Wah Gwaan
Jamaica is gorgeous man! I have been dreaming of visiting Jamaica for a long time now but I was waiting for the ‘right time’. Last month, I visited Montego Bay, Ocho Rios and Kingston for a week. I wish I had more time because one week wasn’t enough to enjoy this beautiful country. My first stop was Montego Bay, I stayed in a budget hotel on the Hip strip. MoBay was cool, especially if you stay on the Hip Strip because everything you need is close by. I met a few locals two hours after checking into my hotel and they showed me around town and to the best nightlife ever!
Next day, I left to Priory (15-20minutes from Ocho Rios). I stayed in a lovely guesthouse that sits on a hill overlooking Priory. The owners are pretty chilled and if you are a Ganja smoker, you would love this guesthouse because it is readily provided for you. I stayed one night before leaving to Ocho Rios to meet up with a couchsurfer.
I specially loved Ochi because it is close to all the things I wanted to do and see. I had to stay at Reggae hostel on Main Street because my couchsurfer wasn’t able to host me. I visited 9 Miles – birth and resting place of Bob Marley; a waterfall; attended a beach party and went on the hill to view the city of Ochi :). I wanted to see the Dolphins but was way too broke for that. Just like in Mobay, I met random locals who showed me around. After two nights, I left to Kingston. I knew I was going to love Kingston and I was right.
Since I was there for a conference on New Pan-Africanism, the conference paid for our lodging. We stayed at Jamaica Pegasus hotel (right in front of the Emancipation Park that I didn’t get a chance to see). The conference was held at one of the most beautiful campuses I’ve seen thus far – The University of West Indies, Mona Campus. I was very impressed with the conference and glad that my paper was well received. At first, I was intimidated because I was the youngest paper presenter, all of the presenters had many more years of experience/expertise than I do and I was one of the few without a PhD degree. In the end, I got positive feedback J . Due to the busy nature of the conference, I only got to see the Bob Marley’s museum and Devon’s House. The museum was inspiring and I learnt new things about Bob Marley – for one, that there was an assassination attempt on his life which left a bullet struck in his arm and he didn’t drink alcohol. Devon’ House sold the creamiest ice-cream I’ve tasted to date. I met up with two inspiring Couchsufers. I only wished I had more time to hang out with them.
Five things you should know about Jamaica:
- Charming people: of all the 30 countries I have visited, Jamaican have the most charming people. Yes, the men are truly sexy too!!! They have something that Cuban men need to learn from – charm. The accent is so sexy too. The people (male & female) are friendly.
- Beautiful scenery: combination of beautiful Caribbean beaches and lots of green area. You can’t go wrong, there’s activities for everybody
- Rental car: renting a car will allow you enjoy your stay more. Taxis are not cheap!
- Blue Mountain Coffee: are you a coffee drinker? If yes, then you might want to head to Jamaica for the coffee. The Blue Mountain coffee is said to be the best in the world.
- Resort galore: if you are a resort type of person, then Jamaican is definitely your spot. There is a galore of resort for all price range and lifestyle
There’s more to Jamaica than Ganja and violence/crimes. You should go visit man! You wouldn’t regret it………..
p.s, Wah Gwaan means what’s going on or what’s up
One Love 🙂
Backpacking in Thailand
Every now and then, I’ll be featuring posts from other travelers. This featured post is by a fellow Nigerian, Dapo Osinaike. Enjoy his experience in Thailand 🙂
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On 1st May 2012 around 1900 hrs. I arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport Bangkok, Thailand on Board of a Lufthansa Flight en route Qatar. It was an excruciating 16 hours long haul flight .The landscape of Bangkok was lit with glowing lights, as observed through the window on-board the plane. I was so anxious as only a few of my friends knew I was embarking on such a terrifying journey (well to any African) .My purpose of backpacking was a bit vague to me and why would I invest over £2000 (Including payment for a missed return flight back to Britain; no thanks to Malaysian Immigration) on backpacking around Asia in 3 weeks,I guess I just needed an adrenaline rush.
Thailand is country inhabited by about 66.7 million people also home to over 200,000 foreigners. Thailand is also popularly known as a land of smiles; a place where people come to commit crime, a free for all land, a Land of drugs, sex and sometimes violence. I was even teased about coming to see my “ladyboy” when I told friend I would be visiting Thailand.
I was picked up by my friend who I established contact with on Facebook for about a year.
The transport system in Thailand was great and nothing compared to Nigeria, I was expecting an epileptic power supply too but I was disappointed as the power never blinked. Everything seems to function well for a small country whose main source of export is rice and gemstones.
The Thai government offers tax rebate for first-time car buyers, this has lead to a rapid growth of car owners. There is always a condo unit to fit a person’s needs in Bangkok, depending upon the budget, lifestyle, tastes and requirements .I thought I could probably retire here someday and join league of many Brits who have made Thailand their home (Not to seek a Thai bride though).
I knew one of the reasons of coming to Thailand was to get some first hand information about student life, studying in Thailand and the challenges of studying in an Asian country, so I was armed with a DSLR Camera and few clothes .I spent a day or two with my friend and I was also introduced to a British Indian who has been leaving in Thailand for over 10 years, we became good friends really quickly and I spent some of my days at his condo if I wasn’t I would be booked into a 3 star hotel (saving money tactics).
He told me about the lives which many Nigeria lives in Thailand and around Asia, soon my idea of coming to make a student documentary changed. I decide to hang out with my new friend more, we explored so many places in Bangkok; from Nana to Soi cowboy (red-light district) some of which my eyes just couldn’t withhold, I met some Nigerians, some were nice, some were saucy and they wanted to introduce me to a Thai lady (some Thai ladies count it as all joy having sex with a new visitor in town; dis-virgin they call it). I was asked by my friend to visit a popular downtown district in Thailand where Nigerians live but I was scared as I was physically harassed by a Nigerian some days before, he accused me of being a secret spy and said no black man would want to backpack with his own funds (I heard he has been deported back to Nigeria). I met Liberians, who seems to be very nice too. I heard and witnessed a lot of things in Thailand, which will be shown in my short documentary. After spending a week and some days in Thailand I then bordered an Air Asia flight to my next destination Singapore!
Post by Dapo Osinaike. You can contact Dapo on Twitter (@dapoosinaike); Facebook or by email (dipsonosin@yahoo.com)
Every trip has a story!!!
55 countries and counting! I want to be like her when I grow up.
Although, she is not a Nigerian-American, she is from a similar culture. She demonstrates that you don’t have to be rich to travel. When traveling is a priority, you can make it happen 🙂Oh, she has been to Nigeria 🙂 🙂
May the travel gods always be with you guapa. Enjoy her first post.
Well..
Many of my friends have encouraged me/instigated/begged me (maybe not so much!) to write about my travels and adventures. To be honest, I’ve long been hesitant to do so for three reasons 1) my fear of being seen as standoffish, 2) I’ve always thought that I’m not the best writer (maybe because I was teased from early days for English not being my native language!), and 3) I’m not really a funny person and I think to be a good blogger you have to have a decent sense of humor : (.
