...

Inside an African store. You can see the kind of foods you’ll find here. You can also find frozen foods like fish, chicken, fresh pepper, okra, and other kinds of meat, including plantain. Almost everything you eat in Nigeria, you can find here.

One thing I don’t like about Berlin is that they are always repairing something. There is always a road or train track to repair and it takes forever. They can take 2 years to repair one small road and you have to deal with it. They have been building the new Airport for almost 10 years and it is still not ready. I don’t know if someone is looting the money or whatever.

It is very inconvenient because you’d have to find other alternatives when riding a bike or driving a car. It can also make your journey longer than expected, on public transport. An example is when they are doing repairs on the train tracks and certain stations have to be closed. You could end up going to work late.
It is always advisable that you take a picture of the station, incase you get to work late and have to make an excuse.

Whenever there is a repair going on at the train station, they usually give written notice, about one month in advance and provide bus replacements that you can use, instead of trains.
It is still inconvenient because buses take longer and have to stop at more bus stops, coupled with the traffic. A journey of 15 minutes with the train, can become 45 minutes with the bus.

Privileged people problems.

In today’s story.

One thing I always do in life, is that I think of the future and plan things ahead. During the last year of my masters in Germany, I was not sure about my stay in Germany and if my residence permit would be extended. I thought to myself, what if I don’t get the job I like? What if I really cannot cope in this country? What if I don’t complete this study?

What I did was, I took advantage of my student status and applied for visas to other countries. As a student in Germany, you stand a great chance of getting visas to other countries, in the best convenience. They’ll also grant you visa, because they know Germany is a top country and if you already live in Germany, you won’t care about running to anywhere else.

I applied for visas to US, UK and Canada. I got my visas at first try, without hassle. I had a 2 years US visa, 6 months UK visa, and 2 years Canadian visa. All tourist visas. I got my US visa in two days, UK in two weeks and Canada in three weeks. I just wanted to have those visas on my passport incase Germany failed me. “At least I know I won’t have to return to Nigeria, if anything happens“.

I did not use the US and Canadian visas until one year later. I had to use the UK visa because it was valid for 6 months. I would advice other Nigerian students to take this smart opportunity. You never know what could happen.
When you’re no longer a student, it can be harder to get these visas because you’d have to provide other documents and proof.

Even though they are tourist visas and the fees are expensive, it is better to be safe than sorry. After all, it is going to be on your passport. Apply for these visas at least, 1 year before your residence permit expires.

So I decided to visit London for the first time. I was so excited to finally see the city everyone talked so much about. I decided not to use plane because I did not have enough money. I went by road and ship instead. It was a long journey but worth it.

I took a train to Dusseldorf, then a bus from Dusseldorf to London. There is no direct road to London, you’d have to connect through other countries. They checked my passport and visa before I boarded the bus. It was a big and convenient bus with a lot of broke people like me. My seat partner was a white British guy and he was so annoying.
He was drinking all through and kept offering me bread to eat. I was not interested in his conversation either, because his mouth was smelling of beer and garlic.

So we drove from Dusseldorf to Antwerp in Belgium. It was also my first time in Belgium. I will talk about this when I get into other countries I’ve visited. We stopped in Antwerp for a 15 minutes break and changed drivers. Then we drove to the south of France, where we’d take the connecting ship to London.

We got to south of France and had to get off the bus for passport control. We were directed to the immigration office and stood in line, based on our passports. There were also people from other buses, who were taking the same route to London. We all had to go through this passport control. I saw a lot of Nigerians there and to my surprise, many of them stood in the line of EU citizens, because they had British passports. I was jealous.

All the buses were searched with security measures, then they all drove to the ship. I went through immigration and the officer was a black British woman. She asked why I was visiting London and I told her I wanted to see the bridge. She smiled and stamped my passport with an arrival stamp. The stamp contained “departure” from France and “arrival” in UK.

I went to the ship and I was shocked. I had never been on a ship before. It was as huge as Titanic. There were so many people and the inside looked like a hotel. They had restaurants, bars, playgrounds, toilets and even a dance floor. There were kids playing and adults making noise and walking around. Some were sleeping. I just looked for a corner to sit down and lay my burdens.
We left all our belongings in the bus, as we were only allowed to take our passports and wallet.

Within 20 minutes on the ship, a fight started. It was some black guys fighting each other. They were speaking with British accent and I thought to myself, wow they sound so cool. But they were still fighting though.
I don’t know what they were fighting about but it was loud and security had to intervene. It didn’t even feel as if the ship was moving. The journey was so smooth and lasted for about....(I can’t remember).

