The Final Leg of my Journey

part 2...

From NYC i was headed to Africa, the motherland, once again. this time i was going to West Africa, namely Nigeria. this journey saw me going via London and stopping for 12 hrs. now i wasn't about to sit in the airport for that length of time. thank goodness for friends all over the world. my friend Jan met me at the airport and we went around London, to places i had been already, but was keen to see again. i also finally got to go on the London Eye. when i was living in England, i couldn't be bothered to go on it, but visiting again, this time it seemed like the perfect time. it was a really great ride, there is nothing spectacular about it, except the views. especially that of Parliament house. Jan also showed me around where she is working and where she lives. on my way back to Sydney i stopped again, and we pretty much did the same thing but in different places and for a shorter period of time.

my flight to Nigeria was uneventful, except i met a really great Nigerian/British chick, who laughed and joked with me about the antics we were seeing from some of the passengers. it was hilarious, and since she used to play netball for England, she has been all over, including the Caribbean, so we could compare black folk from all over. it was very interesting. we landed in Abuja at 4:30 am, i got through immigration and customs with out, my passport being stolen or myself being accosted. i had to wait about 30 min to 45min for the driver to turn up due to rain and mishaps on the road, but he found me and Chirag had arranged a flight from Abuja to Kano, where he lives. there is so much i could say about this first introduction to nigeria, but to do a full commentary would require much more mental capacity than i have at 4am this Tuesday morning at work. i'll just say i was fascinated by the people i met. in that short amount of time, i found the people i met really nice, very lovely and friendly.

Neways... i digress... so Chirag met me at the Airport in Kano, and man, it was great to see him. it was soooooooo surreal. both of us couldn't believe that i was actually there. everything was great, his house , my room, the food and it was so good to see first hand the things that he would always be telling me about. i must admit that before seeing their company and the new addition to it, i wasn't always sure i understood, but now its all good. when i saw his dad, who i had met previously, it was like coming home. he gave me the biggest hug and was like , oh darling its so good to have you here. i felt so welcomed. and i was so pampered. for 3 days i had to worry about nothing. they took care of everything. it was like Oprah always says, everyone wants to be valued. let me tell you i felt valued. i met some really amazing people. Chirag has really great and funny friends, and Aunt Aisha has to get special mention as the best price negotiator in the markets for souvenirs. i had the best day with her and Chirag getting stuff for myself and my family. like NYC, the trip was way too short but it was really quality. i think my friendship with Chirag has grown by leaps and bounds, just cause we could chat for hours on end. it reminded me of when we were in school together in lancaster. so it was great. and i miss them heaps....but, hopefully, unlike the last time, it won't be another 5 yrs before i see them again.

so that was my trip. i flew into Sydney sunday morning at 5 am and went to work that night. i am back into the swing of things sadly. a week of nights....:( i wish i didn't have to work.... oh well, i can only dream. one day.........

The Rest

so i know that i have been very naughty and left you all stranded on my vaccation. i'm sorry but i have been having too much fun. so here is my synopsis of the rest of the great Surprise trip.

so the rest of the time in JA was really good. i got to spend lots of time with the fam and fam friends. we had a great 3-4 family dinner get together on the weekend with lots of good food. when i left JA i went to NYC, to visit the friends and fam. i had a great time chillin with Maryun before she went on her Cayman vacay, and got to meet some of her really cool friends in NYC. big up to Darren, the lovely sweet guy who picked me up from the airport, chilled with me over pizza and wine and who is a world traveler like my self. nuff stories to swap. i also got to spend the Day with the lovely Mugash, who came up from Philly. we had grand moments in MOMA, the apple store and the Brooklyn bridge. we also had adventures, hunting down the $10 Chinatown bus back to Philly. that bus made me miss my train. i was so mad, but it worked out to be for the best, cause that meant that i got to spend more time with Cliff. and man, i appreciated that. Cliff who has been a great friend, who i haven't seen in over 5 yrs. it was crazy, and we jsut sat there and chatted, cracked up and caught up on everything that's been going on. it was really amazing. i then caught the train to Lancaster to see Opal and her fam. even though i came in at midnight, it was also awesome, cause we got to talking, and even after we got to the house, we sat in the car and chatted. we didn't get inside till close to 1:30am. the day i spent with them was great, my God son Wesley, remembered me ( which just made my week, cause the last time i saw him was when he was 6mnths old). we had the best time that morning, visiting my Alma Mater, me pulling him in his little red wagon. and to top this bad boy of a day off, i got some amazing sales in the stores. i love to shop in PA where there is no tax...BRILLIANT!!!!

when i went back to NYC, i spent the rest of my time with my fam in long island. my brother, his girlfriend and my 2 nieces came over, as well as my other fam. we had dinner at Uncle Ryan's fam's house, and i met the cutest little boy ever. the lovely Adam. so all in all it was a really great NYC/PA trip. it was filled with loads of quality time spent with people. it might not have been long, and i wish it could have been longer, but how i spent it was solid. ok so i was gonna fill you in on the other leg in this post, but i realize that it has gotten a bit long, so i'll split this as well... so more to come.

