Things No One Mentioned About Relocation!

Hi guys, I've had requests to tell relocation stories. In my Naija lingo Life in The Abroad. Haa haa haa. Abroad is very different from The Abroad oh, take note. Don't ask me the difference please. It's just that people come back home after two weeks in the abroad, be it China, Cameroun or Alaska with an American accent. Again, do not ask me how they acquired those accents in just 2 weeks.

My relocation stories cannot be told at once and I intend telling other people's stories as well. I trust it will be an interesting journey for everyone. When I think relocation the phrase that hits my mind is Ije Awele which is a prayer. It basically has the same meaning as my name IjeOma. When you are wished IjeAwele the person is praying that your journey be smooth and fruitful. Is that not what we all desire when we leave home.

For some, you may have relocated from your village to the big city. That in itself is a big move. For the rest of us, we relocated from our country of origin to another country... Another big move. However, my focus is international relocation.

The first thing that hits you when you relocate is the fact that you cannot be oga (boss) again oh. Just this morning I was thinking of making portions of beans to leave in my freezer but just the thought of picking the beans made me immediately missed home where I would have many people willing to help me pick beans even if for a fee.

It's in the abroad that you see Senior Managers and CEOs take out their own trash, drive themselves, do their own laundry and much more. For some it's an entire culture shock which they never fully recover from. For others it's exciting.

There are many of your relatives that will never tell you what they've been up to in the abroad least you look down on their dollars when next they visit home so allow me to tell their stories. Haa haa haa.

It is in the abroad that your 4 Masters degree certificates acquired at your local University can easily be used to sell suya and boli because it almost has no value. (suya is meat grilled over an open fire while boli is plantain grilled over an open fire usually wrapped in paper for the customer)

Have you heard the stories of those brothers who leave home in their 3-piece suit to a job where all they need are overalls? Yeah because there is dignity in leaving home all dressed up so no one knows your real job. After-all what matters is that the dollars are being sent home to be exchanged for a healthy local amount.

Life in the abroad is no joke oh, do not allow anyone kid you. I tell my unmarried friends, especially the guys - its better to relocate now so you can hustle without the concern of a wife and kids. If you have to sleep outside, it's just you, deal with it. But when you have a wife and kids, it's harder.

By the way, it's not all doom and gloom. Our stories are more funny than sad that's why we are still out here right? You get exposure to different cultures depending on where you have relocated to. You learn new things that you would not have learnt if you had remained at home. There is so much more. I will touch on different aspects of this abroad living in a few stories.

Look out for the story of Ndi Ije ObodoOyibo (Travelers from overseas) - these are the ones that come home in December with an agenda to look for a wife or a side chick for the holidays then when they leave that number they left with you suddenly becomes unavailable. Chai! It's an entire episode which can be funny or sad depending on what side of the fence you're on.

So you see now why my immigration stories are a prayer. If you've relocated already IjeAwele to you and yours as we pray that the land yields her increase to you in more ways than one.

Do you have any unique stories of yours that you want to share, send me a message directly on ijolisa77@gmail.com

Till next week Thursday, please don't forget to like us, follow us and share our link on Facebook and Instagram. Our handle is ije_journey.

Ije...... the journey.

Photo by Ken Yam on Unsplash