As I mentioned earlier, it’s been 5 years since I had been back in Nigeria. I knew I was going to be seeing a lot of changes, and right from the airport I was right. First, that first wave of heat actually wasn’t there! For those who don’t know what I am talking about, from my past travel experiences i.e. 5 years ago and before, once you land in Nigeria and walk into the airport there is this HEAT WAVE that slaps you, corrects your brain and soul that lets you know YOU ARE NOW IN NIGERIA. Now, this correction wasn’t there for me this November, there were a lot of air conditioners lined to the side which cooled the airport decently. It didn’t take long for me to get my bags and it didn’t take long for..”sister, welcome; you na wan use phone? You wan change dollars? N1000 for trolley etc… If you haven’t been to Nigeria in a while, believe me when I say avoid all these and find your square root to your pick-up somehow…pay for that 1 min roaming and call your family to avoid being sucked into any of the above.
….”Toks! Toks! Ajiun!; my mom calls out from somewhere in the crowd. I couldn’t find her at first because there were SO MANY people standing outside the airport to welcome their beloved home or..maybe not home.

I have a favorite food from my village I had personally requested from my mom to be ready..( I could do this, because Dr. Mrs. Fagbohun had me bring a whole suitcase back home for her as gifts for people…sigh). Anyways, I ate well, didn’t sleep well and got bit by mosquitoes despite the protectant spray and AC being on. I knew I was home.

One week in Nigeria is an extremely short time, but this trip was specially made because my best friend was getting married. First thing was a treat to her as part of a mini bridal shower. We had a full body massage and pedicure at Barazahi spa in Lekki.

LET ME TELL YALL!

They hit every stress spot in my body. Had a hot stone massage which was used on almost every inch of my body and they massaged my stomach. What??????

It. Was. Amazing.

I highly recommend anyone going home and looking for a nice relaxation spot to try this place. Prices are decent as well my whole experience there was around $53 (massage and pedicure). My best friend slept off on her massage table, mouth open and all. Talk about relaxed!!!

Dinner was at Peppercorn restaurant. Not much to say about this. Try at your risk.

The next day was her beautiful traditional wedding day. The groom cried. I teared up because my best friend and I had talked about this day SO MANY TIMES, and it was here. It was beautiful. Check out pictures.

Besides all this fun, I had to get my passport done y’all. This was the most stressful part of my life back home. More so because I was very limited on time. On our way from Mega Chicken (TRY THIS RESTAURANT) to the passport office, we got lost and tried to ask some passerbys for directions. This gentleman seemed so convinced and he goes “yes yes! I know exactly where that is. You see ehn, go straiiiiggghhhhtttt down, when you get to the roundabout, make that u-turn ehn, then go straight small more then turn right”. We thanked him cuz it was getting really frustrating trying to find our way out of our current situation and my google maps refused to upload at that moment. We do exactly as the gentleman had said and ended up nowhere. I’m talking about this because this ish happened on so many other occasions we got lost.

Hello, Nigerians. If you don’t know the way, kindly say, I don’t know the way oh sorry. Chai! Nigerians will just tell you anything and you will just keep getting lost! It’s funny now just writing about it but at that moment…no laughs.

The wedding day was absolutely beautiful!!!

Throughout my stay, I was able to meet up with old friends. Lifetime friends really. Shoutout to Seyi, Funbi, Ama, Seni, Esther and Alfred.

Speaking of, I’m clearly old news with this but there’s a Hardrock cafe in Lagos! Loved the scenery and the entire vibe. Dope.

Since I terrorized a lot of people on my Snapchat with pictures of EVERYTHING I was eating, I knew I had to bring stuff back. Gala, indomie, kilishi, groundnut, expression hair extensions you name it, I had my friends and family in the states covered.

I wish I had more time at home tho. It was so short but I got so much done!

More time with my dimples would have been amazing as well.

Had a similar experience? Let me know below!