Well I came home

so here is part two of the saga. i left Florida on a nice Sunday afternoon. the flight was only 1hr and 15min, which to me was like a hop, skip and a jump. not even a solid sleep....lol i was there in no time. i got through immigration and customs pretty quickly and then when outside to wait on my friend Dougie. he unfortunately had some car trouble, so i ended up waiting for 45 min to an hr. he did eventually come and took me home. my original plan was to call my mom when i was on my way, however, sadly my phone died....lol.. so i ended up just walking into the house and saying hey mom....lol.. her reaction was priceless, i wish i had a video camera. of course you know the question was what are you doing here. i sent my brother out to the car to get my luggage and then i walked into the darkened bedroom where my dad was watching TV.... i turned the lights on and his expression won the gold medal. his eyes were almost out of his head and his mouth was open. it was so good. after the first universal question of this situation, his next question was how come you get to be here. i was like, i am on leave.... it was brillinat.

so there you have it, i have since then gone on a rampage of surprising people. uncles, aunts, cousins, friends. its been really good. lovely to be home... the time is going so quickly, in no time i will be heading out. all went well with the British High Commission, and so i am all set to go to England and Nigeria. will be good times, but like everything else, too short a time.....

The Surprise

well well, some of you may know that i am not home at the moment. i hatched a plan a while ago to surprise my parents for their anniversary. it went brilliantly. only 2 of my aunts knew that i was coming so everyone else were surprised.

the first part of my trip had me going to LA, where i spent some time with my Aunt Marcia. we went to Hollywood and Beverly Hills, walked amongst the stars. i found Bob Marley's star on the walk of fame and i got to place myself in Will Smiths shoe and hand print. it was awesome. i also got to meet up with friends and visit Newport Church, which is the church that one of our pastors started 2 yrs ago in Orange county. that was very cool, to see all the peeps. there were people there that i didn't even know had moved to help build the church. so that was nice. i got to surprise them as well. i had lunch with Nicole (Nikki J), which was good Mexican food. i love Mexican, i miss the good stuff. so L of A was great and then i was off to MIA.

Florida was also a blast. mainly cause i basically surprised everyone and amazingly i got to see a large majority of my family. i have a huge family so that is a feat in itself. my sister was there at the same time and she had no clue that i was coming, so on the same day that i surprised my grandaunt, i also shocked her and my cousins. it was really good to see everyone and catch up. their reactions were priceless. a lot of them when they first saw me, thought it was my sister. everyone kept saying that we looked alike, which neither of us can see.... neways side note, i got my cousin to colour my hair, so now i have bronze/ red highlights. i like them....

so back to the surprise... i went up to west palm beach, where my grandmother lives.... my cuz Kathy took me up there and 15 mins before we arrived called grandma to tell her she had a surprise for her and that she was to stay put. then we got to the house and i just walked in... she said,' OH MY GOOD LORD!!!!' shocked and happy. lots of hugging etc...she was like, 'it is so good to see you, this is really a surprise'. then right after my aunt walked into the house, started to say what are you still doing here, cause she thought i was my sister. i said, you have no clue who this is...lol, then she got it. so in all this commotion, my cousin, Simone, was sleeping, she heard the noise and my voice and was thinking... NO... She Wouldn't....lol... at the same time she opened her door, i walked around the corner and all she could do was cover her mouth..... awwww it was priceless. soooo worth it. that weekend, i got to see my uncle Junior, uncle Willie and aunt Pauline..... it was like i had lucked out. cause uncle Junior lives in Orlando and he was only down to put on the shutters on Grandmas house in preparation for Hurricane Ike, just in case. so it was great we all got to chat and catch up, we went to the beach and of course the mall to catch the sales, that are always happening in the USA. when i went back down to ft. lauderdale i got to catch up with old school friends, which was amazing, and i also got to pass by another uncle Junior and meet his new wife. so i think all in all it was a very successful trip, and well worth the secrecy and the planning.

gosh this is a long one.... i'm gonna cut it here and write part 2, the trip to jamaica in another post