I Wonder...

No pictures for this post.....just my own thoughts....a peek inside my brain..
 I know...it is a bit scary!:)


I wonder as I drive through the streets from my air conditioned car,
how that mother selling bread with a baby tied to her can walk so far.

How about the man with flip flops on his feet? How does he feel every time a car drives past
and he slowly retreats???

How does that okada driver feel when the police take his wheels?
It's his livelihood...his life line..his ticket for his meals...

How does the woman selling fish under the bridge feel on a morning when business is slow???
Will she have any money for that day?
Will she have anything to show??

And what about the man who shines shoes along the street...
How much does he make??
Does he ever feel that his lowly job is just too hard to take?

And those people on the bus, crammed in so tight...
Trying to get somewhere...
Maybe home from work while it's still light?

I know I am just an expat and there are things here I will never understand..
Many times, I still do feel as if I am in a foreign land.

I feel as if I will forever be a visitor looking from the outside in,
But even after a few years of living here...
The old feelings creep back in...

I know I cannot change everything I see,
but I always want to remember all the little things around me.

And, just when I start to feel a little bit low,
I see a beautiful Nigerian smile from someone that I know.

She is the reason I have adjusted so well here. 
She's taught us so much about her life and life in general here.

For many here, life is hard....it is a life of work.
But, family ties are strong here and those roots don't desert.

Families are bound here in a way I will never understand.
Brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers all give each other a helping hand.

Even when I am long gone away from here,
I'll remember all the beautiful people I saw and spoke with and listened to here.

Like a love affair, this country and I have had our ups and downs.
I've gone from elated and thrilled to trying to peel myself from the ground.

But, for good or bad or happy or sad,
For the opportunity to come here, I will always be glad.

In my life, Nigeria will always play an important part.
Memories from Nigeria will always be close to my heart.:)