₦airaland Forum

one more disadvantage:not being able to wear just one piece of upper clothing during most of the year,heck summer was barely 3 weeks this yr so i re-phrase that; not being able to wear one piece of upper clothing at all times of the year.i so hate the fact that you have to wear at least two tops unlike naija where even that one that ur wearing can be stifling at times.

Siena:
Actually, that's a good thing, Dami!

I know siena i am just talking from the naija point of view where you can get a driving license with a phone call from your bedroom(if u know what i mean dont mind me i am just missing rule breaking(thats an innate trait most nigerians posess)

we really need to get driving rules sorted in naija cos if most nigerians had the test done here only 1% of the nigerian population would actually drive and i guess that's why the test is harder to pass if you used to drive in naija.

also having to pass driving test before getting a driver's license

not having the warmthof having your whole family around you(for those ofus whose families don't reside here) gosh i miss my family and my closest friends are also all in naija.its really expensive calling all the time at least thank God alot of people in naija now have internet access so communicating is much easier.

As for food,yeah i miss the cheaper more natural tasting food but have to get used to what we can get here at least i am less reckless with my eating here than in naija when fast food was my hobby.now i plan my meals and try to eat healthy.

i miss doing my hair very two weeks when i get tired of it(you actually can do that but tooo expensive  )

i miss the disorderliness of traffic.i know how much i ran this morning only for the stupid bus driver to still pull off.if na naija i for just shout 'onbo onwole o or flag down the nearest okada to get to work on time.i missed my train because i missed the bus and so was late.i don't think that kind time keeping is meant for us.na wa.

miss suya(real aboki one not that bbq they call suya here).

miss my weddings,burials naming ceremonies aso ebi, inshort owambe.i know that is obtainable here but if it is not panadol it can never be like panadol.it just doesnt have the naija feel.

i miss knowing somebody and getting things done because of that.I guess i had life a little easier in naija such that my mom or dad always knew someone that would get the job done.miss that alottttt.

I think 'nollywood' script writers could really learn alot from this thread.

Ps i love you,moonlightning with bruce willis and sybill sheperd and also matlock.as for the local content checkmate,things fall apart,new masquerade,can anyone remeber the song me and my younger sis changed the lyrics i remember,mirror in the sune etc.gosh those were the days and as for cartoons can anyone remember the adventures of teddy ruxpin,fraggle rock.God naija tv those days were the bomb.

prefer trousers cos i feel they are much more comfortable.in uni i didnt even own one skirt and my trouser wearing was so legendary that one of my deeper life lecturers hated me(i mean hate as in hate). But recently acquired some skirts and realised that they really look good on me.think will start acquiring some more stylish ones.but all the same i still feel wayyyyyyyyy more comfortable in trousers.

guys with bleached skin.we all know bleaching in all sexes is irritating but it really is a soresight when its a man.

pink skirt,pink bag,pink hair ruffle,pink shoes,pink earrings,light pink chiffon top and pink bra,pink chunky beads(around neck),and to top it off pink wooden bangles.oops forgot pink eyeshadow and blusher as well as pink nail varnish and baby pink lipgloss.

P.s this illustration is actually a real life illustration.to top it off on a very and i mean very dark skinned girl.I leave the rest to your imagination.

Do you by nay cahnce know one can run an acct opened in nigeria in their uk branch ie depostiting funds?

KarmaMod:
Siena, does it make sense to you for the girl to join these people on their "smoke breaks"? Second hand smoke anyone?

and I don't know why you people are acting like she said she declines everything. She goes for the things she enjoys. She said she goes to lunches, picnics, etc. how is that not enough? Why is going to a bar so important?

and once again wasnt this thread about accents?

Thank you.I wonder why the OP never seem to read the part where i siad i go for lunches and other activities that are of interest to me.I am all for team bonding as that is the reason i even raised a concern in the first place if not i would go into the work in the morn do what i am paid to do and leave in the eve.I am used to having a very good working relationship with my work colleagues which i must add was one of the illustrations that i gave at my interview that got me the job.The lady that interviewed me at my face to face stage actuallly told me that a very important criteria for selection is to demonsrate team spirit.So i wonder why some people are making me out as someone who lacks team spirit.You spend most of your day(at leats the part where you are awake) at work so why would i want to work in a strained cool enviroment.But as i said earlier not everone can like you and there has to be an avenue for them to justify the dislike and the way i sound makes it easier for them to get an outlet.That is why slim gals in secondary schools taunt and tease the plump one,i am not saying the slim one cant be teased but the fact that the plump looks different is an outlet to transfer the aggression.If she was slim she would have just fit in with the rest of them.

