Journey to the Fatherland – Wk 1
Hello and welcome to my channel :D
It’s been a while since I’ve written something other than fiction, but I’m on an exciting journey which I want to document as much as I can.
My novel-in-progress is set in Lagos, Nigeria, but I haven’t set foot in the country since 2010. Although I did a lot of research during my writing process, I sometimes thought about how nice it’d be to write a draft of my novel in Nigeria. By the middle of May, the thought became a realisation and I’m so excited about being in Nigeria.
I’m especially looking forward to visiting the locations my characters explore in the novel.
The Journey
From hearing friends’ and families’ experiences and lamentations, I decided to go into the country with the lowest expectations. I wanted to treat each event as an individual experience, but in my eleven days being here, I’ve realised how much mental energy this requires. You need a crazy amount of patience and madness to live in Lagos because so many things make no sense. The one question I’ve asked the most since I arrived is: why? And this applies to structures, systems and people’s behaviour. So far, everyone I’ve put my question to doesn’t seem to have an answer. They all respond with, ‘we’re also trying to figure out why.’
I thought coming back here after a decade would feel different, but it feels like I never left. Perhaps it’s because I’m an adaptable person or it’s my low expectations, but I’m still at a point where I don’t hate anything about my time here. Do I get irritated sometimes? Absolutely. But I’ve come to learn that dwelling on things that irritate you about Lagos will drive you crazy. Peace of mind is essential to me, so I’m trying to channel my energy into staying sane.
Days 2-7
I spent my first week in quarantine for the most part. But in between, I tried to sort out my bank account and get a SIM card. I thought German bureaucracy was bad, but Lagos’s is something else, though I’m not sure I’d refer to this as bureaucracy because I don’t think there’s an order to this system. I don’t know how I would have survived my first week with the number of times I had to go to the bank or on a hunt for a SIM card, if my friend didn’t drive me around. Since the government regulations in Dec 2020 for SIM card registration before purchase, getting a sim has become almost like looking for gold. And I was on this hunt until the middle of week two (more in my next post!).
One of the things I was most excited about was food, and I’ve been eating a lot. Sadly, most of my meals have ended in disappointment. I don’t know if I’ve set an unreachable expectation with regards to food, but for some reason, I keep getting let down. I’m still searching for the perfect meat pie :/.
Prior to coming to Lagos, I curated a list of cafes and restaurants to visit, and my first stop was House café in Lekki Phase I for breakfast. I loved the space so much. The decor was great and the lighting went well with my baby girl energy. Plus the food was gooood. I’ve been warned by a good friend that Lagos is filled with overpriced restaurants with not-so-great tasting food, but I wasn’t disappointed. On the same day, I had lunch with a friend at RSVP Lagos and it was beautiful. Sadly, I was so engrossed in catching up with her that I didn’t take any pictures. But I shall be back because the restaurant is elite!
Hello from a baby girl :)
On the last day of week one, I tagged along on a trip to the mainland. It was exciting seeing different parts of Lagos, and I think it was majorly fun because there was barely any traffic. One of my realisations since being here is the weekend (mainly Sunday) is best for getting anything done. Any other day and you’ll find yourself sleeping in traffic. On weekdays, when I plan for a journey that should take half an hour, for example, I always include a one hour plus buffer time (which sometimes is never enough). My biggest takeaway from being on the road this week is: I cannot drive in Lagos. The kind of energy you need to drive in this city is wild. You need a certain level of aggressiveness if you want to get to your destination because most people on the road are not normal, and I don’t want to fall into kind of abnormality Lagos traffic brings out of people.
To end on a good note, something that continues to surprise me is the kindness of strangers in the little things like realising you look lost and pointing you in the right direction, helping you watch the road when you want to park your car, stopping to answer questions. And it’s left me feeling super hopeful. The state of the country constantly left me wondering how people can remain so hopeful while living here, but I’m starting to see ways in which that happen. Also without hope, how does one truly live?
I’ll continue living my baby girl lifestyle and sharing my experiences. I’m still optimistic and excited about being here even though this twitter ban is stressing my destiny (more on this next week).
P.S. I apologise for the quality + content of the video; will try to do better next time :D
