Amy: Don’t Worry,You Will Find Pepper In London

I linked up with Amy who left Nigeria to study in the UK in September 2022. We caught up a few weeks earlier to discuss her experience in London and school. So, I thought it would be great to read about her Japa journey.

This conversation happened over WhatsApp. So, ignore the British and American English mix, please.

Magnus: You’re currently in the UK. Why did you Japa?

Amy: So, personally, I’ve always wanted to pursue my education. I’ve always wanted to get multiple degrees and I realized early on that I didn’t want to do that in Nigeria because besides the obvious problems and issues (or crises) that Nigeria’s education system has, I also wanted to experience multiple cultures. I wanted to go out there. I wanted to see different things… leave my comfort zone. So that was like the two major reasons. Because I wanted a better educational experience for my Masters, and because I wanted to experience other cultures. So yeah…

Magnus: How hard or easy was it?

Amy: So I’ve been trying to leave the country for about four years before it happened, and even when it happened, it was… oh God, you know how you’re planning something for so freaking long, but for one reason or the other, It doesn’t happen. The first time I was trying to go for my undergrad during one strike that we had. I couldn’t go because of finances and another time I couldn’t go because my transcripts delayed me. Another time I had to change to a different country.

There was a time I wanted to go to Germany. There was a time I wanted to go to Poland. That was the period the Russian/Ukraine war started and then I wasn’t feeling confident about going to that corner. Okay, personally, I didn’t care about but my parents were not comfortable with it.

In general, I would say if you have the money and you have all your documents, the UK in particular is straightforward. It really is easy. You can do it yourself, you can do it with an agent. I did all of it myself. But there are people that use agents and some agents are willing to guide you through the process for free. If you don’t have the money or you don’t have all your documents… like your transcripts from school, your certificate, your tuberculosis test. Man, would you be stressed the fork out? I was. I’m not even gonna lie.

Mine was a very specific situation where I left in September. What most people don’t know is that I started processing the school in January. Around February or March, I quit. I stopped trying anymore because it felt like it was draining all my resources. I didn’t have money. I was exhausted. It was really stressful again. It has been like 2 years or 3 years going back and forth? I had plans ruined over and over again. And I just didn’t have the mental capacity for that.

As God would have it or a stroke of faith or luck, I don’t know, I qualified for a scholarship in July, I had applied for a scholarship to the school earlier… 50% scholarship and I got it. So, I was like, “OKAY! this is definitely the sign I’ve been waiting for it. It’s definitely a step in the right direction. But then I had another issue. I was now in a crunch. The things that people had booked two months in advance, I was trying to book a day or 2 in advance. I remember when I wanted to try and get my tuberculosis test appointment. I went to the site and they weren’t letting me book a new appointment until August. I needed to process my Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies (CAS) – I needed to start my application in the first place.

So I went there. I was honestly just crying. It took someone else that helped me, like another lady that just helped me get an appointment so that I was able to get my TB test quickly. So stuff like that, but because I was really, really… because it was July and I needed to be done with putting on my application for my CAS by August. Then there was paying my tuition. Even my CAS, I was incredibly lucky I got it in such a short period of time compared to people. There were people that were waiting for like a month or three weeks. I got mine in 7 days, which was incredibly fast and I didn’t have to do an interview. So that was really, really wild. So, overall, I would say it was hard because I was in a time crunch, but then I was lucky in so many different scenarios and that balanced the hardness and was really easy.

Like I said at the beginning, if you have the money and all your documents and some amount of time, it’s incredibly easy to process The UK. Like it’s one of the less stressful countries, unlike Canada and the US. The visa process is shorter. Especially if you can pay for it. It’s just generally less stressful.

Magnus: What are the things you feel most people should know before leaving Nigeria?

Amy: OK, things people should know before leaving Nigeria. The people that talk about the cold are not lying. It’s not inhabitable. I don’t know how it is in Canada or the US, which is probably worse. I think especially Canada is supposed to be worse than this, but like you, the UK is cold. Uh, again, not so much that you can’t live in it. I can. In fact, sometimes I wear shorts. Sometimes I go out without my coat. But, it’s still very cold, sometimes I feel like I’m gonna lose my mind. But it’s livable. Don’t think that people are capping when they say it’s cold.

Yeah. Um, you need to build your network with people you meet here and form friendships. It’s very easy to withdraw into yourself and allow loneliness and detachment to cover you up, so you don’t even notice the people that could be your friends. Speak to your coursemates at the end of class or even during classes. Go to societies in your Student Union or clubs in school. Just try to build your network really early. Trust me, you’re gonna need that support system of just having friends and it’s not gonna be easy, but you just have to try, or else it’s gonna make for a very miserable experience if you have no one.

