Growing up, the only time I saw a white person was on TV, in movies, or newspapers. Sometimes, I wonder how they feel or look like in real life. One day, I and my dad went to the airport to pick up my big bro that was coming back from his studies in Ukraine. When we got to the airport, we packed our car and went to the arrival gate. As soon as we got there, I saw a small girl running around the airport with her brother. They were white, small and they looked fragile. My eyes were fixated on them like I was seeing a miracle play before my eyes. They ran to their dad like every normal child I saw back home then I realized that we are all human.
I was lucky to make friends with people in the US, one of my friends lives in New York. We only get to talk through video calls. One day, we were talking, one conversation led to another and I told him I always prostrate to greet my father or other elders in the family as a sign of respect.
The fact is, not all cultures in my country practice this but the Yoruba tribe in particular does. He asked if my dad was a king, I said No, and he was more surprised. We spoke for a long time while I tried to explain more. I also have a Chinese friend who says "He always bows his head as a sign of respect" I think @shawnnft can confirm that.
Anyway, as time went on, I was able to meet some people from different countries during the "World Aid Day" A conference was held at the governor's hall in Kwara state Nigeria.
After the conference, I was opportune to speak with different people from different countries and we took some pictures together.
Let's talk about food. I was also opportune to attend a child naming ceremony of a friend from the country Cameroon. One of the amazing parts of naming a child in my country is that a party will be thrown in honor of that child, and then people eat as much as they want. I was thinking I would meet the same food we ate in my country but my Cameroonian friend surprised everyone. It is a culture for them to serve their local dishes in any child naming ceremony. The name of the food served was corn chaff. People from Cameroon came to Nigeria to celebrate with them and I never knew they were from another country until they spoke to me. It was my first time eating such food but I enjoyed it.
There is more that connects us as humans than the color of our skin. I believe if we understand this, then the diversity that separates us would bring us together because we would want to learn more about each other. Thanks for reading.
This is my entry for the #julyinleo daily prompt. I am inviting you to join the daily prompt. There are so many topics to write about, to know more, visit @leogrowth I would like to see you around too.