From Canada with love

So this is the first time that my parents moved to a different country without me or my siblings. Therefore it was very different to go and visit them in a country which I had never actually been to before. However, just like always they made it a very special and amazing trip for me. Since I live so far away, it is always nice to spend some time with my parents. It only took me about 3 flights and about 34 hours to arrive in Lagos, but it was worth it. Now, let me tell you what we did while I was in Lagos for a week. However, you should be aware that we did not think about any events taking place and simply booked a ticket for me to visit back in october. On the 16th of February elections were meant to take place though (I landed on the 15th of February). We were provided with a couple of rules due to the elections. For example, we were told to stay at home, on the compound because there may be parties or riots on the streets. It was also  forbidden to drive between 6am and 6pm so nobody was working, and everyone was actually expected to stay at home. We were then surprised on the morning of the 16th when it was announced that the elections were postponed by a week. This is not unusual for Nigeria, as this also happened 4 years ago. This also meant that Saturday 23rd of February we also had to stay at the compound.

My time in Nigeria was so much fun but also educational, inspiring and it most of all made me realize just how fortunate I have been my whole life. Sunday we began at a private beach club where I saw horses that were so unbelievably skinny, they really looked very unhealthy. Then we went to the arcade called Twin Waters. We had a lot of fun there, as we played some basketball, ski ball, car racing and air hockey. We also had a cocktail on the top floor, where we could enjoy the ocean view. It was such a fun day.

I did notice that throughout the city there were many compounds, hotels, offices that looked modern, clean and stable. Then surrounding these buildings there were hundreds of people living on the streets, dirty, broken streets, and many more unbelievably sad living conditions. There were homeless, orphaned kids that would run next to cars begging for money and food. As well as adults walking with many things on their head, trying to sell things such as sunglass, snacks, drinks, toys and many other things. This was a way of life I had not yet seen anywhere before, and it really hit me how hard their lives were. Throughout the week my dad had to work as usual which meant that he could not join us during the day. This was unfortunate but my mum was great company as always (and it was good to see dad in the evening) and w

e had a blast doing many things together. We had lunch at Hard Rock Café Lagos, and picked up dessert for the week at the best ice cream store, Cold stone. We went out to dinner with my dad a couple of times, once was at the lagoon and it was such a nice place, but I had ordered a large Long Island ice tea and let me tell you it only had alcohol in it. You could not taste anything but alcohol! I had to share it with my dad 😏 Then we also had dinner at a nice pizzeria, it was delicious.

Now almost every day I tried to make my time in Nigeria feel like a vacation, which is why I would spend some time at the pool. However, it seemed that my parents had other plans because three days of the week we spent an hour with Favor, he's my parent’s personal trainer. Then twice during the week we had 2-hour tennis practice outside in 34 degree weather. I was sore for days, I don’t know how my parents do it. Other days we walked around markets for a few hours and were constantly on the move. I must say my parents are very active in Nigeria and I struggled to keep up! I also really want to thank Glory, Ali and Yinka for all they did for me while I was there. Glory made me breakfast, lunch and dinner and it was always delicious. Ali was our driver that week while Jinka drove my dad to and from work. I was very impressed by how they drove and took care of us, as sometimes the roads were very hectic in Lagos.

Lagos, see you again in 2020!