₦airaland Forum

@nethacker You are absolutely correct,

Its not advisable to move around with your 9ja passport when ur just going within the states, So even if you cant get a driver's license, try and apply for a state ID which is way faster so you can use that as ur form of identification pending when you get your Driver's license. And get familiar with the traffice signs, they dont joke with that here, its not like 9ja where u can drive anyhow u like and speed as u want

@Oja am not really sure what a quarter system is but i think u can apply for an OPT based on economic necessity, but u will have to prove that you are unable to keep funding ur shcool fees, so the OPT will allow u get a job off campus that pays wayyyy better and u could work full time during the summers and get paid higher, but u will have to go thru the OPT process, and to get more info on that u should talk to the Internationsl students office of ur school, my friend did that and got a job during the summer and got paid $4000 at the end of the internship, thats another option u might want to look into

@oja, and i know how expensive it is to live in california so i feel ur pain but most schools in cali offer good scholarships esp for grad students, got to ur dept and ask for a graduate assistanship form, they usually dont announce they have one so just go ahead and ask

@Oja Well you know that as an international student, you are not allowed to work off campus except you major requires you to do some form of internship during the summers. So what i did was to look for desk jobs, cafetaria jobs and other receptionist jobs on campus. I initially got a job as a desk worker in one of the dorms and was paid $6.55 an hour but as time went on, i applied to work as an admissions representative in the admissions office of my school and got the job, they paid me $9 an hour and as an intl student you are only allowed to work up to 20 hours in a week, Now the money you will get from school jobs will not pay your tuition but it can pay your rent and other bills and still give you extra to buy food and keep body and soul together, now as per ur funding, find out if ur department offers a graduate assistanship (i am assuming ur a grad student) and if they do, apply for it because they pay a alrge part of ur tuition for u and even pay u a stipend, leme know if i can help with other questions

@4ril, Yes thats correct, go with your valid Nigerian Driver's licence, I went with mine and the law in Texas allowed me to use it for up to one year but then requiredi get a Texas driver's license, so if you cant get the international driver's license, dont sweat it, juts try and apply for the driver's license in the state you are in, and like I said, to find out the requirements, look up the website of the department of public safety of your state.

@Laughter1 Yes it sure is a wise choice. I dont regret my decision one bit and I have loved the experience, there were ups and downs but in all, God saw me through and He is still seeing me through. Being in the states has made me more mature and thats obviously due to the responsibilities you have to take on since mummy and daddy are not here to pay my rent, electricity, phone and water bills. I have and am still representing Nigeria in a good light and letting people know that Nigerians are great people,

OjaP:
@ Elpieda,my friend wants an admission to a US university for M.sc Biochemistry.He has a low GRE of 940 and CGPA of 2.71 on a scale of 4(as evaluated by WES).What do you think are his chances and what Universities do you suggest?Thanks.

Well since he has a low GRE score and a low GPA, he may not be able to get into "top ranking schools" but then, there are other wonderful schools in the US that are not among the top ranking schools and they will not stress your friend about his GRE score and GPA, And trust me his chances are not low at all, He still has a very high chance of getting into a university in the US, Most schools require that your GPA be above 2.5 at least while most will say 3.0. I will suggest he looks into Universities in North Dakota and Minnesota, He should also look into Universities in texas, They have really good schools in Texas, Alos, when am researching for graduate schools, there is a link I go to that brings out all the universities in America that offer a major in your course of study and you can look into these schools, read their requirements and apply, here is the link and I already did a research for Biochemistry so it will take you directly to the schools
http://www.gradschools.com/search-programs/biochemistry

If the link does not work, the website is www.gradschools.com, browse the Biological and life sciences faculty and the Biochemistry major, Hope that helps and leme know if you have further questions

@4ril witht eh dirver;s licence issue, yeah if you can get an intl driver's license I guess that will help and I wanted tog et it before i got to texas but dint know how to get one so i just took my Nigerain drive's licences with me, Note: all the different states in the US have different laws concerning driver's license, like in texas, u can only use ur intl dirver's licence or nigerian licence (if u have one) for just one year after which you are required to get a Texas driver's license, How i got around was i was lucky to have friends who had cars and who took me to necessary places like walmart and co to get foodstuff and all that, I just got my texas drivers license and it wasnt so hard, once ur between the ages of 18-24 its easy to get one, cos the laws for people in that age bracket are different, so i will advice u read the laws concerning drivers license in the state u are in, so say ur in Louisiana, google the department of public safety in louisiana and read how to obtain a driver's license for non-citizens, hope that helps

savemysoul:
@ Elpieda,

help out,

i graduated with HND Mechanical in 1998,work with federal govt for 5 years and now with a company as a project engineer getting to 3year till present date, am married with 3 kids and am 36plus of age.
my questions

1. i got admission to study computer science bachelor degree,any red flag with my age, martial status, will like if you can give a very good reason for choosen computer now that the 2 courses did not relate.

