CTL: Tell me about you. What makes you, you? EE: “Well, I like being around people and I also love to read and have alone time. I can be really stubborn, but only momentarily, then I can be really happy, so I have odd mood swings. I also really like to laugh. People think that I am really funny, I like that a lot.”
CTL: What is your best joke? EE: “Well, mhmm. I have no idea. But it is funny for people when my accent changes—sometimes it is really Nigerian and then it’s really not Nigerian. I grew up in a British school in Nigeria.” What is your best Nigerian/British line? “Instead of saying ‘shut up,’ I prefer something more along the lines of, “would you kindly be quiet!’”
CTL: What do you miss most and least about home? EE: “I miss the feeling of home most—being in the place that you have known forever. I also miss my parents and my brother. On the other hand, I am able to enjoy nature in Germany that I can’t do in Nigeria since it is mostly city and buildings.”
CTL: Can you tell us about any Nigerian traditions from home? EE: “When there is a birthday party, people are always invited. So there is a gathering or party. There is music. And then there is always time to reflect on the Bible and thank God for how many years of life He has given someone and the things that he/she is grateful for.”
CTL: What do you like most and least about living in Germany? EE: “I like the dorm and the German language here the most. I am studying German and the language is so cool and different. I had never heard it before. The German people are also so nice. But, I really don’t like the cold. I really didn’t like winter. It was way too cold for me. But, at least we got to go sledding. I did like that!”
CTL: Can you share something that you have learned over the past year, about yourself or about God? EE: “For myself, I have learned a lot about responsibility and time management.As for God…I have learned that He knows why He does things. Even though I didn’t understand why I was coming to Germany, He knew. And I am enjoying Germany so much. Sometimes He does things that I don’t understand and yet they have such good outcomes.” So you have been surprised by His goodness? “Yes. I didn’t think that I would like Germany. But I do. I didn’t think that I would like living in a dorm. But, I do!”
CTL: What is your favorite dorm dinner? EE: “Taco salad!”
CTL: What about your favorite dorm activity? EE: “Troughing people on their birthdays. The person is sitting down in the dorm (usually after dinner), then we grab her, and then we take her to the water trough in town, dunk her, and then run back to the dorm … the birthday girl trails behind us, chasing us for wet hugs!”
CTL: What do you want to be when you grow up? EE: “A doctor.” Why? “Because I like the idea of being able to treat people. It’s mostly about helping people and making them happy.” Where? “In the US, but I don’t know which state.”
CTL: What is of most value to you? EE: “Two things: God and family. God most especially, because He is always there. He is my Comforter.” (This made me smile)
CTL: If you had a magic wand, what would you do with it? EE: “I would transport myself to Australia, then I would create a castle and have an open area with a gym and pool (with slides from one floor to another). That would be cool. I would share it with my friends and family, and a boyfriend… if I had one!”
CTL: Before you die, tell me one wild thing you want to do? EE: “Bungy jump off of Mt. Everest—if I can do that?!?"
CTL: What is the significance of your name? EL: “My parents named me ‘Erin’ because it means ‘peace,’ and then they gave me the middle name, ‘Hope.’ It goes so well together.”
CTL: Tell me about your family? EL: “I am the youngest and I have two older sisters. The oldest is 23, her name is Shannon. She is very artsy and very creative and likes to paint and draw and knit. Megan is in the middle, she is 20. When we were younger, we did not get along. I was annoying and so was she. But over the past few years, we have become best friends. We are a lot a like. People often assume that we are twins. She is very caring and compassionate. And then my parents are workers in Asia."
CTL: How would you describe yourself? EL: “I like to have fun. I like to be different. I care a lot about people. I want a job where I can help people—counseling or nursing. I really want people to be happy. I want to make a difference.”
CTL: You’re also a pranskster, right? EL: “Ha! Yes! I love to prank and laugh.” What has been your most successful prank/joke? “Okay this one is going to sound mean, but my best one is pulling out a chair from under a person when they are trying to sit down. I do that a lot.” I know you have done something bigger and better, Erin! Please share. “Okay! My best friend and I gave my youth group some brownies with salt, dog food, and some laxative (CTL: Gasp!) Not a lot of people ate it, but they only thought we were really bad bakers. But then they got us back and threw us in the snow. And we did end up telling them what was really in it.”
CTL: What has been your favorite Liel memory from this past year? EL: “Oh, this is really hard, really hard! It was really great to go to the Roman bathes in Bad Bellingen. It was wonderful to just be with the girls. I love our dorm and just being together. It was also a lot of fun to swim in the pools there.”
CTL: What do you miss most about Colorado or the United States? EL: “I miss the summer time in Colorado, my close friends, and cheer. I also miss being together as a family like we were in Colorado. Now, we’re all spread out!”
CTL: What one word would you use to describe your first year at BFA? EL: “Dramatic!” How so? “Coming here was an entirely new experience. And oh man, yes! Living with 15 girls is pretty dramatic too. It was hard at first because it was so different, but I have had so much fun with the girls. It is really good now.”
CTL: Can you tell me about a way that God has blessed you while you were here or how He did something unexpected? EL: “I have struggled to adjust here, but the people here have made a difference! I have grown in patience and responsibility. I have really learned so much about God. I have been able to see so much and enjoy so many new experiences that not every teenage girl gets to do. He has blessed me so much. And then there is my roommate, Ji Soo. When we first met, we clicked! She is my best friend here. I can tell her everything. I have been so lucky to have her as my roommate and my best friend. She is like my kiss from Jesus!”
CTL: If you could be any character in the “Hunger Games” triology, who would you be (because you love them so much)? EL: “Uh, that is really tough because everyone’s life is so hard—those in the district or in the games. You are either suffering or doing bad stuff. In the book, the main character has a little sister who has a cat. I would be the cat. So I don’t have to die or kill people but still experience life there. Or I would be Katniss so I could say to myself, ‘Wow, I am capable of more than I ever imagined!’”
CTL: What is your favorite German goodie? EL: “I love the Berliners! It’s a doughnut covered in powdered sugar with strawberry jelly inside! We got them for free at IKEA before Lent started…they were so good!”
CTL: What is it like to be an MK (missionary kid)? EL: “It’s hard to describe how it feels—sometimes you feel alone or like you don’t belong in other places. But, when MKs are together, it is so wonderful. They are such good people with great personalities. Being an MK, you make sacrifices, and a lot of people don’t understand it, but you do it for your family and you do it for God. You love God and your family, so you become willing to do make the sacrifice. You can really see God here at BFA—it is such a safe, happy, and comfortable place. After giving myself time to adjust, I really do value this place.”
