Lungu Boy

 

Lasgidi is a place of hustle and bustle, a place where there is both the spontaneity, if I am able to get two things done on the same day, then it was a great day. Some will even say it is jungle like, but it’s where I was born, raised and lived my whole life until now. It has made me into a Lungu boy. Lasgidi is a nickname given to Lagos, a state in Nigeria, given by Lungu boys, the youths in Lagos. However, this Lungu boy, me, has been persuaded by his parents to move to greater heights and this so-called greater height is called Chicago.

Since getting to Chicago a couple months ago, even though it feels like years, I have come to understand that there really is more to the world. Places I thought were only on TV like an underground subway or an ice-skating rink, things I thought were fiction are now right in front of me. It is also filled with people from all kinds of cultural backgrounds, but I think it is the American culture itself that has really piqued my interest since I am living in their country now after all. It is very different from my culture in Nigeria. The American culture was more different than I thought. In fact, things that I thought might be general around the world are alien and considered weird. Remember that I am a Lungu boy, and is it lasgidi that taught me everything I know and believe, aside from my parents I mean. Nigeria has this birthday tradition, and I just recently found out that it is only in Nigeria it is done. During high school,whenever it was someone’s birthday, mostly the boys, their friends would spray water on them and beat the celebrant, it wasn’t brutal. The whole prank is using word play on the word birthday and changing it to bath-day, so friends will assist to give the celebrant a bath for the day. While the beating is a Nigerian way to remind the celebrant of another year to their life and their relationship to their friends, it is  quite the prank. Personally I don’t like it or hate it because it’s all fun and games until it was birthday. Now coming to Chicago, it seems one can even get arrested for assault for doing such things.

Even though there are some things I had to let go coming to Chicago from Nigeria, there are also a couple things that I have happily adopted into my lifestyle. One thing I have noticed in the United States is that Americans are big on sports, and there are a lot of opportunities out there for people who have a passion to play. The top sports played in the United States are basketball and football, but there are also many others too. I play soccer and a little bit of basketball but never took either seriously because I only did them for fun. However, in the United States, just the fact that a person is good in a sport can earn them scholarship deals or even be scouted by a professional scouter, depending on the sport, and start a sport career. These things onlyhappen in Nigeria if only a person knows someone that knows someone, so it is hard. Now I am really gettinginto sports to see what they have in store for this Lungu boy. For me to continue this sport path I have decided to follow, I need all the energy I can get. where I get my energy from is food, and Chicago has got plenty. To show how much I love food, my mum has even labelled me a beast that can eat a whole house because my appetite never subsides, and I carry this title with pride. Even though I prefer Nigerian food any day of the week, I would say American food is more

filling than Nigerian food. Majority of what i have tried are foods like hamburgers, pizza

or hot dogs. I have not really had the chance to eat other foods like maybe chicken and waffles or macaroni and cheese, but I guess I can say I have been initiated into the big back community.

To sum it all up, there are a lot of things that are very different in the United States compared to Nigeria, even though I have had to drop some things that I miss dearly. From the food to the culture to the people, Lasigidi will always have a special place in my heart, but I think this change of scenery will be good for me in the long run. I know Chicago…no, the United States has a lot to offer, and I’m ready to see what is for me.it has opened the eyes of this Lungu boy and has made him hungry for more discovery.