traffic jams?).
- Everyone wears jeans and other pants now. Last time I felt very conspicuous in pants.
- I don’t understand why some okada (motorcycle) drivers wear parkas and winter hats in tropical weather! I broke into a sweat seeing them.
- I wonder if people have to replace their car horns since they use it so often!
- Car brands I had never heard of: Hilux, Avanza (Toyota), Suran (Volkswagen) and Pimera (Nissan)
- Food portions were huge! If I lived in Nigeria the only thing that would keep me from being as big as a house is all the physical work (which of course explains size of the portions).
My first car was a Nissan Primera….lol!!!The sleeping in concept, whenever my mum/nan are around they tell me ‘A woman in Africa never wakes up this late’, I really want to say that we arent in Africa, but i just grunt, turn in my bed and continue wiv my sleep…lol…
I don’t understand the okada riders and those Jackets oh! guess it’s a kind of mental uniform. As for those damn chickens/roosters/male fowls/cocks (trust me, that’’s the popular word for them. LOL) it’s always morning wherever they are.
Nigerians are very big on respect. I think the yoruba people are even more respectful than most tribes in terms of gestures. We don’t completely kneel down where i’m from, u can curtsy but most pple don’t. You just stand there repeating the same greeting 10x.
I came here abt 5yrs, and i eat about as much as i did back home, but here i gained 20lbs in 4yrs, while i did not gain crap over there…talk abt the physical work. walking to go fetch water, walking to school, walkinh, walking walking…and a lot more walking..lol!
Well, the car brands is most likely typical to the area you went to. But you are right!
I had a cousin follow me to a local store once. She came over from the US. I told her not to say a word because if i started to bargain and they heard her accent…they’d double the price! lol
Lol, you had a naija orientation…though i think some of the things you mentioned like roosters crowing all day are particular to the area you went to
lol @ kneeling down…hope you had fun…
Merry xmas and a happy new year in advance
how’re you doing?
lmao @ the portion of food being compensated with physical work..
Sleeping in is actually seen as laziness…
and I think the okada men do it cos of all the wind and sand they fly by…
…the pure beauty of Nigeria which makes her second to none. Welcome home.