Ayo's blog

Back to Lagos My dad had a function to attend in Lagos, so I decided to catch a ride back with him. The day before our trip, the car suddenly went off and wouldn’t start. After multiple attempts to start the car and some troubleshooting, we determined the alternator had gone bad. It was dark and we were setting out for Ijero from Ado. We ended up loaning a generator battery from a nearby office to drive the car to a hotel close by. The next morning, we drove the car to some mechanics ‘workshop’ to replace the alternator and fix an issue with the shaft. We then had someone return the generator battery to the office we loaned it from. The mechanic was expecting us since we had called the night before. In a few hours, we were on our way. We had a one hour journey to Ijero to pack what we needed then a four hour journey to Lagos. Usually, we try to travel during the day so we had to rush in and out of Ijero which meant I didn’t get to see my grandmother before I left. She would h...

Greetings from Ekiti State, again Part of this post was written in week 3 along with the first 2 posts. I didn't have the time nor the energy to finish the write up and post it. Each day is very long and after factoring the heat, exhausting. By 7 pm, I just want to eat, take a cold shower and sleep then repeat.  Anyway, I extended my trip to Ekiti by a week to spend more time with my grandmother and to visit other locations in the state. She told me more of her life stories, fed me constantly and showed me how to make some of the meals. Her meals are typically made fresh and consumed within a few days. Nothing is refrigerated  and her only seasoning is salt and locust beans preserved with salt. The locust beans have a somewhat unpleasant smell but makes the meal delicious. In fact, any soup without preserved locust beans is almost tasteless . The soups are usually made with okra or spinach and eaten with a starchy side made from yam. The yam is usually peeled and bo...

Greetings from Ekiti State Excited to visit my grandmother who is 102 years old, I headed to Ekiti state. I stopped in the capital to meet up with my dad who has been volunteering in the upcoming elections (the election was postponed by a week as of the time of writing this). After a quick trip to the country's capital - Abuja, we headed to his hometown two days later. My grandmother was excited to see me. She called me by the name she gave me when I was born. At her age, her memory is extremely sharp, her health in great form (apart from a shaky tooth), and she looked as beautiful as ever. Over the course of the week she told me stories of her upbringing, struggle, poverty, activism, outspoken nature, and greatest of all her commitment to ensure all her children educated. An opportunity her mother deprived her off. She told me how they walked for two days to travel between cities before cars were introduced. And how her legs were swollen when she arrived at her destination (...

Greetings!!! My trip to Nigeria began with a flight to Atlanta and then a 10 hour direct flight to Lagos, the commercial capital. I missed my flight to Atlanta because I forgot my wallet at home and the airline had to verify the credit card I purchased my ticket with. I was able to make a roundtrip home to still catch a later flight which got me to Atlanta in time to catch my direct flight to Lagos. We experienced serious turbulence on both flights. Otherwise, my trip was uneventful. My parents were out of town attending family events so my cousin's husband picked me up from the airport. I spent a few hours with my cousin and her kids before they dropped me off at her older sisters house. I spent pretty much my entire week with my cousin and her family. Here are some pictures from my time with them. My niece - Tomi  Boiled yam with garden egg stew - deliciousness A luggage basket willed to my grandmother in 1923 by her wealthy aunt. My grandmother was 7 years ...