Nigeria: Could I Really Live There?

When I tell people I plan on moving back to Nigeria some day, a lot of them ask me the following questions:

Why?

How?

To answer the why question, I miss it. I spent a lot of time in Nigeria as a child and lived there as a teenager for four years. To say Nigeria molded me into the person I am today is as obvious a statement as me writing that I’m a girl.

To answer the how question is always a bit trickier; it took me a while before I realized people couldn’t wrap their minds around me choosing to live in a third world country. I blame the media for this; they usually only cover the people fleeing from third world countries as opposed to the millions of people who make Africa their home and the thousands who choose to live here.

But if I’m being completely honest with myself, I don’t know if I could live in Nigeria. It’s been a long time since I have and that was a long time ago. I have no idea what it would be like now that I'm an adult whose lived on her own for almost ten years.

Which is why my little vacation couldn’t have come at a better time; I’m going home for three glorious weeks to visit my parents, see old friends and cover Nigeria’s Fashion Week for AOL Black Voices. So for the next 21 days, I’ll be blogging from Nigeria and my posts will be about all things Nigeria.

I want to share my home with readers so you guys can finally see why I love it there so much. Now you may be asking yourself how an African’s perspective of an African country is supposed to bring any new insight to the country. Well I am a Nigerian who lived in Nigeria. But I’m also an American who has spent most of her life in America. I haven’t even visited Nigeria for four years and from what I’ve been told, it’s a lot different now. I’ll be experiencing a lot of things for the first time and I want people to get a chance to experience it with me.

So you guys are going to get a glimpse of everything: what life is like here for a young woman.

This whole thing won’t be as fun without some questions. I want you guys to ask me anything! No question is too stupid. So what do you want to know? Ask away : )

Happy Valentine's Day.

"Of all the things that you could be, you never could learn how to be me."

Lisa Loeb.

Some mark the holiday with candy and kisses, I like angsty girl music.

Family is Everything.

My mother always told me and my siblings to cherish the time we had together because we were all going to grow up and apart. She was right; we've grown up and we're scattered across the country. I miss my siblings so much but I'm thankful my parents made us spend so much time together because we're all still pretty solid.

Anyway, the picture above is my love letter to the siblings.

I love you guys!

Africa Doesn't Need Pity

Enjoy the video above (my sister brought it to my attention because she finds all the awesome stuff first).

How adorable is this kid? He reminds me of my brother and cousin when they would reenact "The Matrix" for the umpteenth time. They were huge fans.

Anyway, nothing irritates me more than people treating Africa like a handicapped continent and its citizens like charity cases. I can't tell you how many times I've met people who automatically assumed I was poor, slow, hungry and slow of hearing ("HI JOANNEEEEEE! IT IS SO NICE TO MEET YOU!) because I'm African.

But more on that later.

Today in Frivolity

Is it weird that I'm sad about this breakup?

• Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz are no more. *Cries out in emo pain*
  
  
• Jude Law and Sienna Miller broke up too but I have a feeling I'll still be 24 by the time they get back together.
  
  
• Miley Cyrus may be getting down with Amy Winehouse's sloppy seconds. In his defense, it's been a while since he dated the "Rehab" singer. But talk about going where no sane man has gone before...

• Kim Kardashian is the March cover girl for Harper's Bazaar magazine. FYI, the September and March issues are the most important for most magazines. That's why the big celebrities usually land those covers; they need to make sure the issues sell.
  
  Kim Kardashian.
  March cover girl.
  Harper's Bazaar magazine.
  ?????????????????
  "Welcome to America" Prince.