A Ray of sunshine?

I met Raymond through a mutual friend named Bola. And I met Bola through Daniel when we were dating, he was one of his close friends at the time. Bola and I still kept in touch after Daniel and I's breakup. He was really cool and he always checked on me from time to time. As usual, Bola and I were chatting on bbm and I told him that I'd be visiting Nigeria for the very first time during Christmas. He was excited even though he wasn't going to be there. He told me that he wanted me to have a good time so he would introduce me to his friend. I obliged without giving it much thought.

Upon my arrival at the airport in Lagos, Nigeria I almost fainted. I walked into the gates of the dull looking-no air conditioning-having airport. I would have instantly bought a return ticket if I:

1. Had the money

2. Wasn't terrified of flying (I no longer am...glory to God!)

3. And if the flight was not an 11 hour direct flight

As we waited for our baggage at the so called baggage claim area, I wondered what all the hype about coming to Nigeria was. Thank God that I was with my sister and mom, they kept me sane. After getting our bags and going through customs, we stepped outside and all I saw was chaos. People were all over the place, pushing, etc. I clutched my handbag tighter as we exchanged pleasantries with my uncle, who came to pick us up. 

My mom told my uncle that we wanted suya (pieces of spicy meat/chicken on a stick), so we bought some within the airport's vicinity. As I bit into the spicy and succulent pieces of beef and chicken, I temporarily forgot about the extremely hot, chaotic looking city that I'd call home for the next two weeks. The suya offered me a glimpse of hope, at least there was something good about my father's land. 

As we cruised through the streets of Lagos, I experienced culture shock with each kilometer. Let's just say that I expected more, my heart ached because I knew that things could be better. We arrived at the infamous Lekki area (where the upperclass people live), as I looked around I wondered what was so special. We got into my uncle's house and began to unwind and unpack. I can't remember much about our first day but I'll never forget the first night. I experienced 'NEPA' (loss of electricity for an extended period of time) for the first time coupled with mosquitoes feasting on my skin. I thought to myself 'who sent me?' (Why did I come?).

The next few days were boring, we stayed far from where our other friends and family were. And we had no means of transportation, for some reason I expected that we'd have househelps (maids) and drivers at our beck and call...I guess I watched "Coming to America" one too many times. The only thing that I was looking forward to was my friend's wedding. Remember my lovely roommate from college? The one that convinced me to transfer to Howard University, yea it was her wedding. I was so excited! 

My mom convinced my sister and I to come with her to the mainland (the other side of town), she actually wanted us to spend a couple of nights with her cousin but we insisted on staying in Lekki. We only wanted to be associated with the more 'developed' part of Lagos. My mom was too scared to leave us alone so she agreed. We actually had fun on the mainland, well besides going to the hectic-dirty-smelly market. That was an experience! People were literally pulling us left, right and center to purchase their goods, you could find anything everything there...from food, to clothes, shoes, bras and panties sold on the streets, raw fish, meat, etc...the list is endless. 

My first week in Lagos was horrible. I looked around at the state of the nation and I just wanted to cry. My people were too smart, strong, beautiful, and courageous to live like this. Yet, Nigerians are considered one of the happiest people in the world, it didn't add up. 

Bola would check on me from time to time, surprisingly his friend Raymond didn't seem in a hurry to meet me. I guess he was too busy since it was the holiday season. I complained to Bola and he apologized, shortly after Raymond sent me a bbm request. I added him and we conversed from time to time. After going back and forth we finally set up a time to meet but something came up. The second time around, he came to meet me at my uncle's house. It was really late and dark so we just chilled and chatted briefly in his car.

I really couldn't get a feel of him, he seemed distant or shy. He could barely look into my eyes. After about twenty minutes I had to go because we had a visitor, we said our goodbyes and agreed to meet up later. For some reasons that I can't remember, we didn't get to hang out until the night before I left Lagos. 

By the second week, I was having a blast. My sister's friends and our mutual friends from America were showing us a good time. We frequented the mall and restaurants, visited a private beach, attended weddings, etc. I was so sad when it was time for us to leave, I wished that I could extend my visit. So it was the day before we were scheduled to head back home, I spoke to Raymond earlier and we agreed to meet up in the evening. I made sure that I packed everything during the day so that I'd be free for the night. 

He took me to a Nigerian restaurant first, the food was just okay. Next we went to a lounge and we had so much fun. There was small chops and live music. We both danced the night away. I loved that fact that he danced very well, we even had a mini dance competition with each other. He was funny and charming. We managed to have a decent conversation over the loud music and got to know each other better. I was surprised at how eloquently he spoke, I've heard my fair share of "Auntie, auntie...do Christmas for us nau" (people asking for tips when we went to restaurants, etc) during my two week stay. 

Did I forget to mention how handsome and tall he was? Hmmm...I was falling big time. Daniel who? Daniel what? He kept saying, "I wish we hung out sooner". I felt the same way, I really enjoyed his company. Except for the fact that he downed a gigantic bottle of beer during our time at the lounge *red flag*. I chose to ignore that huge *red flag* and enjoy the night.

Unfortunately the night had to come to an end, my mom blowing up my phone made it the end sooner than we both wanted. As we drove back to my uncle's house, we promised to keep in touch. Upon arrival at my uncle's place, we chilled in the car for a short while. We both didn't want to leave, after a few minutes he suggested that I go get some rest and then reached out to hug me. We said our goodbyes, but they were short lived. He became a part of my daily routine.

- Bunmi


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