Goodbyes & Hellos

A few days later, I headed back home to round up and get ready for the big move. I had so much to do in so little time. I packed for days, I really didn't realize that I had so much stuff. A number of events took place as my trip drew near. I had brunch with two of my favorite ladies as it was our custom. I said goodbye to the teenagers that I had the privilege to work with at church for a few years. My sister also threw me a going away party. Then I was off to New York to spend some quality time with my family.

Various emotions were circulating throughout my being. Where did the boldness come from? Was this really happening? Was I sure about this? Nonetheless, I kept my focus. I decided to follow God's plan for my life, there was no turning back now. 

The day had finally come, it was so tough. Tears ran down my cheeks as I said goodbye to my family and life as I knew it. I felt alone and uncertain, but that didn't stop me from boarding the plane. I was armed with sleeping pills and popped two in my mouth as soon as I found my seat. If I had not done so, I'm pretty sure that I would have cried throughout the flight.

I arrived in Lagos, Nigeria to the glory of God. I called my uncle and informed him and he told me that he was stuck in traffic and that I should take a cab. He couldn't be serious! A cab with all my bags? A young female that had no idea where anything was? Before I could get upset, a man suddenly ran towards me "Auntie, Auntie....you're welcome." I gave him a dirty look as I was not ready to fall for any Lagos pranks.

He smiled and said, "It's me! It's me! Your auntie's driver." I still didn't recognize him, he proceeded to tell me my aunt's name and address. He reminded me that I was around just a few weeks ago wit my sister. I proceeded with caution, I couldn't understand why I did not remember this guy. I usually don't do well with things not going the way I planned, nonetheless I tried not to get annoyed. Thankfully, he was telling me the truth, I got to my aunt's house safely.

I chilled for the next few days before it was time to pick up my call up letter (a NYSC letter that informs you of where you'd be attending boot camp for 3 weeks, it'll be located in the state where you'll work for the next year). Prior to then, my mom contacted one of her cousins that worked with NYSC. He promised me that he would work it all out so that if be posted to Lagos. I was rested assured, at least I had a number of family members in Lagos.

Imagine my shock when I went to pick up my call up letter, I'm surprised that I was able to make it home without passing out. When I read the contents of the letter, I couldn't believe my eyes. I was not posted to Lagos. Instead I was posted to Ede in Osun state. I had never heard of this place before and it sounded scary! No way! I quickly called Raymond, my family, and friends. 

Everyone was as hysterical as I was...some a little more. My sister said "Ede! What is that??? I'm sorry but when I hear that name, all I can think of is voodoo". Raymond came over right after work to calm me down. He suggested that we prayed about it together first, asking God for his Will to be done. Afterwards he suggested waiting a few months so that I could be re-posted. My mom called her cousin and he was telling stories, apparently he didn't have the power to get me posted to Lagos. My aunt was not having it, she said "How can they post you outside of Lagos or Abuja? You that you've lived in America your whole life! How will you cope in that town?" My friends were equally concerned, they asked if I was sure that I could live outside of Lagos.

Initially I was afraid, I could not imagine being all alone. That night, I decided to drown out all the voices of my friends and family and get quiet with God. I remembered that I went to Nigeria by instruction from God, so I said to myself "If God wanted me in Lagos, he would have made sure I got posted to Lagos." So I made up my mind to go, I still can't say where the boldness came from. I informed all my folks and of course they thought I was crazy yet again. 

My aunt and mom calmed down a bit when someone told them that once I got to camp, I'd be given the opportunity to be posted back to Lagos. My aunt would get her doctor friend to write a fake note stating that I was very sick and had to be close to family. I hesitantly agreed. Camp was set to start in less than a week, so I had to get ready. I bought food items, clothing, etc. And I tried to mentally prepare myself to be in God knows where for three weeks straight. 

The day had finally arrived, the place was about three hours away. My uncle got a cab to take me there. It was a long ride, I slept through most of it so that the time could go by faster. Upon arrival at the entrance of camp, I saw soldiers standing in front and not allowing anyone to enter except the camp attendees. I wanted to cry when the driver left, I was officially on my own with my extremely big bag. 

To be continued...

You're blessed!


- Bunmi


Wait before you go:



1. If you have not received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, life won't make any sense, it will be cold and empty. You deserve more! Take a few minutes and click on the 'Come to Jesus' tab at the top of the page and be saved!


2. Please leave a comment below, I'd love to hear from you!


3. You can subscribe to this blog and receive email updates once a new post is published by entering your email address in the 'Follow by email' section located on the right of this post.

