Patience, Grace and Goodluck

Dear readers,

Nigeria is never boring. It is also never easy. I know I speak as an elite, who is the guest of the highest power in the area, so if it isn't easy for me, it must be really hard for everyone else.

I have met people named Precious, Patience, Goodluck (I haven't met the President yet, but I've met many many men and women with the same name), Prince, King, Virtue, Grace, etc. I'm beginning to think that their parents may have named their kids those things not just because they are precious, but because they hope their kids will have these virtues, or be aided by their names. My Nigerian friend says its because their parents need those things :).

I'm learning a lot about myself here. I'm learning that when I'm frustrated, I sit in front of my Gohonzon and chant, and then I persistently push until I get what I want. Every now and then the frustration builds up and then I yell about it to a friend and then I get back to work. Although I suspect I'm going to need to push harder to get things to work the way I want them to.

There is a serious cultural bent (here and probably in many places) towards things that are flashy, look cool, and might even be cool. This is at the expense of day-to-day functional things. I'm learning that, perhaps due to my upbringing in China, where infrastructure is so important, that function is more important to me than beauty.

I don't need ten expensive ingredients in my food, I just need good, simple food.

I don't need fancy plateware that fries the microwave because of the gold trim.

I need some patience, grace and good luck. I also need to become more pushy. Hope this doesn't affect my personality long term!!

Best,
Alena