I spent months dreaming about coming back to Nigeria. But when I finally landed, I realized something unexpected, I no longer felt like I fully belonged.

For months, I counted down the days.

I missed the food.

I missed hearing people speak my language without thinking.

I missed the noise, the laughter, the familiar chaos that once felt ordinary.

So when I booked my flight home, I imagined it would feel like stepping back into my old life.

Instead, it felt like stepping into a life I used to know.

Everyone was excited to see me.

The hugs were warm.

The food tasted exactly as I remembered.

The streets looked familiar.

But something inside me felt... different.

I had changed.

Living abroad had quietly reshaped the way I thought, worked, and saw the world. I had become used to different routines, different systems, and a different pace of life.

Back home, I found myself noticing things I had never questioned before.

The traffic felt heavier.

The queues felt longer.

The power cuts felt more frustrating.

At the same time, I found myself smiling at things I hadn't realized I missed—the roadside food vendors, the sound of children playing outside, neighbours greeting one another, and the warmth of being surrounded by family.

It was confusing.

Part of me felt completely at home.

Another part felt like a visitor.

Friends expected me to be exactly the same person who had left.

But months, or even years, of living in another country had changed my habits, my perspective, and even my dreams.

Some conversations were harder to relate to.

Some people assumed life abroad was perfect.

Others thought I had forgotten where I came from.

The truth was much more complicated.

I hadn't stopped loving Nigeria.

And I hadn't completely become a foreigner either.

I was simply someone carrying pieces of two different worlds.

That's the part of the Japa journey people don't always talk about.

Leaving changes you.

Coming back changes you again.

Home doesn't always feel exactly the way you remembered, not because it has disappeared, but because you've grown into someone new.

Maybe that's what reverse culture shock really is.

It's realizing that you can love where you came from, appreciate where you are now, and still feel like you're finding your place between both worlds.