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Self Redemption

Our flight to Abuja was like walking on pins and needles. A few days prior to our trip, there was a major plane crash (Dana Air Flight 992) that claimed many lives. We could have actually been on that flight, we were planning to go to Abuja earlier and return to Lagos around that time, but we couldn't get tickets. As I sat on the plane, I held on to my faith in God. I was walking in obedience to him, he had my back for sure. Even when we experienced some turbulence and people around me began to panic, I shunned fear. There's was a sudden boldness and confidence in God's protection that came upon me, I could not be moved. 

We arrived in Abuja safely to the glory of God. As we walked through the airport, I liked what I saw. It wasn't as cluttered as Lagos' airport. We existed the airport and linked up with our family friend that came to pick us up. As we drove for what seemed like forever, I couldn't believe my eyes. Was this Nigeria? The same Nigeria?

The rodes were clear and clean, the streets were smooth, it was quiet and calm. I marveled at the major differences between both cities. I instantly fell in love with Abuja. Our hosts were great, we had our own means of transportation with someone to drive us around. They showed us a good time, I had the biggest and freshest grilled catfish ever at a lounge in Abuja...my mouth is watering now as the memories of scooping succulent well seasoned chunks of catfish with my hands flow in my mind. Take me back!!!

Registering for NYSC was beyond stressful, I almost gave up. The process was unnecessarily tedious. I felt like I entered a time machine as we had to input our information in notebooks, there was no electricity, everything was disorganized, a bunch of hidden charges, and the staff was extremely rude and unprofessional. Frustrating is an understatement. It took me two days to complete something that should have taken an hour or two. Little did I know that this was just a glimpse into my one year NYSC experience. Thank God for my host, she knew someone that worked there. The second day was much better. Mission accomplished!

Throughout my stay in Abuja, Raymond kept trying to reach me. But, I either ignored him or gave him the run arounds. I was disappointed in him, his true colors were gruesome. He was not who I thought he was. I finally gave him the time of day about a day before I was scheduled to return to Lagos. He apologized and told me that his behavior wasn't something that happened often. He stated that he was just happy to see me. I told my sister and she said "Yea right!". 

Well I was still stuck on the illusion that I created in my head, "God said that he's my husband". So when we returned to Lagos, he tried to make it up to me. He promised to stop drinking. On our first day back, we met up at a restaurant, he came with his coworker. I went there armed with a you-better-redeem-yourself attitude. I barely smiled initially but later had mercy on him since he brought a friend. As he stepped away to order our food, his friend said "He told me what happened, he said he was so happy to see you and he misbehaved" with a wide grin. I felt anger brewing, as the memory of all that transpired replayed in my head. I faked a smiled and remained silent, his cue to either shut up or change the subject. He choose to change the subject.

We went to a lounge with live music afterwards, the same one that we went to on our first date. The music was awesome. We also met up with one of our friends. It was my sister's first time there and she had a blast. He even had the band dedicate a love song to me. I had to admit, it was cute. We had such a great time, we danced and danced. By the end of the night, he had been proceeded in redeeming himself 20%.

The next day was a Sunday, we had agreed to attend church with him. The service was okay. It was good to see the kind of teachings that he was exposed to. I felt like there could have been more but I was satisfied. He introduced my sister and I to members of the ministry he volunteered in. He was a member of the power, sound, and media unit. They were all so friendly, one of them even said that he was looking forward to covering our wedding. I felt much better knowing that he was active and known at his church, it gave me a sense of peace. That shot up his self redemption to 70%. 

He told us about his friend's birthday party after. So we got home and changed and went right back out. On the way to the party, I caught a glimpse of him from the corner of my eyes as he drove. He looked at me with so much admiration and what appeared to be love. My sister saw it also. I was feeling good, I guess he wasn't that bad after all. 

We enjoyed the party, there was great music, barbecue and plenty of alcohol. Of course the alcohol part made me uneasy but I tried to take my mind off of it. The birthday boy was excited to have us there and made sure that we were well fed. My sister and I were also getting a lot of attention, we overheard some people saying that we looked like the Kardashians. It was funny too me, while other people may have been flattered I was unmoved.

The DJ could not get his eyes off of my sister, as he spun each track he became increasingly excited as we  gave our approval of his skills. We love music! And boy oh boy when he began to dance, we couldn't believe our eyes! He definitely had some moves. He and my sister managed to exchange numbers, even though his face did not make his dance moves according to my sister.