Nonetheless, despite all these thoughts and hesitations I think -at the very least for my own memory- it’s worth writing and reflecting about some of my adventures. My natural super organized impulse is trying to figure out a logical way to arrange the travels that I’ve taken, but I can’t seem to come up with creative ways…
View original post 626 more words
Diary of my West African Road Trip…..
With my host and her frd
Traveling across West Africa had been on my mind for a while now. It became intense when I moved to Nigeria in Sept 2012. For one reason or the other, this desire remained just a dream (although I had visited Ghana in 2011 and traveled to Rep. of Benin (several times) and Togo since my move to Nigeria, It still wasn’t the same as road tripping from Lagos, Nigeria to Dakar, Senegal. Anyways, at the end of December, I decided to finally do this road trip. I didn’t make it to Senegal (limited time and money), I covered 4 countries and 8 cities/town in 11 days. This will probably be the longest post I’ve written so go grab a bowl (or 2) of popcorn and a bottle of soft drink.
December 30th: I arrived at the motor park/bus station (Mile 2) at 7.20am, the car to the border left immediately. One hour later, we arrived at the Seme border. I had a smooth, hassle free border crossing at the infamous Seme border (Nigeria – Rep. of Benin). I was in shock at the Aflao border (Togo-Ghana) –this border has about the same (if not more) numbers of hustlers as Seme border, only difference, women hustle at Aflao. “You will be silly not to give me your passport & I’ll get it stamped for you” said one of the hustlers. FYI, you will be making a grave mistake giving your passport to anyone that is not a uniformed immigration or custom official.
At 2pm, I’m in a bus to Abidjan. Now this is when the adventure began. We had the most annoying bus driver ever. He would stop so often and wouldn’t tell us why. During this journey, I was chatting with a friend, below read the conversation – that’s the best way to enjoy the painful 11hrs trip from Aflao border to the Ghana-Ivory Coast border.
Lake house beach_Ivory Coast
Me: Lord, this bus driver is f***ing annoying. He keeps stopping for no reason! Oh sh**! The border is 12hrs away! Can’t believe I didn’t do my research
Friend: So sorry. Tell him you will curse his new year in Yoruba if he doesn’t get his sh** together and drive non-stop.
Me: D Igbo and Ivorian guys already cursing him lol. Imagine we have to donate money to bribe Ivorian military at checkpoint! I’ll have to sleep at the border. I should have just gone to Accra for the night instead. Oh well.
Friend: So sorry mama…Chai!
Me: Our bus driver is officially crazy, dude just stopped to play lottery. We still on the road -met bad a** traffic. I must learn French!
Friend: Lol, I like him. He’s like sc**w these passengers!
Me: We still 3hrs or so away from d border o. And he just stopped to wash his face
Friend: lol, sorry am laughing. 18hrs of travel time
Me: Imagine! and no scenery, just mud houses and overgrown weed. Y do I do this?
Friend: #lanigeriana, #cote’dvoire, #nomad, #ambuiltforthis
Me: hmm. Our driver just asked for chewing gum o!
Friend: Lol, why do I feel like am following a very funny comedy?
Me: D dude is something! One can’t even sleep, not with d way he presses d brake. Passengers have requested loud music. That will keep all of us, including the driver awake. D best part, the driver just asked us which way to he take! WTF!
Friend: Am praying for all of you! This guy don craze, confirm
Me: Imagine driver stopped again. He went to eat bread & egg >:O. It’s past midnight, we in a dead town and he just doesn’t care.
We finally arrived at the border at 1am, off course it was close since 6.30pm. Along with other passengers, we stayed at a canteen (border eatery shack) sipping tea and watching Nollywood (Nigerian movies) until 6.30am when the border reopened. At this point I was dirty, hungry and lacking sleep.
Cape Coast, Ghana
December 31st: The border crossing was the worse so far, as soon as we got to the Ghanaian part, people started running, pushing and acting real immature. Finally it gets to my turn, I show them my passport and vaccination card, everything ok but I had to pay 2 Ghanaian Cedis. Ok, no problem, I can afford to ‘give’ them that. Moved to the Ivorian side, first they search all your luggage/bag – you bring everything out one by one, one of the army guys refuses to let me go for 20mins saying I’ll be his wife. Guess he saw I wasn’t in the mood for BS, he let me go. I reach the vaccination area, guy takes my card aside and sends me to another person. This person goes on to say I don’t have meningitis vaccine card! Really, only yellow fever is required, but for reasons known to only them, they wanted to see the meningitis vaccination as well. Mofos tried unsuccessful to force me take the vaccination. I refused, after 30mins of argument, he let me go. Then on to the immigration section where they had the nerve to inflate normal fee by 500% just because my Nigerian passport was issued in New York. He (the official) told one of the Ivorian guys on my bus I looked rich!! Really guy, if I was rich, trust me I wouldn’t bother with borders, I would fly!! At that point, I was ready to say f*** it, I’m going back. In the end, some Ivorian guy paid a third of the fee they wanted. I’m now extremely pissed & hungry. After 28hrs on bus travel (includes wait time at border), I arrived in Abidjan and fell in love immediately.
Beach_Ivory Coast
Note: at all West African borders I’ve crossed, officials always ask for a fee (usually equivalent of USD$1). No one knows if this fee is legal or not especially for West African citizen (there’s a free movement agreement). Anyways, everyone pays this fee because really $1 is nothing. However, when they start demanding more than that, you insist on the $1….
Abidjan is now my favorite city (after Lagos off course) in West Africa, I wouldn’t mind living here. The food is delicious. The people are awesome and I simply connected with Abidjan. Later in the evening, we went to Assinne, a lake town 2hrs from Abidjan to spend New Year Eve. The lodge we stayed at was amazing, a paradise that I wished I could call home. Now, I know where to go to take solace whenever I feel down or have mid-life crisis. We (my host & I) spent the remaining evening cooking & chatting by the lake. I fell asleep before midnight, missed most of the firework display. I didn’t mind, it was the best New Year eve for me thus far.
Lake house_Ivory Coast
Jan 1st: spent a good part of the day at the beach and returned to Abidjan in the evening. We hung out with friends of my host at a bar. Ivoirians love to enjoy life, the vibe was good, people were happy. It was a pleasant evening.
Jan 2nd: attempted to purchase a train ticket to Burkina Faso. It would be my first time taking the train in Africa; I was pretty excited so you can imagine how sad I was when the train people said they had not resumed service for the year. I had to get a bus ticket instead. The rest of the day was spent hanging out with jolly people.