2.one of sponsor who provide with room and board leaves in the U.S and his name is included on my I-20 , so if ask do u know anybody in the U.S what will be my response.

advise me.

I really dotn think your age is a problem, and the fact that you are married is not even a red flag because that will make them know that you are coming back to Nigeria since you already have a family, So they know you will always want to come back tou your family, So that is actually good for you, those CO's really want to know how genuine you are and want to make sure you still intend on coming back to Nigeria (even though most people never come back in the end). There were a lot of older students in my school from ghana. liberia and co and they were all married but still got their visas.

Concerning venturing into computer, there should be a way you should link both courses together and let them know you are trying to expand your horizon as this is the jet age and you cannot entirely separate computer science from engineering, as a project engineer, getting a computer sciende degree will actually boost your qaulifications and make you more experienced in the field of engineering, It will also grant you better job opportunities in Nigeria because of the technical know-how you will gain, Thats a point you can make, Am sure people in the house can help buttress the point and offer more suggestions

If asked if you know anyone in the US, people always advice that you say no but since the person's name is stated on ur 1-20 I will not really advice you say no because the fact that you have a wife and kids in Nigeria will remove any suspicion they have of u overstaying in the states, hope that helps, leme know if you have more questions

And about life in the US, One cannot conclude fully that life in teh US is hard, It all depends on the individual and how you decide to make the best of your location, One thing I will say though is if you can survive in Nigeria especially in Lagos, you can survive anywhere in the world, Thats just my opinion and some people may not agree with me, And for those saying u need to have a relative, I had none when I came here, yes i have some aunts who live in the US but they also have their families and struggles to deal with so me depending on them is just going to cause extra burden on them and a lot of tension, I had no one except GOD and trust me once u have GOD, He will place people int the right position to make your transition easier, and thats exactly what god did for me, No one helped me survive here except GOD and all the new people he place in my life that have helped me reach where I am today,

Yes there are going to be potholes along the way but it will all work out for oyur good and make you stronger, I had no money to pay my tuition when I first got here but thank God my schook as with most American school have some kind of tuition payment plan so i was able to split my semester cost into 4 installmental payments, How the money came about, I dont know but God provided, My mum and dad worked their butt off and God provided, I got 2 jobs on campus that paid my living expenses and gave me extra to spend on feeding and other basic necessities, God saw me all through and trust me it can be the same for you so let no one discourage you, America is not ad bad as people claim,

Hi All,

I am loving this thread beacause I was in the shoes of a lot of you in 2008. It took a while to get admitted into a school and I finally gained admission into a school in Texas to do a Masters in Accounting, My visa interview was a miracle, I had never left the country before even for holidays so people kept telling me I may be rejected, I took all the required documents and here is how the intervie went, The interview was on Dec 24, 2008 but I still remember it so clearly.
CO: Hey how are you doing
Me: I am doing good and you?
CO: So u want to do a masters in Accounting
Me: Yes
CO: Can I see your bank statement
Me: (I give it to him, he looks at it for 10 seconds)
CO: Have u ever left the country before
Me: Not at all (Smiling from ear to ear)
CO: Come get your visa next week and he gives me a card

he dint ask for any other document besides my bank statemen and the interview dint last up till 2 minutes, I kept saying maybe he liked my face but it was a miracle and a testimony,

Now almost two years after, I am done with my masters degree, I got a job with a bank immediately i graduated and i am currently working here in texas and doing really good

SO if any of you have any questions especially about the journey through schoola nd finding a job on campus and all, I can help out with your questions, While I was in school I worked as an admissions officer so I know a whole lot about admissions, So ask the questions and I will be glad to help in anyway I can

@chiagozom, Congratualtions and i get my cheapest flights through this website www.kayak.com

This is actually no joke, It just happened in Ghana if you ever follow Ghanaian news,

Sefwi Asawinso, a farming community in the Sefwi Wiawso District of the Western Region, was yesterday thrown into a state of shock when news broke that a 40-year-old teacher had allegedly eaten his one-month-old baby girl.

Nathaniel Nsetor, a teacher at Dokukrom Junior High School near Sefwi Juaboso, 'chewed' little Yaa Ohenewaa, leading to her death.

