Gone and Back Again

So. We're back in Ife.

I thought it would take me a little bit to get accustomed to Nigeria again. I am not exaggerating to you when I say that I barely blinked an eye. There was no huge shock. We deal with NEPA (or PHCN as it's called now) just as we've always had. I really don't feel a change. I walk my dog in the morning like I've always had. I go around, goofing off on my laptop, thinking about weird stuff like I've always had here. I wasn't expecting to be like shocked into oblivion like ERMAHGERD WHAT THE POOP IS THIS I MEAN HUHWHUH HUUUUUHH

Okay I'll stop that now.

I think you get what I'm trying to say. It's actually sorta cool. When I get to the States I immediately switch into "America mode". When I'm here in Nigeria? "Nigeria mode". No culture shock, nothing. I guess the problem is that I've been listening to crap from a whole bunch of people, telling me that when I go from Nigeria to America or vice versa I'll suddenly have to learn everything all over again. I'll be a fish outta water, so out there and confused but in a sort of good, happy way. Now that last sentence really doesn't make sense. Whatever! I've got a rule: never edit posts. Just write them how they are and let 'em loose!

Hey, on an unrelated note, I've noticed that there are only like 3 photos in this whole darn blog. Well, that isn't going to do! I've got four years worth of writing on this site, so I'm going to have to explain Nigeria to you guys visually as well. I'll be working on that, but to be honest we don't have a camera at the moment. Actually, the last time we owned a (working) camera was in...2010? 2011? Something like that. Anyway, don't worry! I've got it under control.

Well, Signing off,
The Traveler

We're In America!

Yes!

I'm writing this post in the same room that I wrote my first post three years ago. It sounds crazy when you state it that way. But we are back, in Durham NC. Things are different than what I expected. For example I thought that I would have a tougher time reintegrating into my old life. Fortunately that wasn't the case. Everything seemed to just...click. I instantly just fell into my old ways and everything. It was a piece of cake :) One thing I was not expecting was the drastic change in temperature. Boy was I in for a shock. I must look ridiculous to the neighbors and such, walking around in a jacket while they where t-shirts and shorts. I really don't wanna relive that so why don't we just change the subject. Another thing that I had to get used to was constant electricity and water. In the beginning I was expecting every minute for the lights to go out or the TV  to shut off or something. But surprisingly, it never does. And I'm always staring at my laptop screen, just waiting for that "plugged in, battery full" icon to change to the "unplugged, battery at 56%" message of death. But. It never does. Getting back in touch with friends is so great. I think that has to be my favorite thing about being back in the States. Plus the food! Yeah, that beats all of them. Food is great. I've never told you guys how much I love food. Food is so awesome that I love it so much that--okay, time to change the topic again before we go completely off the subject.

But what are the things I miss? My pets has to be one of the biggest. I miss my dog. I miss my cats. Heck, I even miss Brownie. Luckily we're bringing them to Durham in August so that's cool. But until then, I keep making the mistake of thinking that Shep is gonna come bounding around the corner like a crazy.

It's been too fun to be back. 'Nuff said.

Signing off,
The Traveler

An Edit and an Update

Remember that post I wrote about Lagos undergoing renovation?

It's not only Lagos. I was wrong about that. This is happening all over the country. Even here in Ife. Ife is considered a rural sort of place by most Nigerians. A place where nothing is happening to put it simply. (To be honest, sometimes I agree with them. :P) Even here--though the progress is much slower than in Lagos--I'm starting to see differences than when we first came to Nigeria. In 2009, there was no pizza delivery. Now there is. So what if the pizza tastes like fuel? It's still pizza delivery. In 2009, there was no fiber optic cabling. Guess what? They're lying down the foundations for that right now. Do you see what I mean? It's not blazing fast progress, but it's progress nonetheless. Heck, it's more than what we had back in '09. That's gotta mean something. Besides, Ife is always getting bigger, at a freakishly fast rate. Our city in the States, Durham, has a population of 228,000 sumthin. Ife's population is 372,000. And that's a rough approximation. I think you're starting to see what I'm talking about. Ife is going to become one of the biggest cities in Nigeria in couple of decades. And with a growing middle-class in Nigeria anyway, you're going to need more amenities if you want to avert discontent from the masses. Maybe that's why the government is allowing foreign companies to fill in these spots.

Here's the update part: We're leaving in a week for Durham and my laptop is completely messed up. At first I thought it was my HDD. I was sort of right; it was part of the problem, but I also think that my graphics card could also be going bad due to overheating. Not good news, right? Well, at least I can go and see my friends again back in America! That is going to be too much fun. (Goodness, I wish that I had posted more pictures in the last 3 years! I have to get a camera...)

Signing off,
The Traveller

200th Post!

Yes, I've hit it!

