Farewell

I am currently sitting in the Delta lounge at the Lagos airport preparing to depart for the last time… Destination: Austin. I could not be more excited to get home. It’s been a long six months over here in Nigeria, but I can wholeheartedly say it’s been an incredibly unforgettable experience. I have been constantly challenged, tested, and frustrated, even some of the time in a positive way. I’ve met some amazing people, made some great friends, and hope to keep in touch with many of them. I came here six months ago with pretty much no expectations. I had never lived outside the country before, let alone spent ANY time in a developing country. I half expected to sit alone at my house most the time and just read books and watch movies, which was certainly not the case. Looking back, I think my social life was likely more active than it’s ever been in my entire life, save maybe a year or two of college. I’ve never had so many weeknight activities and events while also filling most my weekends quite easily. It far surpassed the minimal expectations I had for this place.

That being said, nothing can compare to the excitement I have to come home right now. After being away from Texas for the last year and a half (CA for a year and Nigeria for 6 months), the anticipation to return is certainly at its height. I can’t wait to make a home for myself in Houston and finally settle in somewhere for an extended period of time. I can’t wait to be closer to my friends and family and reunite with many people I’ve seen so sparingly over the last two years almost. I’ve gotten the question a lot in the last week or so, “What will you miss about Nigeria?” This is a hard one for me to answer. I don’t think there will ever be a time I’ll be sitting anywhere, especially back in Texas, when I’ll think to myself, man, I really wish I was back in Nigeria right now. It just hasn’t been that kind of experience. I will always look back on these 6 months as something I’m incredibly grateful for and as an amazing eye-opening experience. There are certainly moments I’ve cherished and things I’ve done that I’m truly thankful for, but this just isn’t a place you would necessarily ever choose over somewhere else in the world. There are things about California, both SF and LA that I truly miss; things I wish I could go back and do again or do more often. There aren’t necessarily things like that about Nigeria for me. Well, maybe with one exception – I really did enjoy the Fat Boy Run and would mark that as my favorite thing about this place. I could see myself sitting at home on some Friday night in the future wishing I was out doing that. But that’s the anomaly. The biggest thing, and largely the only thing, I’m sad to leave behind are many of the people here. I made some good friends and even enjoyed a few coworkers and sincerely hope our paths cross again in the future.

In conclusion, I’ve resolved that this will be my final blog post. The intention of this blog was to keep people informed on my travels and experiences abroad, while also serving as a journal of sorts for myself. This was never intended to be a long-term, permanent thing for me, so on my return to the states tomorrow I will say goodbye to Nigeria Nick once and for all. As good ol’ Tyrus Borck put it, it’s time to welcome back Texas Nick. I hope anyone that’s actually read and kept up with this has found it at least slightly entertaining and enlightening. It’s been somewhat of an annoyance for me at times to actually keep up with this, but I’m very pleased that I have. I can’t wait to look back on this years from now and remember this experience that was such an invaluable period of my life. For any of you reading this that I’m leaving behind, I’m sorry to go. But, for those of you reading this that I’m coming home to, I cannot wait for what is to come! Texas, I’m coming home.

P.S.  In what is a perfectly fitting departure, I just had to bribe airport security to let me through. This is the first time I’ve personally had to bribe someone here, though I’ve heard countless stories and witnessed it several times. I had a large ceramic mug that I purchased from Munich in my carry-on bag because I didn’t want to risk it getting damaged in my checked bag. Apparently it’s too big and can be used as a weapon (what?) so they tried forcing me to check my bag, which would have been another excess bag and cost me $200. Instead, I offered the guard 1000 Naira (equivalent to $6) and they let me go on through. Ohhh Nigeria…