Random Stuff
So I gave up on the daily accounts because they are actually giving me work to do these days, and it is seriously cutting down on my ability to write in an uninterrupted flow… so now I have switched to writing snippets. My snippets will be long though.
I am trying to stop being so random because I think my boss is beginning to think I am weird with all my seemingly unrelated statements. So with these snippets, I will try and group them together in some related categories.
“So has Don talked to you about the women yet,” asks my boss on the way home from work the other day. Don is like your old mean uncle who has a raspy voice like a New Orleans trumpet player. Naturally he is full of advice, and one of the first things he told me about was the women. “Yes he’s told me,” I reply. But clearly, Greg wanted to explain again. Greg then proceeds to go on about how the women of Nigeria will see me as young, attractive, walking gold. I thought he was joking but I have been hearing the same story from expats and Nigerian’s alike. I guess we will see.
So it turns out that I have a cousin (sort of, she is my mom’s first cousin’s husband’s sister) who lives in Lagos. My mom sent her my contact info and told me to call her. After verifying with my mom that she was expecting my call, I give her a ring. Naturally the woman had no idea who I was or why I was calling. But after a few minutes of convincing here I was not some stranger, we had a pretty good convo. She married a Nigerian guy 30 years ago and has lived here ever since. They are having their 30th anniversary party this Saturday, and she has invited me to go. Well yesterday she stopped by the hotel since she was in the area, and she proceeded to tell me how Lagos is the safest place on earth. ‘Oh don’t worry about walking around, you’ll be fine’ she says, but the next sentence is ‘But make sure you carry some ID on you in case you somehow become unconscious’. She was a nice lady though and I look forward to going to her party if I can get transportation to it.
I realize that I stare at people here, and I think it throws some people off. I sit in a cubicle, whenever someone crosses my path, I end up looking at them and making eye contact. I think the office is beginning to know me as that staring guy. But I finally figured out why I do it. I have been conditioned to immediately observe black people. Under normal circumstances, I would never see a black person at work, or at a work social gathering, or even at my apartment complex. So I constantly subconsciously searched for black skin so that I might not miss the chance of seeing someone like me. I know we (black people) do it, when you walk into a room, you probably notice all the black people in there. Well I have not shaken that habit yet, and since nearly everyone is black, I end up staring at nearly everyone. I guess eventually I will get used to this.
At work the other day, I had my first completely Nigerian meal and I really enjoyed it. It was some beans, jollof rice, and chicken. It was great. Since then I have discovered some collard green like dish that’s pretty good and plantains which are awesome. Its funny to see the origin of so many foods in Caribbean and Black culture right here in Nigeria. It makes sense, but it is just cool seeing food here and seeing its evolution into foods back home.
I am trying to stop being so random because I think my boss is beginning to think I am weird with all my seemingly unrelated statements. So with these snippets, I will try and group them together in some related categories.
“So has Don talked to you about the women yet,” asks my boss on the way home from work the other day. Don is like your old mean uncle who has a raspy voice like a New Orleans trumpet player. Naturally he is full of advice, and one of the first things he told me about was the women. “Yes he’s told me,” I reply. But clearly, Greg wanted to explain again. Greg then proceeds to go on about how the women of Nigeria will see me as young, attractive, walking gold. I thought he was joking but I have been hearing the same story from expats and Nigerian’s alike. I guess we will see.
So it turns out that I have a cousin (sort of, she is my mom’s first cousin’s husband’s sister) who lives in Lagos. My mom sent her my contact info and told me to call her. After verifying with my mom that she was expecting my call, I give her a ring. Naturally the woman had no idea who I was or why I was calling. But after a few minutes of convincing here I was not some stranger, we had a pretty good convo. She married a Nigerian guy 30 years ago and has lived here ever since. They are having their 30th anniversary party this Saturday, and she has invited me to go. Well yesterday she stopped by the hotel since she was in the area, and she proceeded to tell me how Lagos is the safest place on earth. ‘Oh don’t worry about walking around, you’ll be fine’ she says, but the next sentence is ‘But make sure you carry some ID on you in case you somehow become unconscious’. She was a nice lady though and I look forward to going to her party if I can get transportation to it.
I realize that I stare at people here, and I think it throws some people off. I sit in a cubicle, whenever someone crosses my path, I end up looking at them and making eye contact. I think the office is beginning to know me as that staring guy. But I finally figured out why I do it. I have been conditioned to immediately observe black people. Under normal circumstances, I would never see a black person at work, or at a work social gathering, or even at my apartment complex. So I constantly subconsciously searched for black skin so that I might not miss the chance of seeing someone like me. I know we (black people) do it, when you walk into a room, you probably notice all the black people in there. Well I have not shaken that habit yet, and since nearly everyone is black, I end up staring at nearly everyone. I guess eventually I will get used to this.
At work the other day, I had my first completely Nigerian meal and I really enjoyed it. It was some beans, jollof rice, and chicken. It was great. Since then I have discovered some collard green like dish that’s pretty good and plantains which are awesome. Its funny to see the origin of so many foods in Caribbean and Black culture right here in Nigeria. It makes sense, but it is just cool seeing food here and seeing its evolution into foods back home.
posted by Anthony Jackson at 8:55 AM
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