Jan 3rd: I left my host’s house at 6.30am because the bus was leaving at 7am. We get to the bus station, no bus. Bus agent tells us to hold on. 8am, still no bus. At 9.30am, bus was ready to leave. I got a rude shock, it wasn’t a coach/luxurious bus like I assumed, rather a mini bus. I paid 24,000CFA (USD$50) the previous day for a direct bus to Bobo, Burkina Faso. But I saw people paying 5,000 (USD9.30) for the same bus. I was getting confused, couldn’t clarify since I don’t speak French. When we got to a city called Bouake after several hours, everybody (except me) gets down from the bus, and then I was completely confused. I found someone that speaks somewhat English and told him where I’m going to, they take me to another minivan type of bus going to Burkina Faso. Okay, I didn’t have to pay anything but others paid 10,000CFA (USD$20). Basically, I was ripped off in Abidjan because I paid $20 more than the actual cost. We left Bouake at 3.15pm. At Bouake, I became somewhat self-conscious because I barely saw any female without her hair covered. They were also dressed extra conservative, it was very different from mode of life in Abidjan where liberal was the norm.
breakfast_Burkina Faso
Another shocker – luggage, sacks of rice, onions, corn, maize were put on the floor of the van in such a way that you would have to put your legs on them instead of the floor – making it pretty uncomfortable. From Abidjan to Bouake, there were several military-police checkpoint, while I was awake; we were stopped by about 10 of them. They all were given ‘tip’ by the bus driver. The military or police officer didn’t move from their stand under the shade, the bus driver would have to park by the side of the road and go give them the money.
From Bouake onward, military stops/checkpoint increased, after a while the military guys also asked to see passport/travelling document, they delayed but eventually collected money from non-passport holders (only at one checkpoint, they collected money from all passengers). Finally at 11.20pm we arrived at the border :). Border control still opened!!! 🙂 :). My passport was stamped at 11.29pm. At 12.20am, we passed yet another Ivory Coast border control- all passengers had to get down to show stamped passport etc. The border control area was like an open market place – anything, everything was for sale. Vendors and travelers had their touch/flash light, buying & selling. I attached myself to a family; one of them spoke fairly understandable English so he was my quasi translator. At 12.55am, we at the Burkina Faso side, my passport was stamped by 12.57am. WoW!!! The immigration officer was a pleasant old man, far better than all of the Ivorian immigration folks.
We were on the road to Bobo in no time. However, at 3.35am, one of the tires busted :(. It took about 10mins to fix it and we were on the road again. Sadly an hour later, another tire busted – why don’t these bus operators have good spare tires? Well, there was no more spare tire so from 4am to sunrise at 6.30am, we slept in the bus (all 24 passengers) in the middle of nowhere. Man, it was cold (harmattan session) but I was grateful I had my pashmina scarf and sarong with me. At 7am, the bus driver was able to hitch ride to get the tire fixed. In the mist of all these inconveniences, one passenger was blasting Naija (Nigerian) music, everyone including the old men & women were singing along to wizkid, chop my money, limpopo, kukure etc. I guess the music pretty much calmed everyone. Driver is back at 9am and finally we on our way to Bobo. Aah, Bobo is just 40mins away from where the bus stopped! Imagine!!!
Burkina Faso
Jan 4th: Tried to get a room at a popular guesthouse but none was available :(. I was referred to another one, no hot water for shower and I was the only guest there. Decided to go sightseeing, Bobo is supposed to be the cultural capital of Burkina Faso; however I wasn’t feeling the city at all. I went to the Grand Marche, got a sim card and activated my blackberry phone. Made a sudden decision to leave Bobo so went back to the guesthouse (still the only guest), took a taxi to the bus station and got a ticket for 2pm to Banfora. At the bus station, I met a Polish lady – I was soooo excited to talk to someone in English. On getting to Banfora, my new friend & I decided to spend the night at a nearby lake and I would join her in the morning for a tour. Her tour guide took us to a ‘hut type’ hotel by the lake. I had never slept in a hut house so I was looking forward to the experience. The lake (Lake Tengrela) was peaceful and exactly what I needed to relax. My hut room was bare, simple but comfortable. The toilet at the hut hotel was pit latrine (a hole in the ground kind of). Shower was cold bucket bath. The meal was delicious.
Jan 5th: Next morning, we went to a waterfall – Karfiguela Falls. One word to describe Karfiguela is Astonishing! We also visited Fabedougou Domes, really cool place. I couldn’t do any more sightseeing because I had to catch the 1pm bus to Ouagadougou (Ouaga). I arrived at Ouaga at 8pm. I slept off not too long after I arrived at my host’s place.
Burkina Faso
Jan 6th: The day was spent exploring Ouaga with my host, trying to find an ATM that worked for Mastercard and chatting with my host’s family. I also bought a bus ticket to Kumasi, Ghana for the next day. What do I think of Ouaga? Well, it’s a lot quiet compared to other capitals in West Africa. It’s not the cleanest city but it’s big on arts & culture. I wished I had more time in Ouaga, if I did, I would attend the elaborate Friday ceremony, visit Thomas Sankara’s grave and explore the artistic hot-spots.
Jan 7th: I’m up early again because bus leaves at 8.30am. I knew I made a mistake on getting to the bus station and seeing the very old bus I would be departing with. I was advised by one of the bus agents to ‘secure’ my seat. I didn’t understand him but went ahead anyways to put my bag on a seat. I then attempted to buy another ticket with a more fancy bus operator but no seat available. I resigned to my fate of enduring a long uncomfortable smelly bus ride. At 9.50am, the fancy bus is leaving, we are still there. I get on the bus to take my seat, this dude then had the nerve to put his smelly jacket on the bag I put on my seat, saying he got there before me. I moved his jacket and sat down, he started cursing me in his local language, I couldn’t be bothered because I knew nothing would make me vacate the seat for him. At 10.15am, the bus is ready to leave; no less than 20 people are standing because off course, they sold more tickets than available seats. Another 15mins delay at the petrol/gas station because of a disagreement between two passengers. I just knew this was going to be a very longgggggggg journey.
The Fulani dress man sitting beside me insisted on conversing with me even though I don’t understand his local language. I pretend to fall asleep, I wake up from my pretend sleep and he picks up from where he stopped talking. I smile and say ‘oui’ to everything he says.
Piece of advice – whatever you do, don’t take SKV international bus company from Ouaga to Ghana, it is the most uncomfortable cramped bus ever. Instead take Imperial Express (they leave 3 times a week (tue, thur and sun), their bus is comfy, with AC). STC is also another option, it is probably the most comfy, and cost is more than other but worth it. They leave mon, wed & fri. Buy your ticket a day or two in advance.
We crossed the border before 9pm, it was one of the most hassle-free thus far.
Jan 8th: We arrived at Kumasi, Ghana at 5am; I proceeded to get a bus to Cape Coast. We got into Cape coast at about 8.30am. I visited the Cape coast castle – sad history. It was the biggest slave holding place in West Africa. The majority of Africans stolen during the slave trade were shipped off from Cape Coast. Today, it is a sleepy fishing town and houses one of Ghana’s biggest universities. I met a Chinese girl at the castle, we did the tour together and I rode with her to Accra. At the entrance of the castle, you will be harassed by young hustlers to ‘donate’ money to some charity school helping boys stay in school. They are very persistent and would even suggest you give USD$20 to the said charity. Question is, are they legit or just preying on tourists?