@ all your comments xcept that of busy body which i will not do the honour of remarking upon,thanks.i have taken all your advice and will endeavour to try to integrate.I really do not want it to narrow it down to race lines as i believe that having the racism victim mindset actually hinders progress.|All those blacks in america who drop out of school in high school get on the dough and then moan racism really irritate me.We can see people like obama,bill cosby etc who have made something out of thier lives even though we all know its not easy.They are indeed really nice brits and as i stated earlier my team leader and my manger who are white are nice and even go out of their way to help me when they see i am struggling especially during my training.i just think as someone rightly said some of them cannot fathom the fact that i do not drink and smoke.one of my colleagues the liberal one joked by saying'you must be very healthy but also very unhappy'.I had a good laugh and he even said i might be a good role modela as he wants to stop smoking.I also never really mention religion except when they had a company outing at thorpe park on a sun and i said i wouldnt be able to make it cos i had to go to church.So all in all i will try to go for more lunches and also activities as its a company that belives in work-life balance so they is always one thing or the other to do.As for the accent i guess with time they get used to it as i have had to get used to some of theirs as well.But all said and done some people have prejudices they cannot set aside and i will not go out of my way force liking me down their throats.

@ elosela
I never said i spoke 'perfect english'.i said i percieved prejudice based on my 'accent'that is the way my english sounds.As i said in my original post and which you also reiterated by saying the way you sound really should not matter as people's accents are affected by the enviroment that is why i have a Nigerian accent because i am nigerian and raised in nigeria and someone from manchester has a mancunian one.I do not have a problem as to how you as long as you can pass your msg across.what i do appreciate is the subtle ways i am made to feel awkward because of the way i sound.also about tembonding i do participate in team lunches and also activities we take part in the team.For instance during the olympics we all had decorate our offices to reflect the olympic spirit which i actively participated in to try to integrate but still felt a cold barrier esp among some of the members of the team.Its a really small team and i have found it difficult breaking o the clique as i get along well with my team leader and one of my team members who i have noticed is quite liberal.this clique even do not like the TL and also make fun of the dept manager.The pub outings  are after work and they are basically for 'drinks'
which i have said i get bored of since i do not drink.

@ elosela
I never said i spoke 'perfect english'.i said i percieved prejudice based on my 'accent'that is the way my english sounds.As i said in my original post and which you also reiterated by saying the way you sound really should not matter as people's accents are affected by the enviroment that is why i have a Nigerian accent because i am nigerian and raised in nigeria and someone from manchester has a mancunian one.I do not have a problem as to how you as long as you can pass your msg across.what i do appreciate is the subtle ways i am made to feel awkward because of the way i sound.also about tembonding i do participate in team lunches and also activities we take part in the team.For instance during the olympics we all had decorate our offices to reflect the olympic spirit which i actively participated in to try to integrate but still felt a cold barrier esp among some of the members of the team.Its a really small team and i have found it difficult breaking o the clique as i get along well with my team leader and one of my team members who i have noticed is quite liberal.this clique even do not like the TL and also make fun of the dept manager.The pub outings  are after work and they are basically for 'drinks'
which i have said i get bored of since i do not drink.

Busy_body:
My potential employer told me I need to have an NI number before they can employ me, but the Jobcentre told me that I need to be employed before I can be issued with an NI number. Who is right?

well depends on circumstances.when i intially got into the uK alot of people told me i had to get a job first then apply for NI no.What happened in my case was that i had been applying for jobs online before i left naija on websites like reed,hays,jobsite etc so that by the time i actually got here i had a couple of interviews lined up.I called up to apply for an Ni and luckily got an interview date two weeks later.What i then did was to print out the interview letters and take them along to the interview.The lady who interviewed me did ask if i already had a job which i didnt i just expalined that i had about 3 interviews lined up so would need to get my NI ASAP.She made copies of those letters and attached to my application. I got my no in 2 weeks and my card about 3 weeks later.So i think if you provide proof of interviews that you may start work soon it actually helps.And i did not get any of those jobs if i may add.So you should probably try that as most co's wont offer you employement without an NI as i know there were some online forms i could not go ahead with as NI column was a required field.