Throughout the time, Raymond maintained his cool. And surprisingly he didn't drink. The birthday celebrant offered him alcohol at numerous intervals but he explained to him that I didn't want him drinking. The guy seemed shocked, he even tried to appeal to me once. But I gave him an ultimatum, and he seemed to be cooperating. Even though, he looked like he had to gather all the strength that he had to resist grabbing a cup. I felt like I was on top of the world, at the end of the night his self redemption increased to 85%.

You're blessed!


- Bunmi


Wait before you go:



1. If you have not received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, life won't make any sense, it will be cold and empty. You deserve more! Take a few minutes and click on the 'Come to Jesus' tab at the top of the page and be saved!


2. Please leave a comment below, I'd love to hear from you!


3. You can subscribe to this blog and receive email updates once a new post is published by entering your email address in the 'Follow by email' section located on the right of this post.

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True Colors

My sister and I boarded our trip to Nigeria in high spirits, we took each step with excitement. We were determined to make the best of our two week stay. The main reason for my excitement was that I'd be spending time with Raymond. I couldn't wait to see him again and get to know him better. I blamed his new actions of neglect on the distance.

When we arrived in Nigeria, we were picked up by my aunt. As soon as I could get my hands on a phone I called Raymond to tell him that I'd made it safely. He sounded happy and told me that he'd see me after he got off of work. Imagine my disappointment when he called in the evening and said that he was tired, he wanted to go home and rest since he had to be up early in the morning. I was beyond pissed off, why couldn't he make the sacrifice to come a see me? We said our goodbyes and I called it a night.

The next day was uneventful for the most part. I was eagerly counting down the hours till seeing Raymond in flesh and blood. Finally the hour had come but he arrived earlier than expected. When he called and said that he was outside, I had to quickly run into the bathroom to perform some quick magic. I was still slightly annoyed, but my aunt told me to calm down. I managed to put a smile on my face, as I walked out of the bathroom my heart started to beat. Wait! was I nervous? No way!

Yes I actually was, I don't know why though. As I laid eyes on him, the peppermint that was in my mouth found a way to escape. I was embarrassed to say the least. We said our hellos and I introduced him to my aunt. He stared at me and smile for a bit, we chilled and then we were on our way. Myself, him, and my sister met up with his friend at a restaurant. It was a nice time, we ate and talked a bit. At one point he said he had to go get something in the car, when he returned I realized that he actually went to go smoke a cigarette. I told him that I didn't like it, he apologized and said he did it because he was "feeling cold".

He dropped us at my aunt's house and promised to pick us up early the next day for a fun filled day. The next day we were excited to see what was in store. He picked us up around noon. The first stop was at one of his friend's house, she was a married woman and we met his two friends Romeo and Deji (not their real names) there. He briefly introduced us and we sat there as the others talked. I felt uncomfortable as I heard them make a reference to smoking weed. Their conversation was pointless, I felt like I was in the midst of irresponsible people.

I was so happy when it was time for us to go, I would have ran out the door if I could. The first place that we went to was an outdoor lounge. We stopped there to get drinks, of course my "social drinker" boyfriend ordered a bottle of alcohol. Everyone drank it except for me, I just had a soft drink. Romeo and Deji then said that they wanted to smoke, they proudly annouced to us that they were weed smokers. They asked if it was okay with us if they smoked on the table. My sister and I told them that we were not okay with it, so they moved elsewhere.

At this point, I was uncomfortable. Raymond didn't join them, he told me that he stopped smoking weed while in college. We chatted at the table for sometime than proceeded to grab something to eat. Afterwards, they said that they wanted to go to a club. At this point, I had a really bad tummy ache and I was annoyed because Raymond insisted on going to a club. He knew that I did not party, at least I told him that. I sat down throughout at the club and watched as Raymond and his friends drank and danced like there was no tomorrow. At one point, I couldn't take it anymore. I walked out and busted into tears. What have I gotten myself into???

At one point, Romeo went missing. Only for him to be found passed out in his car. Despise my numerous attempts to get Raymond to take me home, it failed until I caught him smoking a cigarette in the hallway and lashed out at him. I was so embarrassed, all this took place in front of my sister. We contemplated taking a cab home but it was late and we were concerned for our safety.

We ended up going home with a very drunk Raymond. I kept praying as he drove, at times he'd dose off or speed up and then slow down. It was such a scary experience. We got to a toll gate and he stopped to pay toll but there was no attendant there. I had to yell at him to keep going. He managed to drive us to surulere (the neighborhood where my aunt stayed), but we had no idea where we were. He kept saying "if you don't get out here I'm taking you to my friend's house". We couldn't get down or call anyone for directions because it was extremely late. He kept driving and I was yelling at him, asking where he was taking us. He'd laugh and say, "You don't think I know where I'm going?". 

