Goodbye Lagos

We have just come to the end of our two year contract teaching here in Nigeria, and so it is with much sadness that we farewell our life here.  We will head off to New Zealand for about 12 days, before we embark on a new adventure to Surabaya, Indonesia.

There is so much I could say about our two years here, so much more than I could write here, but to keep it short and sweet, I will do a bit of a summary. 

Things I will not miss about Nigeria

1. The roads - the potholes. I have raved about these before. The depth of hole has not changed, neither has the amount of water which fills them up. I will miss driving through the thigh deep water and splashing cars as I drive past (or when Caleb forgets and totally sprays people walking down the street... its mean to laugh, but it is so funny)

Our street

2. The police - there doesn't seem to be as much harrassment from the police as there was two years ago when we arrived, but I still won't miss them.

3. The impatience of other drivers - everyone is SO FREAKING IMPORTANT, that it makes it okay to cut into massive queues of traffic, even REMOVE barriers just so they can push in.

4. Our apartment - in the last 2 weeks, our washing machine died, our internet died (and they wouldn't fix it), the marble benchtop broke, the kitchen floor is leaking upwards (?), the shower door fell off, Neriah's AC which was broken was 'fixed' and now it is broken again, our bathroom which has had a leak the last 2 months, has been fixed THREE times by the plumber who obviously has no idea (it's the tap, it's the seal around the bath, its the shower hose - which by the way, he replaced UPSIDE DOWN so now the shower head doesn't fit into the freaking holder) or is just trying to rip off our school, one of the fuses keeps blowing so we have no hot water in our shower (luckily we do have 2 other bathrooms). I could write more, but I am keeping it to the last two weeks remember.

Our apartment compound

5. The local food - blehhhhhhh not to my tastes at all. 

6. Trying to do three chores in town and it takes five hours because of the state of the roads and the amount of traffic.

7. The price of everything, except petrol.

Things I will miss about Nigeria

1. Our friends' epic beach house with the huge coconut plantations and huge dumping waves which tumble and toss me to the point sometimes I think I will die, but instead I just roll with it and then come up smiling.

2. Some incredible friends I have met - being in an expat community, I have friends from all over the world. Indonesia, South Africa, Taiwan, China, Sri Lanka, UK, Bolivia, USA, India, Zimbabwe, and, of course, Nigeria. I also have friends as young as 8, and as old as 55. It has been an amazing experience and one I am so grateful for. 

3. The people on our street - the small kids who wear clothes too small, or clothes far too big, who have hardly anything to their name, yet run out to give us a piece of chewing gum when we drive past. 

4. The tropical fruit, mangos, pineapples, pawpaw, yummy, yummy.

5. Our apartment - as much as it annoys me because of the poor workmanship, this has been our home for the last 2 years, and Neriah's first home, and we have had so many amazing times and experiences here with so many different people. I will miss it.

6. The friendliness of the local people.

7. My women's bible study group - I started this with a friend when I first got here, as a way of having time of spiritual refreshment, support and prayer with others while sharing the challenges and joys of Nigeria . We have had so many women come in and out of this group, as they have moved away and been replaced by others who are arriving, and this group has really sustained me during these couple of years.

 

Highlights of the last two years in Nigeria (in no particular order)

1. My first classroom of kids - who were absolutely adorable, and I loved teaching them.

2. Going to a church service with between 800,000-1,000,000 people under one roof.

3. Backpacking around Nigeria.

4. Amazing holidays to Europe, Zanzibar, Ghana and South Africa .

5. Waterskiing on a river filled with abandoned and sinking ships.

6. (and the best of all) Having a baby, of course, and all the joy that Neriah has brought to us  :)

So, with that, goodbye Lagos. We have learned so much about ourselves, about God and about the broken systems of a broken world and for that we are ever grateful. x