EloSela:
@damiso

Well if you really want to progress in the UK workforce then you need to let lose and mingle. Just because you don't drink it doesn't mean that you can't go to the pub and have a soft drink or lunch with your colleagues or take coffee/tea breaks with them.
The Pub is not the equivalent of a beer parlour in Nigeria but more a place for social community gathering where even some Churches and religious meetings can be held. One also doesn’t have to drink alcohol contrary to popular belief. The Pub is an age old cultural UK thing that you may want to embrace and learn more about instead of shunning it because of religious values. Making yourself exclusive from your colleagues will do you no favours in the long run because when it comes to downsizing the department or workforce the people who normally get the boot first are those who don’t ‘fit in’ with the rest of the team regardless of skills or ability!

If you feel that people have trouble understanding your accent then try to work on it a bit more. Even though you say you can speak perfect English it may not be perfect English to their ears as they are probably used to words being used and put together differently as opposed to how they are said or put together in Nigeria. For instance we don’t ask people if they have ‘taken’ food etc. Not saying that you would say this but just to give you an example.

There are plenty of perfect English speaking people in Nigeria but I am sure that many of them would have a hard time understanding a person speaking the Queen’s English with a clipped accent. My accent could be described as a South London one but when I went to Nigeria for the first time I was laughed at and corrected all the time by people who thought they spoke the ‘best’ English when they were way of base! Anyway don’t take it to heart that people have trouble trying to understand you, as someone said try some elocution lessons. Lastly speaking good English in England is not generally seen as a big deal over here in terms of status or money. Yes people are impressed when they hear one speaking with a clipped Queen’s accent but at the same time there are plenty of people who speak a local form of English such as Mancunian. Liverpudian and those with Yorkshire, Brumie or Welsh accents who work place outside of their local areas they get along fine and yes plenty of black people have those accents too!

@elosela am sure you must have read in my post that i do attend lunches and also go out with my colleagues sometimes for coffee or tea.I do not make myself exclusive from my colleagues i think the opposite is actually what is happening.During breaks i actually interact with so many other people from other depts and even have made some friends in the other teams we work closely with.Therefore i beg to differ that i do not fit in.

As for the pub thing,what they actually go to 'drink' alchohol.I am actually not being holier than thou or anything but i really do not enjoy such scenes and it stands to reason i should participate in activities that interest me.I noticed this way back when i was in uni that the clubbibg and going out to bars and all scene was really not for me 1.because i dont drink alchohol i get bored easily 2.as i have gotten older it simply does not fit into my spiritual spectrum of activities and dont mean this to say i am always praying and speaking in tongues.I enjoy social gatherings,i watch football(me and my hubby are die-hard arsenal fans)and my hubbys birthday gift next yr will be to probably get us a trip to the champions league final.So i definitely am not anti-social as your post is trying to make me out to be.I do not need to embrace the pub culture to fit in.I know that for a[b] FACT[/b].

I really think this depends on the individual.My hubby is actually way older than i am (not 20 yrs farrrrrrrrrr less than that) but i dont think it makes me look older.For one my hubby looks really younger than his age and also dresses as such.We also do not have a age defined relationship so sometimes i dont even remember that he is older than i am.Its the other way round in my case with people telling you really have to keep up with that your husband oo before people start thinking you are his aunty.So i think it boils down to the individual.

LondonCool:
@ty4real,

Two of my oyibo colleagues at the Immigration got married to each other last year and were getting dissapointed that the caterers were late in bringing in the food for the visitors during the wedding reception. Next door to the wedding reception another wedding just finshed so the caterers there decided to lend their staff to my colleagues wedding reception.