Timothy Bassah, Sefwi Asawinso District Police commander, who con tinned the story to DAILY GUIDE, noted that the suspect was in police custody pending further investigations.

He said that Nsetor hailed from the Volta Region and had married Vida Nimako, a native of Sefwi Brafo near Asawinso, for over 20 years and were blessed with five children.

Because of his work, the suspect and the wife were not staying together but Nsetor visited the wife almost every weekend at Sefwi Brafo.

ASP Bassah noted that over the weekend, the suspect travelled from Dokukrom to Sefwi Brafo to visit the wife and the one-month-old baby girl.

According to the district police commander, on Monday at about 12:30arn, while Nsetor, the wife and the baby girl were sleeping, the suspect woke up and ,began to behave abnormally by shouting and praying on top of his voice so the wife became alarmed and went to call her mother who was also staying in the same house.

The police officer said while the wife was returning, she met the suspect carrying the one-month-old baby girl in his arms and when the wile insisted that Nsetor hands over the baby to her, the suspect started beating the wife, and ran with the baby towards a nearby bush.

He said Vida shouted for help so people came around and as they chased the suspect for the baby, they could see Nsetor chewing the face of the baby girl like a cannibal, with the little girl crying.

He disclosed that the "cannibal" began chewing the baby girl from the nose, then the ears, the forehead and the eyelid.

The district police commander indicated that when the people managed to arrest the teacher, they realized that the baby girl, who was still in his arms, was dead. They then handed over the suspect to the police.

He pointed out that the deceased had been deposited at the morgue of the St. John of God Hospital at Sefwi Asafo.

Source: Daily Guide http://dailyguideghana.com/newd/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10357&Itemid=245

^^^^ Well then u have been panshing girls that have been lying to you, Yes every girl has a different body but no matter the body type most of the time a virgin naturally is supposed to have a tight pu33y cept she has been self servicing or something,

Listen, Until a woman looses her virginity she does have an especially tight vagina an the reason is: the muscles have not be stretched by use.

@Bobby Well if they properly do some research, they will know that there are risks involved with the tightening procedure including scarring, bleeding, nerve damage and infections, and its a very expensive procedure that takes up to 2 hours and costs about $6000, But trust me, obstructing the natural state of a woman's toto will lead to a disability, But hey, men never take time to study the female anatomy is most times they dont even know the difference,

I think everyone here is omitting something very important, The Hymen in a woman is a thin membrane on the outside or surrounding her vaginal opening, now hymen reconstruction and vaginal tightening are two different things entirely, If you replace the hymen without tightening the vagina, on the so called wedding night, it will still be EASY for the man to go in, For a REAL virgin who did not reconstruct the hymen, her vaginal orifice will still be TIGHT and it will be HARD to penetrate, Am I making sense, So a girl can do all the hymen reconstruction she wants, If the man is smart enough, he will know that if it was too easy for him to go in without any struggle, then she probably was up to something,

I need to get on one of those cruise ships, look at the clear water, Wow,

, Oh my those are beautiful pictures, I will so love to have my honeymoon on this Island, WOW

@Harakiri, The fact is both men and women have their LIMITS, even you might get disgusted with yourself if things are not looking up, it is a human emotion and that does not automatically make the woman a gold digger, there are a variety of reason why she may even be frustrated, It could be that the guy is not making an effort to reach the potential she believes he has, And for pete's sake if she can stay with him for 10years, doesnt that go to show that she is definitely not after his doe??

A woman dear to my heart got married and for 10 years both of them were dead broke and could not even afford to pay the fees of their kids, yes she got frustrated at times because she had to take her kids out of school and put them in way cheaper schools but that dint break her and her husband, they roughed it out and now they are both so comfortable that they were able to send one of their kids off to the states to pursue a degree, If there are women like here still existing, then not every woman is all about looking for loaded guys

@father thats ur conclusion, all the women i know who are MY friends are not gold diggers, but responsible women, so there is no way we can agree on that one, But i highly respect ur opinion, I really do,

@harakiri then i guess i should just conclude that every guy is a gold digger since all the men i dated previously sucked me dry, strange aint it, but am a go-getter which always made me financially independent and every guy i was with made me spend so much on them cos i am a strong and independent woman, and i know a lot of ladies have the same story to tell at some point,

