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"What I saw took my breath away... A collection of clothes designed with shiny rhinestones so bright I was afraid it might blind my eyes, but it didn't end there. As Ivory led me in, a row of clothes stood before us with all manner of leather, polyester, spandex, high heels, and many more. Then, a small corner, a laptop sat on a table with a bunch of munchies. And on the wall above the table, there were pictures of our high school, the orphanage I transferred from to the one where I was adopted and also met her, and a photo of me with coal all over my face when I was holding a burnt chicken. All these photos brought memories of the good old days when we were learning how to cook.
April's parents died in a car accident, and that was one of the solid foundations of our relationship - we were both orphans and we both felt insecure, just that she was more cheerful and free with others than I was; she was quite mischievous as a kid, while I was introverted and trying hard not to be influenced by her because the Director of our orphanage said she was too much trouble and one time sent her to a friend's missionary orphanage in Abia, Nigeria.
She always caused trouble, but the Director always forgave her until this incident where she almost burnt down the orphanage because she was trying to make a fire to roast marshmallows when we were not allowed to take sugary things thrice in a week because of our tooth and health. Every time the Director threatened her, everyone would fully support him and say Ivory was too much trouble to bear and that they better teach her a lesson in Africa, but they all changed their minds the day she was to leave, and they all begged the Director, but he stood his ground since she really pissed him off this time and he already booked a flight for her.
The orphanage was boring those few months that Ivory left for Africa; we all missed her so much and soon understood the saying that you don't know the value of someone or something until you lose it. We began to feel guilty even when we were not exactly at fault. I've always imagined Africa as a scary region with black evil people. I heard from the seniors that Ami (our hostel mistress) was half Nigerian as a result of the slave trade at the time, which was why she was tough and hit us against the Director's wish.
Another occasion, I caught something that traumatized my young mind during my eavesdropping session - the seniors said that Africans ate humans and that everyone lays flat on the floor whenever they greet each other. What if you're going for a meeting or an important interview? I also heard that parents work their children a lot and hit them afterward. I still heard that they burn thieves to ashes, and there's a magical food called 'garri' made from cassava, which is very sour and bitter but is like cereal to them. I also heard that they farm their food themselves and also have an outfit called Ankara. I also heard that continent-wide, everyone knows how to speak their own language or could be treated as an outcast! And also, they punish their kids by kneeling, even at schools.
They're local sticks they flog the students with, and no one was allowed to go late to school; if not, you could be asked to do domestic chores like fetching water with a bucket on your head! Oh my God, that was so scary, and I never forgot that, so I felt for Ivory and was scared she couldn't cope in that disastrous place!! Or so we all thought because Ivory came back with all smiley faces and told us all she wished she never returned to the orphanage but came back because she missed us and her membership expired, although the Nigerian director urged her to stay because the kids loved her and were influenced in a good way by her.
I asked her about the place and also told her what I overheard from the seniors, but she told me that they were very wrong and that Nigerians were nice people with deep culture and respect for one another. She also told me that the seniors misunderstood and that Ami was seen as scary and tough because of her color, but looking back at it, she was just a beautiful, nice, corrective, and responsible senior with slightly darker color. She said that people who judge according to color have a very narrow sense of the world.
She said concerning the flogging part, Africans just discipline their kids anytime they did something bad so that they don't repeat the bad act again. She also laughed hard when I told her that they ate humans, she said it was all rumors and even told me that majority of African kids were smart and that she met a very smart mathematician there and that the kids called her a strange name "Oyibo" even when she insisted that her name was Ivory and that they were very happy to see her and extremely nice to her, she clarified alot of things and I began to view Africans in a new light and I began to admire their culture and deep sense of cultural heritage and the fact that they never forgot their roots...