We finally made it to his friend's house. As he stepped out the car, he almost fell into the gutter (sewer), I secretly wished he did. He then proceed to have an imaginary conversation on the phone while laying his head on the trunk of his car. My sister and I kept asking him to take us to his friend's place. He managed to take us to a building. We got there and he knocked for about 20 minutes, Deji finally answered. Raymond was still acting up, he eventually fell asleep after going on and on about nothing. My sister and kept vigil till sunrise, we didn't sleep for a second. We had to keep our feet up on the sofa because mice having a field day in Deji's apartment. 

As soon as the sun filled the sky, we called a cab and we were out of there! Deji woke up sober and was trying to make up for the night before. We weren't in the mood, we were ready to go plus we had a flight to catch. We were going to Abuja for a few days, I had to go and register for NYSC. When we arrived at my aunt's house, we quickly showered and packed and headed to the airport. Raymond kept calling but I didn't answer. A few minutes later, he arrived at the airport wearing sunglasses. I barely said hello, my uncle was there so we couldn't talk. He tired to apologize but I couldn't be bothered, my uncle escorted us to the gate and I didn't bother looking back.

You're blessed!


- Bunmi


Wait before you go:


1. If you have not received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, life won't make any sense, it will be cold and empty. You deserve more! Take a few minutes and click on the 'Come to Jesus' tab at the top of the page and be saved!


2. Please leave a comment below, I'd love to hear from you!


3. You can subscribe to this blog and receive email updates once a new post is published by entering your email address in the 'Follow by email' section located on the right of this post.

4. You can share this post or previous posts by clicking on the respective social media icon on the right.

5. Follow me on twitter @BunmiAdebiyi_


6. Like my page on facebook: Bunmi Adebiyi

The Decision

A few hours after the drama unfolded, Raymond called me. I could hear the excitement and anticipation entangled with every word that exited his lips. I sat there patiently waiting to dispel the information that I had gathered. I asked if he had heard from God concerning us, he said a resounding YES! I smiled to myself. He asked me the same question and told him my answer was the same until a few hours ago.

He surprisingly asked me why and I went on to tell him all that transpired while he slept. Of course he was caught off guard. He proceeded to say that the girl was lying. He said that they were never in a relationship, and that she basically pushed herself on him because she was desperate to get married. He said that he was not staying with her through out the trip, he said he was staying with his cousin as he informed me in the beginning. He only stated with her for a short while and nothing happened between them sexually. 

I asked why he cropped her out of some of the pictures that he sent me. He said that she forced him to take pictures with him, and that I'd notice in the pictures that he looked annoyed and was not smiling. He pleaded with me to believe him, and that he really wanted me to be a part of his life. 

I told him that I had to get off of the phone, I didn't have anything to say to him. He was due to head back to Nigeria that day, so we did not communicate during his journey back. During that time, i was overwhelmed with confusion. I thought that I had heard from God to proceed, but with all that unfolded it didn't make sense to me. Was this a test of my faith in God? Is the devil trying to rob me of my blessing?

I reviewed each conversation that I had during the day in my head over and over again. Could the man that I have spoken to everyday for the last two months and developed emotions for be a phony? I could not phantom it, he seemed like all I wanted minus his lifestyle. After all I was once is his shoes, I could help him. Couldn't I?

I told my sister what happened and she said the girl sounded crazy, that she probably was lying to a certain extent. She said that she wanted me to be happy and that she hadn't seen me that happy in a long while. She told me that I should believe him and give him a chance. I contemplated it for a while and agreed with her, I wanted to be happy, I wanted to be in love again. 

I look back now and see how the children of God miss his Will at times. I prayed and God answered in a very obvious way. But to be sincere, I didn't want that answer. I filled in the blank and lied on God, telling everyone that "God said that he's my husband". Hmm...thank God for his mercy.

Raymond called me when he arrived in Nigeria. We proceed with the normal small talk, how are you? How was your flight? Etc. But there was something that we both had to settle. He apologized again and asked if I had made a decision, I told him yes. When I told him my decision, he started shouting for joy at the top of his lungs. It felt good to be the source of someone's joy. He went on to ask if I'd be his girlfriend, I said yes. He quickly asked me to grab a drink as he did the same and he proposed a toast to a new beginning. All of a sudden it began to rain, I told him and he said it was a confirmation that we were meant to be. He then said that he was too happy, he wanted to call his family and share the good news with them. So we hung up. 

