Continuing ed... compassion refresher
Talk about continuing education. This trip to Nigeria was a refresher on compassion.
The heat was almost unbearable and I am convinced it fried some of my brain cells because I could hardly think straight!
There was the usual lack of electricity and while the generator was working, most of the appliances at home were out of order because of the power outages and surges.
Windows have to be left wide open during the day and closing them too late meant that one had to bear mosquito bites in addition to the stifling heat at night... ( power outages sneak up on you in the middle of the night and the mosquitoes swoop in once there is no fan to blow them away... you had at least 5 bites before the generator was turned on)
There was also no airconditioning in the car and even driving down the street was a chore because of the number of people and cars on the road and a 10 minute drive was easily 30 because of that.
The hardest part for me was the realization that this was not the worst it could have been. I only had to look at most people on the streets to realize how truly blessed I was and am.
Talking to some of my peers about life in Nigeria in general revealed that the mentality is still to look out for number one with almost no regard for making things better for the masses as long as personal comfort is guaranteed.
The heat was almost unbearable and I am convinced it fried some of my brain cells because I could hardly think straight!
There was the usual lack of electricity and while the generator was working, most of the appliances at home were out of order because of the power outages and surges.
Windows have to be left wide open during the day and closing them too late meant that one had to bear mosquito bites in addition to the stifling heat at night... ( power outages sneak up on you in the middle of the night and the mosquitoes swoop in once there is no fan to blow them away... you had at least 5 bites before the generator was turned on)
There was also no airconditioning in the car and even driving down the street was a chore because of the number of people and cars on the road and a 10 minute drive was easily 30 because of that.
The hardest part for me was the realization that this was not the worst it could have been. I only had to look at most people on the streets to realize how truly blessed I was and am.
Talking to some of my peers about life in Nigeria in general revealed that the mentality is still to look out for number one with almost no regard for making things better for the masses as long as personal comfort is guaranteed.
If only half the peo
ple lived what the billboards say...
ple lived what the billboards say...
Posts
2 comments:
Oh, Teju! I pray for you in the heat!! Love SHY
That bridge in the billboard looks like the Golden Gate. So if you live there already, do you really need the religion? :-)
Post a Comment