To everyone's dismay when it was time to serve grub none of the catering staff were anywhere to be found.It was later discovered that outside the venue the wedding photographer was taking group pictures and because both married couple were Immigration staff the Photographer shouted "Immigration" to the crowd in order to indicate that all Immigration staff should come and join the couple for the picture. At the sound of the word "Immigration" the Asian staff and some few Black folk just dissappeared into thin air.It was quite funny.

ANOTHER SURVIVAL TIP
Know your environment.If you know that you are an overstayer becareful where you step your feet. Assess every place you go to, evaluate your enemy-the Immigration Officer (or Police ).Ask yourself will the Immigration/Police likely turn up if I am here.

One of my stubborn Tennants (he was a Nigerian of course) who refused to quit my property was picked up by the Police during a routine check as he was driving his girlfriends car at night back from a Club. He had no driving licence, and he had no stay. I told him he was an overstayer but he kept on posing as if he had a Student visa. The Police picked him up, took his picture, fingerprints and DNA sample for their database, sent him to court and he should be on his way back to Owerri without any right to apply for a UK visa for the next 10 years, leaving his gullible Zimbabwean girlfriend and baby behind, after serving his prison sentence.

;Dreally really funny.My sis in law too works at the home office and i know some people who will never call me there when we go to visit.If i say 'save your credit are you at home let me call the landline' the next question would be 'which of your sis in law's place are@ is it the immigi one' at my yes the next thing i will hear is 'no thanks in short bye will talk to you later' as if the poor woman is bugging my phone to catch all overstayers.Sometimes members of their family will never talk in her presence as they are so scared of her.But to be fair to her its really not in her best interest to hear what they have to say sometimes.As she is very strict when it comes to certain issues.Even when i was still dating her bro and just came for hols she would be so worried about when i was returning home.It was all good sha as all her warnings helped when we wanted to apply for my settlement visa as those people are ready to refuse on just a single contradiction in your application.

Thanks guys for all your inputs and i think i really do have to take to blonde1's advice by being dilligent and working my way up the ladder so as to interact with more open minded people.I really do not think its a race thing per se as one of my colleagues and if i may say one of the worst culprits is BLACK.she is of carribeam descent but was born and bred in the UK.I have also taken a closer look at the situation and i feel she might be slightly threatened by me as i have been given more responsiblities and a slighlty higher pay despite the fact that she has been here for a long time.So I think the fact that i talk differently gives her an opportunity to kind of get at me.I am above all that as i actually just see this job as a means to an end and not where i intend to end my career. Another thing that makes them uncomfortable is the fact that i do not smoke so never join them on their 'coffee' or 'smoke' breaks as i prefer to call them.I also never join them on their team outings at the pub.Dont get me wrong i am all for team bonding and all and do go for team lunches if its just for a meal.But i dont drink and also my personal religious beliefs are against pub outings.So all in all to cut the story short they all think i am one WIERDO though i am not bothered by what the think as my self confidence and belief in myself far transcends what a bunch of people think.Its just a little lonely as i think interaction with your team should be a little more than the cool proffesional courtesy we have at the moment.Its all good sha,i have nairaland to escape to when less busy.

I recently relocated from Nigeria to join my husband who lives in  the Uk.I had a job back home and sorry if i sound conceited but i was actually quite good at what i did.I had glowing referals from my colleagues and superiors alike and was eligible for a promotion at the time of resignation.I moved over to the Uk and i will say at this point had been coming over for hols quite alot so was quite reasonable in my expectations.I set about looking for a job and had to deal with alot of crap like'ooh you have don't have uk experience'even though i was applying for a job that was basically the same as what i did back home or even more technical.I sincerely believe that the way i spoke was a factor but one they would never admit.I endured and eventually got a job at this really lovely company and is where i feel i would be able to get forward in my career.

My managers and team leaders are ok and all and i had a really nice induction to welcome me.My team mates are the annoying ones.I do know i don't have the  'british' accent but i speak perfect,concise and clear english language.I actually studied english as my first degree and i am  quite a  fluent user of the language.heck i speak better english than every single one of them.But i have come to notice that the way they relate to me is quite different and they always and i mean always say they do not understand me even when i know they did.Its really frustrating and annoys me because i work with this people and i know i am far more intelligent than they are.I have just resolved to be quite diligent at my work and  care less on how they relate to me.I really cannot be bothered to get past their silly prejudices.They never admit they are prejudiced as they know that could portend problems if i claim discrimnation.