Another milestone for this blog. It took me a while, but I made it! :D So now that I've gotten to this point, I'm going to take a look back at my first posts on this blog, back in 2009. Goodness. That was four years ago. It shocks me to see it so blatantly; right in front of my face. I made this blog back in 2009. Well, at least I've seen how much progress I've made! Some of my earlier posts look so...ignorant from my perspective now. Of course, you can't blame me; I was thrown into a completely different culture. New foods, new experiences. Surprisingly I haven't even written all of my adventures in this blog. There are just so many which have helped me to realize...I'm not so ignorant anymore. I know what an Okada is. I've learned a bit of the native languages. I've met new people. I definitely would not have participated in the WRO in Abu Dhabi if I had never come to Nigeria. So many things would be so different. When we first arrived in Nigeria I didn't know how to take care of a dog. Well, now I do. I can say pretty confidently that if I hadn't come here I would have never gotten Shep. Or Night. Or Harry Potter. I would have never met the friends I've made here. But you know what? I'm ready to go back home too.

So after two hundred posts, I've learned a whole world of info on this country. Not as complete as my experience in America. Actually, I don't think it will ever be as complete as my knowledge of the States. But I'm okay with that. :)

Signing off,
The Traveler

Plans

Hey everyone,

My life for the past few days has been a little hectic. Well, to be precise, my parents' lives have been a little hectic. They have all of this planning to do for our trip back to the US. I still can't believe it whenever I write that out. Our trip back. It's really happening. I've already told all my friends over there and they're pretty psyched like I am. I wonder how much has changed? I've looked at my neighborhood in Google Earth a couple of times, but it looks the same. Wow, I must sound redundant. How many posts have I made like these? But I still can't help but think about it. It's like...it's like if you lived in a faraway country for a couple of years with barely any contact with your friends and family back home. Actually...that's exactly what it is. :P The contact stuff is mostly our area's fault. For the longest time we haven't had phone or internet access, but if you've been following this blog for a while you already know about that. And if not, trust me. I've mentioned those two problems a lot. Now that the internet is solved our phone reception is even worse than usual. Meh, whatevs. I'll get over it right? Until we find a solution there's no point in going on about it. Anyway, that's really what's been on my mind the most these days. Going back to Durham.

Signing off,
The Traveller

Connected Like Crazy

Best news ever!

We have broadband satellite internet access! One megabyte per second, 32 GB download limit for each month. It’s crazy! I’m still trying to adapt to using the internet anytime I want. I can surf YouTube. I can get that IDE I’ve been eyeing for the past few days. I can keep up to date with all of the blogs that I like (including this one). You really REALLY can’t appreciate the internet until you’ve been severed from it. But I think I’ve said that a hundred times before. J Now I’m able to go to Khan Academy, play online games…the list goes on. We’re using an Internet Service Provider called YahClick. It’s pretty good…most of the time. Like when we picked up the equipment for the dish—that was a hassle! We thought it would be a quick easy process. How we were so wrong. It took us more than an hour to get it, and that was after threatening the YahClick office that we won’t buy from them if they don’t bring the darn stuff. And right now is another annoying moment with this ISP. It claims that we’ve surpassed our daily bandwidth limit which is 1.2 GB. This is pretty much impossible. We haven’t come close to downloading a GB of data in one day. So we’re going to Lagos tomorrow anyway. We’re planning on telling them off. I’m sort of laughing right now. Isn’t it a little ridiculous? A few weeks ago, we were pretty much offline. Now, we have one of the fastest internet connections in town. Yeah, there are other broadband satellite setups about Ife, but they’re usually shared. That means that the download/upload speeds are unbearably slow. What do you have to say about that, Multilinks?! Satellite internet, for the win!

(now I can upload my harlem shake video now…>:D)

Signing off,

The Traveler (ONLINE)

Changes Time!

No, I'm not talking about my life,

I'm talking about the city of Lagos. We're actually there right now; I'm writing this from our hotel room. But I'm not here to talk about hotels. I'm here to talk about restaurants. I'll explain, but first, let me tell you this story. We went to Dominoes yesterday. While we were eating we also got some Coldstone ice cream as well. Today, we ate at Johnny Rockets. Of course, this might sound normal to most Americans. But only a year ago these restaurants did not exist in Nigeria. And that's the interesting part. All of these American franchises are moving in as fast as they can. I bet that give it a few years, Dominoes will be seen nationwide. To put it simply, foreign businesses are interested in the Nigerian market. What does that mean? Well, Lagos, and Nigeria in general might be going through major changes in the near future. We might be seeing Radioshacks, Wal-Marts, all of the shops and stores you see in America here. The question now is whether if that is a good thing or not. Well, I'll like it. But of course, I'm biased. I'm homesick, I like the familiar brand names and such. But what if these bigger companies come in and sweep all of the local businesses to the side? One good thing is that these Nigerian branches are actually owned and run by Nigerians. So, that means that foreigners won't be able to completely take over. Overall though, this is a huge sign of progress. It brings a lot of hope to this country, and with a rising middle-class worldwide, Nigeria doesn't have any choice but to upgrade. I mean, look up Eko Atlantic!

Signing off,
The Hopeful Traveller