Cape Coast, Ghana
I intended on spending the night in Accra and returning to Lagos the next day. I had visited Accra before in 2011; I didn’t like it so this was me trying to give Accra a second time to impress me. Well, I still wasn’t impressed so I took a car to Lome where I would connect to Cotonou. Since it would be my last night on the trip, I wanted to spend it in a very special city and Accra wasn’t it. The car to Lome was the most comfortable transport so far on this trip. We got to Lome and I connected to Cotonou.
I didn’t get to Cotonou until 10pm. Glad my favorite restaurant was still open. I had my first real meal of the day and a glass of white wine to celebrate the end of my road trip. Then proceeded to my favorite guesthouse – Guesthouse Cocotier; since both the guesthouse and the restaurant are just two streets apart in the Haie Vive area of Cotonou, it was safe to walk to the guesthouse from the restaurant – Restaurant Livingstone.
Jan 9th: I visited friends, went to my favorite arts & crafts market and simply enjoyed Cotonou. At 3pm, I took the car to the Seme border. As usual, I crossed in a breeze. Five hours later at 8pm, I arrived to my house. After several hours in uncomfortable buses and sometimes stressful border crossings, it felt great to be back home (I actually did miss it Lagos).
Would I do a road trip again across West Africa? Oh YES, but this time, I would learn French and a few phrases in the dominant local language of each country. It sure helps to speak the language; it opens up doors that would be closed to non-speakers. Was the trip worth the stress? For me, I would say yes. I guess I wouldn’t see it as stress rather as new experiences. I’ll always have a story to tell when you mention Rep. of Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire) and Burkina Faso. 🙂 I’m almost a pro at crossing borders now 🙂
Apart from sleeping in an hut by the lake in Burkina Faso & spending NYE in a lake house (#itwasparadise) in Cote d’Ivoire, other highlight was the love shown to me by the people of these countries just because I’m Nigerian. I was told by many how they love Nigeria and Nigerians and wish to visit some day. Everywhere I went, Nigerian music was the norm……
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Thanks for reading
Naija Things
WOW! It has really been 4 months, 3 weeks and 4 days since I uploaded my last blog. So much has happened since then.
Until August, I was extremely busy making a pet project (SCN) a reality. SCN (Summer Camp Nigeria) was an amazing 2 weeks experience for pre-teens and teenagers. It took place in Lagos, Nigeria and had 40 participants ranging from ages 4 to 16. It was a pilot program, had many challenges planning it but in the end it was all worth it. We gave a survey to the camp participants (to be filled out anonymously). One kid said this when asked to describe his/her SCN experience “Summer Camp Nigeria has changed me mentally, physically, socially and spiritually. It has been a once in a lifetime experience.” Another kid said this when asked about lessons they are taking away from SCN, “That humans are totally different, our characters are our greatest assets and our minds are our greatest tools.” With powerful quotes like these, I can’t help but feel really grateful to all that made this pet project a reality. Definitely my greatest highlight of this year…This is a link to the video the kids made on their SCN experience.
In September, I was mostly recovering from stress associated with SCN, so mostly I just tried to relax and get back my social life. I attended a conference in Osogbo, Osun State (about 4 hours from Lagos State) on Afro-Identity. It was organized by the one of the most prestigious universities in Nigeria – Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun state. I didn’t attend as just a conference participant but as a paper presenter – YES, I presented a paper on Afro-Colombian Identity. I was pretty nervous because there were many important names in the house including Wole Soyinka. In the end, I was grateful, I got great feedback on my presentation and folks actually thought that I am incredible smart (hmm I don’t know how to respond to compliments/praises). I also made contact with amazing folks from Brazil, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Germany, Cameroon and Nigeria. As a part of the conference, we visited the King’s palace –the Alaafin of Oyo – the Alaafin is the king of Oyo state, the military capital of the old Yoruba kingdom. My first time in a palace or in front of a king – I was greatly impressed by the Alaafin, he is such an intelligent man. One thing that stayed with me from the visit is the greeting given to the Alaafin by the Brazilian and Cuban conference participants. They greeted the Alaafin in Yoruba (heavy Brazilian/Cuban accent) and using the same gestures as if they were Nigerian Yorubas. These people had never been to Nigeria before this, the greetings and other cultural displays were those handed down to them from generation to generation that survived slavery and assimilation to the mestizo culture of Latin America.
October, I was occupied with paperwork associated with completing my National service program. Remember my first post from Nigeria detailing my experience at the military camp. Well, I completed the remaining 11 months of community development. We ‘graduated’ on October 10. Gracias a Dios! So now am officially unemployed :(.
I’ve met up with 3 couchsufers so far – 2 from Argentina and 1 from France. I also hosted my first couchsurfers this month – two ladies. I have always surfed someone’s couch/extra bedroom so it was great to host finally :). I went to Benin Republic with them. It was an admazing adventure. First we crossed the Seme border (Nigeria & Benin Republic) by ourselves. Anybody familiar with this border crossing will be nervous about crossing it alone. In the past I’ve always used an international bus to cross. I had horror imagination of crossing without the international bus; however, the process wasn’t even half as bad as I assumed. If you have an ECOWAS passport, no luggage and not driving a car, then you should have zero problems. I will still encourage foreigners (non-ECOWAS passport holder) to use the international bus though; it will save you hassle and stress. On getting to Cotonou, we ate lunch and went straight to Lake Gauvie. I’ve always wanted to sleep overnight at the lake and we did it this time 🙂 #alifetimeexperience. I came back to Lagos the next time while they went on to Togo.
Oh, I also started job hunting. I’m not too picky on where I find a job but I would prefer somewhere in Africa, Latin America, or Caribbean – I wouldn’t mind DMV or NYC area of USA as well. I would prefer a job in the Education (administration mostly), Policy, Research or International affairs sector. I have experience in Project Coordination/Management, research and event planning. So please if you know of something that fits this, tell me know. I really do need a job, unemployment is NOT fun. Thanks….
This month (November), am recovering from a two-weeks mini self-pity state of mind. Mostly, I have been indoors, sleeping, eating, reading novels and doing it all over again. Today, I woke up with a promise to myself – self-pity will not bring me anything good so am just going to take each day -a day at a time. Intensify my job search, continue to network and hang out with friends.
Remember the Team FUN adventures I mentioned in the previous post. Well since June, we have gone to Badagry (July), Erin Ijesha, Osun Groove & Ooni’s palace (September), Arinta Waterfalls & Ikogosi warm springs (October). These trips were AMAZING. Who knew Nigeria had such beautiful sites to explore. The last Team FUN trip for this year will be on November 23, 2013. It will be a day trip to Erin Ijesha Waterfalls in Osun State. If you are interested or know anyone that might be interested, please send an email to me – kunbi.adefule@gmail.com or add me on bbm (2998B321). Also if you need someone to organize your family trips or you have friends/family members coming to Nigeria for the holiday and need a tour guide, shoot me an email or bbm. My fees are not expensive I promise, I truly believe in exploring the Nigerian tourism sites :).