We arrived some part of England and had to get back on the bus. Everybody went to their own bus and back to their seats. Then we drove to London and arrived at Victoria bus station. I left Dusseldorf at 10pm and arrived in London at 8 am.

To be continued....

I know Nigerians in London are reading this thread with microphone. They are waiting for me to say something wrong, so they can drag me into Jupiter.

I know Nigerians in London are reading this thread with microphone. They are waiting for me to say something wrong, so they can drag me into Jupiter. [/quote]

Bro, you mean all this fine fine places are getto in Berlin, even ikoyi and some other high brow areas in Lagos and Abuja are of no match to these places

@Danielhouston
Commendable. This is what I look for in threads here on nairaland. I just want to here your stories, experiences and opinions. It doesn't have to be special, a lil update on your day to day life is enough.

You have the opportunity to reflect on your life. As you write about fun memories, your failures etc, you get a sense of what you have been able to achieve over the past years/weeks/days.

I have recently started documenting my journey while on the lockdown and I really like how I am able to evaluate my performance and check how my interest switch from one idea to another. This gives me a chance to track and correct myself.

I noticed that one type of entertainment that I have started developing interest in is vlog-type videos or stories where one documents their lives.

Most channels I subscribe to on YouTube are vlog channels. I am subscribed to one PhD students channel on YouTube who is doing research in atmospheric physics in Exeter uni. I like the occasional review of his progress. His cinematic skills are top notch. Dudes camera angle when writing code on his system is mad. He does this timelaps shots of himself studying and several things modern vloggers do and it's mad. I usually feel pumped up to start studying after watching his videos.

Keep doing what you're doing bro, you are on track.

Danielhouston:


This made me emotional. Nigerians don’t know how to care for dogs. Sometimes it is not intentional food poisoning. I also had to learn that you do not feed a dog everything. There are certain foods that can kill a dog. But you know Nigerians, anything they can’t finish eating, they throw it to a dog.
For example, it is very dangerous to give dogs chocolate. It is also dangerous to feed a dog, chicken with bone. The chicken bone can kill the dog. Other foods like that as well.

That's true boss, actually someone threw it over the fence, probably meat or bone. Maybe they were planning something sinister, I'm sure the other dogs avoided it but this one na ajebo.
Wow! Chocolates are dangerous to dogs!

Danielhouston:


If I give a list of low budget countries to avoid in my opinion, Nigerians will turn this thread to a war zone with their arguments. I talked about the terrible living conditions of Africans in Turkey, on another thread, and people came on my neck. If I tell people to avoid certain countries, they will come here to derail the thread with arguments.

Just do your own research. Don’t base your research on Nairaland, it can be deceiving. Nairaland is full of desperate Nigerians, many of whom are in denial and tell lies. They’d rather create a false reality than be brutally honest about their experience in certain countries. You know Nigerians believe every country with a higher currency than naira, is better than Nigeria. Pls read other experiences on google. Also join Facebook groups of countries you’re interested in. Then, you can compare it to Nairaland and weigh your options.

Ok, thanks bro. More ink to ur pen

Danielhouston:
I know Nigerians in London are reading this thread with microphone. They are waiting for me to say something wrong, so they can drag me into Jupiter.

I'm still looking for the ghetto in the above pictures.. If I show you my area, you'll understand the full meaning of GHETTO.. I'm still looking for the ghetto in the above pictures.. If I show you my area, you'll understand the full meaning of GHETTO

Danielhouston:
In today’s story.

One thing I always do in life, is that I think of the future and plan things ahead. During the last year of my masters in Germany, I was not sure about my stay in Germany and if my residence permit would be extended. I thought to myself, what if I don’t get the job I like? What if I really cannot cope in this country? What if I don’t complete this study?

What I did was, I took advantage of my student status and applied for visas to other countries. As a student in Germany, you stand a great chance of getting visas to other countries, in the best convenience. They’ll also grant you visa, because they know Germany is a top country and if you already live in Germany, you won’t care about running to anywhere else.

I applied for visas to US, UK and Canada. I got my visas at first try, without hassle. I had a 2 years US visa, 6 months UK visa, and 2 years Canadian visa. All tourist visas. I got my US visa in two days, UK in two weeks and Canada in three weeks. I just wanted to have those visas on my passport incase Germany failed me. “At least I know I won’t have to return to Nigeria, if anything happens“.

I did not use the US and Canadian visas until one year later. I had to use the UK visa because it was valid for 6 months. I would advice other Nigerian students to take this smart opportunity. You never know what could happen.
When you’re no longer a student, it can be harder to get these visas because you’d have to provide other documents and proof.

Even though they are tourist visas and the fees are expensive, it is better to be safe than sorry. After all, it is going to be on your passport. Apply for these visas at least, 1 year before your residence permit expires.

