Where Am I From? It Depends...

In my weeks of absence from blogging, a few things have happened. Of course there is the new job, but that is just one thing.

I have discovered that I (legally at least) could claim South African citizenship if I really wanted.

This revelation, startling as it was, occurred over chin-chin making one fine day with my mother. It's amazing what can happen when the whole "mother-daughter" bonding thing happens.
Is this good news? YES. Does it change anything? For now, not really. Except I now have a strong interest in learning Afrikaans and isiZulu.

To be honest I have always loved South Africa. Why? Because they brought me Multichoice DSTV. Without South Africa, I would be sorely lacking important pieces of my childhood TV experience. Experiences that have allowed me to substantially contribute to multiple discussions about childhood TV shows which these Americans engage in. Imagine if I had never been exposed to 90's/early 2000's Nickelodeon shows like: Clarissa Explains It All, Real Monsters, Doug, All That, Kenan and Kel, Hey Arnold, The Wild Thornberrys, Rugrats, Are You Afraid Of The Dark?, Pete and Pete, etc etc. I would have been just another clueless "immigré" in high school.

But I am getting off point and moving on to another topic entirely i.e. How DSTV prepared me for a move to America. (a post that will be coming soon)

So how did I find out? Well whilst molding the dough for some chin-chin that my mother spontaneously decided to make, my sister (bless her heart) mentioned that she would like to start telling people she hailed from a country that was not Nigeria.

Clearly, Nigerian patriotism is not very high in my house.

But, lack of patriotism aside, I asked my sister (curiously) what country she would claim. She said Egypt, don't ask me why. I quickly mentioned that her choice might not be a logical one. Then I suggested South Africa? That would make more sense and she would avoid having to change religions and invest in a burka. (I'm stereotyping, I know).

When I said this, my mother mentioned that my sister could file for citizenship in South Africa if she was so desperate to escape the "stigma" of Nigeria.

We both asked how that was possible, and then she shared a wondrous tale regarding my grandfather and a nearly forgotten trip my mother took to South Africa when I was much much younger.

I guess I'm going to have to change my blog's byline to "Assembled in the USA, from parts made in Nigeria and South Africa". But, my connection to South Africa is clearly not the same as my connection to Nigeria. It is still tenuous. I would like to visit South Africa though and this discovery has given me a perfect reason.

For the curious ones amongst you, my South African roots are in KwaZulu-Natal province. KwaZulu-Natal's biggest city is Durban (which I have heard good things about) although I am not "from" Durban. This is all good to know, but I wont be going all Alex Haley yet and try to find my Roots, especially, considering the fact that I have spent most of my life raising my eyebrows at African Americans who want to visit Africa and discover their ancestry. I am sure it would make a great story but right now my life in the US is what concerns me. Maybe later, when I am more "settled", I can take that trip to South Africa and learn a few things.

I know for some people their "country" is like their "god" and any negativity is frowned upon. However, since I clearly have options, I am not beholden to any one place and that is really how it should be.

At least now I can comfortably rep Team RSA at the next Olympics and stop suffering from the almost certain disappointment of Team NGR. (I have been repping Team USA since before I left Nigeria so it goes without saying that I will continue to do that). I think I am going to have some very confused children. Imagine the response I will have to give when they ask "where" they are from. Even better, imagine if I marry another immigrant with a multi-national background like mine? That will just double the confusion.

Now, because my earlier talk of Classic Nickelodeon got me nostalgic, here's a video from Youtube with classic Nickelodeon shows that are sure to make you reminisce about your childhood in Nigeria (if you had satellite tv, of course). Why doesn't Nickelodeon follow the same route as Cartoon Network and create their own "Boomerang" type channel to air these shows?!