Oh, I climbed 653 stairs and walked 5 miles in one day – impressive, right? The most I ever climbed was 649 stairs at El Penon, Colombia. I went to Idanre Hills with two friends. On top of the hill is the former settlement of the Idanre people before they moved their village down the hill. The houses, Palace, court, school on the hill were made from mud, cool!
Lastly, I’m the project director for a communicator program scheduled to hold from December 16 to 21. This program – Scribes & Orators will focus on developing the writing and public speaking skills of preteens & teenagers (ages 8 to 16). Do tell your friends, family and co-workers about this rewarding program. Check this website for additional information or email/bbm me.
Thanks for reading this very long post 🙂 . I actually did miss blogging.
p.s, Naija is slang for Nigeria. ‘Things’ or ‘Tins’ is also slang in Nigeria use to describe events or anything pertaining to how you are living your life. For example, you can say ‘Work Things/Tin’ (to mean you are at the office or working on office project). You got it? So, now let me stop this ‘blogging things’…….
Until next time…..
As in……{Living like a local no be small thing o}
I decided staying in a village will make me miserable, plus I was rejected at the school I was posted to. According to the school’s principal, I wouldn’t cope at the school because I am a foreign trained student. So I began the process of getting re-posted to Ibadan (the capital of Oyo State). I was naive enough to believe this process would be easy and straightforward but I was dead wrong. First, there was no office or person/official in charge of this. I was at the head office in Ibadan every day for 2 whole weeks before I finally got an official to accept & approve my re-posting. I was very lucky – he (the official) only accepted my application because I schooled abroad. All my other friends that schoole d in Nigeria either had to bribe or bring their influential parent before they could get anything done.
I began apartment hunting – a tortuous process. All the apartments I saw were very disgusting. I wasn’t asking for a lot – I just wanted a decent place with running water. In January, I had to pick the best of these apartments. The apartment had two rooms, kitchen, bathroom and no living room. The bathroom and shower were not tiled so we had to pay for it to get tiled #1stworldproblems. There was running water, constant electricity & it was located in a very safe neighborhood. I shared with another girl.
I loved my Job at Ibadan; I was posted to a research institute – Nigerian Institute of Social & Economic Research. My boss was amazing and engaged me in several research projects. I had few friends in Ibadan so I should be happy right? No, I hated Ibadan. It was way better than the village I was originally posted to but still wasn’t the city I would want to live in. In Ibadan, there are no places to hangout during the day, no malls or interesting sights and there were plenty extremely aggressive people. The city had no flavor to it, just plain, big, dirty and very ugly! I went to Lagos every weekend so as not to die of boredom. At the end of January, I got a call – the happiest call since I moved back to Nigeria. I was re-deployed to Lagos!
So February, I was busy completing registration out of Ibadan, subletting my room and beginning registration at Lagos. The only disappointment I had in Lagos was I wasn’t allowed to work at a research institute. Lagos corpers have just two choices – working in a school or at the local government (county office). I was posted to a local government. At the office, I was told by my boss that there was nothing for me to do so I shouldn’t bother coming to work L. At that point, I started brainstorming projects I can do, no way was I going to be a bum.
In Lagos, I began to grasp my new life. Many people consider it fun, interesting or exotic to ‘live like a local’. This is true if the country you are living as a local is NOT your country of origin. I loved my experience living like a local in Colombia and Honduras. Living like a local sucks for me in Nigeria because I lived here for the first 17 years of my life, I have family here, I have ties here. It is simply not exotic!
With the national service program, we are paid an equivalent of USD$125 per month. I have never lived on $125 a month. The least I’ve lived on is $400/month (in Honduras) and Honduras is way cheaper than Nigeria. A bulk of my money is spent on transportation – Lagos is similar to Houston, Texas in that if you don’t have a car, getting around is complicated.
I keep myself busy and sane by taking French classes; online courses via Coursera and exploring Lagos & surrounding states. Also, am partnering with an Educational organization to launch a Summer Camp Program in Nigeria. The camp is scheduled to hold in August. Check out our website Summer Camp Nigeria.
To be honest, the move back to Nigeria has not been an easy transition for me. It has been a roller-coaster; some weeks I’m depressed, others am just fine. I continue to network and explore Lagos. Another thing I do is to organize fun trip (Team FUN) with a group of people from my network. Many Nigerians don’t travel within the country and there are expatriates interested in seeing the country. So monthly, Team FUN visits new places. So far, we have gone to Tarkwa Bay beach and Olumo Rock, pictures coming soon.
As in and no be small thing o are common slang used in Nigeria. No be small thing o means it is not that easy. As in is used in the same way Americans use ‘you know what I mean’.
Below is an interesting interview I went for in Lagos……this happened last month and I want to believe am over it by now.
Background: my friend calls me up for a job she thinks I would be interested in. The company needed a recruitment agent that spoke Spanish. It sounded like a good opportunity so I forwarded my CV (Resume). The Operation Manager gave me a call – enjoy the conversation
Operation Manager: Good Afternoon, may I speak to …..
Me: I’m doing fine, and u?
Operation Manager: fine as well, I am calling about the recruitment position. What religion do you practice?
Me: Excuse-me
Operation Manager: What religion do you practice?
Me: I have no religion
Operation Manager: You have no religion?
Me: Yes, no religion
……call drop (me thinking, what a jerk, he hung up on me because I have no religion!). A few minutes later, my phone rings
Operation Manager: hmm, would you like to come for an interview? By the way, sorry the call dropped, poor network service
Me: Sure. When is the interview?
Operation Manager: if you can come in today, that will work fine
******fast forward to the interview********
I was lead to the interviewing room. There were 3 women and 1 man already in the room.
As I enter the room, the man begins saying a prayer. The prayer included the ‘casting out of demons’, ‘sanctifying the room’ and several chanting along these lines. It went on for about 5 minutes. During this period, I was confused. Then I thought maybe he’s on the phone. After he stopped praying
Me: Hello. I’m Kunbi. I hope all is well
The man: yes, I’m **** ***** and I’m the Operational Manager. I was praying to cast out the demons you can with. Since you have no religion and your hair is dreadlock. All I need now is Holy Water to completely cast out the demons. So tell me, how come you don’t believe in God?
Me: (400% shocked) Oh, so that was what the prayers was all about. God and religion are not the same thing.
Operation Manager: so what happened to make you not have a religion? You schooled in the U.S.A, right? It must be the American influence. Here in Nigeria, you must have a religion. Without a religion, you are lost. You are like a headless chicken without direction. And your hair, you will have to cut off the dreads within one week of working here.