@father, Less than 1% is still something if you apply that percentage to the number of women in Nigeria, Yes I totally agree that majoriy of women login to loaded guys and I must admit, am sad its the case, I have lived in Nigeria for a very very long time so am not oblivious to what is going on in the country right now, But I am not going to accept defeat by going with the idea that every woman is like that, Because that is just a hasty conclusion just like i will never ever buy the idea that all men are cheats or there are no virgins anymore and all the crap that people talk about,

Just because its commonplace doesnt give anyone of us a reason to generalize and thats the point am trying to make, so Men still have the opportunity to go seek out the women who wont "suck them dry" rather than accept the fact that all women are "gold diggers"

@harakiri, No I dont get your point and no you are not making any sense at all, now i see why u have this mentality, Its because u are stuck with a girl who treats u that way, well what a shame, but u still cant use that to judge every woman.

And being with a guy with hope of improvement is not wrong. It shows u can stick with that guy thru thick and thin, so that even when the so called riches come and go, u can still stick with him, U dont know me so u cant judge what i will or will not do. I dont need for my man to be RICH with all the so called cars u just mentioned, if we are both comfortable(depending on ur definiton of comfort) then am happy,

I believe in sharing, so even if he becomes the richest man in the world, i still believe we both should share resources and pay for things in the most equitable way possible, thats how things are with the man am with, so i have a totally different experience from u,

@harakiri Well if both of them had brains I can almost bet you that the rich one would lack in CHARACTER and INTEGRITY and would probably be an ARROGANT fool who lacks respect for others, and am definitely not the type who is blinded by money not to notice that and so i will still not pick the rich guy, I know u will argue with that and say not all of them lack in character then I will conclude that not all women "login" to loaded guys and look down on "poor" guys.

@harakiri
I went for a poor guy over the so called rich ones that were after me, and its still boils down to waht i was saying, i was seeking for something money couldnt buy, A rich man with no brains is worthless to me, A poor man with brains is the ish cos if he has potential then money will come later,

@harakiri

I totally still beg to differ, Not every girl is after money, Its a shame less than a handful of girls are commenting which almost goes to prove y'alls point but the fact still remains that the conclusion being made is a hasty conclusion, Toasting a girl is not a fantasy, I was toasted and he did not have to have a car or anything to get me, Infact he had nothing but that was not an issue for me, If a man has all the money in this world and lacks CHARACTER then he stands no chance at all,

I blame this issue on the recent recession and the fact that poverty is knocking on so many people's door. But even at that, I will still say that women should go get financially independent cos i see no reason why you would want to suck a man dry when you are earning your own income. I am a woman myself and I just dont understand that,

(Old man, carry go with your puff puff. . . . if you see a man rocking a Benz on the way, tell him to holla at me. )

Na wa o, So even if the puff puff man has something upstairs with great potential, u will still reject him

Ok, when i first met the man I am with in 2009, he had absolutely nothing (in terms of money), but i saw something in him that money could not buy (potential). I never demanded from him and the little we both had, we SHARED, I supported him and stood by him in his most lowly state and now he has a high paying job in the states, we are both working in texas and even with that, guess what? WE STILL SHARE RESOURCES, I never ever make him spend all the money, and that has just drawn us closer and we dont fight about money the way other couples do,

@bawomolo thats SAD, really really sad. Its not like most of these women even have the money to take care of themselves, and then they are expecting another man to spend all his hard earned money on her. How does that work logically?

Women get financially independent and learn to share, that will even encourage the man to spoil you when he has the means and as he wishes. Trust me am talking from experience

@Ranosky 2009

There is nothing wrong with a woman wanting a man who is intellectually comp[atible with her, Thats actually a must but that intellectual compatibility should not be measured in monetary terms, which is what a lot of naija women want, Yes there must be some level of financial independence but why must the onus always fall on the guy, What ever happened to sharing resource mutuallyBoth the man and the woman contributing and reducing financial burden, rather than place it all on the man and expect to keep receiving from the man all the time??

Its amazing and sad that I can hardly read any comment from any lady, Its really sad, So are the ladies agreeing to the fact that they are extremely MATERIALISTIC?As a Nigerian woman I beg to differ. My man did not have to bring no car or whatever to woo me, In fact we both met while we were washing our clothes and he toasted me right there and then, how about that, Women please please and please, money aint everything, character is what matters, i guess people are different sha,

For those who are saying it was the right time to do it here is all i have to say, the only right time to have sex is when ur married, take it or leave it, Not trying to be harsh but its just the truth, I am sure you cant honestly say that having sex before marriage brought you joy afterwards or that it was the best decision u ever made, So lets stick with the optins provided and leave out the 'it was the right time" crap