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"Dear miss NN Mathonsi. I would like to congratulate you. Your application for Elective study in Ibadan, Nigeria has been successful..." That's how my first and only international trip started. I got accepted to go do my elective study in the 3rd largest city in Nigeria. Well, I am from Nkandla, a small village in South Africa so this opportunity was mind-blowing for me!. I've always known travelling is my passion. I usually say 'I'm in love with cities I've never been to and people I've never seen'. I took a flight from Johannesburg to Kenya and I connected to Lagos. Kenya is two hours ahead of Nigeria so as we were approaching Lagos my time changed. It felt like the universe was giving me more time to think clearly about what I just got myself into. I'm a 22 year old South African lady on my own in a foreign country! while I was still in my thoughts, before the fear of the unknown got the best out of me, we were about to land in Lagos. First thing about Lagos, the HUMID HEAT! you sweat!. Second thing, TRAFFIC!. From the top I could not tell if it was traffic or those cars were stationery. Lagos is busy! It's the Johannesburg of South Africa. The New York of United States. As busy as it is, it's still first preference for people who stay there. I guess home is home. They call themselves 'Lagosians'. Enough about Lagos now, let's talk about my four hours drive to Ibadan. Ibadan, the brown city. I got to understand that phrase when I noticed that all the roofs are painted brown. Nothing luxurious in this city but a lot is exciting for an adventurous spirit. Where should I exploring? Let's start with transport. Your options range from a motorbike ( some with no helmets), Ikeke (the three wheel'd vehicle and of course you can request bolt. I needed something more local so I took a bike to Agodi gardens. Green as I imagined Nigeria to be. Riding a horse during a beautiful sunset was mind blowing. Have you even been to a place if you haven't tasted their delicacies? I guess not. For Nigeria it's a must to have the Amala dish! I just loved the balance of spices. By the way almost every dish here has pepper!. Chili pepper. To be prepared I just ordered water with every meal. Anyways tap water is not for consumption in Nigeria because of pollution. I have a strong background of Christianity so I had to find a local church and making friends with locals made it easier for me to get recommendations. Such energetic people. That dance during praise was a body workout for a lazy bones like me. They speak pidgin English and sometimes it's not easy to follow but the energy the pastor was applying during the sermon made me understand whatever he was preaching about. University of Ibadan has a zoo inside. Quiet a number of animals but what made this more exciting is that there was an event by the zoo, someone's birthday party. I saw this as an answer to my prayers for attending a Nigerian party before I left. Dancing and food!. I had woken tired and what's therapeutic for a lady more than retail therapy? So I went for shopping. There are no big malls. Most of the cute stuff is being sold by the road. Great designs. I decided to buy the traditional beads which are red in colour. My accomodation was great besides that the mosquitoes were a source of transmission for Malaria. So, in that heat, I still had to keep my windows closed. Ibadan is a beautiful city. It doesn't have so much for tourists but you decide. You decide if you want to make a local connection and have a great time there or you complain about all that you find unattractive. I enjoyed my trip, it grew me as a person and I pray that both you and I get more opportunities to travel because I'm in love with cities I've never been to and I'm in love with people that I've not met.