Flip Side of the Coin: The Expat Bubble

I'd mentioned before that I'd like to try (in as much as it is possible) to write the positives I can see about Nigeria. To be honest, a part of me feels like that is a dis-service to honest discourse that needs to be had about what exactly is the matter with Nigeria, but I promised my parents I would try not to make this an (overly) political blog, as freedom of speech is not as much a guaranteed right here as I am used to in America.

Ironically, the first positive thing I am going to talk about in Nigeria is not related to Nigerians, but to living as an expat in Nigeria. It can also apply to the (upper)middle class to wealthy Nigerians, but they still get to live outside the expat bubble unless they actively choose not to, so it's a bit different. I don't get to live in the bubble per say, as I am in a rather unique situation, but I get to interact with those that do, and it's where I am most comfortable. You see I feel I am as much an expat in Nigeria as let's say, Korean-Americans are in Korea, they are, but they aren't... (I call myself a returnee, I guess, and there are others like me)

So, the expat bubble. Having been privileged to live between one for almost five years in Korea, while there, I hated it but I loved it. I hated being excluded from Korean society, but I loved the privileges that being an expat afforded me. The expat bubble is a community of people who have chosen to live in Nigeria while not really leading the Nigerian life (replace that with any other culture obviously)

In Abuja, there are a couple of groups a little bit different from Seoul, because, as you can imagine, the needs are different. I will not attempt to categorize each group with vast generalizations I will just mention them.

• The diplomat (who, for some countries, are not exactly what I thought they would be, perhaps my own father himself being a diplomat biased my opinion on this)
• The development worker, who gets the beneficial treatment of being an expat, without really making the money of one. They do it for the love of the peeps (if I could be a considered an expat in Nigeria I would fall here)
• The "I have no idea what exactly the hell it is you are doing here but somehow you have managed to live here for many generations, own businesses and potentially engage in shady activities" expat. To be honest some of these are more Nigerian than I can ever hope to be. 

For me, I have learned a few things. The expat bubble is small. You will meet the same people again and again. You'll end up at the same parties, events, whatever it is that people are going to. There may be cliques (the Germans, the Americans, the Brits) but they all collide for bigger events if you will.

There are advantages. It's an escape, like an oasis in the desert (any time I hear/say oasis I also sing Wonder Wall #dorkawesomealert, which also reminds me of that one time on the bus to mudfest in Korea with the beer.... but I digress, you can read my Korea blog for all the juicy details http://karamelinkorea.blogspot.com/). You'd be surprised at the things one can come up with to keep themselves entertained - well not really, mostly parties, and barbecues, and more parties. But still

 Yet, as anyone will tell you, there are also disadvantages. Like I said, it's small and you will always run into the same people. So being best friends with all of them is a realistic way to survive <I know sarcasm doesn't translate well in written media, so, yeah, that was it>. Also, you never really truly get to learn about another place or culture

"Do you live in Nigeria at all?", friends have asked me. All your photos have "white" people in them. I avoided the expat bubble as much as I could in Korea, learned the language, hung out with the locals. In Nigeria, I kind of feel I get a pass though. I mean I know kind of know about Nigerian culture right? Whatever gets me through my day I guess. I definitely won't be as judgemental as I was in the past about it any more. Live your life, however you see fit. For me, it's the pool parties and the BBQs that keep me sane on the weekends, and help me deal with a rough week immersed in the culture, and if that's your thing, who am I to judge. It's definitely made my life a bit easier having good friends who can relate to me...

And I promise I do some Nigerian things too... sometimes...

Halloween 2014

Pool/BBQ Party

at Cafe 24

Art Exhibit in Wuse 2

p.s. It feels amazing to be back to writing. I know I've been gone for a few months. Look for more updates soon (already in draft form) on politics (a little), culture, and my adventures.

p.p.s It's my blog, so I put up my favorite people/pictures, but the credit for the photos is not mine in most cases.