Hi daniel, silent reader here. How possible is it to apply for a student visa for canada after masters in Germany??

Danielhouston:
8. The mixed race. These ones are mixed with black. Mostly African dad and German mother. A lot of them suffer from identity crisis. They are hard to understand and what the Germans would call “balabala” (someone with a few loose knots in the brain).

You’d be surprised to know that many of them hate black people, even though they are half black. I’ve met many of them who have said to my face, that they don’t like black people.
I went out with some friends and our bartender was a mixed-race girl. She later sat with us to chat and the first thing she said was “I don’t like Africans”. Everybody was silent. I was so embarrassed to hear her say that. Yeah, they are like that.

The thing is, their dad is probably an African (mostly from Ghana or Nigeria), who married or impregnated their German mother for passport. They got the passport and ran away, leaving the kids with the mother. Many of them don’t know their father and have never seen him.
The German mother then raised them to hate black people and Africans, out of bitterness or revenge.

Some of their dads were black American soldiers who met their German mom on a one night stand. The mom got pregnant and the dad had already returned to America. He doesn’t even know he has a child in Germany. I know a few like that.

They have no relationship with their black family and only know their white side. Then they face racism from white people and their white family don’t fully accept them either. So they’re in the middle. That alone can leave a kid troubled. Some of them were raised in foster homes after the government took them from their mother, because of drug addiction.
They don’t understand racism either and don’t know which side to sympathize with.

Some of them eventually educate themselves and accept their black side. They fight against racism and love black people. They are also some of the most wonderful friends you can have. They don’t have the “open eye” or “hustle” attitude of Africans, because they were born and raised in Germany. But they understand, and they love the black community.

Meghan markle

Danielhouston:


Have you heard of blocked account? That is how much you need

Yeah, I read about that. I think it’s about €10k, Then you’d be eligible to a particular percentage per month. Is it a visible plan to get to Germany and get a student job, so I’ll have enough for my upkeep so when I get money from the blocked account monthly I can just be repaying it back to where I got it from directly or will I be compelled to spend all of that money In the blocked account?

yungEX:


Hi daniel, silent reader here. How possible is it to apply for a student visa for canada after masters in Germany??

Very possible, you can start with a visitor's visa while you are still a student in Germany, then begin the process thereafter. Immediately you complete your masters degree, you file in your degree as well.
Even if you don't go there visiting, you can still begin the Canadian application process.

Danielhouston:
In today’s story.

One thing I always do in life, is that I think of the future and plan things ahead. During the last year of my masters in Germany, I was not sure about my stay in Germany and if my residence permit would be extended. I thought to myself, what if I don’t get the job I like? What if I really cannot cope in this country? What if I don’t complete this study?

What I did was, I took advantage of my student status and applied for visas to other countries. As a student in Germany, you stand a great chance of getting visas to other countries, in the best convenience. They’ll also grant you visa, because they know Germany is a top country and if you already live in Germany, you won’t care about running to anywhere else.

I applied for visas to US, UK and Canada. I got my visas at first try, without hassle. I had a 2 years US visa, 6 months UK visa, and 2 years Canadian visa. All tourist visas. I got my US visa in two days, UK in two weeks and Canada in three weeks. I just wanted to have those visas on my passport incase Germany failed me. “At least I know I won’t have to return to Nigeria, if anything happens“.

I did not use the US and Canadian visas until one year later. I had to use the UK visa because it was valid for 6 months. I would advice other Nigerian students to take this smart opportunity. You never know what could happen.
When you’re no longer a student, it can be harder to get these visas because you’d have to provide other documents and proof.

Even though they are tourist visas and the fees are expensive, it is better to be safe than sorry. After all, it is going to be on your passport. Apply for these visas at least, 1 year before your residence permit expires.

This is a really good point fr. Quick question though, what is the essence of applying for a visit visa since you’ll neither be able to get a job nor work with it

Abdul111:
This is a really good point fr. Quick question though, what is the essence of applying for a visit visa since you’ll neither be able to get a job nor work with it

Thanks for the question because I was wondering what the rationale is. Better applying for a job with visa assurances because as a Nigerian, it will be illegal to convert tourist visa to work visa in almost every developed country.

encryptjay:

That's true boss, actually someone threw it over the fence, probably meat or bone. Maybe they were planning something sinister, I'm sure the other dogs avoided it but this one na ajebo.
Wow! Chocolates are dangerous to dogs!

Yes, chocolates are dangerous to dogs because of the presence of a substance in it that can cause heart attack .

Gerrard59:


Thanks for the question because I was wondering what the rationale is. Better applying for a job with visa assurances because as a Nigerian, it will be illegal to convert tourist visa to work visa in almost every developed country.

