Niger VS Canada, from the eyes of an MK

Disclaimer: I do not mean to offend any person, place, object, etc. in the writing of this blog post.

I often get asked the question, “Do you prefer Niger or Canada?” or, “Where’s home for you?” It’s really hard for me to answer. For me, it’s kind of like asking, “Do you want me to cut off your arm or leg?” They’re both so important, you can’t really choose. You could hum and haw and say, “Well, without a leg it’s hard to walk, but without your arm it would be hard to write,” and go on forever. You might eventually come up with an answer- maybe saying, “I need to be able to walk” or “I need to be able to play piano,” etc. - but it’s a hard decision! That’s like Canada and Niger for me.

My parents and brother would say hands-down, Canada. You might agree with them, saying, “Well, it’s a no-brainer! Think about all the poverty and trash and heat! Why would you choose Niger?” For me, however, it’s a little harder than that. My dad and I made a list of general things that are better in Niger than in Canada. It goes like this (In no particular order):

1. Instant noodles. Here, and probably in other places as well, we have Indomie instant noodles. We think they are made in Nigeria, and my mom finds them disgusting. However, my dad and I think that they are the best instant noodles, well, ever. Though I really do like those “good quality” Korean noodles (Shin Ramyun, etc.) Indomie is really good, in a different way. (We did try Indomie in Canada. It’s not as good.)
2. Cats. There are stray cats about everywhere. My dad and I are major cat-lovers, and so anytime a cat takes a liking to our yard, we feed them, pet them, name them and care of them. We have had 20 cats in total, with half of them kittens. They stay outside, but they are always there. I have a feeling we would never have cats like this in Canada.
3. French fries. This might seem strange, but the french fries here are really good, almost anywhere you go. We have come to the conclusion that this is because people use palm oil to make the fries. Don’t get me wrong, I love McDonald’s’ fries, but here, the fries are consistently delicious (and unhealthy and oily).
4. Fanta. I heard somebody say that it’s strange that we just call our orange pop Fanta, instead of orange pop or orange Fanta, or whatever, but this is because there is only one flavour of Fanta here: orange. We have found that often Fanta tastes better here. We realized this for the first time in Turkey, when we found that the Fanta tasted too much like real orange juice for our liking. In Canada as well, we often found the Fanta was the same way. My dad and I have decided that the Fanta here is better because it is made with cane sugar.

These, of course, are not the only reasons that Niger even stands a chance against Canada. I will add my own reasons to my dad and my list:

5. Sahel Academy. Our school is pretty awesome. It’s really amazing to be in a school with lots of other missionary kids who understand you and the circumstances you are in. While it’s really cool to go to a school in Canada, it’s a little bit hard because nobody has had similar experiences. Here’s an example I actually experienced: At Sahel, some people were talking about a movie and I said, “Oh yeah! I watched that one on the plane once.” This was accepted, and other people chipped in, “Me too!” Then we have a conversation about what we have watched on the plane. However, when faced with the same situation in my school in Canada, it was different. When I said that I had watched the movie on a plane ride, people had then said, “Wow! You’ve been on a plane? How awesome!” which would lead to a conversation about me travelling on a plane.
6. Friends. At Sahel, I have some AMAZING friends. As I mentioned, it’s really great that we all understand one another, and it’s an added plus that our classes are relatively small (in comparison to a public school in Canada) so we can get to know one another more personally. It does help that since we are in Niger for 4 year terms, there is a lot of time to get to know each other, whereas in Canada, 1 year isn’t a whole lot of time to make lasting friendships. (Don’t misunderstand me, I made some good friends in Canada, it’s just… different.)
   
   
   
7. Community. The X-pat community here is pretty tight-knit. We all pretty much know one another. It’s hard to achieve such a relationship when we are in Canada due to the amount of people, as well as the lack of time we have there.

Now, that said, I am not even going to try to list everything I love about Canada. It’s a huge list. Sitting at the top of the list are the following:

1. Family. All of my close family is in Canada, which makes it very hard to go to Niger and leave them. (XOXOX all you Eemos and Eemoboos and Samchons and cousins and second cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents… you get the picture!)

   

   Screenshot of a Facetime call
   
   

   

   We remember faces of family members through pictures

2. Fast Wifi. I miss being able to easily stream YouTube and download apps in 30 seconds!!! Here… it takes many hours to download an app. Even getting a song often takes time, of course, depending on the internet speed.
3. Food!!! McDonalds, Red Robin’s, Swiss Chalet… I’m practically drooling!! My grandma (Mom’s mom) always makes delicious food for us (someone pass on the message to Halmoni that I say thanks for the yummy food!). In addition, there’s KD, Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup, bacon… Oh man! I really must stop this.
4. Stores. Every time I’m trying to make a craft and it says, “Pick one up at a local craft store!” I feel a little homesick! For me, “Pick it up at a local craft store,” means, “You aren’t going to make this craft in Niger, so wait until Canada.” My favourite stores would be Michael’s, Indigo/Chapters, Staples, Walmart, Dollar Tree…

That said, you might, possibly be able to see why it’s such a hard decision for me. (Either that or you still think that I’m really insane.) I personally think that I have a home in Canada and Niger. All things considered, I really cannot choose which country I love more. Each country is incredibly special to me, in its own way.

I apologize if that wasn’t the answer you were looking for!!!!! Maybe in time I’ll be able to say where I feel is really home, but for now, I’m caught between two worlds.

Anyways, I’m looking forward to writing another post! Tell me what you wanna hear, and I’ll see what I can do. ;)