It is like a routine check for me to do some research before coming to a new place. I check photos, videos, I read Wikipedia, testimonies, travel blogs/vlogs, watch movies, etc. While I try to learn things about a place, what I don't realize is that I'm mostly bombarded with stereotypes.
Chumamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian writer, once said during her session on TED Talk that "the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story."
The people who actually follow my social media accounts would know how much I enjoyed Nigeria. I sometimes receive very interesting comments but I also understand that some are really curious while some are just trying hard to make a statement.
People would be surprised how pleasant this country is. I was lucky to have visited 6 states plus FTC and every place had its own story. Abuja, the capital, is beautiful. I am sometimes convinced that their capital is better than the capital of the Philippines - starting with the issue on traffic. Kidding. Let's not go there.
Living in this continent is a state of mind. It changes you and words are not
A friend told me six months ago that I will be different six months after. I believed him. And ever since, I kept asking myself what has changed until this day.
I don't know if I will have the chance to come back but what I know is that I will leave nothing but memories that will be with me forever. I will miss you and everything about you. Thank you, Nigeria. Well done.
"You cannot leave Africa, Africa said. It is always with you, there inside your head. Our rivers run in currents in the swirl of your thumbprints; our drumbeats counting out your pulse; our coastline the silhouette of your soul." - Bridget Dore
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