I will not miss

I have been thinking a little bit here and there about the things I will not miss about living in Nigeria. At or very near the top of the list: This lightbulb.

This is the lightbulb connected directly to NEPA, or the Nigerian power company. When this light is on, we have “light” (which, being translated, is power from the power company). When this light is off, it indicates that NEPA is off. It is often off. If we’re running electricity in the house from the generator, there is really no other way to tell if NEPA has come back on unless we look out our window. In our “parlour” (a.k.a. living room), we can look out across the way at the light on Okese’s (our neighbor’s) porch to see if NEPA has come back. When I am in the kitchen and NEPA is off, I have to look out the kitchen window (leaning over and craning my neck to see around the partially open window) every two or three or five or ten minutes to see if NEPA has come back on (the lightbulb pictured above). Most of the time I am disappointed. It is frustrating to have to look out the window so often just to see if we have power.

I will not miss having to run the generator, or filling the generator’s tank with gas. I will not missing having to call on my neighbour when the generator is not working properly. I will not miss worrying about the fact that I’m using a borrowed generator and if something goes wrong I will feel responsible to repair or replace it.

I will not miss having to fill the uptank, fill the downtank, open the valve, turn on the pump, reliant on when “board water” (city water) is “rushing” or “floating very nice” or rely on needing to have NEPA on to run the pump to fill the uptank.

I will not miss having to lock every door all the time. Or any of the myriad other general safety concerns here. Driving at night. Being robbed. Just to name a couple. I will not miss having to put DEET on Timothy when we go outside to play.

I will not miss “living out of an action packer.”

I will not miss police checkpoints.

I will not miss rats or cockroaches.

I will not miss the waiting. There is no such thing as instant gratification here. Unless you’re cutting open a pineapple and decide you need an immediate little snack.

I will not miss the thin layer of dried sweat caked all over the skin of my face and my body accumulating after only a few hours of sitting in 80+ degree temperatures.

I will not miss how when something breaks it isn’t easy (or even possible at times) to get it fixed.

I will not miss the difficulty understanding someone who is speaking (or trying to speak) English, but an English that is so heavily accented that you have to ask two or three times for them to repeat what they are saying.

I will not miss not having a dishwasher, washer and dryer, unlimited supply of running water, central air, furnace, oven, shower, water heater and the power always on to run them.

Did I mention rats and cockroaches?

Things I Will and Won’t Miss

I will not miss the heat, the wetness, the humidity, the dampness in the air.

I will miss the predictability of the weather. I never have to think about whether or not I will need a coat. Or even long sleeves. I don’t think it ever gets below 70 here.

I will not miss having to stop and a different stand for every last little thing.

I will miss the relationships I have developed with the proprietors of those shops.

I will not miss having to have cash on hand in my pocket and never know for sure whether I will have enough for that day’s expenditures.

I will miss the tangibility of having to pay cash for everything.

I will not miss the unpredictable traffic or the whacked roads.

I will miss the “no holds barred” kind of driving I get to do here and the relative enjoyment derived from driving on dirt roads where you can’t go more than 5 miles per hour. It always makes me think of how much I would love to go to Canyonlands National Park someday and drive those types of roads in the U.S. with the amazing scenery of southeastern Utah.

Things I Will Miss

I will miss the predictability of the sunrise and sunset times. The sun comes up around 6:30 and goes down around 6:30.

I will miss the fresh tropical fruit, especially those things you can’t get very easily (if at all) at home.

I will miss looking for lizards with Timothy.

I will miss the huge mango tree in our compound.

I will miss seeing people in their traditional dress here. The patterns and colors you see on people here… wonderful, amazing, beautiful, sometimes a little crazy, but never lacking in vivid self-expression, especially on Sunday.

I will miss our neighbours. Okese and his wife Stephanie, their beautiful children, Pearl and Odara, Obinna and his wife, Helen, their three children… the two older of which usually mercilessly picking on their younger daughter (that part I won’t miss), Chinidum the medical doctor, and his wife (who works for UNICEF), Everistus and his family (darling cute daughter and he is such a loving father to his baby), and the “singing lady” and her son although I am sure she is too old to be his actual mother.

I will miss my teaching at the school. It has been such a privilege to spend so much time studying, reading, and teaching from the Bible.

I will miss the students, fellow teachers, and the host missionaries. I will miss them deeply. I love them all very much.