Like I said in my original post, the purpose of applying for these visas, is incase everything fails and you have to return to Nigeria. If your intention is to apply for jobs in the US after your studies, it means you already have a plan to pursue. I’d rather have 2 years visit visas to US and Canada, than not have any visas at all. It’s not like the visa is a waste of time. Even if you end up staying in Germany, you can still use the visa.

If nothing works out and your only choice is returning to Nigeria, at least you’ll return to Nigeria with 2years visas of US and Canada and can make other plans. You can also visit and apply for jobs in person. When you get an offer, you can do the needful thing for a work visa.

When you don’t have a student status anymore, these visas will become more difficult to obtain, even if you live in Germany. Except you have German permanent residence or passport.
If everything fails and you return to Nigeria with an empty passport, what have you gained? You know how hard it is to get visas from Nigeria? Except your plan is to settle in Nigeria.

Thayoreey:
Bro, you mean all this fine fine places are getto in Berlin, even ikoyi and some other high brow areas in Lagos and Abuja are of no match to these places

Well, according to German standards, it is ghetto

Abdul111:
Yeah, I read about that. I think it’s about €10k, Then you’d be eligible to a particular percentage per month. Is it a visible plan to get to Germany and get a student job, so I’ll have enough for my upkeep so when I get money from the blocked account monthly I can just be repaying it back to where I got it from directly or will I be compelled to spend all of that money In the blocked account?

The blocked account is to guarantee your wellbeing, with or without a job. If you get a student job, good for you. What you choose to do with all your money, is up to you. I’m not a financial advisor.

Danielhouston:


The blocked account is to guarantee your wellbeing, with or without a job. If you get a student job, good for you. What you choose to do with all your money, is up to you. I’m not a financial advisor.

You're always very blunt. it sounds cocky but I like how it sounds

flyingpig:
You're always very blunt. it sounds cocky but I like how it sounds

That’s my German side. It is called Berliner schnauze.

Danielhouston:


That’s my German side. It is called Berliner schnauze.

Berliner schnauze

Danielhouston:


If nothing works out and your only choice is returning to Nigeria, at least you’ll return to Nigeria with 2years visas of US and Canada and can make other plans. You can also visit and apply for jobs in person. When you get an offer, you can do the needful thing for a work visa.

When you don’t have a student status anymore, these visas will become more difficult to obtain, even if you live in Germany. Except you have German permanent residence or passport.
If everything fails and you return to Nigeria with an empty passport, what have you gained? You know how hard it is to get visas from Nigeria? Except your plan is to settle in Nigeria.

OK. Thanks for the explanation.

Danielhouston:


Like I said in my original post, the purpose of applying for these visas, is incase everything fails and you have to return to Nigeria. If your intention is to apply for jobs in the US after your studies, it means you already have a plan to pursue. I’d rather have 2 years visit visas to US and Canada, than not have any visas at all. It’s not like the visa is a waste of time. Even if you end up staying in Germany, you can still use the visa.

If nothing works out and your only choice is returning to Nigeria, at least you’ll return to Nigeria with 2years visas of US and Canada and can make other plans. You can also visit and apply for jobs in person. When you get an offer, you can do the needful thing for a work visa.

When you don’t have a student status anymore, these visas will become more difficult to obtain, even if you live in Germany. Except you have German permanent residence or passport.
If everything fails and you return to Nigeria with an empty passport, what have you gained? You know how hard it is to get visas from Nigeria? Except your plan is to settle in Nigeria.

E go come be wetin you gain in Victor AD's voice.

Ever since the OP left back then, I left the thread thinking it was the end of it till I stumbled on it due to the likes I was getting on my previous comments.

OP, ooinnn. You are doing well!

This blocked account money must be found Insha Allah

Insha Allah

Joohan:
Ever since the OP left back then, I left the thread thinking it was the end of it till I stumbled on it due to the likes I was getting on my previous comments.

OP, ooinnn. You are doing well!

This blocked account money must be found Insha Allah

Danielhouston:


That’s my German side. It is called Berliner schnauze.

Thanks for this thread you have enlightened alot of people from your write-ups and we are very grateful for that.

I have always had the plan to leave Nigeria to Either Canada, Germany or Australia.

You have increased my interest in Germany, I know Study would be the best route to get German visa for me.

So I did some research and I discovered that the course I would like to study for my Msc (Educational Technology) is available in just one University in Germany, Saarland University, Saabrücken.

You have talked about several places in Germany and I appreciate that, but what can you say about studying in Saarland, availability of student jobs, and other things that should be know about Saarland before arrival.