Service was great today (as usual). We had Dr. Okey Onuzo in the house yayyy... and from my MN days; it's always so exciting to have him give the word. I really got peeved by something when I got to church which got me in a mood; but at the end of the day it thankfully went well.
I also got some really bad news. Heard someone who I knew on campus (university days) passed away. So so sad. Honestly, I just pray the Lord will have mercy on us all, and allow us live the kind of lives that we need to live. It is well. Father Lord... "Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom" Psalm 90: 12
I'd like to continue with the relocation to Nigeria project...
So, we boarded our KLM flight, stopped over as usual in Amsterdam and then we were finally in Lagos. The first welcome gift we got was... when we were at the entry port, we presented the kids US passports (we were obviously not thinking). They subsequently asked for the kids (ages 3 and 1) visas and we didn't have 'em. We totally blanked out in ALL of our running around. So of course naija customs seized their passports (regardless of all the begging and pleading) and asked us to report to their office the following day. The kids were signed in under my passport and they wrote us a nice ticket with a very nice levy we had to pay. Just great!!! We were soooo worried (but we went there the following day and it was all resolved).
Anywhoo... the first thing I noticed when we got into the car and got on our way was; there were NO STREET LIGHTS!!! Yiikes! I grew up in Lagos and we'd traveled to quite a number of countries and back but for the life of me, I had never noticed that the Nigerian roads had no street lights. I hadn't stayed out of naija for that long and after driving all the time in MN; my eyes had just adjusted to it. I could hardly see anything! And that was really scary for me. Thankfully after Fashola (BRF), the story has changed. We bless God.
We had arrived and this was it... no looking back. No retreat, no surrender lol. (We noticed after getting to the house that my hubby had left a bag that contained his laptop, our hard drives, his brand new phones, our digital camera etc at the check area in Amsterdam. I told him not to put it all in one bag but what do I know... 2 days later we found out the bag was found and put on our flight so they could give to us while we were disembarking. But trust naija, they never delivered it to us. With all the strings we pulled, it was just unfortunate, we didn't get the bag back).
A few things to note, if attempting this fete:
- You need to realize that they will be a culture shock for you. Back in the day when people said this (prior to me living abroad) I actually thought they were just being silly. No! it's real. It will take you time to adjust and yes, you will look and sound weird and very silly to some. E.g. writing your dates wrong 4/19/2015 instead of naija 19/4/2015. Saying 'I'm going to the gas station' instead of 'petrol station', and so many others things. You will also go from excited, to disappointed, to depressed; to eventual 'kamu' lol. Kamu means a state of 'no choice than to be calm'. All of this is completely okay. You have to go through the process of flushing out the Americana in you. So many people come back with the attitude of 'I won't change my acquired behaviors and attitudes acquired abroad' but mehnnn naija will help you adjust it by force.
- Things work much much slower in Nigeria. If you'd like to post something or get something; the general process is not at the speed you're used to. It has definitely improved since we got back in 2008 but you generally have to be calmer with your expectations. For instance we were told our container would take 7 weeks. it eventually took about 20 GOOD weeks. It wasn't funny. All our plans had been made with 7 weeks in mind but you can imagine that this had to change. Hence when planning for such, give yourself a little room. Ours was because there was a strike/delay of some sort but generally 12-16 weeks is okay.
- You need to ensure you have a good grip on what you plan to do work wise. Have a back up plan (e.g. registered business you can start). I waited a month and a half and started business straight up. For others, you may want to work the field to see what's out there. You have to be aggressive with getting yourself out there in naija.
- You need to ensure you have accommodation down. We struggled with this a bit, because our expectation was slightly off; and this was with all our research and planning oh... So ensure you have dotted every i and crossed every t. It's important for a seamless transition.
- You need to hit the ground running. Once here you need to get on with all the things you need to do. Create a list e.g. 'get kids into school', 'get business up and running' etc. These can then be broken down into tasks. And of course ensure you have made arrangements for a vehicle and driver to move you around (of course for those who come in as expatriates, a lot of this is taken care of already).
- Take your time before driving on your own. Even though I loved to drive before I left Lagos and even missed Lagos driving while away, I still had to pace myself; but it didn't take me long at all.
- Business didn't take long to kick off for me because I connected really quickly with my friends and got referrals from them. So connect: and network quickly. A lot of individuals believe those who come back shouldn't have it easy, and shouldn't think they'd get what their counterparts (who they left behind) have achieved in an instant. It definitely doesn't come cheap. So lastly you have to 'do the time', 'pay your dues'... There is no way of avoiding it.
I leave you with this:
Proverbs 3: 5-6
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on
your own understanding. 6In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make
your paths straight. 7Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn
away from evil”
Phil 4: 6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by
prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Isaiah 58: 11
The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs
in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a
well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
May the Lord guide you in all your life plans...
L8r
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