I went on to tell my close friends, they were all happy for me. However my best friend's response surprised me. She asked me a few questions that made me second guess my decision. She asked if I was sure, she asked me why would the girl lie to me, etc. She was not feeling it and she didn't hide it. We couldn't speak for long because she had to attend to something, so we said our good byes.

And then the journey began. Raymond and I continued our daily conversations. All was going well until I informed him of what God had been laying on my heart since I returned from Nigeria. I told him that God has been telling me to move to Nigeria. Imagine my shock when he wasn't happy to hear that. After all, I thought that he would at least be happy that we would be closer to one another.

He wasn't in support of my decision at all. He kept asking what I would do while in Nigeria, etc. I also noticed that he would ask me questions about master degree programs in America. I wondered why and would ask if he was planning on coming to study here and he'd say, "Oh no, I'm just curious." 

He started a new job at a new bank and he started to get distance. The calls were less frequent, our morning prayer time stopped, etc. He claimed that his new job was very demanding and stressful. He also slept at home less frequently, he suddenly started sleeping at his friend's place saying that he needed a break from living at home with his mom. I wasn't happy with that arrangement because his friend smoked weed, which he claimed to have stopped doing while in university and took up cigarette smoking instead. 

I slowly started to think that our relationship was a huge mistake but I was determined to keep at it, after all "God said he was my husband". 

****

After fighting it for months, crying and pleading with God to send someone else, and numerous confirmations, I decided to obey God and move to Nigeria. It was one of the toughest decisions that I ever had to make, but I knew without a shadow of a doubt that God wanted me to relocate. I was so scared. How would I live in a far away country without my immediate family and friends? A country that I had only visited for two weeks prior? It didn't make sense to me.

I informed my family and friends about the decision, a lot of people thought I was crazy. Why would a fresh master's of public health graduate want to move to Nigeria? Some of my friends had to ask me if I was moving because of Raymond...I laughed at that. While I was a hopeful romantic, I was a tough cookie as well...I wasn't desperate, he would have to wife me! 

When I told some people that I had heard from God, they questioned my ability to hear from him. Someone asked, "So what did he say? Did he come with a loud voice and say oooooo BUNMI move to Nigeria!" While I laughed outwardly, I was saddened, weren't we all suppose to hear from God concerning every step of our lives? As Christians, how could we follow our father without hearing from him?

My number one supporter was my sister, she kept encouraging me to obey God. She fell in love with Nigeria during our trip and expressed her desire to live there one day, so she was all for it!  I on the other hand saw Nigeria simply as a Christmas vacation spot.

I started praying for clarity about the move but I didn't hear much about what I'd be doing in Nigeria, I just heard go! I began to search online for public health jobs in Lagos, Nigeria. I was surprised that there weren't many options. Most of the public health jobs were located in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. I didn't have any family there so I wasn't feeling it. I also noticed that almost all the jobs asked for a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certification. I had heard about it previously but I was not interested. Basically it is a one year program for university graduates, where they are sent to a town that they are not originally from to serve a specific community in line with their degree. See www.nysc.gov.ng for more information.

After praying about it, I perceived God telling me to go ahead with the program. I was not too happy about that because I've heard so many negative things about the program. By the time I finally made up my mind, I discovered that the registration for NYSC was ending in two weeks and officially starting in a little over a month. What! I had so much to do in so little time! I had to make some quick plans, it was happening way too fast. I had to register in person so I quickly purchased a plane ticket and prepared for the trip, thankfully my sister came along. 

I graduated to the Glory of God with my Master's in Public Health degree at the top of my class prior to that trip. I was so happy, the journey of hard work, late nights, early mornings and determination paid off. But interestingly enough on the day of graduation among the excitement, I felt a void. I thought to myself "Is this it?"

To be continued...

You're blessed!


- Bunmi


Wait before you go:


1. If you have not received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, life won't make any sense, it will be cold and empty. You deserve more! Take a few minutes and click on the 'Come to Jesus' tab at the top of the page and be saved!


2. Please leave a comment below, I'd love to hear from you!


3. You can subscribe to this blog and receive email updates once a new post is published by entering your email address in the 'Follow by email' section located on the right of this post.

4. You can share this post or previous posts by clicking on the respective social media icon on the right.

5. Follow me on twitter @BunmiAdebiyi_


6. Like my page on facebook: Bunmi Adebiyi

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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