This week has been . . . strange. I can't put my finger on what it is that is causing my emotions to bob up and down like a little kid in the waves of the ocean. One day I'm doing great and I'm excited to be here in Nigeria, and the next I'm making a list of the things I miss from America and feeling very down. At the moment, I definitely fall into the latter of the two categories.
I think part of it is that I don't feel as though I have anyone here to talk to, even though I've lived here for 150 days on Monday. I haven't made too many friends (most Nigerians don't want to have a deep and dependable friendship, but rather a shallow, I-have-a-friend-who's-an-oyibo-American friendship.), and my housemates aren't the sharing type.
Another thing that is deeply contributing to my emotional cosine curve is the fact that churches in Nigeria are very . . . repetitive and . . . non-applicable. Almost every sermon in every church is on an Old Testament character who did something and then the pastor takes the point of the story and changes it to fit the point he's trying to make which may or may not be Biblical (for example, I attended a sermon where it was "proven" that the King James Version is the only version any Christian should use). It can be frustrating (concession: not all sermons are like this, but most are.)
But the upswings are partially due to my enjoyment of my students, and the fact that I'm in Africa. It helps, too, that we have a new housemate to get to know.
I know that this post isn't terribly cheerful, but it's the way I've been feeling for awhile. Thanks for reading even though I'm being saturnine.
(By the way, I'm going to Lagos on Monday with some students, and I'm excited about that!)
2 comments:
Praying for you, my friend. :)
Hey-O, Warren!
Hope things are turning around for ya', and I'll be in Senegal in about a week so perhaps it will become easier to chat. Or harder. We'll see...
At least you can feel good knowing you aren't the only one struggling on the same continent! :)
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