Wednesday, November 11, 2015

The Sojourn

I had not seen Mr. Rita in 4 months. And he had not laid eyes on our September Gift. December 2013 I carried my children and my boxes, said goodbye to my loved ones in Nigeria, and I was off to Pau, France.
I arrived at a city where it was imperative to know how to speak French to survive. The A I had in Junior WAEC French was not sufficient in the face of reality. That was not even my challenge. Nanny! By the time I learnt that there was nothing like live-in nanny, and I had to pay 18 euros per hour for nanny, I had to calibrate myself. But God ever so good made the settling in smooth, provided me with help just right on time, and gave me the best vacation thus far.

I am grateful for the time in Pau, even though there was no chance to even post "hi" on the blog. DIY place.
I am grateful for the lives that impacted me in Pau. My dear Pau sisters, I hope you get to read this post and realize how much you mean to me. Oh how I miss "my children" who gave me joy every time we were together. Gros Bisous.
I am grateful for the opportunity to be taken out of my myopic world, to see different cultures and learn not to judge.
I am grateful for the serenity that made me reflect on what I really want out of life.
And I am grateful for the lesson I learnt - there may be a language barrier, but a smile, a hug, a tear, "woof woof", "meow", and laughter do not need translation: they are universal and understood by everyone.
And if you love someone, there are so many other ways to express it other than speaking.

Glad to be back home though.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

I can certainly relate to missing the kids! They are awesome!
It's the universal language that makes room for survival at the shaki section at Auchan!!!

Lovely blog girl!

Unknown said...

Yes Rita, i thought my eyes were opened wide enough to see, take, and relate with everyone just as they are, not until i lived in Pau. Pau exposed me to the sweetness in diversity and the high level of 'varietyness' that exists in God. Living in Pau added so much value to me.

Nice job, as always.

Unknown said...

...meeting someone like you too is a plus to me.

Sarah said...

What an awesome experience! The beauty of life is growing and being expanded in ways we couldn't have been but through situations where you just HAVE to swim or drown. I had a similar experience when I first moved to the United States over 10 years ago. Twas hard! and I was alone and lonely in a small town in a rural area in a conservative somewhat rural state. I made the opposite journey, I am a native french speaker!!!
http://lifeonlemontreelane.blogspot.com/

David C Brown said...

Glad you're safely home, and has support in seeing others of God's heritage. The young ladies are very sweet!

Rita said...

@Toyin, you always amuse me. Thank you.

@Tolu, indeed a wonderful privilege that God let us experience. And knowing someone like you who is so gentle is inspiring.

@ Miss Lemontree, glad to hear you have long overcome yours :-) Going to your blog ASAP.

@David, thank you so much.