Five years ago, I left the shores of the United Kingdom for an adventure like none other – a six month sojourn to Europe, where I left behind family and friends to pursue the lifelong dream of learning a second language. It was an amazing time of self discovery and exploration of the unknown. There were good times and bad. Happy times and lonely times. Joyful times and sad times. Three months in Valencia taught me that I wasn’t as hopeless at learning a new language as I had always thought, and that Nigerians will build churches absolutely anywhere. A month in Seville taught me how to deal with making new friends that I was destined to never see again, and never to visit a 40oC city “donde no hay playa” (where there is no beach) for more than two weeks. Two months in Nice taught me the beauty of French cuisine and how exciting life could be living in the French Riviera, and that it is no mean feat trying to learn two different languages in six months.
I met great friends along the way, not least three Nigerian guys who somehow found themselves studying at the University in Valencia. In Sevilla, I discovered the fascinating and controversial world of bullfighting, even witnessing one “Torrero” being badly gored by a bull and still getting up to continue the duel. While in Nice, I witnessed the joy of London winning the 2012 Olympics on television, and the horror of the July 7 bombings the very next day. In short, life happened then, and has happened since. After returning to the city of London to work for another three years, I took the big step of crossing over the pond to do an MBA in the US of A. As the time for my MBA begins to near its completion next summer, I’ve decided to hit the road again, and discover new worlds yet unknown to me. To boldly go where Bambinho has not gone before. These are the journals of my new travels.
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