Naija for Christmas...

I know it’s a little early to be thinking about Christmas, unless you’re one of the luck few going away for Christmas, but all my friends are talking about the events going on in Nigeria this Christmas and which parties they’re gonna attend and so on and so on… Naija (Nigeria for short) for Christmas would be so sweet… believe it or not, last year (2005) was the first time I spend Christmas in Nigeria (at least as an adult)…. I usually visit during off seasons and summer time, but never had I gone to Naija for Christmas in my adult life til last year… and it was better than I could ever imagine, it was better than all the stories that I’d hear or the pictures I’ve seen… it definitely affirmed my feelings that I definitely want to move back to Nigeria.

Anyways, last year my trip to Nigeria was 4 weeks full of partying, meeting/visiting cousins, meeting all the Lagos guys (and all different types of guys), go out to clubs, doing it all… it was the best Christmas or vacation that I had taken in a long time… life was good, waited on hand & foot, shopping, going out to parties, visiting people, meeting some new friends and getting re-acquainted with old friends and cousins and family members… I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better time. I never really understood what all the hype about Christmas in Naija was about until I actually experienced it myself… what made it even better was that a lot of my friends from the states were there as well, including my best friend… and my ex, L, from London was in Naija as well… my sister and I had our own car and driver, courtesy of my aunt and uncle (who we stayed with for the vacation, since my entire immediate family lives here in the states)… my brother had his own driver and car (plus his boys were doing big things in Lagos, so they took care of him), and my mom had her own driver and car (so she pretty much left me and siblings to do as we pleased)… every day was so much fun and every evening we were scheming as to where to meet up with our friends and what clubs were hot for the night and so on… the clubs played the best reggae I’ve ever heard (and I love me some reggae and I can wine with the best of them)…
I mean, the whole experience was an eye opener for me… made me appreciate my culture so much more… every night was an adventure and I would so love to go back this Christmas… but I can’t, I got too much on my plate to go this Christmas, but I’m planning on going in March for my cousin’s wedding and then again next Christmas (2007)…

Don't get me wrong, i did miss my usually Christmas in the states, i did miss all of my family traditions cause half the fam was in the states and half was in Nigeria... and i'm definitely glad we'll all be together this year for christmas (except for my older brother who is going to Nigeria (and yes I am jealous I can't go again this year, but there's always next year))...

I eventually wanna move back (and needless to say, most people think I’m absolutely crazy for wanting that since I’ve spent most of my life in the states)… Nigeria is part of who I am… and there is so much potential in that country, they just need a few focused, honest and motivated young people to direct it in the right path…
(and yes I do realize visiting Nigeria during Christmas time isn't a fair representation of what Nigeria is like throughout the year and it doesn't means that I will enjoy living there on a more permanent basis… I am very well aware of that and prepared to make the necessary sacrifices when the time comes (but fortunate for me, the sacrifices won't be too many :-))… I always manage to mention that to a guy when I’m dating him just to ensure that he’s aware of my future intentions…. like my ex, L, he even started looking for jobs in Naija… but that ended when we ended… ) anyways, I’m not saying I’m moving there today or tomorrow or even next week… but when I’m good and ready, I’ll be making the trek back to the motherland for good :-)… can’t wait!