December 2008:
My family and I were in Nigeria for two big occasions: My cousin Ada's traditional marriage (we call it a Wine Carrying, Igba-nkwu) and a Medical Mission for Oraifite (my dad's hometown). Three days before the wedding, my cousins and family were hanging out in the living room of their house in Enugu. I chatted in one corner of the room with my cousin Dozie. In the opposite corner of the room, their old childhood friends and my little sister Kasi were playing a soccer video game.
I was later introduced to Nonso, the guy who got his butt whooped by my rookie, soccer-playing sister. Right away, I noticed his bright smile, sharp dressing style, and good sportsmanship. When the group planned how to spend the rest of the evening, as the only Enugu resident among us, Nonso became our group's unofficial tour guide. For three nights, he showed us the fun nightlife of Enugu city, with pool parties, dance clubs, sweet wine coolers, and chill bars. He had a lively and friendly air about him, so I didn't hesitate to take the front passenger seat in his car as he drove, or sit next to him at the tables we occupied.
Our shared conversations surprised me because, unlike all the other Nigerian boys I'd met, he was humble (not mentioning his medical degree until asked), he was funny (he wasn't afraid to show off his fancy dance moves), and he was extremely current on pop culture, so he got all my lame jokes and made many of his own. Most importantly, he didn't treat me like a foreigner. Instead, he applauded my Nigerian pride (and didn't laugh at my Igbo) and thus began my admiration of him.
My family's schedule had us moving on to Oraifite before Nonso and I got a chance to exchange contact info. The day we were meant to begin this leg of our journey, call it fate, but our last-minute errands caused us to postpone our departure. Honestly, I had spent that day wondering how I could get Nonso's contact info from my cousins and I had secretly hoped I would get to see him again somehow.
I was daydreaming in my cousin's house, when suddenly, there he was walking into the compound. I guess we were both surprised to see each other and exchanged contact information right away. When I mentioned the Medical Mission in Oraifite, he showed great interest, and after asking my mom if we could house him in Oraifite (with all the rest of our cousins), he was formally invited to the mission.To make a long story short, our time in Oraifite proved that perhaps we had more than just chemistry, and we promised each other to give a long distance relationship a try.
** For those who don't mind the detailed longer version, please continue reading...
In Oraifite, my family and I were thrown into a whirlwind of preparations for the Medical Mission. Nonso arrived on the first day, bringing some of our cousins and aunts in tow. All were happy to see each other again, but our cousins could not stay the night, so Nonso had to drive them back. As he left, he promised to return the next day, which I thought was crazy because the journey from Enugu to Oraifite was a rough 3 hours.
Notwithstanding, true to his word, he arrived the next day, this time on public transportation, which I thought was even crazier, but he did it, and then threw himself into seeing patients. He worked harder than any of the other doctors there during the day and still had energy to enjoy the Mass Return festivities each night with my family and I around the village. It was during this time in Oraifite that we got better acquainted and saw our realistic personalities.During one moonlight stroll, he asked what I thought of long-distance relationships. I said I've seen them succeed, and he agreed, citing several examples in his own family. At this point we decided to attempt a long-distance relationship and see where it would lead.
Thousands upon millions of emails, texts, AOL chats, Facebook messages, Skype calls and Rebtel calls later, we found ourselves in a successful, long-distance relationship, and looking toward our future potential.