Me: okay, your opinion. Nothing is going to make me cut off my hair.
Operation Manager: No, it’s not my opinion. It is a fact. You see, I win souls for Christ. I was responsible for my best friend becoming a Christian, now he is very dedicated to the church. I just pity you because you are unfortunate without a religion. The man that will marry you will be so unlucky because he will end up with unfortunate person like you. Do you wear heals, make-up, dresses, skirts? You see your problem is, you are too simple.
Me: [my mind suddenly goes blank, as I can’t believe what I’m hearing, so I shrugged my shoulders].
The Operation Manager went on to say more inappropriate and offensive stuff………………..then offered me the position……At that point, I was ready to leave. I had been trying really hard to mentally erase all he said to me but without much success.
After this interview (my first in Nigeria), I cried. I felt so belittled and couldn’t do anything about it.
Until next post……………………………….
Part 1: It has been a very Long Thing
Networking event – Oct
Sometimes in April 2012, I made up my mind to return to my birth country – Nigeria. In September 2012, I packed up my belongings into 5 suitcases and boarded the flight to Lagos, Nigeria. I had a flexible plan that would enable me transition smoothly to life in Nigeria but I wasn’t fully mentally prepared to manage this huge life transition.
From mid-Sept to Oct, I hung out with family and close friends. I also started networking and re-learning directions, vocabularies & culture (call it reverse culture shock). For instance, when I went to open a bank account, I asked about their checking & saving accounts. The teller gave me a blank stare, like I was speaking in French. Apparently, in Nigeria checking account is called ‘current’ account. I didn’t know this! In Oct, I took a short trip to Abuja (the capital of Nigeria) to register for the Nigerian Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program. Abuja seem like a nice place, it is more expensive than Lagos but not as lively and vibrant.
Abuja – sieving a traditional northern food
Apparently I do not look Nigerian and my hair simply fascinates people here. I get lots of stares and the where are you from question. Most times, I have to prove to folks that I’m really from here by speaking in my native language. I actually think I adjusted to life in Lagos well. A lot of things did not bother me, for example, electricity is erratic in Nigeria so frequent power outage is normal.
Well the most interesting experience from Sept-Dec last year was in Nov. Remember I had to go to Abuja to register for the Nigerian Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program. The NYSC is a mandatory one year service program that Nigerian citizens who have graduated from a 4yr University/college have to do before they can be employed in Nigeria. This program starts with a 3 weeks Para-military camp, followed by 11 months of community service work. My 3 weeks in camp was horrible for the most part. It was then I doubted if I made the right decision of turning down my prestige job offer from Teach for America for moving back home. Now, sit back as I recount my camp experience…….
Abuja
5 days to camp
I picked up my ‘Call up Letter’ from the NYSC head office in Lagos. Call up letter shows the state you are deployed to for camp and the rest of the service year. You cannot choose your state of preference. The government decide this. I was disappointed with mine – I was deployed to Oyo State. I wanted Lagos or Abuja. I began buying things I needed for camp. For a complete list of things needed for camp, click on ‘The Foreign Trained Student Guide: Surviving NYSC’.
Camp: Day 1
We left Lagos at 7am and arrived at my camp location in Iseyin, Oyo State at 11am. The roads were in very poor condition. We were not allowed to drive into the camp premises, so we packed the car outside. The soldiers ordered us to put our luggage on our head and join the line. So for the next 1hr, along with others, I had my 20 pounds hand-luggage on my head. Their only explanation for this was that it was step 1 in ‘swiping out the civilian thought process’. Finally we passed this stage and went through bag checking then proceeded to sit on the floor while another soldier gave us a welcome speech. After this, we were assigned a mattress and dunk bed and told to begin the never ending registration process.
Entrance of the dorm i was assigned to
I made new friends while on the line for some paperwork. Together, we continued with registration until 6pm. I took a shower outside in the open space with my new friends because there were no bathrooms. I couldn’t sleep that night. My bunk bed was in the hallway because the dormitories were overcrowded. The whole dormitory had a bad odor.
First day of camp – sit on the floor
Day 2 – 6
Since day 2 was still allocated to registration, the soldiers were lenient with us. I collected my ‘kit’ (approved camp uniform). In camp, we are only allowed to wear what they give. You can only wear your own clothes on Sunday for 4hrs. Day 3 hence wards, we had to be on the parade ground at 5.20am. Every morning, we began by saying prayers, national anthem, pledge and NYSC anthem. See the attached photos for the daily routine timetable.
We had no toilet. They expected us to use an uncompleted building with nothing in it for shower, number 1 and 2. Remember the stranded cruise ship where passengers were asked to use a plastic bag for number 2 for 3 days. Well, here in camp, you had to use the plastic bag from 3 weeks. I began using Imodium to slow down my digestive system so I wouldn’t have to use a plastic bag. I had to learn to take a bath under 2 mins with my towel wrapped on my head. The soldiers usually come to harass us for taking our shower in the open space in front or behind the dorm. So you had to be fast about it except you want the crazy soldiers to see your naked body or you feel like being punished in only your towel wrapped around your body.
The uncompleted building with no roof, door or anything inside. We were expected to have our shower and ease ourselves there.
I also had to contract petite work to women from the town. We had to get water in a bucket for shower and to wash your clothes by hand. Getting water was frustrating enough, so I always paid one of the women to get water for me daily. I also paid to have one of them wash my clothes.
By day 3, the dorm was filthy. My dorm has 3 floors, I was on the ground floor and there were about 128 females crammed into this tight space on the ground floor. Some of these females were DIRTY. For example, it was common to see used sanitary pads on the floor, feces behind the dorm, food crumbs on the floor.
From day 3, we were made to understand that nothing is optional in camp, everything is mandatory. If caught, you will be punished severely. Punishment included locking up in a guardroom (a small dark windowless room); kneeling down or sitting down on the dirty ground for several hours or expelled from camp. You cannot talk back to a soldier or NYSC official, it doesn’t matter if you are right because to them you are ALWAYS WRONG and they are ALWAYS RIGHT!
Punishment of waking up late for 5.30am morning drill. I was never caught 🙂
Week 2
We were asked to pick a skill (out of 6 available) that we were interested in. For 3 hours every day in week 2 and part of week 3, we would be trained on the skill of our choice. I choose IT; I wanted to learn web development. Also we were given an option to train as a peer educator on adolescent reproductive health and HIV prevention and care. I signed up for this and I’m glad I did. It helped me maintain my sanity. Throughout week 2, we were busy training from 7am to 6pm every day. I loved it because it meant I didn’t have to participate in the stupid marching or attend the senseless lectures.
HIV prevention care training: graduation
From week 2 onwards, the camp commandant (the highest ranked solider in camp) came to the courtyard that housed all female dorms every night to harass and insult us. Our theory was that he came to look at naked girls taking their bath; from there he picked out females who will pass the night with him. The camp commandant favorite insults were ‘all of you are ugly’, ‘your breasts are ugly’, ‘I swear I can never date any of you’, ‘dirty girls’, ‘all of you are witches’. These rants went on for about 20 minutes every night.