I let them know that everyone is affected by their enviroment and that there is something called mother tongue interference in how we speak  a  2nd language as english is indeed that  for me.I also noticed that so many other people have funny accents eg people from up north in the uk,eastern europeans,asians, caribeans etc and these people never keep saying they can't understand.To be honest i don't understand their grammar and accents as well and try to listen carefully.Like one of my colleagues is from leicester and she says 'you what' when she menas to say 'excuse me' or 'pardon'.I am appalled at both her written and spoken tenses but will never descend to their level of judging her based on that.

I am proud of my heritage and this does not mean i speak heavy yoruba laced english.My spoken english is quite fluent just don't speak it like them.Anyone who has had similar experiences in the house?

malaysia,singapore,thailand.

would really love to.i think its a way to give myself to people that i am not directly or blood realted to and love them as my own.

For being able to bless people i come across in way that would be beneficial to us all.

leaving his shoes in the living room.

being wasteful with food and not  eating half the plate  depite me asking if the portion is ok.

Throwing wet towel on the bed.

Saying all my are clothes are new despite having owned the top for 6 years'.this is nice never seen it before and you never have money'(duh so  very annoying).i mean he says this evrytime even when the top has seen better days.

carmelily:
answer that for yourself then tell me who "owns" the child. My point which u missed in my last post is: IT TAKES TWO.

word.i beleive no one owns a child.every individual was created in God's and parents are just caretakers of that gift.my parents are my parents but definitely do not[b] own[/b] me.

They were just a pathway and model for what God wanted me to become in life.Of which i commend them for doing an excellent job.

I do actually think we come across arrogant and tend to over analyse.Although this can be defended by saying we are self confident sometimes we are just borderline oversabi

very very true.i think the airport should be extended or probably some international flights moved to the new domestic wing where billions of naira was spent.that way there is more space.i think apart from the touts and fear of chaos that terminal is just too small for the no of flights that depart and arrive at the airport.The FAAN is really not so progressive thinking as we now have quite a huge traffic compared to when the airport was built in the 70's.A relatively new city like Dubai has had so much work and extension done to accomodate the amount of air traffic they anticipate in years to come.Nigeria and lagos to be exact is an important gateway to Africa and should therefore have a decent and BIG enough intl airport.it is really irritating when security officials make you wait at the gate like some refugee.I remember having a confrontation with one of them sometime this year when i went to pick up my husband.I was so mad at the way h espoke to me like i was going to be paid for going into the airport.It is particularly annoying when you have been to other airports outside naija.After so much blasting of grammar he eventually let me in but still denied my brother entry into heaven.It is really is a bad first image not to talk of the stupid customs who once asked me to drop something when departing.I was a bloody student who was going on holiday and calculated very 10p for my trip.I refused and the foolish woman almost made me miss my flight.

Brash!:
same here too

Nigerians abroad too get wahala and generally, na longtin!

it can get one into all sorts of troubles!!

Nigerians have one the highest capability for prejudices of any set of people in the world.esp amongst themselves.i just moved to the uk and i am always irritated when i hear stuff like the generalistaion above.we should learn to judge people based on their personal traits and behaviours.so oyinbos abroad cant get you into wahala?i am not talkin about this thread but personal experiences with family and friends who live here.what if the association with this 'nigerian'could be productive.gosh.am also irritated by words like 'that naija'.pls stop generalising.not just about nigerians but everyone.

so pls enlighten me.

No it doesn't. .

isnt this the guy who threatend to live nairaland when he was attacked over wanting to marry someone of any colour just to leave naija?na wa ur really desperate to leave ur fatherland even if it means going to where u might get culture shock.And u cant in live in Russian

i love nairaland.dis post is soooooooooooo funny.uncle what happened to the fact that marriage is something you go into for the sake of love,friendship,comaptibilty etc. i really think this poster is joking.so pls humour him.

Generally, I do not mix with Nigerians abroad. You just can't trust them.

at quote above i think that is an unfair generalization.