Another thing is that remember the kind of person that you are before coming here and not allow this to make you a different person. Like, of course, you would grow with the changes. You would evolve, and you’d have new quirks, but don’t allow yourself to be intimidated by it. And do not allow yourself to be overstimulated or to be peer pressured into anything. Know who you are specifically. Remember, if you’re coming here for school or you’re coming here for work, remember what you came for. I feel like a lot of people come here and they see the UK and all the opportunities and somehow they forget they’re on a visa. They forget that there are people watching them. They forget that they have a plan to settle here and anything they do is going to be reflected when the visa whatever comes up. So just remember where you came here for and dedicate at least 60 to 70% of your strength to it. Everything else should be 40 to 30%. It shouldn’t be 50%. It shouldn’t be 40%. You also want to have other experiences, but don’t let it overshadow the exact reason why you came here.

Be ready for loneliness in general. Not just for people, just for familiarity. You don’t have the foods you know, you don’t have the streets you know, the weather is different, the network is different. The people you see are different, the layout is different, and the road rules are different. The way people speak is different, so just be ready for that, “Oh my God, I’m in a different man’s land”. At the same time, It can be fun, but you really have to open yourself up to that experience. You have to allow yourself to enjoy it. Like I feel like something that you need to. You need to allow yourself to enjoy. It’s easy to get clouded with cynicism, bitterness, anger, loneliness and other emotions that might come through, but you need to allow yourself to enjoy the experience. I think those are major things i feel like people should know before they leave, I can’t think of anything else. Oh, you will find pepper. Don’t be scared. You will find pepper.

Magnus: Would you consider returning to Nigeria and why?

Amy: Like I always tell my mom when I was growing up. She’s always like “there are people that are in Nigeria that are successful and made a lot of money” – I always reply to her and tell her that I am not leaving because I don’t think I can be rich here. I am leaving because I need a system that works. That has always been my priority. This year, personally, I experienced a massive increase in my financial capacity and my career while in Nigeria but I need a system that works. That has always been my priority.

I don’t know how else to explain it except the fact that It’s just multiple tiny things that just create a huge thing. I tell people that you do not understand how much of your brain capacity is dedicated to the misfortunes of Nigeria. Imagine where you don’t have to deal with traffic, you don’t have to deal with electricity and a certain level of insecurity, there’s a certain level of comfort and reduction of anxiety that you experience that I can’t really explain. You have to live it for yourself to understand it and that’s the reason why it’s a system that works.

So if Nigeria becomes a system that works, then of course I’ll go back home. Those are my people, those are the people I know. That’s what I’m familiar with. It has food I like, it has people I like. It has places I know and like. It has a language I’m familiar with and can speak and understand fluently. And more than anything else, It’s home. So yes, definitely, I would consider it if it becomes a system that works.

Right now, I want to be able to settle down here and visit Nigeria during the holidays. I would go home to visit someone or go somewhere else but I will not move back to Nigeria. If the country works, I’ll be on the first flight out of here. It’s really that simple because I’m a citizen of Nigeria, and I do not need to get a visa. I just have to go back home when home feels safe, makes sense and is fun. It wasn’t really fun the last couple of months. I felt frustrated and depressed about a lot of things that happen in the country.

Magnus: What do you love about where you are currently?

Amy: First, I enjoy the fact that it’s in a different place, just the idea that I’m somewhere else. I don’t know how it works for anyone else. But for me, a change of environment just energizes me. I just feel excited, and exhilarated for life. Like I look around and I’m like, wow, this is a completely different place. It’s very exciting.

Another thing I like is, I enjoy the food. The accessibility to food in general. Shopping is easy. Finding out the ingredients you need is super easy. I mean obviously not for African meals, but then the good news is that I have never crazily eaten African food, so a lot of the stuff that I can cook here are things that I already enjoy, so it’s not a huge adjustment for me.

Another thing I would say is that the people are so accommodating and it’s so different from what I was expecting. I was genuinely expecting people to be rude in England. But here, I mean they mind their business to a fault, which is a plus for me because everyone is in your business in Lagos. I don’t know how to describe it. They are just accommodating here, from the airport to school.

When I landed, everyone was so nice and I was thinking, “oh, it’s because it’s the airport, you know, they have to be nice, they have to be good to their customers”. But then leaving there, even here, when I do some things that are mortifying, no one yells at me. It’s just like “Oh my God, it’s fine, it’s fine…”. It’s surprising… “Why are you so accommodating? Get angry or something!” Lol

And then the last thing I like in particular is my school and my area. The nature. My school is such a green space. There are a lot of trees and ponds. We even have a little beach on campus, which is basically like water with some sand around it, which we call the beach. It’s very natural. A lot of trees. A lot of green space. A lot of shrubberies. The air smells fresh and green. So that’s basically it.

Amy is a Social Media Manager and Content creator.