Also this week, they killed three snakes. One on the parade ground, one at the back of female dorm and the last beside the kitchen. This snake incidence put a fear in me.
Week 3
Unfortunately the HIV prevention care training was over on the third day in week 3 so I had to return to camp daily routine. Since week 2, I had learned ways to outsmart the soldiers. For example, when they come to chase us out from the dormitory at 4.30am, I remained in bed. Fortunately, my dorm did not have electricity, it smelled badly and it was difficult to walk through because of the bunk beds in the hallway. For these reasons, the soldiers rarely came into the dorm. I guess I was lucky because I was never caught; punishment for violating any camp rule went from mild to severe. I made friends with most of the soldiers, sometimes I bought them food or drinks. That way, when I wasn’t obeying rules, they let off the hook. During week 3, we went for ‘Endurance Trek’. I absolutely loved this. We took a walk (about 2,000 of us) alongside camp officials and soldiers around the town where the camp was located. It felt good seeing people and the outside world. The walk took about 7 hours.
the line to get water for shower
Last day in Camp
I pretty much did not sleep the night before. We were told we had to be out of the dorm by 6am. At 8am, the closing parade ceremony started. After this, we had to line up to collect our ‘posting letter’. This letter has the ability to make you sad or happy. The posting letter shows the city/village/town and the institution that you are posted to work for the remaining 11 months. Keep in mind that some of the villages are in the middle of nowhere with very basic amenities. Again I was extremely disappointed with my posting letter. I was posted to some village called ‘Fiditi’. We had to report to wherever you were posted that same day. I went to mine, what I saw frightened me. If you know me, you will know I’m a city girl, I can’t do villages or small town. Those simply aren’t cut for me. But here I am, posted to a small village with mud houses. I decided then that if I was not reposted to the capital of Oyo State, I wasn’t going to do the service program anymore.
After camp
I went to the head office in Ibadan (the capital of Oyo State) to beg/request/petition them to kindly repost me to Ibadan. This process was frustrating and further introduced me to the ways things are done in Nigeria.
……..to be continued…………watch out for part 2 (I should post it in 2 weeks)
Long thing = a Nigerian slang that means ‘it is not easy, it has been challenging or impossible to achieve’.
The Road to Benin….
My vacation in the Republic of Benin was a much needed one. After 3.5 months in Nigeria, I really needed a time out – Benin was it! I went overland from Nigeria to Benin. It was my first land border crossing in Africa and I was sort of nervous. But it went well. I didn’t have to do much; the international bus I took from Lagos to Cotonou got our passports stamped. I guess that is one of the benefits of the ECOWAS agreement between West Africa countries. The journey took 6 hours. I did not go alone; my Nepali friend came to visit in Nigeria so we went to Benin together.
Cotonou is my favorite city in Benin thus far. Although it is not the capital, it has way more things to do than Porto Novo (the capital). We stayed in a nice guesthouse in Cotonou – a room with double bed cost 12,000 CFA per night, bathroom is shared. We did a lot in Benin. We took day trips to various cities including Ouidah, Abomey, Porto Novo and Lake Gauvie. The good thing about Benin is that these cities were between 1-2 hours apart.
One of the most impressive sights I’ve seen so far in my travels was in Benin – in a city called Gauvie. This city is located on a lake, that is the houses, schools, churches, mosque, salons & everything is built on the lake. Even the market! In the market on the lake, women showcase their wares in their canoes and folks come to them to buy. The history behind the village on the lake is phenomenal. During the slavery era which the Dahomey kings participated fully and captured people to be sold into slavery, many villagers escaped and founded a village on the lake. This prevented them from being captured since the Dahomey soldiers were forbidden from going close to lakes, rivers and streams.
Other activities I enjoyed included visiting several museums, the point of no return and the former Dahomey kingdom of Abomey. I was also happy because things were so cheap in Benin. I felt like a millionaire every time I exchanged my Nigerian Naira to the Benin CFA. I don’t speak French but language wasn’t much of a barrier since I spoke Yoruba (my native language & also a widely spoken local language in Benin).
We met up with a couchsurfer; she is so beautiful and cool. She went to the city of Ouidah with us and along with the Senegalese guys we met at the guesthouse, we went ‘clubbing’. I put ‘clubbing’ in quotation because apparently in Benin, people prefer to drink than dance. So there is not much of a club, it is usually a bar or lounge with a little dance floor space.
Two things unique to Benin – (1) Fuel/Gas/Petrol is sold on the side of the street. They are put in jars of various sizes on a table. I saw only two or so gas/petrol station and these weren’t your typical station. It was just one pumping machine in a small craved out section by the street. (2) Taxis are rare to come by. The preferred mode of transport is the zem (motorbike).
In all, I enjoyed my one week vacation in Benin and I hope to return soon.
I will still blog about my experience in Nigeria since my move in Sept 2012. So much has happened and I’m not quite sure how to begin writing. But I promise, I will post something in the next 2 weeks.
The Foreign Trained Student Guide: Surviving NYSC
The purpose of this post is to provide necessary information pertaining to NYSC for those folks that schooled abroad.
- Step 1: keep in mind, NYSC mobilizes graduates 3 times a year. The first – Batch A is around March, Batch B in June and Batch C in Nov. Registration close for foreign trained students a month before camp begin. So always check the NYSC website for updates in case anything changes.
- Step 2: you have to physically appear at the NYSC headquarters in Abuja to register. This registration can take a whole day. I’ll advise you to schedule two days to complete registration. Make sure to take all ORIGINAL copies of your documents and make at least 8 photocopies of each document. Check their website for which documents to bring. Make sure to have your Nigerian passport. Have at least 30 passport photos and a pen. Start buying things you need for camp. For a sample list, check below.
- Step 3: Wait for your ‘Call up Letter’. This letter shows what state you are deploy to serve and the start date of camp. You can request to pick up your call up letter from your state of residence (if you don’t live in Abuja). Usually you have between 4-5 days to report to camp from the date the call up letter is ready for pick up.
- Step 4: Report to camp. It is advisable to report the very first day of camp. That way, you will have a head start with registration. Endure an intensive 3 weeks of paramilitary camp. For my camp experience, check out ‘It has been a very Long Thing’. On the last day of camp, you will be given another letter called ‘The Posting Letter’. This letter will either make you smile or cry because it shows what city/town/village and the institution you are expected to serve for the remaining 11 months of the program. In the ideal world, you cannot choose where you will be posted. But in reality, you can actually arrange it in camp to get posted to a favorable place. Ask around in camp (the soldiers cannot help you with this), it might cost you some money.
- Step 5: Report to whatever institution in the city/town/village you were posted to. Prepare to be accepted or rejected at the institution. The institution you end up working with is your ‘Place of Primary Assignment (PPA). If accepted, you have no problem; you can proceed with other registration. If rejected, you will either be assigned to another institution or you can seek ‘request letter’ from an approved institution of your choice. Note, by law you are required to serve in any government agency or schools. No private institution is allowed (except private schools).
- Step 6: If accepted at your PPA, complete all registration at your assigned Local Government (LG), including opening a bank account (you will be told which bank). Then apply for a 2 weeks leave. This should allow you look for accommodation and transport your belongings to this city/town/village that you will serve for 11 months. You might have to do some registration at your PPA, do this before going on the 2 weeks leave.
- If you want a re-deployment to another state. The process is tiring, by law, re-deployment is only granted on health issues or to be with a spouse. But as usual, you can work your way around it. It will cost you money!
- Step 7: at the end of your 2 weeks leave, you begin work. Once a week, you are excused from going to work for the ‘Community Development Service (CDs)’ at your local government. You are given a CDs card that must be signed by your Local Government Inspector (LGI) weekly.
- Step 8: once a month, you must collect a ‘Clearance Letter’ from your PPA stating that they are satisfied with your work and that you do not owe them any money. You will take this letter to your Local Government office and sign a ‘Payment Voucher (PV)’ before the federal government will pay your monthly stipend to the bank account you opened. Failure to sign a PV will result in disciplinary actions against you.
- Step 9: If all things go well, at the end of your 11 months service you must participate in the ‘Passing out Parade (POP) and your certificate will be given out. This certificate will be required before any employer offers you a job.
Note, every time you go to the NYSC head office or your assigned local government, you HAVE to dress in the appropriate uniform (that is, your khaki pants, white t-shirt and white tennis shoes/jungle boot). Nobody will attend to you if you fail to abide by this dress code.
Camp: Sample list of things you will need
(1) Baby wipes and toilet paper
(2) At least 5 round neck white t-shirts and 2-3 white shorts -it can be knee length, mine was
(3) 5 pairs of white socks and 2 pairs of white tennis shoes
(4) Medicines: anti diarrhea, vitamin c, cold & cough, acetaminophen/tylenol or ibuprofen
(5) Soap, sponge, detol, hand sanitizer, body lotion, toothbrush & paste, 2 towels
(6) Enough underwear for 3wks, sanitary pad, body spray
(7) Bed sheet, pillow and pillowcase
(8) Mosquito net and mosquito repellent
(9) Bathroom slipper/flip-flop
(10) Waist pouch (big enough to hold your cash, phone and key to your luggage)
(11) torchlight/flash light
(12) Books to read (if you are the reading type)
(13) At least 8 photocopies of each of your credentials and documents including your American passport and university ID card. Bring a folder to store all your document
(14) Your Nigerian passport and 20 passport photos
(15) Phone & charger (I took my blackberry and Nokia c7 and it wasn’t stolen – you just have to be careful)
(16) Bucket
(17) Padlock/combination locks to secure your luggage
(18) Snacks
(19) Your own cutlery and food container if you plan on eating at the camp kitchen. I didn’t bring mine and I was fine since I ate all my meals at the mami market (camp market)
(20) 2-4 change of clothes
(21) Cash – between 40,000 to 50,000 Naira minimum cash
(22) Open mindedness!
Chocolate Face
Hey I know you, I’ve seen you on TV, you are Beyoncé (sometimes Rihanna) right?
Hey ‘Chocolate Face’, how are you? Can I have your number?
These are the type of comments I got while in Istanbul, Turkey. Sometimes I loved it and sometimes it irritated me.
Visiting Istanbul was a huge transition for me since the countries I’ve visited in the past were always in West Africa, Latin America or the Caribbean. Therefore, for the first time in my life, I couldn’t speak the language of the country I was visiting. But I survived my 7 days’ vacation.
Although Istanbul is not the capital of Turkey, it has the largest population in Turkey – about 13million people. Let me tell you 5 reasons why you should visit Istanbul:
1. Good Food: Turkey is known for the tasty spices used in cooking. Meat is the main food and they are juicy and tasty. Not a fan of meat, don’t worry they have spicy crushed salads. After your meal, feel free to choose from your varieties of deserts.
2. Turkish Delights and Turkish Tea/Coffee: Do you ever feel that you don’t have time to chat/catch up with friends or with yourself? Well Coffee or Tea on the go is very uncommon in Turkey. Turkish Tea/Coffee requires that you sit, they prepare your preference, they bring it to you, you sip, chat, sip and chat some more. No need to rush because your tea/coffee is accompanied with the Turkish delight. Now what are Turkish Delights you may ask? They are sweets or flour coated stuffs made from nuts or filled with nuts. You will love them. I’m very picky and not a fan of nuts but I had a few of the delights every day.
3. Sight Seeing: You want to see/re-live history? Turkey is the perfect place for that. Four empires were established here: Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Latin Empire and Ottoman Empire. You are guaranteed to see amazing structures, architectures, and wonders. At the museum in Tokapsi Palace (The Palace of several Sultans), on display includes religious relics such as King Solomon’s sword, John the Baptist’s hand, Joseph turban, Prophet Muhammad’s beard & sword, Moses’ rod (yes the rod he used to command the red sea to divide so the Israelis could pass through). Most popular sights includes Hagia Sophia (church built in the Roman Empire but became a mosque during the Ottoman Empire, now a museum), Blue Mosque, Tokapsi Palace, Bosporus cruise, Dolmaba Palace, Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar and so on.
4. Turkish Bath: A must do in Turkey. You know shower is a modern day invention so experiencing how women in ancient times pamper themselves is classic! So you don’t get surprised, this is the process – By law women & men are in separate space. In the female space, you take off all your clothes; pour warm water on yourself from a marble sink for 10-15 minutes, a female attendant will then scrub off your dead skin while you lay on a marble slab. After this you are given a massage (mine was a soap massage), then you wash yourself with warm water again and lay on another marble slab to dry off.
5. One City, 2 Continents: Face it, when have you ever been in a city that half of it is on one continent and the other half on a different continent? Are you lost? Istanbul, Turkey is geographically blessed because it is the only city in the world where one part of the city is on the European continent and the other half is on the Asian continent. Most of the touristy places are on the European side of Istanbul but the Asian side is only a 20 minutes ferry away.
Back to the tittle, a lot of people just called me Chocolate Face! Well, I guess because I have a chocolate skin. I got a lot of stares – some were a bit offensive and others just curiosity. I was told by several Turkish’s people that they had never seen a black person before – only on TV they said (Never mind that Turkey has a black population – descendants of enslaved people during the Islamic slave trade and a growing number of immigrants from African countries). Many people wanted to take a picture of or with me (some without permission). A lot of men asked me out on date and I even got a marriage proposal! I think I handled all these unwanted attention gracefully. I enjoyed my stay regardless.
And yes I met some Nigerians there. I was also told there were 2 Nigerian churches in Istanbul. I just love seeing my people when I travel.
The Adventures of a Nigerian-American 